Push It

[toomuchjoy]

Toni - Hope you got some good rest last night. I think you're smart to realize that you need to sleep...sometimes that will make all the difference when you're starting to get sick.

Jennifer - Wow! You're strong! BurnSets with 15 and 20s?!? Great job! I have a big jump between dumbells 5, 8 and 15. I just bought the 15s but probably should have bought 12s. They're so darn expensive though...

Natasha - I love the idea of Family Day! Hockey is super fun but a very intensive sport. He's only 7yo and is on the ice at least 4-5 times a week. Being a hockey mom is a part time job but he loves it and I love watching him. I just wish it wasn't so cold!

Stacie - Way to go working out while visiting people! When we visit relatives, I usually bring discs that require little/no equipment (KPC and TB). I think it's great that you didn't limit yourself.

HeartyMax - Not quite sure I would know what to do with twins. I guess one aspect is that you have 2 babies at once and you don't have to have the "should we/shouldn't we have another kid" conversation. Not that I would know anything about that....

I sat down to figure out my workouts for the week last night. Interestingly I have been fairly consistent with working out since the end of November (when I started tracking on Workout Manager) however I haven't lost any weight which is sad. I guess that really shows me I have to really monitor my eating. I'm paying for WW but haven't used the tools in a while. Anyway, here's my plan for the week. I would welcome feedback particularly in light of wanting to lose weight.

M: LowMax
T: SuperCuts (first time)
W: High Reps (total)
Th: AOLI
F: Hard Strikes
S: Burn Sets (upper)
S: rest

I planned upper twice in the week and lower only once because I got DOMS from AOLI last time. I also have a recumbent bike at home and wonder if doing a bit of steady state at night might help.

 

[heartymax]

Toni---great idea to rest your back. Hard to do any workouts with back problems.

TMJ--glad you enjoyed Burn Sets. It is my favorite of the Xtrain.

Jennifer--WOW---25s for flys. My form just won't allow me to on a fly. I'm afraid I'll injure my shoulde.


Hi Tasha and Stacie!

Today's workout was Body Max 2 cardio and power circuits and abs. It has been a long time and it was fun! Love this workout.

 

[mini-natty]

Hi everyone

Yesterday's w/o was 4DS LIS + BM (original) UB only. Total time 50min. Have I mentioned that I really like that short UB portion from BM? It is very basic and no-frills, but it works you very hard! In only 20min I feel as though all my muscles get completely worked. Good stuff .

I made the mistake of going to a mall yesterday in the city . HOLY BUSY! It was Family Day, and so of course everyone and their uncle, brother, sister, cousin, decided "oh let's go to the mall with the family!". I don't know about the US, but in Canada we love our malls. It was so ridiculous . I hate walking in places where people are shoving me all over the place. I need my personal space bubble. UGH! Never again!

Jennifer
WOWZA in the weight #'s! Love it . I am afraid of going ever 20lbs for fly's. For some reason I have this paranoia about my shoulder. I should try to at least increase a bit, even if only 1 or 2lbs w/my gloves. I hate being stuck at a # that won't challenge me.

Heartymax
I love BM2 power circuit segment! The music is top-notch and really gives you that little "burst" to kick booty .

TMJ
Here in Canada, we are pretty fanatical about our hockey. I believe some kids are bred just to be immersed into hockey at 1yrs old . I love the crisp, cool rink, and the smell of it . And for the record, I think I would be a crazy hockey mom .
After losing 50lbs post-pregnancy, I am a firm believer that losing weight is more of a calories game vs exercise. It's just not fair that you can put in so much hours worth of exercise and not see the scale budge . I think your rotation looks great! You have a great balance of strength/cardio. I think if you stay consistent with your exercise and eating that you will see results. Hang in there!

Toni
Tabatacise really beat me up the last time I did it. I think that the super high intensity + high impact, does shock the body a bit. You are not old! And you look fabulous .

Stacie
HI!

