Other videos that are comparable to Cathe weight work?

[penguinchik]

Hi there, while I wait in vain for STS to come out, I was realizing yesterday that I'm in a rut right now. I do CTX Upper Body, Gym Styles, 4 Day Split Upper Body, sometimes Body Max 2 Upper Body and that's about it. I have always gotten great results with this, but would like to add in some other videos. I've got foot issues right now (well for the last year and 3/4 ), so I have to skip weight work that involves legs unfortunately.

Anyway, do you guys have any recommendation for other videos that would be like these? I've never done Cathe's Slow and Heavy for fear of it bulking me up. I tend to gain muscle pretty quickly. In fact when I was doing just Gym Styles a few years ago, I didn't like my size. I seem to do better with a combo. Am I incorrect in asuming Slow and Heavy will add bulk?? Are there any other instructors out there that have anything even comparable? I've had Cathe blinders on for years, so I'm really out of the loop.

Thanks so much!
--Jennifer

 

[jonahnah]

You might look at Jari Love's Ripped and Chiseled. It's pretty upper body intensive and a lot of people (maybe more so on other forums) have liked it. Jari's known for high reps, lower weights which is usually doesn't lead to bulking. I don't have this dvd because I'm already saturated with UB wt work dvds


Also, I REALLY love Amy Bentos All Pump Extreme and Slo Mo Challenge. She has very different moves from Cathe and in Slo Mo, I have to use lighter weights to compensate for the slower pace. Her website is www.nrgfitness.com

HTH!

 

[Ronne]

Another vote for Amy Bento's Slo-Mo here. I think it's similar to Gym Styles but with very different exercises. I like to do rotations using both.

 

[gogigi]

I had a hard time choosing anyone but Cathe for years and I hesitate to offer suggestions b/c until you are really ready to incorporate other instructors, the blinders may prevent you from seeing the qualities of other instructors. I don't say that harshly at all, b/c I thought I was ready at one point and nothing satisfied me, then I got burned out doing Cathe all the time and I was really ready for some variety. Having said all that Amy Bento is one of my favorite instructors besides Cathe. I believe her stuff is comparable in that it's advanced but it's different from Cathe. I love Amy's SloMo, but you will probably have to start out a bit lighter than you are used to and work your way up. Amy incorporates some functional and more innovative stuff into her weight work but it is still traditional based weight work. Some people say it's unsafe or just don't care for it. I personally love the options, b/c people who have done Cathe's stuff or have experience weight lifting can EASILY modify any of Amy's moves to straight up traditional if the functional or innovative twist bothers them. You can check out nice long clips at www.nrgfitness.net.

Jari Love took a LONG time to grow on me. I don't LOVE her stuff, but I think it's great for cross training. She is very low keyed, the music is a snore fest, and you have to pay for her rotations, but you can find her workouts for WAY cheap at Ross and once I saw a set of all her workouts at TJ Max.

A lot of people enjoy Power 90X, but that is a multiple disc system that seems to require a lot of commitment. I don't have personal experience with this set, but if you do a search you will find loads of information on this site and at VF.

I'm very interested in checking out Kelly Coffey-Meyers latest weight workout. I can't remember what it's called but it's two 30 min. total body weight workouts and I've heard good things about it.

Charlene from Beach Body is coming out with Chalene Extreme (the title is something to that effect) and it won't be out until this fall (I believe) but I am watching that with interest. It is supposed to be heavy weight work but from the clips it looks like it will have some functional stuff thrown in there as well as some good plyo cardio.
HTH!

 

[DeanaMax]

Regarding "bulking up" .. gulp, I hate to read that people have a fear of bulking up. Muscle is less dense than fat, so it takes up LESS space. If you are getting bigger I doubt it's because you are putting on muscle. It's more likely because you are putting on fat, because of your diet or the way you train.

Muscle burns more calories/increases your metabolism which in the long run is a much much better tool for staying lean than cardio. Cardio burns more calories per session, but not more calories longer term. So until you build muscle, you might not see results immediately using heavy weights (you need to build your muscles first). But after you do, your fat should start melting. There is a slight investment period and the quickest way to get there is with heavy weights, not light. So a combination of both cardio and heavy weights is prudent.

I'm in love with Amy Bento's Slo Mo. I think it's actually harder than Cathe's GS. and it's very heavy weights. But obviously i think that is a good thing.

 

[JeanneMarie]

Another vote for Slo-Mo! I love this one!

It has helped me gain strength. After doing Slo-Mo for a while, when I went back to Cathe's weight work I was able to increase my poundage.

 

[kathryn]

I love Tony Horton's weight work...but his circuit fashion of doing weights (which I LOVE) might spoil you for Cathe's straight-set work.

I just did his P90X+ Upper Plus yesterday: a challenging workout that moves from one exercise to another, incorporates some functional moves and multi-muscle moves, and includes pull-ups/chin-ups (I modified using my Fluidity bar, because I'm not up to pull-ups---modified or not--after laying of intense weight work for a bit too long!).

