Butt Project Update

M

mars

Member
I'm reporting in on week 12 of my weight lifting experience doing MIS 2x/wk, cardio 4x/wk. It isn't going so good. Still haven't lost the 4 pounds that I gained and I feel very bulky. I would like to know if anyone thinks that 3 months is enough time to evaluate this or if I should keep going for 6 months.

Basically I have seen no change in my butt, my legs are a little firmer, my upper body more defined. Also have noticed a thickening in my obliques, I have heard that squats can do this, anyone else notice this?

Is it time to try something new and end this experiment?

Since I have been serious about fitness for 15 years, maybe I am not going to see any quick changes?
 
I'm trying to firm my butt, I have way too much flab back there and on my thighs. I am one of those body types that looks good and firm from the front but flabby from the rear view. My mother and sister were built the same way.
 
What are you eating? If your diet could stand a bit of cleaning up, I'd try leaving the workout the same and changing the diet just a bit. If your diet is fine, then I agree it's time to change your workout -- I would add one more weights day and one more cardio day, and make sure that on one of your weights days, you go as heavy as you can stand.
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON May-09-02 AT 04:38PM (Est)[/font][p]How 'bout doing a S&H legs rotation? I just started one myself. It's really supposed to build up the muscle mass and my flabby butt could sure use that!! I plan on doing it for 12 weeks. We'll see how long I last. I do one body part per day and 45-60 min. of cardio. My eating was already cleaned up. So far, so good.

Someone on this board said the S&H series is "like waving a magic wand over your muscles". It inspired me. Great butt, here I come!!!!!

Robin http://www.smilies-world.de/Smilies/Smilies_klein_1/flower.gif
 
Mars, have you been doing any lower body floor work? I never have, I've always just done standing leg work and I was happy with my results except my butt was not as firm as I would like. I just started doing floor work three weeks ago and I really think I'm seeing results. In addition to what I was already doing I added three days of floor work - I've been using Firm Lower Body Sculpting, Firm Sculpted Buns, Hips, and Thighs, and the floor work from Pure Strength Legs (and I would love suggestions for others if anybody has any). If you don't like the results you are getting with this rotation, maybe you might consider going back to what you were doing before and trying floor work in addition?
 
Hi Mars,

I'm sorry to hear that MIS is not working well for you. In fact I had the exact same experience as you're having right now with MIS. 12 weeks is long enough, move on! As you have probably read on the forum, there is definitely some debate on the bulking issue. I personally think that the reason there is debate is because different people respond differently to weightlifting. I for one, like you, tend to bulk up easily. I already have a lot of muscles, so when I lift heavy they just get bigger, period. It sounds like you are already in great shape, so maybe that is what is happening to you too.

I'm currently on a PH rotation three times a week, which I find works much better for me than MIS at 2 times a week. I won't go heavier than 30 for squats and 25 for lunges, which actually might even be a little heavy, I may need to lower that to like 25 and 20.

I've really been trying to figure out what I want for my next rotation. I was considering PS, but I really think I will bulk up from it. I just flat out will not even consider S & H. I've heard alot about firm Volume 1 and I really think I might try out that video and do it three times a week for my next rotation. I guess this is kind of my theory: If you can feel it working, than it probably is. And honestly with squats and lunges I don't always feel them right there in my butt where I want to see a change. But I guarantee you with floorwork you feel it in all the right places. I think I'll try to find this tape somewhere. Someone said that you could get it at firmdirect but I didn't see it there. I know that PS also has floorwork but the workout is mainly a slower heavier format and that just turns me off because of the bulking issue. I don't care what anyone says about it, I know how my body responds to those and I don't like it!

Another issue that needs to be addressed, someone already talked about it above, is diet. Have you been watching what you eat? See the problem here though is that you already said that your body fat is fairly low. What was it again? So maybe your diet may be a factor and maybe not.

Let me know what you do. I am either going to buy vol 1 (if I can find it) or one or two of those other tapes mentioned above for my next rotation. If I can't find volume 1 then I'll just buy a floorwork tape and an upper body tape somewhere.

Another possibility is that you could also try Leaner Legs. It is an endurance workout and supposedly a killer. I don't have it yet but am definitely going to buy it soon.

Sorry this is sooo long.
Good luck!

Kristie :)
 
Hey Robin,

I found a vhs tape on half.com that says The firm - aerobic workout with weights - vol 1 - Is that it? It says it is one hour long but thats really all it says. I guess that must be it right? I'm veeeerry skeptical about ordering anything not by Cathe because everytime I do I am allllways disappointed. But I just want a different kind of workout for my next rotation - I'll be doing it three times a week. What do you think?

Kristie S
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON May-10-02 AT 01:06PM (Est)[/font][p]Yep, that's it. It's Suzan Harris on the cover with a yellow leotard, right?

You know what, Kristie? I can't guarentee that you'll like it. It was my first workout tape in 1991 and I've always loved it. It has always kicked my butt. I've seen lots of folks post how much they love it and how it changed their bodies, and others who hate it, mostly due to the dated look of it. It was put out in '85, I think. Leg warmers and poofy bangs are everywhere. Also, some folks just hate TheFirm for a variety of reasons. I do know this, tho--I don't bulk, but I've seen several folks who do, post that this is the workout that changed their bodies and made them more slender looking. Lots of floorwork here and it's the toughest out there, IMO.

