Power Hour humbled me!!!

naughtoj

naughtoj

Cathlete
Ok, guys, really this is a post just to say that today I really started wondering why I even work out. I just don't see how I am getting any better.

I cannot lift more than 5lb dumbells with my side laterals. I cannot do a full abdominal crunch where Cathe lifts her lower half and her upper half at the same time. My butt does NOT come off the floor unless I am using SERIOUS momentum!!! I look like a rocking horse. Anybody know exercises for abdominals that are really un-advanced, because apparantly I am never going to get better in this area!! How do I modify these?? In all Cathe's tapes, the AB sections kill me and I can only do about one quarter of them!

CANNOT get through the low-end sections of the lunges in PH. Literally, I have to drop all weight my legs are so fatigued. Rear delt raises: 5 lbs and my arms are shaking. Triceps never seem to get better. The presses where you lay on the bench and extend your arms above you (for triceps): I hold 5 lb. dumbells and my arms just tremor the whole time. I think Cathe is using a 20lb. barbell!!
For over 6 mos of weight training, it sure seems like very weak results. WHEN will I be able to do even all the push ups??? And i am doing them GIRLIE style!!

Somebody, anybody, please tell me that at some point I am going to see how much I have improved!! This really sucks and I am wondering why i even spend my time on this!!! I thought when you first start a kind of exercise you are supposed to see good results. Well, let me tell you, since I have added weights to my routine I have been very dissapointed with the results. Maybe my expectations were too high to begin with....anyone????
 
Oh yeah, and just because I am pretty miffed today......

Exactly how many bicep curls do you have to do to see results?? Making me feel even more pathetic, by the time those curls were over with in PH, I think I was holding 5lb. dumbells in each hand. FOR BICEP CURLS!!! Pathetic....
 
Your post sounds like exactly something I couldve written and I've been doing Cathe for 3 years!! Dont give up though!! I have progressed in alot of areas but the ares you mentioned are the areas I've had the slowest improvement in. Just last month I can finally do bent side lateral raises with 8 lb dumbells, I still use only 5 lbs for straight arm side lateral raises. And, I dont think the day will come that I will ever be able to "guy" pushups. However, I have seen noticeable improvement in my definition despite my slow strength gains! So dont be discouraged and just continue to plug away!!

:) Stacy
 
I find that everytime i know i have to do power hour .. i think about it all day contemplating!! Its a killer . i have been doing this for 9 mos seriously .. with Cathe i mean .. and i am just seeing major results in my 9th month.. i am getting stronger.. the routine are seeming easier and my form has improved.. i know there is muscle under my layer of fat.. but its melting slowly.And those lunges.. ohmyGOD.. they make me cry.. my back leg always shakes so much its distracting and painful.. but i scream and i feel better:)Anyway.. keep your head up . its gonna show soon i swear!! How can it NOT show.. all this hard work you are doing for yourself!!! it took a while for me and its gonna only get better as we keep on truckin.. keep on pushin.. it will pay off !!
 
Well, I don't know all the answers to these questions.But how many times a week are you working out? (with weights).I have been working out with Cathe for probably 4 years and my first video was Body MAx, so I got into the weights right away.
I am not a skinny person, I am just average sized but I was always strong and always fought with the boys in high school.lol.So, I didn't have a whole lot of trouble with weights.
So, I can't totally relate to where you are comming from but I can tell you that when I was doing Tank Top Rotations I got alot stronger in no time.I always did guy push ups but not usually all of them I would do probably half and then go to the bent knee version but when I was doing TTR I was doing all of them on my toes.I upped my chest work up the 30 pounds on the barbell and I use to use 10 pounds for bicep curls and now I use 15 pounds, and sometimes 20 pounds.15 pounds for over head presses.
If you haven't tried TTR, I suggest that you do.That is the only thing I can suggest.But even so...don't give up, you will get there in time.best of luck,
Lori
 
It will get better!! Trust me! While I don't have Power Hour (it's on my wish list), I recognize having the same feelings about other tapes. All my effort has only started showing recently and that is after 3 years. When I started lifting, I thought you had to do just like Cathe. I just cried after attempting MIS. Then I realized that I couldn't use the same barbell weight for legs as I could for shoulders (still can't!).

