Random Workouts or Rotations

Candice2015

Cathlete
Do you find that you get better results with randomly picked workouts or with a set rotation? If rotation, do you pick one already made or create your own?
 
I did random workouts for several years, even though I saw rotations created. It wasn't until I did specific rotations that I started seeing specific results (both strength and cardio).

I usually always create my own, but sometimes it is loosely based off of an already created rotation. The majority use Cathe workouts, but I do sprinkle other instructors in. I also find that I create a rotation and then like it so much I tweak the same rotation and do it again...building and building where I believe I was lacking. They are usually 12 weeks at a time.

Other instructors/programs I use are: Body Beast, Master Hammer Chisel, Ultimatum, Edge Booty Extreme 2, KCM, Toby Massenburg, Hip Hop Abs, and others.

Good question, I am curious as to see other answers.
 
I did random workouts for several years, even though I saw rotations created. It wasn't until I did specific rotations that I started seeing specific results (both strength and cardio).

I usually always create my own, but sometimes it is loosely based off of an already created rotation. The majority use Cathe workouts, but I do sprinkle other instructors in. I also find that I create a rotation and then like it so much I tweak the same rotation and do it again...building and building where I believe I was lacking. They are usually 12 weeks at a time.

Other instructors/programs I use are: Body Beast, Master Hammer Chisel, Ultimatum, Edge Booty Extreme 2, KCM, Toby Massenburg, Hip Hop Abs, and others.

Good question, I am curious as to see other answers.

Do you have a specific created rotation that you base it off of? I don't like a lot of cardio, preferring hiit type, lower impact workouts and weights (heavy, low rep) workouts. I just didn't know if people picked random workouts and saw results or if I needed to figure out a good rotation.
 
I have a couple go-to boilerplate rotations that I seem to prefer and tweak over and over depending on my current goals. The one I am doing right now is based off the STS rotation with a lower body focus. Note I am currently working at home, have lots of time on my hands, sit on my butt the entire workday, which I swear causes flat-butt, and am therefore doing an intensive rotation based on the butt. This is by far not too much exercise for me and I am enjoying this (meaning, I am not soliciting others to tell me this is too much exercise for me during these 12 weeks):

Sunday:
  • AM: Steady State Cardio of choice (because I love SS cardio! Usually step.)
  • PM: Thorough Stretch (usually 1 hour)
Monday:
  • AM: STS upper + Abs
  • PM: HiiT
Tuesday:
  • AM: STS lower + 100 Rep Hip thrusts
  • PM: CLB (Cardio leg blast - choice approx. 30 min cardio that focuses on legs. ex: CLB blasts only premix, PHA 1 or 2 leg premix only, Cathe cycle) or Cathe Barre of choice
Wednesday:
  • AM: STS upper + 100 rep of choice upper body
  • PM: Butt Bible (these are short/easy enough I don't feel I am overworking my lower/upper body...remember this rotation is lower body focused)
Thursday:
  • AM: "Ultimatum" cardio (approx. 30 min HiiT-type workouts, but I find her series easyish, which makes me comfortable doing this much HiiT in a week) + Butt Bible
  • PM: Edge Booty Extreme 2 Cardio (26 min total) or Cathe Kickbox of choice
Friday: I love this day! I feel so accomplished.
  • Edge Booty Extreme 2 Lower
  • Edge Booty Extreme 2 Upper
Saturday:
  • AM: Cathe HiiT of choice + core (try to find one lower body focused. I like X77, CCC, RwH Plyo) (or I like To The Max, Cross Fire, Afterburn)
  • PM: Thorough stretch (approx. 1 hour)
Another favorite rotation I often go back and tweak depending on my current goals is based on Body Beast and Masters Hammer Chisel (I usually throw in Shift Shop, PiYo, Hip Hop Abs...kind of make it a Beach Body rotation.) Let me know if that rotation interests you and I will post.

If the above posted rotation interests you, I can give you the exact workouts I have done up to this point and plan on doing on my "choice" days.

I am similar to you in that for weights, I prefer heavy, lower rep (I have done a rotation based off of Ripped With Hiit and XTrain), I do like HiiT cardio (for time savings, although I prefer to do steady state step for fun factor), however, I do prefer high impact over low impact (I see better results and don't have any physical limitations)...but I assume you could just substitute a low impact as needed and get great results.

