Pyramid Lower Body - well-balanced

[Kellyro77]

(EDIT: I thought I was posting this under the general workout/DVD comments forum. Sorry to have posted this in the New/Upcoming forum. This is definitely NOT a new workout.)

Decided to re-visit Pyramid Lower Body today since it's been ages since I last did this workout, favoring the lower body workouts from STS 2 and other more recent titles.

Decided to increase my weight selections with this, too. The heavier weight work from STS 2 definitely has boosted my confidence with how much weight I can handle.

This was still a butt-kicking workout, especially when I heavied-up. One of the things I forgot that I liked about this workout so much was the good balance of standing weighted work with the floor work using the stability ball. The standing work is totally adequate to challenge myself with resistance work without being a long slog of resistance only-focus.

Since I feel like I don't incorporate floor work nearly enough, I appreciated the extra time given to it in this workout. My legs are going to be super sore tomorrow, and I know it'll be due in part to the thorough focus on the floor work.

Anyone else here wish for more lower body workouts that balance heavy standing work with floor work?

STS 2 in particular just didn't deliver on the floor work all that much. Though, I suppose with the focus of that series being hypertrophy, I can understand the lack of emphasis on floor work in it.

 

[nickisteen]

KellyRo, I do!! I love the pyramid workouts and thanks for bringing it up. I have to get them on my calendar.

 

[FitSaxe]

Since I feel like I don't incorporate floor work nearly enough, I appreciated the extra time given to it in this workout. My legs are going to be super sore tomorrow, and I know it'll be due in part to the thorough focus on the floor work.

Anyone else here wish for more lower body workouts that balance heavy standing work with floor work

• Nowadays, there are not many instructors offering sole floor workout or added to pure compound workouts.
• That said, I personally would love more progression of basic moves in a standing stance..... A standing clam shell with plates holding a chair prop, a more leaning step up glute, a step down glute focus in slow motion etc.....

The pyramid workout you're referring to is the LITE series I believe. This is a recent offering.

You can search there are few instructors who have managed to offer both compound and floor to meet successful versatility in their offerings. Cathe did many years ago. If you are looking for more floor stuff from Cathe you need to check the collection. Yes we all need variety.

Pyramid original contains floor stuff
Lower body blast
Kpc leg segment

Just to name few of them.
These floor stuff are mainly high reps and were offered as high volume workout.

Studies show + 40 women should head towards less volume, more progressive load and less overall cardio

I am mentioning these fact just to remind many here that the industry is evolving to meet demands and eventual expectations.
Well expectations are personal

My post is not implying ballet, pilates and barre stuff are to be banned as far as a middle aged woman is concerned . So please don't lash out without adding any reputable information published as study. Whoever want to carry on "having fun" executing it, please do YOU. Hopefully you will get your aesthetic expectations . Happy training everyone!

 

[Nabbe47]

My legs are going to be super sore tomorrow,

Would it be kinder to the legs doing it on a bench/high-step instead of stability ball? Cathe offers it as a modification! If so, what may you lose in fitness gains?

 

[Debinmi]

@Kellyro77, many older Cathe LB dvds had floor and/or barre segments, some as bonuses. In addition to Intensity's Pyramid LB, there's Pure Strength, Gym Styles Legs, Butts & Guts, Xtrain Legs. ICE To the Mat, LB Blast, Great Glutes, Lean Legs & Abs, Legs & Glutes (on KPC dvd). It is a nice break from the heavier strength work and gets into the smaller muscles. Sometimes training the larger muscles with heavier weights will neglect the smaller muscle groups and create imbalances, which can create problems too. Whenever my ITBand gets irritated, I'll limit my heavy weight work for awhile and focus on Cathe's floor & barre work till it heals.

I think a balance between heavy weight work and lighter (not necessarily easier) floor & barre work is nice and the variety helps with keeping interest up and burn-out and over-use injury at bay.

 

[Kellyro77]

The pyramid workout you're referring to is the LITE series I believe. This is a recent offering.

Nope. I was referring to Intensity series' Pyramid Lower Body.

