Help! How are these series supposed to work?

M

Mainemom

Member
Hi everyone! It's been a long time since I've been around! I've been in and out of training, mostly trad. weights, but I've kept Cathe around for my cardio!! I miss her weight vids, but always seem to lose muscle mass because of the tempo, I cannot lift what I would with just trad. training. I keep burning out on trad and get very bored. Please someone encourage me on how to use her vids so I don't go backwards! I just invested in the BB series, but I know you cannot train (weights) every day, so please someone explain how to go about using these to accomlish strength, and endurance and some size and certainly the dreaded bodyfat loss, I have many Cathe vids and just ordered the Pyramid upper and lower and already have muscle endurance. PS series, S&H, MIS, XPress series, etc. why I always keep running back to trad training is because I know I can lift heavier, and achieve quickly my goals, want to train with Cathe only, please someone set me straight on how to go about it!!!! Thank you so much for any input. Have a blessed day!
Sandy in Maine
 
Hi Sandy, I got a lot of strength gains when I did a two-week S&H rotation last November to break my plateau. Then I followed it up with almost two months of religious strength training: two upper body and two lower body sessions a week with two days in between splits, like this:

Mon-UB
Tue-LB
Wed-cardio
Thurs-UB
Fri-LB
Sat-cardio

Sometimes the sessions got moved around due to time constraints, but this was more or less the pattern I followed. I alternated between the PS series and the Pyramids for strength. Every now and then I used MIS or CTX-UB split and Leaner Legs. I lifted as heavy as I could. I intentionally did very little cardio, sometimes only one in a week. I also ate a lot of healthy food in a 40/30/30 ratio. Added about 500 cals. per day to my diet. The downside, which I expected and is normal in this kind of training, was that I gained some fat around my waist and sacrificed some of my cardiovascular endurance.

After the holidays I was pretty happy with how much I was lifting and am now alternating a week of strength training with a week of endurance work for shaping. There are trainers who will tell you that they don't believe in endurance training where you do more reps with lighter weight. They'd say there's no such thing as "shaping" or "defining" because it is the mass of the muscle itself that gives you shape -- so lift heavy all the time, and it is the right amount of cardio PLUS clean eating that strips the fat off your muscle for that "cut" or "ripped" look. I still do endurance training anyway:) and at the same time have upped my cardio to 3-4 times a week PLUS am watching my eating more carefully. I've included circuit style cardio workouts on weeks when I'm focusing on endurance. I'm still on the same ratio and have stopped eating extra food. I'm simply listening to my body and it's telling me I have to cut back on the heavy weights a little, so I've changed my routine a bit. Still, I've been able to up some of my weights in PS. I think giving my body time away from heavy lifting allowed me to do that. The extra cardio and the cleaner eating shaved off the extra inch I gained when I cut back on my cardio late last year.

That's it so far. I can't say you'll get the same results I did if you train the exact same way as all bodies are different. But as it has always been echoed repeatedly in this forum, determine your goals, pick the workouts that will help you get there, mix it up, eat clean, sleep well, listen to your body and rest when you have to, and everything in moderation. Good luck.:7

Pinky
 
Hi Pinky! Thanks for so much for the specific info. I have one question, when doing PS, and S&H did you do them once a week? You know where there divided into 3 vids? M W F? How did you put together your routine? I remember doing the S&H for awhile, I'm sure I gave up early, and because I was doing only 2-3 body parts once a week, I didn't feel I was making good enough gains, I've worked with trainers in the past and I know you need to work the same muscle at least a min. of twice a week to see progress. This is the info I'm looking for esp. with these particular vids. PS, S&H, those that have body parts split into 3 separate vids. How many days are people lifting with them? The Xpress series of course you know is one body part a day? I don't have a dvd, so to ff takes to long to combine the upper body portions of the vid. I do love the cardio though!!! I truly want to try your method, I just need those questions answered, how your schedule looked with PS and S&H. I also did BFL and saw good gains, but wanted to return to Cathe, have you ever split her in the same fashion as BFL? 2 lower, 1 upper, etc? I greatly appreciate your time and suggestions!! Tomorrow is a new day! Sandy
 
Hi Sandy, I would do one S&H workout every other day. I'd alternate one workout with cardio. S&H is very intense. There was no way I could work out one body part twice a week even though I wanted to.

The rest of my my strength training I did this way:
Mon-PS Upper Body: C/S/T/Back/Biceps
Tue-PS Legs
Wed-Cardio
Thur-PUB
Fri-PLB
Sat-Cardio
That was it, for about five weeks. I can usually finish all upper body parts in PS in an hour and a half. Those are my intense days, and I always make sure I'm powered with enough food.