Don't be afraid to go down to three's. THERE IS NOTHING WIMPY ABOUT DOING THESE TAPES!!! Cathe makes a great comment in IMax around the 8th interval to the effect of "It doesn't matter if you are modifying. You are here and that is what is important."

True, right!?

Marcia
 
Power Hour wears me out. I'm just not made for endurance strength work. Give me heavy weights, let me go at a comfortable pace with some breaks, and I do just fine. Given light weights with high repetitions, I turn into a complete wimp. Now I know the old workout adage, "the things we find the hardest to do are the things we most need to do", and I'm sure that holds true for me and endurance work (and ab work :-tired), but I always face Power Hour with dread because I know it's going to hurt. Maybe we could have a challenge/check in for those of us who are struggling with this type of training. If I had to be accountable for including it in my routine, I might do it more often and actually get used to it, although I doubt that I'll ever report that I'm loving it.
 
And how BAD can your legs possibly be that you'd lunge and squat till your numb??? That voice in my head shrieks that at me when I do PH ... with LL it does it continuously.
 
I have to agree about heavy weights at a comfortable pace. I'm an ectomorph and I spent years doing Firm "aerobics with weight" tapes. I felt like I was really working out, (whew!) but I never saw much visible change in my body and no particular strength gains. It wasn't until I tried PS and SH that I started seeing visible progress.

However, what really helped me make strength gains is to lift weights on my own, doing three sets of each exercise and pyramiding the weight up with each set:
Low weight - 12 reps
Mid weight - 10 reps
High weight - 8 reps (or as many as you can squeeze out)

I push myself pretty much as heavy as I dare on the last set - even if it means only getting out 4 -6 reps. This has made all the difference in the world in terms of both visible development and being able to progress to heavier weights.

Hope this helps!
 
Just Remember

Cathe Anything is Very Advanced. I would call her double almost anybody out there...so, take that into account. You're doing FINE. Murph
 
RE: Just Remember

I am so glad I saw this thread. I was just despairing because Rhythmic Step is the only cardio I want to do. Why? Because I'm afraid of Powermax!

Power hour makes me feel that way too, but since I have done a few Slow and Heavy rotations, I see my strength is a little better in Power hour although not much.

This thread is very encouraging. I will do Powermax tomorrow! And I'll continue my S&H rotation, and I will try those pyramid "schemes," thanks, AKirkland!

-Connie
 
RE: Just Remember

Thanks so much you guys!!! I felt like everyone was giving me a great big cyber hug, which is probably all I needed. Of course I could never stop working out. It is like breathing to me. It is just sometimes you really wish it didn't have to seem so darn hard. Or seem like it is getting easier....hey, something!!!

For all my complainin' I do acknowlege that my posture is better and that some tapes are easier ( by the tiniest bit:) such as Cardio Kicks and IMAX. Also, you all mentioned PH being endurance and I realized that I go as heavy in PH as in MIS, which I am know seeing more clearly as THE PROBLEM. I just feel like a wimp when I have to drop weight. It is that psychological thing!! Are you supposed to lighten all your poundages in PH??

OK, well I received my 23 pack DVD today, so I can't stay grumpy right?? There are new tapes to be done and new challenges to be tackled. I think I am going to do TTR next week, although it will be hard because a bunch of the girls at work are trying to "join in" on my exercise hour. :( Wouldn't mind, it is just that they are not at my fitness level and in general don't take working out as seriously. And I am sure many of you know how annoying that can be. So we will see how that goes, but I REALLY want to do TTR, now that I have all the vids.