 

[Kellyro77]

@Kellyro77, many older Cathe LB dvds had floor and/or barre segments, some as bonuses. In addition to Intensity's Pyramid LB, there's Pure Strength, Gym Styles Legs, Butts & Guts, Xtrain Legs. ICE To the Mat, LB Blast, Great Glutes, Lean Legs & Abs, Legs & Glutes (on KPC dvd). It is a nice break from the heavier strength work and gets into the smaller muscles. Sometimes training the larger muscles with heavier weights will neglect the smaller muscle groups and create imbalances, which can create problems too. Whenever my ITBand gets irritated, I'll limit my heavy weight work for awhile and focus on Cathe's floor & barre work till it heals.

I think a balance between heavy weight work and lighter (not necessarily easier) floor & barre work is nice and the variety helps with keeping interest up and burn-out at bay.

Yep, I have most of those workouts and know they have floor work in them, too. The issue with a lot of those is they're more endurance-based strength work rather than full on heavy strength training. I suppose I could consider PLB to be endurance-based given the volume of reps in it. (52 reps total if you work through the entire pyramid cycle).

With PLB, I just feel like I can heavy up with it given the cadence of the workout. Most of the other workouts that are endurance based I tend to stay lighter with the weights, so don't really categorize them in my head as heavy strength training workouts like I do with PLB.

Anyway, I definitely got the taste of my neglecting floor work for a while when doing the floor work in PLB yesterday - especially those ball squeezes lying on my back with the stability ball between my legs. I could definitely feel the tiny muscles around my hips and hip flexors going "hello!" - even when the focus on that particular move is inner thighs, I could feel my support muscles working, too, which was a good indicator for me that I've been neglecting them a bit.

I liked that the floor work was "baked in" with the workout. I'm that way with core work, too. I can tend to skip it if it's not already part of the workout. I know it's up to me to just make sure I add it if it's not part of the workout. I just appreciate convenience of having it all in one workout. No different discs or needing to check my premix options.

 

[Kellyro77]

Would it be kinder to the legs doing it on a bench/high-step instead of stability ball? Cathe offers it as a modification! If so, what may you lose in fitness gains?

Oh, I'm not complaining about the soreness - for me it's a good indicator that I've hit my muscles thoroughly. That's not to say that the only effective workout is one that gives you DOMS, of course.

Anyway, I do modify part of that floor work. My knees will NOT tolerate the single-legged hip lifts on the stability ball, so I do those using my high step. And I've never liked side-leaning leg lifts while balancing on the stability ball, either, so I always do those lying on the floor.

 

[Debinmi]

With PLB, I just feel like I can heavy up with it given the cadence of the workout. Most of the other workouts that are endurance based I tend to stay lighter with the weights, so don't really categorize them in my head as heavy strength training workouts like I do with PLB.

Interesting idea. I've read some reviews where people considered PLB stength-based, while others consider it endurance-based. I'm in the endurance-based camp considering the high reps and no rests. But, if I use the Up Premix, I could heavy-up and use the two "up" sets as warm-ups before the strength set, then maybe repeat the strength set. Interesting idea. Another use for Intensity's PUB/PLB workouts.

I could definitely feel the tiny muscles around my hips and hip flexors going "hello!" - even when the focus on that particular move is inner thighs, I could feel my support muscles working, too, which was a good indicator for me that I've been neglecting them a bit.

Personal evidence that these type of exercises have benefit.

I just appreciate convenience of having it all in one workout. No different discs or needing to check my premix options.

It is convenient!

 

[Nabbe47]

so I do those using my high step

Thanks, so the high-step (in my case a bench!) is used as a modifier not a substitute for not having access to stability ball (which I do have!). Feeling good not being alone! And, yes I'm referring to the intensity series' Pyramid LB!

 

[nickisteen]

The Intensity series is also what I was referring to with the Pyramid Lower and Upper Body. There is also a Pyramid Pump but I'm not sure what series it's with or if it is a stand-alone.