When I did random workouts, I just didn't see the same (muscle) results. I am not sure why, possibly because I just did what I felt like that morning...and I probably always felt like step aerobics since that is my favorite. I needed to monitor that I was doing upper and lower weights twice per week with sprinkled in cardio.

I did a rotation a few years back for 1 year of "All Cathe, No Repeats." I loved it. I did, as the name implies, all Cathe workouts, but with zero exact repeats. I had a boilerplate of Sunday was steady state cardio, Monday & Wednesday were upper body, Tuesday & Thursday were lower body, Friday & Saturday were either Hiit, Full Body weights, Metabolic Weight Training, Circuit, or choice. That rotation was really fun and I recall seeing (muscle) results, but not as much as a more focused rotation.
 
Your "flat butt" rotation looks good, but for me I don't have the time during the day. I do sit all day at a desk and have the "old lady saggy butt syndrome" which I know I should work on. Would love to see your BB one. I was enjoying Liift4, but got a little burned out and didn't feel I got a good lower body workout. I do like the split body parts aspect with the hiit and core all being in one workout. I know full body is good, just sometimes I don't want to work the whole body in one workout. I would like to come up with a rotation of some kind that is something along the lines of L4, but using Cathe, KCM, Jessica Smith and BB. Those are the ones I like to do the most.

Random doesn't work for me either. I end up frustrated with picking a workout and then don't want to do it because I think it is not the right one I should be doing. I think I am definitely a rotation person.
 
I also get better results if I follow a rotation for the same reasons. If I don't then I skip one day or if it's a workout I dread then I either swap it out or waste too much time deciding if I really want to do it or replace it. Even if I include hitting all the areas (weights, cardio, HIIT, abs, etc.) it never physically shows like it does on a set rotation. I tend to use rotations that Cathe put together with each series or a combined series. Even when I try the monthly rotations Cathe puts out, I never seem to end them. I lose interest in it by the 3rd week or I swap so many out that I don't feel like I'm doing anything. I always use Cathe's rotations because I just don't like others enough to stick with them for the long-term. Although, currently I am combining Cathe with Edge Booty Extreme 2 because I wanted to focus on the glutes. So my weekly workout is: Edge Legs 2x, Edge Booty 1x, Cathe HIIT & Edge Upper 1x, Cathe cardio (HIIT or metabolic) & Cathe total body or upper weight/cardio. After 6 weeks of this, I will be going back to Cathe rotation because even though my glutes are feeling the DOMS, I feel she doesn't hit the upper body like Cathe usually does. My favorites are RWH, Strong & Sweaty, XT & STS.
 
I also get better results if I follow a rotation for the same reasons. If I don't then I skip one day or if it's a workout I dread then I either swap it out or waste too much time deciding if I really want to do it or replace it. Even if I include hitting all the areas (weights, cardio, HIIT, abs, etc.) it never physically shows like it does on a set rotation. I tend to use rotations that Cathe put together with each series or a combined series. Even when I try the monthly rotations Cathe puts out, I never seem to end them. I lose interest in it by the 3rd week or I swap so many out that I don't feel like I'm doing anything. I always use Cathe's rotations because I just don't like others enough to stick with them for the long-term. Although, currently I am combining Cathe with Edge Booty Extreme 2 because I wanted to focus on the glutes. So my weekly workout is: Edge Legs 2x, Edge Booty 1x, Cathe HIIT & Edge Upper 1x, Cathe cardio (HIIT or metabolic) & Cathe total body or upper weight/cardio. After 6 weeks of this, I will be going back to Cathe rotation because even though my glutes are feeling the DOMS, I feel she doesn't hit the upper body like Cathe usually does. My favorites are RWH, Strong & Sweaty, XT & STS.

What's your favorite Cathe rotation if you could pick one and stick to it?
 
I have never heard of Liift4 - I am going to check this out! This is a good thread, I hope more people post their rotations and results.

I am lucky in that I have about an hour in the (very) early morning and then 30-45 min after work (I usually throw dinner on the stove and workout while it is cooking or I am going through mail, or prepping for work the next day. All time I would normally sit on the couch or surf my phone for 30-45 min.)

