Any Cathe beginners?

Good morning everyone! I have the day off from work today which is nice and I'm definitely going to enjoy it. I think I might do Stretch Max this morning since it is my rest day - if I do it in the morning, that will give me enough time between it and tomorrow night's workout so it will be like I had a rest day too. :)

Kelly:
Yes you can definitely join this thread! Welcome!!

As for the Pyramids, Upper Body doesn't use a barbell - it's all dumbbells so you are good with that. As for Lower Body, you can definitely substitute dumbbells instead of the barbell. None of the moves are specific to a barbell so you can use dumbbells. For some moves, you can either hold the dumbbells up at shoulder level (like the barbell) or just hold them and keep your arms straight. You'll still get the same great workout.
 
Checking in this morning with Muscle Max finished! It's the first time I've ever done this work out, but it was a good one. I didn't use super heavy weights, but I did push myself a bit more than normal.

Kelly! Welcome to the group! We're happy to have you here!

Nancy-Way to go on Low Max! I can feel your excitement and enthusiasm in your post! It's on tap again for me tomorrow, but it's the 4-7 premix. I'm feeling a little anxious and nervous about it, but I know I can do it, even if I need to modify. I'm going to try to do it all on the 6 inch step, but if I need to, I know I can drop to just the platform for some of the more intense blasts. I'm gonna try though, and that's all I can do!

Bridget-Hope you are doing well and enjoying Chicago!

Elle-I've never done a Jari Love w/o, but I know lots of people like her. And I've read that "burn carbs" thing before, too. Funny. Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

See you all later. Have a good Monday.
 
Happy Monday Everyone!

Yesterday i completed my yoga practice in place of StretchMax. I really did not feel like doing it since my legs were feeling sore from Jari Love. I did it anyway and although i'm still a little sore i felt better for just getting it done.

Kelly: Welcome! I'm sure you will find this check-in motivating. We have a great group here. I look forward to getting to know you.

Phoenix: You are doing a great job learning when to push past "not feeling like it" and getting your workouts done. That helped me get my yoga done yesterday when it would have been easy to skip it because my butt was sore!:p Have a great day off!

Pam: You are doing a great job pushing yourself by upping the step to 6" and also pushing more than normal with MuscleMax. Keep it up!

Have a great day!
 
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone! I really appreciate it. A little about me:

I am 45, married for 20+ years, blessed with 2 great kids 16 and 13. Work FT in the IT industry for the past 20+ years - about 6 mos ago started WFH full time - which has actually been nice from a flexibility perspective and for being a 'mom'...nice to be here for my kids when they need me.

I am 5 ft 2, 147 and have struggled somewhat with my weight my whole life. I enjoy exercising but have never really been able to be consistent long term / and 'addicted'. (which I would like to be). I have tried every diet in the book...WW, southbeach, Jenny Craig, Atkins, etc. I few years ago, I did lose about 18 lbs on Jenny Craig...I liked the accountability, but frankly I got tired of the same old processed foods after a couple months....stress from work got to me and I found my self eating way too many mini-reeces peanut butter cups / chocolate kisses at work (I have a sweet tooth); found reasons not to exercise and gained the weight back.

For the past year or so, I have been trying to be back to basics - eating 'clean' foods, veggies, fruits, meats, fish, proteins etc...trying to stay within 1200 - 1400 calories a day and tracking calories. Would really like to lose 20 - 25 lbs - or weight around 123 - 125. (in a perfect world!)

I started out doing exercise DVDs a few years ago - did a lot of the FIRM workouts. But after a while, decided I needed more challenging ones; and I ventured out and started doing Kelly Coffey-Meyer and Cathe workouts....these are my 2 favorite instructors.

Are you all following a specific rotation? I really need to get a rotation planned because many times I am overwhelmed by which dvd to do, and so I just don't do any! ;)

Also, do you all typically work out in the am? I used to, but have been trying to do it in the late morning, during lunch or in the evening before dinner.

Your help is appreciated! Sorry for the long message. Kelly
 
Kelly~It's great to have you here. This is a very supportive group and I've really enjoyed being a part of it. This is silly, but I get excited when I'm able to check in and say what I've completed. Know what I mean?:eek:

Chocolate kisses and pb cups?? Sigh...Sounds like we have a lot in common as far as the weight issues go. I'm about 5'2 myself and (gulp!) over 200 lbs. (Did I just write that??) I've been struggling with my weight for my whole life and exercise has always been a big issue for me. When I'm on, I'm on full force. I love working out...it's just getting into the right frame of mind. I'm very good at "finding excuses" not to do it! As for eating right, I am a big fan of WW. I lost a bunch of weight before my oldest son was born 6 years ago, but now it's all back. While I really want to be thin, my main focus right now is to be as healthy as possible. I'm going to be 42 this year, and I want to be here for as long as possible for my boys! Looking great would be the icing on the cake.

