Hardcore Fitness Maniacs checkin for July

Today I did RIPT90 Fit Hard Core Chest and had a good workout. I think this is the last week I'll be doing RIPT for a while. I finally have time to do longer weight lifting workouts and I'm wasting it on these shorter ones. Duh! So I'll finish out this week (maybe) and then hopefully start doing Cathe again for a while, I may even subscribe to her On Demands, we'll see.

Oh, and if you were all wondering how my hamstrings are doing - THEY ARE STILL KILLING ME!!! LOL!!!

Today's workout went like this:

Each Group below was done in superset fashion:

GROUP 1
Pushups
- 6 reps
Planks - 30 second hold
6 sets of these all in a row, no rest

GROUP 2
Dumbbell Chest Press
- 30's/6 reps
V-Sit Isolation Hold - 30 seconds
6 sets of these all in a row, no rest

GROUP 3
Chest Fly
- 15's/reps
Twisting Crunches (Russian Twist) - 8# med ball
6 sets of these all in a row, no rest

BONUS
Burpees
- Skipped, hate these.

Workout was 32 minutes, Avg HR was 75, Max was 111. Burned 63 calories.

Walked on my treadmill on a 4% incline for 2.25 miles.

Diane Sue - I do use spray bottles to discourage the cats from doing bad things, but this one pees when we are not watching. And if we are in the room when he does it, I do not have the spray bottle handy. I wonder if that would work, though? He hates water and definitely knows what the spray bottle is for. :) Nice workouts this weekend!!!

Jolie - I was worried about so man deadlifts as well, but nothing happened. My hams hurt like hell but my low back was fine. Phew!!!! Hope you are feeling better with your back.

Roselyn - Did you try the Tower workouts yet?

Nice workouts everyone!!! Hope everyone is having a safe long holiday weekend/week!!!!
 
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Today I decided to try Kelly Coffey's You Tube 888 workout. I substituted kettle bell swings for the ball slams after first trying it and since I am upstairs it sounded like loose boards under the carpet :0 . This was 41 minutes, 272 calories, heart rate 127 average/ 151 max. I then did Ice Metabolic Total Body timesaver mish mosh 32 minutes, 182 calories. Total time was 73 minutes, 454 calories. I am tired today and it took awhile to even get started. I tried to lie back down and read but it did not help.
888 went like this, 8 moves, 8 reps, 8times Kelly uses 10# dumbbells and a 10# medicine ball
punches straight, hook, upper, jack, squat thrust
hammer curl strike out right hammer curl strike out left
side lunge with dumbbells drop and pick up side to side
lunge mountain climbers
med ball slam (Kelly uses a 10# ball) I used kettle bell swings, I think you could just use a dumbbell and not hit the floor with anything though
side to side kicks
split lunge jumps
bicycles

Debbie, I know trying to have the spray bottle handy at the right time is hard. We used to keep one by our seating in the living room and one in the kitchen. Of course when they see you pick it up they probably scatter. Maybe once and all you would have to do is have the bottle near and he would think twice? Sorry you are still sore.

Jolie, you have been getting in some mileage on those walks. How are you doing?
 
Today I walked outside for 6.5 miles. I am a walking fool lately! Then I finished with Pyramid Upper Biceps and Triceps only. Workout was 2 hours and 10 minutes. I burned 821 calories!!! I went very lite with the weights, I didn't want to push it and I wanted to see if I could handle even lite weights. I did fine and I am feeling great later in the day now. I have a chiro appointment tomorrow to see how I am progressing and I think I am on my way! I have pain when I lay down at night but not bad. I will still have to take it easy with the weights but I can probably try it in a few days.

Hammer Curls DB- 8# x 16, 10# x 12, 12# x 8, x 10# x 12, 8# x 16 ( I did higher reps since I went lite)
Superset To Traditional Curls DB- same weights and reps

Lying Triceps Ext. DB - Same weights and reps as Biceps
Superset to Cross Body Lying Ext.


Debbie, My hamstrings would be screaming if I did that workout! Great job on the workout today. I will hopefully be doing some Cathe Live workouts next week as well, I am so excited to lift again, but it will be lite for awhile. That's ok, I need to lean out so bad anyway! LOL

Diane Sue, great job with the workout today! I don't have a kettlebell, I know she uses them a lot in her workouts. I would love to get one but gosh the small metal ones are so expensive!