I also wanted to add that I notice for me to get MUSCLE gains, I really need to work each body part twice per week. The normal hitting a body part once per week doesn't give me the "cut" look. Therefore, I will do STS 4 times per week (not the normal 3), which gives me STS legs twice, each STS upper once and then add another single full upper body with weights workout-day or a MWT/BC with upper body focus (which will combo as my cardio and upper body weights)...OR...I will do STS 3 times per week and then add a single full body workout day so that every body part gets worked twice that week (I am with you though - I rarely feel like doing a full body workout, however this is faster for when time is a factor).

For me to get CARDIO gains, I need to do what others may consider a lot of cardio. I was born with respiratory issues and I must stay on top of it. It is as if I am either totally out of shape / out of breath or in superior lung shape - there is no in between for me. Therefore I usually do cardio every single day and alternate between steady state, HiiT, MWT, BC, KB, anything really. Luckily I love love love cardio and to me it never gets old. I must add 60 minutes of steady state a minimum of once per week or I seem to lose my lung abilities. It is weird but when shorter HiiT became popular, I did a 3 month rotation with just Hiit (I believe 3 times per week? and sprinkled in other shorter cardio) and you would think that would have given me superior lungs, but it didn't. I was a breathing mess and had to go back to my cardio mix and make it daily.

BLAKKAT: What kind of results are you getting with Edge Booty Extreme 2? I am about 6 weeks in to that for the first time.
 
I have never heard of Liift4 - I am going to check this out! This is a good thread, I hope more people post their rotations and results.

I am lucky in that I have about an hour in the (very) early morning and then 30-45 min after work (I usually throw dinner on the stove and workout while it is cooking or I am going through mail, or prepping for work the next day. All time I would normally sit on the couch or surf my phone for 30-45 min.)

I also wanted to add that I notice for me to get MUSCLE gains, I really need to work each body part twice per week. The normal hitting a body part once per week doesn't give me the "cut" look. Therefore, I will do STS 4 times per week (not the normal 3), which gives me STS legs twice, each STS upper once and then add another single full upper body with weights workout-day or a MWT/BC with upper body focus (which will combo as my cardio and upper body weights)...OR...I will do STS 3 times per week and then add a single full body workout day so that every body part gets worked twice that week (I am with you though - I rarely feel like doing a full body workout, however this is faster for when time is a factor).

For me to get CARDIO gains, I need to do what others may consider a lot of cardio. I was born with respiratory issues and I must stay on top of it. It is as if I am either totally out of shape / out of breath or in superior lung shape - there is no in between for me. Therefore I usually do cardio every single day and alternate between steady state, HiiT, MWT, BC, KB, anything really. Luckily I love love love cardio and to me it never gets old. I must add 60 minutes of steady state a minimum of once per week or I seem to lose my lung abilities. It is weird but when shorter HiiT became popular, I did a 3 month rotation with just Hiit (I believe 3 times per week? and sprinkled in other shorter cardio) and you would think that would have given me superior lungs, but it didn't. I was a breathing mess and had to go back to my cardio mix and make it daily.

BLAKKAT: What kind of results are you getting with Edge Booty Extreme 2? I am about 6 weeks in to that for the first time.
I am in the 4th week and I can see a definite improvement in my glutes. I have had a flat butt no matter what I do, but I have a nice little cheek that I can see from the side now instead of looking like a paper plate! My thighs are also tightening up. Still don't see any definition in my hamstrings though. I am glad it is a shorter rotation that changes after 3 weeks because in the beginning I liked the newness of it, but right after the 3rd week I was ready to move on to the next 3 weeks. I would love it if Cathe would come out with a heavy lower series.
 
For me, RWH is my all time favorite & the one I see the best results with. To change it up, I will do the ones Cathe combined with RWH (w/Strong & Sweaty or STS).

I may have to try a RWH /S&S rotation. I have just gotten both sets and gone through each one once by themselves.

have never heard of Liift4 - I am going to check this out! This is a good thread, I hope more people post their rotations and results.

Liift4 is a Beachbody program that incorporates heavy lifting, hiit and core in a 30 minute workout, 4 times a week.
 
