step-up-ers...

W

wendyloo

Cathlete
Cinza, Debbie,and crew--
Did any of you have knee pain or stress when you were doing your step up challenge? I would really like to add step ups to my Continuing-Knee-Recovery-Saga routine, but am not sure if it would be the best thing... I guess the only way for me to know is to try it myself, but if these are known to be tough on the knees, I may as well not even start!
Also, cinza, you asked if Leaner Legs is different that PS legs. YES! I don't think I ever felt my hamstrings from doing the deadlifts in PSLA, but I have been doing just the deadlifts from LL (oh, the joy of DVD and 30X ff speed!!!), and boy can I feel it--during and after the workout. There are I think 5 sets of deadlifts, each containing 10+ reps at different tempos (4 down, 4 up; 3 down, 1 up, etc.). Cathe seems to come up a bit more than in PS, but still keeps the tension in the hams throughout.
I think I may join your pushup challenge...
Wendy :)
 
Hi Wendy!

I just posted to you in the video forum! Hmmmm, I'm not sure about you doing the step-ups. They definitley use the knees a lot. I did get a bit sore in the knees when I 1st. started them but I worked thru it. I would suggest if you want to give it a try, maybe start out with just an 8" or 10" step rather then a 14". (with no weight) Maybe, you could also start out with just a few your first couple rounds and then gradually add if they don't seem to bother you. Good Luck and YES, we'd love for you to join us on the push-up challenge. C U around!

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH :)
"If You Get The Chance To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!"
 
RE: Hi Wendy!

Thanks, Debbie...
You know, I used to love the step ups in Leaner Legs--you'd think I could remember if they bothered my knees! Who knows anymore--I feel like a beginner!!!!
Wendy ;-)
 
thanks for the leaner leg info... please tell me what else is different? (deadlifts, cool!!)

and on your DVD... do you adjust the speed of the workout what is 30xff?

i cut back on the step up weight because of my knees ... i started doing about 40 a leg with 12 lb in each hand and then landed up with 8-0 lb till i couldnt do any more depending on how i felt.

i figure going lower in weight is fine as long as i go for exhausting the muscle..
I keep reading less weight to exhaustion gives faster definition and more fat burning (which i think is what i need more than anything in that one spot) ...
and from what i read, i think its probably good to change the weight routine around to confuse the muscle.

step ups are fun!!
did you read my post on the variations i learnt in class?
we do them with adductions and knee crunches to the chest and just barely tapping the floor...
that barely tapping the floor keeps the muscles engaged like crazy so they really never get a break...

by the way tamilee has some good single leg type sqat stuff on her new tape in the second section.
very simple work but mostly on one leg.

hope you join us and "get a leg up!!"
 
Oh boy! A new person to torture ... er I mean encourage! Welcome Wendy, glad you're joining us. I agree with the plan Debbie had for you to try the stepups & I started out with just an 8" step myself with 3 lbs. each hand & worked my way up. By the time Cinza decided to make my life a living hell, I had worked up to 14" but had to do it very gradually before then. Anyway, if it bothers your knees, go lower or stop. That's how I have to work around my bum elbow.
Ruth
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-02-01 AT 07:46PM (Est)[/font][p]
!! Ruth My Dear !!

Looks like you are giving me some bad press here today!

}> And I love it! }>
 
Cinza--
Thanks for the information.
As for Leaner Legs and my DVD player:

I ONLY do the deadlifts and calf raises from LL, so I fastforward between those exercises at 30 times the normal fast forward speed. It's really cool to watch, and saves me tons of time!

I can't do any squats/lunges etc because I have a bad left knee :-( :-(

Leaner Legs is a much faster paced workout than PS. There is basically no rest time, because as you are resting one muscle group (hamstrings), you are working another (quads). I remember it being a rather torturous tape months ago when I was able to do it!! It has lots of low-ends (stay down in squat/plie squat/lunge position, raise up only halfway for many reps).

I also remember that I was rarely sore after the workout. I am much more sore when I do floorwork, hamstring presses, deadlifts, and rear leg raises...

