newbie...overwhelmed!

[mom2one]

I am brand new to Cathe's workouts and looking to purchase some soon, but not sure which ones or how to even rotate them and make them a routine suited for my goals! Hoping I can get some help from all you Cathletes!

My goals: I have lost over 90 lbs. in the last 6 years and am now looking to gain muscle. I'm 45 yrs old, 5'2 and currently weigh 107lbs. I would like to get to a healthier weight of 110 lbs. but the weight on the scale itself is not as important to me as building lean muscle is.

I'm currently doing ChaLEAN Extreme (2nd round) and lifting 3x a week with 1x week of intervals with light weights and 1x a week of yoga/stretching.

Any suggestions you all can share as to what Cathe dvd's and a routine in which to use them in order to reach my goal would be greatly, greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[missyt]

Hello. Since you are trying to gain lean muscle... I would suggest starting with the LIS series. This would get you use to Cathe workouts and then I would work your way to do the STS series.

Hope this helps.

 

[bpurcell]

You can't go wrong with Cathe's STS series. You do need quite a bit of equipment and there is a significant expense involved. I recommend checking her website for information about STS and seeing if that is what you're looking for. Good luck!

 

[Janis]

First, congratulations on your weight loss and your fitness gains.

Second, welcome!

Now to your questions –

I suggest you buy STS first and, if in your budget, AB Circuits and Shock Cardio to use with it. Then purchase STS Total Body and Higher Reps, then Butts & Guts or Lower Body Blast, or both. Then buy LIS or Hardcore or Body Blast....series.

STS is a fantastic lifting program, but it is also a lifting tutorial. Cathe teaches. You will reach your body composition goals by doing exactly what she says to do. I just began my 5th round, and, once again, I am impressed by how intelligent and professional this program is. You can start the program with the weights you have, and add to your collection over time. The entire program is adaptable to just dumbbells or just a barbell. Don't be afraid of all the equipment you see.

As for gaining lean muscle weight without adding fat, I suggest that you look at the Workout Manager and Nutrition Manager available here, the SNM team have made truly state-of-the-art tools for cathletes to use. The Cathe Nation - Workout Manager

and also look at this calculator/tool website. Weight Gain Calculator

Both will help you determine your caloric intake. You want to add –ever so slightly – to your maintenance calories.

Plan to eat 3 meals and 2 snacks. Keep your meals balanced. For example, this is the ratio that works for me, 15 grams of complex carbohydrate to every ounce of protein, and about 10 -15 grams of fat per meal. This ratio of carb to protein will help you build and repair your muscles while also keeping you well fueled for your next workout. (And you’ll sleep like a baby at night.)

Finally – post on this forum frequently; ask questions, discuss your journey, post your results.

 

[jldx2in2000]

STS is great but as mentioned it is pricey and equipment heavy. If you don't want to invest that much initially, look into the Gym Styles workouts under the Hardcore series. These workouts were my introduction into heavy weight lifting. I think they are great for any level since you can adjust your weights to fit your level of weight lifting.

As far as rotations, there are a ton of rotations listed under the DVD rotations forum. Cahte has developed several over the years for building strength and lean muscle mass. If you decide on the Gym Styles, here are a couple rotations Cathe put together for building Strength:

March Rotation/Hardcore Series Celebration - The Cathe Nation

APRIL ROTATION: Building Strength - The Cathe Nation

You can easily sub in any cardio activity you want if you don't have the DVD listed.

Good luck!

 

[momto4]

STS is fantastic but as others have indicated it does use a lot of equipment and the costs can add up.
For building muscle and strength I use the Gym Styles dvd's, as well as Slow & Heavy and Pyramid Upper and Lower Body. I also love Pure Strength, it's older but a great dvd. For me the key is to life as heavy as possible while still using proper form.

 

[Stacy]

STS is great but as others have said can get pricey. A good alternative is purchasing the 3 Gym Style dvds and doing them each once a week.

Congrats on your weight loss!! I'm petite as well and curious how did you lose the weight, especially those pesky "last 10-15 lbs"??

 

[tralaiven]

Hi mom2one....there are many good weight workouts by Cathe. The full STS program might be overwhelming for you to start out with. But that is totally up to you....

Personally, to build more muscle I would start with High Reps or STS Total Body or both and alternate them. They are really good total body weight workouts.

Then, if you like those you could add some of her other total body weight workouts.

 

[mini-natty]

Hi there!

Welcome to Cathe and congrats on the wonderful weight loss!!!!!

