Looking for workouts for different effects for different muscle groups.

[iamfirmin]

Need your advice dear cathletes !
Last summer I've completed STS. The results were great: I've gained strength and improved muscle endurance, but along with that came extra muscle bulkiness.
But I'm looking for a strong svelte body with defined muscles. Dancers body . For a half a year now I'doing barre workouts, but I miss Cathe's muscle workouts so much!
What videos would you recommend for: strength for all body muscles (back and legs especially), defined and lean legs and arms?
Thank you all in advance.

I tend to be leaner... I LOVE BULK.... if I do too much cardio.. I lose muscle...You never want to lose muscularity ,, just lean it out..

 

[nckfitheart2009]

I tend to be leaner... I LOVE BULK.... if I do too much cardio.. I lose muscle...You never want to lose muscularity ,, just lean it out..

Yep Got to love muscularity. Same for me. I can not stand excessive cardio, It flattens out
all my womanly bit on top of loosing strength!

 

[EdelTat]

Dear cathelets,
thanks to you I`ve found DVDs and rotations for leaner legs.
Now I`m thinkimg about upper body rotation.
My goal is lean, but strong and defined upper body. No bulkiness at all.
What DVDs would you recommend? And how many times per week?

 

[Candice2015]

Dear cathelets,
thanks to you I`ve found DVDs and rotations for leaner legs.
Now I`m thinkimg about upper body rotation.
My goal is lean, but strong and defined upper body. No bulkiness at all.
What DVDs would you recommend? And how many times per week?

We seem to have the same goals - What rotation did you come up with?

 

[~Elsie]

What DVDs would you recommend? And how many times per week?

Probably any of the Upper Body routines that you enjoy is what I would recommend. I don't think any of Cathe's dvds would produce very large hypertrophy unless you are eating a great deal, focusing on isolation work exclusively, supplementing for 'growth' & doing next to no cardio.
If you do have a body type which tends toward very fast muscle growth in the upper body/back and are very concerned about this, perhaps just avoid LIS Tri-sets, STS 2, Muscle Melts fr ICE and Slow & Heavy. I do Slow & Heavy shoulders regularly and do not have any 'bulk'. I am naturally lanky and when left unlifted, scrawny.
Have fun!!

 

[EdelTat]

Thank you, ~Elsie.
Last year I`ve completed STS and my arms, shoulders and traps became huge (for me, of course ), back & chest - not so much. But I didn`t do any cardio at that time.
No I just want my upper body toned and defined.

If you do have a body type which tends toward very fast muscle growth in the upper body/back and are very concerned about this, perhaps just avoid LIS Tri-sets, STS 2, Muscle Melts fr ICE and Slow & Heavy.

So you suggest stick to the Meso 1&3? May be XTrain?

 

[EdelTat]

We seem to have the same goals - What rotation did you come up with?

Candice2015,
For the legs:
Kickbox cardio - 1 per week
HIIT/Insanity/Afterburn/Circuit Training (haven`t decided on exact video, I guess it will be something Cathe`s and Bob Harper`s) - 1-2 per week
Leaner Legs/Lean Legs/High Reps/Lower Body Blast/Great Glutes/Xtrain Legs/XTrain Cardio Leg Blast/Butts & Guts - any 2 of those WOs a week
Jogging - 2 times a week, the same day as Leg training
One day for Upper Body.
Also I`ve added yoga-style WO (PiYo) recently.
And I`ll keep doing Tracy Anderson Metas and Barre.

 

[~Elsie]

Thank you, ~Elsie.
Last year I`ve completed STS and my arms, shoulders and traps became huge (for me, of course ), back & chest - not so much. But I didn`t do any cardio at that time.
No I just want my upper body toned and defined.

So you suggest stick to the Meso 1&3? May be XTrain?

You've completed STS & I, honestly, have not. Congrats, btw!! You also sound like you understand how your own body reacts to specific lifting. I thought maybe you were newer to this than me and was just pointing out the lifting programs that may have a swift hypertrophy effect on someone (in an effort of being helpful). To answer your question though, I think XTrain would be great! Time goes by quick with that one.

 

[EdelTat]

You've completed STS & I, honestly, have not. Congrats, btw!! You also sound like you understand how your own body reacts to specific lifting. To answer your question though, I think XTrain would be great! Time goes by quick with that one.

Thank you, ~Elsie !
Hope you`ll enjoy STS as I did.
But I still looking for a balanced routine for me and haven`t try every Cathe`s WO .

