"Intro to Cathe" Rotation?

[junemom]

Hello all,

I'm fairly new to this forum and somewhat new to Cathe. I have done the PS series, and stepfit, and love both. So much that I have amassed, but not done, most of her other tapes! I have the CTX series, and most of the others.

I'm just coming off the firm 90 day rotation and am looking to use my new Cathe tapes, get to know Cathe, lose about 5 pounds, and keep up my strength gains. I'm not really looking to build major muscle, maybe just better definition, and endurance. I also will start to run again when it gets a little warmer. I would say I'm an intermediate exerciser, and I don't like really dancy stuff, or Hi lo, but pick up Cathe's step tapes reasonably quickly.

Can anyone suggest a good 6 week rotation to help me accomplish the above goals? I do have Kathy S. rotations (thank you, thank you, Ruth) but really don't know Cathe's tapes well enough to pick one.

Any help is appreciated!!

Christine

 

[getnfit@38]

Hi Christine

If you could list exactly which Cathe videos you have, I'd be happy to share some rotation ideas with you. It just makes it hard when I don't know which videos you do have and which you don't.
Donna

 

[junemom]

Sure Donna, I'd be happy to! BTW, thanks very much for responding, I've got:

PS series
Slow and Heavy (not too interested in incorporating this one yet, will do a specific s & H rotation later...)
MIS
MIC
IMax
Cardio Kicks
Stepfit
PowerMax
Stepworks
PowerHour
Circuit Max
BodyMax (I've previewed this one and think I should put it near the end of any Cathe rotation-it looks TOUGH!!)
CTX series

If you've got any ideas, I'd love to hear them-like I said, I don't know the material well enough to put a rotation together that is effective. I find after doing the firm 90 day I've made good strength gains, and excellent cardio gains (my RHR is about 10 beats lower than it was last summer), but I've got about 5 pounds of fat to burn off. Another consideration for me is time: I can do long (90 minutes) workout on the weekends but during the week like to keep it to 60-70 minutes, less if possible! I'm looking forward to doing a whole week of CTX but feel I need to "learn" Cathe a bit before I tackle that; I would maybe put a CTX week in week 4 or 5...

Christine

 

[jillybean]

With the exception of Circuit Max (I have Step Jam) we have the EXACT same tapes! Weird! Anyway, I did a CTX rotation for 8 weeks using each upper body part twice a week so that it was like this:
Sa Step Intervals Chest/Shoulders
Su Power Circuit Back/Biceps
M 10-10-10 Triceps/Chest
T Kickbox Biceps/Back
W All Step Shoulders/Triceps
T Leaner Legs
F REST
I saw great results right away. I am currently doing a PS rotation (I'm on the 5th week of a planned 8 weeks). This is what I've been doing:
Sa MIC Hi/Lo PS C/S/T
Su MIC Step PS B/B/A
M PS L/A
T Power Max
W CTX cardio & BodyMax upper body or CTX cardio & MIS upper body
T Body Max Step & Power Circuits or BodyMax Step & MIS lower body
F REST
I like you, have longer to work out on the weekends. My favorite cardio of Cathe's so far is the step from Body Max, so I always try to incorporate that. But I am afraid to do the entire Body Max tape at once! Have fun!

 

[junemom]

Thanks, Jillybean-I also take Friday's off. Your rotations both sound good, I'm printing them out. Thanks for responding!

Christine

 

[getnfit@38]

Hi Christine

Using your list and related comments, here's one idea:

WEEK 1:
mon: PowerMax
tue: PS-CST + PS-L&A (weights portion)
wed: IMAX
thu: PS-BBA + PS-L&A (floorwork portion)
fri: REST
sat: 1/2 MIC + MIS
sun: Cardio Kicks

WEEK 2:
mon: Circuit Max
tue: PS-CST + PS-L&A (floorwork)
wed: IMAX
thu: PS-BBA + PS-L&A (weights)
fri: REST
sat: 1/2 MIC + PowerHour
sun: Cardio Kicks

WEEK 3:
mon: IMAX
tue: MIS
wed: Step Fit
thu: PS-CST + PS-L&A (weights)
fri: REST
sat: Step Works + PS-BBA
sun: PowerMax + PS-L&A (floorwork)

WEEK 4:
mon: Cardio Kicks
tue: PS-CST + PS-L&A (weights)
wed: PS-BBA
thu: IMAX
fri: REST
sat: 1/2 MIC + MIS
sun: Step Fit + PS-L&A (floorwork)

WEEK 5-8:
jillybeans CTX rotation she listed would be a great 4 week rotation.

Once you get into the cardio, you'll see that they are very interchangable with a few exceptions. IMAX stands alone! nothing else is even remotely like it in my opinion! But the basic step videos are pretty interchangable, so if you're more comfortable with one over another, you can substitute easily.
CTX is really a great series. being short on time during the week, you may want to think about doing the cardio portions of it along with your weight work. Each cardio portion is only 30 min., and it is a quick but intense workout! Or do jillybeans suggestion and you still come out at about 60-70min each day.

Hope this helped, I can tell I'm babbling
Donna

 

[junemom]

Hi Donna,

Thanks so much for taking the time to put this together for me-it sounds just right, a good intro to Cathe, and a chance to get to know these tapes that are burning a hole in my video shelf! It is printed out and ready to go, I will start next week. This is my rest week but I plan on doing a few run-through's of MIC for the choreo, just for fun, maybe will try out some of the CTX tapes, again low intensity, just to learn the choreo.

And, you're not babbling! It is all very much appreciated.

Christine

 

[junemom]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Apr-02-02 AT 11:11AM (Est)[/font][p]If you're out there, Donna, I just wanted to let you know I started your rotation on Saturday (I flipped the weekends to the beginning of the week) and I am loving it-this was just the thing I needed right now to shock my system. I am so sore, but in a good way, and very happy that I can actually do some of this stuff-MIC hi lo is definitely intense, and I have to say that on previewing, Powermax looked easy but when I did it, it was not!

I'm also happy to report that I love Cardio Kicks, even though my mid bakc was so sore the next day. Thanks Donna!

I'll be doing this for four weeks, then will do the CTX rotation that jillybean suggested for two weeks.

Christine

 

[suzanneb]

New to Cathe

I need to lose about 50 pounds. I just received Cathes Power Hour, MIS, and BodyMax DVD. These are the only Cathes I have. I do have other videos (Firms, Taebo, Leslie Sansone, Etc.) What would be a good weight loss rotation for me. I really need to lose alot of body fat. Thanks in advance!

S

 

[jillybean]

RE: New to Cathe

How much do you currently workout? I did The Firm for years before I switched to Cathe. It was a good base for endurance, but aerobically and strength wise, I was pretty behind. I started with CTX and lost about 20 lbs. Then I ordered all of Cathe's other tapes. Looking at your tapes, I would suggest the following:
Sat. Body Max - the cardio and upperbody sections
Sun. 30 min. lower intenstiy cardio and power circuit segment from Body Max
Mon. 60 min cardio
Tue. Power Hour
Wed. 60 min cardio
Thu. Power Hour or MIS
Fri. Rest (take any day of rest you need, I just used Friday as an example)

This might be a bit much if you aren't used to working out at Cathe's intensity. I would use this rotation, or something similar for 4 weeks. If you've lost weight and you're feeling good, continue with them, or add just a bit more. By implementing Cathe's workouts into your rotation, you will break any plateau you might currently be experiencing. Her stepping speed and intensity really do shock the metabolism. Have fun!