Need help with new rotation

M

Marian D

Member
Hi Cathe,

I need some help trying to come up with a new rotation. My weight loss efforts have stalled since last fall, even though I'm working out and watching what I eat. I lost about 20 lbs last fall/winter, and have been increasing my workouts. I'm in great shape but I just can't seem to lose any weight. I've been doing 30-60 minutes of step 4-5 days a week (mostly steady state), and have been walking a mile or two a day, 5-6 days a week. I added weights about a month ago (using the upper body portions of CTX - doing all weight segments at once, twice a week), and even though I'm getting stronger, again, I just can't seem to start losing weight. I don't know if I should try adding intervals/circuits, and if so, how many times a week. Anyway, I have the following DVDs: Body Max 2; Boot Camp + Muscle Endurance; Butts & Gutts; Cross Train Express; Drill Max; Kick, Punch & Crunch & Legs and Glutes; Imax2 + Cardio & Weights; Low Impact Circuit; Low Impact Step; Power Hour +; Power Max; Pyramid Lower + Upper Body; Slow & Heavy 3 Workout Set; and Timesaver. BTW, I'm 45 and about 40 pounds overweight. I am an intermediate/advanced everciser and LOVE complex routines.

Any suggestions to kick start my routine? Any input would be MUCH appreciated.

Thanks,
Marian
 
Marian,

Not Cathe here, but would like to help.

Welcome to the Cathe forums. There are many people here who can help you, I'll try my best if you like.

Congratulations on losing about 20 pounds. That is a great beginning. Not losing could mean a number of things. Your body might be needing a weeks break, if you need a weeks break, continue eating clean. Maybe your not eating enough. Perhaps you are the type of person that needs weight lifting and not so much cardio. After you answer a few questions, then I think I might be able to help.

What combination of the three body types are you? Endomorph, Mesomorph, Ectomorph. When you work out, what are you picturing in your head? What are your goals? How long can you workout during the day? Do you know what eating clean means?

Ponder on these questions and get back to me when you can. It is a lot to digest. If you don't know what endomorph, mesmorth, or ectomorph, then look it up on the internet and to the best of your knowledge let me know what your combination is. If you still don't know, I'll help you there as well.

I probably should have asked this before, but have you thought about doing Cathe's Intermediate rotation? I think it could be modified to fit what you have on hand. If you like it, I'll help you modify it. There is another rotation, from fitnessfreak. She also has an intermediate rotation that is very effective. She's really good about creating rotations.

You can also e-mail me, and we can go from there.

Take care, and talk with you later.

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible.

http://www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey
 
Hi Janie,

Thanks for your help. I went to the "Extreme Body Makeover" website (my 75 year old father told me about it!!), and took their quiz. The results say that I am a Body Type B - Endo-Meso. It says that I build and maintain lean muscle easily, but that my metabolism is slower than most people. This seems very accurate. I have a program that allows me to input what I eat and what I exercise, and it calculates my metabolism. It seems that the more I exercise and "diet" the lower my metabolism. After being really "good" since the first of the year, it calculates my metabolism at about 1300 calories a day!! YIKES!! To lose weight, I have net less than 1000 calories. I can't continue to only eat that much - I just don't get enough carbs/protein to maintain my energy.

As far as my diet goes, I'm pretty good about it - I eat very lean protein, very little fat except for nuts, whole grains/bran, 4-5 veggies, 2-3 fruits and 2-3 cups of milk a day. My only problem is my wicked sweet tooth! I usually have a dish (maybe a cup) of low-fat ice cream after dinnner, and usually a piece of chocolate or a couple Oreos during the day. However, there are some days ..... cake, cookies, candy, etc. Lately, my splurge has been tootsie pops!!

My "ideal" body would be a size 9/11 dress, I probably need to lose about 40-50 lbs. I want to be strong with lean muscles. I live in the mountains, so I want to be able to go hiking (like the Appalachian Mountain Trail), and biking along the Rails-to-Trails. We also have a beautiful waterfront property, and I want to start rowing (in the type of boat that has the sliding seat!). I would say that I'm an int/adv aerobic exerciser, but need more endurance to be able to do these things.