 

[toomuchjoy]

Natasha, I totally know about the fanatical nature of hockey in Canada. Both hubby and I are French Canadian with my ILs being directly from Quebec countryside. The day we found out M was a boy he was asking (in the dr office) whether we should put him in hockey. Luckily M likes it because he really didn't have a choice.

Loved Supercuts! Boy the situp/push up combo is insane. I was actually able to keep up wtih doing 3 and 3 instead of 5 and 5. Really cool workout!

 

[Jenniferlove]

Good morning,
This morning I did All Out but not the Extreme Cardio premix this time. I wanted to (and did) follow up with XT Legs, most of it anyway. All Out took care of some of the moves in the Standing portion of Legs so I skipped some of those exercises but I added on the Barre bonus.
It ended up being a long workout but I really wanted it - and I still made it to work before 8:00

Thanks, ladies! I remember not being able to do more than 15#s with the chest fly because of my shoulders so I'm very happy with my improvement The hard part is pressing the weights up but after doing that and lying down on the step to get the body and arms in chest fly position it goes OK. I really felt my chest pumping


toomuchJoy,
Your rotation looks GREAT. Seriously!
I agree with Tash -- #1 it will take time and patience so never give up. Always remember your goals so you continue to strive for them. #2 food choices are HUGE.
Intensity is one of my absolute favorites!! The handful of times I've done it I've only done the Step portion and then moved on to some lower body work (if I remember correctly). I think it's fairly steady-state, too. Your recumbent bike will be good, too.

Toni,
I feel for you regarding the days off due to your back Tabatas really are hard so don't feel like you're getting old. Plus, you sure got better quickly so that's another good sign that you're young Glad you're back on track - congrats on your DOMS right where you want it

Heartymax,
How Fun - BM2! That is a tough workout but with all the fun it's almost unnoticeable It's been a long time since I've done that workout - I think I miss it!

Tash,
You have mentioned the original BM before. I should give it a try because I remember doing some of Cathe's older weight workouts and they are basic but OH SO GOOD!

I try to avoid the mall as much as possible so I feel your pain...especially with yesterday being a holiday I can imagine how busy it was!

Over the last couple weeks I've made a couple more batches of Jamie E's protein bars -- I used Raspberry Lemonade yesterday and last week I used Cherry Lime

Stacie,
How did your weekend go?

Have a great day, Cathletes!

 

[TRSTACIE]

Good morning everyone! Sunday night was Supercuts and yesterday helped my mom get a giant a load of wood so I was pretty wiped out in the evening. I had told my neighbor we would do step but she canceled on me and I have to say, I wasn't too sad about that!

Tonight will hopefully be Burnsets Tris and Bis.

Jennifer
25lbs is pretty impressive for chest flys (or is it flies?).

What did you and DH do for your anniversary yesterday? Anything fun?

Toni
I hope you rested up and that you don't get sick after all.

Have you tried any Rushfit workouts other than the Ab one?

HeartyMax
I love BM2 although I have only done the step portion of it. One day I hope to have the time to do the whole thing.

Natasha
I know exactly what you mean about quick upper body workouts that get the job. That's exactly how I feel about Pure Strength and why I like it so much!

Happy Belated Family day to you!

TMJ
I like the workouts listed in your rotation however, I would move a few things around to the order below. Supercuts has a lot of leg work in it as well as Low Max. Plus, Supercuts has weight work in it and so does HR. The weights in Supercuts might be low enough that it doesn't matter but I thought I would mention it. Just a suggestion though!

M: SuperCuts (first time)
T: AOLI
W: High Reps (total)
Th: LowMax
F: Hard Strikes
S: Burn Sets (upper)
S: rest

 

[toomuchjoy]

Stacie,

Thanks for the rearranging. I guess I should have specified that I've already started the rotation with Low Max yesterday and Supercuts today. Guess I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

I appreciate the feedback!

TmJ

 

[atompki1]

No workout for me today. Still sick. I took the day off and slept most of the day. I'm about to take more meds that will put me to sleep. Really hoping I feel better by tomorrow. Jasmine has a cheerleading competition out of town this weekend and I don't want to be sick for that.

