Slow & heavy feedback
- Thread starter pjlippert
- Start date
Zozo
Cathlete
I LOVE slow and heavy... but it's not one I do that often because you really need to be in a certain frame of mind to do it. I LOVE the shoulder, back and biceps sections. The Chest section is, as in most dvds, just flys and presses. The leg section is awesome, but too short in my opinion. And I don't like working triceps! But overall, it is a very effective workout, and cathe's personality shines through. I usually compliment it with the gym styles. Each body part is hit more intensively than in Gym Style, but the count IS slow (duh) so it's not always one I have the patience for.
It's worth buying it though!
It's worth buying it though!
I really like S&H because it is closest to STS in terms of pacing between sets. I like having the one-minute break so I can go really heavy, but because of the slow rep speed you really have to focus. Like Zozo said, sometimes I don't have the patience for that slow rep count 
. It's definitely worth having because it's different from PS or GS.
. It's definitely worth having because it's different from PS or GS.
Zozo
Cathlete
Hi Pam, I LOVE muscle max! But yeh, I'm the same A lot of the time, i just think 'count faster' to Cathe in Slow and Heavy... but I know my muscles grow more when I'm patient! He hee
Have you got Amy Bento's Slo Mo strength Challenge? That's a very good workout (not traditional exercises though) and although it's slow... it's not quite as slow!
A lot of the time, i just think 'count faster' to Cathe in Slow and Heavy... but I know my muscles grow more when I'm patient! He hee Have you got Amy Bento's Slo Mo strength Challenge? That's a very good workout (not traditional exercises though) and although it's slow... it's not quite as slow!
kathryn
Cathlete
I really like the S&H upper-body workouts (with some modifications: the chest is overworked compared to the back, IMO, and I really don't like the 6/2, "faster down than up" pacing: it feels like the weight is almost dropping. I mix up the counts by doing 5-up/3-down, 5-down/3-up or--for shoulders in particular--4-up/4-down. The great thing about the workouts is that you can do this).
I'm not as keen on the lower-body workout. The few times I tried it, my knees REALLY did not like the S&H lunges (but that was right after the DVD came out, and I never tried the lower-body workout again).
I'm not as keen on the lower-body workout. The few times I tried it, my knees REALLY did not like the S&H lunges (but that was right after the DVD came out, and I never tried the lower-body workout again).
Last edited:
maddiesmum
Cathlete
I agree with Kathryn. S&H is perfect for training the upper body, especially if you have noodles for arms and have trouble going beyond 30 pounds for chest/bench presses. This would be me.
I have never liked weight training, never lifted so much, never built so much lean muscle for the upper body as when I did lots of S&H. I think it's time to do it again, now that winter is fast approaching. If you ever want to find out exactly how much you could lift, how far you could go, S&H is the program for you, and you don't have to limit yourself to the 3 weeks/1 month at a time that Cathe suggests on the DVD. I used to do this program for several months at a time.
As Kathryn suggests, the plan is versatile and you can differ the count to suit yourself and the needs of a particular body part, doing the 2/6, 3/5, 5/3, 6/2 counts instead of the 4/4 as she suggests.
I also do not think it is a workout that is hard to focus on and through. I am one of the most restless people I know with a boredom threshold that drags along the floor and a brain that can never be turned off. I find it hard to go to sleep until I am literally falling down with tiredness and I have trouble focussing and sitting still sometimes. And yet! I never had any trouble pacing myself through S&H. I found it therapeutic in a way. There was no rush to lift that weight and get to the next rep, as there often is on Cathe's workouts, especially the endurance ones. You have time to focus on nailing your form, and concentrating on the muscles you are recruiting. Mindfulness helps in building strength. If you are a person who is constantly rushed, stressed for time, upon whom people are constantly placing demands, constantly striving to scratch items off your to-do list, then S&H could be very beneficial to you, in an almost yogic way. While you are doing these workouts, your mind centres itself on what you are doing exclusively. It gets hard to lift that very heavy weight by the 8th rep, you HAVE to FOCUS, there's no wandering off mentally thinking of last night's telly episodes!
Also bear in mind that there is no obligation to train every muscle group in the same way. For example, I use the S&H for the upper body, but I prefer more endurance workouts or a different rep range and speed of lifting for the lower body. Also running injuries in the last three years have brought home to me that I need more than squats, lunges, plie squats and deadlifts, which is largely what the lower body program comprises. I'm not saying that the lower body program on S&H is bad, just that I find something else works better for me. I have done the lower body section multiple times. You can take from this program what works for you and add it to your own personal "blender" of workout types and styles.
For the very fact that S&H is such a different style of training, I think it is far more valuable to have than yet another high rep weights DVD or another total body weight DVD. Those feature heavily in Cathe's workout library, the slow and heavy approach stands alone.
Clare
I have never liked weight training, never lifted so much, never built so much lean muscle for the upper body as when I did lots of S&H. I think it's time to do it again, now that winter is fast approaching. If you ever want to find out exactly how much you could lift, how far you could go, S&H is the program for you, and you don't have to limit yourself to the 3 weeks/1 month at a time that Cathe suggests on the DVD. I used to do this program for several months at a time.
As Kathryn suggests, the plan is versatile and you can differ the count to suit yourself and the needs of a particular body part, doing the 2/6, 3/5, 5/3, 6/2 counts instead of the 4/4 as she suggests.
I also do not think it is a workout that is hard to focus on and through. I am one of the most restless people I know with a boredom threshold that drags along the floor and a brain that can never be turned off. I find it hard to go to sleep until I am literally falling down with tiredness and I have trouble focussing and sitting still sometimes. And yet! I never had any trouble pacing myself through S&H. I found it therapeutic in a way. There was no rush to lift that weight and get to the next rep, as there often is on Cathe's workouts, especially the endurance ones. You have time to focus on nailing your form, and concentrating on the muscles you are recruiting. Mindfulness helps in building strength. If you are a person who is constantly rushed, stressed for time, upon whom people are constantly placing demands, constantly striving to scratch items off your to-do list, then S&H could be very beneficial to you, in an almost yogic way. While you are doing these workouts, your mind centres itself on what you are doing exclusively. It gets hard to lift that very heavy weight by the 8th rep, you HAVE to FOCUS, there's no wandering off mentally thinking of last night's telly episodes!
Also bear in mind that there is no obligation to train every muscle group in the same way. For example, I use the S&H for the upper body, but I prefer more endurance workouts or a different rep range and speed of lifting for the lower body. Also running injuries in the last three years have brought home to me that I need more than squats, lunges, plie squats and deadlifts, which is largely what the lower body program comprises. I'm not saying that the lower body program on S&H is bad, just that I find something else works better for me. I have done the lower body section multiple times. You can take from this program what works for you and add it to your own personal "blender" of workout types and styles.
For the very fact that S&H is such a different style of training, I think it is far more valuable to have than yet another high rep weights DVD or another total body weight DVD. Those feature heavily in Cathe's workout library, the slow and heavy approach stands alone.
Clare
heartymax
Cathlete
I purchased SH in August and just finished a 5 week rotation. I used Slow and Heavy for two weeks, Gym Styles for 2 weeks and back to one week of Slow and Heavy. I truly love this workout and it does require a lot of concentration. My favorite is biceps and triceps. The rotation that I choose from Cathe's previous rotation was a 4 week rotation. However, I was having so much fun til I had planned to add 2 more weeks, but ended adding just one. At this point, I need a change. I am doing PUB and some total body workouts for the next two weeks and will probably go back to incorporate SH and GS again.
I definitely gained strength using the series. I am very happy that I purchased SH.
I definitely gained strength using the series. I am very happy that I purchased SH.
since S&H is the special of the week I was debating buying it. I had it at one time and just couldn't stand the slowness of it but I didn't have patience. I am finishing up a rotation of Meso 2 and 3 and think this may be a good workout to do next?
So I think I hear my CC coming out.
Rhonda
So I think I hear my CC coming out.
Rhonda
LasVegasFitGirl
Cathlete
I love S & H
It was my first Cathe DVD and I love it.
It was my first Cathe DVD and I love it.