Bodybuilding/Sculpting check-in;-)

Today was Pure Barre's Pure Results Feature Focus: Abs. I also added on Metabolism Bootcamp for a little extra leg work.

Svetlana, there are plank butt kicks in BB #1 and they do kick my butt. I haven't done BB #2 in so long so I don't remember if they are in that one also. I'm trying to recall why I disliked #2...I know I love #1 because it is true tabata style with 20/10 intervals and the same exercise for each set. #2 is not set up that way. Maybe I need to revisit it to see if I can change my feelings toward it.

SarBear, welcome back! Besides the food poisoning, it sounds like you had a great vacation.

Tom, have a great trip!

I didn't go too crazy at the Total Fitness DVD sale. I got two barre workouts and two more Cathe...the one with Power Hour and the one with Maximum Intensity Cardio.
 
Yesterday was super busy with post vacation chores (laundry, grocery shopping, etc.) but I did manage to get 5 miles in on the treadmill.

Svetlana: I'm fairly new to kettllebells so I only own a few workouts thus far. Out of the ones I have, Slim Sculpting is my favorite. I only own a 15lb and a 26lb kettlebell. Kelly uses a 15lb bell in both slim sculpting workouts so that's what I usually use and I always feel like I get a good workout. Last Saturday, I did use my 26lber for the kettlebell swings (two-handed) portion of the workout for a little extra challenge. My arms were definitely feeling it the next day!

Nathalie: Yep, I ordered ICE on the first day it was offered--couldn't help myself. Even though it's labeled as intermediate if its from Cathe, I'm sure I will love it! Regarding the food poisoning, we were in the Dominican Republic for our vacation. Even though we were at a nice resort and I was drinking bottled water only, I still somehow managed to get sick. Of course it could have been the food preparation and not the water. We aren't really sure what exactly made me sick. Another woman in our group fell ill a few days after me. My husband and I have visited other islands in Caribbean, but this was my first time ever getting sick on a trip. Not fun at all!

Today-I am going to do RwH Chest, Triceps & Shoulders. Probably will focus on RwH all week as I get myself back into the swing of things. Definitely could use some Hiit workouts after all that vacation! Hope everyone has a great start to the week!
 
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This morning was Slow & Heavy Chest & Back. Planned doubles is ACE HIIT Series: Lower Body HIIT. Yesterday I did KCM Bootcamp 1 & 2 + bonus stretch.

Jodi--why did Breathless Body 2 scare you away? I like all of them but found #3 the one I like the least. I found #2 the hardest/most intense of the 4.

SarBear--so sorry to hear about the vacation illness but glad you're feeling normal again and rallying!

Svetlana--that's what I do during the week. I work about an hour and a half, but I split it between an hour in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon. But on the weekends and days off, I usually try to combine it into a one long workout since I don't do doubles on the weekend. Plus I actually have the time on weekend mornings to do a longer workout. I know you didn't ask me but I have KCM's kettlebell workout and I needed heavier than 15. I used my 20 pound KB primarily, but I also used my 25 pound for swings and back rows and a few other exercises.

Nathalie--I LOVE the step section of Body Max 1--very intense! It's funny because Body Max was one of the first Cathe workouts I did and I hated it the first time I did it because of the step choreography. But the more I did Cathe workouts the more familiar I became with her step choreography and I started loving it. So I went back and gave it a second try and loved it! That was years ago--I've done it many times since then, but recently I hadn't done it in about a year. It didn't disappoint! It is still an excellent workout. The title--Body Max--is no joke! She gives you a total body workout + intense cardio and maxes you out!
 
