Cardio of CTX -- Is it enough?

[honey]

One of Santa's elves let it slip that I'll be getting CTX for Christmas. (I've been a very good girl.)

My worry is that the cardio sections aren't going to be long enough. Do the muscle segments keep you in the fat burning range? How about leaner legs -- is it intense enough to work as a cardio day or should I plan to add a run that day? I have a bunch of Cathe step tapes, both interval tapes and Cardio Kicks. I could add cardio tapes to the rotation, but I worry about overtraining.

I'm satisfied with my musculature, but would like to be a bit leaner. Do you think the CTX rotation would be a good choice? I'm at about 21% body fat and I'd like take off a few pounds of fat. Those pounds are STUBBORN!

 

[PamelaP]

Leaner Legs isn't cardio

Cathe posted an excellent explanation recently on why strength training never counts as a cardiovascular workout, even if it gets you into your target heart rate range. Not that there won't still be some calorie-burning benefits in that case, but something about the body using two different energy systems for strength versus cardio. I'll look around for it and if I find it I'll post a link...it was terrific info!

Good luck with your weight loss!


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[font color="red"]142 pounds gone...and counting![/font]

 

[PamelaP]

Found it!

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-11-00 AT 07:00PM (Est)[/font][p]It was from 11/7 under Ask Cathe, topic of "Question about Fit & Firm":


"Hi Ashes! Fast paced muscle toning exercises may accelerate your heartbeat substantailly, but only the specific muscles being worked receive the benefit, being muscular endurance, not cardiovascular endurance.

Let me try to explain: Any muscle that contracts repeatedly for more than 2 minutes requires fresh oxygen and is therefore drawing on energy that is aerobic, meaning "with air". But the common meaning of aerobic endurance (cardiovascular endurance)is the ability of the heart and lungs to deliver EVER-LARGER amounts of oxygen to working muscles during activities like running, brisk walking, cycling, etc. So to build up your cardiovascular system, you need to sustain activities such as these for at least 20 minutes, rather than participate in muscular endurance activities.

To summarize: Sure, working in your target heart rate zone during muscular endurance activities will improve your fitness level, and burn fat and calories. But it cannot be viewed as a cardiovascular conditioning program, since weight training, does not encourage the body to handle oxygen in the manner in which it does during cardiovascular activities."

Here's a link to the full topic: http://64.225.138.194/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.pl?az=show_thread&omm=0&om=2633&forum=CatheForum


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[font color="red"]142 pounds gone...and counting![/font]

 

[Lex411]

One of the major keys to continued fat loss is to keep shocking your body. Doing the CTX series for 4 to 6 weeks and then switching to a different rotation is the best plan for that. And when you switch, make up a rotation that varies the length and intensity levels. For instance, do one long cardio session (say 60 mins) per week that stays in the lower end of your target heart rate, then maybe 2 that are shorter (approx 30-45 mins)and more intense and add an interval training workout. That way each time you're doing cardio, the duration and intensity are so different your body can't adjust to them as quickly and you shock your body and rev your metabolism more. But I think the cardio in the CTX series will be sufficient, especially if you're able to get the DVD, which gives you the easier option to mix and match chapters so you could even make certain workouts longer or shorter or more intense just by shuffling the chapter selections. The key is to constantly make changes, and if you like to work on a steady rotation, like I do, just change that completely every month or so at the most. I have seen fantastic results doing this and I've seen Cathe post the same advice. Variety is the key, but certainly using the CTX rotation even as is would be different from what you're doing now and as they are arranged should make for a great rotation for a while.

Then in a month or 6 weeks, start having fun with mixing up the sections to vary them. You'll see that fat start to melt away, I guarantee.

Lex

 

[honey]

Thanks Pamela and Lex!

Thanks for the great information. I was a little worried about the new rotation but now I'm excited to give it a try. Especially after the winter holidays I'm going to need a shock to the system.

Thanks again!

 

[Lex411]

RE: Thanks Pamela and Lex!

I'm due to get my new CTX DVD tomorrow and I'm soooo excited myself about doing the new rotation. Then I'll get creative with making up new ways to confuse myself. I mean beyond my usual mental confusion.

Let me know, when you start doing yours, if you come up with any cool combinations with the CTX stuff. It seems like the possibilities are limitless in terms of how you can shuffle around. We'll all have butts so tight you can bounce a quarter off em!

Happy Holidays (a little early)!
Lex