Newbie on a mission

I will try and make this as brief as possible (you know its never good when someone starts with that:). I am five years out from a stage 3C breast cancer diagnosis, with complications including "rare and agressive", surgery induced lymphedema and clinical trial induced congestive heart failure (since remediated). I credit the fact that I'm here with a breast cancer vaccine clinical trial at Johns Hopkins. When I was sick, I would sit on the couch, watching joggers go by and swear to myself that when I was able, I was going to get myself into the best shape ever. I have always exercised at least three days a week, but I wanted to be truly fit. At five years out, I've managed to create a butt out of the flat one that three years of treatment left me with, but I have also added twelve pounds from the estrogen inhibitor drug I have to take, probably for the rest of my life. I want to be defined, but I also want to fit into my skinny jeans. I don't care about the scale, but I do care about how my clothes fit, or don't:( I just started Cathe's workouts, the RWH series, and would like some guidance about cardio/weight ratio per week and which additional Cathe cardio and weight workouts to buy. I am cleared for all exercise, my oncologist and breast surgeon love that I'm so active. I wrap my arm for all weight work and have kept my lymphedema in check with my exercise. Thoughts? I work out 6 days a week and aim for 7 hours of exercise a week in total, the recommended number for those working to beat BC.

Thanks so much for any help or advice you can offer,
Adele
 
I will try and make this as brief as possible (you know its never good when someone starts with that:). I am five years out from a stage 3C breast cancer diagnosis, with complications including "rare and agressive", surgery induced lymphedema and clinical trial induced congestive heart failure (since remediated). I credit the fact that I'm here with a breast cancer vaccine clinical trial at Johns Hopkins. When I was sick, I would sit on the couch, watching joggers go by and swear to myself that when I was able, I was going to get myself into the best shape ever. I have always exercised at least three days a week, but I wanted to be truly fit. At five years out, I've managed to create a butt out of the flat one that three years of treatment left me with, but I have also added twelve pounds from the estrogen inhibitor drug I have to take, probably for the rest of my life. I want to be defined, but I also want to fit into my skinny jeans. I don't care about the scale, but I do care about how my clothes fit, or don't:( I just started Cathe's workouts, the RWH series, and would like some guidance about cardio/weight ratio per week and which additional Cathe cardio and weight workouts to buy. I am cleared for all exercise, my oncologist and breast surgeon love that I'm so active. I wrap my arm for all weight work and have kept my lymphedema in check with my exercise. Thoughts? I work out 6 days a week and aim for 7 hours of exercise a week in total, the recommended number for those working to beat BC.

Thanks so much for any help or advice you can offer,
Adele
I am bumping this, because I think it deserves a reply from someone knowledgeable (not me! :p ) Maybe littletower it would help if you could expand a bit on what workouts you have done. You mentioned 3 days/wk , and doing weight work.

And most of all, I want to wish you great luck in your battle! You have an amazing attitude, and keep on going!
 
Last edited:
Thanks! I've been doing FIRM workouts for years and increased them lately. I just bought RWH and love it. I feel like these are the workouts I've been looking for. I'm not up to Cathe level weights yet, but I'll get there. I know it's difficult to give advice given my medical history, but really, I'm a Jersey girl, and quite capable of working my ass off (not literally:), and being smart about it at the same time. Thanks again for bumping my post!
 
Hi Adele:

welcome to the forums and congrats on getting to your current healthy state.

It might be worth investing in the expansive STS program: it is a vast compilation of exercise and a complete weight training program Cathe has created that takes you from performing a huge range of varied exercises with lighter weight through to heavier weight training with fewer reps, heavier weights and a standard set of exercises. The program is complete and comprehensive and the set of exercises and rep counts changes every workout in subtle ways so no two days' workouts look exactly the same. It will teach you a wide range of standard, weight training classic moves, and also a collection of newer moves to add to your repertoire. The workouts are shaped into 3 weight training workouts per week, coming in and around an hour long each. Then,you supplement this with 3 days of cardio of your choice, but know that Cathe also released a whole load of STS cardio DVDs to accompany the weight training program: step, boxing, kickbox, circuits, plyo, HiiT, etc. 3 days of STS weight training and 3 days of cardio will create a well-rounded and thorough program that will easily make up your 7 hours per week of exercise and have you working the whole body and doing something different every day.

