4-Day Split Results/The Next Step

BelovedHeather

BelovedHeather

Cathlete
Cathe:

You have accomplished what no man or woman before you has succeeded in doing! You created fun and effective weight workouts that I love, and I am hooked on weight training! :7 Many personal trainers have tried to convert me through the years without success. Go, Cathe!

I will be wrapping up your November rotation in the morning with Boot Camp. I love what I am seeing! Not only did I have to buy smaller jeans the night before Thanksgiving, but I am continuing to shrink all over and getting stronger every week! :7 Yippee! :7 Never did I dream or imagine I would be using 20-pound weights for incline chest work when 12-pound weights were “heavy” for me 7 weeks ago! Bring on STS!

How do I know when it is time to leave the 4-Day Split (*sniff, sniff*) and move forward with some of your other weight workouts? I have been doing these same workouts for 6 weeks. I am still having fun with them, but I am tempted to focus more on cardio and circuit training in December (for damage control in light of all the Christmas celebrations on my social calendar) and return to heavy weight work in January. I would hate to lose all the strength I have gained. Can I maintain my fitness gains with a month of circuit training? Do you have any suggestions for my next step?

Have a blessed weekend, and have fun with your family. :*

Blessings,
Heather B.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
 
Wow Heather....you have gotten amazing results...Woo hoo, you go girl! So glad to hear that the 4DS got you hooked. And smaller jeans the night before Thanksgiving???? That's enough to provoke the universal thought..."I'll have what she's having" :7

I'd say that after 6 weeks on this rotation it is a fair time to try another rotation with lesser emphasis onheavier weights to let the body actively recover. Then in January you will see that you will be very strong when you hit the heavier weights again....equalling or topping your current weight by the second week into the heavier program.

Any of my past rotations that are circuit/cardio based are fine.

Good luck and keep on moving and grooving:7
 
Cathe:

Thank you for the quick response! :) I followed your November rotation exactly as created, but I started on a Sunday morning instead of a Monday morning. I forgot to mention that I did Stretch Max every week and am seeing flexibility improvements too! The way you sequenced the rest days and stretch days made this rotation “just right” for me. I enjoyed a different cardio segment each week for the optional cardio day (HIS cardio the first week, Kickbox cardio the second week, LIS cardio the third week, and Boot Camp cardio yesterday). I am amazed at my results with just 5 short cardio sessions every week. It makes me wonder if less is more! I have read reviews that the cardio is too short or not intense enough, but I am convinced this is what allowed me to give my all to the heavy weight work. Even when working with personal trainers in the past, I never made significant strength gains.

Cardio is still more fun for me, so I need measurable results from weight workouts to feel like I am accomplishing something. ;-) Needless to say, I am very inspired! :7 Thank you, Cathe, for the time and creative energy you invest in producing new workouts. :*

Belinda, I rested on one of the “off” days and enjoyed a 30-minute cardio segment from one of the workouts on the other “off” day each week. I relaxed with Stretch Max on the stretch day (which is basically another rest day for me) and enjoyed Stretch Max immediately after Slow and Heavy Legs this week so I could have a full rest day. Here is my workout calendar for this November rotation:

11-04-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Higher Intensity Step
11-05-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Kickbox
11-06-07 a.m. Stretch Max
11-07-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Lower Intensity Step
11-08-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Boot Camp
11-09-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Higher Intensity Step (cardio premix)
11-10-07 rest

11-11-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Higher Intensity Step
11-12-07 rest
11-13-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Kickbox
11-14-07 a.m. Stretch Max
11-15-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Lower Intensity Step
11-16-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Kickbox (cardio premix)
11-17-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Boot Camp

11-18-07 rest
11-19-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Higher Intensity Step
11-20-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Kickbox
11-21-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Lower Intensity Step
11-22-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Boot Camp
11-23-07 a.m. Stretch Max
11-24-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Lower Intensity Step (cardio premix)

11-25-07 a.m. Slow and Heavy Legs + Stretch Max
11-26-07 rest
11-27-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Higher Intensity Step
11-28-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Kickbox
11-29-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Boot Camp (cardio premix)
11-30-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Lower Intensity Step
12-01-07 a.m. 4-Day Split Boot Camp

Blessings,
Heather B.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
 
Heather: congratulations on your progress!
I'm glad Cathe was able to convert you to weight training--it is SOOO good for us. Keep up the good work.
 
Heather--I remember your discouraged post about your first week with heavier weights. Aren't you glad you hung in there? You are doing great.

