Weight loss and cardio

[actionwoman]

I am trying to lose 5-8 lbs. I work out six days per week and am following Weight Watchers.

Right now I am doing a 3-week Cathe rotation using CTX, MIC, PS, PowerMax, and Interval Max. This first week consists of MIC, PS BBA, Interval Max, PS CST, Power Max, then on Satu MIC & PS LA.

My question is this: on days that I do only upper body work, I don't feel like I worked out enough. I realize that MIC and IM are intense cardio workouts, but what about the days w/o cardio? Can I lose weight by doing cardio only four days in a week?

Thanks,
Amy

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Amy! It is definitely possible to lose weight doing cardio only 4 days a week. Especially if you aren't already doing that amount now. But every person responds to exercise differently so if you feel that you need more cardio, you can tack it on before or after your upper body workouts or any other time that is more convenient for you. Have fun !

 

[Kath]

Amy, I just wanted to say HEY from another person who combines ww and cathe. So glad to see someone else who does that! No one on the ww boards seems to exercise at that intensity or know anything about Cathe so I'm in a different world from them as far as points and activity...even the lifetimers and fitness challenge people.

Like you I only have 5-8 lbs more to lose (Okay, I'm taking off 10 this summer actually.) When I get serious about it, 4 days of cardio definitely does bring about weight loss for me, if I'm staying on program with ww. I know what you mean about feeling like I didn't exercise enough on the pure strength upper body days, but I always have a burst of energy for cardio the next day.

Last September through January I was maintaing at 118 lbs, doing just 3 days of cardio and 3 days of the pure strength series, and eating about 35 points a day, or about 2000 calories.

I got off track this spring by deciding I don't need ww--I read this book called Intuitive Eating and decided to try it--it's not for me, that's for sure! Now I have 10 pounds to lose but I know how to do it with ww and cathe.

I know you didn't ask for all that info but there it is! Kath

 

[fitnutty]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-12-02 AT 08:00AM (Est)[/font][p]Kath and Amy -

Another Cathe/WW person here! I know what you mean about the ww boards and the exercise discussed there. Of course, the exercising is not my struggle, the eating is!! The point system is really great and does work, but PLEASE give me consistency!!!

 

[veganchick]

I am a vegan, but I also do WW and Cathe, and the Firm...I workout 6x's per week and do 3 Cathe cardio(ex. Interval Max, circuit max, cardio kicks, or bodymax) 2 Firms and I total body like MIS....I have about 40lbs to go, and I use my activity points when I need them. For a Cathe cardio I can have 4-5 extra points if I need them. I think the 2 together work out wonderful and I know this time I will meet my goal! Oh, does anyone know how many points you get once you are on maintenance with WW?

 

[atgood]

Amy -- Best of luck with your routine! Cathe and others have already weighed in, but I just wanted to add a word of caution. Make sure you aren't overdoing it by doing MIC and PS L&A back to back on the same day, at the tail end of an already intense five days of working out! It might be extreme to push your body to that degree in the first week of your rotation, especially since you have relatively little weight to lose. Just a thought. But as they say, listen to your body. Best to you!

 

[honeybunch]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-16-02 AT 04:26AM (Est)[/font][p]Here's my suggestion (for what it's worth) for a sample week:

Sunday: I guess you take this day off, right?
Monday: MIC
Tues.: PS CST - If you want to do more cardio, how about the cardio from the CTX Kickbox tape?
Wed: Imax
Thurs: PS Legs (the whole thing) Skip the cardio when you do this tape
Friday: Powermax
Sat: PS BBA when you walk) and a walk for 30 minutes. OR instead of walking, do only the Hi/Lo portion of MIC.

That would give you 5 cardio sessions.

Do two weeks like this, then switch to your CTX tapes and do those for two weeks.

How much time per day do you have to work out? Do you work 6-8 hour days per week? Knowing your schedule would be helpful.