Any Cathe beginners?

Yup! It's another hot day here! Yesterday i did 2 segments of my Shiva Rea beginner DVD. I'm getting more comfortable with the routine and her flow style. Now that i'm getting familiar with this one, i'm going to try and add another one into the mix next week.

Jennifer: Great job on getting in your walk despite the heat. Keep up the great work. It's also inspiring to see how much weight you have lost on your ticker.

Pam: Swimming definitely counts as a workout! And thanks for checking in even if you didn't do your planned workouts. We all need to remember to check in during the challenges as well as when we are doing well.

Have a good one.
 
Mid-week check-in

Pam (and others): I notice that this is the only thread I read on the Cathe site this week that notes the heat wave in eastern Canada and the north-east US. My place of work is not air conditioned, and I am under a tin roof -- so I work from 8am to 3 pm before giving up for the day (this is what I did the last three days, and for tomorrow). So I hope the group here is finding ways of keeping cool!

For this reason yesterday I kept my exercize session short -- but I have decided not to have an "off" day this week. I did both ends of Cathe's "pyramid" set -- the lower and upper body videos -- and this was the high point for this week's worouts.

Elle: I think the Cathe forums were shut down for about 24hrs (was it Sunday night and Monday?) -- and I am so addicted to these forums I was in a quiet panic worrying that they would be permanently shut down (think how bad that would be). I will also fess up I pigged out (a bit for lunch) at a Burger King -- and that threw me off for the rest of Wednesday.

Nancy: and on that point, you are so right about the diet and the most important part of losing weight. And my 5-7 weight loss (to come) will take the rest of the summer and well into Sept/Oct (Sigh!:( ). On your question aout KCM -- I like her a lot, mostly the earlier strength videos. Her first video "Complete Cardio Sculpting" is well-received by reviewers. It is laid-back, easy to follow -- and I like the way KCM mixes fast sculpting (with light weights) with easy to follow aerobics.

Bridget: I didn't realize you were also doing Cahte's "pyramid" DVD this week. Good work with the heavy weights on PLB. I'll try High Step Circuit. I passed it by, thinking the "High" in the video title meant it was super-advanced in speed and complexity. I take it it mixes stepping with strength intervals (?). Thanks for the DOMS story. I was having intermediate (not serious) DOMS while doing STS last summer -- and from there --and it came from nowhere -- I suffered a slight muscle tear in my left forearm -- which started me off the wagon (my docter says it was "slight" -- but I felt nothing slight about it).

Jen: and speaking of STS, I made it midway through Meso 2 -- and if I can do it (with some modifications), anyone can do it. But as the posters on the STS site say, it is very hard and trying. Especially the legs sessions. Very very difficult these -- since one is doing legs for 50 minnutes straight. One idea is to start with Meso 1 only -- and do a reduced (2 times a week?) schedule. This is what I plan to do next year in January.

Take care guys and keep cool.
 
Hi all, hope everyone is having a great day and staying cool. I debated on whether I wanted to do my lunch walk today as it is extremely hot and humid here. After I got off work yesterday, I ended up walking through part of an 800 acre cornfield with a walkie talkie talking to a pilot in an ultra-light plane guiding me to where he had located my father’s radio controlled airplane he had crashed the other night – boys and their toys . . . Needless to say, if I could spend time among the 14 feet corn stalks in sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt, I figured I could brave my 2 mile walk today. I didn’t enjoy it, but I did it!

Pam: Good to hear from you and Happy Belated Birthday! What did you end up doing on Tuesday night for your birthday? Don’t feel bad for not working out since 7/5, we all go through phases feeling like that and besides, with all of the swimming and catching you’re doing, I’d say you’re getting a really good workout while spending some quality time with the boys and who could feel bad about that one?! Besides, if I had the chance to play in the pool with the boys, I damn well wouldn’t be walking in this heat either!!! ;)

By the way, talking about swimming, this past weekend I got to swim three out of my four days off; however, on Workout Manager, swimming isn’t listed, but water aerobics is. While I don’t want to lull myself into thinking I am getting a better workout than I actually am, does anyone have any suggestions on how to post swimming activity on WM?