People will chime in here and recommend their favorite workouts to you, but it might be better for you, considering your heath needs and your determination to be and stay in good health, to start a definite program that can cover all the bases, rather than buying a collection of individual DVDs that are parts of other series' and may be better when used, initially, as part of that series. (Cathe tends to make workouts in a series where the separate workouts complement each other and work towards creating a "whole.")

If you go to the "shop Cathe" link at the top of the page, you can navigate to where Cathe's DVDs are for sale and you can click on each, see them within their series, and watch extensive clips before buying.

If you don't like the look of the STS cardio, you might consider the Low Impact Series as it also has a fair smattering of different cardio options.

Anyway, regardless of which DVDs you end up buying, sticking with a week divided evenly between cardio and weights (3 days of each) will provide you with a well-rounded program and a start towards this new, fitter you that you seek. later, you can the add to your collection and tweak your choices based on what you have liked so far in your Cathe library. Always bearing in mind, of course, that sometimes we over-gravitate towards what we like because we find it easy, where what our bodies really need more of is the stuff we find difficult or more challenging! (She says, trying to persuade herself to do more kickboxing, or even some kickboxing!)

Good luck, have fun exploring the new world of Cathe workouts and happy shopping!

Clare
 
Last edited:
Thanks! I've been doing FIRM workouts for years and increased them lately. I just bought RWH and love it. I feel like these are the workouts I've been looking for. I'm not up to Cathe level weights yet, but I'll get there. I know it's difficult to give advice given my medical history, but really, I'm a Jersey girl, and quite capable of working my ass off (not literally:), and being smart about it at the same time. Thanks again for bumping my post!

Very similar to me. :) I've been doing The FIRM for eighteen years, but progress on all fronts had stalled. Turned to Cathe for variation, fitness improvements, body changes, and to reduce any boredom. Have definitely seen all of those things improving! Gym Style, Core Max, Stretch Max, Pure Strength, and the easier/shorter step routines are where I've been dipping the toe in. Cardio is NOT my strong suit, certainly not up to Cathe's level! I think Cathe and The FIRM work well together, but I'm still trying to figure out that ideal mix of cardio, weights, etc. I'm finding I need more of a kick in the tush than I often give myself, able to handle more volume and weight than I've been doing. I work hard, but maybe I don't always work smart? I have all kinds of medical history that can make me overly cautious at times with my training, but just wanted to say I'm in the boat with ya, and mostly just to say, "Hi!" today. :D
 
Thanks so much for the advice. Just to clarify, does the STS set come with STS complimentary cardio as well? I'm not sure 3 days of cardio will be enough. I've been doing 5-6 days of cardio combined with weight training. I have to say, the HiiT workouts are amazing. They get my heart pumping like nothing else. I love, love, love, the high step workout.
 
How long have you been doing Cathe?

Not sure if you were asking me or maddiesmum, but just in case, I've been back doing Cathe workouts for around 3 months. Originally encountered her around the time Gym Style came out, mid-2000's or so. Loved those workouts, and would try out moves I saw on FitTV from her, too. Couldn't believe how weak I was...I was up to instructor-level in dumbbell weights with The FIRM! Gym Style kicked my upper body up more than a couple notchs!

But then life happened (kidney stones, cancer scare, fibromyalgia, layoff, starting college...need I say more, LOL?) I stopped working out regularly, put on loads of weight, hit an all-time high in that and an all-time low in my fitness level. Eighteen months ago I began eating clean. Lost 80 lbs. Ten months ago I began with The FIRM again, after I felt well enough and thin enough to even attempt those again. I had never given it such a serious effort before. Six, seven days a week, and worked hard EVERY workout. Clean diet. Good lifestyle habits. Lost 80 more lbs. But after six months or so, I hit a plateau I just couldn't shake. Not only in losing weight or gaining muscle, but in fitness level. I was also fighting an Achilles tendon pain I couldn't shake. The FIRM is great, but sometimes it is simply too focused on training the front of the body. And I was feeling it.

It didn't matter how much I upped the dumbbell/barbell weight or step height, I realized I needed some training The FIRM simply didn't offer. Cathe came to the rescue! Multi-set weight-training for two or three body parts for an hour at a time. More challenging, longer step aerobics. Longer stretching workouts. Far harder and more varied core training. Resistance band, stability ball, and heavier medicine ball work. Cathe hits my shins, hamstrings, lower abs, lower back, and rear delts far better.

