advice on starting cathe workouts

[mediclover]

Hello, I am new to cathe workouts. I am confused as to what dvds i should get to start. I just finished p90x, and before that the firm, currently I run 3 days a week and strength train the other 3. I have seen Cathe on fittv, and think that this would be a good fit for me. I am wondering tho if the beginning rotation would be challenging enough or should I try something else (as I am not new to step or weight training). Also I want to keep my running days intact (at least until my Half marathon in October). My fitness goals are to lose 10 more pounds, tone and strengthen - I also need to add more stretching. I'm sure that these questions have been asked before, and I apologize for asking again. I just feel a little lost looking thru the forums. thank you for any help.
Sandi

 

[marcy]

Hi Sandi,

Welcome. Also, congrats on completing P90X. I just completed it myself a few weeks ago. If you completed the X and are not new to step or weight training , I don't think you have to start with the beginner rotation. First, do you like heavy strength training or high rep/low weight? If you were able to do Plyo X without a problem, you might like to try Cathe's IMAXes. Here's a little breakdown:

Interval Max ("IMAX of IMAX 1") - Intense with basic, athletic choreography.
IMAX 2 - the easiest of the IMAXes with fun music and more dancier choreography than IMAX 1.
IMAX 3 - the toughest of the three - danciest choreography and hardest blasts with less recovery time between each interval.

If you want more low impact with blasts (but still high intensity), I would recommend Low Max.

As far as strength training, most of Cathe's strength work is endurance. If you really like heavy weight training, I would recommend Slow & Heavy. She usually does 3 sets of 8 reps with a slow 2-6 or 6-2 count. Also, the Gym Styles are really great and I achieved a lot of strength with them. Pure Strength is an older version of the Gym Styles and usually has 10 reps per set and they are slightly shorter workouts. All of these are split sets. All the others are endurance workouts and are also total body workouts such as Power Hour, Maximum Intensity Strength, Muscle Endurance, Muscle Max, Pyramid Upper & Lower Body. The real tough one for me is Muscle Endurance. I much prefer heavy lifting so for me I pretty much stick with Gym Styles & Slow & Heavy.

For stretching, I would get Stretch Max. These are 3 workouts - one with no equipment, one with the stability ball and one with the resistance band. They are all 20 mins. I really enjoy this DVD with the first workout being my favorite. I feel the most stretched out from this one. She also has a Total Body Stretching DVD but I don't have that one so can't comment. You might want to take a look at the video clip.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Marcy

 

[mediclover]

Thank you Marcy for replying. Wondering now, how you would work all the workouts in with running days included. I usually like one day off a week and one day totally devoted to a long run, as I might be out for two hours. When I did p90x, everything was mapped out day by day and I just added running as a double twice a week and then subbed the long run for kenpo - now I feel like a fish out of water and don't know what to do with myself. Anymore help would be appreciated - oh also, I work 12 hour night shifts- usually walking most of the time, so I tend to have fatigued legs alot.
Sandi

 

[teach4s]

I am in the same boat. I have yet to do a rotation because I don't want to give up my 3 running days. I'm nervous that if I stop running I will gain weight. When I run 6 miles I burn off close to 650 calories. I'm afraid the tapes won't burn off as many calories.

I think it would be good for me to do more cross training though.
I would also love to hear suggestions
Thanks!

 

[mediclover]

I've been looking thru the rotations a little more and there's a few that I wouldn't mind doing - like aug '04, but in order to get all the dvd's needed I would have to pay around $600. So now my question is, can someone suggest a good rotation for weight loss / strength training that would include my running and only a couple of dvds to start?
Sandi

 

[lainiefig]

Maybe what you need is just a generic rotation that you can add in your own DVDs or running.

Here's a rotation alternating total body weights with running or other cardio:

Day 1: Total Body Weights (such as Muscle Max or whatever you have)
Day 2: Cardio (running or step aerobics) I believe interval training is great for weight loss, though maybe not too many times a week. So either an interval run or an Imax type video.
Day 3: Total Body Weights or a Total Body Circuit video (such as Low Impact Circuit or whatever you have)
Day 4: Cardio (running, step, kickboxing, whatever you like) Maybe you could try steady state on this day as a change from day 2's interval training
Day 5: Total Body Weights
Day 6: More Cardio of your choice
Day 7: rest or yoga

I'm no expert, but I like to fiddle with rotation ideas myself and I've been reading up on it plenty.

Another rotation could be doing an upper body/lower body split like this:

Day 1: Upper Body (such as Pyramid Upper Body)
Day 2: Cardio
Day 3: Lower Body (such as Pyramid Lower Body)
Day 4: Cardio
Day 5: Total Body Weights or Circuit
Day 6: Cardio
Day 7: rest or yoga

And a third idea would be a 3-day split:

Day 1: Part upper body (something like Gym Style Back, Shoulders & Biceps)
Day 2: Cardio
Day 3: Lower Body (Gym Style Legs or similar)
Day 4: Cardio
Day 5: Other part upper body (like Gym Style Chest & Triceps)
Day 6: Cardio
Day 7: rest or yoga

One great suggestion I got was if I wanted to fit in extra core work and extra stretching to do the core work on weights days and do extra stretching (like a segment of Stretch Max) after cardio because when my body was very warm it would stretch better (something like that).

I hope this is helpful for you!


***Lainie***

http://web.mac.com/lainiefig/iWeb/Site/Exercise/Exercise.html

"The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself." -- Mark Twain

 

[mediclover]

Thank you Lainie and Marcy for your ideas. So, after all of that, I end up pulling a hip muscle and have been halted from running for about 2 and half weeks now. My ortho doc told me I could exercise as long as it didn't hurt. Well, running hurts, cycling hurts, walking hurts. Pretty much I've just been strength training and attempting to agua jog (which I do not like). In the meantime tho, I have purchased the DVD's for the Dec 06 rotation, and am eagerly awaiting my hip to feel better. Unfortunately, I think I'll have some more fat to burn, as I seem to be eating more junk because I'm frustrated. Have people gotten good results with fat burning with the Dec 06 rotation?