Stability ball

TessGeo13

Member
Hello all Catheletes! I am new to Cathe’s workouts. Just a couple of quick questions.

I am not new to working out but definitely not strong and am only used to low impacts.
I am in my early 50s. What workout are the best to start with considering my goals becoming fitter and stronger. ( losing weight is NOT my goal)

I see Cathe using a stability ball in many workouts. What are the benefits of using a stability ball?
Thank you!

Happy holidays!
 
Welcome and glad you found Cathe's workouts!

You'll probably get a bunch of different suggestions. For me, personally, I think her LITE series is a good one to start off with - her main workouts in that series are low impact, but she has bonus workouts that you can optionally add on that are higher-impact when and if you ever feel ready.

They're a great introduction to weights, as well. You might want to start off with a set of 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12-pound dumbbells. Eventually as you progress you'll find yourself wanting to try heavier and heavier weights.

Since you don't want to lose weight, I'd suggest keeping an eye on your weight when you start adding in strength training. You may actually gain some muscle weight (that's good!) which might set your scale off a bit, but if you find your weight's starting to go down, then you'll likely need to start eating more. Any time you build muscle, you start to increase your metabolism, which means you'll burn more calories even while at rest.

Stability balls are really good for core strengthening. Even if you're just sitting on one and not doing core-specific workouts, your core muscles are firing to keep you upright on the unstable surface. They're a great addition to your home gym, and Cathe uses them pretty frequently in a lot of her workouts - again, not just for core-specific exercises, but as additional challenge to hit your core while doing other exercises, like upper body weight work.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you decide to try!
 
Welcome TessGeo13!

It would be helpful to know what equipment you have or are willing to purchase, so I'm going to assume you are limited on equipment ....

If you are looking for a complete series, I agree 100% with Kellyro77's recommendation of the LITE series. It's all low impact with the exception of the Calorie Crush bonuses. It's also "lighter" on equipment requirements. You can grow with the weight selections for awhile (going too heavy will really amp up the cardio factor though cuz the pace is too fast for heavy strength training). But it's great for getting your form correct and getting used to Cathe's style. Cathe uses a stability ball in the optional Pyramid Pump workouts in the series, however, if you don't have one, you can always do the exercises on the floor or on a weight or step bench. A stability ball is a great lower-cost option for a bench, plus it's great for a core bonus. The LITE series can sometimes be had for a great price on the Daily Deals.

Another option for a series to start with is the ICE series - an earlier "sister" to the LITE series. It does use a step in part of the Low Impact Sweat and Bootcamp Circuit workouts, but again you can try it without a step if you don't have one. It does have more impact than LITE, however, you can modify it to lower impact. I think it's harder to "grow" with the weight selections in the lifting workouts tho.

And if you're just looking to get your "feet wet" with a few Cathe workouts and don't have much equipment yet:
1) A good "metabolic" workout is the independent Flextrain - it does use sliding devices and depending on your floor, you might be able to substitute a rag or a paper plate, or do it without. It also uses a band and firewalker, but these are relatively inexpensive and good to have. Other good metabolics that don't use much equipment are from the LITE and ICE series, and from the Low Impact Series.

2) Weight workouts that use bands and firewalkers are LITE's Body Weight and Bands, Travel Fit, and there's the Boss Loops and Bands workouts - these use Cathe's fabric bands/loops which are more expensive than the latex bands/loops - but the latex ones could be substituted.

3) There are some great low impact cardio workouts that don't require much equipment - Cardio SuperSets and Afterburn from the Low Impact Series, Ripped with HiIt's Low Impact HiIT, Xtrains' All Out Low Impact Hiit (one segment uses a step and one uses a gliding device - just do without if you don't have), ICE Low Impact Sweat (one segment does use the step and one uses gliding devices (just do without if you don't have them), Perfect 30's Low Impact HiIt. Additionally, most any Kickbox as they don't have heavy equipment demands (some use gloves, but you can substitute 1/2# or 1# handweights, or no weights). Most kickbox have impact (jumping jacks/jump rope moves), however, you can substitute lower impact moves.

There's probably tons more that could be added. HTH. Please ask follow-up questions - Cathletes are sure to respond!
 
Hello @Debinmi , what a thoughtful response! Thank you! You ladies seem like a wonderful and kind bunch of people!
With regards to equipment, I have a variety of dumbells ( with plates), elastic bands, stability ball, and a Reebok step.
As I live in the UK, I have not got some of the largest pieces of equipment Cathe uses, such as fit tower and the bench with the risers.
Additionally, for Christmas I got myself a barbell with similar weights to Cathe’s.

I am tempted to buy her brand of gloves as I can’t find a high quality ones.

As for Cathe’s style, I am struggling with highly paced workouts but enjoy the once focused on building strength and endurance.

Now in perimenopause, my understanding is that we have to focus of strength and maintaining muscle mass.

There are many trainers but I found Cathe through a highly comprehensive and complementary blog and decided to try. As an on demand subscriber, I am finding it a great way to sample many of her workouts.

Have a lovely day!
 
... but enjoy the once focused on building strength and endurance.

Now in perimenopause, my understanding is that we have to focus of strength and maintaining muscle mass. ...
Great! Then you may enjoy the STS 2.0 series for weight training. It is focused on building strength and it sounds like you have most of the equipment (you may be able to use the Reebok step as a bench if you don’t want to use the floor or stability ball.) The pace is slower with rests between sets (or rounds for the Total Body wkrkouts). And it includes Recovery workouts. Take a look at the User Guide for Cathe's suggestions on how to use the workouts.

I would have suggested STS 2.0 right off the bat but wasn't sure you had the equipment! I became more serious about weight training after menopause after a dx of osteopenia after a fall and broken bone in my foot. I think you'll enjoy the STS2.0 workouts!
 
Thank you! That makes total sense. Is the first STS worth exploring or is it for younger peeps?
STS original is classic progressive overload weight training and was Cathe’s "flagship" series. It is certainly worth exploring since you have On Demand! However, you are recommended to do some preparation by determining your 1 Rep Max for all the excercises (I didn't do all, just the basics and then used those #s as a baseline for similar excercises.) The Workout Manager will help you fine-tune your selected weights. The workouts, especially in Meso 1 (muscle endurance) are longer and Meso 1 is tough with all the endurance work. Meso 2 & 3 are more reasonable in the time commitment. It is fun, comprehensive & effective (once you get mentally past the prep work).
 
Thank you! That makes total sense. Is the first STS worth exploring or is it for younger peeps?
My only regret about doing STS is that I didn't do it sooner! I had it for about a year before I actually started the program (this was maybe 10 years ago). I let it sit on the shelf since I wanted to do the 1RM that Debinmi typed about above. I would slowly complete the 1RM over several days....well, a year... and not do the actual program. I finally just DID the STS program even though I did not complete the 1RM calculations.

Despite not completing the 1RM, the series is great. And after doing the series, I see the value in the 1RM - unless it prevents you from starting the program like it did me. I now do STS 1.0 at least twice per year for the last decade. Now that STS 2.0 is out, I will probably do both at least twice per year I love them so much (maybe even more).

I keep track of all weights used and just over the last month I came across my very first STS sheets and I see how I have improved strength tremendously. On average I would say I increased my weight selection by 30-50%! STS 1&2 are easily my favorite series because I get the strongest results.
 

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