Almost DIED on my 8" stepper!!

D

Daniela78

Member
Hello- everyone- I have a little "step" experience to share and I was hoping someone could relate somehow!! I am relatively new to Cathe workouts- I've been doing them for about 3 1/2 weeks now. Until recently, I've only been exercising on my stepper top and 1 pair of risers - so only 6" high. I strted on her "basic step" DVD and graduated to her more intermediate - advanced DVD's such as "low impact circuit" and "low impact step & body sculpting" After 3 1/2 weeks, it has started to feel too "easy" on the 6" and not really challenging enough for me anymore- I didn't feel the same POWERFUL workout anymore, so......... yesterday evening i decided maybe i was ready to add my other set of risers and go for 8" since 6" seemed too easy........well..............I ALMOST DIED!!! I found myself cheating all the moves and wanting to quit early- It felt like i added another 12" instead of just 2"! I was pouring sweat everywhere and hot as hell! I don't want to go back to 6" since it felt too easy, but 8" was torture! Will I get used to it??? Thanks you guys! :)
Daniela:7
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

Were you able to finish the workout? If so, keep at it OR, you could get an advanced workout and start on a 4" and progress to a 6" when you are ready. Just an idea! Isn't it amazing what a measly 2" can do? Have FUN and don't kill yourself! :7


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!
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

The more you do it the easier it becomes. You are just challenging your body and it's confused. It will catch up, then you'll need to challenge yourself again. Isn't it great!

Janie

4760884_bodyshot_175x233.gif
[/url]

OOPS! Wardrobe malfunction!
The idea is to die young as late as possible.
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

Maybe you should consider doing 1/2 the work wiht 8 inch and last 1/2 with 6 inch of vice versa. I rarely use my 8 inch and I have been doing Cathe for years. There are a few workouts that I can use it with. I do IMAXes and Body Maxes alot and there is no way I can do those on an 8 inch. As time goes on, you will figure out what works and which videos you need to get your heart rate up and use the 8 inch. Good Luck!
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

I never use 8" and I have been doing Cathe workouts for 3 years. Back when I was in your position, I tried doing the easier workouts at 8" and it felt too hard on my joints, so I just started using the more advanced workouts at 6" and modifying them where needed, taking out some jumps or trickier footwork. I didn't like 8"; it didn't feel fun anymore. And I was worried I'd trip and hurt myself. Eventually I worked up to doing the advanced workouts as-is.

You may get used to it, but only you can decide what will work best for you. Try it a couple more times and see how you feel. Good luck!
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

I would agree with Jodi. I don't use risers at all when doing something like IMAX and only do one set for something like Low Max because my knees can't take it. I still get my sweat on though. ;)
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

>I would agree with Jodi. I don't use risers at all when
>doing something like IMAX and only do one set for something
>like Low Max because my knees can't take it. I still get my
>sweat on though. ;)

Ditto to what Beavs said. I always used to use 8 inches and then my knees had had enough. My back and knees scream now when I use 8 inches. Plus, it totally took the fun away from the workouts. They had a HUGE dreadfactor. Once I went down to using just one set of risers, I found the workouts much, much more fun and my knees and back rarely hurt anymore.

Allison

http://www.picturetrail.com/allisonj90
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

That extra two inches can really add intensity!

I agree with Affirm: use 8" for only part of the workout. Do the warm-up with a 6" step (a "stepper" is either a machine that simulates climbing stairs, or a person who does step aerobics), then switch to 8" for 1 or 2 sections, then go back to 6". It's no sin to drop back to a lower step level when you need to.

Look at it on the positive side: if you could do the whole workout easily on 8", it wouldn't be challenging for very long, and you'd have no benchmark to judge improvement by. Now, you can see your improvement as you do more and more of the workout with 8". But, as others have mentioned, you don't NEED to use 8"--ever--if you don't want to. Even Cathe herself uses a 6" step more often than 8" in most of her latest workouts (an exception is Low Max, but even on that one, she cautions us to use the height that works best for us).
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

Thanks so much for everyone's advice - you hid the nail on the head when you said that 8" made the workout's have a "dread factor" thant's exactly what I was thinking. I thought to myself "this is not fun anymore" and that made me really upset because until that point, I couldn't believe how much fun the workouts were! I went back to 6" yeasterday and It was much better!

Daniela
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

Like many of the others I can't do the 8" much anymore due to joint aches.

So what I do when I am feeling like it isn't challenging enough is add some jumps where Cathe doesn't have any - or try to find something else that will "pump it up" just a bit such as making sure to do deeper bends with your knees or lunge farther or deeper, etc.

If you can do that to a few of the sections it will make your workouts harder.
 
RE: Almost DIED on my 8

I thought you were gonna say you hurt yourself on the step. I recently fell off my step doing a Cathe tape and landed on my butt on a weight I got a huge black bruise right in the middle of my butt crack! You could even see it through my underwear.It was funny after the pain started to ease. Just thought I'd share!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top