The music is outdated, the clothing/hair is outdated, but the workout still works. No question. You're certain to at least get your $$'s worth is you put it in a rotation for 8-12 weeks, right? And, if you find that it works for you, Vols 2 and 3 are also excellent and compliment each other.

Also, if you go to www.fitprime.com and ask about this vid there, you're bound to get some first-hand testimonials. In fact, I just 'talked' to Suzan Harris there yesterday.

Good luck.

Robin http://www.smilies-world.de/Smilies/Smilies_klein_1/flower.gif
 
Kristie -

It is good to hear from you, I know you have similar goals as mine. Question - what is the difference in MIS and PH?

My body fat is around 20%, I would be happier if it were lower. I am a good eater and have always been but I did a serious analysis recently of my calorie intake, which is about 2000 calories and realized it is too high. I now am shooting for 1500, that is better for me because I have a slow metabolism and just don't need as much fuel as other people. That may help with my fat loss.

From the hours of research I have done over the years, it seems that body types like ours respond best to endurance based activities, which explains why I am in much better shape during cycling season when I do rides of 2+ hours. I was hoping to stick with an endurance based weight lifitng routine where I could keep adding weight to keep challenged. MIS seemed to be it.

In M&F Hers there is an article by Laura Mak where she says that she has mature muscles because she has been exercising for so long and now she never lifts heavy weight. I'm not sure what heavy is to her but it is an interesting point. what do you think of this idea?

I also love Jennifer Kreis and the Pilates tapes she does, very good for flexibility. I know you have been doing Power Yoga and find the same benefit.

Keep me posted on your progress.
 
HI mars,

PH is a faster workout than MIS and there are less breaks. To me, PH seems like more of an endurance workout than MIS. The lunges are killer. I feel like this workout works my muscles to fatigue more than MIS does. Although MIS is a great workout, I personally prefer PH. The ab section is better in MIS though. Hey don't forget about Leaner legs, it is supposed to be great too!

I guess it makes sense to me what that person said about already having muscles so not having to lift heavy. I just don't know the answer I really don't. But for my body, lifting heavy only makes me look bigger. But like I said I've always had muscle tone even before I started exercising regularly.

I know what you mean about the eating thing. I probably eat more than I should, but I've just never been one to count my calories. It's kind of depressing because when I was younger I could eat WHATEVER I wanted, but now I have to watch every little thing I eat. I don't obsess about it, but I figure that if I spend all this time working out I want to look good and feel good, so I guess I also have to watch what I eat. BUMMER!

Keep me posted on what you decide to do!
Kristie
 
Hi Kristie,

I've been following this post and wanted to say that you and I must be related! I also do Taebo, run, and some Cathe videos. Like you, I bulk up too easily and fear getting beefy looking with weight work. I'm actually afraid of doing lower body strength training because I already have rock hard quads from cardio alone (a blessing or a curse?!!). My hamstrings, calves and rear could use some extra toning though, but I'm not sure what sort of strength training to do without engaging the quads too much. I noticed that you do Power Hour. What kind of results have you seen with this tape? It's so hard finding the right balance. I'm looking for any reason to try Power Hour, but experience tells me I'd end up with exactly what I don't want--bigger quads. How often do you do PH during the week and did you go through a period of swelling in the muscles initially?
 
Hi Sophia, (sorry this so long)

Well I've done PH twice a week on one rotation and recently I've been doing it three times a week. When I do it three times a week I go lighter because it's tough to do it that many times a week with the heaviest weight possible. PH has helped to tone me up a bit but I've also gotten alot of my upper body definition from doing power yoga. I must say though that when I start on my PH rotation I always notice that my thighs get a little bigger(just a wee bit) and I just feel a little bulkier. But I do like this workout and will continue to do it for 4-6 week rotations every so often. You may want to try it out, but just go lighter on the squats and lunges.

I broke down and ordered a firm tape(I probably will hate it but I had to give it a shot)from ebay. I got firm vol 1. I'm hoping that all the grueling floorwork will help firm up my butt a little. My husband says that my butt is already firm and that I'm obsessing but I still see a little bit of cellulite there and I don't like that!

Sophia if you don't do floorwork you may want to add some in. That may help firm up your backside. It may be the answer to getting your legs more tone without making your quads bigger. I'm going to give it a shot with this firm video and see what happens.

I know what you mean when you say that it's so hard to find the right balance. What works for one person may not work for another. To be honest though the ONLY thing that REALLY makes all of my cellulite/fat go away is losing weight. Right now I'm weighing about 121 but when I go down to about 117-118 I look really tone with very little fat. I've been thinking alot about this and I'm considering upping my cardio to 5 days a week to see if that helps me lose these few unwanted pounds.

Good luck to you!
Kristie
 
Hi Kristie,

Thanks for your response. I actually do the floor work from Taebo 5 and I do think it helps tone my hip/rear area. I think I'll stick with upper body training for now and continue doing floor work for my lower body. Let me know how the Firm tape works out for you. If you think the floor work is good, I might try it out myself. By the way, I know what you mean about hating the Firm. I tried their Lower Body Split several months ago and had to return it because I couldn't stand the cheese factor--who the heck exercises in a library that looks like Masterpiece Theatre! But, I'd be willing to overlook that if the workout was really good.
 
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