Not everyone is 5'2" - or physics matters.

Cosmo Mom said:
I agree about the fast twitch muscles comment. Cathe also talks about that. I don't doubt that the 5'8 people can't move as quick as shorter people, however, I think Cathe just has those faster twitch muscles.

Most of the time I can keep up with her, and I'm pretty fit (not as fit as her), but sometimes it's like - OK - she is just that fast.

ALSO, I was at a 2009 road trip and was pretty impressed at how fast and strong she was. I couldn't keep up with her then I was under 50! LOL
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Yup: I know I have an abundance of slow twitch muscles fibres. It's why I adore long distance running and powerwalking, could hike with 40 pound backpack all day, but hate circuit type workouts that have me changing direction of movement every 2 seconds. Way more tiring for me than simply running 10 miles......

Clare
 
changing direction all the time, games like tennis and raquetball, dribbling for soccer...I always assumed I was good at that because I am shorter and have a low center of gravity and that made me more agile?

Even though I'm short and built kinda of powerful-ish, I still think I have more of the endurance type of twitch muscles.....speed other than quick turns (fast reflexes) is just hard for me!

I know this started as the taller folk having more work to do for squats, push-ups, etc, and I agree with that...more distance to travel in same amount of time makes more work!

But as for speed in other things..running, cycling, etc..I think joints have something to do with it, too. I'm all loosey-gooesy jointed, quite flexible, and I swear I loose energy transfer with them! Least that's my theory and I'm sticking with it! :p
 
Weird, the other day I was just thinking that most of Cathe's female crew are more petite in stature. They all have straight hair, too!! :D

I'm 5'6" but wish I were taller!
 
Height has nothing to do with the output IMHO

Hi Everyone,

I am afraid I will go with Toni's comment here.

I am confessing that when it comes to sit up, i can not go as fast as cathe and the crew. I do not think it has got to do with my height 5 7. I just need to work hard on my abs and gain more strength.

I am extremely happy to have been able to go from doing no push up at all to doing them on my toes for the majority of cathe's programs. Keeping the pace for most of them including cardios.

I am not going to ask cathe to slow the pace! One of the principles of training being INTENSITY, i am certainly not going to ask for the speed to be kept low! It simply will take the energy off the program ;)

I would be grateful if anyone came up with science to back up statement raised on this thread.;)


All the very best,
 
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I never said to keep the pace low. Just not Speedy Gonzalez fast.
The science you are looking for is called Physics.
If you google physics and fitness you will find tons of information. Things that apply include gravity, levers, mass v velocity, etc.
 
Cathe's pace

NY25 said:
Cathe - just one thought/consideration for the new workouts. I LOVE, LOVE Xtrain and LIS, but I noticed on several workouts, you move rather quickly through some of the moves. I know I can do the moves but really struggle to keep your pace. Then I realized -- I'm 5'8". It is not physically (as in laws of physics) possible for me to move my body through space at the same rate you move your little body. (wall squats, shoot outs, push ups, etc). I have to move more body, farther, and against longer planes/greater gravity. It can be very frustrating to be always behind the DVD or have to skip rests or have to constantly stop the DVD just because I'm tall and long limbed. Kind of like asking someone who is 5'2" to long jump/run/swim the same distance/pace as someone who is 6'0". It's just not going to be possible regardless of fitness level. With the new series, can you just slow it down a wee bit to allow us girls graced with height and length the opportunity to keep up. It's very demotivating otherwise. Thanks!!
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To Ny25,

Hope I have not offended you nor anyone else. My comment on slowing the speed refer to your comment above. As to the science bit I thank you very much. I will read it through

Kind Regards,
 
No offense taken. I did use the phrase "wee bit."
My point is probably best illuminated when looking at gymnasts. There is a reason the elite in ghat sport (including the men) are all tiny little people. A body of 5'6" or more is huge and simply can't do what a body of 4'8" can do. And likewise the same is true of swimmers or bball players. You must be long, with big hands and feet. Little people just wont be able to compete. Fitness level has nothing to do with it.
 
