Rest between Metabolic Weight Training

J

javadog

New Member
My favorite type of Cathe workouts today are those that include metabolic weight training or interval training with weights. (I love the XTrain, Low Impact Series, DrillMax, etc.) If the workouts do not involve very heavy weights, can I do them everyday, or do my muscles need to completely rest?

I am an advanced Cathe exerciser of 20+ years. Until the past few years I did the classic cardio alternating with weight lifting (resting muscle groups in between.)

Thanks for your help?
 
I'd be interested in Cathe's take on this too. I sometimes wonder if doing a hard leg workout and then HIIT or Tabatacise the next day is okay or not; my legs sometimes get pretty tired with HIIT and Tabatas.
 
And me! I find the metabolic workouts the most draining of all. I only do them the day before a scheduled rest day ;)
 
javadog said:
My favorite type of Cathe workouts today are those that include metabolic weight training or interval training with weights. (I love the XTrain, Low Impact Series, DrillMax, etc.) If the workouts do not involve very heavy weights, can I do them everyday, or do my muscles need to completely rest?

I am an advanced Cathe exerciser of 20+ years. Until the past few years I did the classic cardio alternating with weight lifting (resting muscle groups in between.)

Thanks for your help?
Click to expand...

This is a very good question,, considering the standard answer for rest time after lifting is 48to 72 hours. All I know is that back in the late 90's all I was doing was The Firm workouts EVERYDAY (5-6 times per week) because I loved them. Of course I was a bit younger then, but I had the best body, and I was working out a but less than I am now in terms of total time per week.

I also remember knowing then about the rest time recommended, but I threw caution to the wind and said " to heck with that" because I didnt know what else to do, as i was an hour drive from any gym, stuck in the middle of nowhere. The result was that I was fine and what is more, is that my bod was rockin! Even now as I am writing, I am wondering if I should just get back on such a schedule, not with The Firm, I beat those workouts into the ground, but with Cathe and even others.
 
Cathe posted a response to this question last year: http://cathe.com/forum/f95/lifting-afterburn-type-workouts-289597/

I wondered the same thing. Before I discovered Cathe workouts, I used to use MWT workouts like strength workouts--not doing them on consecutive days. It bothered me tho because I LOVE MWT workouts, but I didn't feel I was getting the kind of strength work I wanted(awesome cardio tho!). I was so relieved to discover I can use them as cardio rather than strength. It totally changed the way I constructed my rotations.
 
Thanks jengollf...this answers questions that I experientially had answered.
It is interesting because when I did my metabolic weight training back in the day when I was in my best shape, I now realize I just listened to my body. I would do the firms everyday, but on some days go heavier on somebody parts and if they were sore, lighten up on that body part . In the end, it served me very well.

Now the next question....do you have a complete list of all of Cathe's MWT workouts?... I am just being lazy here...I have just about all her workouts and just wondering and could do it myself...it would just be easier to have a handy list so I could group them all together.


Blessings
 
Here are the ones I consider MWT:
To the Max
Crossfire
Afterburn
Supersets
Circuit Blast
Terminator: Imax Extreme

Others that I think she considers MWT because of the way they are situated in some of her rotations: Bootcamp, Athletic Training Drill Max. I am not entirely certain about those. But I lift heavier than she does in those workouts. So I suppose if I was using the same weight as she was they would be MWT.

I've also went through all of her rotations and saved the ones that interested me, but also looked at how she structures the rotations and she uses high rep and some endurance workouts similar to MWT--before or following heavier strength workouts.

Until I discovered Cathe, I was confused about the way some trainers structured their rotations when they provided them--Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper, Michelle Dozois. But now I understand a lot of their workouts are MWT so that's why they put some of their "strength + cardio" on days before or after a heavier strength workout. Because they were actually MWT workouts. Actually almost all of Jillian Michaels workouts are MWT which is why you can do hers every day of the week w/out issue.

I was a Firmie, too, when I started working out regularly 10+ years ago. And looking back, that's really all The Firm did, too--MWT. It was hard to go heavy with Firm workouts (though at the time, when I first started working out, it seemed heavy!).