I'm doing the first 4 weeks of this rotation right now, but I'm days away from finishing it. That thrills me, because I don't think I've ever finished a single rotation that I've started. I feel very accomplished! I'm probably going to do at least weeks 5 and 6 of this rotation as well. That's the plan for now.

Personally, I really enjoy working out in the morning. It feels like a real accomplishment and I know my day is off to a great start. And I like knowing it's done. Morning works best for me because my boys get up early and they wear me out during the day. I don't have the energy to do it after they're in bed, and I really don't want to. I like some down time at that point in the day. I guess the bottom line is to just get it done when it works best for you.

Keep checking in and keep doing what you're doing!
 
Checking in with Stretch Max completed today. That stretch always feels so good. Today has been a great day and am not looking forward to going back to work but at least it is a short week.

Pam:
Great job with Muscle Max! And you are going to do great with Low Max 4-7 tomorrow...I know it!!

Elle:
Great job on completing the yoga yesterday! Sometimes we do have to push ourselves a bit when we feel like skipping workouts (as long as it is because of blahs and not overtraining or something). LOL on the sore butt!

Kelly:
Great to meet you! I also work in the IT industry and work stress has really been a trigger for me to overeat as well and the end result being gaining back the weight and a few extra. I had to figure out how to cope better with the stress and other things and I found it has helped with getting me back on track and keeping things in perspective. I also started to worry about diabetes (it is so rampant in my family - both sides all over) and I've always been high risk so it finally gave me the kick start to start taking care of myself again. A few weeks back I committed to a vegetarian diet - always sort of been one anyway and it's helped me a lot. I think it's just a matter of finding the things that work for you and everyone is different. I know you will figure it out and will be successful.

I also started out with a variety of videos including the FIRM and Beachbody but got tired of them quickly. I love Cathe's workouts and that's pretty much all I have been doing for the last little while. As for a rotation, I just usually make up my own using the following structure for each week: 3 cardio workouts, 1 circuit workout, 2 strength training workouts and 1 stretch workout. So my current rotation is: Low Impact Circuit, Kick Punch & Crunch, Pyramid Upper Body, Low Max, Stretch Max, Pyramid Lower Body and Low Impact Step. There are a lot of good rotations around - Pam's post has a link to a pretty good one.

I work out in the evenings for the most part as I find it just works better for me. During the week, I have to get up early enough already to head into work and it's already an issue getting enough sleep so am workouts do not work. I also find I usually don't have the energy for one first thing in the morning. When I'm working from home or on days off/weekends, I will usually work out late morning or early afternoon.
 
Checking in with Body Fusion + Stability Ball Abs Add on completed. Man, I forgot how much i hate all those lunges around the step!!!!:eek: I feel like they go on forever!:p

Phoenix: I always feel really good after yoga or StrecthMax. I always feel "lighter" somehow.

Kelly:In the last couple of week's i was doing Cathe's beginner rotation but i ended up subbing in other similar workouts to keep it interesting. I have already planned ahead into June and used FitnessFreak's Get ready for summer 2010 rotation as a guideline.
I usually prefer to workout in the evenings. Much as i would like to get it done in the morning i'm just not a morning gal.:eek: If i do manage to get up early, I don't have the energy to give it my all at that hour. As long as it gets done just do what works best for your schedule.

Have a good night everyone!
 
Hey guys! I went out for dinner last night with a friend and we had a drink at the bar afterward. I think that single drink really has me dragging this morning. I did complete Low Max, premix 4-7. However, I only did the cardio portion on the 6 inch step. I did the blasts on the top of the high step. It worked for me this morning. I feel a little guilty about not getting it all done on the higher step, but at least I did something. A few weeks ago, I'm sure I would've used the old "I'm just too tired" excuse. So, I have to find some comfort in that.

Elle-Body Fusion is up for me tomorrow morning. It's been a couple of weeks since I've done it. The lunges aren't my favorite either. :rolleyes: I was looking into FitnessFreak 2010 Get Ready For Summer rotation, too. She's got some fabulous rotations, that's for sure.

Nancy-Thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it! Hope your week flies by!

Have a great day!
 
thanks everyone for the great info - it's all very helpful! One question - is there a thread somewhere that lists the type of workout for each cathe dvd? i.e. I pretty much know which ones are 'cardio', or strength training, but how do you know whether one is a circuit type? is it always in the title - i.e. Low Impact Circuit? thanks!