I don't really think you can use the sport of gymnastics as a comparison to why someone short might do better at Cathe's workouts. Cathe's workouts, while advanced, are hardly something you can compare to an elite gymnast workout or routine. And saying fitness level has NOTHING to do with it seems completely off base. At the very least you would need to start with a decent fitness level to compete in any sport no matter what your genetics are.
 
[FONT=&quot]Hi NY25! Yes, you are right, a persons’ height and the length of their arms and legs play a role in how difficult any exercise is to perform. And as others have already mentioned, your fast to slow twitch muscle fiber ratio will also determine how high you can jump and how quickly you can jump and for how long you can do an exercise. [/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Since people obviously come in all sizes and shapes it’s impossible to make a video specifically for any single height range. But based on my teaching experience ([/FONT][/FONT][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]my classes are made up of people of all different heights and fitness abilities) I use a speed in which[/FONT] the DVD exercises should be at least doable for almost any height range.[/FONT][/FONT] :)





NY25 said:
Cathe - just one thought/consideration for the new workouts. I LOVE, LOVE Xtrain and LIS, but I noticed on several workouts, you move rather quickly through some of the moves. I know I can do the moves but really struggle to keep your pace. Then I realized -- I'm 5'8". It is not physically (as in laws of physics) possible for me to move my body through space at the same rate you move your little body. (wall squats, shoot outs, push ups, etc). I have to move more body, farther, and against longer planes/greater gravity. It can be very frustrating to be always behind the DVD or have to skip rests or have to constantly stop the DVD just because I'm tall and long limbed. Kind of like asking someone who is 5'2" to long jump/run/swim the same distance/pace as someone who is 6'0". It's just not going to be possible regardless of fitness level. With the new series, can you just slow it down a wee bit to allow us girls graced with height and length the opportunity to keep up. It's very demotivating otherwise. Thanks!!
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I'm noticing that I can't keep up with Cathe's newer DVDs pace-wise but I can still do all the older ones at her pace. I think all this HIIT training has made Cathe even faster than ever!
To compensate, I either do fewer reps OR I play my wonderful Sony DVD player at 80-90%. It has settings to speed up or slow down the workout while maintaining decent audio quality. I highly recommend this-it avoids a lot of frustration!
Beth
 
I'm 5'9", but I don't seem to have a problem keeping up with Cathe. The only exercise in her recent workouts that I was behind on was the push-up/sit-up combo, but that's just because I suck at push-ups.
 
I'm 6 feet tall, 37 inch inseam & 70.5 inch armspan so I "get" this thread! I'm also left-handed (in a right handed consumer marketplace) so the key for me in a lot of areas is modification. By following Cathe's instructions to push myself but also listen to "my" body I've learned what modifications work for me & still challenge "my" body. Shortening the lever is the modification I use most. Push ups on my toes? No way. But that's ok because I'm equally challenged on my knees. If I ever lose that challenge I'll just put on my weighted vest. Same for burpees & squat thrusts on the floor. Never gonna happen. I'm still challenged using my step or bench & unlikely to injure myself. Moves like walking lunges & leaning lunges with dixie cups---If I'm still challenged by shortening my range of motion, that's my modification. If I'm not, I just go slower than Cathe's speed. Complete fewer reps than her or complete after her -- whichever challenges me is ok. I also shorten my range of motion on some moves. My joints let me know when this is what I need to do. Tubing over my head? I learned the hard, painful way that those tubes don't stretch that far without unpleasant consequences. For me Cathe's workouts meet me where I'm at. So far I've been able to modify all the moves in her workouts to work for my body & still be consistently challenged. Now if I could just find some pants long enuf to cover my ankles & shirts with sleeves that cover my wrists I would be one happy camper!
 
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