doing circuit workouts out of order

M

mariep

Cathlete
Hi, everyone--

Do you think you get the same benefits from a circuit workout if you do it in a different order than originally produced? I did Boot Camp the other day, but I did a combination of the premixes: upper & lower body, then all the cardio, then all the core. I loved it! I've always loved BC and feel that it's a terrific, tough workout. However, breaking it up in this way made me feel like I was able to focus more on each section (weights, cardio, core) than I do when doing it as produced. Actually, it felt more beneficial doing it this way than doing it as produced. What do you think?

Thanks!

-Marie:)
 
I think I may have to cop that one for myself.

That's a great idea, Marie! And if it felt more beneficial to you - if you felt you were working harder and with more focus - then it was and you were.

a-Jock
 
A-Jock, I was actually hoping to get a reply from you! I thought I remembered reading that you had done something similar with Cathe's circuit workouts. It really did seem like a completely different workout, and it was great! Something about BC as it's originally produced is weird (but a good weird because it's so tough, I must admit!); doing all out cardio for one minute, then going on to weight work, then core...I like that feeling you get from sustained cardio, and I like being more focused when doing weights, which is tough when you've just completed those dreaded "terminator climbers!" Maybe that toughness in itself is the beauty/benefit of BC as is, but I think I'm going to stick with this shuffling thing for a while and see how it goes!

-Marie:)
 
Marie - in all honesty, I have never done Boot Camp as originally produced. What weirded me out about it was going from cardio and leg work straight to upper body work (some of which is supine floor work) and then core work (ditto), then haul back up and start cardio again when I've completely fallen out of my HR zone. That's a personal taste thing, not a Knock-Cathe thing. When I'm in my HR zone I like to stay there for awhile.

Maybe another shuffle you could do is:

Boot Camp cardio only premix; then
BC kickbox only premix (some cycles will be repeated); then
Lower Body Only premix (certain KB cycles will be repeated); then
Core Only premix; then
Upper Body premix.

Kind of a Bottom-Up approach.

A-Jock
 
Marie, I am going to give that a try. It makes since to me it sounds like a great idea, thanks. That is what is so nice about the dvd's.

Have a good day all.

Debbie

well back to workx( :)
 
Hi there,

I'm glad I happened to read this thread, I've felt the same way about Bootcamp, and I find I hardly ever reach for it. I've always felt I'm a "slower" person in that sense. Once I get my HR up, it feels like such a pity to take it down (because it always takes that extra effort to get it up there, but once it's there, it's much easier to sustain). I've just been wondering if there is any added value in the CHANGES of the HR as opposed to a steady-state heart-rate. But all in all, because I really like the exercises in BC, I think I'll have to try my own mix too, it definitely will work better than not doing the whole workout in any case!;))

Maria
 
I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who felt "weirded out" doing Bootcamp. I too prefer longer sustained cardio between weight work. I'm not very creative when it comes to mixing & matching and usually do the workouts as originally produced so I rarely reach for BC. Thanks for the mix/match suggestions...I'll give those a try.

JJ

p.s. I really like Ciruit Max and was wondering about getting Terminater. Does it have longer cardio segments like CM? For those who have it, would you recommend it?
 
IMHO "Terminator" is a must-have. Yes it does have longer cardio segments. "Viper" and "I-Max Extreme"'s cardio segments are exclusively step-oriented. "Gauntlet" (my personal fave) has I-Max 2 step cardio AND Boot Camp cardio blasts (drool), plus resistance cycles from Boot Camp and Cardio+Weights.

Order it now; life's too short to go without it.

A-Jock
 
A-Jock, do you do Terminator as produced, or do you mix that up (all cardio then all weights) as well? I just recently got this and have only done one of the workouts (Gauntlet) once, so I don't even know if it has premixes or not....

-Marie:)
 
Hi, Marie! Actually, I used to do Gauntlet (the only workout on Terminator I ever did) as produced, but I felt the need to monkey around with that one a bit using my beloved "Next" button. I don't think it has premixes, but now that you mention it, I don't think I ever checked.

I like to do either a leg-circuit-only version of Gauntlet, or a cardio-only version. With the leg-circuit-only version, I do two complete cycles of barbell squats, plie squats or lunges immediately after the step cardio, regardless of what the workout is doing for resistance. Note that after step cycles 3 and 4, there are standing kickbox drills which I also like to do, then go into the squats and lunges. After those are done, I just "next" throught the chapters to the Boot Camp cardio blast.

With the cardio only version, I just "next" forward to the next cardio sequence, keeping in the kickbox drills after the step cycles in #3 and #4. When I have a bit more time, I like to add on I-Max 2 step and blast #9, then the Boot Camp cardio interval #8. I have a 5-disc player, so that's pretty easy to program in.

I'm a little goofy in that I do not really care to do circuit work that recruits upper body muscles, even if they're compounded with lower body drills a la Cardio-Weights or Circuit Max. I always like to do leg drills only, again to avoid falling out of my HR zone.

Hope this answers your question. I love Gauntlet because you can make it just about whatever you want it to be, each and every workout.

A-Jock
 
I like your way of doing it!

I've only done Bootcamp "as is" twice. After that, I 've done the "all but core" followed by "core only"(I didn't like having to go from on the floor to standing and back during the workout). That places the cardio/plyometric work closer together and the upper body/lower body work closer together (and the abs closer together) so it may be more intense that way.
 
I guess the idea is, play around until you find what you like and what works best for you! I'm so creatively challenged, it never occurs to me to do things other than how they're produced. But now that I've had a little taste of it with BootCamp, I can't wait to play around with more premixes, and maybe make up a few more of my own!

-Marie:)
 
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