Are you planning on moving away from heavy weights for lower body?

C

cokonkel

Cathlete
Hi Cathe! I've posted a few threads recently regarding my love for heavy weights and lower body training. Heavy weight training for the lower body was the ONLY thing that shrunk my legs and got rid of the saddle bags. My legs got smaller and more compact from heavy weights, not bulky. I find if I focus for too long on light weights/body weight endurance work for my lower body my saddle bags inevitably make an appearance again. :( I love some of your endurance/light weight lower body workouts (including the two new ones). For me, though, while endurance work is great for variety and mixing things up (or for a second leg day in the week), I just can't depend on it to maintain my results.

I started a thread asking about what people's wish list for an STS 2 would be on VF. Someone mentioned they thought they read somewhere that you were planning to move away from heavy weight training for the lower body. My heart dropped! I seriously started to freak out a little. :eek: :confused: Is that true? (fingers and toes crossed the answer is no....;))
 
Colleen,

Not Cathe -but I am loving STS Squat Rack legs. I just pulled these DVD's out a few weeks ago after having them for a couple of years???? I love the heavy weights for my lower body too. I am an apple so I see quick changes in my lower body from using such heavy weights - real quick. I would love another STS program - shorter and with another squat rack legs 4 week add on. Actually, I would buy anything Cathe. I need help.
 
Squat Rack 2 + Weighted vest

Hi Colleen,

You have probably come across some of my post in which i numerously :D:D mentioned my inclination for lifting heavy. I do love squat rack a lot. I actually regret not embarking on it earlier. I have seen improvement in strength and shape of my lower body.

I can upper the weight on program such as cardio blast but I won't get the same challenge. Front squat on rack has enabled me to upper the load up to 103 pound (including weigthed vest) challenging core through stabilization. I wish cathe comes up with a squat rack + weighted vest 2. I would be over the moon;):D

There much more choice in endurance program than for pure strength.
 
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Oh man, I may have to splurge for squat rack legs! :D I got the plyo legs when I got my STS workouts thinking I would need a squat rack for the other ones. I didn't even have a heavy enough weight vest at the time but now I have a 30 lb vest I could use with these discs. :eek:
 
Even if she does, there are still gyms with their squat racks, very heavy weights and machines with extremely heavy loads. It is good to change things up with these too from time to time.

Clare
 
maddiesmum said:
Even if she does, there are still gyms with their squat racks, very heavy weights and machines with extremely heavy loads. It is good to change things up with these too from time to time.

Clare
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Eh, I hate working out at gyms and LOVE Cathe's routines and working out at home. Besides, I don't necessarily need or am asking Cathe to make squat rack heavy routines. I don't need extremely heavy loads necessarily. I'm just talking about the routines Cathe has done in the past with weights in the 15-35 lb ranges like STS Legs, Gym Style, Lower Body Blast, Lower Body Trisets, PLB, etc versus the very light (where she uses no more than 8 lbs) or body weight routines of XTrain Legs, Lean Legs and Great Glutes. Even with the former examples she alternated weighted work with unweighted but it was so much more effective for me. The last 3 are nice to have for variety but there are SOOOO many choices for that style of lower body work what with the popularity of Tonique, Tracy Anderson and all the various intermediate instructors out there and not as much to choose from with weighted work.
 
I suggest you get your weight vest on and do the heavier weight workouts. Just be careful and take as long as you need for an exercise. Moving too fast with the vest on can lead to injury.

Beth
 
Beth-B-Fit said:
I suggest you get your weight vest on and do the heavier weight workouts. Just be careful and take as long as you need for an exercise. Moving too fast with the vest on can lead to injury.

Beth
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Yep, I've been doing that already. :) In fact, I just wore my weight vest today loaded with 27 lbs and did the STS Total Body lower body only premix. I used dumbells from 10lbs to 25 lbs depending on the move. I had to use the lighter set of 10 lbs for the gliding disc moves, but that still added up to 47 lbs total I was doing with those side slide lunges and back lunge with the gliders.