Thanks again everyone, all your posts made me feel so much better!!!
 
RE: Just Remember

Thanks AKirkland for the pyramid suggestion. Cathe has hinted that she may do a pyramid strength split in her next batch of videos. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Naughtoj, I can certainly understand your reluctance to have your co-workers join you during your workouts. Generally, I'm not a selfish person until it comes to my exercise time (ok, and my sleep time :-rollen.) Have fun with your DVDs. With them, your workout possibilites are endless!
 
RE: Just Remember

Ya know, it's funny. I used to have this fear of not following a workout tape to the letter. I'd feel guilty if I skipped anything or fast forwarded through a section - like the exercise police were going to swarm in and haul me off.

It's taken a long time for me to come to grips with the fact that I need to tailor workouts to suit my body and its unique needs. This is particularly true since I'm an ectomorph and most workouts are more geared toward weight loss.

I say listen to your body, track your progress, go with what works for you. As Cathe says, "You're an educated crowd."

Angela
 
Jeepers, creepers Cyberfit! Are you ME!!!??? Have my Mom and Dad been lying to me all these years? That I had a twin sister stolen by gypsies at birth. Geesh! All the same, ask your Mom and Dad if the name "Perkins" sounds familiar.

Sorry, don't mean to sound like a fitness psycho-stalker, but you say so eloquently what I feel. I, too, find Power Hour agonizing and exhausting. And hard on my joints, as well. I don't like endurance work. I much prefer the pace of the PS series with all of its breaks -- but to tell the truth, I find I'm rushed with them as well so I conveniently make time to turn the fan ever so slightly, or re-arrange one of my barbells. (the Pause button is always ON-ON OFF ON-ON).

Basically when I do weights, I find it difficult to march to another man's drummer. It's got something to do with free willie. It's got nothing to do with Cathe (who is the best!) or any other instructor.

("Oh, cut the crap, Catricia, you know you only find exercise fun when it's done! The heaviest thing YOU like to lift is the featherduster!") Who said that?! Wasn't me!

But I digress. I kinda think Power Hour is one of Cathe's best weight tapes. I literally FORCED myself to do it for 8 weeks. Near the end of the 8 weeks, I was doing it twice a week because I wasn't able to do step or anything aerobic (case of Plantar Faciitis). Well, one day I looked in the mirror and I could swear that I looked leaner, tighter, and more defined than ever before. And I've been working with weights for years (and years, and years).

Totally off-topic here, but do any of you out there find your body perception different on a day-to-day basis? I mean you look in the mirror and your body looks different. One day you look at yourself and say "This ain't workin'. Maybe I should quit this weight thing", then the next day "Boing! Where did THAT come from?!"

Catricia (Patricia)
P.S. Pay no attention to that woman behind the curtain.
 
Patricia....

YES!!! In my own bathroom, I think I look OK. Leaning out a bit, looking pretty good. Go into a department store....see myself in a mirror.......OH MY GOD....RUN!!!

That is what happened to me at Sports Authority the other weekend. I was feelin' good about myself and decided to get a new sports bra to hoist up the big ol' jugs :). Anyway, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and all of a sudden I didn't look lean at all.....I looked like a powerlifter. Strong, with lots of muscle, but also with lots of fat. It was horrific. I will never look petite, I think I will always look like a tree stump. Sad, but true....
 
LOL Patricia! Little did Cathe know that she needed a Witness Protection Program for her fans!!! Hmmm...I've always been convinced that I was a trust fund baby, switched at birth. I never considered the possibility that I may have a twin. Are you sure that your last name isn't Getty?
 
Patricia, your very last paragraph.....YES YES YES!! Absolutely my perception of MY body changes on day to day basis. I know what you mean. One day, "Dang, I look good!!" And the next, "Whoa, Shamu, eat a carrot!!" LOL Oh, the trials of being female. :)

Hollie
 
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