Roselyn, I hope you had a great workout!

Have a wonderful day and I hope you all have a great 4th of July! God Bless America!
 
Jolie, great calorie burn and workout today. It sounds like you are doing pretty good. I have acquired even doubles on most of my kettlebells from 1 10# up t0 a 35#. my 31.5' I have two, only because I purchased one and it was beat up when it arrived and the box it was in torn up. I sent a picture of the handle chips and they sent me another, not wanting that one back. They are nice for squats and things. I have done them as double swings in the past but really worry about my back. I have 15's, 20's, and 25's. When Lauren Brooks and Amy Bento Ross started doing workouts with doubles I purchased the second ones. I also have some TRX workouts that incorporate the kettlebells as well. Just wish I could hang it up somewhere. I used a 25 today. I think Kelly often suggests that you can do dumbbells instead.
 
Today I did a Cardio Coach Mix I made up and haven't done in a long while. I made it up with the two workouts Candace has and it was a lot of fun. Long, but fun. I did well with it and should do it more often. The reason I don't is because it's over an hour.

Workout was 62 minutes long, ran 4.09 miles!!!! - burned 471 calories (TM said 569) and went 8474 steps!! Almost to 10k already and it's only 9:30. Avg HR was 128 and Max was 175. I FEEL GOOD!!!

Diane Sue - The workout you did sounds fun. Is her workouts just on Youtube for free or do you have to subscribe to them? You do a lot from her so she must be a good instructor.

Jolie - I'm glad you are working out again, that is great!!! You are doing it right, just keep listening to your body! :)

Happy 4th to all!! Have a safe day and have fun with your families!!
 
Today I worked shoulders, very lightly, high reps before I went to the Chiropractor. No walk today, no time.

Lateral raise DB's- 5# x 20, x 20, x 20

Front Raise DB's- 5#x 20, x 20, x 20

Upright Rows DB's- 10# x 20, x 20, x 20

I didn't do overhead press because I was afraid of doing it.

My Chiropractor said I am looking really good! Almost everything is holding and my Bulging discs are almost gone. I am going to walk the rest of this week and do very lite weights and see how it goes. I am not going to push it. No sit up type ab work, only exercises that keep my spine flat on the mat. He worked on my kidneys, bladder and colon and I swear I have lost about 5 pounds of water weight in the last couple of hours. My body wasn't working right lately probably due to being in pain. I am feeling so much better right now.

Debbie, awesome calorie burn today! I am so happy that you feel great after your workout! I love hitting my 10k steps before noon too! I have been walking so much I have hit over 20k steps each day. I cant wait to start weights again. I hope you enjoy your holiday!

Everyone enjoy your day!!!! Happy forth of July! Going to catch a late lunch at Newport Coast.
 
Happy 4th!!

I still have been doing Cathe Live and loving it!!

today was a hi/low hiit with some great ab work and tomorrow will be Compound giant sets
 
Today i did cardio slam, 51 minutes, 382 calories. I then did Amy Bento Ross
test rebound workout on you tube 15 minutes, 109 calories. I finished with the Fit Tower bonus core workout, 35 calories. Total time 78 minutes, 526 calorie

Debbie, i do like Kelly Coffeys workouts. I think she has improved them over time. Most are done as 30 minute workouts with premixes. She just started doing them on youtube. Her Coffey Fit raw workouts are done in her basement live unedited. They are free. There are now 5 of them. She does a lotbof variety with her workouts, A good way to check some out. Each is different.

Jolie, that is great that you are doing so much bettet. I am glad the workouts can be done again.

Roselyn, glad you are enjoying the live workouts. I will try some agai eventually.
 
I gave my RIPT DVD's to my brother to check out so I did Xtrain Burn Sets - Biceps & Triceps today. Had a great workout. I'll probably do this series for a while or maybe switch it out with other Cathe workouts. It's good to be back with Cathe, she is a great trainer.

