Help me pick a new upper body workout

[CarenG]

Hi! I have been doing Pyramid Upper Body for the past 3 months or so for Upper Body (I mix it up sometimes w/ MIS & PH). I know, Pyramid is awesome and I've gotten great results, but I am starting to get a little tired of it and am looking for another good Upper Body tape for a little while. What other Cathe upper bodies do you recommend.

I am also growing a little bored of Leaner Legs, but I have pretty much decided to order Legs & Glutes for Lower Body. Is that a good decision? How do you think Legs & Glutes compares to Leaner Legs?

I am a little leary of trying Slow & Heavy because of it being 3 tapes, I feel like I wouldn't have time to do it enough. Plus, I don't want to look like a bulky body builder, but I do want to look more ripped. What's your take on that one?

 

[pace1987]

How about the CTX upper body. Are you going with vhs or dvd? The reason I ask is because Cathe's new Body Blast PP/SS is great because of all the premixes u can set it up doing just the upper body only even 2 or 3 sets if you like. Also teir is the Pure Strength.

 

[lesliew]

S&H is a time hog, but if you have a DVD player it's easy to modify, like do 2 sets instead of 3. This series really increases muscle strength so it may be for you if you want to get ripped. However, Cathe doesn't recommend doing it for long rotations because it takes a lot of mental effort. I love the PS series. It also has three tapes, but it's broken up well. The average tape is about 45 min in length, but I've been able to do the entire upper body workout in a little over an hour, skipping the warmup and abs. It's the one Cathe series I reach for the most. Another great one is MIS. It has both upper and lower body, and a lot of Cathe fans love this workout because it's intense and brings results.

 

[gogigi]

Push Pull is total body but I'm finding myself reaching for the 2 or 3 set upper body premix quite a lot. It is really growing on me. Also, on that DVD you get Supersets which has upper body premixes. I am loving the premixes from the Body Blast series and you may find that you really enjoy the upper body premixes from these. Good luck!
Angela:7

 

[hippahips]

My two choices would be the PS series and CTX upper body split, as already suggested. I always go back to the PS series as it is a great foundation for upper body work. I also like CTX UB split for its intensity.

Legs & Glutes is as much of an endurance workout as Leaner Legs, but Cathe introduces new exercises in L&G. There is more use of the high step, lighter weights and ankle weights in some segments. It's a very different Cathe lower body workout and is worth getting for lower body endurance work.

As for S&H, I don't think you'll end up looking like a bodybuilder. Cathe advises to not use it for more than 3-4 weeks at a time as it requires so much concentration. I don't use it for more than 2 weeks at a time because I miss working out the "traditional" way. And you really can't go that heavy in S&H even if you wanted to. The very slow reps fatigue you fast and eventually you'll have to lower your weight, but you'll still feel it. S&H is for recruiting more muscle fibers for strength. I didn't know how many I had to recruit until I did a rotation.

If you want to look ripped, I'd suggest that you do a tad more cardio and tweak your diet. Enough cardio to burn extra fat but not too much that it breaks down your muscle. Eat enough carbs to fuel your body and enough protein to replenish what is lost during your workouts. Also get good fat in your system. The ratio of these macronutrients is different for every body, so you might want to experiment on which ratio is best for you. Hope this helps.

Pinky

 

[Missklp27]

Pinky,
Question for you. From what you recommended, it seems that the CTX series along with PS and S&H series are good choices for muscle definition and mass. I dont need to loose weight, just tone and define my muscles. I would like to see some cuts in my arms and abs and legs! Not too bulky, but just enough. Do you have any other suggestions?

 

[hippahips]

You might want to try PH or ME. Or you can do the Pyramids using less weights. If you don't want an all-weight workout, you might want to do circuit-type workouts -- C&W, Circuit Max, CTX Power Circuits, Bootcamp, the Terminator DVD, SJP. You get cardio and toning in one session. For those cuts you want, diet becomes, IMHO, just as important as exercise. Tweak your diet (cut out the sugar, processed carbs and saturated fat) and find a ratio that works for you. I use the 40/30/30 ratio. I've tried 50/30/20, but my body responds so much better with the former. Oh yes, put some kickboxing into your routine. This is a great workout for shaping your arms and legs. Hope this helps.

Pinky

 

[Missklp27]

Yes, this does help, thanks. Luckily I was able to record Cathe off of fit tv and have been using the bootcamp and ME. Thats how I became to love her workouts. But now I am craving more!
I've cut down a lot of bad foods from my diet, eating 4-5 small healthy meals a day, and have also been eating a lot of protein. If I want a snack, I grab fruit. And I drink lots of water, and tea (green mostly).My body has been thanking me in more ways than one!