dvd vs. vhs and several other ?s!!

[feebs21]

Hi! i'm looking to buy some new workouts and i'm trying to decide b/w vhs and dvds. i know everybody says dvds are much better because there are so many options (plus vhs will soon be obsolete!) but i am the type of person who wants the workout all planned for me (i'm not sure if i want to search through chapters and program the workouts on my own). for the dvds...do they have the origninal workout like it is on the tape or do they just have segments that you put together on your own?

also, i'm looking at the intensity series, ctx series or bodyblast series. which one is best? i can only get one series and that's going to make my credit card cry! to get an idea this is what i typically like...one day of all intense cardio, one day of intense all body weights, and sometimes i throw in a circuit training day for the cardio days. i'm not sure if i'd like doing cardio everyday with one bodypart strenght-wise (which is what ctx series appears to do??). does this work well, i'm willing to try it? however, i'm afraid i wouldn't end up working all the muscle groups unless i did the whole series-therefore leaving out some of my other tapes. i'll give an example...this is what i did for the past two weeks

sunday-cardio kicks
monday-run 1/2 hr, power hour
tuesday-imax 1
wednesday rest
thurs-mis
friday-firm supercardio
sat-rest
sun-cardio kicks
mon-mis
tues-imax 1
wednesday-power hour
thursday-circuit max

is this an okay routine? i love all of these tapes (although i think i could kick it up a notch in the cardio area) which tapes do you think i would like the best and would give me the best results-to get in shape and stay there, and maybe fit into my high school jeans again (they're still a little snug)? sorry for the looooooooong questions, but i'm kind of new to this!

thanks!

 

[jillybean]

1st of all, get the DVDs. Even if you do them as is, you will never have to rewind them, you still have more options if you ever want them, and the quality is better.

That said, it sounds like you might really enjoy all 3 of the series you named. CTX is very vesatile and you can do all of the upper body weight segments back to back (this is offered on the DVD) and then double up on the cardios if you'd like (e.g. do Step Intervals and All Step in the same session). I love CTX and use bits of it in every rotation I do.

The Intensity Series doesn't offer much cardio, but the cardio it does offer is golden! If you like to do all weights one day, all cardio the next, you could do Imax II one day, then Muscle Enduranc the next day, or you could do Cardio and Weights step only premix (on the DVD) followed by the cardio only premix of Boot Camp (on the DVD) which is a total of about 37 min. of cardio. Then the next day you could do Pyramid Upper or Lower Body. You can also get a whole week of great cardio and strength training without utilizing any of the premixes, if that's what you want.

Body Blast is great and I am loving it so much. With the DVDs, you really have limitless variety. You can do Step Blast one day, Supersets the next. You can do 3 sets of the Push Pull upper body exercises one day, 3 sets of Push Pull lower body exercise the next day. And the Body Blast series has several circuit workouts with the premixes. If you love Cardio Kicks, you are gonna really dig Kick, Punch, and Crunch. It is intense and fun. I love it! And Step, Jump, and Pump is a nice circuit workout when you want to do cardio and weights in the same day.

If you want to upkick your cardio, then CTX or Intensity are more intense cardio wise than Body Blast, but Body Blast is a nice compliment to some of the more intense workouts that Cathe has produced.

I guess I'm saying no matter what series you choose to buy, you won't be disappointed (especially if you get the DVDs!)

 

[Dml]

DVD definitely. I am just now switching my workouts from VHS to DVD. I hesitated because I am technologically impaired and thought it might be "complicated". The DVDs are WONDERFUL. You can just "skip" over parts you don't like (for me it is any type of push-up- yuk). The first DVD I purchased was the CTX series. It is great. I love mixing up the cardio sections. You really don't have to follow the one body part a day at all. You can mix and match very easily. It also has the CTX upper body included on it. IMHO the Intensity Series consists of more challenging workouts than Body Blast. The Terminator DVD (just awesome) really has taken my cardio to a new level. Body Blast is a good series, love the music, but I really don't think you'll get the intense weight workout from it that you can get from the Intensity Series. And WOW, I'll never fit into my high school jeans again. Actually, I don't think I could get them up past my knees!!!! You go girl!

Blessings,
Denise

 

[feebs21]

Thanks so much for the advice, girls! I think i may go with either the intensity series or ctx, i guess i'm still pondering! maybe the bodyblast will come later (when i can afford it!). i'm definitely going to try the dvds, now that i know they're not too complicated! about the hs jeans...i'm only 24, without kids and in grad school, so i really wish i could still fit in them!!!! oh well, i think i gained those freshman 15 in undergrad and never got rid of them. as my best friend's mother put it, "you just became more womanly, honey, with nice, child-bearing hips now!" (nice way to make someone feel better, huh!! thanks again!!

 

[LAEnggren]

yes get the DVDs Believe me if you do these workouts really do them the weight will come off definitely do weight lifting It really amkes a huge difference do cardio short intense bouts I have all of Cathes VHS and have recently started buying DVDs Boy they are great especially for mixing things up and the quality sound really much better
Good luck