BICEPS
Standing Dumbbell Curl: 15's - 2 sets/10 reps
Standing Dumbbell Curl: 15's - 14 reps (to failure)

Simultaneous Rotational Curl: 16's - 2 sets/10 reps
Simultaneous Rotational Curl: 16's - 11 reps (to failure)

Concentration Curls: 16# - 2 sets/10 reps
Concentration Curls: 16# - 14 reps (to failure)


Burn Set: Crazy 8's Hammer Curls - 12's

TRICEPS
Tricep Pushups:
3 sets on toes (4x sequence, 2x sequence, 2x sequence) LOVE THESE!!!

Lying Triceps Extension: 12's - 2 sets/10 reps
Lying Triceps Extension: 12's - 12 reps (to failure)

One Arm Kickbacks: 8's - 2 sets/10 reps
One Arm Kickbacks: 8's - 15 reps (to failure)

Burn Set: Double Arm Overhead Ext w/Tubing: Did these but only got to 12 reps. TOUGH!!!

Workout was 38 minutes, Avg HR was 69, Max was 120. Burned 77 calories. Every time I looked at my FB it said my HR was at 52 bpm. How can that be? My resting HR is like 42 so 52 isn't much more than resting for me. Unreal.

I also walked on a my treadmill for 2 miles.

Great workouts everyone!!! Hope you have a great workout today!!
 
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Today I did Fit Tower Advanced Bootcamp, I added 3# ankle weights in some places and used my blue band and loop, sometimes using the loop with the ankle weights, 51 minutes, 237 calories. I am not real sure on the heart rate on this one as I read it as one thing and when I pulled up the app it was something elseo_O I then did Kelly Coffey's Melt Down workout #1, 32 minutes, 173 calories, heart rate 114/ 153. Total time was 83 minutes, calories burned 410. Steps 3398.
Meltdown weights 3 rounds of all exercises approximately 1 minute work no rest till end of each round I think Kelly 12's throughout.
kettle bell swings (Kelly uses 2 dumbbells) 20#,20#,20# 34,36,28 reps
dumbbell seated overhead press (seated with feet off floor like a v sit) pass dumbbell overhead to other hand 12#,12#,12#
seated row/bicep curl 12's; 15's; 15's
bench press/skull crushers 12's: 15's 15's
bench hops set 1 and 3 over the bench set 2 straddle tap toes on bench hops 30; 27;29 reps
barbell clean 35#; 35#; 35# 10 reps
barbell thrusters 35#; 35#; 35# 10 reps
barbell front squats 35#;35#;35# 10 reps
after final set finisher of mountain climbers with hands on the barbell
House cleaning for me today and a quick run to the store. I woke up before 5 so I know it is going to take effort to get things done today.

Debbie, I don't know how you could be doing anything but relaxing to have a heart rate that low. What does your doctor say about such a low heart rate? I know I have read that can be a problem if it is too low. I would be asleep if my heart rate was in the lower 50's. Daytime just sitting would be in the low 60's. It usually feels good to get back into a basic strength workout without all of the extra stuff. I do think these other type of workouts help kick start things once in awhile though.
 
Today I walked 6 miles outside and I finished with Power Hour Biceps and Triceps only. I used a 20# barbell and I used 8# DB for the kickbacks. Workout was 2 hours and I burned 777 calories. Average heart rate was 101 and max was 151.

I am so tired today, it was like a "war zone" here last night until midnight! I hate the fourth of July just for this reason. Its not just pretty fire works, its like bombs going off all night!

Debbie,
nice Biceps and Triceps workout today. I like that workout, it is basic exercises but it is very effective. I wonder why your heart rate is so low too, that explains the low calorie burn. I am sure it is higher than what it says and I know you burn more calories as well.

Diane Sue, Nice workout using the Fit tower today! That was a great calorie burn. I but it really made it harder with the ankle weights on too. I have not done the Meltdown workout. I believe that is one of her newer workouts that I have not ordered yet.

Roselyn, I hope you have an awesome workout today! I bet you are loving the variety of Cathe Live workouts! I am going back at it next week.

Have a great day!
 