I can somewhat relate to your post because I'm 5'1 and my lowest weight was 105lbs in my early 20's. Fast forward 10 years and 1 child later, and my weight fluctuates between 114-118 lbs, but I have A LOT more muscle mass at this weight and look leaner than I did at my lowest weight (I rarely did weight training). I am fairly new to Cathe, May 2012 will be 1 year. Yes, it is very intimidating for a newbie. So many workouts to chose! I would suggest you start with an entire series/program to get a "feel" for Cathe (and you'll save money by purchasing in a bundle). In a series, you will get cardio & strength, everything you'll need to get your body in the best shape of your life. This series is probably regarded as one of Cathe's best:
Intensity Series

There are so many other's as well to suit your taste/needs.
Cathe Friedrich - Programs

If investing in a series is not in your budget, you can surely just chose perhaps 2 total body strength training (I would recommend Muscle Max and High Reps) and a few cardio of choice (kickboxing, step, floor areobics) and add from there. You'll get accustomed to Cathe's style and keep coming back to purchase more with confidence.

STS is like others have stated, excellent but pricey and equipment heavy, but nonetheless an excellent purchase if you chose to invest. I am starting STS next month, but like the above poster (Tracy) mentioned it is overwhelming, and I'm glad I waited 1 full year to start it. With Cathe's strength/cardio I have been able to see muscles appear in my body that I never knew existed, plus I was able to tone down a very stubborn pear shape body and lose inches, while gaining lean muscle mass. Her stuff is extremely effective!!

If you have any more questions, ask away! This forum has wonderful people with excellent advice. Perhaps go to the Ask Cathe forum and she might even suggest a program or a rotation for you!

Good luck!

Natasha

 

[Davidj]

Congrats to coming on board and your recent weight loss.

I agree with some of the comments on this thread that STS might be a bit pricey to start with. If you are interested in building a bit of muscle, with a modest weight gain, you might try to start with Cathe's Slow and Heavy series and her Pyramid Upper and Lower Body series. Also you might find the 4-day split worthwhile as a starter before STS. People over on the STS discussion board have mentioned that with STS a slight weight gain can happen, so eventually you might want to work up to STS.
-- David

 

[macbeanur]

I agree that STS does have a lot of equipment, but if you have done Chalene Extreme you may already have some of the more expensive items - weights and perhaps a way to help you with chest presses, something like Cathe's turbo tower? If so, I highly, highly recommend STS. It does go on sale and the price is ~ to Chalene and in my opinion, FAR superior. I know that sounds obnoxious, but with Cathe's STS you get a different dvd for EVERY workout- that's 12 dvds in each month long session (she calls it a mesocycle). Each mesocycle focuses on a different aspect of weight lifting and builds from one meso to the next. One of the things that separates STS out from Chalene and P90X is the workout manager where you determine your 1 rep max - and it then calculates how much weight YOU should lift for every exercise - calculating the increases for you along the way. Sometimes the increases are small (for the smaller muscles) but by doing the small increases you do end up lifting at a heavier weight in a safe way.

And another thing about STS is well, Cathe. She is so knowledgeable and has such great form that it helps me to improve my form. I've done STS 3x and am on my 4th rotation. I can't say enough great things about this program. Since you are not a newbie to a 3 month system, nor to weight lifting, STS may not be too overwhelming for you.

But if it is, then as others suggest getting any of her smaller complete workout sets is another great option - such as Gym Styles (divided into 3 muscle groups) Or you could get her 4 Day Split series - that might be a nice introduction into Cathe it has a little of everything.

The bottom line though is I don't see how you could go wrong with any Cathe workout. I found once I started her workouts, I just want more and more. And now there are very few I don't own. Man, I sound like a pusher.

Whatever you decide, let us know how it is going for you and ask questions. There are some people on this site that are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.

- sarah

 

[JT]

Welcome to the group. I believe we all were overwhelmed with all the choices Cathe has to offer unless you started with her in the late 80s.
ALL the workouts are great!! You plan to only buy a few then next thing you know, you are buying both Workouts and equipment like crazy.
View workouts on Cathe TV on You Tube for ideas.

 

[Janis]

I agree that STS does have a lot of equipment, but if you have done Chalene Extreme you may already have some of the more expensive items - weights and perhaps a way to help you with chest presses, something like Cathe's turbo tower? If so, I highly, highly recommend STS. It does go on sale and the price is ~ to Chalene and in my opinion, FAR superior. I know that sounds obnoxious, but with Cathe's STS you get a different dvd for EVERY workout- that's 12 dvds in each month long session (she calls it a mesocycle). Each mesocycle focuses on a different aspect of weight lifting and builds from one meso to the next. One of the things that separates STS out from Chalene and P90X is the workout manager where you determine your 1 rep max - and it then calculates how much weight YOU should lift for every exercise - calculating the increases for you along the way. Sometimes the increases are small (for the smaller muscles) but by doing the small increases you do end up lifting at a heavier weight in a safe way.