I still do something like this on weeks when I'm strength training, but I'm starting to separate my PS upper body work into C/S/T and Back/Biceps as I'm lifting heavier and am resting more between sets. So now my strength weeks look more like:
Mon-PS C/S/T + 30-minute cardio
Tue-PS Legs + 30-minute cardio
Wed-PS B/B/A
Thur-cardio, preferably kickbox
Fri-PUB or PH or CTX-UB
Sat-PLB or Leaner Legs or cardio
The cardio sessions are flexible and I move them around, depending on how my knees feel.

The CTX series has an upper body split in video. You might want to check it out. I treat this one as a combination strength/endurance workout. I go heavier than when I'm doing endurance work, but lower than when I'm doing strength work. I try to keep the rests to a minimum. 30 seconds or less. The CTX-UB split doesn't have a warm-up so I use the warm-up portion of some other workout before I start.

I hope this answers your questions.:)

Pinky
 
Hi again! Thank you sooo much for taking the time to show me your workout plan! I do have the CTX-UB and PH, I actually have most of Cathe's vids except her older ones. I do have a couple of questions though, when you talk about your cardio, you mention you do a cicuit style training, what do you mean by this? and when you increase the poundage in your strength workouts, you must not keep the same rep count as Cathe correct? I am into the #'s thing instead of concentrating on going to muscle fail, and this is where I get discouraged with the vids. We all know when you increase weight, your reps typically go back down to the low end of the rep count. I suppose it matters how much your increasing, but that usually is the case. How do you go about this? Do you just go to where your muscle can not continue, until your reps are back up with Cathe's? OK sorry, one more question, are you going to muscle failure on every exercise? Such as squats, then all those lunges, etc? It does get tricky figuring out the poundage enough to work the muscle but not enough to kill it for the next exercises! I guess it is the pace sometimes too. I guess I need to pause the vcr more.:) Thanks again for all your time and I do fully intend to start on Mon. You have been a tremendous encouragement to me! Thanks also to you Robyn6002! This is a great forum for support!! Have a blessed day and stay warm!

Sandy
 
Hi Sandy, circuit style training (which I'm honestly not a fan of) is where you do cardio for a while followed by a set of exercises with free weights. I do them on weeks when I'm doing endurance training. You've seen the workout patterns of my strength weeks. My endurance weeks go something like this:
Mon-Cardio & Weights (or similar workout like SJP or Circuit Max) or ME, if cardio isn't a priority
Tue-Leaner Legs (you can sub Legs & Glutes or PLB, with lower weights)
Wed-CTX UB split or Power Hour
Thu-CTX Power Circuits + CTX All Step
Fri-IMAX 2
Sat-KPC or CTX Kickbox or combination of these two and segments from Cardio Kicks
This is a very rough pattern of my endurance rotations. There are a million ways to do rotations and splits, and no one method is the "perfect" one. I know a lot of ladies on this forum do a strength rotation one month, an endurance rotation on another... I chose to alternate a week of strength and a week of endurance because I just think it's the best way for me to cover all the bases in a short period of time. I also want to work up to my muscular and cardiovascular endurance levels that suffered when I did pure strength training for two months straight, without having to lose some of the strength gains I've made.

When I choose my weights, I usually go a notch or two lower than Cathe and see how it feels. When I increase my weights, I try as much as possible to keep the same rep count as Cathe. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I can only do 8 instead of 10 or 12, but I work up to those 10 or 12 reps. Don't get too worked up on how much you are lifting. The most important thing is your form. So try a light or moderate weight first. You can always go heavier. You know when you've gone too heavy when your form suffers. I think it's better to increase weights in smaller increments (1-2 lbs. at a time) just for safety's sake. For that matter, you may want to check out platemates, which are weighted magnets that you can stick to your hex DB's or BB plates. They allow you to increase your weights slowly but surely. They're pretty expensive so I made mine using 1.25 BB plates and pot magnets from Home Depot. Stuck them together with Future Glue. They work only with my hex DB's, not with my plastic-coated ones.

I don't go 'til failure on EVERY exercise. I notice that my back and legs are my stronger body parts and I can do more even with heavier weight, although I'm always careful and listen to my body while resting in between sets (I also pause for extra stretches) because I have scoliosis and bad knees. My biceps and triceps, however, are my weakest points. Whenever I increase weights for these areas I find myself doing only 8 reps out of the usual 10 or 12, and I work up to that point.

DON'T worry if you can't lift as much as Cathe and her crew. The important thing is you choose weights that are right for you, that let you perform the exercises with good form. DON'T get discouraged if you can't increase your weights sooner than you'd like. The strength WILL come. Just be consistent with your workouts. I believe that the best things in life take time to flourish, and so it is with physical strength. I couldn't do push-ups before, or planks, or those pikes on the stability ball. DON'T be afraid to pause your VCR to take a breather. As Cathe always says, suck in the air, it's free, feed those hard-working muscles with oxygen.:) Sleep well, eat well, rest when your body starts complaining -- and you'll KNOW when it does, practice good form, be consistent, and DON'T quit. Man, I'm so bossy today!:p

Good luck to you. You might also get a better idea of strength/endurance rotations from the rotations forum. It's an awesome source of inspiration for me.

