Fitness vs thiness

spyrosmom

spyrosmom

Cathlete
Hi, Cathe!!

I was doing Drill Max this eve, and I heard you say the word "calorie." Then I thought I don't think I hear Cathe say calorie, fat, pudge, etc in hardly any other of your workouts. Then I thought, that is wonderful!! Having moved up to your workouts after being thru quite a few instructors, you wouldn't believe how many of them harp on and on about how thin you'll become if you do the workout. Or how many calories you're burning or how much fat, etc. And if you do that particular workout 3x a wk for only 30 mins you'll lose 45lbs and 75 inches in a week!!! (guaranteed dontcha know!)

Its refreshing not to hear all that fluff. You seem to focus on the health and fitness, rather than trying to look like a Hollywood starlet. Let's face it, most of us could eat twigs and berries and workout til we're blue in the face and not look like we belong on the cover of "People" It would take a heck of a lot of money and good plastic surgeon for that!!!

You put the focus on "fit" and not "thin", and its wonderful. You and your crew all different shapes and sizes, and not rail thin, and beautiful. I don't workout daily and eat(mostly) right to put on a size 0 dress. I do it to see my son grow up, graduate colleger, get married, have babies and all that good stuff. I do it to live!!

Thanks for teaching me hard work and effort, there are no quick fixes, and the road is tough but its fun, too. The harder the work, the greater the reward!! Thanks for keeping the focus where it should be!!!

Nan
 
Amen, sister!

Someone posted recently asking about how each of us found Cathe, and as I was reflecting on that, I realized... I came to Cathe for purely selfish and vein reasons -- to get *thinner*, to look better in my bathing suit this summer, etc.

But the reason that I have stayed is because I wanna be STRONG. Thin and weak is just so silly! I am on a rotation right now, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, that focuses on upper body strength and I can already see and feel the difference. I don't care about the number on the scale anymore...

Thank you Cathe!
 
this is a geat post!!!! i went through the thin phase and basically cardioed myself to death and when i stood naked in front of the mirrior i did not like what i saw. i looked deflated and had no shape. when i started lifting and especially using cathe's workouts i strive to lift as heavy as possible and i love the muscular look. i want to compete in a figure contest someday. i have a lot of friend who think that cathe and many other fitness competitors have too much muscle but me, i think they look amazing and would rather look like that than just some thin, untoned, waife!
 
I think most of us found fitness for vain reasons. But stayed for so much more.

Cathe is the best, she makes being strong sexy!! I love that after a workout I feel confident, strong and positive. ;-)

Cathe thanks for all you and your amazing crew do for us each day!! You inspire us to be the best we can be.

Jenn;-)
 
ITA with all these posts! Bravo to Cathe and crew for keeping the focus on fitness and strength, and for being such good "common sense" role models.
 
>this is a geat post!!!! i went through the thin phase and
>basically cardioed myself to death and when i stood naked in
>front of the mirrior i did not like what i saw. i looked
>deflated and had no shape. when i started lifting and
>especially using cathe's workouts i strive to lift as heavy as
>possible and i love the muscular look. i want to compete in a
>figure contest someday. i have a lot of friend who think that
>cathe and many other fitness competitors have too much muscle
>but me, i think they look amazing and would rather look like
>that than just some thin, untoned, waife!

I could not agree more. Well said. Still many people are unknown to the truths of lifting for health. I also like the look of Cathe and others who promote a healthy lifestyle with fitness.
 
Yea, thin is definitely not IN for me. I've lost a lot of weight and, in the beginning, whenever people would say to me "You're getting so skinny you're going to whittle down to nothing" I would blanch. After a while I learned to respond "Skinny's weak. I'm aiming for FIT!"

Recently I read an article somewhere (either GLAMOUR, COSMO, or a women's fitness magazine...) about the new breed of ultra-skinny fashion models. Someone who worked with these girls was telling about a young model who was so weak (from the starvation, evidently) she needed help opening a door nobody would have had trouble with. Now who would want THAT???
 
Nan has beautifully expressed what I believe many of us think and feel about Cathe.

Cathe, thank you so much for your tough but fun workouts and for being the role model that you are!

Laura
 
Beautifully stated, Nan. I think Cathe is the intelligent woman's workout instructor, and that's why we're the "educated crowd", if I do say so myself. ;) :p
 
I find this subject very interesting from a personal standpoint. I worked with a lady who was rail thin and never worked out. We are the same age. She knew I was in to fitness and working out and one day out of the blue she said "If you workout how come you are not" .....voice trailing off to a dead stop. She was about to say more buffed or some thoughtless comment. I told her I was fit and strong but I didn't worry too much about 10 or 15 extra pounds.

She went to her doctor for a physical. She was told she was suffering from osteoporosis (sp?). The last time I saw her she had taken up pilates and was on the workout trail. I think she finally realized that thin does not equal fit.