And another thing about STS is well, Cathe. She is so knowledgeable and has such great form that it helps me to improve my form. I've done STS 3x and am on my 4th rotation. I can't say enough great things about this program. Since you are not a newbie to a 3 month system, nor to weight lifting, STS may not be too overwhelming for you.

But if it is, then as others suggest getting any of her smaller complete workout sets is another great option - such as Gym Styles (divided into 3 muscle groups) Or you could get her 4 Day Split series - that might be a nice introduction into Cathe it has a little of everything.

The bottom line though is I don't see how you could go wrong with any Cathe workout. I found once I started her workouts, I just want more and more. And now there are very few I don't own. Man, I sound like a pusher.

Whatever you decide, let us know how it is going for you and ask questions. There are some people on this site that are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.

- sarah

Sarah -

I couldn't agree more....and so well said.

My recap-

-Best bang for your buck
-STS is a program you can grow into, not out of.
-Professional! - Cathe is the best in the business, bar none, she absolutely shines in this series.
-You, the Cathlete, bring something different to it each time, so you can always make it uniquely your own.
-Flexible and adaptable to all types of equipment.

 

[mom2one]

WOW!!! I certainly came to the right place for help!! You all are the BEST! I'm beginning to take a look at all the programs mentioned..... so many great options!

My ultimate goal is definitely STS! The price tag and the amount of equipment IS a bit intimidating. I also did P90X and did not like it as I actually started to lose too much weight. I have quite a bit of nutrition challenges however (food allegies) and may have not been getting enough calories to support my activity at the time. I've since increased my calorie intake. Plus the workouts were very long and I felt were putting a strain on my body. I just want to make sure I don't experience the same results with STS since my goal is not weight loss. Also,
Here is a list of equipment I currently own:

dumbbells (up to 20lbs)
stability ball
resistance bands
ankle weights
weighted gloves
a stackable step (from the FIRM)...I sometimes use as a bench

That's it..no barbells. Would this be enough for STS or any of the other programs? How much more would I need to invest in? Or should I start with the Gym Style Series and add on equipment as I go in order to be ready for STS?

I can't thank you all enough for your help!!! If I can figure out how to post a pic here, I may do so. Maybe that might help the deciding factor as well. I will also take the advice of posting this question over on the "Ask Cathe" thread as well.

Thank you!

 

[mom2one]

Not sure if this will work...(trying to attach a pic)

My lower abs could use a bit more work and I don't know what it takes to be jiggly free! Fat likes to hang around in the lower body around the thighs (saddlebags) and glutes. I'm not complaining though...and feel very blessed considering the condition I was in prior to my weight loss! Not to mention I'm now 45 and no amount of exercise can return me to my 20's! LOL Woud love to have more muscle in my arms like Cathe's!!

 

[Janis]

Not sure if this will work...(trying to attach a pic)

My lower abs could use a bit more work and I don't know what it takes to be jiggly free! Fat likes to hang around in the lower body around the thighs (saddlebags) and glutes. I'm not complaining though...and feel very blessed considering the condition I was in prior to my weight loss! Not to mention I'm now 45 and no amount of exercise can return me to my 20's! LOL Woud love to have more muscle in my arms like Cathe's!!

Love the pic, you look awesome!

If you want arms like Cathe do STS.
If you want to build muscle do STS.

Yes, the equipment you listed is plenty...and you really won't need to add much, if anything.

Yes, eat more and increase your protein, if you can. And do track your calories for a little while so that you know you are fueling and re-fueling yourself well enough. Try the ratio I mentioned in my post ^ up here.

You don't have to "prepare" for STS, you are ready now. My first round of STS I was recovering from a concussion and had head to toe bruising from an accident.

Food sensitivities- allergies? Well, my dear, you came to the right place. Many of us are experiencing the same thing at this stage in our lives, including our beloved Cathe.

You might want to taper off from your cardio workouts, do just enough to maintain your cardio endurance, which is why I recommended Shock Cardio above ^. It is the perfect accompaniment to STS. This will preserve your muscles gains.