I've started to see great changes in bodyweight exercises- planks & pushups, for example. My core, including the hip flexors, are sooooo much stronger. I have that nip under the lats in my waist that's never existed before. I can actually feel thigh muscles in my legs now. (Trust me, I had no thigh muscles ever, and I mean even in early childhood. Genetically-heavy legs with poor muscle tone was my curse!) My pecs are far stronger. There is visible shape to my rear delts like never before. For the first time in my life, I can do step ups and leg presses on a 14-inch step. I feel constantly challenged, and that's a good thing. Cathe engages my mind in this tremendous way. Much as I love (and still use) The FIRM, I think having done them since I was 16 made them too second-nature to my body at some point. Intense muscle confusion became necessary to progress.

Sorry if this wasn't meant for me at all. But maybe it will help anyway. :)

(I should add that the only FIRM workouts I do are from the BSS2 and earlier. The FIRM Classics are my faves. The really new ones are, sorry...awful, IMHO. I just don't care for them.)
 
Not sure if you were asking me or maddiesmum, but just in case, I've been back doing Cathe workouts for around 3 months. Originally encountered her around the time Gym Style came out, mid-2000's or so. Loved those workouts, and would try out moves I saw on FitTV from her, too. Couldn't believe how weak I was...I was up to instructor-level in dumbbell weights with The FIRM! Gym Style kicked my upper body up more than a couple notchs!

But then life happened (kidney stones, cancer scare, fibromyalgia, layoff, starting college...need I say more, LOL?) I stopped working out regularly, put on loads of weight, hit an all-time high in that and an all-time low in my fitness level. Eighteen months ago I began eating clean. Lost 80 lbs. Ten months ago I began with The FIRM again, after I felt well enough and thin enough to even attempt those again. I had never given it such a serious effort before. Six, seven days a week, and worked hard EVERY workout. Clean diet. Good lifestyle habits. Lost 80 more lbs. But after six months or so, I hit a plateau I just couldn't shake. Not only in losing weight or gaining muscle, but in fitness level. I was also fighting an Achilles tendon pain I couldn't shake. The FIRM is great, but sometimes it is simply too focused on training the front of the body. And I was feeling it.

It didn't matter how much I upped the dumbbell/barbell weight or step height, I realized I needed some training The FIRM simply didn't offer. Cathe came to the rescue! Multi-set weight-training for two or three body parts for an hour at a time. More challenging, longer step aerobics. Longer stretching workouts. Far harder and more varied core training. Resistance band, stability ball, and heavier medicine ball work. Cathe hits my shins, hamstrings, lower abs, lower back, and rear delts far better.

I've started to see great changes in bodyweight exercises- planks & pushups, for example. My core, including the hip flexors, are sooooo much stronger. I have that nip under the lats in my waist that's never existed before. I can actually feel thigh muscles in my legs now. (Trust me, I had no thigh muscles ever, and I mean even in early childhood. Genetically-heavy legs with poor muscle tone was my curse!) My pecs are far stronger. There is visible shape to my rear delts like never before. For the first time in my life, I can do step ups and leg presses on a 14-inch step. I feel constantly challenged, and that's a good thing. Cathe engages my mind in this tremendous way. Much as I love (and still use) The FIRM, I think having done them since I was 16 made them too second-nature to my body at some point. Intense muscle confusion became necessary to progress.

Sorry if this wasn't meant for me at all. But maybe it will help anyway. :)

(I should add that the only FIRM workouts I do are from the BSS2 and earlier. The FIRM Classics are my faves. The really new ones are, sorry...awful, IMHO. I just don't care for them.)
Not sure if you were asking me or maddiesmum, but just in case, I've been back doing Cathe workouts for around 3 months. Originally encountered her around the time Gym Style came out, mid-2000's or so. Loved those workouts, and would try out moves I saw on FitTV from her, too. Couldn't believe how weak I was...I was up to instructor-level in dumbbell weights with The FIRM! Gym Style kicked my upper body up more than a couple notchs!

But then life happened (kidney stones, cancer scare, fibromyalgia, layoff, starting college...need I say more, LOL?) I stopped working out regularly, put on loads of weight, hit an all-time high in that and an all-time low in my fitness level. Eighteen months ago I began eating clean. Lost 80 lbs. Ten months ago I began with The FIRM again, after I felt well enough and thin enough to even attempt those again. I had never given it such a serious effort before. Six, seven days a week, and worked hard EVERY workout. Clean diet. Good lifestyle habits. Lost 80 more lbs. But after six months or so, I hit a plateau I just couldn't shake. Not only in losing weight or gaining muscle, but in fitness level. I was also fighting an Achilles tendon pain I couldn't shake. The FIRM is great, but sometimes it is simply too focused on training the front of the body. And I was feeling it.

