Going to commit

[Tfit]

Hi

Some of you answered can you give more advice:

Hi Everyone

Well I decide that instead of the gym I'm going to make a commitment to Cathe)

So my question is to Cathe and Cathe Fans please:

I'm 34 years old. I weigh about 125 but would like to see myself between 115-120. I need more then anything to loose body fat. I want to see some inches gone: thighs, stomach area. After two kids need some help here...lol. Also I want to have my arms look better in a tank top a more difined look and need help with the back fat by the bra...yuk. I feel like I look kinda frumbe (is that even a word lol) I want people to think wow she is a mom of two and looks great)))))

So with your help I know I can do this.

Can you tell me what DVD's you recomment that I start with. I would say my fitness level is intermediate...but as far as step....not so great.

I would like to work out maybe 3-4 days a week.

What rotation what you suggest to help me with my goals. Is there a check in on this group I can join?

Any advice from anyone would truly help.

Maybe suggest your top 3-5 dvds that you think maywork for me and my goals))) Aslo any non cathe videos although Cathe is my first choice but maybe there somethig else good out there)

Thank you so much everyone)

Tammy

 

[topnotchmama]

Hi! Cathe is so awesome I know you'll love all the workouts once you get started! My suggestions would be Boot Camp w/ Muscle Endurance, maybe Kick, Punch, and Crunch which comes with Legs& Glutes, or 4 Day Split which has cardio and a weight section on each workout, but this one has some step that you may need to work on. I really could go on and on about all the DVD's, but when you go to Cathe.com to order she has great descriptions on all the DVD's that can also help you decide. Good luck!!!

 

[lioness]

Hi Tammy,

Congratulations on your committment to fitness and Cathe. I know that you will have great success with these workouts. The dvds I suggest are follows:

Boot Camp/Muscle Endurance - Boot camp is a great circuit workout where all body parts are worked. You do 8 cycles with each cycle consisting of 1 minute of cardio, lower body, upper body and core. Muscle Endurance is a great all over muscle endurance workout. These were the first 2 Cathe dvds that I owned. I love them!

The Gym Style Series - Back, Shoulders, and Biceps, Chest and Triceps and Legs. This series will tone you up. The BSB dvd got rid of my back fat for good! The leg section is tough and long but you can use the premix until you are ready to do the whole dvd.

Kick, Punch and Crunch - Great cardio workout and lots of fun. Has a nice ab section at the end.

Core Max - 3 - 20 minute core workouts.

Drill Max - I use this mainly for the cardio premixes. It uses a step but the drills are more athletic in nature. I am not a stepper by any means but I can handle the drill work.

Starting out 3-4 days a week is great. You can set them up something like this, inserting rest days when needed.

Boot Camp
GS - Legs
GS - Back, Shoulder and Biceps
KPC
GS - C & T
Core Max
Drill Max - Cardio Premix
Muscle Endurance

I hope this helps! Good Luck on your fitness journey!!

 

[timea3]

My suggestion

Hi Tammy,
I started with Cathe Classics (Step Jam, Step Heat, Step Max, Power Max, Step fit, Step Works). Cross Train Xpress, Rhythmic Step, Cardio Kicks, Circuit Max, and I think Body max and Body max 2 (yes these are goodies). With these workouts you can learn the basic movements she uses in he other workouts. And when you are comfortable with these then it is time for more fun like Imax 1, Imax 3, Kick Max, Boot Camp, etc.
She is sooooooooooooo much fun and a great motivator.
Hope this helps and good luck.

Timea

 

[Tfit]

Hi)

this is what I have dvd wise:

Bodyblast: kick punch and crunch and legs and glutes

High step circut

basic step and body fusion

Slim in six (not cathe)
jari Love ripped to the core

Can someone help me with some sort of rotation for my goals....I can also buy some ned dvds as well)

Thank you again

Tammy

 

[Boilergal]

Hi Tammy!

First of all, YEA FOR YOU for making a commitment to getting fit and being a HOT MAMA!!!

I second the vote for Core Max. I've been using that post-childbirth and it really has tightened up my abs. I also started back using the step workouts on your Basic Step DVD, I love both of them and still use them on days when I want an easier workout/or am really tired and don't want to *think* through my workout, LOL!

I really had postitive results with 4DS--I see more definition in my arms and had to go HEAVIER with the weights after a two month rotation. So I got a lot of progress from this series. And the Boot Camp segment on this is awesome! You'll be huffing and puffing and ripping sweat, but all in under 40 minutes.