Best of luck,

 

[macbeanur]

It sounds like you have plenty of equipment - and you don't need a barbell for STS, though there are some moves where a barbell is used, you can easily substitute dumbbells. In fact there are times when Cathe will even mention that you can use dumbbells and one of the cast will use them instead of the barbell.

I use my step as my bench, too.

Equipment used in STS that you didn't list (off the top of my head):

1. Cathe does some incline moves so if you use your step for your bench this may not be something you can do.

2. I find that having either 1 lb wristweights or weighted gloves are really helpful for STS to help me get those small increases easily. The workout manager may tell you that you need a 17 lb weight for something, which you may not have. But take a 15 lb weight and add a 2lb weighted glove and Voila.

That is the beauty of STS you can start now - just figure out your 1 rep max (to do this simply go to the workout manager and click on the 1 rep max icon on top. Go through each exercise and figure out what weight you can do 10 - 12 reps that leaves you in failure or close to failure. I didn't do all of these at once since your body fatigues as you go through the various exercises, I considered doing my 1 rep maxes as a workout. After you've input some of your results you can go to the STS icon and you can see your workout cards - as you add more and more of your results your workout cards will get filled out with the weight to use for each workout. It's a beautiful thing.)

I also really love having the Cathe's STS manual. It tells you what equipment you need for each workout and has pictures of the exercises in order so you have a quick visual on what is coming up next so you can be ready for it. This is especially important for meso 1 which has only 30 sec rest in between exercises.

You can update/change what you lifted for a given exercise in each STS workout and your new weights will be added to the subsequent workouts that use this same exercise. Very cool. So, if you messed up a 1 rep max it is easy to adjust.

I have to also reiterate that the STS cardio series coupled with STS gave me the best results from all of the times I completed STS (though I am still doing the STS with the low impact series - so I don't yet know how these two workouts will compare). I didn't lose much weight, but I lost a lot of inches. At the end I was wearing size 4 pants that the last time I fit into those pants I was a good 15 lbs heavier! It was wild.

I did want to mention that 4 day split is today's deal of the day....just saying...(in case STS is not in your immediate future).

- sarah

 

[mom2one]

Okay, one more question! I'm anxious to start STS...but I'm going to TX in two more weeks! I hate to start and then stop! Will it affect my results to have a gap...or should I wait to start the program when I come back on the
1st of June? Perhaps, since I'm just getting familiar with Cathe's workouts I could do some of her Gym Style series..(which might also give me more time to obtain some more equipment)? I also ordered Butts & Guts (my problem area!)! Any suggestions?

Thanks guys! You are all the BEST!

 

[mom2one]

STS is great but as others have said can get pricey. A good alternative is purchasing the 3 Gym Style dvds and doing them each once a week.

Congrats on your weight loss!! I'm petite as well and curious how did you lose the weight, especially those pesky "last 10-15 lbs"??

Hi Stacy!

I'm sorry I missed your question! I was diagnosed with food allergies a few years ago (SOY, WHEAT, RICE, CORN, RYE, BARLEY, PEANUTS). It has been challenging, but once I eliminated these allergens from my diet, the weight practically melted off! Not that I would suggest you do anything this drastic...but I simply had no choice! I don't eat any processed foods, fast foods or sugar. I do eat out once a week, but even then I ask not to have any foods with my above allergens. Again, this is super challenging as Soy, Corn, Rice and even Wheat and Peanuts can be hidden in things such as salad dressings, marinades and even gluten-free choices, etc. I just do my best to make sure I eat as many whole foods as possible and I eat frequently...every two to three hours which averages out to be 5-6 meals a day. It was slow going with my weight loss in the beginning but once I was able to make these changes in the kitchen, it came off pretty fast! ~HTH

Thank you so much for your help and advice!

 

[mom2one]

STS is on it's way!!!! (and it was on sale!) YEA!! Along with Travel Fit and Kick, Punch & Crunch-Legs & Glutes, which were in the Deal of the Day and I simply couldn't resist! So does that officially make me a Cathe "junkie"?!

I can't wait to get started!!! I will use the next couple of weeks before going out of town, to get acclimated with the program and figure out my 1rm and all the on-line tools. Any ideas of how I can incorporate the Kick, Punch & Crunch-Legs & Glutes and Travel Fit into the STS program. I know Travel Fit was in the Shock Cardio pkg which is why I grabbed it! I will have to slowly add to my collection for the cardio, but I've made a note as to what is in the STS Shock Cardio pkg and will keep an eye out in the Deal of the Day.

I'm sooo excited! Thank you all for your help and support!!! I hope you don't mind if I continue to come in here and post questions, along with my progress!

Thanks again!