Rotation advise:

C

Chl0e

Active Member
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-31-02 AT 04:46PM (Est)[/font][p][font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-31-02 AT 04:45 PM (Est)[/font]

I posted this to Cathe, but wondered if any one else had some advice:
I have been working on a variation of the famous "tank top rotation" for almost 8 weeks now, but have hit a snag that I hope you can help me work out. I am not sure how to procede...

I was feeling bulky, so I started playing around with this and want to find a way to include yoga twice a week to help lengthen my muscles. I feel like I am jamming too much in and worry about not allowing recovery time, since I have read that improper recovery could have been a reason I was "bulking." Here is what I am thinking about implementing this week. Keep in mind that my schedule does not always permit me to do everything so while every day is planned, my rest day is usually whatever day I can't fit it in. I make sure to do weights 3x a week and cardio 5x a week (I used to be a cardio junkie who did it every day, so this is a cutback for me)

I have decided to try
Mon: CTX (opt cardio)
Tues: Cardio
Wed: Interval treadmill in am, PS CTS evening
Thurs: Kickboxing (yoga in pm when time permitting)
Fri: PH (pilates when time permitting)
Sat: Cardio (opt yoga)
Sun: Leaner Legs (opt cardio)
 
How about adding a more endurance oriented weight routine to the mix such as the upper body from Body Max and/or Power Hour in place of the PS series. Or, if you dont own those videos, doing the upper body segments from CTX, though if you dont have them on DVD sometimes the fastforwarding can be a pain, cant wait til the compilation tape comes out! Maybe something like...

CTX cardio + yoga
Power Hour
Cardio
Pilates + treadmill
Cardio
CTX cardio + upper body from Body Max or upper body from PH
Leaner legs

Also, I was wondering how new you were to weight lifting, because oftentimes those new to weight lifting will see some initial "bulking" in the muscles as your body responds to the new workout which then tends to subside.

My two cents,

Stacy
 
I have never heard that not allowing enough recovery time would cause "bulking". In fact, I would think it would be just the opposite. If you don't allow your muscles enough time to recover, they will not grow. However, I do think adding Yoga or some kind of stretching would be very advantageous. Since I have added stretching I have noticed my posture to be significantly better but unfortunatly I will always be "bulky". It is in my genes. I agree with Stacy in that the newer you are to lifting the more likely you are to feel as if you are "bulking". Just a thought...Janice
 
Thank you for responding. I don't think I was clear enough about my rotation, though, so my apologies... on Mondays I do CTX Upper Body Split, and I do Power Hour on Fridays. I am not new to weight training, I am an ACE certified trainer, and while I have lots of access to information, I really find that Cathe is right, every body is different and we have to experiment to find the right mix for ourselves. I post here, because I know you are all diligent and experiment and sharing what has actually worked for you, rather than reading about a theory is really helpful to me and my clients. The one thing I really can't find any literature on is incorporating yoga into a weight training schedule, so I am going to have to experiment with that for myself, but wonder if anyone has had any experience with that. Thanks again for your "2 cents" I appreciate any input and think I will at least take the pilates/treadmill day and put it into my mix.
Chloe
 
Hi Chloe! I too had to modify the TTA rotation because I love to do yoga and pilates. This is what I came up with:

Mon: PS chest/back/shoulders/bis/tris
Tues: S&H legs or PS SLA or LL & abs. Now you could put in a cardio after doing legs but I personally don't like to do this because I want my legs to fully benefit from all the leg work I put them through but its just a preference of mine.
Wed: CTX shoulders/bis/tris & 30 min. of cardio of your choice
Thurs: 60 min. of cardio or 30 min. cardio & yoga. I have found that putting cardio before yoga was very beneficial in that my body is so warm from the cardio that it made my poses for yoga flow much smoother and easier. Again just a preference of mine.
Fri: PH or MIS & pilates (skip the ab work in these tapes and just do pilates). Pilates works your abs very well.
Sat: This could be a full hr. cardio day if you wish or again 30 min. cardio & yoga again if you wish. I mix it up each week.

