Bodybuilding/Sculpting check-in;-)

Yesterday morning I did Cathe's Muscle Endurance and this morning I did Peak 10 Fat Blaster Cardio Interval Burn.

Happy (late!) Birthday Nathalie! Hope it was a fun one!

Jodi--my stationary bike bores me, too. But I can't get rid of it because of my feet and it may one day be my primary source of cardio. I do think using DVDs with it make it much more fun to ride--tho never as fun as other types of cardio workout DVDs. I'm not sure how your bike would work though I suppose not any different than mine. With the handle bars you have you probably wouldn't be able to do the standing moves which I can't do either on a recumbent bike. I have to adjust the resistance to compensate for standing moves. I would of course much rather have a spin bike but from the research I've done that is a minimum of a $300 investment--possibly even more depending on what you're looking for and I don't think that even if I had one I would spin enough to justify an outlay of that much $. Especially after I just spent more $ than I ever have on workout shoes. I went to a running store called Red Coyote where they had me run barefoot on a treadmill while filming my feet and studying my stride. Then they studied the wear of my current workout shoes, measured my feet then had me try several different pairs of shoes--running on the treadmill with all of them. I ended up getting Asic Nimbus 17's. I have honestly never spent that much $ on a pair of workout shoes (before the accident however, I did spend that kind of money on high heeled boots and other dress shoes!). But with my foot problems my husband and I both thought it was time I start making sure I am working out in the best shoes possible for my feet. This morning was my first workout in them and it seems like a good investment!

Happy Anniversary Mary! Sounds like you had a wonderful and relaxing day!

Nathalie! It is so odd you brought up the eczema on your neck! I have had the exact same problem and it came out of nowhere! I even went to the doctor who gave me steroids and a cream for it and that did nothing. I finally bought some over the counter Eucerin Eczema cream and that cleared it up in about 3 days! This just happened to me too--in fact it finally went away last week! I am so sorry to hear you have a nut allergy. That would make me so unhappy. I eat peanut butter and drink cashew milk every single day. I would go crazy! I am allergic to shellfish and it was a sad day when I had to give up crab and lobster--two of my favorite foods. But I not a fan of anaphylactic shock either. So I now stay away from shellfish. :(
 
jengollf said:
Yesterday morning I did Cathe's Muscle Endurance and this morning I did Peak 10 Fat Blaster Cardio Interval Burn.

Happy (late!) Birthday Nathalie! Hope it was a fun one!

Jodi--my stationary bike bores me, too. But I can't get rid of it because of my feet and it may one day be my primary source of cardio. I do think using DVDs with it make it much more fun to ride--tho never as fun as other types of cardio workout DVDs. I'm not sure how your bike would work though I suppose not any different than mine. With the handle bars you have you probably wouldn't be able to do the standing moves which I can't do either on a recumbent bike. I have to adjust the resistance to compensate for standing moves. I would of course much rather have a spin bike but from the research I've done that is a minimum of a $300 investment--possibly even more depending on what you're looking for and I don't think that even if I had one I would spin enough to justify an outlay of that much $. Especially after I just spent more $ than I ever have on workout shoes. I went to a running store called Red Coyote where they had me run barefoot on a treadmill while filming my feet and studying my stride. Then they studied the wear of my current workout shoes, measured my feet then had me try several different pairs of shoes--running on the treadmill with all of them. I ended up getting Asic Nimbus 17's. I have honestly never spent that much $ on a pair of workout shoes (before the accident however, I did spend that kind of money on high heeled boots and other dress shoes!). But with my foot problems my husband and I both thought it was time I start making sure I am working out in the best shoes possible for my feet. This morning was my first workout in them and it seems like a good investment!

Happy Anniversary Mary! Sounds like you had a wonderful and relaxing day!