BBT for personals.

 

[toomuchjoy]

Stacie is SMRT. So after Low Max on Monday and Supercuts on Tuesday, I can barely walk today. Not sure I'm going to do for a workout this morning. Wow, Supercuts was really fun...I was so afraid to do any of the XTrain discs because I thought they would be too hard but they're really nothing to be afraid of. Well, except Tabatacise which I am still terrified of.

HeartyMax - Good job on BodyMax2! I should have that in my grubby little hands by the end of the week.

Natasha - Not sure about Canada but girls hockey is gaining momentum here in the US. There is a one little girl on M's team who is just fantastic and cute as heck to boot. You could still be a hockey mom!

Jennifer - I only did AOLI for the first time last week and thought it was so fun! Way to have a long workout and get to work on time! I need to figure that one out.

Stacie - Supercuts + Wood hauling = Awesome workout. Great job!

Toni - So sorry to hear you're still not feeling well. Hope you're better by the weekend!

 

[heartymax]

TMJ----As you get to know the Cathe workouts more, you will learn how to mix and match the workouts. I think that is why I don't do circuits alot because I have a hard time trying to figure out what to follow them up with because usually I want to do weights the next day and not a cardio workout.

Jennifer---You are so right about the music in BM2. It rocks! You all know I love me some good music in my workout. Nothing like the music in Low Impact Circuit---that Michael Jackson just rocks that workout.

Today's workout was STS Meso 1 Disc 3 Legs.

 

[mini-natty]

Hi everyone

Yesterday's w/o was S&H (legs only) + DM (cardio only). Total time 60min. This was my first time doing S&H Legs and of course I LOVED IT . I matched Cathe in all her weight #'s, except for the plie squat with 40lbs (I don't have dumbbell's that heavy). I am quite taken with the S&H concept -- I can feel all my muscle fibers activate. I think the w/o would also be great with lighter weight #'s, really concentrating on getting deep into the motion. Oh, and I am always looking for w/o's that utilize barbell static lunges . They are one of my favs .

CATHE IS FILMING AGAIN . Please, please let there be complex step! It's OUR TURN this time . No offense to all you athletic-step people but we need our fix too . What is everyone hoping for?

Heartymax
Don't you just love STS legs?
MJ music w/o rocks my world too. That man was a musical genius.

TMJ
I agree with Heartymax, you will learn how to put Cathe rotations together as you become accustomed to them. I also have a hard time with circuit w/o's. I like either cardio OR weights, not a fan of both -- but I do love Super Cuts.
Yes, we have a big girls hockey league here . Although I would like for Bella to get into it, I want to make sure it's something she wants too.
How cool that you are from Quebec! I've been to Montreal numerous times, but I would like to visit other parts as well. Why did you move to the US if you don't mind me asking?

Jennifer
Thanks for the shoulder info! MUCH appreciated .
How do you like the lemon bars? I've only made the chocolate. The bars are more like "cakes" wouldn't you agree?
It's amazing how well AO works the legs & glutes! What a great w/o .

Toni
UGH I am so sorry you are sick . Hope you get better soon!

Stacie
How is your neighbors dog btw? Perhaps her bailing on you is a good thing . Then you can start doing your own thing again . I know, I know, I'm selfish with my w/o's .
Quick question, do you think STS Squat Rack would still be effective if I did the counts really slow, like in S&H?

Have a good day ladies

 

[toomuchjoy]

How cool that you are from Quebec! I've been to Montreal numerous times, but I would like to visit other parts as well. Why did you move to the US if you don't mind me asking?

Sorry, I must not have explained this well. My husband's parents are from Quebec countryside so he's first generation US. I think my lineage goes back to Quebec via great grandparents so much further removed. We both grew up in a very french speaking area of New Hampshire. My in-laws moved to the US for work maybe 50 years ago.

Sorry for the confusion!

