Exclusively Cathe

dianet

dianet

Cathlete
Hi Everyone -

Are there a lot of people here that do Cathe workouts exclusively? Does anyone think there is a downside to doing so? Right now I am a member of a very expensive gym and I am trying to decide whether to cancel membership and workout with Cathe exclusively, or continue only going to the gym 2-3 times a week and using videos the rest of the time. I just moved into a new house and finally have a room dedicated to exercise, but I wonder if I will get bored doing videos all the time or if it is not the best for long term fitness gains. It is also a Catch 22 because if I work out with videos exclusively, I will eventually have to buy more and more Cathe videos to have variety, thereby not really resulting any financial savings (right now I only have some of the intensity series, body blast and pure strength).

Any insight or experiences with this would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Diane
 
If I work out to a video, I work out to Cathe 95% of the time. I will do some CIA cardio once in a while, and I swim laps 4-5 times per week, but my weight training is always Cathe.
 
Hi Diane,

I still have my gym membership too. I have only been to the gym once since I found out about Cathe in Jan. I know that I should cancel too. For cardio, I run outside, treadmill run (mostly) and do Cathe DVDs. For weights, I only use my Cathe DVDs. I've gotten such great results so I figure why buy anybody but Cathe.

I keep the membership as well for the change of scenery, but I guess I haven't gotten bored yet! ;-)

HTH!!

Dallas
 
The only videos I have are Cathe videos. I am afraid to try other things. Videos are expensive if you don't end up liking them.

I go to 3 times a week and workout to Cathe 2-3 times a week. I am trying to talk DH into turning our guest bedroom into a gym.
 
Hi there,

I only do Cathe videos as well (four times a week), but I do go to my gym twice a week. I like the group fitness classes for cardio and as a mother with two small kids, I like to get out of the house! I use my videos for my weight training and for days when there aren't classes offered at times I can go. I like to have both.

Kelly
 
I go to the gym as well b/c I just like the variety. I love my Cathe & do it quite often but I do like to break it up w/ spinning classes or running or weight machines. I don't like being bored :) Works really well for me.


"you miss 100% of the shots you never take"

Debbie
 
I do Cathe exclusively for weights but for cardio mix it up with a combo of Cathe, biking, power walking and running. If you get bored with the same thing - even a great same thing like Cathe - I would keep the gym membership :)

Sparrow

___________________
www.scifichics.com
 
I work out to Cathe about 95% of the time. I have P90X but haven't really gotten into it. For me, the downside of working out to Cathe all the time is that I've gotten to some pretty heavy upper body weights and really need a spotter for several exercises. I also have an athritic spine that doesn't like a heavy barbell on it, and a leg press machine would suit my needs better. The only equipment I have here at home are my many pairs of DB's, a barbell and several plates, a club step and a high step. There is only so much that one can do with this kind of equipment. I'm not saying you won't get far because you will, but once you get to a point where you're about to max out the weight limit on your Troy lite, you know you need machines. I don't have the time or the money to go to a gym right now, so I just try to shake things up by varying my workouts and cooking up a lot of mishmoshes. I do know that I will have to eventually.

Pinky
 
I almost always workout with Cathe, but I would love to workout at a gym a couple of times a week for variety. If you already have a membership, I would keep it, especially if you are partaking in classes or using equipment that you enjoy and provide cross training benefits.
Angela:7
 
I workout exclusively to Cathe with the exception of walking on my treadmill or outside with my dog. If I start feeling burn out, I just take a week off and then I'm ready to go again.
 
Right now I work out exclusively with Cathe, but I think I might try out some different cardio in the next year or so (I haven't really worked my way up to breaking away from Cathe, since she gives me such an intense and fun workout).

I used to belong to a gym, and I can tell you that I am saving SO MUCH money by not having a gym membership, anymore. It might initially cost you some dough to build up a nice home gym, but you build it at your own pace and spend how much or how little you want. I have 6 sets of dumbbells (5's, 7's, 10's, 12's, 15's, and 20's), a step bench, a stability ball, a Firm fanny lifter with body bar that I use for calf raises and leg presses, a french curl bar with two plates, and a resistance band, among other things I don't use as much. That and all my Cathe DVD's and I've spent about as much, if not less, than I would have for a year's membership at the local gym.
 
Thats a tough question. How expensive? I find that I would be bored if I NEVER went to the gym. I go 1x a week to the gym and workout with Cathe the rest of the time. I DO have a guest room dedicated to fitness when there are not guests in it. It is a good sized room, but it is just a bedroom and after a while, I would go crazy if I only worked out there. My husband and I share a gym membership that is only $14 a month though.

It is getting hard to do squats without a rack and I don't think my back muscles are as well developed as when I was working out 4x a week at the gym. But I have 3 little ones and not enough space for a rack and not enough $ for P90X right now (which I have heard gets a good back workout at home) so this will have to do...for now

Jen
 
Diane, I also have had a gym membership for about 15 years but once I discovered Cathe, I worked out at the gym maybe only 3 times. I do have a treadmill and a nice joggingtrail so that adds to the mix.