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Some days you LIVE your workouts,,some days you just "do em"...this was a "do em" day!! It was back day, but I STILL had to make up leg day, so I started with back, 3 sets of chin ups 10x8x8 3 sets of lat pulldowns 10x10x10 3 sets of dumbbell pullovers 12x12x10 3 sets of barbell rows 10x10x10. Then I did a leg workout, starting with squats 4 sets x8. I went lighter, concentrating on going deeper with good form. 3 sets of goblet squats holding a 50# kettlebell ( A$$ to ground) x8 3 sets of static lunges with dumbbells x10 and 3 sets of barbell calf raises x35x25x25 and 2 sets of 1 legged calf raises without weight x20x25. At least my conscience is clear and I managed some type of leg workout,and you are right Nathalie, I probably look forward to leg day the LEAST!! I think I enjoy arm day the most, followed by chest. I think I have some hip arthritis and terrible flexibility, but seem to be hesitant to improve it!!!(guys really are stupid!!!) What does everyone else like to work the most? I am impressed with how well rounded all of your workouts are, and wish I could be more like that, but I seem to fall back into the same patterns.I know I am not going to do "dancy" workouts, and don't want to watch a DVD while lifting, so I tend to continue to use my log and rely on increasing poundages to accomplish my goals...not sure that is the answer!!! I had a high school/college friend visit over the weekend, and the older you get, the more changing of sleep patterns seem to bother you! Maybe that is why this was a DO EM" day!! Have a great day all!!
 
Hi Everyone,

WOD was KPC...I can not remember when was the last time I did it. I have just remembered KPC could be
the answer to my hip girdle thightness. I am feeling so much better now after doing leg kicks. I need to do
kickboxing more often. I enjoy it, it shape legs while I am having a dynamic stretch at the same time:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Tom: I think we strive for various type of workout to avoid boredom. It is also the best way to hit muscles
from various angles. The group muscles I enjoy working the most is back. My top 2 exercises for back
are one arm row and barbell row. The best ever back exercise I love is one arm row with band:p:p
I feel the muscle within seconds and all the way through the execution of the motion. love it
I work back once per week only when I am on lifting cycle. I feel I need to work it to maximum potential.
Take it easy with those goblet squat. I am quite surprise:):). I can recall you mentioning not being
able to bend the knees. if you can do a full goblet with glute to the ground then your knee sounds fine.

Jen; I agree about Body max. Cathe does not randomly title her workout. Titles always say it all.
it is one of workout I would ideally do before going on holiday. 26lbs on KB is very good jen. You are
strong.:):)

SarBear: Seems like you were really looking forward to resuming your training. Glad you are feeling better
from food poisoning.

Jodi: You will love power hour...It was my ever cathe workout! So It hold a special place in my heart.
if you can do step...try body max from the same bundle.

Ladies did you read cathe's article on shoulders. I love the first paragraph. So true about the reason why
women train shoulders.:p:p

http://cathe.com/shoulder-training-why-its-more-important-that-it-be-balanced.

That is all I have to share for today.

Kind Regards;)
 
Hello everyone!
SarBear and Jen - thank you for the replies regarding KCM's kettlebell workout. For the time being, I will abstain purchasing this one because I don't want to buy extra equipment. I will buy others instead ;)
Tslop - my favorite exercise is the deadlift. Favorite body parts to exercise for me are inner thighs and rear delts :) If your fitness program works for you, I say go for it. My mom has been doing the same 2 DVDs several times per week for the last 2-3 years and she likes it this way. I'm happy I hooked her on working out and feel better about herself!
Nathalie - you and Jen got me interested in Body Max 1, saying it is even better than BM2! It is on my wish list now.
Jodi - I read the whole list of sale items on Totalfitnessdvds :) and ended buying nothing because they charge 17 USD int'l postage for 4 DVDs. I especially wanted to get the Fit Prime Steamin' Cardio with Kelsie Daniels. Kelsie is my favorite The Firm instructor. I'm so burnt out of the Firm right now but I miss Kelsie she's like an old friend :)

Today's workouts: (it's too hot in here during the day so lately I avoid cardio effect during the day):
AM Butts and Gutts & Lower Body Blast - floor sections only
Cathe's Ab Hits - Sections #1 & #2
Gym Style BSB - Back segment
Late PM: Athletic Step

Go on working out, my friends, we're not letting the hot weather stop us!
 
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Today I did Muscle Endurance, upper body premix, and for an extra burn for the arms I did Ruthless Ringside. Love both of them!