(I'm with DeanaMax: I hate to hear people dismiss heavy weight work out of hand for fear of "bulking up." "Bulk" depends on genetics, hormones (natural or otherwise), and diet. If you are a mesomorph--you gain muscle easily---have short muscle insertions, and a general 'stocky' build, you will probably look 'bulky' no matter what. If you are an ectomorph (think Paris Hilton), it would take a miracle for you to 'bulk').

Try the heavy work. You have nothing to lose. One of the benefits of weight training is that you can adapt it to suit your goals. If you find that you are starting to look bulkier than you want, you can easily change to another type of program (or add more cardio), and reverse the process.

 

[kathryn]

Am I incorrect in asuming Slow and Heavy will add bulk??

Slow and Heavy should add more strength than size because of the number of reps and higher weights. Programs for adding size (or 'bulk,' if you don't like the size!) use higher rep schemes, shorter rest periods, and more sets. Just make sure NOT to go to failure on most of the sets, and S&H fits in well with a strength-building protocol. Lengthening the rest periods between sets (to near 2 or 3 minutes) would make it fit even better.

 

[jonahnah]

This is such a controversial topic, but here I go:

I do believe that women can develop large muscles from exercise without the use of steroids. For example, sprinters have larger thighs than those running long distance. Swimmers have larger shoulders than field hockey players. Speed skaters versus figure skaters. It just depends on the amount of fast twitch muscle fibers in the person. The OP said that GS made her muscles larger than she liked. If she has a high preponderance of fast twitch fibers, she may very well have developed her muscle size beyond what SHE wanted, without any contribution from a less than clean eating program.

I think the problem comes from different people having different definitions of bulk. What's bulky to one person is supremely cut to another. Some think Cathe's physique is awesome (I am one of them) but think fitness models are too bulky. Others (such as the average woman on the street and my MIL) might view Cathe as bulky, versus say, Debbie Siebers from Slim Series. All of these women are supremely fit, but they have different musculature and have different training methods.

I wish fitness professionals would stop telling women they can't get bulky from using weights because I personally think that's what confusing so many. It actually depends on their body, their training methods and--most of all--their personal opinion of what "bulky muscles" look like.

 

[penguinchik]

Wow! Thanks Everyone!

OK, I really feel the need to address the "bulk" thing. Two years ago (prior to various injuries) I was super cut. At the time I couldn't appreciate it and always wanted more. Now because of so many over use exericse injuries, I have lost some of the look I had. I was seriously down to what was probably an unhealthy weight for me (my periods were coming every 50 some odd days, I was extremely irritable and exhausted). I had a ton of definition with veins and cuts and all the stuff a lot of us on here are striving for. I happen to be one of those people who does build muscle easily. At that time when I would focus on gym styles and go as heavy as possible, I would look bigger. I was still cut, but I didn't like how big I looked. I'm sure people thought I was nuts, but that's just the way it was. I discovered through trial and error that I could use Gym Styles, but not soley. I just want to make that clear. I wasn't someone who needed to gain muscle. It was already there. I was looking for further definition without the size of my arms looking bigger.

Unfortuantely a year dealing with a herniated disc forced me to stop weights. So sad. Very depressing. Horrible time. Plus the plantar fasciitis. It all just sucked. I'm now back in business with the disc stuff (thanks to a book called Healing Back Pain by Dr. John Sarno). I've been back to good 'ole Cathe for 5 months now. Just upper body weight work because of the plantar fasciitis which is the bane of my existence. I've done every treatment for it known to man and am still plagued with it. I guess the one treatment I never did try was TOTAL rest. But I digress...

So, now that I'm using weights again, I'm seeing things coming back and I'm very excited about it. I have defintion again. I want to continue on this road and follow what I know has worked before. I just really want to add some new stuff.

I once had Amy Bento's Slo Mo in my shopping cart online, but then didn't order it. I also never got Cathe's. I have every single DVD of Cathe's but that. Maybe it's time to give Amy a try. I should have mentioned that I do have all of Jari's. I totally forgot about that because I just can't get into it. I know I need to give her a try again. The DVD's collect dust. I do own P90X. I got it for my husband (I was injured at the time), but have watched many of them. I just don't think I could stomach him (forgot his name) that often. Though his stretch DVD does make me laugh out loud. I really do think he makes funny comments in that one.

So, I guess maybe I should go the Amy Bento route and try Jari again. I always found her DVDs at Ross for like 4 bucks, so I accumulated them. I think I did purchase one full price.

Anyway, I'm just babbling at this point. I really do thank all of you for your suggestions. I will re-read this thread and think about the other ideas you all mentioned. Thanks so much!
--Jennifer
P.S. Came back to say, I know some may say I need to go heavy to get back muscle, but at this point I'm feeling pretty good about the amount I have. I can match Cathe again on almost everything. The strength came back pretty quickly!