Nathalie! It is so odd you brought up the eczema on your neck! I have had the exact same problem and it came out of nowhere! I even went to the doctor who gave me steroids and a cream for it and that did nothing. I finally bought some over the counter Eucerin Eczema cream and that cleared it up in about 3 days! This just happened to me too--in fact it finally went away last week! I am so sorry to hear you have a nut allergy. That would make me so unhappy. I eat peanut butter and drink cashew milk every single day. I would go crazy! I am allergic to shellfish and it was a sad day when I had to give up crab and lobster--two of my favorite foods. But I not a fan of anaphylactic shock either. So I now stay away from shellfish. :(
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Thanks for your wishes Jen.
Shoes fitting test is good. It is worth investing in those shoes.

As to eczema, same here out of nowhere. I am so glad I had the injection. I am covered for a month
and the eczema is clearing up now. Eucerin cream sold here in europe is different. The one in US probably contain more than
1% cortizone. I had another cream from the doctor and I am so relieved now. Injection is the best IMO.

As to peanut I can not touch it at all but I thought I could replace with cashew and almond.
I love both cashew and almond butter and It seems like I am going to have to give up:(
My sister always carry a anaphylactic with her cause she had a severe reaction years ago.
According to my mother it was scary, she thought she was loosing her. I was not present when it happened.
I am undergoing further tests tomorrow. The aim of further test is to determine all allergy I have in order to
make a preventive injection. I am fine now.

As to cycling, I am sure you can still have some good workout using your current bike.:)
 
Nathalie, thanks for the link about bikes. I'll do some research, but I feel like Jen. It's a big investment for something I probably wouldn't use as much as such a big purchase warrants. Maybe I could put it on a future Christmas list, though. :D:D

Yesterday it was back to the boring treadmill. The best part about it is listening to my music...yesterday it was Sam Hunt and Jessie J.

Today was Pure Barre Pure Results Feature Focus: Seat. Wow, this one was even harder than the first Pure Barre workout I tried! My legs were shaking so much at one point I thought I was going to collapse in a heap on the floor. I wish all the other Pure Barre DVDs got better reviews because I'd be snapping up every last one of them.
 
Today was another Back day. Did 13 chin ups on my first set, then was so pooped I only did 6 on sets 2 and 3..ugh! 3 sets of lat pull downs, 3 sets of dumbbell pull overs, 3 sets of of 1 armed rows, 3 sets of deads, 40 pushups, then did 75 crunches followed by 50 ab wheel extensions (you're challenged Nathalie!!) HaHa. Last week I kinda shoved everything into fewer days due to travel, and was pretty wiped out!! Was glad for the weekend, and this morning I was ready to go again. I love DOMS but sometimes I forget I've had a few years on this planet and need to "slow my a#@ down...just a little! When I did body Beast the 6 days just wiped me out! I went downstairs to my" sanctuarary" about week 4, sat on my bench, and said "screw it I'm done". I don't know how you ladies do multiple workouts, but you are made of tougher stuff than me!! I did great with sts because I had a rest day between lifting, and I may pick it up again late summer or fall, trying to build a good base and increase size and strength now. My problem with sts was time, but being "mostly retired" now, I may give it a try again. Hope everyone has a great week!
 
Today was Intensity for the first time. I liked the workout and know I would love it if I have the patience to learn the step portion. The moves were certainly not hard, but when you start stringing those moves together and throw in a few twists and turns, it gets difficult for me. I much prefer HiiT step like the kind in RWH Plyo 2 or To The Max. You do one or two intense step moves, take a quick break, and then do another interval. Tough, yet simple to follow. So I will need to keep trying with this workout because I want to love the step part as much as I love the other parts.
 
Jen, investing in those shoes is a smart choice. I've never been so aware of my feet and walking as I have in the past year. We gotta take care of ourselves and feet and legs are so important.

Nathalie, I'm so sorry to hear about your allergies. Some of my kids have had allergies and asthma. It's no fun.

Jodi, I'm really liking the Sam Hunt songs I've been hearing lately.

