Could you please give me advice?

[karli]

Hi all

I would love to know which Cathe workouts gave you the best results in the shortest time in terms of adding muscle or firming up.
I am overweight with very little muscle and, yes I know I have to do cardio (and I do) but I would love to get some muscle and strength because then I'd be able to work out even harder.

Which DVD's gave you best results?
I have ALL Cathe's workouts except Shock Cardio.

Thank you.

[upnorthchick]

I got the best results-losing fat & getting toned-when I alternated Kick, Punch, Crunch & spinning class for cardio with Pyramid Upper Body and Pyramid Lower body for weights. I didn't have many Cathe workouts so these were my choices and they worked! Also, I was doing Weight Watchers and sticking to the program very consistently.

HTH!

[mom418]

i like legs and glutes. i also used some of those exercises in a made up routine. then u can do a few at a time, when theres a spare 5-10 min or even less. even short on time u can get results! whatever exercises u choose, remember to do it with intensity and use her tricks like vary the tempo, and concentrate on the low end. for example in a lunge, plie, or bicep curls. using HiiT would be super time effecient. or build up to that on your own. you could alternate walking lunges with imaginary jump rope for ex. cathe wrote some great info about hiit high intensity interval training on the blog. the key is timing and intensity level. theres also a demo vid. to show what its like. i'm thinking about getting the hiit w/o too.
u could also try to sneak in exercise through the day. ex: squat when u pick something up, bridge/crunches in bed. bridge is like sit up position with the booty elevated. squeezing makes it more effective. cathe does a killer version in legs and glutes. same position but u elevate the feet, and if u can,raise up on 1 leg. makes those hamstrings really feel it. theres a thread about more ideas to sneak the exercise in. its in the open discussion forum.
remember we're all here to support each other. my bmi still says i'm obese. i'm down a little more than 30 lbs, and still losing. if i can do it anyone can.

[LaughingWater]

Hi Karli,

I noticed you mentioned that you are already doing cardio work. Have you experimented with Cathe's weight DVDs yet? I ask only because usually one has to experiment to figure out what works personally for them.

In other words, what works for me may not work for you.

That all said, while I enjoy and use muscle endurance workouts, I have found that I saw the best strength gains with STS. I suspect part of that was due to the 1RM testing, which forced me to go heavier than I would have on my own.

If I were you, I'd start with the Pyramids, and then move on to Gym Styles or 4DS.

[morgs]

Hi karli,

The ones that worked the best for me and gave me the best overall muscle definition were Cathe's work outs with Cardio & weights in them.

Here's an example of a 3 week roation I did a few months back.

WEEK.1
Monday: Bootcamp
U]Tuesday: KPC-cardio cond premix, then Leg & Glutes Standing leg work[/U][/U]
Wednesday[/U]. IMAX2 with Cardio & Weights-weights only plus abs
Thursday: Off-stretchmax no equipment segment
[UFriday[/U]: Kickmax-Cardio Leg sculpt premix.
Saturday[/U]: Step, Jump & Pump-Step Hi/Lo Circuit premix, then weights only , plus abs
Sunday: Off-Stretchmax w/ bands segment

WEEK 2
Monday: 4-Day Split -Bootcamp with Bi's & tris
Tuesday: Lo-Max ( great leg work out here )
Wednesday: 4-Day Split-Kickbox with Abs only.
Thursday: Body Blast2 -Step circuit only premix, then weights & abs
Friday: Stretch Max w/ stability ball
Saturday: Kickmax-Low Impact Timesaver premix with leg drills
Sunday: Bootcamp


WEEK 3
Monday: KPC-Cardio Cond. premix plus abs
Tuesday: IMAX2 w/ C&W weights
Wednesday: StretchMax w/ bands
Thursday: KickMax-Cardio leg sculpt premix
Friday: Body Max, Step Seg 1,2,3 plus weights and abs
Saturday: LoMax
Sunday: StretchMax no equipment.


That's what worked for me. Everyonce and a while, I'll mix in an extra day with Muscle Endurance instead of a stretch, ONLY if I could handle it though. Otherwise, it's always good to get a few rest days in there and stretch out any soreness that you might have. Notice how in week three I worked in stretcmax after lowmax ?? My legs are usually on FIRE after that one !!

Hope that helps !!

Morgs