:-)

[FitSaxe]

Here is a relevant rotation from Cathe. No need to guess.Pure strength is lined up.

April 2026 Rotation

Hi Everyone, This month we’ll be mixing things up by re-visiting some older series along with some newer routines. Each week you’ll have multiple weight lifting days along with some mixed cardio. Feel free to replace any of the step related workouts with a cardio of choice if you’re not a...

cathe.com

Hi Everyone,

This month we’ll be mixing things up by re-visiting some older series along with some newer routines. Each week you’ll have multiple weight lifting days along with some mixed cardio. Feel free to replace any of the step related workouts with a cardio of choice if you’re not a stepper. Add in extra recovery workouts or rest days as needed. Work hard and have fun!

Week 1
M…Slow & Heavy Legs & Shoulders
T… Perfect HiiT Low Impact
W… Slow & Heavy Chest & Back
T… Functional Core Fusion
F… Slow & Heavy Triceps & Biceps
S… OFF
S… IMAX 4

Week 2
M… Elevated Lower Body
T… All Out Low Impact HiiT
W…Elevated Upper Body
T… Cardio Super Sets
F… Elevated Total Body
S… OFF
S… IMAX 3

Week 3
M… Pure Strength Strong Legs & Abs
T… Low Impact HiiT Two
W… Pure Strength Back, Biceps & Abs
T… Slide & Glide
F… Pure Strength Chest, Shoulders & Triceps
S… OFF
S… IMAX 2

Week 4
M… STS 2.0 Lower Body 2
T… Low Impact HiiT One
W… STS 2.0 Upper Body 1
T… Afterburn
F… STS Total Body
S… OFF

Premixes from imaxes can be substituted instead of an hour. Same for after burn. yes imaxes are plyo to strengthen bones!

 

[Soapmaker]

Steady state - no intervals or sprints.

I usually do Cathe's dvds for cardio. Her low impact HIT & kickbox mostly. I use Kaleigh Cohen YouTube for spin workouts - she almost always has intervals of some kind. Outside it's usually biking now. Because of the terrain, there's usually built-in hill work for sprinting.


You might like Gin Miller's 100 Rep workout - I think it's free on YouTube now. My sis enjoys taking all the 100 Rep Challenges from Cathe's Xtrain bonuses to make a high rep workout. She's asked for a 100 rep TB from Cathe - don't think it'll be forthcoming.


I've pulled out my copy of Sim's Next Level. She lists Tabatas, 40/20 and 30/30 HIITS, Hill Repeats, Kettlebell swings as some options. So many of Cathe's cardio fit in this for the SIT category. And the small jumps she includes will satisfy some of the jump training recommended. Adding on some All-out intervals to any cardio seems do-able. Yesterday I added on some Kettlebell Swing intervals - short & sweet.

I found a Cathe blog article that suggested doing one set of a exercise in a lifting workout and making it a strength set (heavier wt/fewer reps) instead of a hypertrophy or endurance set to get that heavy set in. I thought that was an interesting way to incorporate a heavier set into an existing dvd workout.

So obviously there's more than one way to modify workouts/rotations to incorporate the Sims protocols.

Thank you for the Gin Miller 100 rep workout recommendation. I had it for years and tried it for the first time yesterday. She moves so fast in a lot of the segments. I was doing 1 rep for every 2 she did. There were no chapters so I was rewinding all the time. I can't see myself using it. However, I liked the format. Splitting 100 reps into 4 25rep sets with some progression added to each set is not a bad idea. Even Cathe might be open to this idea. Maybe a hi rep workout or 2 with compound moves.

I've used the Xtrain 100 rep challenges in the past. I haven't done them recently. I need to put them in the right order in their own folder so they can played like a full workout. I also dug up some of the Power Music RIP workouts. I bought them and never tried them. I guess it's time since I'm looking for hi rep workouts.

I add higher rep warm up sets to the STS2 workouts and I do 4 sets instead of 3. It's supposed to decrease LDL cholesterol better than 3 sets. I've also added a heavy set at the end of a high rep workout, just to reach that totally spent feeling. I figured it won't hurt. I'm glad this approach is recommended.

I looked today at a workout from Metashred called Light Weight Leanout (annoying instructor that doesn't stop talking). It has a lot of moves that can be used for a weighted HIIT workout. It is on youtube. It uses light weights with higher speed power moves that require full core engagement. They can be slowed to use heavier weights. I'll be testing some to see if I can find an equivalent to the kettlebell swings for the front of the body. I think they'll work similar to the cycling HIIT protocol but better. They can be added to any cardio.

I limit high impact to no more than 4 to 5 min per workout, 20 to 25 min per week. I'm afraid it can do more damage to the bones than can be repaired. I'm with you on the low impact HIIT and KB workouts for cardio. The low impact from P30 is our most used cardio workout.

Youtube recommended to me:

I've never heard of this guy (Jeremy Ethier) but he seems to know his science. He and another guy trained one side with heavy weight ~6 reps per set and the second side with lighter weights higher reps (~15 to 30), both sides to failure, to see which side responds better. After 60 days, he used a total body MRI scan to measure the results. The only muscle that responded better to heavy weights was the illiopsoas which nobody can see. The lighter weights worked better for everything else. This is consistent with academic studies I've seen before. Too bad he didn't measure bone density.

 

[Soapmaker]

There is no guess to do do with Cathe's programs. Have you got Burnset from xtrain?

Anyone into progressive load can do 4 to 6 weeks gradually increasing from 70% to 90-95% one rep max.
Now for some people it is repetitive but I do not mind. Now this workout was designed to lift to failure. I would not recommend both. So no lifting to failure and increasing progressively. None of that!

This IMHO is a tweak relevant to Dr Stacy Sims recommendation. I am not taking her advise asking to skip Biceps and triceps training. Personal! BTW What do you think about that?

I have the Xtrain set on dvds and downloads. I haven't done any of those workouts for a while. I have to dig them out. The 100 rep challenges are very appealing to me right now.

My suggestions (based on my body type/preferences): for the biceps, I would change or add 1 set of bicep curls at 45o angle and drop the weight a bit. Maybe do more reps instead. I would add a finisher with close grip bicep curls, palms facing each other and dumbbells touching, lighter weights and higher rep number to failure.

 

[Soapmaker]

Thanks for posting this ... I found it interesting. Jeremy is the "Built by Science" guy! Many people find heavy lifting difficult on the joints; even Tom Venuto said he can't lift heavy like he used to after he hit age 50. Even Stacy Sims is now saying it doesn't have to be heavy as long as it is hard/challenging. I agree, it'd be nice if Jeremy included bone density changes in his challenge.

I think Jeremy's 60 day expensive experiment proved that for building muscle mass medium rep range works the same for younger people too, whether they are novices or experienced. The key is lifting to failure.