Cathe, please help

[Shaz]

Hi Cathe, I would be extremely grateful if you could help me create a plan of action.

I am the correct weight for my height (5 feet 8; 130 pounds), but my upper body is too skinny, and lower body too fat. I would like to both increase muscle and reduce fat, but don't know which plan to stick to. Every time I read about a new rotation, or a new exercise plan in a fitness magazine, I change what I do, so never manage to stick to anything for more than a couple of weeks. As a result, I haven't made much progress.

I have MIS, PH, PS series, S and H series. I have Keli Roberts step tape (I'm not coordinated enough yet for Cathe step!), and an exercise bike. I have time to workout most evenings. I already do a lot of walking to/from work, but find intense cardio after work very tiring.

Could you advise a plan that I could stick to a while?

Thanks so much in advance!

Sharon.

 

[jgoycoolea]

Hi Sharon, I did a search not to long ago to see if Cathe ever said how to increase shoulder mass. I found a post that Marlene created in which she summarized what Cathe had posted earlier. The post addresses increasing arm size, but not necessarily fat loss. I copy parts of it in....

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When I first discovered this forum, someone asked Cathe a question about a rotation to maximize upper body muscle development. I did not keep a copy of it but I did make some notes on what she said. So, bear in mind that the following is not her exact wording but what I wrote down in my little workout notebook. I believe the exact issue was better shoulders, biceps and triceps but if you are interested in just shoulders, it still should give you some new ideas to try.

To maximize muscle development and achieve cuts and definition, Cathe advised the following:

Avoid overdoing cardio

Eat extra protein

Get extra sleep

Eat 200-300 calorie extra on heavy lifting days.

For each body part you are concentrating on, pick four exercises and do them as follows:

1. First exercise, 4 sets of 8 reps with absolute heaviest weight you can handle with good form. Perform the reps slowly.

2. Next three exercises, choose a weight not quite as heavy and do 3 sets of 12 reps.

 

[Shaz]

Hi, thanks for this, it's very useful. I'm still hoping that Cathe will reply as I'm interested in knowing how much cardio to do to lose the fat but without hindering muscle gains.

Sharon.

 

[jgoycoolea]

That is of course the big question, and I don't think there is one definitve answer. And it seems to me that you can think of the cardio in terms of how often per week, and how long per session. I read an article once in which Jay Cutler, a professional body builder, said that cardio should not last longer than 50 minutes per session or muscle starts to go. I know this still doesn't answer the question completely. Jeanne