Advice for a Newbie

DixieGirl

DixieGirl

Cathlete
Hello Cathletes,

I have never done any of Cathe's workouts but plan to start. I've been lifting weights "seriously" since Jan 2010 but have been doing cardio and light weights for years. I was mixing things up w/ DVD's by Jari Love, Jillian Michaels and Jackie Warner. I started a round of ChaLEAN Extreme in August and I'm on my final 30 days right now. What I love about CLX is the heavy weights/low reps. I asked Cathe on her forum where I should start and she suggested Meso 2 & 3 or the Gym Style series. I've been looking at the STS series but I'm super confused. Can I buy Meso 2 & 3 or do I have to buy the whole STS set? Or would it be best to start w/ Gym Style and if I did that how long do you all typically do Gym Style...one month or so? I would appreciate any suggestions and advice you all can pass along.
Thanks!
 
Hi there, you can buy the Meso's separately, however I would suggest if you are only going to buy one to start with Meso 2, it is the most traditional in terms of lifting, with about 12 reps using I think about 80% of your 1 rep max. Meso 3 is pretty great though, it uses really heavy weights for 8 reps, and reduces down to 6 reps over the 4 weeks, it's been a while since I did STS, so I'm a little foggy on the details.

Gym Styles, you can't go wrong either, this was the first set of dvds I got from Cathe, and I never looked back. I was so excited to find real weight lifting on dvds, I really could not believe, after working with a trainer for about 2 years that I could lift like that at home. I never really thought about how long to do them for, but 1 month is a good amount of time for a rotation, then do something else, then return to these.

I'll throw in one more, I just bought 4 Day Split last week, and this one is a winner! You get 4 30 minute cardio segments and 4 30 minutes weight segments split by body parts, and then loads of pre-mixes, there are so many different ways to use these dvds. I guess I did not even realize when I bought this set that the lifting in it is heavy lifting, but was really pleased to find such heavy routines in a 30 minute format.

Rotations are not my strong point, I tend to do what I feel like, but I am going to try to follow the 4 Day Split dvds for the 4 days a week for a month, and add in other dvds on the other days. I learned from my Tubo Fire rotation, that I will burn out completely on dvds too quickly if I do them too long and too frequently.

Good luck in whatever you choose, chances are you'll end up buying more after the first purchase. :D
 
Before investing in STS, I'd suggest starting with Gym Styles.
As Dela mentioned, the weight work in 4-Day Split is also very good.

Another good choice, though a bit dated in look (ie: sweatbands), would be Pure Strength.

Whatever strength rotation you choose, try it out for 4-6 weeks before going on to something different.
 
Thank you ladies for the advice! It's always intimidating for me when switching to a new program so I really appreciate you replying :) I've never done Split workouts before CLX but her workouts are very laid out and easy to follow. So, coming up w/ rotations is not my strong suit. The 4 Day Split sounds awesome, I'll definitely check that one out.

When you have done 4-6 weeks of one of Cathe's routines, do you typically do another Cathe workout or switch it up to another trainer? I'm so excited to try her workouts. I've heard so many good things about them for so long.

Thanks again :)
 
I just thought of something, you can take a look at all of Cathe's rotations in the workout manager, http://cathe.com/workout/, click Rotations, then choose Download a rotation, click Next, then choose Cathe Rotation. You can also view all the rotations put together by members too.
 
My first Cathe DVD was Muscle Endurance. It remains one of my favorite workouts. I almost like it better than the heavy lifting DVDs.

I agree that Gym Styles and Pure Strength also are really great for heavy lifting. And I just bought Muscle Max and love it too.

I still haven't invested in STS yet, but I hear Meso 2 is awesome. I may have to ask Santa for it. ;)

As for your question about switching it up... I typically always have a Cathe workout in my rotation no matter what. Even when I did CLX, I'd do Ab Circuits or Stretchmax or Bootcamp (subbing for the CLX cardio circuits sometimes). Once I started doing Cathe workouts, you really appreciate her technique and cuing. She really knows what she's talking about. You never feel lost or confused. And she does every set with you, which means a lot to me.

How exciting that you're just starting your Cathe adventure! You're going to LOVE it!! Let us know what you decide on!
 
Thanks Girls for the suggestions. I didn't realize Meso 2 was so expensive :eek:

I'll check out the others that Steph mentioned and Gym Style may be a good one to start w/ since it will be my first Cathe workout and it's a little cheaper. I've only got 2 1/2 weeks left of CLX so I better get on the ball and decide what I'm going to do next!

I am going to do a recovery workout series when I'm done w/ CLX. How long should I do it, one week or longer?
 
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