Equipment question

[veronicamitch]

Hey all! I am new to Cathe and the exercise gods have smiled upon me...my friend's brother just gave me a Gold's gym bench with a pulley system adjustable barbell and dumbbells!! The only thing is, that barbell itself is 45 pounds. I didn't even realize that barbells themselves got that heavy. What weight barbell is appropriate for Cathe's workouts? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[syzygy314]

It depends on your strength and 1RM. I use a 10 lb. barbell and the barbell in Cathe's STS workouts is a 5 lb. Troy Lite barbell. Keep in mind that the lighter barbells are also shorter, so if your bench has a barbell rack, it might be too wide to hold the shorter barbells.

Also, don't be afraid to just use dumbbells in place of the barbell until you get strong enough for the 45 lb. (what they call an Olympic bar) one, especially if you're like me and can't afford to add to or replace equipment right away! What I love about Cathe is the ability to substitute and vary according to my level of fitness and strength!

So, welcome and enjoy your new workout equipment!

 

[veronicamitch]

Thanks for the reply! Ya, don't think I'll be able to use that olympic bar, but I know someone who can. I'm looking at the troy lites now, but will probably stick with my dumbbells for the time being. I want to spend my $$ on some Cathe dvd's!
Thanks again!

 

[maddiesmum]

The Troy Lite barbell may be the single most useful fitness purchase I ever made. You can load it up to about 100 pounds, as Cathe does in STS. After a while, most exercise DVDs start to resemble each other, even Cathe's, as much as we love her. The barbell is an excellent investment and will be with you for all upper and lower body work your whole life. I doubt you will ever outgrow it. There are moves for which a dumbbell is not useful or not comfortable. Put the Troy Lite on your shopping list!

Clare