You go girl!
Maggie:)
 
>Heather--I remember your discouraged post about your first
>week with heavier weights. Aren't you glad you hung in there?
>You are doing great.
>

Exactly! Great job, Heather!!! :)

Leanne
 
Heather,

Thanks for asking this question, and Cathe thanks for answering. I was wondering the same thing. I've been doing the 4DS, (well at least the weight segments) for the past 6 weeks, and while I am still enjoying it, I felt it was time for me to move on to something else, and exactly what Cathe recommended, is what I had planned to do, but wasn't quite sure if it was the right approach, now I feel much better.

Congratulations on your progress Heather. You rock :)
 
4-Day Split Results/December Rotation

Thank you for the encouragement, Kathryn, Belinda, Maggie, and Leanne. Yes, I am glad I kept pressing on!

Iris, after faithfully finishing Cathe’s November rotation yesterday, I am enjoying a restful day and looking forward to starting Cathe’s December rotation tomorrow morning. It looks great and will be just right for my December schedule with 60-minute workouts! I was hoping for more cardio, circuits, and total body workouts this month as well as Sunday rest/stretch days! I have also been thinking about the Intensity Series and Body Blast Series. I did not have the mental energy to plan a rotation, so I jumped for joy when I saw what Cathe posted.

The November 4-Day Split rotation was very good to me. :) Cathe knows how to plan an effective rotation! ;-) Here are my official results for November that I recorded on my Cathe calendar yesterday:

-10 pounds
-1" chest
-3" waist
-3" abdomen
-3" hips
-1" right thigh
-1" right calf
-1" right upper arm

I am delighted with these results (especially considering the mashed potatoes and pumpkin cheesecake in the mix Thanksgiving week)!

Cathe, thank you for the great rotation and fun workouts! Thank you for creating another fun rotation for December too with my favorite workout (Rhythmic Step) on Christmas morning! :7 The Christmas parties are starting tonight, so I will need the extra cardio and circuit training this month to burn off the treats I am planning to enjoy (in moderation).

I hope y’all are having a blessed and fun weekend! I am so inspired and excited after wrapping up my first Cathe rotation, and I am looking forward to starting my second one! :7

Blessings,
Heather B.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
 
RE: 4-Day Split Results/December Rotation

I'll have what she HAD! Ha! Great job, Heather. You worked hard to receive these wonderful results. And 10 pounds lighter??? You go girl! I can't wait to hear what happens after your December rotation. You are on your way to a very healthy and happy 2008!!!


http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid8692709


Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance, I Hope You DANCE!
 
Heather so glad you have discovered the joy of heavy weight training. I know it was hard for me at first because I did not want to become bigger than I already was. When I dropped clothing sizes the first 2 months, and muscle started shining through, I was a convert.....and that was 25 years ago.

You go girl, nothing can stop you now!
 
Heavy Weights

Dorothy:

You are one who encouraged me to stick with the heavy weights! Thank you so much! I am looking forward to starting a 12-week rotation with heavy weights in January. Thanks for the encouragement!

Blessings,
Heather B.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
 
Debbie and Kathy!!!!

Debbie and Kathy:

Thank you both for cheering for me and encouraging me! I learned a powerful lesson this week the hard way: 10 days of sparkly clean eating + one night of Christmas party fun = a hardcore food hangover. Ugh, ugh, ugh! Since y’all want what I am having, do you want some of this too. LOL! As careful as I tried to be, I think I ate something I am allergic to because my ankles are still swollen and appear to have donuts around them 5 days later! Eek! I will be having lots of water with lemon this weekend.

Blessings,
Heather B.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
 
Congratulations Heather on the wonderful success. You go girl!

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible
 
RE: Debbie and Kathy!!!!

I had to pipe in and join the cheerleading squad!;-) Heather, thanks so much for sticking with the rotation. I was afraid of it at first, heavy weights (was scared of the bulk thing) and less cardio (in my mind that means more bodyfat) but I am in my second week of November's rotation and have to say, I feel so good! These workouts are frankly the best ever!

I wrote a thank you to Cathe, hope she got it. But seriously, I forgot what a joy it is to really push yourself hard and know that you will be totally worked out in one hour.:) I look forward to good results from this rotation too. You inspired me to give it a try, all my best to you!:)
 
RE: Heavy Weights

>Dorothy:
>
>You are one who encouraged me to stick with the heavy weights!
> Thank you so much! I am looking forward to starting a
>12-week rotation with heavy weights in January. Thanks for
>the encouragement!
>
>Blessings,
>Heather B.
>
>“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for
>the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
>

Thank you! That is a very nice post.
 
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