Several questions for the educated crowd........

[naughtoj]

Hi everybody!!

I have a few questions that I have been burning to ask for awhile now..so....

1. In Power Hour, Cathe uses that barbell for her deadlifts and rows and I was wondering if I could use dumbells for those exercises. I tried it, kept good form and it seems to work..a little harder keeping the dumbells level with each other. This will not hurt me will it..if I am extremely careful with form?? I have a barbell at home, but only dumbells in my workout area at work.

2. On high intensity days, do you think it would be OK to really exhaust myself..say doing MIS and Circuit Max on the same day...if I took the next day completely OFF?? This is a rotation no one seems to do.Sometimes, I want to fit in as much lifting as possible on one day and then just be lazy the next..thinking that might build more muscle than doing something everyday?? Ideas??? Really, sometimes it seems better for my legs to fully recover from a intense lower body weight workout by me doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the next day as opposed to running or kickboxing. Don't you sometimes feel like your legs are still too tired, even for cardio??

3. On low intensity days, which Cathe cardio do you think is the least damaging...impact-wise?? Some weeks, after doing a Cathe tape 5 days in a row, I can feel it in my joints..in my legs and shins. I am looking for a workout that will get me sweating but not so intense. I have Leslie Sansone's 3 mile walk, but it is like strolling in the park for me. Again, any ideas???

Thanks in advance for any advice you all have. I appreciate it....Janice

 

[Connie1]

My opinions only

>1. In Power Hour, Cathe
>uses that barbell for her
>deadlifts and rows and I
>was wondering if I could
>use dumbells for those exercises.
>I tried it, kept good
>form and it seems to
>work..a little harder keeping the
>dumbells level with each other.
>This will not hurt me
>will it..if I am extremely
>careful with form?? I have
>a barbell at home, but
>only dumbells in my workout
>area at work.

No it will not hurt, only help! Remember to keep shoulders straight and good form. "Variety is a key to fitness."-Cathe
>
>
>
>2. On high intensity days,
>do you think it would
>be OK to really exhaust
>myself..say doing MIS and Circuit
>Max on the same day...if
>I took the next day
>completely OFF?? This is a
>rotation no one seems to
>do.Sometimes, I want to fit
>in as much lifting as
>possible on one day and
>then just be lazy the
>next..thinking that might build more
>muscle than doing something everyday??
>Ideas??? Really, sometimes it seems
>better for my legs to
>fully recover from a intense
>lower body weight workout by
>me doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING the
>next day as opposed to
>running or kickboxing. Don't you
>sometimes feel like your legs
>are still too tired, even
>for cardio??

>Yes, yes, yes!>
>
>3. On low intensity days,
>which Cathe cardio do you
>think is the least damaging...impact-wise??
>Some weeks, after doing a
>Cathe tape 5 days in
>a row, I can feel
>it in my joints..in my
>legs and shins. I am
>looking for a workout that
>will get me sweating but
>not so intense. I have
>Leslie Sansone's 3 mile walk,
>but it is like strolling
>in the park for me.
>Again, any ideas???

Cardio Kicks! But also, consider arch support orthotics in your shoes.
>
>
>
> Thanks in
>advance for any advice you
>all have. I appreciate it....Janice
>
-Connie

 

[Stacy]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-20-02 AT 09:57PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi. I think using dumbells for Power Hour is fine as long as your form is superb and you're using a weight that continues to challenge your muscles. As for your second question, I think MIS and Circuit Max both in one day could quickly lead to overtraining. How about doing BodyMax instead?? I, too, also have very tired legs after an intense lower body workout. I often will plan my rest day the day after a leg workout just for this reason. For a great, intense workout that is easy on the joints, I'd definitely recommend Powerstrike Millenium which can be found at www.powerstrike.com. In case you're not familiar, these 3 videos (I heard they just released the 3rd one) are basically drill-oriented kickboxing workouts. They tend to be pricier than other videos but a great investment in my opinion. Another option that may be easier on the joints is to do a Cathe video at a lower step height, such as 4 inches. Any other questions, fire away!

Stacy

 

[honeybunch]

I would NEVER attempt to do Circuit Max and MIS in one day! There is such a thing as too much lifting, and I've read that over an hour is too much in one day.

Do you do Leslie's tape with the hand weights? That will kick it up several notches. Also, you could work to make the movements in her tapes really big, in other words, exaggerate (did I spell that right?)all the steps and arm movements. A workout does not have to leave you on the floor panting to be good. I've begun to respect low impact workouts a whole lot more since I've been doing LOTS of low impact HiLo while practicing for my classes.

If I were you, go ahead and do Leslie's tape the day after a hard leg workout.

 

[jgoycoolea]

JANICE ORIGINALLY WROTE: Sometimes, I want to fit in as much lifting as possible on one day and then just be lazy the next..thinking that might build more muscle than doing something everyday?? Ideas???

JEANNE REPLIES: I tend to think that you would be better off to work one or two muscles really hard on day 1 and let them recover on day 2. Then on day 2 you work a different muscle group really hard and let it recover on day 3. In this way, you are still working each group to exhaustion and allowing it recovery time.

However, by focusing more on one or two muscles per day, you may be able to work them harder and longer, thus creating more of a shock to them and tearing down more fibers than if you tried to do each muscle group on the same day. Plus, on the next day, you still workout, burn calories, and boost your metabolism.

That said, I guess what you are suggesting might be ok once a month or so for something really different. But I would be sure to separate CM and MIS on that day. Not do them back to back.

 

[Ally]

Why is lifting for more than an hour bad for you? Just curious - sometimes when I have time I will do S&H Chest and Back and Triceps and Biceps on the same day (or PS CST & BBA). Of course if this is harmful I don't want to do it.Is it because of stress hormones?

 

[naughtoj]

Thank you everyone for the replies.

I guess there is a mixed opinion on working out twice in one day with weights. I would be splitting my workouts though, once in the am and once in the afternoon, and probably would only be doing so once a week.

Even with Cardio Kicks, I can start to feel some shin splint and joint pain. I think it is all the jumping in the Cathe tapes. I am very healthy so I don't know why this bothers me and no one else, but oh well!! I think I will try to Leslie tapes for those days when it just AINT HAPPENIN'..if you know what I mean.

Glad to know the dumbells would suffice as I was not looking forward to lugging that darn barbell to work.

Thanks again for all you always wonderful advice!!! Janice

 

[jgoycoolea]

Who ever said noone else is experiencing any pain??? My feet and shins hurt from time to time (probably more often than not for my feet). That is when I head for my bike since neither area gets such impact on a bike. I'd swim more if I could. You are not alone. I probably need new tennis shoes again too.

I feel like _I_ am the only one who doesn't own as many Cathe videos as she'd like! Is noone else tight on money and feel bad spending close to $30 to get another video to her home? (of course there are, I just feel like there aren't!)

Jeanne

 

[Jane P]

I use Charlene Prickett's floor tapes along with Cathe's step tapes for cardio. They are low impact but very vigorous, and you will get your heartrate up there. Her choreography is plain, but she changes moves often enough that you don't do one thing too long. The three that I like are: Low Impact, High Instensity, Start Your Engines, and Cruisin' Altitude. All of these workouts are long and vigorous but low impact. I think they counterbalance Cathe's step tapes very nicely. She has some other low impact workouts, but they are much shorter than these three.