I have a couple go-to boilerplate rotations that I seem to prefer and tweak over and over depending on my current goals. The one I am doing right now is based off the STS rotation with a lower body focus. Note I am currently working at home, have lots of time on my hands, sit on my butt the entire workday, which I swear causes flat-butt, and am therefore doing an intensive rotation based on the butt. This is by far not too much exercise for me and I am enjoying this (meaning, I am not soliciting others to tell me this is too much exercise for me during these 12 weeks):

Sunday:
  • AM: Steady State Cardio of choice (because I love SS cardio! Usually step.)
  • PM: Thorough Stretch (usually 1 hour)
Monday:
  • AM: STS upper + Abs
  • PM: HiiT
Tuesday:
  • AM: STS lower + 100 Rep Hip thrusts
  • PM: CLB (Cardio leg blast - choice approx. 30 min cardio that focuses on legs. ex: CLB blasts only premix, PHA 1 or 2 leg premix only, Cathe cycle) or Cathe Barre of choice
Wednesday:
  • AM: STS upper + 100 rep of choice upper body
  • PM: Butt Bible (these are short/easy enough I don't feel I am overworking my lower/upper body...remember this rotation is lower body focused)
Thursday:
  • AM: "Ultimatum" cardio (approx. 30 min HiiT-type workouts, but I find her series easyish, which makes me comfortable doing this much HiiT in a week) + Butt Bible
  • PM: Edge Booty Extreme 2 Cardio (26 min total) or Cathe Kickbox of choice
Friday: I love this day! I feel so accomplished.
  • Edge Booty Extreme 2 Lower
  • Edge Booty Extreme 2 Upper
Saturday:
  • AM: Cathe HiiT of choice + core (try to find one lower body focused. I like X77, CCC, RwH Plyo) (or I like To The Max, Cross Fire, Afterburn)
  • PM: Thorough stretch (approx. 1 hour)
Another favorite rotation I often go back and tweak depending on my current goals is based on Body Beast and Masters Hammer Chisel (I usually throw in Shift Shop, PiYo, Hip Hop Abs...kind of make it a Beach Body rotation.) Let me know if that rotation interests you and I will post.

If the above posted rotation interests you, I can give you the exact workouts I have done up to this point and plan on doing on my "choice" days.

I am similar to you in that for weights, I prefer heavy, lower rep (I have done a rotation based off of Ripped With Hiit and XTrain), I do like HiiT cardio (for time savings, although I prefer to do steady state step for fun factor), however, I do prefer high impact over low impact (I see better results and don't have any physical limitations)...but I assume you could just substitute a low impact as needed and get great results.

When I did random workouts, I just didn't see the same (muscle) results. I am not sure why, possibly because I just did what I felt like that morning...and I probably always felt like step aerobics since that is my favorite. I needed to monitor that I was doing upper and lower weights twice per week with sprinkled in cardio.

I did a rotation a few years back for 1 year of "All Cathe, No Repeats." I loved it. I did, as the name implies, all Cathe workouts, but with zero exact repeats. I had a boilerplate of Sunday was steady state cardio, Monday & Wednesday were upper body, Tuesday & Thursday were lower body, Friday & Saturday were either Hiit, Full Body weights, Metabolic Weight Training, Circuit, or choice. That rotation was really fun and I recall seeing (muscle) results, but not as much as a more focused rotation.
Interested in what you did on your choice days, even though just reading that made my lower end tender, lol. I've always had better results with a planned rotation. I haven't really pushed for a while, time wise, and I haven't done two a day for years. That there though looks interesting, how far are you?
 
Interested in what you did on your choice days,

@112toGuru: I sent you a message. I am just starting my 6th week, out of 12 weeks.

I would love an STS + Body Beast rotation. Not quite sure how that would work, but those two series I get the most in muscle gains.

I would also love a rotation with Edge Booty Extreme 2. In fact, I think I am going to come up with that next, not sure what I would supplement it with. I just came across EBE2 and like it, however, it seems to be a bit lacking (for me) and I would want to supplement with more strength - maybe some Cathe MWT or Circuit work? Something with weights, but not a full on heavy lifting workout.
 

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