Make sure you get some flexibility training, too--I love Stretch Max for this purpose and tack it on to the end of workouts.

Also, I recommned Push Pull/Supersets because you can do these in under an hour (this was important to me as a work outside the home mom of a toddler!!) I did the SuperSet Lower Body Blast this morning (clocks at 33 minutes) and man, by the third cycle, what didn't seem so hard had my legs WORKED OUT. Whew!

Let us know what you end up doing and WAY TO GO for putting it out there!

 

[Tfit]

So based on what I have should I order

4 day split and core max or gym style series. and push pull???..so confused...can someone put a rotaion togther for me???

Thank you again everyone)

Tammy

 

[Rocket]

Hi, Tammy.
For what it's worth, here's my advice:
1) Don't fret over which Cathe DVDs to buy, as long as you get a mix of strength and cardio. Though you'll like some workouts more than others, they'll all lead you to the promise land. (Cathe never relaxes her standards.) Chances are you'll eventually wish you had ordered the 66-discount bundle!
2) If at first you don't understand why the rest of us think she's fun, be patient. With the step workouts there's a bit of a learning curve. Before long, though, everything will click and you'll be telling people on this forum why they should buy the workouts you own.

 

[EVCT]

Besides some of basic videos, which You can always use, I started out with the Timesaver from the Body Blast series. It had short cardio segments and I could get used to the cueing and steps. Then it also had strength work. I still use it. Anything you get from Cathe you can always use.
Ellen

 

[Tfit]

hmmm decisons decsions...lol

well I love kick punch and crunch ...I will start with the ones I have.

I'm thinking of trying 4ds...is there enough cardio and strength on here. or should I focus more on gym style?

Thank you again

Basically I'm looking to buy 2-3 more dvd's

Tammy)

 

[CLango]

I think, given your purposes and goals, 4DS may be really good for you. Regarding whether there is enough cardio and strength training, I would say yes, especially if you incorporate some of the premixes. You could use them one week as is (4 days with the split cardio/strength), then (as an example), the next week you could do the two combined cardio premixes (for a longer cardio workout), and then perhaps the upper body weights and the lower body weights (for a total of four workout days) or the upper body weights and the total body weights (if you want to focus more on upper body for those tank top arms!). Of course, you'd want to alternate cardio and weight days, not do them back-to-back.

More benefits to this series is you can use them as 'add ons' to other routines. For instance, if you like KPC (one of my favorites!), you can do one of the shorter premixes of that DVD (like Cardio Conditioning), and then do one of the weight splits from 4DS (for instance, shoulder/core). And you'd still have a good workout in less than an hour. I, personally, like to do cardio most days and when I'm doing a shorter weight day (a routine of about 40 minutes like Push/Pull), I like to add on the cardio at the end of those sessions from one of the 4DS routines. So these workouts are very versatile.

I think the only problem you may have with the 4DS are the step routines. While not extremely challenging aerobically, I find them very technically challenging. But I look past that towards the rest of the benefits of this series. And I love the weight workouts this series has to offer, I love the kickbox and Boot Camp cardio, I love the ab routines, and I love the versatility the premixes offer with this series.

Just my recommendations, of course. Good luck!

 

[Tfit]

Thank you)

Is there another DVD or series you you would say go with first?

Tammy

 

[CLango]

I don't think 4DS is a bad place to start except for the fact that the stepping in the step segments is confusing (at least to me, and I've been doing Cathe videos for over ten years!)

But I think you may find you need to take time to learn all of Cathe's step routines. I think they would be easier if you did some of her older DVDs (PowerMax, StepHeat, etc) on The Classics DVD or the Cardio Hits DVD, but I don't think that's really necessary to jump right into Cathe DVDs, especially given how many DVDs you are looking at purchasing at this time. If you had unlimited time or resources, I'd say 'start from the beginning', but few people have unlimited time or resources!

That all being said, if I were to make other recommendations besides the 4DS series, I, too, would recommend a four day rotation using the Body Blast series. The beautiful thing about the Body Blast series is that, on three DVDs (without the Timesaver DVD), you get a wonderful array of workouts and, again, a great deal of versatility.