Jolie, nice calorie burn today. I hear you on being tired because of the noise. It is not legal in city limits here to shoot off the fireworks, but they have tons of sellers just outside the city limits. They still illegally set them off and I would imagine it would take a lot to stop at every home that does set them off to stop it. There are plenty of controlled displays around without doing it at home. My dog was not happy with the noise. Yes that is one of Kelly's last dvds. I like it. Workout 2 on the dvd is a heavy bag boxing workout. It can be done without the bag. I keep meaning to try one of the premixes like dumbbells (which would be all of the upper moves) combined with the boxing drills. I think it would be a good one. I noticed today that there is a all barbell premix which is 33 minutes long. I am kind of curious how that one works since the barbell is used in the last part of each round for those 3 sets of 10 reps. I wonder if she repeats it or something. May have to look. I hear she is talking about doing a boxed set that comes with a meal plan and everything. She generally mentions the Abs Diet as what she goes by when questioned about nutrition.
 
Today I did Xtrain Burn Sets - Chest Back & Shoulders except I skipped chest since I worked that muscle group on Monday. Had a great workout.

BACK
One Arm Row: 30# 2 sets/10 reps
One Arm Row: 30# 12 reps (to failure)

Pull Ups w/Assist Bands: 8/6/7 reps
(I did these instead of double arm rows. They were tough today, even assisted. Love them!!!)

Seated Rear Delt Flyes: 15's - 2 sets/10 reps
Seated Rear Delt Flyes: 15's - 12 reps (to failure)

Burn Set: Band Rows - 24 reps

SHOULDERS

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press: 15's - 2 sets/10 reps
Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press: 15's - 1 set/8 reps (to failure)

Single Arm Lateral Raise: 8# - 2 sets/10 reps
Single Arm Lateral Raise: 8# - 1 sets/12 reps (to failure)

Single Arm Rear Delt Flye: 10# - 2 sets/10 reps
Single Arm Rear Delt Flye: 10# -1 sets/14 reps (to failure)
(Need to go up here, these are so easy for me.)

Scarecrow: 5's - 12 reps

I also did the bonus abs on this workout - Core #1 which I really liked, I don't think I've ever done them before.

Workout w/abs was 47 minutes, Avg HR was 77, Max was 154(??) and I burned 134 calories. Again, every time I looked at my FB my HR was in the 50's-70's range. I don't remember seeing anything above that, but maybe when I was doing pull ups is when it went up that high.

I also walked on my treadmill for 2 miles, TM said I burned 240 calories on that.

Diane Sue - My HR is always pretty low and when I was at my doctors a few months back she about panicked when it was reading 42 bpm while I was sitting there. I'm not sure why she let it go, once I got up and moved around it went up to the 50's and she was ok with that so not sure why she didn't want to check it out more. These doctors these days are ridiculous. I'm going for an Echo soon for my aortic valve issue so I'll ask them about it when I go. Believe it or not, I have TONS of energy all day long, I am never tired or dragging during the day. When I'm at work I go go go, and the lady I share an office with yawns all day long and sometimes falls asleep at her desk. It is quite annoying. I, on the other hand, am very restless and hyper, so not sure how that can be with such low HR's??? When 8 p.m comes around, though, I get very sleepy and it's hard for me to stay awake, but I think thats normal when you get up at 4:30 a.m. every day. :) That workout you did looks great! How are you liking the new workouts?

Jolie - Nice workout yesterday ad great calorie burn!!! I love PH, I should get that one out again soon, talk about burn!! That one is a burner for sure.

Roselyn - Hope your workouts are going great!!!
 
Wow! Is all I can say... I just went on the toughest walk! 2 hours, 7.26 miles and I burned 861 calories! Average heart rate was 106 and max was 157. I went up the steepest hill I have ever walked up. I could barely walk down it, it was so steep. The first 3.5 miles were completely uphill. I am beat! I should be receiving my back support belt today in the mail so I look forward to possibly lifting weights tomorrow. I will take it easy, I think I will do a Cathe live upper body only workout. I am going to give my legs a day off.

Debbie, great workout today! Good calorie burn on the two mile walk. I like that core workout too! I am not suppose to work core for a while so I will have to skip it. Oh well, not the end of the world I guess.

Diane Sue and Roselyn, I will check back in later today to see what you did for workouts and to chat.

Have a wonderful day!
 