Elle: How long have you been doing yoga? I haven’t tried it other than some of the yoga inspired ab & stretch workouts on Cathe’s dvds and either I’m too fat to do the moves correctly or I just don’t have the coordination to do the poses (damn near killed myself during one session.) I have been on Prevention’s website and printed off some beginning yoga moves, but haven’t attempted them yet—any advice?

Dave: What the heck do you do that you work under a tin roof with no air conditioning—my hats off to you, you are now my new hero and every time I get ready to do my lunch walks, I will be inspired thinking about you under your tin roof. Great job on doing both Pyramid workouts—hope it was air conditioned when you worked out!

Since we are all confessing our “sins”, after my trek in the corn field, I ate a submarine sandwich, had four peanut butter cookies and then felt guilty for the rest of the night. :eek:

Thanks for the advice on STS. I may see if I am able to get the Meso 1 from Craigslist and give it a whirl. I don’t relish doing a straight 50 minutes of leg work, but I am willing to start out slow and modify as needed. I watched the video on Cathe’s site and thought the leg exercises looked like they would produce great results fairly fast and right now, that is my biggest problem area. Doing a reduced 2X a week sounds like a good way to start to me.
 
Took an unscheduled rest day yesterday, I think the heat in the Northeast is getting to me, but I did Supersets this morning, which felt good. At WW today I gained 0.4lbs, though thank goodness I had the foresight to check my measurements a month ago. I lost an inch in my bust, waist, hips & 1/2 on each thigh. I would be more disappointed if I lost a mess of weight, but my measurements stayed the same.

My WW counselor said that it is because I am exercising pretty intensely, not necessarily that I had to cut back, but to be patient and wait for it. I am going away next week, not sure how close I can keep to the plan...

Tomorrow I have a card, either IMAX2 or Cardio Fusion, haven't decided yet. Saturday morning I want to do Body Max2 before we leave- then I can nap in the car as we drive up to the mountains!!! (I am so excited!!)

Jen- STS intrigues me, if I bought it I would do it as a download I think, but like Elle, I have so many workouts now that I need to use the ones that I have. Fessing up- I had some of my daughter's double stuff oreo cookies this week (but still stayed within my point spread!)

Elle- Step Blast is fun- I like the Body Blast series, and I often find myself singing the songs (Abra abracadabra) all day after doing it.

Pam- happy birthday! Don't fret, the workouts will be there for you when you are ready to return.

David- OW! on the muscle tear, that has to hurt, just to add more fear to DOMS. What on earth do you do under a hot tin roof?
 
I realized I forgot to check in yesterday and seems like I have some catching up to do! Love it! Yesterday was Fire 55 EZ class and today was the Core 20 and Stretch 40 classes.

Bridget:
Awesome job with High Step Challenge! I think Turbo Fire looks scarier than it is but it is a lot of fun! And if you can do Cathe's workouts, you won't have an issue with them. They're still intense but I think Cathe is even harder for most workouts - they are just different from her so it is a good change. And I hear you on not needing to buy any more workouts. :)

Congratulations on the inches lost! I'd much prefer inch loss to scale weight because it means your body is changing and clothes will fit better! I bet it is just a temporary adjustment and it'll catch up next week...stay strong and focused!

Jennifer:
I can't imagine walking 2 miles or that much at all in that heat...I can barely stand it for the 2 blocks from the parking garage to work. LOL HiiT 15 is good and tough. Sculpt 30 was OK but not a favourite - although I was surprisingly really sore in the shoulders the next day (and still a little today). It's a resistance band workout so don't know if it is because I haven't done one in awhile or what. I would say the Turbo Fire workouts are really good for the cardio and HiiT workouts. The strength ones are OK but I think Cathe's are so much better.

