Hi Vicky:
I have a hard time building muscle on my upper body and S&H is the ONLY Cathe DVD series that can do this for me.
I work with S&H a lot. It is the core of my weight training program, always. I will add other routines to it, but never eliminate it entirely. It is only through lifting heavy in a steady, slow, progressive way with S&H that I am able to make increases in the weights I use with other, more endurance focussed DVDs of Cathe's like PUB, for example. I used to do PUB religiously and could never increase the amount of weight I used for particular muscle groups. Then I got hooked on S&H and just recently I have picked up PUB again and inserted it once a week into my program, in addition to doing S&H once a week per muscle group. Only now am I able to increase my weights in PUB.
S&H may not suit everyone's mentality, personality or body type. It certainly suits mine. I find it psychologically defeating to spend weeks doing PH, ME or MM and not be able to increase the amount I lift. It becomes defeating if you cannot track any progress. With S&H I get progress pretty quickly, and the longer rest periods allow me to fully recover and then push very hard again on the following set. Say, for example, I finish a set of chest presses with 20 pound dumbells and feel that I am struggling. I might mentally plan to drop down to 17 and half pounds (using platemates) for the next set, but the beauty of the longer rest period is that I can start the second set using the 20's still and get out as many reps as I can until I hit failure and have to drop down to the lighter weight. For me, with an endurance focussed DVD, I would have had to start the second set already with the lower weight. Therefore, I see progress in strength gains more quickly with S&H because it allows me to eek out more reps at higher weights, despite fatigue, and to make these gradual increases. What starts out as a gradual increase becomes a big increase when, the next time I work out, I manage the whole second set with 20's also.
This is why S&H is just an incredibly useful series for a hard gainer like me.
And, like the previous poster, I play around with the count. I may do some sets at 2:6 count and others at 4:4. The former is more difficult, so if I am starting today with a new weight load, I will initial it at the 4:4 count until I can lift it securely, then I will try it at the 2:6 count, for a greater challenge. Also, the 4:4 count is useful because we gain muscle strength on the negative as well as the positive movement of lifting the weight.
Clare