Pinky
 
Wow! you're a gem Pinky. Thanks for such encouragement!! Monday can't come soon enough! You explained things very thoroughly, I understood exactly what you wanted to get across. You are quite articulate! Thanks! Now of course I have a question, I've noticed that in your endurance training week you are using weights every day?! How can that be? Is it because the weights you are choosing are VERY light? and the reps are VERY high?! Also in doing your endurance training, aren't you risking loss of strength and mass? If so, to what degree?
I do know about those magnets, aren't those ingenius? The last trainer I had used them often, and you're not kidding they're expensive!! I absolutely love your idea, and plan on using it myself! After looking at your workout schedule, I thought to myself, how old is this woman?! I'm 44, in pretty good shape, but this workout plan looks pretty grueling, I hope I can keep up!! I may have to tweak it a little, more on the low key side! I like to keep my workouts to 1 hour if possible, but bathing suit weather is coming soon, so I suppose I could sacrifice a little more time. I didn't find you bossy at all, encouraging? yes! I will also tap into the rotations, when I complete this, you certainly have given me plenty to keep me busy until summer!! Thanks again!
Sandy
 
>I've noticed that in your endurance training week
>you are using weights every day?!
If you notice, I'm using weights for upper body one day then lower body the next. If you also notice, I do two cardio sessions in succession, for example, IMAX 2 one day then KPC the next. Both do work the legs, but the way I take it, IMAX 2 is more for my cardiovascular endurance and a little bit of the legs, while KPC is for my whole body and cardiovascular endurance.

And yes, the weights I use are light because the reps are high. In PH especially, I only use half the weights I use in PS. In Leaner Legs, I only use a 25-lb. barbell, while in PLB I can go as heavy as 45. It all depends on what kind of workout I'm doing and the purpose of the workout.

>Also in doing your endurance training,
>aren't you risking loss of strength and mass? If so, to what
>degree?
Yes, this loss of mass is always on my mind. Which is why I do my workouts in splits. Upper body one day, lower the next. Sometimes there's cardio in between to give both halves of my body some rest. Cathe would call it active recovery. I also make sure to eat enough protein whether or not I'm working out. I get some help from bars and powders, but I make sure to eat food. Nothing beats food.:) My main protein sources are egg whites, non-fat cheese, lean chicken, and fish. I follow the 40/30/30 ratio (Zone diet).

>I thought to
>myself, how old is this woman?!
I'm a blessed 34. I say blessed because I was treated for scoliosis almost two years ago, and I never thought I could get to this level in fitness because of my condition. I'm also blessed with friendships in this forum. There are ladies in here who have helped me through some pretty trying times and who continue to motivate me. When I found Cathe, I was an intermediate exerciser aching for something much, much better than what Kathy Smith, Gin Miller or Tammilee Web could offer me. Not that they aren't good instructors. They are, but I needed someone who could kick my butt harder, and Cathe did that quite well.:)

>I'm 44, in pretty good shape,
>but this workout plan looks pretty grueling, I hope I can keep
>up!!
Oh YES, you CAN. Age is hardly a factor. It can be, but only if you let it. There are women in this forum who are 20 years older than I, but lift even heavier. I've learned that one's outlook is very important in fitness. I could've easily chucked all this for the sake of my "poor spine" but I refuse to submit to a situation I can clearly do something about. When I was starting out with PS, all I used to say was, maybe. Then the maybe became an almost-yes, which became a full YES. Eventually I learned to never say never, as in, I'll NEVER get Rhythmic Step, or I'll NEVER get my left side to catch up in KPC... I always say, I'll get it IN TIME. I WILL. Because I CAN.

Okay, I'm making my own hair stand on end here. Gotta get off the soapbox.:p

There are many, many success stories in this forum. Cathe is a wonderful instructor. The best money I've ever spent is on her workouts.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Pinky
 
wow
this was inspiring to read ladies make sme want to get up and work out but I am at work and I did work out today pretty dang hard Pinky you truly sound amazing I like your 1 week endurance 1 week strength approach as I find the enduranc eis so hard to do if you stop anyways just wanted to say how great you all sound
Lisa
 
Oh wow, Lisa, you're making me blush.:) I had my doubts about that one week strength, one week endurance approach, but my body seems to like it. If only I can get my knees to like Cathe...;(

Pinky
 
Hi Pinky! I think you've given me every bit of info I've needed to get started and stay with Cathe!! I have a home gym, so for me to run back to trad. training is too easy!! But I love the TV competition, and I love Cathe! I was actually thinking I could use my leg press machine when Cathe does squats, esp. those ever loving hover squats!! Thank you again for taking time out of your day to give me much needed inspiration, and support! Monday is the day!! I will keep you informed as to how things are going! Your story is an inspiration!!
Have a blessed evening
Sandy
 
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