Elle:
I don't know about you but I've had enough of the hot and humid weather. LOL They say it is supposed to be cooler on Friday but it doesn't seem like it! Great job with the yoga and other workouts.

Pam:
Happy Belated Birthday!! Hope you had a fantastic day!

I have found the same thing with some days this week - the heat and humidity are so tiring and it makes the workouts even harder. And swimming definitely counts!

David:
I could not function without air conditioning! I'm such a wimp but I've never tolerated humidity very well. I remember working at a place once where it broke down and it was awful so the fact that you are able to stick it out as long as you are in the day is amazing! Thanks for the info on KCM...will definitely have to check out her workouts.

As for the 5-7 weight loss, it is going to happen! I know it's frustrating that it seems to take longer (especially when it can come on so much faster or at least seems that way) but you are doing great things for your health and that's the most important part. Keep up the good work and your body will have no choice but to respond. :) And don't stress over the eating slip-ups...forget them and move on.
 
Just a quick check in before we go- I did Body Fusion all step mix, then got lazy and stopped to cool down after I hit 25 minutes on the counter.

No worries, we are going on vacation tomorrow, driving up way north to the Adirondack mountains, north of Saranac Lake NY for lots of R&R.

Take care everyone, will keep you all in my thoughts!

Bridget
 
Just checking in for the night. Hope everyone is doing well and staying cool. Walked my 2 miles today, but ended up doing it later in the day around 3 PM since I was the only one at work in the office today. I don't know whether it has been the heat and humidity or what, but I feel like I have been hit with a Mack truck! I think I will take a break tomorrow and try to swim some if the weather permits.

Bridget: Have a great vacation at the Adirondack mountains and enjoy the R&R! Can't wait to hear how it was when you get back!
 
I've finished Week 2 of Turbo Fire and am on week 3. Today was Fire 45 EZ + Stretch 10 and it was tough even though there were no drills. It was just nonstop combos.

Bridget:
Hope you have a fantastic vacation!!

Jennifer:
Great job with the walk today. It probably is the humidity - I find the same thing if I am outside for too long in it.
 
Sunday morning check-in

Hi everybody. I hope you guys are finding ways of keeping cool. They say the heatwave may be coming to an end:) . I find that posting the upcoming week's schedule works -- since so far I haven't wimped out, and the past week I managed to put in an extra workout on my scheduled day off:
S: Cathe's "Power Hour
M: Cathe's "Home Step"/"Fit and Firm"
T: Cathe's "Maximum Intensity Strength"
W: Kathy Smith's "Step Workout"
F: Amy Bento's "Slo-Mo Strength Challenge"
S: KCM's "Complete Cardio Sculpting"

The first five days video's are VHS tapes -- and my player shows them in "grainy" form -- which means I should start spending some $$ on DVDs to replace them.

Last week I came away inpressed with Jari Love's "Extremely Ripped 1000". I disagree with the marketing of this video -- her web page boast of a "ripped look" (like her crew on the video), which is not that realistic for people on the other side of the TV. Having said that, the video challenges everone at any level -- and one gets a good burn at the end.

Pam and Jen: swiming counts as exercize, and it's better with all the sun and fun! Jen: Good work on using weights with walking. Like a klutz I searched Canadian Tire and Walmart for them (no luck), but then re-discovered an unused pair in my exercize-room closet (the closet has a whole bunch of unused db's, bands, little yellow balls, etc. -- of videos's I've stopped using years ago. These leg weighta are velcro and adjustable (where one puts in 1/2# iron weights) -- so I think I will start with 1# each and go from there, starting tomorrow, to work. Jen: walking through a cornfield on a hot day makes me think of Mel Gibson's "Signs" (just kidding).

Jen, Bridget and Nancy: where I live, we are supposed to have cool summers -- and in the winters we have 3-5 feet of snow on the ground for two months of the year. So my university put tin roods on all of its buildings -- which makes it difficult for people working on top floors (like me). This past Friday, it was 30 C here (87 F?), so I left work at 12 noon. I have no air conditioning at my home, but it is more tolerable than work -- and makes exercize sessions more effective. Some of you south of the border must have hot days:(.

