Success!!! A whole year of Cathe workouts without missing a single day!

kchamkat

kchamkat

Member
I just had to share this with you Catheletes... :D My family and friends don't really appreciate the hugeness of the goal I'd set for myself so I needed to share with someone who would understand and relate! I've been a Cathe fan since the Intensity series and have bought every single thing she's made since. I was averaging 4 workouts a week but after hitting my 40's I found that this freequency was not cutting it to retain my physical stamina and shape. So last december 28, I gave myself a challenge: let's see how long I could last with doing a workout every single day no matter what was going on, with sundays being a stretch from Stretch Max or a core workout. Well to my total amazement, I made it and I am so proud of myself. I'd even brough DVD of Cathe with my portable DVD player to the gym in Mexico for our winter trip. People at work have commented how strong and in shape I seem. Love getting feedback like that. I'm 5'5" and was 140lbs. I've only gone down to 134lbs but with significant muscle mass increase. Thanks Cathe for being an inspiration and for creating workouts that are effective and fun!! Let's see if I can make it to year 2!
 
That is awesome and wonderful! I need to do this!! I keep thinking I need a rest day and if I take a day trouble is life happens, and I have to have an unplanned rest day! That makes it more then I need at times! Hate that and then consistency is not good that way. I am glad u posted this lets me know it can be done. I am about 148 I got down to 143 and I keep going to 145 but I want to get to 125 even 130 would be good!! You should be proud and u doing Cathe the muscle mass and leanness is probably even more then u realize!
 
ReneePruitt said:
That is awesome and wonderful! I need to do this!! I keep thinking I need a rest day and if I take a day trouble is life happens, and I have to have an unplanned rest day! That makes it more then I need at times! Hate that and then consistency is not good that way. I am glad u posted this lets me know it can be done. I am about 148 I got down to 143 and I keep going to 145 but I want to get to 125 even 130 would be good!! You should be proud and u doing Cathe the muscle mass and leanness is probably even more then u realize!
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Taking rest days are fine for some, not so fine for others...I think everyone is different. Personalities are different. Body types are different. My best friend can train three days a week and look like a million bucks...I'd gain weight if I only worked out three days a week! I need the daily calorie burn from exercise more than most people, and I simply accept that. My mom thinks I'm a bit nuts for working out daily. But I know myself. After twenty years of exercising, I realize that the worst thing I can do is talk myself out of that routine for even one day. It's like me saying, "Nah, I'll just leave the dishes in the sink until morning." Then morning comes and WOW, the dread factor and the wishing I'd just gotten the chore over with the night before bash me in the head. :) I look at working out every morning like brushing my teeth twice a day- it's non-negotiable. I think this means accepting that not every workout is going to be spectacular. I give it my all, but training daily means training even when things are less than ideal in life. Sometimes I'll be tired, distracted, cranky, PMS-ing, whatever. But if I get that workout outfit on, tie up those shoelaces, and make myself get through the workout, I never regret it. However, I know I'll regret not working out. I'll feel heavier and less invigorated the whole day. It simply isn't worth the negative feelings anymore!

I don't mean to exalt overtraining or anything. One needs to periodize their workouts, pay attention to injury signals, and listen to their body. But there are so many options for exercise, it's easy to do something every day without overdoing it on any one form of exercise. Plus, the human body is meant to take hard work a heck of a lot more than it's meant to take laying around, a fact my coal-miner great-grandfather taught me early on in life! :D
 
You got that right honey! Lol when I was a little younger and before people kept telling me had to take a rest day I was an everyday exerciser to. I also am a daughter of a coal minor and u r right ! I always thought that to every day we should do Something! I really hate seeing my son sit in his butt and do nothing but computer or video games! He is 26 and he is grown on his own now so hard see! I didn't raise him to be unhealthy! When he was born, he and his brother is THE reason I started doing fitness VHS at home! I lost 70 pounds after having kids ! That was after being heavy most my teen life so I just don't see how he ended up sedentary and eats junk! But all I can do is lead by example.
 