Tom, I think what I like to work most is arms, specifically triceps. That's probably because it's the area you can see progress in more easily. I used to dread leg days, but since I've been doing barre for legs, I'm really enjoying the burn.

Svetlana, that is a lot for postage! I think I'd have to pass as well.

Nathalie, I'm looking forward to trying several of the workouts on the two Cathe DVDs. I'll have to preview the ones with step in them to see if I'm up for the challenge.

Jen, maybe because BB#2 is so hard is why I didn't like it so much. Haha! Maybe just like with Afterburn, I need to suck it up and give it another try.
 
This morning was Kick, Punch & Crunch. I didn't get my doubles in yesterday and I don't know if I will today. I got home from work yesterday and had to take my dog to the vet. Something vestibular is going on--maybe a tumor, maybe just a virus. He threw up all over the house and cannot stand w/out falling down. They are keeping him for 2 days. If the "cheaper" end of the treatment doesn't work (trust me--the cheaper end is not cheap) then he will probably have to be euthanized since it makes no sense to spend the thousands of dollars it will take for further testing/scanning to find out he has cancer in his brain that probably cannot be treated and even if it can be treated we can't afford it (vet estimated around $10,000)--and even if we could, the vet says the residuals of brain surgery on a 10 year old dog will affect his quality of life.

Sorry to go on and on. It wasn't a good day yesterday. I already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for this morning so I had taken the day off and my daughter (she took the day off too) and I were going to spend the rest of the day together. That is still going to happen. I'm going to try to get home about the same time I usually do from work and do doubles, but we'll see. I'm afraid I will get call from the vet at some point today and it won't be good news.
 
Jen, we all are friends, no need to say sorry. I truly feel for you,I am thinking of you since I read your post and am sending you virtual hugs! Hope sharing your problems helped relieve your stress.

Jodi, I'm joining your plan to revisit Breathless Body #2. We must conquer this one.

Today is another low energy day for me. I could only make myself do segments of 10 Minute Solutions (Rapid Results Pilates, Hot Body Bootcamp, 5 Day Fit Mix , Tighten Tone Pilates). I need to choose a fun, different and not very long cardio to make me move tonight.

Warm regards everyone! And especially to our dear Jen.
 
Oh, Jen, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. It is so hard to see our babies sick and to have to make those kind of decisions. I've been there and done that and it just plain sucks.
 
jengollf said:
This morning was Kick, Punch & Crunch. I didn't get my doubles in yesterday and I don't know if I will today. I got home from work yesterday and had to take my dog to the vet. Something vestibular is going on--maybe a tumor, maybe just a virus. He threw up all over the house and cannot stand w/out falling down. They are keeping him for 2 days. If the "cheaper" end of the treatment doesn't work (trust me--the cheaper end is not cheap) then he will probably have to be euthanized since it makes no sense to spend the thousands of dollars it will take for further testing/scanning to find out he has cancer in his brain that probably cannot be treated and even if it can be treated we can't afford it (vet estimated around $10,000)--and even if we could, the vet says the residuals of brain surgery on a 10 year old dog will affect his quality of life.

Sorry to go on and on. It wasn't a good day yesterday. I already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for this morning so I had taken the day off and my daughter (she took the day off too) and I were going to spend the rest of the day together. That is still going to happen. I'm going to try to get home about the same time I usually do from work and do doubles, but we'll see. I'm afraid I will get call from the vet at some point today and it won't be good news.
Click to expand...

Jen, I am so sorry to hear this above:(:( Take the time off you need!
Please let us know whenever you are able to share.

Ladies there was no workout today for me---Rest/Recovery!
 
Jen. I am so sorry to hear about your dog. I lost my dog when I was 16..she was 15. I went to tell her goodbye because my dad was taking her to the vet to euthanize. She hadn't stood up for several days and when I started crying, she stood up and put her head under my Arm. That,of course, made things even worse. They become very special and I am so sorry that you are having to deal with it. Praying for the best!!
 
