CTX and pain ???

K

kli

Cathlete
Hi everyone,

This is the second time that I leave a CTX rotation because of joints pain : in both times, my right knee and my shoulder knee began to hurt, and it lasted for several weeks, giving me trouble for other workouts... Did anyone experience anything similar ? I am a bit disappointed because I can see through all your posts that CTX is great in increasing cardiovascular capacities :-(

Thanks in advance for your help !
 
Hi Karina,

Sorry to hear about your knee, and yes, I too got pain from doing the CTX series, down my left shin, and had to drop out of doing exercise for about 3 weeks to let it recover !!!!!
Despite that though, I still find the CTX series a very useful part of my workout week. I LOVE the bodyparting in it (especially the triceps and biceps - Phew ! :7 ), and if I do any of the short cardio segments, I keep them as low as possible, and leave out the jumping. I still get a great workout, and all on a 4 " step, too.

Hope your knee feels better soon.

Anna :)

Editing my typo !!!!!! :)
 
Anna

Hi Anna,

Thanks for your answer ;-)
Could you tell me how you use the CTX series in your workout week ? Are you following any rotation actually ?
I love the music, I love the cardio, I love the weight training, but... it hurts ! ;(
 
RE: Anna

Hi Karina,

I guess how you use the CTX series depends on what you want to achieve with your fitness goals ?

For me, my goal is to lose weight. So, I try to stick to 4 cardio days, 1 Leaner legs day (using an 8" step, which my knees prefer), and 2 rest days. I do a bodypart after each cardio session. And from the good advice on the forum, 10 minutes a week is sufficient for me, for each bodypart, which is about how long each bodypart takes in the CTX series. Though you could double up bodyparts, for example, do CTX triceps and biceps on Monday, and then repeat them on Thursday, after a sufficient rest ?

I try to aim for 2 Cathe workouts a week (usually Cardio Kicks and a step tape/Circuit Max, or Kickbox and/or Step and Intervals), plus 2 other cardio workouts, of lower intensity. I have also started to include in Pilates, which I love, so I am getting a good balance every week.

I hear you about the pain thing, but to save my joints, and to keep Catheing (my favourite instructor), I just lower the intensity, the step height, leave out the jumps, and intersperse Cathe with another instructor (a good tip there from Honeybunch :)). I am getting a good workout, burning fat and losing weight steadily. Another good thing is to listen out for Cathe's lower impact alternative moves, such as those heel thingies (WAH ! I can never remember the terminology ! LOL) instead of hi impact jogging, etc.

Good Luck !

Anna :)
 
RE: Anna

Karina..

CTX should not be hurting you. As far as one shoulder and one knee, well, the problems must have been there before CTX. Is CTX the most impact intensive tape you do? Maybe it is getting used to the impact that is your problem? I know I have incorporated more impact into my routine and I rarely get the nagging shin splints I used to get. So, really, sometimes it is just that you are not used to it.

That being said, I think you should lower your step to 6" if you are at 8" and 4" if you are at 6". Lowering your step can make a world of difference. You can just make all your power moves more explosive to make up for it. Before I would say it is the CTX cardios that are doing in your knee, I would say it is Leaner Legs. Also, your shoulder problem stumps me. For sure it is not just CTX that is causing this. Maybe a certain shoulder exercise in it is aggravating a preexisting injury??
Do you do IMAX regularly? CTX should not be a problem if this is the case.
CTX may be cardio intensive but it is not weight intensive. It should not be to blame for your shoulder. If you have a bum knee I can see the cardio aggravating it, but if you lower the step I think you should be better off. Do you know how to modify high impact moves into somewhat more lower impact? You can do this as well..
How long have you been doing the rotation before you experienced pain? Is CTX all you are doing???

Janice
 
Anna and Janice...

Hi girls,

You two are wise people ! I do the whole CTX series in one week, and I guess this is too much for my knees... This is true Janice, my right knee has always been the weaker one, but for my right shoulder, I suppose lifting too heavy weights has also been too much for it and this has revealed another weak zone (in fact, I started lifting weights with the CTX series)! And you're also right about THE move that triggers shoulder pain : the push-ups in the CTX series... I suppose that my form must not be here.
I do IMAX and IMAX2 once to twice a week, and those workouts have made wonders for me. I can really see the difference when I come back to workouts like Circuit Max or MIC. :)
Now I am doing a S&H rotation (tough !) to increase strength mostly in my upper body, but not with the heaviest weights that I can handle, because I don't want to hurt my shoulder anymore. I use each S&H one time per week, as Cathe suggests.
When I am not following any rotation, I usually don't work more than 5 days a week, sometimes just four, and I alternate cardio days with strength/endurance days. I want to lose weight, like you Anna, and lose it in the right way ! By the way, I really started losing pounds (with of course clean eating }( ) with the Intensity series. Now, with my S&H rotation, I don't really lose weight, Why ?????;( ...
But you two are right about the intensity and the height of the step, I think my body can't bear too much in one week !
Thank you again for the great advice, and both take care !
;-)
 
RE: Anna and Janice...

Hey Karina

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who experiences knee pain when doing CTX in its original format. My body seems to prefer alternating one day of cardio with one day of strength training. However if you are trying to lose weight the format of CTX is good in short rotations. It shocks your body.

I think the main problem with CTX for me is that it has too many repetitive power moves that are hard on my knees (power sevens and power fifteens). So when I want to use CTX, I substitute the first half hour of MIC for All Step and a run/walk for Step and Intervals. I also never do it for more than two weeks. I find that this helps with aches and pain in the knees. Hope that helps.

PS - I don't lose when I do S&H either but keep with it. Its a change for your body, helps you build strength and is fantastic for your core/ posture. When you go back to a weight loss based rotation you will see good results because of increased strength and stamina.
 
Hello Ladies,
I find that if I do CTX for more than 2 weeks my feet give out and I can barely walk. My feet just can't take doing step work every day. I have to alternate with weights every other day. The next time I do CTX I am going to do it over a period of 2 weeks alternating every other day with a weight workout. But I sure do love CTX. It is so much fun and I look forward to every workout--except maybe Leaner Legs. That one kicks my butt. Glad to know I am not the only one who has problems doing step workouts every day. I guess we just have to listen to our bodies and modify, modify, modify.
Heather
 
Hi Ladies,

I'm happy to see this thread. It takes me two weeks to do the CTX rotation. My knees get very sore if I try to get through it any faster. I tried to finish it in a week last December and my knees were sore for a month.

I now insert rest days (as needed) and I may or may not use a step depending upon how my knees are doing. Sometimes I'm only able to use the step on one of the workouts. This is working fabulously. I have to honor the fact that I personally need more recovery time.

I enjoy these workouts immensely. They're a blast!

Angelica
 
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