Anyway, I'm scheduled for legs tomorrow--I'll give the step-ups a try. I was doing them on 14 inches with 10lb weights about 7 weeks ago--it will be interesting to see how I do!
Wendy :)
 
Let us know how you do, Wendy. You have a great attitude & a fighting spirit!
Cinza you know it's no secret that you're evil! Seriously, I've gotten some of my best/most interesting ideas from you. You're so artistic in your thinking, everything you come up with is totally new - at least to me. Keep it up!
Ruth
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-02-01 AT 11:53PM (Est)[/font][p]

Wendy:
thanks for the info on LL and PS legs ... I am so niave that i thought you were doing the LL faster or slower by 30% on your dvd!!!

i was interested that in the PS legs Cathe rested often... how come she rests in one tape and not another?

are the weights different?

if i have one tape is there a reason (other than deadlifts) i might want the other?

What do you think?


(BTW .. dont believe every thing Ruth says about me .. i am a real sweetie }> )

by the way... Everyone...
another little move for the backside that i have from middle eastern dancing..
Hip shifts....
shift from side to side ... use your hands and feel how they tighten the outside of your tush when you give it a good sharp shift .. like you are going to knock something out of your way!
.... its very easy, but if you really work it you can work up a sweat just shifting side to side .. and at the same time you can work the sides of your abs because they tighten to make the shift ...and inside of your thigh because they tighten to hold the shift.
i got plenty of definition from middle eastern dancing...enough that people at the gym would ask me how i did my abs...and i never did a single crunch!!

speaking of abs...I am thinking tai chi really is great for core strengthening .... you need to hold a straight spine with ribs in...knees bent... a great challenge and very similiar to what you do in Pilates.
 
Not naive, just cute! I was going to let you think I was Superwoman and that I did it 30 times faster than Cathe, but I'm not evil like some people...
Leaner Legs is more of an endurance workout. You do use lighter weights (my barbell was maybe 10 lbs lighter than with PS when I first started using LL). With PS, you are supposed to use the heaviest weight you can use while still maintaining good form, but you really are supposed to go quite heavy. That's why Cathe rests so much with PS--it is a strength workout intended to promote muscular strength, whereas LL is intended to promote muscular endurance, so you don't want to rest much at all.
I know Aimee went up quite a bit with her weights after a long CTX rotation--I think that included the weights she used for legs...So, even though it is meant to be an endurance workout, it does give you strength gains as well. :) Too bad I can't use it! Pity Party, anyone? ;-)
Thanks for the hip shift ideas. I have this image of you constantly working out, because you are always giving us new exercises to try...
Did you all decide on a push-up challenge---specifics?
see ya,
Wendy
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jun-03-01 AT 11:39AM (Est)[/font][p]well i did wonder if you were super woman.....

nah, i dont constantly work out...but i never sit still!
I know body mechanics from dance.. and its easy to tell what is working by putting your hands on the body parts and feeling how much is happening.
.... there are millions of ways to move...Dancers are blessed because they get are trained to be strong in every direction, high and low...at every angle...
just about every move a dancer makes uses all the muscles in one way or another.... you should see a diagram of a dancer just standing in first position with little arrows pointing to all the places the muscles are holding the dancer in that position... shoulders down, neck stretched, hips rotated, ribs down .. pelvis tucked, arms rounded as if holding a ball... the position of the fingers...the level of the eyes, the tip of the chin, angle of the back of neck and spine .......the point of the feet and toes, the pull of the spine,,open the chest, zip the thighs ..... and smile!!
thats the hard one!! now smile!!

anyhow after practicing and loving that kind of concentration on form for years ... i am aware of whats working and how hard you can work any body part with just your own body as resistance...
weights are just an excuse to tighten.... but you can do it quite fine without them too... i apply this knowledge when ever i do any thing...

try washing the floors with a damp towel under a foot instead of a mop ... great workout!! step on the towel push it out to side, drag it back to center ... its great for outer and inner thighs.

every time i get up off my stool at this computer i plant my heels and give the glutes a chance to do the upward squeeze from a squat or plie position to standing.

i admit it, i am obsessed ..... :)

its fun!
 
also..
i did step ups tonight... no weights because i have the creeps about that sound in my knee...
afer a spell i took my body bar and used it for balance in front of me. .. then when i came up i took my free leg and did a nice glute press by extending it to the back ... if you do this dont sway the lower back..
If you do that and add an ankle weight and you will really know you are doing good on both sides...

also if you do the step up and bring the free knee up to the chest, you will be doing some very good ab work... And all balancing you do to keep from falling as you do this becomes ab work too.

love those step ups!
 
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