I belong to another fitness site and one poster referred to the ultra thin unfit as "skinny flabby".
 
This has to be the best forum topic yet-- I agree whole-heartedly with you, Nan. For years I exercised my butt off,trying to get the lean, skinny look that everyone seems to thrive for. I was beating myself to exhaustion, with no results. I would see Cathe on FitTV, and at first, she scared me!! I never thought I could keep up. But one day (last year) I took the plunge. I have never looked and felt this good in my life. Thanks Cathe, for letting us know that thin is not in, and healthy beats all!!!
50 is fine when you look 39!!!!!:) :)
 
Nan, thanks for hitting the nail on the head with this one. I discovered Cathe when doing "regular" aerobics tapes just wasn't making me sweat the way I thought I should. I had Kathy Smith and Denise Austin - Denise made me want to put my fist through the TV screen. I was always so annoyed by her smarminess. "Look great from behind!" Oy! Kathy was better, a better work out and better talk but her voice can get pretty annoying sometimes.

So, I bought my step and it came with All Step and when I finished it for the first time I thought "Oooh, that chick is mean! But so refreshingly straightforward and on point." It felt to me like the message was - let's get to work people.

That's all. The emphasis is on improving strength and fitness. Everything else comes after.

So, I'll add my thanks to Cathe for her excellent style. And I'll keep buying workouts until I run out of cash!!! :D

S
 
I have to Agree, Thanks this is a Great Topic!!

After years of working out, I continued to always look for that "skinny" look, always worried about what I look like in a bikini, etc. I am currently 5'6" @ 112 pds. Just got back from a picnic w/ my family....upon leaving my Uncle's made a point to say, Jen, "Please Don't Lose Any More Weight!!"

Starting today I relized I want some muscle, not sagging boobs (LOL)...I want my body back :)

Starting tomorrow I am going to work on One Body Part a Day, and less Cardio!!!

Thank you again for this Topic, I real eye opener for me!!!

XOXO :)
"Today is a Gift, Have Fun"

~Jennifer~



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Awesome topic...I have been a lurker for quite sometime but was happy to read this one...I want to feel strong! I like it! And skinny doesn't touch it. I love Cathe and call her quite the names while working out to her - out of pure love (of course) I wouldn't have it any other way. When I am done working out my body screams "Yes" I am stronger today and can feel the tension for the whole day...great post!! s
 
Yes, I hear you!! Cathe is wonderful in that sense and its a relief.

I have the Cardio Fusion DVD which is a combo of all three DVDs, Drill Max, Body Fusion and Low Impact Circuit. She said something like, "Come on, burn all those calories..." on the section where she is working out with stability ball, swinging from side to side and throwing the ball up in the air, and still swinging and then doing bunny hops.... ouch! That workout surely gets you winded....!
 
>I discovered Cathe when doing "regular" aerobics tapes just
>wasn't making me sweat the way I thought I should.

Same here. I recently went back and did one of my old tapes on a day when I felt tired (think it was Hips & Thighs of Steel 2000) and it was so ridiculously easy. I felt like I wasted 30 minutes because I burn almost as many calories in a brief warm-up with Cathe! And the weight work on those videos is just ridiculous.

Somehow I end up enjoying Cathe's workouts much more even though they kick my butt (I'm still just intermediate so they really kick my butt). I would still like to lose some more weight but I'm most happy with the way my body is stronger. Last night DH told me my bicep was almost as big as his (an exaggeration as he's got great biceps in spite of hardly working out--that darn testosterone). The good thing is he seems pleased about my biceps and not bothered by it. He doesn't want me bony and weak, though he's glad I've lost most of the post-baby weight. And it's thanks to Cathe that I'm getting stronger.



***Lainie***

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Great post! I'm naturally thin and workout to gain muscle so I don't look like a stick...lol. And I love Cathe because she concentrates on the fitness portion, proper form and breathing techniques.

I was watching a morning workout show a few months ago who rotates thier instructors. They all tout they are "fitness instructors to the stars". And there are two girls in particular who used to drive me crazy! They were always saying do these exercises and you will have abs like Cameron Diaz, or legs like Angelina Jolie. It drove me crazy! I don't want to look like them, because I'm not them! I couldn't believe they make actors seem like perfection.

Anyway, I'm glad that Cathe doesn't do that. She makes us see what we need to do to get to our goals, or if we achieved our goals, what we need to do to change it up and make it more challenging.

I may be wrong, but I thought I read along time ago that Cathe used to be a fitness instructor to stars years and years ago. Even if she wasn't, I always found it quite humbling of her that she chose instead to work in a normal gym for the every day person in New Jersey. She could have moved to Hollywood and been rubbing elbows with L.A.'s elite, and instead she chose us....thanks Cathe!
 
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