 

[TRSTACIE]

Good morning ladies! Last night was XT Bis and Tris. My neighbor didn't bail on me this time. I was able to up some of my weight values which made me feel pretty awesome. I even exceeded Cathe's weight on maybe half of the exercises. I was getting really down because it felt like I wasn't getting any stronger but I think the lack of sleep the past few months was really affecting me. I feel a lot stronger now that I have been getting more sleep!

Today I stopped by the doctor's office to get an official diagnosis sheet for Tyler for ADHD. I dropped it off at the school this morning. I was hoping to give it to the special education teacher directly, but even though school hadn't started yet, she said she had a class and didn't have the time to speak to me. Hopefully I will hear something later on today. I am thinking about getting an advocate for Tyler. My neighbor's sister-in-law suggested that I do that. I am a little nervous because I worry about further ruining the relationship I have with the school and if there will be any retaliation against Tyler. I might just be paranoid though.

So, I have a recipe that I am going to make an attempt to turn into protein cupcakes! Here is the original recipe:
Eggland's Best Eggs - Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I plan on making the following modifications:
1/2 cup canola oil to 1/2 cup of coconut oil
2.5 cup of flour to 2.25 cup of coconut flour + 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (or 2 c of coconut flour + 2 scoops of vanilla or protein powder)
1.5 cup sugar to 1.5 cup of truvia
3 oz vanilla pudding mix to 3 oz of sugar free pudding

I might also use Jamie's cream cheese frosting recipe instead.

Do you think these modifications will work? I will say, that according the site, the recipe isn't terribly unhealthy as it is. I'm not sure I believe that the cupcakes are that few calories though. They tasted pretty rich to me when I made them Sunday morning. Luckily, my family helped eat them!

TMJ
I was wondering if I was too late on my post about the rotation. I am sorry to hear that you are so sore!!!! It's a good but bad feeling isn't it? The first Xtrain rotation I put together I did a similar thing. I put LowMax after Supercuts and really regretted it! It's not easy to build rotations...it takes a lot of thinking about all of the exercises in each workout. I always try to give a 48 hour break between muscle groups but it gets complicated when you start thinking about supporting muscles and etc. Plus, there are some exercises like deadlifts that work the back and the legs. HeartyMax is right though, it gets easier as you get more familiar with the workouts!

Jennifer
I'm curious about the protein bars as well. How did they come out? I bought some sugar free pineapple coconut drops. I was going to try to use the drops in some bars as well by modifying the lemon bar recipe.

Natasha
In all honesty, I have been wondering if my neighbor is on the verging of giving up. While I enjoy working out with her and helping her, I have to be honest and say that it does wear me down a bit. The workout times are so much longer with her because of the extra breaks and the conversations. I do enjoy talking to her but I also feel bad that I haven't been walking the dog like he needs to be walked because of it. I have been skipping his walk often because of the longer workout times. Plus, I have to say, carrying over 100+ lbs of weight 3 times a week isn't that fun either. Oh well, I offered and gave my word so it is what it is now. It is nice to see her progress though. She said she feels a lot stronger too.

Btw, I made the carrot cake protein bars from the Vanilla Bean site and I didn't think they were better than Jamie's. I will say though that I tried out a new plant based protein powder in them and the flavor of it overwhelmed everything else. I also thought that using the Stevia drops didn't work well with it either.

Toni
Feel better soon!

Have a great day everyone!

 

[Jenniferlove]

Good morning!
I played around with various w/o segments to come up with a Greatest Hits DVD. So Fun!
BM2 warmup and combo 1, CCC express premix, KPC cardio conditioning drills, and the To The Max Stretch segment. I need to play around more with some other DVDs as far as cardio goes.
I am also going to come up with an Upper Body and Glute work segment; that's going to be my workout tomorrow.

I posted my Due Date question - hopefully it's not too soon... I would think we have at least a few more days to put it together! Does anyone know?

Toni,
Feel better soon; I hope green smoothies and rest get you ready for Jasmine's competition this weekend.