Elle: I know how you feel about BBQs. I am allowed only 1 serving of red meat a week -- and my church BBQs force me to go off that wagon. What is the Shiva Rea DVD like? For my new aerobics videos, I want to buy more "boot camp" stuff. Anyone have any recommendations?
 
Hey all, checking in after work. Hope everyone had a great weekend! Spent Saturday and Sunday at the pool and then decided I better walk the dogs, so I took them on a 1.3 mile walk Saturday evening after it cooled down some. Walked today at lunch and I think today has been the worst day since I started when it comes to the heat and humidity and it is suppose to get worse as the week goes on – UGH!! :(

Dave: How did you walk to work go using your 1# weights? I thought about getting ankle weights like you described where I could increase or decrease the amount of weight, but then I figured I probably wouldn’t put more than 5# in them and after walking with 5# ankle weights, I definitely DO NOT think I am going to go out and buy 10# ankle weights to try to walk with!

Sounds like you get the extreme weather on both ends! I hate high humidity and I hate cold, wet, snowy winters. Plus, you don’t have air conditioning at home!?!? I’m impressed, how do you manage? I don’t think I could live somewhere with high humidity and no air—you truly are my hero! And by the way, if I could earn what Mel Gibson earned for “Signs” I’d walk through a cornfield every day it was hot! :)

Hope everyone is doing well.
 
It's been busy with work and more family get-togethers! For the most part i have been able to plan ahead and stay on track but i'm using all of my weekly flex points, but that's what they're for right?
I worked 8:30-6:00 on sunday so i'm hoping to take Friday off. After a long day on sunday i got great news: the CFO (my boss) is "resigning".:D Can't you tell that I don't like the man? i won't be missing him much!

David: Hope you enjoyed your Burger King lunch. If you're going to pig out, make sure it's worth it!:D No A/C at the university you work at? That sounds awful! When you said "tin roof" i wasn't picturing a university! I have Cathe's Bootcamp and it was tough the one time i attempted it.:p If you're looking for a bootcamp workout though, i recommend it. Shiva Rea's style is a flow from one posture to the next (vinyasa). I find it to be a great balance between challenging but feeling relaxed if that makes sense.

Bridget: Have a wonderful vacation and do your best to stay on track but don't stress about it. Just enjoy yourself.

Jennifer: Great job sticking with your walks. I've been doing yoga on and off for at least 15 years and I have students of all shapes and sizes. A lot of my heavier students are the most advanced since a lot of it has to do with the mind. When you open up and bend the mind, the body will open up and bend as well. Just do what you can and don't get discouraged. Yoga is not a competition and it won't look perfect but that's why we call it a yoga practice. You just keep trying and one day it all comes together.

Phoenix: What's Turbo Fire all about? I was looking at CLX a while back but decided to focus on using the workouts i do have instead of adding more to my collection.

Pam: Happy belated birthday! hope you had a great day!
 
Hi everyone! Sorry I've been MIA for a while. As you know, I was feeling pretty unmotivated last week and the heat had a lot to do with that. The humidity and the overall oppressive feeling just sucked the life out of me. :(

I finally got a short work out in yesterday. I did the step portion of Body Max 2, but only the first 3 combos. I attempted a bit of the 1st blast, but that was it. Still, even though it was only about 30 minutes, it was better than nothing, which is what I have been doing.

I also started back with journaling my food intake yesterday. I am a member of WW and I have had great success with it in the past. I know that writing it all down is a big key for me, and yet I get lazy and don't do it or put it off until later...which usually never comes.

So, I tracked everything I ate yesterday. Every little bite. I'm taking each day as it comes and really thinking about my choices. One day at a time, right?

