Okay, WHAT is it about those terminators?????

TarHeelMom

TarHeelMom

Cathlete
I need some counselling from my beloved Educated Crowd.

Today I forced myself to do Boot Camp. It's not an easy tape to do an even "substitution" for, IMHO, and It was on the rotation and I'm trying very hard to stick with it this month, so I psyched myself up and did it. I'm sorry to report to you BC lovers out there (and I know you are many) that I can't say that I enjoyed it. As always after I do Boot Camp, I feel wrung out but strangely not worked out -- just tired in a sort of diffused, kinda cranky way }( .

I have decided that I just don't care for the circuit workout as a concept. I know it probably does great things for you as a form of variety, but I don't like revving up to full speed hi-velocity cardio and then screeching to a gasping halt 60 seconds later, only to then breathe too hard through some lifting and then hit the floor horizontal while my heartrate is still not recovered. And then leap to my feet and do it again.

In Boot Camp what REALLY gets to me are those terminators. I just can't do them. I can do 7 of the 8 segments as-is, not gasping for air any more than Cathe appears to be doing. I might even theoretically feel enjoyment of the workout as a whole IF I didn't feel such complete wuss-ness set in when I try those danged squat thrust climbers. It's so frustrating. At Cathe's speed I can only do about 5 before my quads and hip flexors are at full flat-out failure and I can do "down-out-scissor-scissor-out-in..." and then that "UP!" just literally doesn't happen. :) My brain sends the command and my legs refuse. At half-speed (pausing the tape and doing them as steadily as I can) I can almost make it to the end of the first set before that quad failure kicks in. Then I can do the vertical jumps just fine. Plenty of pep in my step left for those, oddly enough. So that gives me this false sense of encouragement, like "Oh, I just needed to get warmed up -- okay, HERE we go....". Then I start trying again for set #2 of terminators, and, well, it's laughable. I do perhaps TWO and on that third one when I'm ready for "UP!" my brain yells "LEAP!" and my legs say "OH NO!"

I'm still rebuilding my strength and endurance from being "off" my regular 6-day schedule for a long time last year during our house renovation. I know I'm bound to improve, but here's the thing: I've had this same experience with BC when I'm at my peak of personal fitness. And I can't do much better on similar explosive movements (e.g., Interval 9 on Imax 2).

What is it in terms of muscle fiber or endurance or what-have-you that I'm lacking? What could I work on in order to make moves like the terminators achievable, let alone enjoyable? I would really like to try to improve here, and I'd like to find some way of liking (if not ever loving) circuit workouts so that I don't DREAD them when they appear in a rotation.

Suggestions, anybody??? HELP!!! :)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S.http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
[font color=green]2005 Worked Out With Cathe Days: 10/365[/font color]
 
Kathy S. : o honey i hear ya! those damn climbers about kill me. i was dreading it today too! i am no expert and have no advice except to say that it helps me to say it out loud "down out scissor,scissor,out,in,up" ...that said, don't take it to indicate that i can actually breathe well enought to say it audibly. it just helps my feet cooperate. Also, i tell myself that i am having a bad dream and it will all be over in 1 minute!....sigh... i need a nap!

jesx(
 
Hi Kathy,

You're suffering gave me a good chuckle, I'm sorry to say! I wish you were able to find some enjoyment in BC, but I can also understand why you find it such a poor experience.

I found that I improved dramatically with explosive type moves, such as those in BootCamp and IMAX2 interval 9, as a result of lower body weight training, and aggressively strengthening my core. I have always done a mixture of both endurance and heavy weight training, and think that both contribute to my ability to sustain longer sessions of explosive movement.

I owe you an email, and will try to do that later today.

BTW, Kathy, Jes, and anyone else who plugged through BootCamp today: I salute you!

Cheers!
Sandra
 
The only way to get good at squat thrust climbers, especially the many millions in cycle #5, is to do them. Do that interval at least once a week, preferably twice a week.

Although I don't do the Boot Camp workout as produced (cardio, lower body, upper body and core), I swear by the cardio-only and cardio+lower-body-only premixes. And Gauntlet on the Terminator DVD. Squat-thrust-climbers are so hard because they recruit everything, very dynamically and explosively, and they go on and on.

Do the cardio-only or the cardio+legs premixes once a week, and just try to get through one more rep each time when you get to that interval, and I promise you you will get them.

A-Jock
 
Hey A-jock and Sandra!

Eat your peas, huh? :)

I get it, I get it. I have to say that the idea of doing terminators once a week, let alone twice a week, is like telling me I have to start flossing three times a day. Once a day calls upon every ounce of my adult self-discipline, and still there's the kid in me saying "Aw geez, I can't believe I have to do this -- I wanna go to bed!" :)

Sandra, what you're saying makes sense. But I must say that even when I've had my strongest legs and strongest core, I've still had to modify Cathe's sets of explosive moves. Maybe I've just never gotten as fit as I thought I was. (Hey, THERE's a cheer-me-up thought!!)