Stacie,
Thanks for asking; we had 2 nice anniversary dinners. Saturday night we celebrated with some friends and Monday it was just us. We also exchanged cards and he gave me beautiful red and white roses.

Definitely sounds like you had an active weekend, and I'm glad you weren't disappointed that your neighbor canceled step; it gives you a chance to get some "you" workout time in. Did you end up doing Bi's Tri's?

Tash,
S&H Legs with DM cardio - sounds like a great workout! Congrats on matching Cathe's weight I'm totally with ya' on S&H... it feels so good. I haven't done S&H since that first time but I do have plans for it, and especially I need to try the Legs.

SO excited that Cathe is filming again!! I'm having fun trying to come up with the Greatest Hits DVD; are you planning to put in Step Moves by any chance?! I know there are a couple others that have some tricky stuff... 4DS has one - I think it's the Higher Intensity.

I am loving the Lemon bars, and since I stopped over-baking them rolleyes they really are like cake

TmJ,
Ouch - I feel your pain! Sorry! Well now you know
Did you end up doing MMA Boxing or something less taxing today? When I get really sore I have to keep moving to loosen up the muscle tension.

Sometimes one of my dogs starts whining to go outside around 4:00am or even earlier -- when he wakes me up sometimes I just go with it.

Heartymax,
When are the twins due? Are you planning a shower or anything?

Have a great day!

 

[toomuchjoy]

Quickie check in...

Yesterday I did Hard Strikes premix 17. It was ok with the lower body DOMS - for some reasons throwing kicks really helps me stretch.

Today was supposed to be AOLI but lower body is still owie so I did Low Max. I know that I just did LM on Monday but I had a mini nervous breakdown yesterday and wanted to do something I loved that would be semi-gentle. I love LM - I did it with no blasts just straight up. Plus I"m so motivated by Cathe's arms in LM...unbelieveable.

Will try to come back later for personals. My new Cathes should be in my mailbox today...I need a treat after yesterday!

 

[Jenniferlove]

Good morning,
My workout was lower body segments from various DVDs... I'll have to do UB tomorrow.
I'm putting together my list of segments with their times and I possibly will come up with 2 DVD ideas.
I might be alone on this but I figure since it's a 1st Greatest Hits I am trying to start out with later workouts... but Cross Fire has made it in to my mix

The weather is terrible - sleet, wind, snow - but the office is still open so I am still here. I could leave but I refuse to take PTO. At least I have a remote car starter and I parked in the garage today

Stacie,
Congratulations on being the strongest ever especially since you hadn't been nailing the workouts due to fatigue. I'm glad your neighbor is sticking with it, and it's very nice that you are sticking with her.

I'm glad things with Tyler are starting to look better with the school stuff.

TmJ,
I'm excited for you on your new DVDs!
And I think Hard Strikes is a good one to do with LB DOMS. Glad you found something that worked for ya'.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad day yesterday. Feel free to vent if you want to.

Be safe and enjoy your day!

 

[mini-natty]

Hi everyone

Yesterday's w/o was 4DS HI Step .

I have my SIL over for 2 days, and so that might cramp my exercise. I feel guilty for some reason if I exercise when company is staying over. Anyone else feel the same?

Exciting news for me! I am going to try and get tickets to see JM speak in Toronto in May!!! I can't describe how super stoked I am . Wish me luck!

Jennifer
Awesome compilation you put together! I don't think I will have time to do one myself, but I wish you TONS of luck! I hope you win!
You should really try S&H legs . If you find there is too much of a break in between sets, perhaps do some firewalkers . Geeze, why didn't I think of that at the time? .
Love your new signature btw .

TMJ
I must tell you now, I am a HUGE fan of DOMS. So much so that I will congratulate you if you have it . Yes, I am an extreme case .
I'm sorry to hear about your mini breakdown . I hope you are doing ok today .