Sorry, I don't have time for personals right now. But I will be back later to check in with everyone. I hope you are all doing great and having a wonderful week!
 
Mid-week check-in

My VHS player broke down -- but I hung in there and replaced it with another player I had as a back-up. So far this week I have kept my exercize schedule.

Pam: I am like you and cut back on my workout duration, in the heat. Here north of the border, in my town, it was 28C (82F) --and while you did 30 minutes of Body Max 2 (a tough advanced tape), I only did 40 minutes of a beginner's step VHS tape.

Jen: No A/C here in my house, so I drink lots of water and I pace myself. Last week it hit 31C (or about 87F) -- and at that temp it was hard to do the workouts. But that might be the hottest it will get this year (hopefully). Here it's fairly dry -- not that humid.

Bridget: On that note, last year before my "slight" muscle tear -- I was doing 1 hour+ regularly each day, including STS. Coming back after months on the wagon, I am only doing 45 minutes now at a maximum.

My copy editor teaches Hip-hop aerobics in Toronto (a 45-year-old gradmother btw) -- and last year she told me "not to overdo it". And this year she still tells me, long distance, to pace myself and to listen to my body. I think a little steady DOMS is a good thing, I have that now. But I want to pace myslef this summer -- and hope to do an STS session maybe once a week at most.

Elle: This week I am slowly -- too slowly -- inproving my eating. I am up to 6/7 fruits/vegs a day. Today I am starting to eat an apple a day, before lunch. I am going to try to steer clear of the fast-food places.

See you guys next week!!!
 
This week's rotation

Guys, my rotation for this week:
S: Cathe's S&H "Legs and shoulders"
M: leafleting for church (4 mile walk)
T: K. Anderson, "Go Step"
W: Cathe's S&H "Chest and Back"
T: Step Reabok "The Video"
F: Cathe" S&H "Triceps and Biceps"
S: Amy Dixon "Super Fit Bod"

Take care. How is everyone dealing with the heat?
-- David
 
Checking in before beginning my work week tomorrow. This past week has been the week from h#%! and this up coming week doesn't look to be any better. I did manage to walk every day last week with the exception of Friday due to being the only one in the office with a temp and I didn't even have time to eat lunch. Although, maybe that is a good thing because when I weighed Saturday, I lost 3.6#!

Pam: I understand going through phases of unmotivation, as a matter of fact, I struggle with those quite often. I think I was getting frustrated with how I was doing my Cathe workouts in the evening and with it being so hot and humid, I just couldn't push myself to do anything more than 30 minutes at the most. And usually, I counted down every flipping minute until I reached that 30 minute mark. I think that is one reason why I am so persistant with my lunch walk, because I get the workout done during the day and then I can relax during the evening and anything I do during the evening hours is just a "bonus". Don't fret, I am sure it will pass and just keep praising yourself for doing the 30 minutes! You could have just decided not to do anything. And above all else, remember we are all here for you!:)

Dave: Good for you on eating 6-7 fruits/veggies during the day and I have always heard to eat an apple before a meal and it will fill you up so you don't eat as much! I LOVE HARD, CRISP APPLES, but around Ohio they aren't too good until the fall so I don't buy them at the grocery store.

I have been trying to get in 3 servings of veggies and 3 servings of fruit each day, although I don't always succeed with the fruit so I will substitute a small glass of low-sugar orange juice for one of the fruits and even then I still don't always get all 3 servings in. :confused: My biggest problem with eating is that if I don't eat the correct proportions of carbs, protein, dairy, veggies and fruit in a day (I try to eat 5 smaller meals a day) then I am hungry at night and tend to want to snack on carbs, which adds the weight for me. I have found when I get hungry in the evening, I will try to drink water to fill myself up, but if that doesn't work, then I take a teaspoon of peanut butter and eat it and that seems to always work for me!

I hope everyone else is doing good and life is treating you well. Hope everyone has a great work week (ugh!) and I will check back in later on this week!
 