As far as a four-day rotation goes using these series, you could do something like:

Day 1 -KPC
Day 2 - Push/Pull
Day 3 - Off
Day 4 -SJ&P
Day 5 - Off
Day 6 -Step Blast
Day 7 - Off

Day 1 - L&G
Day 2 - Off
Day 3 - KPC
Day 4 - Supersets
Day 5 - Off
Day 6 - SJ&P
Day 7 - Off

Day 1 - Step Blast
Day 2 - Push/Pull
Day 3 - Off
Day 4 - SJ&P
Day 5 - Off
Day 6 - KPC
Day 7 - Off

As you build up to these routines, and if you find them getting easy, then there are the premixes. And, wow, some of the premixes on this series are really challenging (to put it mildly). I did a four week rotation this spring using Body Blast incorporating more challenging premixes every week and I really needed a recovery week at the end.

Personally, I love the Body Blast series for the aerobics routines. Step Blast will always be my favorite step workout I do believe. I also love KPC and L&G. I'm not as sold on SJ&P though I do enjoy it every now and again. And I'm definitely not sold on the weight workouts. I just don't find them challenging enough on their own and while the premixes are good, they just don't seem to have much of a 'fun factor' for me, unlike the weight sections of the 4DS. But that's just a personal preference. But, again, this really is a versatile series, especially if you use the premixes.

As far as the Timesaver DVD, I think these are great intermediate workouts. It is just built on a five-day rotation, which is why I don't necessarily recommend them to you right now. But they are good effective short workouts.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the length of the post!

 

[Tfit]

Thank you again.

I love kick punch and crunch.....how is butts and gutes? I will take a look online and see about the blast series)

Thank you again.

Tammy

 

[fargomom]

I'm not sure how much help I will be, but I can relate to your post. I have two kids as well. Prior to being pregnant with my 2nd child I weighed 120 pounds and was in pretty good shape. Afterwards though, whoa hello, different story. I lost all the weight except for 5 pounds (so I was hovering around the 125 pounds you're talking about), but I was very jiggly everywhere and had almost no tone and I still ate a lot of crap. Somehow I thought, "Oh, I'm working out with Cathe 6 days a week, I deserve this piece of chocolate and this piece of chocolate and this piece of chocolate ...." Haha. You get the idea. For me?? My best piece of advice is twofold: (1) do lots of cardio (2) eat clean. More than anything else these two things helped me get to where I am today: 115 pounds, lean, toned, feeling good (for the most part, haha). As for specific workouts.... I w/o 6 days a week with a mix of cardio, weights, running and ab work. Let's see. I'll try and break it down. (btw, I don't do any cathe rotations, not yet anyway, my w/o rotation is just a mix of what I feel like doing on a particular day and based on what I've done the day before; nothing too fancy). Here's what I've done this week so far, so you get an idea:

Monday - Step Blast & Step Jump & Pump abs
Tuesday - Terminator DVD (Gauntlet)
Wedesday - Run 5K & High Step Challenge Abs
Thursday - Legs and Glutes
Friday - Kick Max Bootcamp Challenge & BM2 Abs (I plan to run later today, too)
Saturday (tomorrow) - I plan to do Muscle Max (entire DVD)
Sunday - OFF

My lower body has also always been a problem for me. Not sure if it is for you?? I've also found the addition of running to my w/o's to be a great way to tone my legs.

I'd also like to note that while I stressed cardio earlier in this post, I still make sure to get weight training in. I do 1 specific lower body workout, 1 fullbody workout and 1 upper body workout each week, ... although that does vary somewhat. But, yeah, for the most part that's what I do.

Again, not sure how much help I was ... probably just went on and on more than I should have .... one last piece of advice though in regards to losing the rest of your weight: It can be done. I NEVER thought I would be where I am today. It didn't come easy, mind you. Took a lot of hard work, BUT I did it. And so have a lot of other people. And you know what? So can you. That's my motiviation for today. haha.

 

[Tfit]

SMILE..thanks for that post.

I have been doing some thinking. y one daughter is going to school (kindergarden) the other preschool...so on the days my younger goes to school i think i may either do a body pump class 1-2 times a week...then do cathe 3 timeas a week like her kick punch and crunch..then maybe I will look into some of the other blast series ....there is so much to choose from for cathe...I need someone to holdmy hand and say purchase these dvd's) I know sad but this will get me motivated in a sense once i order then I look forward to it coming)))

Tammy

 

[janie1234]

I love 4Day Split, but take into account some people don't like the dancy choreography in the low and high step routine. I love it just for the kick box and boot camp. This series has a lot of variety.