Stacie
Congrats on upping your weight #'s! That's great! Impressive that you exceeded Cathe too . I agree about lack of sleep and it affecting your exercise performance, along with just everyday life stuff. I'm not one who does well on little sleep .
I hope everything gets settled with Tyler soon.
I think the recipe modifications will work! But you know what, I'm not a good baker so maybe don't take my word for it .

Toni
Hope you feel better today .

 

[toomuchjoy]

Jennifer - Sorry your weather is so ick. We're still reeling from the 3 feet of snow we got 2 weeks ago! Can't wait to see your suggestion for the Greatest Hits.

Natasha - I have yet to try our 4DS. I really need to check it out! That would be so cool to see Jillian speak - good luck! Not sure what I hope for the next Cathe...there's so many I haven't really done already.

Tracie - You're quite the cook! I'm not really adventurous in the kitchen...so I'm impressed with those that are.

Toni - Feeling any better?

I have the house to myself tonight for a bit. I decided to preview my new Cathe discs. I'm watching Intensity...I can't wait to do it. It looks so fun!!!

Will I even get through my week's rotation - clearly I messed up the order. Did anyone check out the Feb rotation? Holy moly...that looks hard!!

There's just a lot going on these days with my extended family/work/etc that I just shut down a bit. Weird but after a good cry yesterday I feel so much better. I'm going to take a 3 day weekend this weekend so that should help me relax some.

 

[TRSTACIE]

Here is an updated from Jennifer -- She said she can't post for some reason so I posted it for her!

---------------------------
Well, ladies, I'm not sure what happened but I'm not able to get to the link anymore. Sigh. I'll keep trying.
I can't remember Toni's screen name (there are quite a few of them).

When I log in I get your push-it threads via email but when I try to reply I just get a blank screen. I had been able to go to my CP user thread but now that's not even working.

Anyway, Just wanted to say that Cross Train Xpress Upper Body is a killer - I did it this morning and it fried me. It's long (60+ or so), longer if you have to keep pausing to get set up.

Please try to keep in touch with me - I really enjoy you all!

 

[TRSTACIE]

Good morning ladies! Yesterday I spent the day working at Habitat for Humanity. It was a nice change of pace. We were painting the inside of a house. I have to say that each time I volunteer at Habitat I realize the home improvement is definitely NOT my forte! Hopefully, the more I do it though, the better I will get!

There was no workout last night since I accidentally fell asleep with Tyler (and yes, I stood up my neighbor in the process as well). Wednesday night was XT Legs standing portion and Core #1. Tonight will hopefully be XT CBS.

FYI: Well researching coconut flour (it turns out you can't make a pure sub when using it in baking....you can to add more liquid to the recipe and a few other things), I found an awesome new recipe site! I put a link to it below! The first recipe I am going to try on it are the peanut butter brownies!

Recipage - Foodie Fiasco

Here is another one that I also found today while search for foodiefiasco! I am so jealous that all these bakers are so talented and creative that they can find ways to make healthy and tasty recipes!
Comfy Belly | gluten-free, grain-free, allergy-friendly, SCD, Paleo, GAPS

TMJ
I'm sorry -- I hope I didn't make you feel like you messed up your rotation. Please keep trying it at! Don't forget that next week is a new start!

Congrats on the new videos! Intensity has Cathe's hardest step segment I think.

Are you feeling better from the mini breakdown? I hope that it was something that you were able to get through. Jennifer was right, please feel free to share and or vent if you ever need to!

Natasha
I hope you get the tickets to see JM!

To answer your question about the squat racks discs, I think the entire workout is at a much slower pace that many of Cathe's other ones. I definitely think that you will get a good DOMS from them if you are going slow and low on those squats. The only thing I would worry about it that it might strain your back. If you feel like your back can take it then I say go for it!!!!

Jennifer
I have no idea why you are having issues with the Cathe site and posting. Have you tried clearing out the cache on your browser? A different browser might work as well. I have been using Chrome a lot more since a Windows update render my Internet Explorer worthless for several months.

HeartyMax & Toni
Hi there! I hope you both are doing ok!

Bye for now everyone!