Just Curious.... Does Anyone?

pussycat

Cathlete
Does anyone EVER use heavier weights than Cathe?

If so, how heavy and which workouts?

I am able to keep up with her on most of the exercises, with exception of triceps. I always end up pyramiding down. :-( So I'm needing some inspiration and a good challenge!:p

TIA! :)
 
I do, on some of her DVDs: GSbiceps, I use 12s on the crazy eights, on MM I use heavier on the biceps, too. On some of the triceps I go heavier, but NOT on GS :) But usually I use what she uses or less
 
I think it's muscle endurance - where she does the three sets of leg presses with 10 pound weights - I use 25. For the pyramid lower body I use more also. I never seem to use more than her for the upper body though!

Barbara
 
I do on a few exercises. Can't think of which ones off the top of my head though. Oh yes, the partial reps on GS BSB. And some of the lower body stuff on circuit workouts in particular. And the rear delt flies on GS BSB.
 
Yes, I definitely do. On pretty much all her workouts. I just did Gym Style Chest and Bi's this morning. Cathe uses 20 lbs. for all the chest work, I use 30's for presses and 25's for flies. For bicep work I used 40 lbs. for barbell curls and 12's for partial reps. With the Slow & Heavy series I can usually go heavier then Cathe on most of the exercises. Same with Muscle Max and Pure Strength.
 
>I do, on some of her DVDs: GSbiceps, I use 12s on the crazy
>eights, on MM I use heavier on the biceps, too. On some of the
>triceps I go heavier, but NOT on GS :) But usually I use what
>she uses or less

Generally, I try to use exactly what she uses, but I'm the same as mentioned above. On GS crazy eight's, I go heavier. Some of the shoulder work I do too.

However, there are a few I can't go as heavy as she does. I'm never further than 5 lbs away from her though, both heavier and lighter.
 
**hopes Shelley will help me off the floor once she collects her bearings**

I do on some, depends on the workout, but not by much and NEVER barbell bicep curls.

I use more on almost everything from Muscle Endurance BUT BUT BUT Cathe had JUST had a baby a few months before recording the Intensity Series.
 
I always use heavier weights than Cathe in all of her workouts. My guess is that she uses heavier weights in her own workouts as well and lightens up because she's instructing and under the hot lights.

Erica
 
After reading Deb's post *requests Sarah and Shelley recusitate me and then lift me from the floor*


I lift heavier on some of the workouts (which lets you know these ARE NOT Cathe's max weight capabilities), mostly leg work, sometimes chest and back. Never bi's and tri's and shoulders.
 
I go 5-10# heavier than she does on PLB, but I also put longer breaks between sets. That works best for me.

I often go heavier than she does on back work.
 
When it's endurance based I usually use the same or heavier weights, except for biceps. Back is way too light on Cathe's workouts. I always lift heavier for leg work.

When I train on my own it's always much heavier.

Namita
 
What can I say? Hercules! Hercules! Hercules!

To go heavier than Cathe! gasp! I'm speechless!! I am in awe of you all. You have now made me wonder what in the world I am doing wrong? I will definately try to lift heavier in my next workout. Who knows, maybe I am not challenging myself enough.
 
>To go heavier than Cathe! gasp! I'm speechless!! I am in awe
>of you all. You have now made me wonder what in the world I am
>doing wrong? I will definately try to lift heavier in my next
>workout. Who knows, maybe I am not challenging myself enough.

Just remember, we've worked up to this, and many of us have been working out for a long time. Don't increase your weights just to be 'one of the gang,' LOL! You will increase your risk of injury, maybe even get injured, and then maybe not be able to lift ANY weights while you recover. Make sure that any attempts to lift heavier still take good form into consideration. Better to go slow and steady.

You may not be doing ANYTHING 'wrong,' you may just not be ready to increase weights yet.

I started out using 5# weights at home, then onto 8# and 10#, gradually adding dumbells as I needed them.
 
I go heavier than Cathe on almost all exercises except bicep curls and any kind of tricep exercise. On legs I used to go much, much heavier (ie. 60-65 pounds for MIS lower, PS-Legs) but I'm working hard on trying to thin out my lower body so I'm using lower weights and working them more often. I still go 5-10 pounds heavier than Cathe on legs because any less than that and I don't get a good burn. Like others here, I've worked up to this over the years. . .

Sue
 
I go to a gym for most of my weight work. I lift rather heavy for my size. I use Cathe's weight workouts to supplement my gym workouts and I tend to go heavier than what she is lifting/pulling/pushing. HOWEVER, I can almost guarantee that when Cathe is not filming she lifts a heck of a lot heavier than what she does on her DVD/VHS/FIT TV workouts. Most of her upper body workouts are endurance based and this translates to lower weight with many reps and minimal rest between sets. I remember the first time I did one of her upper body workouts (can't remember which one it was) she says "Go get your heavy dumbbells." So I go get my 30 pound dumbbells only to see her pick up a 12 pounder!!:+

It seems a number of people seem to get quite a boost by "lifting heavier than Cathe." It IS quite a motivator. Perhaps if she showed up lifting 30 - 35 - 40 pound dumbells and heavier weight on her barbell many might get discouraged right?! Or worse yet, since the fitness crowd also tends to be competitive some might injure themselves by trying to match her at a weight that they are not ready for yet. I think a bit of business savvy might be at work in how much iron she pushes in front of the camera.

