How to become leaner?

RE: What?

Hi Trevor,

I always enjoy reading your responses to the posts around here, especially because you bring a male perspective. I was wondering though, which Cathe workouts you do? My husband switches between PS, S&H, and the Pyramids. He runs every other day for his cardio. He has had amazing results. Like you, he is tall 6'2" and lean ( about 185 lbs.). He would love to put on more mass, but really struggles to eat the amount of food neccesary to put it on. Just wondered how Cathe workouts fit into your fitness regimen. Take care-Deb Dailey
 
RE: What?

Note to self: Lose the Pumpkin King joke. Doesn't work.

Trevor, you say skinny like it's a bad thing. Ok, it has a negative connotation. So give me lean or slender or spare. For elite endurance athletes, of course, smaller is advantageous. I am not an elite athlete but I am a bodyshaper, to use your definition. I know there are a number of pople who think I am skinny, perhaps too skinny. But, my dad was 6' and weighed maybe 150 and my mom, at barely 5', is 90 pounds. I started out running and was thrilled to develop muscles in my anorexic looking legs which are still rail thin. When I started lifting, I chose Karen Voight's body, pre-augmented, as my ideal. Suffice to say, it hasn't happened YET but I remain hopeful and committed. :D Not really. I must be content to be lean and toned because I am not going to get larger muscles. There may be some correlation between my build and my love of running, but my thinness is independent of my running. Running tops my list of favorite workouts and if I could, I'd get foot transplants and go back to running 30 plus miles a week. Instead, I content myself with th 15 or 20 I can run these days and I do alot of the rather vigorous yoga I love nearly as much as running. The best form of exercise is whatever motivates you get your rear in gear! And the perfect body is mine for me, yours for you and I commnd you to continue to strive to make it better! :)
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
RE: What?

Are these men or women we're talking about? As I pointed out, this article referred specifically to women & the fact that they burn fat much less efficiently than men. Also bear in mind these athletes really load up on carbs when they train.

I'm not sure I'm getting my point across here--maybe it's just the way I'm expressing myself--what I'm trying to say is the most efficient way for women to burn fat is 40-60 minutes of cardio 3-5 times a week. I'm not trying to describe how a distance runner stays so lean or why a sprinter is thin. This is an attempt from someone who's been doing this for 15+ years & has tried & read almost every w/o variation to give some worthwhile advice.
 
RE: What?

Hi Deb - I am a gym rat compared to most people here. As far as Cathe goes I basically only use her IMAX videos and I work those into my cardio routine when I need a change of pace. I have tried some of her other vids through some co-workers but I stick with the IMAXES. I am a big believer in interval work because it accomplishes alot in a very short period of time.
Your husband sounds similar to me build-wise. I am shorter at 6 feet but we weigh the same. I have become a firm believer in supersetting and tri-setting. Agin, you tend to get more done at a higher intensity with this type of lifting. I also subscribe to the theories of Jacob Wilson and his cohorts. These workouts involve stimulating as many muscle fibers as possible by combining heavy weight/low reps and low weight/extremely high reps to hit types1,2, and 3 fibers. I have been doing one month with the high weight stuff then one month low weight stuff for quite awhile now. Recently I have started combining the two types of workouts into one. I can email you my current workout scheme if you like. Make sure hubby eats alot of protein. That helped me. I also need to avoid going nuts with cardio as well. My metabolism is pretty high.
T. :)
 
RE: What?

Hey Bobbi!
What you are doing works for you and I am happy for you. I wouldn't try to convince you to do anything differently because I know you love your routine and it works for you. You would tell me to get lost anyway! :)
I didn't mean to make skinny sound bad. For women I think the term "skinny" is less of a problem than for men. It's the old stereotype thing. Guys strive to be muscular without being so thin I think. So yeah, for me, I don't want to be reed thin so I probably workout differently from you and we see things differently in that regard.
Anyway, sorry if I offended.
T.
 
RE: What?

I got a headache! LOL! Max I have been doing this awhile myself. I think the confusion was when you stated "too much cardio becomes anaerobic" or something like that. That depends on the intensity I believe. I mean, you can go walk for an hour and that's cardio if done briskly. But it isn't anaerobic because the HR is nowhere....
Anyway, I am gonna join Debra on the sidelines as far as this thread goes....LOL!
T. :)
 
RE: What?

Hi Bobbi,

I'm just wondering, you said you run 15-20 miles a week, how does one train to become a longer distance runner? I can run at a higher intensity for only about a mile and then have to slow it down or turn to a speed walk for a little while before I can run again. I do three mile run/walks right now. I know nothing about running except that it works at creating a leaner body and that I want to get better and longer at it. Can you offer some suggestions? Thanks so much.

Rosa:)
 
RE: What?

Hi, Rosa. Starting out, I didn't worry about the intensity so much. Just letting your body adapt to running itself over a few weeks almost certainly leads to the desire and the abilty to pick up the pace. Keep doing what you are doing. Alternating between running and walking is probably the best way to start. Listen to your body and start doing intervals of low intensity and high intensity running once walking gets too easy. For strictly running, the rule of thumb is to increase your mileage by no more than 10% per week. I like goals. Short term could be running a three miler at a comfortable pace, intermediate, running a three miler with a mile to warm up, a mile to run hard, perhaps doing intervals, and a mile to cool down. You add on as you adapt to each phase. Don't be afraid to back off if it feels too hard and don't be afraid to go all out if you think you can. Make sure you have a great pair of running shoes and stretch thoroughly when you're done. Check out the beginner runner and women's running at http://www.runnersworld.com and pick the brains of all the runner here. I am sure you'll find what works for you and, if you are like me, you'll fall in love! ;)
Bobbi http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/chicken.gif "Chick's rule!"

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

- Mary Oliver
 
RE: What?

Thanks for the info Bobbi. I'm going to check out that web site right now. Then I'm goin' for a run.....Here's to healthy living!:7
 
Kathy, you look amazing! Can you tell me what you did in those months between your before and after pictures? I have lamost every dvd Cathe has made. I am finding myself in a rut, and don't know what to do. I have worked out religiously over the past 10 years, even while I was pregnant with both my children, who are now 1 and 3. I have taken a couple months off my usual workouts, as I was feeling very achy. Also, I think my esteem was coming into play, because people would comment on my physique (in a good way), but it made me self-concious. I thought to myself "Is it too much- am I not supposed to look this way" I am 5'1, 112-115 lbs. I just need a new routine to get me out of my funk. If you have any advise you could share, I would truly appreciate it. Thank you for listening(reading). Alicia J
 
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