I completely agree! Now that it'a a routine for me to workout every day, I just do it and don't even need to think about it anymore, like brushing my teeth. Like TurquoiseEyes says, I'm not at my top performance every day so I select a workout accordingly but I do something, non negotiable. And Cathe's library is so varied that I don't have any problem finding something to suit my mood or energy level. :) It seems to work for me. I'm now coming up on month 15 of not missing a single day and loving it. My only dissappointment is that I've seen no change in my knees and thighs (they've always been chunky) but I like what I'm seeing in my upper body so that's encouraging.
 
kchamkat said:
I completely agree! Now that it'a a routine for me to workout every day, I just do it and don't even need to think about it anymore, like brushing my teeth. Like TurquoiseEyes says, I'm not at my top performance every day so I select a workout accordingly but I do something, non negotiable. And Cathe's library is so varied that I don't have any problem finding something to suit my mood or energy level. :) It seems to work for me. I'm now coming up on month 15 of not missing a single day and loving it. My only dissappointment is that I've seen no change in my knees and thighs (they've always been chunky) but I like what I'm seeing in my upper body so that's encouraging.
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Fifteen months with not a day off?! Holy mackerel, that is a phenomenal accomplishment! That takes dedication...wow, if only that level of discipline could be bottled! Seriously, that is AWESOME! :D

I think that some of us just genetically have parts which are so incredibly resistant to change. Also, I notice a certain consistency of body shape and type among exercisers no matter what they are doing. Cathe's team is interesting to me to watch in this regard, because she's been using much of the same crew for so many years and in so many workouts, we can really see their shapes evolve. It's a unique privilege to see how their bodies have changed with all of the different series over time. Every single one of them is at the top of their game...you'd have to be, simply to be a Cathe crew member and not drop dead from the exertion. :) Yet each of them show a certain consistency of both strengths and challenges they each personally possess in body type. Brenda has a bit more rounded an upper back and (like me) has heavier calves, but a nice small waist. She can get incredibly lean, yet her calves just won't get as tiny as some of the other ladies. (This is NOT a slam at all, I think she is a beautiful lady at any size. I am simply pointing out anatomical differences that no amount of training can eliminate entirely.) Cedie has shorter legs that make lunges and squats so much easier than for very tall people. She can just fly up and down off that step, and oh man, how I wish I could do that. She's always had a bit more athletic and curvy body, though. I see women with her type of build constantly trying to get that "ballerina figure" instead, and I just shake my head...it simply isn't a realistic goal for all of us. Make the most of what you have! Cathe has a broader back, trim hips, and those narrow, little feet. She is so darn lucky- big feet make step work a pain in the rear, speaking from personal experience! And Rhonda with that beautiful long set of limbs...hold on, I'll try to put aside a tiny bit of envy for a sec. :D But maybe it's harder for her to put on muscle? Although she makes it look easy, maybe it takes a bit more work to complete her lunges and squats deeply because her limbs are so long? I'm just guessing...But I'm sure all of us have struggles with something.

We all have something to humble us, right? I think it's part of the fun...what can I improve today? Where's the next change in fitness going to come from? It'd be pretty dull if we had no new mountains to climb. :)
 
Thanks. :) i'm having a lot of fun with this little challenge of mine. Another thing I did last year as a new year's resolution, was a push-up challenge. I could never follow Cathe with push-ups on toes. So I decided to see if I could fix that by doing 1 push-up, every day for a week and then increasing to 2 everyday the next week and so on until I got to 52 at the end of the year. It worked! I hit a few plateaus throughout the year where it felt really tough but I gradually got to 52 by the end of December. :) interesting experiment. I stuck to doing 40 every night before bed so I don't loose it.

Ya, I love looking at the physique of Cathe and her team. They are all so beautiful and motivates me to strive for a better body and it also comforts me to see that we all have our challenged "parts" as you illustrated above but that it in no way limits us from becoming a power house of fitness. Feeling fit and strong is so magical. It's addictive! Now if only I could use some of that dedication or discipline to mention above to cut down, even just a little, on my sweet tooth. Heehee!
 