Today was shoulder day. 9 sets of military press, 3 sets of dumbbell shoulder press, 3 sets of combined side lateral/front raises, 2 sets of rear delt flys and 2 long sets of heavy shrugs. I finished with 3 sets of dumbbell curls and 50 incline sit ups. My legs are REALLY freakin sore, I think due to increasing my depth of squats and goblet squats!! I kept the weight fairly light, but really went deep..UGH!! Nathalie. My knees are good, my hips are lousy!! Jodi. I think you're right about arms....easy to see change/improvement!! Svetlana. My inner thighs are REALLY sore..must be depth related. how do you LIKE that???!! Haha.
 
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Alright, today I tackled BB#2, and there are more pros than cons. :) I really enjoyed the 4 sets of drills. I was able to do level 3 the whole way through (thank you, Cathe!), and I was pretty wiped out by the end of it. Then came a con...the Finisher. I don't understand the purpose of a 4-minute long HiiT! I tried to stick with level 3, but I was exhausted and my form was suffering. To me, that combination seems like a perfect recipe for injury. I think when I do the workout in the future, I'll either skip the Finisher or do level 1 and use it as an active recovery.

Tom, your dog story really got me choked up! Makes me think of my girl Harley I lost last year. I am still not over losing her. She was my angel. :(
 
Jodi. I am so sorry for your loss! I don't know to ask, but was Harley your daughter? If so, I can't imagine your level of pain. I am really sorry if I rekindled any painful memories!!!
 
Hi everyone. Thanks for the kind words. There was no improvement yesterday. They are continuing the treatment but we'll probably be putting him down tonight after I get off work. I kind of wanted to last night--to end his suffering but my husband wants to give him another day plus my daughter is driving down this afternoon to say her good-byes. So tonight, unless a veterinary miracle occurs today.

This morning I did Slow & Heavy Legs & Shoulders. Obviously no doubles this week.
 
Hi Everyone,

How are you all doing today. I did Tabatacise - Five of them. I had not done in a while.
I had superset with some add on lined up for later on but I decided not to go ahead.

I was not happy with my performance. I could not comfortably complete the full program.
Being under medication for my allergy problem, my breathing was to full potential.
I decided to call a day as it can trigger my asthma.

I am fine though. Tomorrow I will just do what I planned for later on today.

tslop49 said:
My legs are REALLY freakin sore, I think due to increasing my depth of squats and goblet squats!! I kept the weight fairly light, but really went deep..UGH!! Nathalie. My knees are good, my hips are lousy!!
Click to expand...

Tom: Hope your legs are happily sore. I can recall you mentioning you like DOMS. So I would imagine
you are happy. ok I get it now. You need your hips to cooperate while trying to hinge while deadlifting.
especially stiff deadlift. Cathe does stiff deadlift in all her program. She only does power/conventional deadlift on STS Total.
I am just grateful I could execute all deadlift without any issue. I know some of the lady who workout various instructors
get confused when they try stiff deadlift.

I discovered something today I am happy about. Today I warmed up statically for five minutes , then I did full body
squat below parallel with no weight. I tried it in the past and somehow I could not smoothly do more than 2 sets.
I knew the reason. My hips and quads were too tight. It is a call tfor more stretch. I have to force myself
to find time to do them. I need to do them before plyo and weight training in order to execute moves with a clean ROM.

Hope to read from you all tomorrow.;)
 
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Hello friends,
Jen - I feel for you. When I was a child, we had Choky the Tomcat. It's a real pain to lose a pet...sending hugs
Jodi - Congratulations on completing Breathless Body #2!
Nathalie - here I am at 2.20 AM Bulgaria time ;) I'm reading and liking your posts in other threads.
Tom - enjoy the leg DOMS

My workouts today:
AM:
Paul Katami Fit in 15 - Chest, Back, Shoulders (I like this one, but it should be named only "shoulders")
Xtrain Core #1, Crossfire - Core bonus
Gym Style Legs - floor segment
PM:
STS Plyo Legs (from week 1)
Stretch Max - Segment #3

Let's see if my legs will be shocked tomorrow.
Have a nice day!
 
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