Tom, nice workouts! Funny about Body Beast, I did the upper body only and subbed for the rest but I especially liked BB because the workouts seemed shorter than Cathe. Hey maybe we'll all do STS this fall! :D

I think I'll be needing the STS focus this fall. I feel so unfocused. I don't know if it's mental or physical! It's been so hard for me to motivate myself to do a workout first thing in the morning and harder yet to do one later. Maybe it's the change from the school year schedule and I've got random projects all scrambled in my mind and so my workouts are not my focus. Or maybe it's knee sensitivities - my good knee has been acting up and I'm not sure why. You guys are really keeping me going!!! When I take a day or three :eek: off from workouts I think of you all and feel guilty and then I get back to it and feel better for it. Thanks for being here. Fall will be better, I know it will be.

Sunday: Lean Legs & Abs (I felt really good and strong doing this workout, but for 2 days afterwards my good knee was acting fragile and strangely loose.)
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 35 min Bike Ride and Push Pull - Upper Body (2 sets)
Wednesday/Today: Barre3 Ballet Fit (Again, I'm not very impressed with this set)
 
This morning was Atletica 2. I don't know if it is lack of sleep or feeling run down from working overtime, but this workout wore me out. My muscles have been burning ever since I finished that workout. It is an excellent workout, but I don't recall this much discomfort from #2 the last time I did it. Now, Atletica #3--yes--that one leaves me shaking. Now I am feeling some dread about Friday; if #2 burned me out #3 is going to kill me.

Jodi--have you done a lot of Cathe step workouts? Because I hate her complex choreography but I don't have any problem with choreography in Intensity. I put it at the same level as Imax #1 and #2. Now Imax #3--redonkulous. I have tried that workout several times and the choreography does not keep me coming back. Too complex. Same with some of her other step workouts. However I do remember when I started doing Cathe, some of her works that I now consider doable were too complex for me. Body Max #1 had me (literally) tripping over my own feet and falling to the floor. Now I find the choreography very doable. But other workouts like Party Rockin Step #1, Imax 3, Step Blast--are still pointless for me to waste time on. I actually hate complex choreography with any trainer. I feel it is completely unnecessary to get a good workout and only appeals to people who #1 are very coordinated and #2 have lots of rhythm and love to dance. I fall in none of those categories. I have always had 2 left feet and it only got worse after the accident--plates and screws do not make my feet more graceful! I was very disappointed in Michelle Dozois newest Peak 10 Cardio Interval Burn workout (Fast Blaster)--very complex choreography. I won't be bothering with that one again.

I am looking forward to STS, too, Mary--tho I am kind of worried. I want to keep working overtime for several more months (even tho it really runs me down when I work it) and I just don't know how overtime will work with STS.
 
Mary, I wonder if your good knee was hurting because you were putting more weight on it than usual during the workout to avoid putting too much weight yet on the bad knee. Does that make sense? Based on your feelings about Barre3, I will pass on those DVDs. I just ordered Squeeze Stronger by Tracy Effinger. It has great reviews but the video clip I watched makes it look like a very artsy presentation. Not sure if I'll be into that.

Jen, I've not done a lot of step workouts by Cathe. I remember trying a Buns of Steel step workout (years ago...on VHS!) and the steps were so complex, I gave up quickly and never wanted to try that kind of thing again. That's one of the reasons I avoided Cathe for so long because I thought she was all about complicated step stuff. Then I tried the little bit of step in workouts like AOLIH, CLB, and Tabatacise and thought, hey, I really like this uncomplicated step stuff. So I branched out to more of her workouts with step in them as long as it wasn't too complex (again, your reviews played a big part in my selections...thank you!). I know I can catch on to Intensity, but it will require some effort on my part just because I'm not used to combos that long. Again, they're not hard combos, they're just longer than what I've done so far. And there are times when you end up with your back to the tv which was throwing me off. I will keep trying though because it is a great workout!
 
This morning was Bodystrikes #1. BTW--I was over in the Ask Cathe forum and in response to a question she stated that most of her Live Classes were intermediate level. I didn't realize that. I guess I am not as interested as I thought I was. Some of the clips I watched of a few Live classes looked pretty tough! But she didn't say they were all intermediate, so maybe I happened to watch the clips for some of her more advanced classes. Those of you who have done her Live classes--thoughts?
 
