part per day

L

lora-kate

Active Member
Well this question has plagued me for a long time.

I remember quite a while ago that Cathe said for her own personal program she did one body part per day (for about 30 minutes). Does anyone have any thoughts on whether it is more or less effective to split up Cathe's weight tapes to do a part per day as opposed to having one day all cardio and one day all weights. I guess it would sort of be like the xpress series except longer and harder cardio and more intense weights (i.e. like the strong and heavy series or the ps series). I don't want to just maintain what I have which I believe was the goal of the xpress series.

Does that make sense?
 
I can't answer your question but I'm interested to hear what others have to say about this. Since none of Cathe's DVDs work one body part more that about 10 minutes (except for legs), I would be curious how to extend that to 30 minutes. Maybe by doing the same portion of the workout 3x? Or by doing one body part from several workouts (i.e. shoulders from PS, S&H and Power Hour). It may take a little planning to have the workouts lined up so you can do them one after another without taking too long breaks.

Also, adding cardio just about everyday couldn't hurt. The problem I see with doing one day of all weights if you're trying to build size is that you might pre-exhaust muscles that could work a lot harder if they were worked alone on their own day.

What does everyone else have to say?

Ladychimpion
 
I think that probably depends on your genetics. I can work one body part a week and see great results, as a matter of fact, that is what I'm doing right now.:) I can also go three weeks without any weight training (I had to do that once) and I'm able to pick up right where I left off, no worse for wear.:) So I say give it a try and see what happens.:)

Deedee
 
Lora-Kate,
I am by no means an expert so take my advice as that. I have seen a trainer a few times over the past month (thanks to a special they had at my club:))

He currently has me focusing on 1-2 major body parts a day. The other days I either do cardio or do total body circuit or wt training (like circuit max, PH, etc.) He says he wants me to "burn out" each major muscle at least once a week and prefers I do it twice a week (particularly for the major muscles).

I am doing the S&H rotation right now and have seen great results. I usually do 1-2 muscles of the S&H and then add on portions from the other DVD's like PS, PH etc. It works great and I can really feel the burn both during and after the exercise. I have found it is easier to better work the muscle to exaustion because I am not working each muscle as often and when I do work it I am able to push so much harder because I am not sore from the day before. Does that make any sense???

I am also going to start doing abs more since it is such a problem area for me.

He also said to do legs every other day if I am not too sore but to only "burn them out" once or twice a week.

I still need to sit down and do some serious planning as it is a lot to remember and I get confused easily. I am also looking at the BodyRx program. I got the book yesterday and hope to incorporate some of his ideas into my nutrition and training program.

I am also cutting down on my cardio because I am seeing signs of overtraining. I am going to focus more on intensity versus frequency (which is really hard for me since I LOVE cardio.) I think I am going to do cardio 4-5 times a week versus the 6-7 I was doing. I am a meso/endo so I need as much fat burning as I can get:)

Anyway, don't know if my ideas helped much. Just coming from a self-taught (and Cathe Forum taught) wanna be fitness geek:)

-Pammer http://www.click-smilie.de/sammlung/sport/sport001.gif
 
I know someone on the forum was putting together body part workouts from different Cathe vids to equal 30 min. a day. I've always thought it would be neat to see 2 weeks in the life of Cathe workout-wise.

I know we are all different, but I like to see what everyone does. It gives me fun, new ideas. That's why I like check-ins so much!

I agree that genetics also play a part. I always seem to make progress with S&H and CTX, but stay at a pretty much standstill with the other vids.

Andrea
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-12-02 AT 01:03PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi Lora-Kate,

If you are a newcomer to strength training, you should begin with 2-3 total body workouts per week. The workouts should utilize 1-2 exercises per body part and work in a moderate to light weight range with about 12-20 reps, depending on the weight. Obviously the lighter the weight the more reps you can do. You should follow this routine for about six months so that you build a foundation of muscle which you will later sculpt and define. Also, your body is busy doing construction on supportive structures like tendons and ligaments, and developing pathways through your neurologic and vascular systems to support the muscle you are developing. All this internal work is why newcomers will usually see strength gains before they see an actual increase in muscle size. This format is very close to the body sculpting type classes in most gyms and some of Cathe's tapes. I started in a body pump class 3 years ago in September because it was the only class that was convenient for me at the time- that class totally changed my life! By December I caught a glimpse of my reflection getting out of the shower and noticed SHOULDERS and BICEPS where my once stick straight and slightly soft arms used to be! Three years later I am a certified Personal Trainer and I'm now teaching body sculpt. Needless to say I was hooked.

After your inititial conditioning you can begin to break the body up into parts to really focus on shaping the muscle you've developed. A pretty traditional progression is to move to upper body/ lower body days, and then on to push group (chest and triceps, shoulders)/pull group (back and biceps, rear delts)/legs, one body part a day, etc.... There are dozens of ways to split it up depending on your goals.

Since Cathe has been at this a LONG time and has a phenomenal base, she is at the level where she will get the most benefit out of working each body part separately. If you've stopped seeing results doing the full body routine you may be ready to move on as well. Hope this helps.

FitnessRN
 
Dear FitnessRN:

this was an excellent and comprehnsive answer to the original question and I have learned a lot from it. I now have a plan of action for my own weight training, even though I did not post the question.

Thank you :)

Clare
 
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