It didn't matter how much I upped the dumbbell/barbell weight or step height, I realized I needed some training The FIRM simply didn't offer. Cathe came to the rescue! Multi-set weight-training for two or three body parts for an hour at a time. More challenging, longer step aerobics. Longer stretching workouts. Far harder and more varied core training. Resistance band, stability ball, and heavier medicine ball work. Cathe hits my shins, hamstrings, lower abs, lower back, and rear delts far better.

I've started to see great changes in bodyweight exercises- planks & pushups, for example. My core, including the hip flexors, are sooooo much stronger. I have that nip under the lats in my waist that's never existed before. I can actually feel thigh muscles in my legs now. (Trust me, I had no thigh muscles ever, and I mean even in early childhood. Genetically-heavy legs with poor muscle tone was my curse!) My pecs are far stronger. There is visible shape to my rear delts like never before. For the first time in my life, I can do step ups and leg presses on a 14-inch step. I feel constantly challenged, and that's a good thing. Cathe engages my mind in this tremendous way. Much as I love (and still use) The FIRM, I think having done them since I was 16 made them too second-nature to my body at some point. Intense muscle confusion became necessary to progress.

Sorry if this wasn't meant for me at all. But maybe it will help anyway. :)

(I should add that the only FIRM workouts I do are from the BSS2 and earlier. The FIRM Classics are my faves. The really new ones are, sorry...awful, IMHO. I just don't care for them.)

Sorry, I have no idea if I'm doing this the right way, but your reply was really helpful. Sometimes I feel like Cathe, or maybe the theories behind her workouts are so complex. That's why I don't know where to start. I too loved the original FIRM workouts. All I know is I'm more physically challenged than ever.

Your progress sounds amazing. And like you've had lots of challenges along the way. Do you have an end goal of either weight, size or measurements?
 
The thing bout RWH is that for many of these workouts, the cardio and weights are mixed in the same workout, so it seems to you that you have been doing a ton of cardio each day. With the STS weights program, the full workout is dedicated to weights only, not weights with cardio, so that's more weights per session than you currently do. Then, you would have 3 days of cardio, just cardio, and that would be more cardio per session than you currently do. Do you see?

The STS weights get quite intense! In meso 3, there are plyo workouts for legs that combine cardio and weights for the legs that is like the RWH legs program. Generally speaking, the STS program incorporates a 1 week rest after each mesocycle, because it is intense, and people have historically really appreciated that week of rest! Don't underestimate how tired and hungry you will get! You may think you'll want to add in more cardio, in addition to the 3 days of cardio workouts, but wait and see how you get on with 3 days of weights and 3 days of cardio, alternating, before you switch things up.

I have been doing Cathe workouts on and off for many years, since Powermax came out, at least 15 years.

Clare
 
Sorry, I have no idea if I'm doing this the right way, but your reply was really helpful. Sometimes I feel like Cathe, or maybe the theories behind her workouts are so complex. That's why I don't know where to start. I too loved the original FIRM workouts. All I know is I'm more physically challenged than ever.

Your progress sounds amazing. And like you've had lots of challenges along the way. Do you have an end goal of either weight, size or measurements?