 

[Nabbe47]

Pyramid Pump is in the LiTe series as a whole LB&UB workout and as two separate bonuses. I missed to order the version with the full Pyramid Pump workout with warm up, LB, UB and stretch, but since the LB & UB bonuses were included in my version, could manage to hack merging them together, borrowing warm up and stretch from other Cathe's total body workouts!

 

[Debinmi]

There is also a Pyramid Pump but I'm not sure what series it's with or if it is a stand-alone.

Pyramid Pump is in the perfect 30 series as a whole lb&ub workout and as two separate bonuses.

The names can get confusing....

Pyramid Pump is part of the LITE series. It's bonus segments are spread throughout the series, or purchased as a separate dvd.

Perfect Pump UB/LB is from the Perfect 30 series, and is not a pyramid.

Intensity series has the original PUB/PLB.

 

[Debinmi]

You aren't alone! I've stopped using the stability ball for hamstring roll-ins and single-leg hip thrusts Though it may be used to increase the intensity of the exercises, it creates more instability for the knee, thereby increasing the risk for hyperextension and injury. I want to hold onto the last shreds of my MCLs and ACLs, lol. Just cuz Cathe does them, doesn't mean those of us with cranky knees should do them!

 

[Nabbe47]

The names can get confusing

Sorry, corrected! My laptop was off, unable to check! The perfect30 has also "perfect"-Pump workouts, therefore the confusion!

 

[Kellyro77]

You aren't alone! I've stopped using the stability ball for hamstring roll-ins and single-leg hip thrusts Though it may be used to increase the intensity of the exercises, it creates more instability for the knee, thereby increasing the risk for hyperextension and injury. I want to hold onto the last shreds of my MCLs and ACLs, lol. Just cuz Cathe does them, doesn't mean those of us with cranky knees should do them!

Cathe's had a few knee surgeries in the past, too - not pointing fingers and blaming those exercises as culprits, but I don't imagine they particularly helped her knees, either.

I think Cathe was in her 30s when doing that series, though - less risk of injury, perhaps.

But yeah, my knees never liked those single-leg hip thrusts on the stability ball, even in my 20s. They got a hard "NO" from me, so I followed Brenda with her modifications for those.

 

[Kellyro77]

Just finished out PUB as the companion today. I did a new approach with some of the exercises where I stayed pretty heavy on the "up" portion, but when we were dropping back down in weights, I went much lighter than what I started with to do a sort of "finisher" concept. Oh - except on the shoulders. That segment is brutal enough - even with just 3's 5's and 8's.

if I use the Up Premix, I could heavy-up and use the two "up" sets as warm-ups before the strength set, then maybe repeat the strength set. Interesting idea. Another use for Intensity's PUB/PLB workouts.

That's a cool idea!

 

[Debinmi]

Cathe's had a few knee surgeries in the past, too - not pointing fingers and blaming those exercises as culprits, but I don't imagine they particularly helped her knees, either.

Ha! My sister & I had a recent discussion about this. I think all that high impact stuff also took a toll - it did for both of us over the years. When we were younger, we didn't think much about how these activities were going to affect our joints over the years. If I only knew then ... but I probably would have thought "nah, not me!" Glad you listened to your body! Back then I just put on knee supports, added more cushion to my shoes and carried on ... now I wish I was smarter about it all. But then again, it was fun, so I'm not sure I would have listened to my older self.

 

[Debinmi]

Just finished out PUB as the companion today. I did a new approach with some of the exercises where I stayed pretty heavy on the "up" portion, but when we were dropping back down in weights, I went much lighter than what I started with to do a sort of "finisher" concept. Oh - except on the shoulders. That segment is brutal enough - even with just 3's 5's and 8's.

Ohhhh, I'm liking this idea too ... I like "finishers"!

 

[nickisteen]

The names can get confusing....

Pyramid Pump is part of the LITE series. It's bonus segments are spread throughout the series, or purchased as a separate dvd.

Perfect Pump UB/LB is from the Perfect 30 series, and is not a pyramid.

Intensity series has the original PUB/PLB.

Yes, you are correct. I was thinking for some reason that Pyramid Pump was a stand-alone - thank you for the clarification on that one. I do those separately and not all in one workout.