PH & MIS in same week?

[cid]

A couple of girlfriends and I are getting together to lift 2-3x per week and doing cardio on our own. I've been using ph, mis, bodymax, ctx, s&h, circuit max, cardio kickbox to workout at home, so their joining me! It's a blast, but they're beginners and I'm not certified in any way. My question is what combo of strength-training tapes should we begin with? Last week (our first week) we did ph once and mis once. They lift light and I pay close attention to their form to avoid injury, but really your cuing and instruction is so great that I made very few comments! Should we stick to one tape, even if their form is good, or can we mix it up a bit? Is endurace the best way to start? And when should we change to either ps or s&h? Next week I planned on doing ll once, the ctx upper body split once, and ph once. ANY advice would be great...they're REALLY motivated (so fun!) and I want to do what's best for them. Thanks!

CinDee

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi CinDee! How fun to have this workout time with your friends. While there is always a lot of flexibilty involved when chosing a workout rotation, I would suggest in this instance to keep it simple since they are beginners. If you overload their muscles and minds with too much information and activity, they will be more likely to get frustrated and/or possibly even injured.

When you are new to lifting weights, your body finds every exercise challenging and therefore it doesn't require numerous rotations to provoke a response. For this reason, I usually start beginners with total body workouts one to two times per week with lighter weights. If it is a muscular endurance workout, then no more than three workouts per week with light weight. You can stay with the same workout for as long as you are still getting great results and feeling your muscles challenged. If you ever find yourself bored with a workout or your results slowing down quite a bit, then change the workout.

I find beginners usually favor endurance workouts at first because they are lighter weight workouts which condition the muscles, an approach that is less intimidating.

I would suggest sticking with one workout at a time, for at least three to four weeks, with your friends (preferrably endurance workouts first, Power Hour, MIS, CTX all weight segments). Then move onto the other weight tapes that I have. Once you have exposed them to all of the workouts that I offer, then you can start mix and matching workouts within a given week. Good Luck!

 

[cid]

Thank you so much for your reply! I'll make sure they get all the info (I'll see them tomorrow morning) because, like I said, they're motivated and want results! My one buddy, Deb, is anxious to try the s&h, but if she hears that she'll see strength and toning gains with an endurance workout she'll be thrilled. Thanks again, God bless you, and hope you're getting enough rest! CinDee