I'm currently doing a hi rep/muscle endurance rotation for the next month or through the summer. Here's my workouts for the past week.
Week 1

Day 1. Muscle endurance
Day 2 Rest
Day 3. Muscle endurance
Day 4. The Firm pump, Jump and Jab
Day 5. Rest
Day 6. Turbo fire Fire 30
Day 7. Muscle endurance

Muscle endurance was more exhausting than anything. I felt pretty tired the next day after each workout. Definitely need 8 hours of sleep with this workout. I was quite sore from turbo fire in my torso. Good workout week overall.

Also if you know of any other muscle endurance/ hi rep dvds by Cathe let me know . I find it hard to believe she only has these: muscle endurance, hi reps, flex train, power hour and mesocycle 1.

Eczema I get a flare up in the summer months. I learned that the heat it can flare up an eczema outbreak. I'm starting to break out a bit but Shea butter and almond oil keeps it under control. Started when I was in early 40's. Things change when you get older.
 
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Today was Pyramid UB again.

Jen, I don't have access to the live classes, but it makes sense they would be intermediate instead of advanced. She probably gets people of all different levels in those classes so she needs to cater them to fit that wider range of people. I guess the good thing is if you thought her intermediate level looked tough, that might bode well for her new DVD series coming out. Maybe it won't be as easy as we think!
 
This morning was Atletica 3. Wore. Me. Out. But at least I got a good nights sleep beforehand. It actually wasn't as hard as I remembered it being and I was able to lift heavier than I was last time (plus I have up arrows next to several exercises) but it is still the hardest of the Atleticas and so exhausting by the end. A good Ilaria run for my overtime week. I plan to do do 2 more months of overtime (so 4 more weeks of overtime total) and I need to figure out what to do those weeks. I liked the RwH week but I also really liked the Ilaria/metabolic week, too. I am thinking of doing Crosstrain Express one week. A Patrick Goudeau/Toby Massenburg metabolic week. A total body week using High Step Training, High Step Challenge and Bootcamp--so I can get cardio every day and 3 total body strength workouts. I could even do a Body Beast week using the Bulk phase workouts and tacking on a Weider Ruthless afterwards. I am actually planning to do something like that my the first overtime week I work in July but I am using Cathe's Pure Strength workouts and adding on Weider Ruthless afterward. So I guess I only have 3 overtime weeks to figure out since one of them is obviously already mapped out. I am glad I have two weeks straight where I can do doubles. I have missed my doubles so much!

healing 11--I just did Muscle Endurance this past weekend and love it, too. It does wear you out! A great workout tho. Some more of Cathe's endurance workouts are Muscle Max and Maximum Intensity Strength (on the same DVD as Power Hour).
 
I just read this article and I am not sharing it for the reason it was written (feminism), I am sharing it because it has a lot of interesting information on fitness. Is CrossFit a Feminist Issue?

No I have no interest in CrossFit because I think it is a recipe for injury (Uncle Rhabdo) but the study used in this article can be applied to any type of very challenging metabolic/HIIT workout. Here is just a quote from the article: While the workout burned “a fair number of calories,” “females burned significantly less calories…although they completed the workouts almost at the same time as the men.”

Does that not suck? Seriously. We all know men, when they apply themselves, lose weight, burn fat and build muscle faster than women. But even when we complete extremely hard and challenging workouts (another quote: The participants in this research rated exercises ‘hard’ and the researchers also made a point to indicate that “workouts seemed very difficult for most of the subjects.”) and finish at the same time as the men--we still burn significantly less calories than they do.

Anyway--overtime actually gives me extra time at work so I am doing some lunch time reading.
 
Jen...I agree with you. There would have to be an ambulance ON SITE because someone would have to be there to reattach my shoulders!!! I am really impressed with what crossfitters can do, but I will leave it to those with better cartlilage!!! I saw some of the crossfit games on tv the other day and wow, those people are amazing and while I would love to look like that,it would take an act of reincarnation!!!
 
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