I'm new to Cathe rotations, so I'm not familiar with her intermediate rotation or with fitnessfreak.

Thank you for your help. Any suggestions regarding exercise/rotations/diet would be great!

Marian
 
Good morin, Marian,

My bod is End-Ecto. You and I have the types of body that is difficult to master, but with a desire/inspiration, we can do this.

I down loaded an e-book from Tom Ventura of BFFM. If you can, this book is extremely beneficial to have. It's like a nutrional book and an exercise book all in one. Anyway, I got information from it that I will share with you. Here it goes:

Pay attention to food quality. Our body type need high protein, med. to low carbs. Large amounts of cardio, 4-5 times a week, and more if you can. Some kind of activity almost everyday. Exercise for life, don't relax on this. Train hard/don't relax your efforts. Increase your training efforts and duration. 20 min. is a maintenance workout. For max. weight loss 30-45 min of continuous aerobic activity is a must. In some instances 60 min. until a goal is achieved. Then go back to 20 min. maintenance only after you reach your goal. Avoid over sleeping/watch less TV. Weight training that utilize large muscle groups. (back and legs) High rep compound legs (squats, lunges, leg presses...) Always be on the lookout for something to motivate and inspire you. Restrict carbs, but never remove them completely. You and I should take advantage of "The Zone" diet, it's very similar to what our bodies needs. Be consistent and persistent, the fat will come off but not without time and effort. Patience is a virtue all endomorphs must cultivate.

Quite a list isn't it? That being said, How much time during the day, do you have to exercise? Once I know that, I can get started on your rotation.

Hope I didn't scare you away,

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible.

http://www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey
 
>Quite a list isn't it? That being said, How much time during
>the day, do you have to exercise? Once I know that, I can get
>started on your rotation.
>
>Hope I didn't scare you away,

Nope, you didn't scare me away. I actually enjoy exercising - at least the cardio part. I love stepping and dancing. I am a stay at home mom, so I can pretty much dedicate as much time as necessary and work my schedule around a routine. Currently, I do cardio (mostly COMPLEX stepping) in the late morning for about 30-60 minutes, 4-6 times a week. Then I shoot for doing either weights and/or pilates in the afternoon for 20-30 minutes about 3 times a week - some weeks I do it, some I don't. Then I usually walk, outside if possible, if not on the treadmill, for 1-2 miles every day. Now that the weather is getting better, and I just bought a new bike (YEAH!!), I hope to spend a lot more time outside. I also garden, so I get a little workout there. And, we have a wonderful in-ground pool, so soon I'll be able to swim!!! The funny thing is, I lead a pretty sedantary life, except for the 2-3 hours I "workout" most days. :D

I look forward to seeing your rotation recommendations!

Thanks,
Marian
 
Marian,

I have the perfect rotation for you, and it is originated by Cathe herself. It was for a woman named Chap. She wanted to lose 20-30 pounds in 3 months time. As you, she wasn't new to exercising. But she did however have all of her DVD's. So you will have to be more creative with what you have on hand and also use your bike and pool when weather permits. I will copy it here. For the DVD's you don't have, substitute it with another DVD that is comparable to what you have on hand.

I highly recommend first, to try the Intermediate Rotation that Cathe has out for this month of March. To make it harder add in 3 (30) min. cardio of your choice or 2 (60) min. cardio of your choice. Make sure there is a mixture of cardio so you don't use the same muscle group all the time. And take a day of rest once a week. For instance step one day then jogging another, swimming another time or biking yet another day. Jump higher, just intensify it more when needed. With the weight workouts, use heavier weights, and do them 2 or 3 times each for each muscle group. Example; Push Pull, there is a feature on the DVD that allows you to do the exercises 3 times. That's if you feel that it is too easy.