Annette, what other bits and pieces of Cathe would develop the same explosive capacity -- besides IMAX 2 Interval 9 and the power lunges in L&G (can't finish those, either), what am I forgetting? If I am going to have to "eat my vegetables" can't I at least mix 'em up instead of doing all terminators???

Edited to add: Another question -- is it fast-twitch or slow-twitch fibers that support explosive movements? And would I be correct in thinking that if you have an abundance of the explosive-movements fibers, you probably don't have an abundance of endurance fibers? And vice versa? Don't most people have a predominance of one or the other? (Gee, I really do need to educate myself on some of this stuff... ;-))

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S.http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
[font color=green]2005 Worked Out With Cathe Days: 10/365[/font color]
 
Kathy - that was me last night. I'm not a fan of Boot Camp, probably because of those climbers and I ALWAYS want to do the entire workout just as Cathe but I definitely don't explode up as her and the crew do.

Here's what has helped me. I know there are 7 of them, a little jumping break, followed by six of them. (My own little psyche to realize how close I am to done ;-) ) I have to use my fingertips instead of a flat hand. Don't know if this means I'm not getting as good of a workout, but if I use my fingertips without my palms on the floor, I'm able to at least endure them and get through. I allow myself to hit pause for 10-20 seconds after the terminators, my reward for doing all of them. Also I do the all by core premix and tack the core on at the end after a little water break.

I'm sure AJocks advice would be best for me also. I'm such a BABY!!! I just hate them and just do them the best I can when I HAVE to do them.

Don't know if this is helping, but I feel this same way everytime I reach for this workout. At least we're not alone.

Sam
 
My daughter was in the room while I was doing the Terminators today and thought it was the most hilarious thing she's seen in a long time. She kept laughing and saying "zizzor, zizzor!" When I was finally done with them, she wanted me to do them again! I told her she was nuts.

Squat thrusts were one of my least favorite exercises in gym class. I think the only thing I hated more was trying to climb those damned ropes!
 
Hi Soooooooooooooooosan!

You know, oddly enough, PH and ME are two of my favorite tapes of all time, and I love them both and can do both comfortably. I'm able to match or exceed Cathe on weight on everything except biceps. Biceps is another one of those weird Twilight Zone things like terminators -- no matter what I do, and I do concentrate on biceps a lot and on biceps form a lot, I never seem to make much biceps progress, especially on an endurance tape. Go figure!x(

What does this all mean about my bizarre little body??????? Does Rocky know enough to contribute an opinion here??

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S.http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
[font color=green]2005 Worked Out With Cathe Days: 10/365[/font color]
 
Hi Sam!

I've never tried doing them on my fingertips, and that's a great idea! I also love your idea for the 20 second pause -- I can do the vertical jumps just fine, but the break would be a nice incentive. And I like your idea of trying to do the all-but-core premix with core separate and later.

All great suggestions, Sam, and I thank you a bunch!

I promise to try what you and Sandra and Aquajock and everybody else have suggested. I can see that I just have to keep plugging away at this. Ugh. It really is "eat your peas." :)

I'm just like you, BTW -- I like to do exactly what Cathe and Crew do, matching their weights and everything. Truth be told, I don't even use many premixes all that much because I like the flow of the "original" music and workout structure.

It's some kind of psychological disorder, I've decided :), this inability or unwillingness to get creative and strike out on my own. ;-)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S.http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
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I can do them all, but I do not jump in between. If I jump in between, I cannot do them all. Quads never burn though....just get petered out in general (and usually end up cursing Cathe on these ones):)


I do agree with Annette, though. If we could discipline myself to do these cardio segments a few times per week, we could probably get good at it! Too many days of hard-core cardio kills me though! Combine that with heavy lifting and a girl needs her rest!!LOL!! (Remember, Ajock is from the same planet as Cathe):)
 
Kathy:

I wouldn't worry about it at all. If you don't like Boot Camp and similar circuit style workouts, then don't do 'em!

I think muscle type and body type has a lot to do with whether one enjoys and does well with this style of exercise or not.

I am like you. I can do cardio til the cows come home and ditto with weight training because I can go the distance. I can hike all day every day for 6 weeks with a 40 pound pack (and have done it in the Cascades) and just keep going. My husband, on the other hand, finds that more fatiguing than I do. His preferred method of sport and exercise is the quick, short and sharp explosions of movement with quick reflexes, the endless stop and start movements of squash and tennis and fencing: yet I can't do any of those because 10 minutes of tennis or squash is way more tiring to me that a straight hour of high intensity cardio or PUB plus PLB. Squash? I'd rather lie on the floor.

I don't have the same muscle type as he. Sounds like you don't got it either. So why sweat it?

It's your workout, do what you want. You don't have to practice terminators til you are blue in the face. Why bother if it does not suit you? There are millions of different workouts and exercises out there that will get you fit and healthy. No loss of face involved.

Give me Power Hour, Imax 2, KPC or 2 CTX cardios back to back rather than Bootcamp or High Step training anyday.