Kelly
 
Hi everyone, been away for the past couple of days so I figured I would use some down time at work to try to catch up. Welcome Kelly to the group--we have a great group with a lot of knowledge and I love to pick their brains when it comes to different Cathe DVDs and workouts. I haven't been able to do any scheduled workouts since last Thursday and the weather here in Ohio has been really crappy with rain, so my lunch walks have been out until today. Last night I managed to get in Low Impact Step (only got half of the way through though) and did the entire Body Sculpting. Won't be able to do anything tonight as I have an appt and won't be home until after 9 pm, which is way to late for me to try to work out. I have been getting bored with my rotation so since you all have checked out FitnessFreak's 2010 Get Ready For Summer rotation, I better check it out and see if I have the correct DVDs.

Hope everyone is doing well and I really missed being able to workout and post here every night. Hopefully, I will be able to check in all this week until the weekend as we are going away for my niece's wedding.
 
Checking in with Pyramid Lower Body. I know I'm going to be sore after this one again but it's good. I think I can increase my weights next time for the squats & plies which is good. Still having balance issues with the stability ball part but it is getting better.

Elle:
Great job with Body Fusion + Stability Ball Abs! I hate lunges so I can sympathize. :)

Pam:
You did great with Low Max premix 4-7! Don't be so hard on yourself...those blasts are hard! It's great that you did the combos on 6"!!

Kelly:
A circuit type is a workout that mixes cardio with weights - you do a short cardio segment and it is usually followed by a weight segment. Low Impact Circuit, Cardio and Weights, High Step Circuit, Body Fusion are some examples of circuit workouts. Circuit isn't always in the title but you can usually tell from the description if it mentions both in the same workout.

I don't think there is an up-to-date list but I found the following items that may help:
http://www.thecathenation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=185761

http://web.mac.com/lainiefig/FitnessFig/Tools_files/CompendiumMasterV1-2008.doc

Jennifer:
Glad you are back!
 
Good morning,
Last night i got home at 9pm and was really not feeling like doing anything since i had the worst cramps of my life :)eek:Sorry! TMI!) This is actually really unusual for me and has only happened in the last two months.

Anyways, I knew it would probably make me feel better to do something, especially since i had StretchMax scheduled so i managed to motivate myself to do my scheduled workout: Lower Body Tubing + StretchMax routine # 1. I did feel much better afterwards not only physically, but mentally it was a nice feeling that i didn't skip my workout.

Jennifer: At the bottome of FitnessFreaks 2010 get ready for summer rotation she lists the generic workout types so you can use that as a guideline to sub in what you don't have. This was very helpful for me since i do own a lot of Cathe DVD's but am still missing a lot.
Good job getting in your workout last night.

Phoenix: Upping the weights? That's great! All your hard work is paying off!

Kelly: Not all the circuit workouts have circuit in the name. High step Challenge and Step, Jump, & Pump are a couple of others that i can think of to add to the ones Phoenix mentioned.

Pam: LoMax is a very challenging workout so you did great. Is 6" one riser added to the step? I can't remember what heights the risers are.:eek:

Today is the mid-week hump so i hope you all have a great day.
 
Checking in with Low Impact Step completely...barely! I always forget that it's probably not the best idea to do this workout the day after Pyramid Lower Body because I'm always so sore so it makes it harder. But it is done.

Elle:
Great job with Lower Body + Stretch Max #1!
 
Elle_p: Great job motivating yourself to do your scheduled workout, especially during that time of the month! I feel your pain. :( I did locate FitnessFreaks 2010 Get Ready for Summer Rotation and the generic workout types and printed those off to go through and see which Cathe DVDs I want to purchase next. Do any of you have Travel Fit, Cardio Core Circuit, Circuit Blast or MMA Fusion? If so, how do you think they compare to the workouts we all are doing now? I keep trying to find Cathe’s DVDs either on sale or used ones to add to my collection.

Phoenix130: Congratulations on completing Low Impact Step completely! :eek: Tonight was my second night of viewing Low Impact Step and so far, I have only managed to make it through the warm-up and the first routine so my hats off to you for completely finishing it! I plan on working on it every night this week until I get to the point where I too can completely finish it or die trying. For a low impact step routine, you sure sweat—I wonder whether I will every reach the point where I can do some of her really intense routines. Guess I just have to keep plugging away and eventually I will get to the point where all of you seasoned Catheites are! By the way, thanks for posting the two links for the breakdown of Cathe’s DVDs!

Pam: Good for you for doing Low Max and doing it on a 6” step! I have the DVD, but haven’t attempted to try the workout yet.

Hope everyone is staying motivated, motivated, motivated!:D
 
TGIT! I'm off tomorrow so today feels like Friday.:D Yesterday i completed Body Fusion and Yoga is on the agenda for today.

Phoenix: Completing LIS when you are sore is a great accomplishment. Well done!

Jennifer: i've been wondering about the STS cardio workouts as well. I had cancelled my pre-order of these and I took another look recently so i'd be interested to hear some feedback as well. I'm keeping my eye on the Product of the week 30% off deals but so far it's stuff i already have. I'm keeping my eye out for Pyramid UB & LB or maybe MuscleMax. I doubt any of the newer workouts will be featured though.