Well, I guess every woman has arbitrary goals in mind as far as ideal weight on the scale or measurements go. :) No matter what goal you get to, you always want something just a little bit better, right? That said, I have come so much farther already than I ever dreamed possible a year or two ago, I try not to get greedy with the goals (silly as that might sound). It becomes easy to forget at times, but two years ago I could not take a shower without getting exhausted! Walking up a flight of stairs had become impossible, let alone completing an hour-long step aerobics DVD...people who knew me then literally do not recognize me now, and it was only a couple of years ago! I was obese very early on in life, so I never knew what "normal"-sized people felt like, and I'm still adjusting to the way people view me now instead. Considering I wear a smaller pants size than I did when I was ten years old (I swear, I can't make this stuff up!), I am thrilled to bits with what I've achieved already. It sounds corny, but I honestly feel a great deal of gratitude that I received a second chance at health and fitness that it seems few people who got as bad off as I was ever get to experience. So my goals tend to be more about eating healthy enough and frequently enough so that my workouts are well-fueled and my energy levels stay high. It is challenging to both put on muscle and lose lots of fat beyond that enviable beginner stage, and I guess building muscle means more to me right now. :) Learning new cardio routines + lifting weights frequently and steadily making progress at both of them provide a lot more motivation to me than weight- or size-related goals by this time. I can control how much I exercise and what I do each day...I can't so easily control my size or weight. As long as I don't gain at this point, I stay pretty happy. I am not what society would consider anywhere near thin, but I am pretty firm and I wear a small size for my weight because I have a good amount of muscle. My cholesterol levels, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc., are all well within normal ranges and are typically in the optimal ones. I have plenty of energy most days (with fibromyalgia, THAT is saying something!) Would I love to be thin and cut and look like the ladies in a Cathe workout? Absolutely! Is that realistic? For someone who spent their life very obese, it may not be. I don't like to make looks my primary motivation anymore because it just isn't very motivating to me. For some people, it is their motivation and all they need, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Cathe scared the living daylights out of me at first! I admit, it is a lot to learn. I was also a FIRM snob for years, believing I knew it all, and that I was doing the most superior workouts on the market. (At the time they were released in the 1980's, could have been true...) I think (but please don't quote me) that Cathe has an overriding philosophy of variety and consistency being the greatest things in working out. Let me tell you, The FIRM is a SUPERB foundation for Cathe's workouts! If you've done them regularly and were doing close to instructor level on those, you're ready for Cathe. Not ready for mastery of Cathe workouts...but ready to start. :) That's my humble opinion, anyway. The FIRM also builds fabulous muscle endurance and a wide variety of skills that can really come in handy with Cathe workouts. If you've done The Classics and Standing Legs a lot, workouts like Legs and Glutes or Butts and Guts will be far easier for it.

I focus on getting in lots of variety to challenge my body in fresh ways, mastering new cardio routines in particular, because step is my weakness. I make sure to hit every body part hard and heavy at least once per week, because I tend to be bad about that. (This is where I must bring up The FIRM again. Because of how it's set up, it can be impossible to really exhaust a muscle group to failure with those workouts. Even Standing Legs, tough as it can be, doesn't train quads in a concentrated way, for example. Once you're beyond an intermediate level, this lack of concentration can become a problem. I don't know if you've experienced that issue, I'm simply relaying what one of my problems were.) I have to hit legs A LOT. I still do tons of floorwork, because it really helps me personally. These days I'm using the resistance band or stability or medicine ball to train the smaller muscles like adductors in new ways, and I'm loving it. I'm trying to build really balanced strength all over my body, prevent overuse injuries and ones created by muscular imbalances, and to step out of my comfort zone frequently.

You sound like the type who enjoys the "hour a day, every day" workout style; if so, I'm the exact same way. I need daily movement! The FIRM workouts switch activities every few minutes, which is more fun at times and builds a certain kind of endurance, but can make it all too easy to think we're working harder than we are. I got to a point where I realized that yes, I was putting in the quantity of time - an hour or more a day, six or seven days a week - to exercise that should create body change. However, the lack of any true low-rep, high-poundage training was stunting my muscle growth. And more muscle = more positive body changes, not more "bulk". (As long as cardio and diet are kept in check.) This is why I personally would recommend Gym Style or Pure Strength to most FIRMies looking to transition into Cathe, because they are indeed a great muscle shock to FIRMies without being so different that they'd hold no appeal whatsoever. (My idea was to keep away from doing any Cathe routines similar to The FIRM for awhile- i.e., any total-body routines with higher reps and lower or moderate weights. That may not be your intention, which I understand.) STS is wonderful from what I hear, but I personally would have to feel very comfy with the knowledge I'll be sticking with Cathe over the long haul before I'd invest that kind of money into a system. Not saying it isn't worth it, I just know even I'm nowhere near investing in that yet! Pure Strength, while a tad dated in looks, may be more "familiar" in feeling to you, if older FIRMs are what you've been working out to. You sound incredibly fit though, to be doing so well with the RWH series! I think I should be asking you for recommendations instead! :D

I must say I viewed RWH On Demand, and one reason it didn't appeal to me as much for the present time is that it kind of reminds me of The FIRM. It's more advanced and up-to-date, that is for sure...but it seems quite different from the strength-training of Gym Style or Pure Strength. The cardio seems very different than the old step workouts, hi/lo and interval training Cathe did in the past, too. I know science is ever-changing, and Cathe is going with what is showing great results at the present time for people looking to reach their fitness goals in general. Please feel free to disagree with my strategies, though. RWH changes activities a lot, doesn't seem to pack on multiple sets of exercises or use loads and loads of heavy sets, doesn't take many rests, and is a bit shorter in length than some of Cathe's older series.