I love the part with the push ups and started that last night. I never thought about doing it that way before, thanks. I'm also going to try really hard to do 1 workout per day, even if it's just yoga. You gave me so much inspiration that I know no matter what (unless deathly ill or surgery) I can fit something in at some point during the day or night.
 
firemedic said:
I love the part with the push ups and started that last night. I never thought about doing it that way before, thanks. I'm also going to try really hard to do 1 workout per day, even if it's just yoga. You gave me so much inspiration that I know no matter what (unless deathly ill or surgery) I can fit something in at some point during the day or night.
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By accident I discovered getting on the floor and back up pushup or plank style day in and day out, because the floor is where I spread out all my college stuff and study, worked well to develop my strength levels. My straight-leg pushup ability still sucks, but they're MUCH better with each month. At least my arms and core are in proper positioning now!

I found out from a PT that it's pretty important to learn a variety of ways to get up & down off the floor, and to get up and down off of it daily as we age. I definitely agree! Apparently it helps train the muscles to prevent bad falls, teaches us to land correctly if we do fall down, and gives better ability to get back up without assistance if we fall.
 
I loved reading your reply firemedic, thanks. May has come around And I'm still hanging in there for my challenge-phase 2. :) I love the e-download versions of the cathe workouts. I've got 5 of them on my iPad that don't require equipment so I can take them wherever I go. My hubby and I are going to Paris for 10 days in a couple of weeks. That will be a true test of my dedication! Haha! I'll add a few short core and HiiT workouts on my iPad so I'll have various options and won't be tempted to skip out. ;-)
 
ReneePruitt said:
You got that right honey! Lol when I was a little younger and before people kept telling me had to take a rest day I was an everyday exerciser to. I also am a daughter of a coal minor and u r right ! I always thought that to every day we should do Something! I really hate seeing my son sit in his butt and do nothing but computer or video games! He is 26 and he is grown on his own now so hard see! I didn't raise him to be unhealthy! When he was born, he and his brother is THE reason I started doing fitness VHS at home! I lost 70 pounds after having kids ! That was after being heavy most my teen life so I just don't see how he ended up sedentary and eats junk! But all I can do is lead by example.
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Sorry, thought I replied to this months ago, and apparently I didn't. It drives me BONKERS to see young, healthy people sitting around doing little or nothing all the time. I have seen so many people go downhill with one disability or another, myself included, my appreciation for youthful energy and health and ability to move is ultra-high. I was a heavy (very heavy) child and teen, then suffered from fibromyalgia starting in my mid-twenties. Despite starting to exercise when I was only twelve, I was in extreme pain by age thirty and reached an all-time high in my weight a couple years later. I thought I might never be able to exercise again, but I fought through all that and won. Since then I've lost so much weight that I am thinner than I was in middle school. :D (No one worry that I'm underweight by saying that, LOL. Keep in mind I hit my full adult height at age 13, so I was an early bloomer!) I believe in starting daily movement when one is young and healthy. It's so hard to get started AFTER the problems begin in one's life or health. Congrats on losing 70 lbs. after having kids, BTW! That is awesome! :D
 
This is an old thread but I just seen it. This is a great accomplishment and I am wondering how did you rotate the cathe workouts? I do need to get off the cardio wagon and do more weights. But doing that then I have to push myself to get those 10,000 steps in a day as I do count my workouts towards that and I know I shouldn't as that isn't helping but I have a sit down job and hard to move around. So just curious how you rotated the workouts
 
kchamkat said:
Thanks. :) i'm having a lot of fun with this little challenge of mine. Another thing I did last year as a new year's resolution, was a push-up challenge. I could never follow Cathe with push-ups on toes. So I decided to see if I could fix that by doing 1 push-up, every day for a week and then increasing to 2 everyday the next week and so on until I got to 52 at the end of the year. It worked! I hit a few plateaus throughout the year where it felt really tough but I gradually got to 52 by the end of December. :) interesting experiment. I stuck to doing 40 every night before bed so I don't loose it.

Ya, I love looking at the physique of Cathe and her team. They are all so beautiful and motivates me to strive for a better body and it also comforts me to see that we all have our challenged "parts" as you illustrated above but that it in no way limits us from becoming a power house of fitness. Feeling fit and strong is so magical. It's addictive! Now if only I could use some of that dedication or discipline to mention above to cut down, even just a little, on my sweet tooth. Heehee!
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Love this strategy as I hate hate pushups and only do them against the wall of stairs. I'm going to try your strategy and see if I can't build up to doing them on my toes like you. Good job.
 
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