Hello to Pam, Bridget, and Kelly (Did I forget anyone?). Hope everyone has a great day.
 
Good morning, all. Yesterday was supposed to be Body Fusion for me, but I was so exhausted I couldn't do it. I had major trouble sleeping Wednesday night and when I got up yesterday, I decided to cash in today's rest day and do Body Fusion this morning.

So, I got it done on a 6" step. I was feeling pretty low energy this morning, and my right foot is a bit sore, so I was really feeling challenged during that last cardio portion. But I didn't give up, I just had to pause and try again. I did it, and I'm feeling good. This is the end of 4 weeks of working out straight for me. YAHOO!!:D

Tomorrow morning, Cardio and Weights is on the schedule. I'm looking forward to it.

Elle-Enjoy the yoga and your extended weekend! Any big plans for the weekend??

Jennifer-I have all of the newest STS Cardio videos, but I haven't even taken the shrink wrap off of them yet. They arrived before this motivation I have did, so I probably won't get to them until I'm feeling a little bored of what I'm doing now or until I feel like I need a challenge. And right now, I'm feeling plenty challenged.:eek: Don't give up on Low Impact Step. You can do it!!

Nancy-Nice job with LIS the day after PLB! How are you feeling today?

Hope everyone has a great day. Keep smiling!
 
Walkingchick: Yeah you for completing Body Fusion on a 6” step and not giving up AND for keeping with it for 4 weeks in a row!! :D I'm glad to know that others have to pause and try again. There are times I will pause so I can catch my breath and mutter to the television and then there are times I can’t seem to get the movement correct and so I keep rewinding the section back and doing it over and over until I get it right. So trust me, I always feel challenged! :eek: When you finally get to the STS Cardio videos, let me know—one of my biggest hesitations with some of the videos is that I do not have a bar or a lot of weights and on some of the dvds like Muscle Max, I would think you need to have an array of weights in order to make the workout effective.

Elle-p: I have been thinking about Imax 3; Step, Jump & Pump + Step Blast; Supersets & Push/Pull; Imax 2 + Cardio & Weights; and Rhythmic Step + Interval Max + Maximum Intensity Cardio. I like the fact there are more than one workout on most of these videos; however, I don’t have the finances to purchase them all, so I am kind of hunting and picking. Anyone have any suggestions on which of these they would start with or what order would be best.

I hope everyone else is having a great day!
 
FWIW, I have Imax 3 :eek::eek::eek: and it is a very hard workout. It's high impact as well. I don't plan on putting that into rotation any time soon.
I would probably hold off on getting that one although there are premixes so if you really want a challenge then power on sista!

I would recommend Step,Jump, Pump/Step Blast before Imax 3. Sorry I can't comment on the others you mentioned as i don't have them (yet) but keep an eye out and get them if you see them as the featured product of the week for 30% off.

Everyone seems to love Rythmic Step but i previewed the other workouts that come with it and they are very "dated" looking as they are Cathe's older workouts. I'm talking "let's get physical" headbands and stuff.:eek: I'm sure they are very tough workouts but i opted for SJP/SB instead.

Let us know what you decide on and happy shopping!:)
 
No workout today. I am definitely feeling not having a real rest day with all these crazy lower body workouts! I really felt too worn out so I decided to take a rest day today and just recover a bit. So I'm moving all my workouts out by one day. I'm suspecting that not getting enough sleep the past few days isn't helping either. :)

Jennifer:
I'm with Pam - I have all the new STS Shock Cardio workouts but haven't gotten to them yet. I do have the shrink wrap taken off. :) The only one that I have tried is MMA Boxing and it was good but I found it hard at the time (but I found most things hard at that time LOL). If I remember correctly, it was a lot of punch combinations and lower body drills.

As for Low Impact Step, you will get there. I think it is a good one because it prepares you better for the other step workouts than Basic Step. And I think you will progress faster than you think. And yes, you are going to be able to do the more intense routines - just keep plugging away like you said! Your approach is great - try a new workout, do what you can each time and keep trying. Before long, you will find that you can do more and more. There are still a lot of workouts I'm doing where I still have to take breaks here and there (Kick Punch & Crunch and Low Max are definitely two) but I just keep trying. I take a break if I need to, walk in place until my heart rate goes back to normal and then continue on.

Elle:
Great job with Body Fusion!

Pam:
Woohoon on getting Body Fusion completed this morning! And awesome job on working out for 4 weeks straight!! I'm still feeling sore today...PLB really seems to get me every time!
 
Hi all - checking in - just completed Cathe Athletic Step - it's one of her new cardio ones. I have done it a couple times before and am getting better with it. about 47 minutes and a good sweat.

Kelly
 
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