This has been working very well for me and I don't have that much time to work out in the evening. Hope this helps! Kathy
 
RE: Rotation advice

Thanks Kathy! Sounds just like what I am trying to accomplish. I just never knew for sure if yoga the day after strength training would impede on my recovery, but it seems to be working for you, so I am going to give it a try. And I love the idea of yoga after your cardio, I can see how the muscles would be more pliable. I usually have to seperate my workouts during the week to am and pm, but I will certainly work that in on the weekend. I was also planning on doing PH and pilates on Friday since there is a great Pilates class at my gym on Fridays, so it's reassuring to know it is working for you. It just gets to a point sometimes where I wonder if I am doing too much (?) I'm sure you can relate. Here's my tip for you: add a day of kickboxing if you can into your rotation, as I have noticed that the punches really do help create more cut in the arms. I do it on Thursdays and am planning on adding yoga in the evening, which fits perfectly in to the rotation modification you suggested. I enjoy CTX more than PS, so I have been doing the opposite with all CTX Upper Body on Mon and PS CST on wed. On tues I will be doing either LL or Firm lower body (alt each week.) and I have dropped my weight significantly while working legs, and even do some work with no weights b/c quads were really growing. Thanks for sharing! I'll let you know how it goes in a few weeks.
 
RE: Rotation advice

Hi Chloe! Glad I could be of help to you. I do mix up my cardio so that I get in hi-lo/kickboxing and step in one week. Its hard, you have to think about it and just keep mixing it up. Have fun and let me know how you do! Best, Kathy
 
RE: Rotation advice

Chloe,

WHile reading your post, i was wondering to myself how yoga could ever be bad. I can't imagine it could. (as long as you're warmed up, of course). Did you read something that made you think that, or are you just trying to make sure you don't overtrain in any way?

As you know, when you lift weights, you contract the muscles, thereby shortening the muscle fibers. Stretching them out immediately after lifting and the following day should only do good things as long as you have good form. Stretching usually causes repair enzymes and other "good" molecules to rush to the muscle being stretched. It seems like a great way to recover from physical and mental stress.

Because i've never seen anything that contraindicated stretching after weights, I try to do it as often as my schedule permits and have seen nothing but increased flexibility. (This is assuming you equate yoga with stretching--which i do b/c i only do Hatha yoga.)

BTW, that rotation you and Kathy are discussing looks great--i'm going to try it out myself.

Ginger
 
RE: Rotation advice

Hi Ginger,
I mostly do Power or Active yoga and there tends to be alot of pushup style moves in it, but I did it last night, the day after doing PS and it felt great. I'm going to keep it up.

Kathy,
I wondering if you had any Pilates tape recommendations. I do a class at the gym, and have Living Arts Intermediate Mat Work, and The Method Seried Balanced Zones and am not quite satisfied. Do you do any with the ring? I've been thinking about looking into that.

Thanks!
 
Hi! I just got PURE STRENGTH and can't wait to try it. I have been doing 2 hour long full body weight sessions each week, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do all 3 tapes every week. I decided that I will do one upper body tape and half the leg tape one day, and the other upper body tape and the remaining leg work and abs the other day. That way I'll be doing each tape once and keeping up with my twice a week routine, in addition to my 3 cardio workouts. My question is, will I see results with each tape once a week? Will this rotation work? I'm trying to build muscle and strength. I have been doing PH for a few weeks now and love it, but wanted to mix things up and start PS for a month or so. Any advice is welcome! Thanks!
Sara
 
RE: Rotation advice

Hi again Chloe! Sorry to miss your post until now. I use Hilary Burnett's Pilates for Intermediates. I only consider myself an intermediate; almost perfected all of the poses. This tape is only 30 min. long. That's why I love this tape so much because I tack it on to either cardio before or CTX Power Circuit. This tape has a zen quality feel to it. Hilary goes through a succession of at least 27 poses in 30 min. Great tape! I'm thinking about getting Karen Voight's Pilates tape using the resistance ring. I'll have to wait until Xmas for this though. I also have Moira Stott's Advanced Matwork tape but it goes for 60 min. I started using this one. She's an excellent instructor but the tape is just too long for me. Have fun in your search! Kathy
 
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