Today I did Hard Strikes with the Heavy bag, 59 minutes, 437 calories, avg. heart rate 132/max 175. I then did the bonus abs 1 from X Train, 11 minutes, 41 calories followed by Kelly Coffey Muscle Up abs bonus, 15 minutes, 68 calories, finishing with Kelly's Body Design yoga and cool down, 16 minutes 61 calories. Total calories burned 595, time 1 hour 42 minutes. I don't know why but this tabata style ab workout of Kellys is always tough. The moves are not that unusual so I guess it is the format.

Debbie, I would definitely pursue it further. The doctor should have checked it out more. That is amazing that you have so much energy. Probably because your heart doesn't have to work so hard to keep you going. I would be tired by 8 if I got up that early in the morning for sure. I am generally up around 5 or 6. It depends on when my husband goes to work. I cannot sleep in late though even if I stay up late. I wake up automatically. Nice workout today.

Edited to answer on how I like the new workouts. I am guessing that you mean the Fit Tower workouts. If you like band work both the Bootcamp and the Legs, Glutes and Core use bands and firewalker loops. No weights. They do make good use of the bands and the tower. I add intensity and the ankle weights Total Body is probably my favorite starting with the use of the barbell and step with 3 risers. You remove the step about half way through and the other half is with the tower and bands. I like them all, but it would depend on what type of work that you like to do. Pretty much all can be done without the tower if you have door anchor and something to do the pull ups on as dips on these workouts could be done off a step or chair.

Jolie, great calorie burn again. I hope the belt helps.
 
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Today I did Cardio Coach 1 and had a pretty good workout. I like this one because it's under 40 minutes and when I don't feel like doing a long workout, this one is perfect.

Workout was 36 minutes, ran 2.43 miles, burned 268 calories (TM said 340) and went 5029 steps.

Some observations I made while I run. I've noticed this for some time, just never mentioned it. If this bores you, it won't hurt my feelings if you don't read it. :) This HR stuff fascinates me.

So while doing sprints my HR doesn't usually get past the 120's bpm. I've noticed this and sometimes get discouraged and I have raised my incline to get it higher, which works to some extend but not much. This may be a good sign, however, because it seem that my heart can do a sprint without much exertion.

When I do steady state or a faster jog, I tend to be able to get my HR into the 150-170's and yet it doesn't feel that way to me. My breathing is barely labored and it certainly doesn't feel like my HR is that high. So weird. Also, it takes my heart not even a minute to go back down to the 130's and lower when I'm done jogging.

Anyways, just wanted to put that out there.

Diane Sue - I watched Hardstrikes the other day to see if it would be something I might like to do. I don't care about the glove workouts, though. I wish that was a kickboxing workout. It looked sort of fun but not sure that's my thing. And yes, I was asking about the new Tower Workouts. Glad you like them!!

Jolie - Nice job with your steep hill walk. It must be nice to have areas like that to walk through, it sounds so cool! Nice job on that and your calorie burn!

Roselyn - Nice workout!!!
 
Today I lifted weights and did Cathe Live Strong Upper Body and Core, minus the core. I used my new back support belt (neoprene) and I did well. I lowered the weights for a few exercises because I am scared to lift any heavy weight. Workout was 1 hour and I burned 424 calories. My max heart rate was 164 and average was 114. I ended the workout doing leg extensions instead of doing abs. My low back feels a little sore but I am sure it would be. I will not push it going forward and I will listen to my body.

Debbie, nice cardio workout today! I am so tired today from my walk yesterday. I am very interested in your HR issue. I think you are in such great shape that it is hard for you to get it up high. You might want to try something totally different and see if that makes a difference. Our bodies get very used to what we do and maybe it knows what to expect and exerts only that much energy for that task. Maybe do a step dvd or a kickboxing dvd. Your body would probably say, "WTF Is This?!". I would be curious to see if change would do something to the heartrate and calorie burn you are getting.

Diane Sue, Nice job with Hard Strikes yesterday. I checked out Kelly's Raw workouts and YouTube and they look great. I think the upper body one is worth doing for sure. My lifting belt/ back support belt worked well today. I am not sure if I really need it or not but I am defiantly going to use it for certain exercises.

Roselyn, great job on the Cross Fire workout. I have not done that one yet. I am going to avoid any high impact for awhile just to be on the safe side. I am really glad I came back to Cathe Live. I was so in need of variety and this sure does the job.

