Is PS for me?

[kristieschultz]

Hi Cathe and anyone else who wants to chime in,

I having been reading a lot here about the difference between endurance and strength workouts and am considering giving PS a try. I currently have PH and MIS. I definitely firmed up and gained strength with them, but I did not seem to notice any major changes in the shape of my muscles while incorporating them in my rotations. I did MIS for 3 months twice a week and then PH for 2 months twice a week. I also do various types of cardio (interval,step,running,taebo etc) four times a week.

I am currently doing power yoga for my strength three times a week and I love it. I found myself getting sooo bored with weights especially doing the same workout twice a week for months at a time. I don't want to get bored with yoga so I want to switch back to weights and am curious about what PS can do for me. I also feel like since PS is actually three different workouts per week that will help with the boredom factor.

I guess my question is, if done correctly once a week, could PS potentially cause someone to gain more definition than MIS or PH done twice a week? I know it might be hard for you to answer this because all bodies are different. I do have a fairly toned muscular body but I could stand to lose five pounds. Even a better question might be, what differences could I expect to see when doing the PS series once a week opposed to MIS or PH twice a week?

One more thing also, is there any extra equipment that I need to get for PS? I already have all the equipment necessary for MIS and PH.

Thanks so much Cathe and/or anyone else who can help me out with this. Also, Cathe, congratulations on your pregnancy and best wishes to you and your family!

Kristie S

 

[shaan]

Hi Kristie

Not a response. A question for you. Could you please give me the name/instructor of the Power Yoga tapes you do. I would love to check it out.

Is it Cathe's? I didn't see it when I was browsing the catalog.

I am looking to add streching on my days off (Sundays). Some of the Yoga tapes available in stores are so old and blah.

Please and thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Shaan

 

[kristieschultz]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jan-31-02 AT 11:11PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Shaan,

Although Cathe does not yet have a yoga video she recently mentioned that she is considering making one in the future so keep that in mind. I will buy it that is for sure.

Well I'm certainly not any authority on yoga. I've only been practicing it for several months but I LOVE it! But I would have to say that if you are planning to do it on your "OFF" day you might not want to do power yoga because it is not exactly relaxing. I do vol 1 and 2 of the Bryan Kest power yoga tapes and I also do embracing power yoga (hard) with Mark Blanchard. You can probably find the Kest tapes at half.com for under $10. Some other good power yoga instructors that I've heard of are Baron Baptiste, David Swenson (supposedly the best), Sarah Powers(i think that was her name), and another person i think the name is something like Eoin Finn or something similar. Sorry i can't remember exactly how to spell it. There are many others too.

If you are interested in yoga that is a bit more relaxing but great for developing flexibility for a day off type thing, you may want to check out Total Yoga. I've heard it is good. I've also heard alot of good things about Ali Mcgraw's mind and body, although I've never tried either of those tapes. I ordered a Yoga Zone tape, yoga for strength and endurance, and I wasn't too impressed with it, but others seem to like yoga zone.

You may want to consider posting a message either here on the open discussion board or at videofitness.com asking for yoga
video suggestions. In fact I recently saw a thread titled something like 'top yoga video or favorite yoga video' at the videofitness forum. You may want to check it out.

Good luck and thanks for asking!

Kristie S

 

[shaan]

Thanks Kristie,

You are an angel. I will check it out.


Shaan

 

[Debra]

Hi Kristie!

As you noted we all respond differently to training but I'll share my experience. I've gained muscle mass using S&H or the PS videos one x each week without adding additional strength work. But, I use them when my cardio time is relatively low. I've found it's futile to try & build muscle mass when I'm doing lots of cardio. So when I'm doing lots of cardio, I use total body/endurance workouts like MIS & PH. I usually experience a drop in body fat when doing lots of cardio so the muscles I've built earlier look more defined.

And as Cathe always points out, your eating habits have a huge impact on your results.

Debra

 

[kristieschultz]

If you're still with me Debra,

Just curious about your post. So when you drop cardios how many do you do a week, 3 or 2 or what? I may try this because if I dropped down to 2 a week when doing PS I would still have time to incorporate a stretching tape weekly. I usually can only fit about 7 hours in a week at the most but preferrably 6. Thanks much for your reply!

It's so nice to get different replies/ideas from different people about what works for them. I kind of seem to get stuck in a rut with what I do but the ideas that I get on this website help out tremendously!!

Thanks,
Kristie S

 

[Debra]

You didn't lose me Kristie. I was vague about cardio on purpose because I'm a cyclist. Like most endurance athletes I exercise more than anyone needs. So for me, I continued doing cardio 5-6 days week but did 30 min runs or short, flat rides instead of 2+ hours of riding hills.

What's more important is your time budget. Alternating strength days w/ longer cardio days worked well for me. If you have time after your strength sessions, you could either do a short cardio or stretching session. Stretching helps your muscles recover so it supports your goal of gaining muscle.

More isn't always better. Getting plenty of sleep, eating well, & consistency are probably a lot more important than more fitness hours. But the only way to find out is to try it & see if it works for you.

I'm getting long-winded again, but my Spinning instructor had some interesting advice last night. He pointed out how important it is to vary ones fitness routine & activities if you want to progress. Since you've been doing muscular endurance for awhile, a switch to mass building exercises might bring wonderful results.

Good luck & let us know how it goes. Love to see you in the check-in.
Debra