Clare :7
 
I agree with Clare that you shouldn't worry about doing something you loathe. If, on the other hand, you feel compelled to conquer a challenging aspect of your training, stick it out for a while longer and see what happens. Either way, it's all good.

I also agree with Clare that it has to do with muscle/body type. As I've posted many times before, core exercises have been my biggest challenge. Doing a "teaser" took me 8 months to accomplish, whereas several of my nonexercising friends could do one right off the bat. (Losers.) Push-ups are a huge challenge for some but fairly easy for others.

I am definitely no fitness super-star, but terminators are one of the "easier" cardio moves in BC for me. I have no idea why. The hardest moves for me are the ice breakers, which zap every last breath out of me.

I just finished a P90X rotation, so I haven't done BC in a long time. It's on the plate for Friday, and I'm curious how I'll do, since I used to do it about once a week. I'll be thinking about you during the terminators! (It's always better to have a workout partner. ;-) )

Oh, and Rocky likes to extend the terminator segment of BC. He programs our DVD player to play the segment over and over for three hours and does the terminators on the high step, stability ball, fireplace mantel, ceiling fan and other places so he doesn't get bored.
 
RE: Hey A-jock and Sandra!

Hi, Kathy! In answer to your question about explosive movements that help you build power capacity:

Plyo jacks
Explosive lunges / "power scissors"
Sequential power kicks
Airborne jacks
Vertical jumps in place
One-legged hops
Plie' jacks (as you noted, interval #9 in I-Max 2)

Anything plyo- or jump-oriented that meaningfully recruits the legs and takes the bouncy assistance of the calves and feet out of the jump will help you build power.

Squat-thrust-climbers are in a class by themselves because they involve the total body (upper body, core and lower body) and because they involve such changes in planes and elevation.

Oh, and by the way -

I disagree 100% that you should avoid those moves and / or workouts that you "loathe", if the loathing comes from the fact that they make you work hard and push you to failure your first time out.

The only way you can truly build fitness is to push yourself beyond what you thought you could do. Overload is the essence of fitness training, pushing you out of your comfort zone. If you do those things that you "loathe" or "dread" consistently, you will #1 demystify them and #2 be able to damn DO them.

One of the fundamental principles of fitness training is: the body adapts to the demands that are placed on it. And adaptation to increased demands means greater fitness.

Do the Boot Camp cardio-only premix at least once a week.

A-Jock
 
Thanks Annette!

It's fascinating to me to see the divergent views here on this subject. I think after some deliberation that I feel like this: I find Sooooooosan and Clare's "don't sweat it, sub it" attitude very comforting, and I see a lot of value in what they are saying. I also understand your point, that if I'm avoiding a type of activity BECAUSE it's hard, I should make myself push a little beyond comfort, at least until I see whether better results will happen and whether better results will change the way I feel about the activity.

So I've decided to add the BC cardio-only premix once a week on a trial basis, maybe for a month. I'll see how I'm feeling about all this after that.

In the meantime, I'll keep plugging on some of the alternative training moves you mentioned. Interesting factoid: I can do sequential power kicks til the cows come home. 28 doesn't bother me at all. Most of the other moves slay me beyond the first 8. Odd, huh?

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S.http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
[font color=green]2005 Worked Out With Cathe Days: 10/365[/font color]
 
Clare, you're so encouraging and I am SO with you, girl. I've decided to try a taste of Aquajock's medicine on a trial basis, just to see if with some regularity this kind of activity will become more fun for me. And/or easier. If the fun factor improves, I'll stick with it. If not, sayonara hi/lo and circuit. :)

I'd forgotten about HSTA. I like the music a lot on that one, but feel much the same way about it that I do about BC (and I don't like doing cardio moves on my high step because it's a little unstable.)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S.http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
[font color=green]2005 Worked Out With Cathe Days: 10/365[/font color]
 
Hi Soooooooooooooooooooooooosan and Rocky!

Damn, Rocky is one fit squirrel! Oh, to have his core and hip flexor capacity!

Soosan, I really appreciate your advice and encouragement. As I said to Clare (above), I've decided to attempt A-jock's advice of making myself do this stuff for a little while, to see if I'll improve and to see if the fun factor increases. That last part is really key. If it doesn't happen, these tapes will gather dust.

Core is still tough for me, and pushups remain my nemesis. I really can't figure that one out, either, although the two things are undoubtedly related. I'll just keep adding 1 pushup on my toes each time, if I can, and see how I do.

Isn't it strange how BC cardio intervals affect us each so differently? Here I can't do a weenie's worth of terminators, but you can breeze through them. And while I can't say I breeze through ice breakers, they aren't hard for me and I actually look forward to them. Weird, weird, weird.

If and when we ever get to do our Cathe Camp, it's going to be interesting to look around and spot each person's Achilles heel movements. It seems like we all have one or two. Except Annette, who, of course, as it was pointed out, is a native of Planet Cathe. :)

http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/sport/sport-smiley-003.gif Kathy S.http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0903/spezial/spudniks/spudniklifter.gif
[font color=green]2005 Worked Out With Cathe Days: 10/365[/font color]
 
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