Have a nice day, it is going to be a scorcher here today!
 
This morning I did Kelly Coffey Shape Up combined workouts, 64 minutes, (took longer for writing things down and interruptions) 342 calories, heart rate 114 avg/169 max. Since the only lower body work in this is the cardio segments I did Fit Tower Legs and Glutes only premix skipping the warm up, 28 minutes, 91 calories. I wore 3# ankle weights and used the blue band. Total time 92 minutes, calories burned 433. I was hoping Kelly would get worksheets up on her website. I imagine she has to get a hold of whoever does the website work. I have always liked the tabata rounds in this one. I usually feel close to done by the 6th round but can push through to the 8th. Most of the time I do the weights only premix of this workout which all upper body weight tabatas. There is a lot of jumping in the cardio segments. My legs are always burning through some of the cardio segments
Shape Up 8 ronnds each exercise, 20 on 10 rest Step used with 2 risers
Cardio- skate/ taps 4 rnds skate taps 4 rnds skates
back- 1 arm row double arm back fly alternating left arm and right arm each rond 8 rnds 12#
cardio jump on and off step 8 rounds alternating regular jumps and wide jumps
shoulders- double arm press alternated with rounds of alternating press 8 rnds 8#
cardio-squat lunge squat and up 8 rounds (this is foot off the end of the step then up and behind into lunge) every two rounds she does this without a pause between the squat and lunge
chest-triceps- flys/skullcrusher flys to skullcrushers alternating between single and double rounds 8 rnds 10# dumbbells
mountain climbers 8 rounds starts workout 2
back-double arm row rnd alternate with run row rnd 8 rounds 12 # dumbbells
cardio-straddle step reach squat heel click jump (she doesn't land on the step at all) 8 rnds
shoulders/triceps- lateral raise/kickbacks 8# dumbbells 8 rnds
cardio-power knee runs on step right leg 1 rnd left leg 1 rnd alternating 8 rnds
bench press alternate with bench press and scissor legs 10# dumbbells 8 rnds

Debbie, I think that I have tried to explain something like that on the heart rate. A more steady state seems to get it higher and give me a better calorie burn than the fast paced intervals stuff with lots of jumping and flying around the room. I have also felt like I was hardly working when my heart rate was higher. It always drops way back down almost instantly. I never understand some people, like Julie Bauer of Paleo OMG website posting her data on Instagram and it shows her average HR in the 170's. I would be really winded at that point and don't think I could ever have that be my average HR. The last one was 173 from a workout at Orange Therapy Fitness with a calorie burn of 719. I think Orange Therapy workouts are generally around an hour. We checked them out, but it is not for me. They are planned workouts and awfully expensive at 28 dollars a class or you purchase a package which is something like starting at 4 days a month? My husband was thinking maybe being able to use the rower and some of the equipment. I do see some people posting some of their workouts on Pinterest and I was sort of inspired to make up my own. Anyway, maybe she is like Jolie who can get her heartrate way up there without keeling over like I would. I do find mine interesting and looking at the Fit Bit stats on my workouts as well as comparing met values on Cathe's and other media I use. I wore my Polar Bluetooth yesterday and used the Polar App along with monitoring my Fit Bit, Polar gave a lower heart rate and higher calorie burn than the Fit Bit. I was just curious. Anyway it gives us insight on what we are trying to accomplish in our workouts and how to train.
You might like some of Cathe's other kickboxing workouts. There are quite a few on her live workouts. The Ice Rock'm Sock'm feels more like a boxing type workout. No gloves. Rockout Knockout is fun. I believe that one has a cardio kickboxing segment and a gloved I get them mixed up sometimes till I put them in. Some feel more like boxing with very little kicking and I really prefer more of the kicking in the mix. I sometimes just wear 1# gloves rather than wearing the Boxing Gloves. I have to put a second Fit Bit band over the top of the first to keep the boxing gloves from hitting the watch and turning it off or pausing it during my workout. I should have done the weighted gloves yesterday as my hands started feeling numb by the end of the workout.

Jolie, Kelly's Raw upper body is really good. I have enjoyed them. Good that you are doing better.
 

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