I guess it depends on your goals beacause like Pinky mentioned, unless you have the equipment at home, you can't go really heavy even though you could if you had a good spotter or rack at home. I have worked out a long time and even then, I get an awesome workout with Cathe. That is another downside though. You will spend money on her workouts but believe it when I say you'll use them. So in the end, it's money well spent.


Then the gym thing, with all its annoyances come to mind. Sweaty bench, waiting on people to stop chatting & get off the one machine you need, having to unload a squat rack because the bone head in front of you didn't. I personally don't miss it.

So I guess I really can't simplify your question. Just think hard about what annoys you the most & work from there. If you're not in a mood to work out on any particular day, you'll think about that annoyance, you will be more likely to skip that workout.

Marla
 
I have joined 3 or 4 gyms in my life time and I just can't get into that scene! I much prefer to work out in the privacy of my own home, therefore I find the money spent on the vids and equipment much more worth it compared to the cost of a gym membership.

The only things about a gym that I prefer over working out at home is all of the cardio equipment that I can not fit in my home, nor afford to purchase and the fact that there's sooo many cute w/o outfits out there but I can't justify the expense (they ARE expensive!!!) when no one would see me in them!:-(

One day when I have a bigger home and can save up the $ I hope to atleast be able to purchase a treadmill and DH wants to purchase one of those home gyms...then it will be PERFECT!:+

So as you can see...if I were you, I'd ditch the gym and buy more Cathe! :+ }( :7
 
Diane, to me financially, there is no comparison. Cathe workouts are SOOO much less expensive than my gym membership. You pay for the workout once and use it 1000 times. I could buy several Cathe workouts for the price of just 1 month at my gym. You are so lucky to have a workout room! I have to go to the gym because I can't follow step workout routines. But if I could, I could sure save a bundle. For what I've paid for the gym, I could have purchased a top-quality treadmill by now 20 times over. But I have no where to put it.

-Nancy
 
I work out exclusively with videos/DVD's but NOT exclusively with Cathe. While I do mostly Cathe for my weight workouts (with P90X or PHH as well), I like more variety in my cardio (both intensities and styles), and like more kickboxing. Also, I feel that by working out just with Cathe, I would miss some important elements to my rotations: functional fitness workouts, recovery workouts, longer stretch/yoga. My video collection inclludes pure strength training, cardio/weights, functional fitness, stability ball workouts, medicine ball workouts, kickboxing, boxing, stretch, yoga, rebounding and more, so I don't often get bored (and if I do, there's always something new to try).

So if I read your question not as "the gym" vs "Cathe," but as "the gym" vs "at-home video exericse," I would say you can get an excellent program at home for less, especially if you have an exercise room.

The only drawbacks I can see are if you are motivated by the presence of other people (I'm not so much) and find it hard to motivate yourself to workout at home, or if you want to lift heavier than can be safely done at home or need a piece of equipment you don't have at home. Otherwise, there is MUCH more variety available on video than in any one gym, and you have access to world-class instructors, who present the "class" you want whenever YOU want it.
 
I have Firm, Fitprime and Cathe DVDs in my collection, although I have been using teh Cathe ones exclusivley for quite some time now. I have a gym membership and I usually go 2 or 3 times per week for a step class and/or to use machines (treadmill, bike and elliptical as well as circuit weight machines) to mix it up a bit. I like going to the gym for variety and for the social atmosphere, so I consider the combination of the two a very good mix!

In the past when I wasn't going to the gym (b/c I get in moods when I don't want to go), I didn't get bored doing only videos. I have a pretty large collection and don't do the same ones very often, but still, I like home exercise and haven't had a boredom issue.

Everyone is different so try a few things out and see what works for you!

Christine :)
 
HI Diane,

Just thought I'd add that I have three young children and the other reason I avoid the gym during the cold/flu season is because they always seem to get sick when I put them in the daycare. I know that they are exposed to stuff at school, but I figure why expose them at the gym too.

If I could find a kickbox class or any other other class that I liked I might go to the gym more often. I also have a lot of gym equipment in my work out room, so it makes it easier to not go the gym.

When I first started working out at home before Cathe I hated it. I just felt like I wasn't getting a good work out. However, Cathe's DVDs have changed all of that.

I don't know if that helps. Everyone has brought up some good points.

Let us know what you decide to do.

Dallas
 
I use Cathe almost exclusively for cardio, throwing in some jumping rope, running, & machines at the gym for variety.

But all my weight training is done at the gym. It gives you such a variety of different ways to change your routine, there are people there to spot you, so much more equipment (a big issue for me--I can barely fit a step in my house LOL), and it is something of a social outlet. Plus the classes--I can take spin classes, karate classes, step classes, body pump classes, boxing classes, pilates, yoga, etc. etc., all for free. (oh & it does have free child care, not that that matters to me :-( )
 
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