 

[Jane Power-Grimm]

Now I`m thinkimg about upper body rotation.
My goal is lean, but strong and defined upper body. No bulkiness at all.
What DVDs would you recommend? And how many times per week?

For the leaner look, I find endurance based weight programs work best. I would stick to Cathe's DVDs that have about 16 reps/set which usually means using about 70% of your one rep max. Some examples include STS meso 1 (not meso 3), High Reps and Muscle Endurance. Specifically for the upper body you may like XTrain Bis/Tris and XTrain Chest/Back/Shoulders or Chiseled Upper Body from ICE. Exercises which use compound movements tend to use lighter weights and won't lead to as much muscle growth, so you may find yourself gravitating to those - such as RWH's Hiit Circuit Upper Body.

I would work upper body once per week, at most twice. But I would also include one of Cathe's great metabolic workouts in your weekly rotations (Supercuts, Metabolic Total Body from ICE, LIS's Cardio Supersets and Afterburn, Cross Fire and To the Max) as these use light weights and so will not develop bulk. I would definitely add cardio 3 or more days per week for the lean but toned results you are looking for. Weighted gloves with Cathe's boxing workouts are a nice way to tone up the arms, burn the fat and work the cardio! Some yoga workouts can also develop some tone and strength without bulk (e.g. Yoga Max).

Cathe gives us so much to choose from - always something for everyone!

 

[Candice2015]

@Jane Power-Grimm - thanks for posting all those workout suggestions for a leaner look, definitely helps me figuring out which ones to do.

 

[maddiesmum]

Jane's response is the best!

Clare

 

[nckfitheart2009]

Cathe gives us so much to choose from - always something for everyone!

@Jane Power-Grimm

Yes, You are absolutely right with this above. So I wonder why some whine out loud posting
suggestions for cathe's upcoming projects!

For the leaner look, I find endurance based weight programs work best. I would stick to Cathe's DVDs that have about 16 reps/set which usually means using about 70% of your one rep max. Some examples include STS meso 1 (not meso 3), High Reps and Muscle Endurance. Specifically for the upper body you may like XTrain Bis/Tris and XTrain Chest/Back/Shoulders or Chiseled Upper Body from ICE. Exercises which use compound movements tend to use lighter weights and won't lead to as much muscle growth, so you may find yourself gravitating to those - such as RWH's Hiit Circuit Upper Body.

You are right Jane for this above. I am not sure about what the OP is expecting out of this thread to be honest!
The process of gaining an aesthetic result from training is not exact science ---Exact Maths!.
I would just add that the results "Questing after a dancer body" will depend on various factors:

• Her own input while working out resistance programs --- Intensity
• Cardio/Resistance ratio. I have just read that previously while on STS, The OP did not do any cardio!
• Fitness level and current body composition.

Leaning out with you suggestion above, jane could work for someone who already have a good body composition.
In other word someone who already has a solid muscle mass acquired over years. No one was born with a single digit fat percentage versus muscles!
A small body with no muscle need to build muscle first. It is a fact!
Knowledge of the body type is also important and I advise the OP to acknowledge it.

Just my 2 cents

 

[EdelTat]

For the leaner look, I find endurance based weight programs work best. I would stick to Cathe's DVDs that have about 16 reps/set which usually means using about 70% . I would work upper body once per week, at most twice. But I would also include one of Cathe's great metabolic workouts in your weekly rotations (Supercuts, Metabolic Total Body from ICE, LIS's Cardio Supersets and Afterburn, Cross Fire and To the Max) as these use light weights and so will not develop bulk.

Dear Jane Power-Grimm,
Thank you for your excellent answer!
You've answered even for those question I just had in mind: what lighter weight is challenging enough to tone the body, what Cathe's WOs are metabolic etc.
And thank you for list of specific WOs!

 

[Zora1]

The light bulb moment for me was realizing that my squat depth was above parallel for years which had beefed up my quads. The day after I changed my form, I had some major DOMS in the butt. What a difference. My legs continue to be strong, but their shape is really starting to change. It's been a slow process b/c I'm more of a pear shape, but I'm happy that I finally feel I'm getting the lower body I have been striving for forever!

After reading this post, I recently started paying closer attention to my squat form and aiming for deeper squats - and wow! I am feeling the difference! With RWH LIHI Legs, I always used to get DOMS primarily in my quads (instead of the DOMS I usually get in my glutes and hamstrings with, for example, Cardio Leg Blast - a favorite!). However, now that I'm taking Stacy's advice, the DOMS I get with RWH Legs are so much more concentrated in my glutes . Still feeling the quads, but I like that they're not the major focus anymore. Thanks for the tip!!!