finding the right weight

[saralh]

Hey! I recently got Power Hour but have yet to try it. All my weight training thus far has been with the Firm vids... Can anyone give me an idea of the weight range I will use for this video? I recently got a new Ivanko 10-lb padded barbell and can't wait to use it! I also have another regular barbell... along with a variety of dumbells. How much weight do you guys use for the exercises in PH? I know it's different for everyone, but how often do you need to change weights? I just want to see what the majority says, if you can use the same weight for several different muscle groups, or if you are constantly having to change the weight. Any advice on finding the perfect weight for me is appreciated! I've never really had any trouble with the firm, since the reps are usually low in their weight vids...I do tall leg presses with two 10-lb dumbells, and squats and lunges with 2 12-lb dumbells, if that helps at all! Thanks, I can always rely on the educated crowd for advice... I'm so glad I found this forum!!!

:0) Sara

 

[mogambo]

If you have two barbells, they will come in handy, but even with two, I have to change them a couple of times. THis is ok, because there are little breaks between songs and there's no rush. I use what Cathe uses for all the songs, basically, so at the beginning I set one barbell up with 20 lbs, and another with 40. Later, I end up having to create a 30 pound one at some point and then back down to 20 for the small muscles at the end. I have a set of 2 1/2 pound ankle weights from my ancient bygone Firm days which I sometimes slip on the ends of my barbells to quickly raise them 5 pounds. I also have some 1 pound wrist weights I can use to raise the barbell two pounds in the same way. You can get pretty creative if you're cheap.

 

[saralh]

THanks! That gives me a bit of an idea of what to expect. I hope having 2 barbells saves time. I can't wait to try PH! Thanks again... oh, and what other weight vids do you like? Do you still do the firm? What about Cathe's MIS?

 

[mogambo]

I like MIS, though I am a tad sick of it, I like PS, although the CST one doesn't do much for my shoulders, I like Slow and Heavy. I rarely ever do the Firms because the Stepford Wives sexy voice thing is annoying, and most of them are too easy. I occasionally still do the Tortoise, and the two Tough Tapes and the StrongBody one, but the others I have given away. I mostly do Cathe, and spin classes at my daughter's gym (if I go with her, I can pay 5 bucks and join the class, much cheaper than a gym membership since I am an introvert and have 24 Cathe tapes). And the CTX series, I almost forgot, that is good, especially if you do 2 body parts in one day.

 

[kristina]

RE: Creative use of paperweights

That is such a creative idea, mogambo! I too have ankle/wrist/jazzercize (can you believe that?!) weights functioning as paperweights. Sometimes 5 pounds can make a huge difference. Thanks! ;-)