A couple of months ago in one of the Oxygen magazines the editors made a note that the models in the workout spreads were lifting much LIGHTER weights than what they do in reality. I believe they mentioned that the ladies in the pictures were liting for hours to get those shots and you cannot lift heavy weights with good form to do this effectively. I look at these fitness competitors and at Cathe and I know they probably eat 15 pound dumbells and 40 pound barbells for breakfast!:) :eek:
 
>HOWEVER, I can almost guarantee that when Cathe is not
>filming she lifts a heck of a lot heavier than what she
>does on her DVD/VHS/FIT TV workouts. Most of her upper body
>workouts are endurance based and this translates to lower
>weight with many reps and minimal rest between sets.

I'd believe that. People speculate that when filming, Cathe lifts about 70% of what she normally uses. I'd guess it's most probably less than that, since she has to talk through the exercises, and her rests are only a few seconds long, even in her strength training workouts. If you do a search on hypertrophy training, you'd find out that some bodybuilders wait up to 3 minutes between sets. That's a bit long for me, but these are people who lift hundreds of pounds (like Rogue :+).

I lift heavier than she does for every upper body workout, sometimes twice as much as she lifts (for big muscle groups), but I take longer rests between sets. For legs, I either go heavier, lighter, or I match her. Sometimes I don't use any weights at all. My legs seem to respond better to this kind of variety. It's also better for my knees this way. I also do the same for circuits -- vary my weight load depending on how intense I want my workouts to be. I don't go to the gym, so I try to make small tweaks here and there to keep my body from getting used to the same things all the time.

Pinky
 
WOW!!! Thanks for all the feedback! I am truly motiviated now. ;-)
I cannot believe how heavy some of you go--you are amazing!! I was worried about getting too bulky if I went much heavier than what Cathe was using, jeesh! I now have great goals to attain...thanks everyone!

I did post a similar question to Cathe so I'm anxious to see what she actually uses. If she only uses 70% of her normal weight, I've got some serious work ahead of me.

I noticed when I first started using Cathe's w/os that she did not use real heavy weights for LB but more reps, which I find to be very tough. I have noticed a big improvement in my legs. They have really lost the bulk I had and they are nicely toned.....and no big bubble butt anymore--YEAH!!!

Today I did S&H Chest and Back and stayed heavier on most of the workout. When I do PUB I always think I should have started out heavier....hahaha! I wonder if Cathe were making these older workouts NOW, would she use heavier weights.

Thanks again everyone! You are a super group of strong women! ;-)
 
>It seems a number of people seem to get quite a boost by
>"lifting heavier than Cathe." It IS quite a motivator.
>Perhaps if she showed up lifting 30 - 35 - 40 pound dumbells
>and heavier weight on her barbell many might get discouraged
>right?!

I was not bragging - simply stating fact. And I agree that she probably does lift much heavier in real life. Even so, Cathe is 5'2" and very petite. I am 5'6" and much heavier (okay, I need to lose 20 pounds :+ ). Lifting the SAME as Cathe in some of these workouts is actually an ego crusher because I have the mindset that since I'm larger than she is and have been weight training consistently for 6 years now, I *should* lift heavier. Now if I could do as many consecutive straight leg pushups as she can do, THAT would be something to brag about! :7

Sue
 
Oh shucks, I did not mean to imply that anyone was bragging.:) I too like to state simple facts and it appears that I am always "bragging" about how much I can lift and how many pullups I can do etc etc. The reality is I am a runt! A strong one but a runt nonetheless!!:eek: I am quite sure I weigh less than most of the women at the gym I go to. But I lift A LOT more than they do. The reality of this is that I simply will not back down. I regularly use 40 pound dumbbells for chest work (don't even think I do those slooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww Cathe counts with this weight!) Anyway, more than once a guy has approached and asked me if I realize how many pounds they are. DUH! I always ask them WHY they get so close to me while I wield these heavy things if they think I don't know what I am lifting?!?!? Ya know?!

Please don't let the fact that Cathe is 5'2 be an ego crusher for you. She does this stuff for a living! And I'll tell you, sometimes the smallest people can be the most lethal!}( }(

Pinky, Pinky, Pinky . . . lifting hundreds of pounds!! :7 :7 :7 You have been such an inspiration to me and you are certainly one of the most impressive looking home exercisers I have ever seen. Plus you possess my favorite set of horns and fangs!!:p }(
 

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