Ultimately, if you are enjoying RWH, pick the rotation with that which appeals most to you and try it for a month or so. (However long is recommended by Cathe). If it gives you the results you want, you're on the right track! I am offering my perspective, but my goals and body may be completely different than yours, and I don't want to make things more complex for you at all.
 
For someone who spent their life very obese, it may not be. I don't like to make looks my primary motivation anymore because it just isn't very motivating to me. For some people, it is their motivation and all they need, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Happy International women day Turquoise Eyes. I am just popping in to say: Please now is your time to feel prettier. you have done incredibly
Well melting those layers:):):). As much as you put an effort to achieve what you have so far, you also need that "you time" of
feeling prettier. so having a visual goal is not harmful. Hope you love and feel comfortable with the new you;). Please do cause
you deserve it.

Cathe scared the living daylights out of me at first!

:D:D:D Lol She did scare me trying out Imax3. Funnily I was not scared of trying Body max1 my first cathe venture
But I got to the point to decide to attempt IMAX3 i was petrified. When I did it I was very happy and had fun.

I think (but please don't quote me) that Cathe has an overriding philosophy of variety and consistency being the greatest things in working out.

Do not quote me, I think Cathe philosophy is Crosstraining is the recommended way to workout. Mixing things up (undulating)
and changing various rotation. Lifting moderate to heavy in hypertrophy is also part of cathe philosophy IMO.
You were right variety and consistency of the workout is cathe's approach.

Have a good day and take care;)
 
Happy International women day Turquoise Eyes. I am just popping in to say: Please now is your time to feel prettier. you have done incredibly
Well melting those layers:):):). As much as you put an effort to achieve what you have so far, you also need that "you time" of
feeling prettier. so having a visual goal is not harmful. Hope you love and feel comfortable with the new you;). Please do cause
you deserve it.



:D:D:D Lol She did scare me trying out Imax3. Funnily I was not scared of trying Body max1 my first cathe venture
But I got to the point to decide to attempt IMAX3 i was petrified. When I did it I was very happy and had fun.



Do not quote me, I think Cathe philosophy is Crosstraining is the recommended way to workout. Mixing things up (undulating)
and changing various rotation. Lifting moderate to heavy in hypertrophy is also part of cathe philosophy IMO.
You were right variety and consistency of the workout is cathe's approach.

Have a good day and take care;)
Happy International Women's Day to you, too! Oh, I'm vain...don't get me wrong. :) I guess I try to be cautious with putting looks first because I know myself- I'm a perfectionist and critiquing or comparing my body to others is always very tempting. But when one has been in the 300+ lb. range, they're going to be left with battle scars, LOL. My shape is pretty good for someone who was once a size 34/36 (nope, not a typo). I don't think having particular physique goals are a bad thing- far from it. But I try to enjoy the body I have now, because today is really all we have. I have LOTS of figure goals, I suppose, but I also realize now that weight-training can take the body through non-linear, surprising changes. I enjoy those little surprise shape changes! :) I do think I'm beautiful, trust me! And so are you, and so is every other lady here! :D

(And finally, Daylight Savings Time is here, woo-hoo!!!)

Have a great day, y'all!
 
I have LOTS of figure goals, I suppose, but I also realize now that weight-training can take the body through non-linear, surprising changes. I enjoy those little surprise shape changes! :) I do think I'm beautiful, trust me! And so are you, and so is every other lady here! :D

Glad you are feeling beautiful:)
100% with you on hightlighted above...This does keep us going.
Those changes did surprise me too.;)
 
You sound like a hell of a woman. I am beyond impressed with your knowledge. It's really very helpful. I have been doing the FIRM really since it first came out and much like you, I just stopped seeing any change.
I do struggle with Cathe ' s step workouts. I feel like a total idiot trying to follow along. They seem insanely complicated. I've decided to but the beginner tape and go from there.