I have done a lot of reading on fitness over the years, but I feel like I have learned the most in the past year and a half since I discovered Cathe workouts and this forum in particular! Not just the knowledge of Cathe when she answers questions (I love reading her opinion on fitness questions), but the knowledge of lot of the people on these forums!
 
And Supercuts!
Now that I think about it, Bob Harper whipped my body into shape with his 'Inside Out' series (in my pre-Cathe days ;) ). All MWT of sorts. I still love / struggle with Pure Burn Super Strength. In fact, I think I'll give it a go this week!
I'm feeling a MWT rotation coming on.......it would be perfect for when I finish STS. As Cathe said somewhere else, a period of heavy weights, followed by one of lighter weights is how she stays in shape.
How about this format:
MWT
Kickbox
MWT
Hiit
MWT
Lower Body / cardio

I've never put a rotation together - any advice appreciated!
Justinex
 
Justinex--that looks like a great rotation--one I would do! I'm no expert on rotations, but I put my own together all of the time, so I think it looks good! I plan to do something like that as my recovery week after I finish Meso 3.
 
This is so interesting. I've been wondering what the what a metabolic workout was, and as I've been previewing/ doing these workouts, I've caught myself thinking, "this is the firm without the leotards!!" Good to know I'm not crazy!
 
Justinef said:
And Supercuts!
Now that I think about it, Bob Harper whipped my body into shape with his 'Inside Out' series (in my pre-Cathe days ;) ). All MWT of sorts. I still love / struggle with Pure Burn Super Strength. In fact, I think I'll give it a go this week!
I'm feeling a MWT rotation coming on.......it would be perfect for when I finish STS. As Cathe said somewhere else, a period of heavy weights, followed by one of lighter weights is how she stays in shape.
How about this format:
MWT
Kickbox
MWT
Hiit
MWT
Lower Body / cardio

I've never put a rotation together - any advice appreciated!
Justinex
Click to expand...

this is almost my exact "get ready for the beach rotation" I do 2 HITT days and follow with some " yoga" I'm over 40 and need the extra stretch.

I always drop and lean out a few pounds when doing this type of rotation.
 
That's good to know - STS is bulking me out, so I'll need to lean down when I've finished. And I hear you on the yoga - I swear I creak when getting into pigeon!
 
Justinef said:
As Cathe said somewhere else, a period of heavy weights, followed by one of lighter weights is how she stays in shape.

Justinex
Click to expand...

JUSTINEX - where did Cathe say this? Was it a blog or a thread? I would really like to read the entire context. Thanks.
 
Thanks for the link. Interesting info. Does anyone have a list of what would be considered HEAVY lifting versus LIGHT lifting using Cathe Videos? I only use Cathe videos and pretty much use the same weight Cathe uses, except for STS she doesn't report her weight and I use what is appropriate for me.

From memory, I can only think of STS, Pure Strength, Muscle Endurance, XTrain Burn Sets and maybe Pyramid being considered "Heavy". Am I way off? What else would be considered Heavy and what would be considered Light?

Also, Cathe mentioned she did "random" for a week - random weight training or random cardio?

I never really realized there was a science to this. I just enjoy doing something different every single day!

Thanks for any insight.
 
Hi Gobias! I actually didn't put as much thought into it as I do now until a few years ago--I'd say after I did P90X and ChaLean Extreme. Here is a "body building" rotation Cathe created using her own workouts. I think that would point you to her strength workouts that are considered heavy: http://cathe.com/forum/f95/rotation-body-building-287493/

Of the ones you listed I agree that they are all probably considered heavy except Muscle Endurance, which would be endurance--like Muscle Max (and Meso 1 of STS). Gym Styles--which she uses in the rotation I posted is one of her heavier ones. Also Slow and Heavy could also be considered heavy and I think the CTX strength segments are heavy.
 
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Other heavy weight DVDs: 4 Day Split, Xtrain, Pure Strength, STS Total Body. There are others but these are the ones that come to mind.
 
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