I'm just hoping Cathe will make more of these weighted workouts in the future. That's why I started the thread. I sure hope Cathe and/or SNM pops in with an answer! :D
 
Hi Colleen! I don't ever recall saying that I was PERMANENTLY moving away from heavy weights. I know we had the STS series, STS Total Body and Burn Sets that were heavy weights. Most recently metabolic conditioning workouts have been gaining popularity and so I created Supercuts, Afterburn, Crossfire, and Flextrain to reflect those concepts. Hmmm, perhaps some may have thought I was going in the lighter weight direction because many of those workouts didn't necessarily have heavy weight to accompany them. Well whatever the reason, rest assured that I LOVE heavy weight lifting and would never abandon it. I don't know exactly what (or even when) I am filming next but you can be sure that some form of heavy weight workout(s) will be in a line up at some point in the future. Heavy weight training and step aerobics are my wheatie workouts...lol





cokonkel said:
Hi Cathe! I've posted a few threads recently regarding my love for heavy weights and lower body training. Heavy weight training for the lower body was the ONLY thing that shrunk my legs and got rid of the saddle bags. My legs got smaller and more compact from heavy weights, not bulky. I find if I focus for too long on light weights/body weight endurance work for my lower body my saddle bags inevitably make an appearance again. :( I love some of your endurance/light weight lower body workouts (including the two new ones). For me, though, while endurance work is great for variety and mixing things up (or for a second leg day in the week), I just can't depend on it to maintain my results.

I started a thread asking about what people's wish list for an STS 2 would be on VF. Someone mentioned they thought they read somewhere that you were planning to move away from heavy weight training for the lower body. My heart dropped! I seriously started to freak out a little. :eek: :confused: Is that true? (fingers and toes crossed the answer is no....;))
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Cathe Friedrich said:
Hi Colleen! I don't ever recall saying that I was PERMANENTLY moving away from heavy weights. I know we had the STS series, STS Total Body and Burn Sets that were heavy weights. Most recently metabolic conditioning workouts have been gaining popularity and so I created Supercuts, Afterburn, Crossfire, and Flextrain to reflect those concepts. Hmmm, perhaps some may have thought I was going in the lighter weight direction because many of those workouts didn't necessarily have heavy weight to accompany them. Well whatever the reason, rest assured that I LOVE heavy weight lifting and would never abandon it. I don't know exactly what (or even when) I am filming next but you can be sure that some form of heavy weight workout(s) will be in a line up at some point in the future. Heavy weight training and step aerobics are my wheatie workouts...lol
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:eek: :eek: :eek: YIPPEE! :D I'm doing the Snoopy Happy Dance in my office chair at work right now! LOL :p Thank you SO much for responding Cathe! I can't wait to see what you have in store in the future!!!
 
Glad to hear that Cathe may still do heavy lifting for legs in future. They are also the most effective and favorite for me as well. In the meantime, I still have my oldies but goodies from Cathe for lower body heavy lifting! :)

Actually, it is interesting that this thread appeared because a I had just been personally noting the recent absence of intense heavy lower body from Cathe workouts, being replaced with the more metabolic flavor. These offer more of a cardio benefit for me and though leaves me with tone, yet less definition than with heavy lifting.
 
I'm so pleased to hear that heavy weight lifting and step aerobics are your "Wheaties" Cathe, because that's exactly my thing, too. All of these metabolic workouts are a fun change of pace, but my bread and butter is the heavy weights/ step aerobics - usually one of your dvds!
 
Ditto on the step and heavy weights. I got a barbell for the Slow and Heavy legs section, and it's made such a difference. I can go a lot heavier, and my posture is better. I like the variety from other videos, but find the heavy weights more effective for my legs. STS Total Body is my favorite workout right now, with all those deadlifts.
 
Oh yeah more heavy goodies coming ;-)

cokonkel said:
:eek: :eek: :eek: YIPPEE! :D I'm doing the Snoopy Happy Dance in my office chair at work right now! LOL :p Thank you SO much for responding Cathe! I can't wait to see what you have in store in the future!!!
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Great news for you colleen and all of us here (Natasha iron girl ;)).
I am joining the happy dance virtually.
My hips are swinging :D:D:D
 
Ditto 3 for step and heavy weights too! Yeah Cathe!! Let's break out the disco ball and do a club dance!! :D

I'm an ectomorph and my legs just don't tone without the heavy. Though the lighter burn one's have their place as an add on later in the week and funny enough actually strengthen my legs with the higher burn reps in a way that cause me much greater gains and faster in my heavy weight work. But I must NEEDS heavy. lol!
 
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