First take 4 days off, except perhaps 30 min. walk per day to let your body recover and refuel. Watch carefully what you eat.


Here is the rotation that Cathe gave to Chap:

Hi Chap! The main advice that I can give you is to not do too much too soon or you will sabotage your efforts and hinder your goal(s). Take the first three weeks to get acclimated to a two hour a day workout program. If not you run the risk of aches, twinges, spasms, pulled muscles, shin splints, just to name a few. All of these injuries require days, weeks, or in some cases, months to rehab. So please set realistic sights for yourself.

Since you say you have all of my DVD's, I'm assuming you are an advanced and regular exerciser. The following is based on that assumption.

During the 1st week of your conditioning program, you should do only one hour of cardio per day (4 days a week) and 30 minutes of strength training (2 times per week...total body workouts). Also do the strength training later in the day if possible so you are more refreshed (or vice versa with cardio).

The 2nd week, you can continue to do one hour of cardio but now 5 days a week (either early or later in the day) and also do one full hour of strength training later in the day. (4 days a week, two body parts per session).

The 3rd week, you can do 6 days of cardio (any day you feel too tired to do it, rest that day). Do 4 days of weight training again but change the two body parts per session to two different body parts (ie: if you did back and biceps, now do back and chest).

After your three week conditioning program, take four days off of all exercise except maybe just a 30 minute walk per day to let your body recover and refuel.

After that start in with workouts that accomplish the following:

1) Slow and Heavy weight training series for the first three weeks (along with your 5 or 6 weekly cardio workouts earlier or later in the day).

2) Pure Strength weight training series for the next three weeks (along with your 5 or 6 weekly cardio workouts earlier or later in the day).

3) Slow and Heavy again for the next three weeks (along with your 5 or 6 cardio workouts earlier or later in the day).

4) One week of Power Hour and Muscle Endurance (each done twice in the week) along with your 5 to 6 days of cardio.

5) One week of "Circuit Max", "Boot Camp", "Body Max", "Cardio and Weights", "Legs and Glutes", "Step, Jump, and Pump". Instead of doing weights later in the day this week, you will instead do IMAX 2 two days this week (on any day of your choice as long as it is not consecutive IMAX 2).

6) One week of CTX Series in its entirety. Two days this week (for your evening workout) you can do Supersets one day and Push Pull a few days later.

That should bring you in right at your three month mark. Good Luck and remember to vary your cardio modes daily and have at least two VERY high intensity cardio workouts each week (after your three week conditioning period).

If you would like to see modifications of these workouts, just use the search engine and put in 35285. If you read others comments, there is another person that Cathe modified for her needs. It is interesting, and well worth looking into.

If you need help in trying to figure out what you can substitute for which workout, let me know.

I hope this will help you,

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible.

http://www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey
 
Marian,

In the "Rotation" Forums, you will see rotations from Cathe pinned at the top. Under that you will see rotations from various people including fitnessfreak, which loses weight by weightlifting, not our body type at all, but could be modified by adding more cardio. Not one rotation is perfect for people. I think most would have to tweak rotations to their own body type.

Hope that helps you.

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible.

http://www.picturetrail.com/janiejoey
 
>Marian,
>
>Which website did you look at to find your body type?
>
>Thanks
>
>Kim

Kim,

The website is at https://www.mybodymakeover.com
At the bottom right of the page is a black square that says "What is Blueprinting". Click on that.

It's for a weight loss program (Extreme Body Makeover) that uses your body type to tell you what to eat and how to exercise. It's an infomercial type of thing - my Dad saw it on TV and was going to order it. When I looked it up for him, I saw that it has a questionaire (about 50 questions) that determines your body type. I am not interested in the program, just used the questionaire. Hope this helps.

Marian
 
>Marian,
>
>I have the perfect rotation for you, and it is originated by
>Cathe herself.

Janie,

Thanks, Wow what a lot of information. It's going to take me a day or so to digest. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions then, if you don't mind.

Thanks for all your work and input.
Marian
 
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