As I might have said, I feel like HiiT training might shock my body into what it needs cardio wise. As to weights, I need to build gradually. I like to forget about the lymphedema but it's not going anywhere.

As to my body, I feel a bit like you I guess. At the end of my first six months of agressive chemo, I was down to 117 and everything just drooped. I was still walking a very steep hill in my town, doing loops of up to 8 times, but then the heart failure came on and that was over. Body issues and breast cancer go hand in hand and when they give you drugs that put a good 7-10 pounds on you out of nowhere it just continues the cycle. I want to be strong. I want to feel strong. Probably because on some level I feel like it will help me fight this disease. Which I know is more luck of the draw than anything else.

Anyway, thank you for helping inspire me and lead me in the right "Cathe" direction:). I'll keep you posted, please do the same.

Adele
 
I just started Cathe's workouts, the RWH series, and would like some guidance about cardio/weight ratio per week and which additional Cathe cardio and weight workouts to buy. I am cleared for all exercise, my oncologist and breast surgeon love that I'm so active. I wrap my arm for all weight work and have kept my lymphedema in check with my exercise. Thoughts? I work out 6 days a week and aim for 7 hours of exercise a week in total, the recommended number for those working to beat BC.

Hi Adele,

Hope you have more help from Cathe.
Sorry for hijacking your thread.

Hiit is IMO too demanding to start with.

All the best,
 
You sound like a hell of a woman. I am beyond impressed with your knowledge. It's really very helpful. I have been doing the FIRM really since it first came out and much like you, I just stopped seeing any change.
I do struggle with Cathe ' s step workouts. I feel like a total idiot trying to follow along. They seem insanely complicated. I've decided to but the beginner tape and go from there.

As I might have said, I feel like HiiT training might shock my body into what it needs cardio wise. As to weights, I need to build gradually. I like to forget about the lymphedema but it's not going anywhere.

As to my body, I feel a bit like you I guess. At the end of my first six months of agressive chemo, I was down to 117 and everything just drooped. I was still walking a very steep hill in my town, doing loops of up to 8 times, but then the heart failure came on and that was over. Body issues and breast cancer go hand in hand and when they give you drugs that put a good 7-10 pounds on you out of nowhere it just continues the cycle. I want to be strong. I want to feel strong. Probably because on some level I feel like it will help me fight this disease. Which I know is more luck of the draw than anything else.

Anyway, thank you for helping inspire me and lead me in the right "Cathe" direction:). I'll keep you posted, please do the same.

Adele

There's no emoticon I can find where the little smiley face is blushing, but that would describe me right now! I'm SO glad if anything I said helped. I can talk a blue streak, and often worry I'll scare people away with my yakking! Fibromyalgia is not cancer, and I won't compare the two, but I completely understand that having an underlying goal that is very health-specific underlying your drive to work out daily. I know I feel like crud if I don't do something each day.

I am pretty darn good at my FIRM workouts. Then I do Cathe routines, and sometimes feel like an unfit moron. I can't follow what are her most basic step routines at time. They can be REALLY hard on the Achilles tendon and calves if you aren't used to them. Have you checked out Jenny Ford on YouTube, by any chance? I think if step is hard for you like it is me, Jenny has a slower, "breakdown and repeat a lot" style that makes it much easier to learn the types of moves Cathe relies on. I enjoy the workouts a lot, she uses pretty good music, she is just a sweetheart, and she's so encouraging! She's a great "prep" for Cathe's tougher step choreography. Just a thought...

If we do too much, too soon, we burn out. It's that simple. We get injured, we start to hate the workouts, we feel worse rather than better in day-to-day life...overtraining syndrome takes over and that is NOT pleasant. I remember one week I decided I was going to add long, brisk walks to my daily FIRM or Cathe routine. I have flat feet. I do not have great knees. (I feel on my right one in Dec. 2008 and still lack full range of motion in it, after months and month of training to repair it.) But I figured, others do it, I've built up a good level of fitness, I need the cardio, I need a new challenge! I went walking on concrete and on paths with hills and uneven terrain. Didn't have the greatest of walking shoes. In short, I was a DOPE. I ended up feeling so much shin and Achilles tendon pain, I had to take a three-day rest from exercise, and I was miserable the whole time. Even though step aerobics and walking seem really low-impact and "easy", they are in fact quite an impact in certain circumstances. Now, you are much thinner than me. But when my rather robust self steps down from a step, no matter how low a platform, I'm putting a lot of weight in a somewhat unnatural (backwards rather than forwards) motion on my foot. I don't mean to sound alarmist or self-involved...Simply that everything we do has an effect on us, no matter how easy or natural it might seem to others and how good it feels to them.

