The Perspective of an Overweight Exerciser
I love Cathe’s style and personality. Her workouts are a blast, and she inspires me to press on and give it my all. There are many other instructors I have not bonded with for one reason or another. They are fine instructors. Either the workouts were not my cup or tea, or their personality or teaching style did not click with me. I did not go to their website and complain about what is “wrong” with them because there is nothing wrong with them. There are many people out there who love them for who they are and enjoy their workouts. I do not think anyone should change for me. I gave the videos away and moved on. The good thing about having so many instructors producing workouts is that there is something out there for everyone.
I love Cathe’s personality and style and hope she never changes. I have battled my weight and obesity my whole life. I was more than 100 pounds overweight when I started this journey. I was living a totally sedentary life. I started an exercise program and quit, started and quit, over and over again. My eating has not always been perfectly clean, but I have been exercising consistently for over a year since I started working out with Cathe. Why? Because I love her personality, choreography, and teaching style. She makes working out fun for me. And she challenges me. She sets the bar high and inspires me to rise above and be the strong and fit woman I was created to be. Obesity is my present reality. Fitness is my future hope. Cathe does not cause me to focus on the limitations of my present reality. She inspires me to focus on my future hope and run with perseverance until it is my reality. I do not want an instructor to baby me or excuse me to do just what I can to get by. Conquering obesity is hard. It requires mental strength, emotional resilience, and determination. I need an instructor like Cathe who makes me believe that I can do anything for a minute. I am well below my top weight now, but I am still hauling around a lot of excess weight. Yet I can do things physically that I never imagined possible like completing some of Cathe’s more advanced workouts with only a few modifications.
Mental preparation is important. When Cathe warns me that something tough is coming up, I can get my game face on and get ready for it. Not to mention, there are some super advanced moves that are still out of my league. Knowing that parts of these workouts are tough for Cathe and crew makes me feel better when I struggle. I have walked out of classes in tears feeling like a failure because an instructor made it seem so easy when it was not for me.
You talk about Cathe’s Boot Camp then ask us to imagine “someone who's not as advanced and trying to get into the whole exercise thing.” The average American has most likely never heard of Cathe. If they have, it should be obvious from the video clip and workout description that Boot Camp is not the place to start. Someone who is new to exercise would likely be introduced to Cathe through her set at Target. Her approach is much gentler in those workouts. The same is true for Basic Step and Body Fusion.
When you first joined the forums, you expressed your opinion that Cathe is not creative. You were looking for more functional moves. Based on that, I think you might enjoy Jen Carmen’s workouts. She is very perky and says things similar to what you quoted from Chalene. (I love Jen too by the way.) I am not trying to discourage you, but it is possible that you will never bond with Cathe. My other suggestion is to stick with Cathe’s more functional workouts like Supersets and avoid workouts like Boot Camp. I personally love Boot Camp. I am not very athletic by nature, but Boot Camp is a blast. Supersets is super fun, less intense, and not intimidating at all.
I am having a lot of fun with Cathe’s workouts. I find her to be very warm and encouraging in her workouts and through these forums. I got fired up when I first start working out with her and did Boot Camp before my body was ready for it. I pressed on and got through it because of her encouraging words. I woke up feeling like I had been run over by a steamroller. Cathe herself encouraged me to step back from the ultra advanced workouts until my body acclimated. I have also seen her encourage new mothers to take it easy, enjoy the new baby, and do the best they can do with workouts while adjusting to motherhood.
I just wanted to share the experience of someone who is not an advanced fitness queen. Cathe does not intimidate me or discourage me in any way. She inspires me and encourages me to give every workout my all. I did not have any athletic ambitions when I started this journey. I just wanted to be able to bend over and paint my toes without getting winded! Now I am thinking that there just might be an athlete buried under these mounds of fat, and I believe with all my heart that I can accomplish all my fitness goals and finally be free from this prison of fat for good. I have shed 10 pounds this month, and I am hoping to start running later this year. Each of us is unique, and that is what makes the world a fun place. I hope you find more workouts that you enjoy. As for me, I will keep double knotting my laces, getting my game face on, and rising to the challenge with Cathe.
Blessings,
Heather B.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV).