Slow &Heavy Upper vs Gym Style Biceps,Shoulders..

G

gymguru

Member
How do each of these differ? I'd like to get my upper body strengthened up. I struggle to finish those tricep dips in Bootcamp or the push-ups sets in all my workouts. I want to choose the right dvd/vhs to add to my Christmas list. I have mostly dumbbells but will ask for the troy lite bar also for Christmas so maybe I can stop having to hold 2 dumbbells in each hand!!!

I don't want to have 2 dvds of the same type of workout so which one did you prefer?

:)
 
S&H is unique amoung Cathe's workouts as it is the only true low rep workout. There's a lot of work on the postural muscles. Do a search & you can get lots of information.

If you don't have any of Cathe's split routines, then go with Gym styles or the Pyramids. Cathe recommends using S&H for only 2-3 weeks at a time. It demands more concentration than her other workouts. Put it second on your wish list if you don't have any split routines.

Another idea, is to buy Muscle Max. The leg work is short but challenging so you get a lot of upper body work. A total body weight workout is going to give you a lot more work than circuit training, like Boot Camp.

Debra
 
I prefer Gym Style...especially Gym Style Chest and Triceps which gives me a burn for 2 days. I amazed myself the other day by doing all of the push ups with straight legs, usually my bad wrist gives out on me for the last 3 sets and I have to switch to bent knee.
The Gym Style really works the muscles to exhaustion and is fun!
I find Slow & Heavy is too boring for me. I find it difficult to give it the concentration it requires because of how repetitive it is with the count. In Gym Style I totally focus on the muscles worked due to the variety of exercises and counts employed.
The other workout to consider (if you don't have it) is Pyramid Upper Body. That one really increased my upper body strength.
 
Both workouts are good.
I like S&H because it is very versatile, and it's one of the only Cathe workouts that actually has enough recovery time between sets (the others, I put in my OWN recovery time!). I often don't use the '6-up, 2-down' rep speed Cathe does, but prefer a 5-up/3-down speed or, for shoulders, 4-up/4-down.

You could easily use S&H chest/back as the basis of your upper body work, and combine it with a shoulder/arms workout on another day (it's not a Cathe workout, but P90X has a great Shoulder/Arms workout that it would pair nicely with). Even doing just chest/back when you are short on time also hits the biceps, triceps and shoulders as assisting muscles.

That being said, I have only used S&H lower body once or twice, and my knees did NOT like the slow lunges. I prefer GSL or PLB.

Gym Styles is a great 3-day split. I like all the workouts. The pace is slow enough to use heavier weights, and the use of bands adds an extra burn. I do put longer breaks between body parts, and sometimes between sets with one body part, because I am more interested in strength gains than in endurance. The GS upper body workouts flow from one body part to the next without sufficient, IMO, recovery between them when done "as-is." But that's an easy "fix" by just pressing pause while you walk around, sip some water, and set up the weights for the next segment.

Of the two (GS vs. S&H), I definitely get more use out of GS, since I use ALL the workouts.
 
If you can't finish the push ups and dips, maybe it is because of the pace of those workouts (more endurance oriented). Slow & Heavy has lots of recovery between sets and will probably allow you to finish the push ups and dips. Slow & Heavy was my very first Cathe series and it is still my favorite. It is great for learning correct form and building a solid foundation in terms of strength -and muscularity- for future workouts.

It is suitable for any level of fitness, as long as you select the poundages appropriate for your level. It delivers noticeable results, also. You don't necessarily need a barbell to do these. The Chest and Back workout uses no barbell at all. The Biceps and Triceps workout only uses barbell for the barbell curls and for wrist curls, I think, but you can use dumbells for those. In the leg workout you can use dumbbells instead of the barbell.

The general recommendation is to use it for short periods of time, but you can use it for as long as you want, or combine it in different ways with other workouts.
 
I am in total agreement with Mariela. Nothing helped me gain strength and significant visible muscle definition and growth like the S&H series. And yes, I keep at it for longer than 3 weeks.

If you are a hard gainer,this is the perfect series for you.

GS series is my next favourite and I will always continue to intersperse these two.

Clare
 
Is there enough Back work in GYM Style? I found the PS series had much more Chest v. Back work. Is it properly balanced? If you don't use bands do they show substitute moves?
 
back work

>Is there enough Back work in GYM Style? I found the PS series
>had much more Chest v. Back work. Is it properly balanced? If
>you don't use bands do they show substitute moves?

I find it unbalanced, too much chest to back. After a couple of runs through it, I started alternating the flat & incline chest work rather than doing both every workout.

No substitutes are shown for the band work.

Debra
 
>Is there enough Back work in GYM Style? I found the PS series
>had much more Chest v. Back work. Is it properly balanced? If
>you don't use bands do they show substitute moves?


Cathe's workouts often have an imbalance of chest to back work, IMO. In Gym Styles, I do an extra back exercise instead of a bicep exercise (there are more than enough bicep exercises in this one).
 
Kathryn have you ever been to one of Cathes group trips? You seem to know so much about Cathe and her pose. Are you one of her group cast members?
I love to hear everyones opinions and this site is so helpful!

Thanks all of you.:)
 
>
>Kathryn have you ever been to one of Cathes group trips? You
>seem to know so much about Cathe and her pose. Are you one of
>her group cast members?
No, I've never been on a road trip, nor am I a cast member. I've just been around this forum for a long time, and do lots of reading on my own about health and fitness.
 
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