(I'm risking sounding like a know-it-all here, I know...) Before you begin doing HIIT and such, a really good foundation has to be laid down. Your core and lower body strength has to be there, your feet and ankles have to be prepared for the impact through some ROM and strength-training (IMHO), and your proprioception needs to be tops. I switched to barefoot training a few months ago (best thing ever), and spent some serious time correcting my squat/lunge form over the last autumn. I strengthened and stretched my feet and ankles. I have crappy ankle dorsiflexion, and before we do ANY plyometric work, that has to be addressed. It may not be an issue for you...I just bring it up on a conversational level. Bret Contreras' blog and work REALLY helped me, and if you haven't checked him out, I encourage it. He is a science-based, science-savvy guy with real skills and knowledge. I read his blog, Marianne Kane's myomytv blog, and with some great help from Cathe workouts, my body has been evolving in amazing ways. It isn't only about addressing our weight and size...it's correcting lifelong deficiencies that keep stunting our training or lives. Address those, and training can hit new levels. I may be boring you to tears here...sorry! I go off on tangents, I admit.

You need to be getting energy from workouts, not drained from them, IMHO. If you're still getting drained at all from daily exercise, don't move on to a more advanced level just yet. When I had lots more energy from daily intense workouts, I knew I could kick it up a notch, add plyometrics more, add time on each day, etc. Step back for a moment and really assess what body imbalances you might have. Also, the more muscle you have, the more energy you will have. This is one reason why I am such a stickler for weight-training. Cardio is great, and I need a lot of it, but muscle is what builds and rebuilds our bodies after trauma like illness or injury. I am NOT a fitness pro, so please don't take my word on anything as gospel. But I do know firsthand what it is like to be ill or injured or exhausted and have to start from below ground-level fitness. Before we can begin doing squat jumps, for example, we should be able to squat fully with at least a 10-lb. barbell across the shoulders with pretty flawless form. Crawl before walk, walk before run, run before sprint. Believe me, I am SO beyond bad at jumping ahead of myself!
I love Gym Style and Pure Strength because they're so good at building a new muscular foundation, if that makes any sense. They train us differently from The FIRM. We're working hard, but getting a little bit of a rest that maybe The FIRM doesn't quite provide. You're getting three weekly workouts that really hit each muscle group good and hard, but safely and enjoyably. You can still blend Cathe and The FIRM. A total changeover all at once is an awful lot on the body. I am not a Cathe workout expert- others may have far better advice than me on starting out with her, changing over entirely from The FIRM. But those two series, Core Max (three times a week, I'd say), Stretch Max or any other Cathe Stretching routine at least three times a week (I'd say daily), and three cardio workouts a week lasting 45-60 minutes are a lot to accomplish. I may add in one total-body FIRM workout or a fourth cardio workout on Sundays. It kinds of depends on how I feel that week. I do try to hit my lower body well. That was my start, and I still love my workouts. Incorporate elements of fun- new equipment, new workouts clothes, etc. Sounds silly, but it really motivates me! :)

Your body has been through A LOT. I don't mean to sound like I'm lecturing you, because I'm not. I'm simply giving a gentle reminder that you may be expecting too much sometimes from yourself. I get it...I truly do. Some people just have an inner drive for excellence, to work hard, to give it all to life. I would bet my bottom dollar you are one of those souls. This is a wonderful trait, but it can cause us to overlook the immediate needs of our body because we set high goals. I hope I'm not treading into too deep a body of water here...I just get how frustrating it is, I truly do. You know your body and you know what you've been through. Think of how wondrous it is to simply be alive...to be able to work out at even a beginner-intermediate level is a gift in my eyes. I have not had cancer treatment, but I spent years on serious medications that put my system through the ringer (as a guinea pig for fibromyalgia treatment, mostly), and went through a lot of difficult surgeries in a short period of time. When I started working out again seriously last May, I could not do floorwork on the floor, for example. I had to modify and do leg lifts and such on my bed. I choose to focus on how extraordinarily far I've come in ten months time. You are working so hard...and what a rare trait that sense of excellence is in the world! YOU are a hell of a woman. :D
 

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top