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We came home on Saturday, and I have not worked out since coming home. In fact, it was very difficult this morning to get my can out of bed and motivate myself to return to work :( There was plenty of opportunity for exercise at the camp, there was kayaking- which I never did before, I am thinking I need to invest in one of these- it was fun! I was grateful for all the upper body weight work I had been doing prior. There is also a 4 mile trail to run. I was able to run it for more than half, which I was impressed with myself- one of my skinny sisters in law runs it twice daily, another sister in law walked it daily, but swam across the lake- with my husband, about 1/2 mile- there is no way I could ever swim that far.

I didn't count WW points this week, and I ate more than my points would allow for sure. I don't think I did too badly on the scale though, it's hard to say for sure, it keeps fluctuating. when I return to WW on Thursday we'll see what damage was done!

Pam- its okay not to feel too motivated, or even to go MIA for a while, it is always here to come back to. I do better with WW if I write everything down too. Winging it never works, but I often convince myself that I can!

Elle- I'm not sure if I should congratulate you or console you about losing your CFO- hope he is replaced by someone sensible. Hey, are you a candidate for his job?

Jen- your ticker is in inspiration to me! When I look back at old posts from April, you have come so far!

David- I like your rotation, is this one on DVD? Is your VCR kaput?

Nancy- have a great day!

I missed you all here, you guys really keep me motivated!
 
Hey all, checking in for the day. Things have been really stressful around work the past couple of weeks and I think this week is going to be another bi^#h!
I was finally able to do my lunch walk today at about 3 PM and boy was it HOT! Today I had a difficult time trying to catch my breath while I was walking. Don't know if it is the extra carbs I ate last night, not working out at all this past weekend or just plain old HOT and HUMID outside! :mad:

Bridgett: Glad to see you back. I fully understand not wanting to roll out of bed to workout or go to work and hell, I haven't been on a vacation, I feel this way every flippin' morning . . . . While you may not have swam across the lake 1/2 mile or walked the trail every day or even run the full length of the trail, at least you ran part of the way and that is saying something, so GOOD FOR YOU!! You are not suppose to watch every little thing you eat when you are on vacation and I bet you will surprise yourself when you go to WW this Thursday. ;)

Hope everyone else is doing well and I miss reading everyone's posts. I have a great photo I want to attach for my friends in Canda dealing with the heat, but how do I do that - the attach key allows me to upload it, but it doesn't show it?!
 
*Cough, cough* *sniffle, sniffle* :( I got sick! Haven't worked out since last week due to a hectic schedule and then i got sick over the weekend. I stayed home from work yesterday and i'm still feeling blah today.

Bridget: Welcome back! I'm glad to hear you had a nice vacation. I think it would be virtually impossible to track points on vacation so don't worry about it. Vacations happen. Just make sure you get back to tracking points today and move forward.

Pam: I think we all understand losing the motivation. I have accepted that it's going to happen and it's how we deal with it that makes the difference so good job on doing 30minutes of something instead of nothing!

David: I have been following Weight watchers for the last 6 weeks and although it's working i really need to add in my 5-6servings of fruits & veggies! tracking all of my food has made me realize i'm not getting enough. I don't really like apples but maybe i could add in a pear or something. I usually eat blueberries or raspberries in the morning with my oatmeal but not much else for the rest of the day i'm afraid.:eek:
 
Hi everyone!

Sorry I haven't been checking in lately - been super busy. I'm counting down the days until vacation...3 days! Not going anywhere - I just won't have to work for 2 weeks. I so need the break.

I have been doing well with Turbo Fire and still am really enjoying the workouts. I am using Stretch Max instead of the longer stretch that comes with it because I just like it better and feel more stretched.
 
Checking in with Turbo Fire: HiiT 20 Class & Sculpt 30 Class. The HiiT 20 one is getting easier - it's still tough and the heart rate gets up there - but I notice that I'm getting better at it. And I think it is the easiest of all the HiiT ones.

Hope everyone is having a great day!
 
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