I simply do not know how anyone does it!!! Maybe I am just the biggest wimp or something...but I can not get past the first interval. Gosh darn it, sometimes the warmup does me in. This has got to be the toughest thing out there. I use Energy Sprints by Karen Voight and do okay(not great...cardio has never been my thing)...but IM just kills me. My question is this: Did you all just do it....or did it take some time to work up to it? Just how much of a cardio wimp am I??
The dreaded Interval Max
- Thread starter dpiglet
- Start date
I did interval max today and did all of the intervals, besides for the last one.I find #10 a little hard on the ankles. I even made it through interval #8 which i find to be the hardest.(scissors).The only thing I don't like about it is the fact that the warm up is so long.When you get into the intervals it seems to take no time.
When I first got interval max I had already been doing Cathe for a couple of years and running.So, I didn't find it to bad.I would imagine that I had alittle adjusting to do.Somedays I feel as if I can;t do all of the intervals and somedays I brezze through them.
Well, you just said that Cardio isn't your thing so maybe you need to do more cardio.But I am sure if you stick to it,eventually you will get there.I have to agree that it is the toughtest thing out there.
Give it sometime and so modifications and you will be fine.
Lori
When I first got interval max I had already been doing Cathe for a couple of years and running.So, I didn't find it to bad.I would imagine that I had alittle adjusting to do.Somedays I feel as if I can;t do all of the intervals and somedays I brezze through them.
Well, you just said that Cardio isn't your thing so maybe you need to do more cardio.But I am sure if you stick to it,eventually you will get there.I have to agree that it is the toughtest thing out there.
Give it sometime and so modifications and you will be fine.
Lori
getnfit@38
Cathlete
If you did a search on Imax you would see that just a few months ago I posted a similar message.
However, I am happy to report that just as everyone told me, I have learned to get through Imax, and it's only taken about 2 months of doing it once/week every week.
Like you I had trouble with intervals 2 and up, especially the even numbered intervals, but week by week I noticed my endurance improved from the previous week, and then I also learned to incorporate some "little tricks" to help me build. Such as, in interval #2 (air born jumps), there are 8 sets of 8 jumps, so rather than counting them in my head as 1-64, or worse, not counting at all and feeling like they would never end, I count them as: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,1-then 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,2-etc, so I count down each set of 8 as 1-8, and I could see each week how I was improving. Maybe the first week I only got through the first 2 or 3 sets, but by the 3rd week I might have gotten through 4 or 5 sets, and I always mentally committed to the entire set, and I found little tricks like that for each interval that was difficult until now I can happily (and proudly) say the only interval that gives me static is #10, and I'm working on that one each week as we speak!
So no! You aren't a wimp, it's a tough tape, but one that will make you feel so proud of yourself when you "ride it and don't get thrown off!" So stick to it, maybe plan it once/week and you'll see yourself improving week by week!
Good luck,
Donna
However, I am happy to report that just as everyone told me, I have learned to get through Imax, and it's only taken about 2 months of doing it once/week every week.
Like you I had trouble with intervals 2 and up, especially the even numbered intervals, but week by week I noticed my endurance improved from the previous week, and then I also learned to incorporate some "little tricks" to help me build. Such as, in interval #2 (air born jumps), there are 8 sets of 8 jumps, so rather than counting them in my head as 1-64, or worse, not counting at all and feeling like they would never end, I count them as: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,1-then 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,2-etc, so I count down each set of 8 as 1-8, and I could see each week how I was improving. Maybe the first week I only got through the first 2 or 3 sets, but by the 3rd week I might have gotten through 4 or 5 sets, and I always mentally committed to the entire set, and I found little tricks like that for each interval that was difficult until now I can happily (and proudly) say the only interval that gives me static is #10, and I'm working on that one each week as we speak!
So no! You aren't a wimp, it's a tough tape, but one that will make you feel so proud of yourself when you "ride it and don't get thrown off!" So stick to it, maybe plan it once/week and you'll see yourself improving week by week!
Good luck,
Donna
Hi dpiglet--I loved Winnie the Pooh when I was a kid. Is that where the "piglet" comes from?
My first Cathe tape was The Wedding Video, and I was able to handle it, but needed more choreography. I quickly ordered Stepworks, and I distinctly remember feeling that just the warmup was enough of a workout for me! I got through it, but here are some suggestions for modifying. (Iknow you're talking about Imax, but the same applies)
1. DO NOT feel like you have to do what Cathe does! During the warmup, do not add the jumps, the ball-change, anything with impact keep low-impact.
2. During the intervals, do the same--keep the impact as low as possible during the 6 repetitions of the choreographed moves (the part before the blasts). Once the blast part starts, go moderate to all out, but only for as long as you are able to do so with heavy breathing, but not to the point of "my heart is filling up my whole body with its beating, I am gasping for breath, I feel nauseated, and I want to die". This may only be 10 seconds of the interval blast, and then you do knee ups for the rest of the blast. 10 seconds will grow into 20, 30, etc.
3. If you complete an interval blast, you can slow down for longer than Cathe's recovery phase. When she and the amazon girls behind her begin the next interval (not the blast,but the choreographed section), you can still be doing side steps for as long as you need to. You have to modify it to your needs.
4. Remember that this is supposed to be more uncomfortable than your average aerobic tape. But, it isn't supposed to make you feel sick! It should wipe you out in a good way ;-)
5. Compete with yourself, not with the goddesses on the screen!
6. Finally, you could do some of the following: a. Try the warmup and one interval, cool down and call it quits. b. Schedule another video, but throw in one interval before the cardio part of your chosen video starts. c. Buy Intense Moves by Gin Miller and work up to Imax!
Good luck--you will conquer this video. Just give it time!
Wendy
My first Cathe tape was The Wedding Video, and I was able to handle it, but needed more choreography. I quickly ordered Stepworks, and I distinctly remember feeling that just the warmup was enough of a workout for me! I got through it, but here are some suggestions for modifying. (Iknow you're talking about Imax, but the same applies)
1. DO NOT feel like you have to do what Cathe does! During the warmup, do not add the jumps, the ball-change, anything with impact keep low-impact.
2. During the intervals, do the same--keep the impact as low as possible during the 6 repetitions of the choreographed moves (the part before the blasts). Once the blast part starts, go moderate to all out, but only for as long as you are able to do so with heavy breathing, but not to the point of "my heart is filling up my whole body with its beating, I am gasping for breath, I feel nauseated, and I want to die". This may only be 10 seconds of the interval blast, and then you do knee ups for the rest of the blast. 10 seconds will grow into 20, 30, etc.
3. If you complete an interval blast, you can slow down for longer than Cathe's recovery phase. When she and the amazon girls behind her begin the next interval (not the blast,but the choreographed section), you can still be doing side steps for as long as you need to. You have to modify it to your needs.
4. Remember that this is supposed to be more uncomfortable than your average aerobic tape. But, it isn't supposed to make you feel sick! It should wipe you out in a good way ;-)
5. Compete with yourself, not with the goddesses on the screen!
6. Finally, you could do some of the following: a. Try the warmup and one interval, cool down and call it quits. b. Schedule another video, but throw in one interval before the cardio part of your chosen video starts. c. Buy Intense Moves by Gin Miller and work up to Imax!
Good luck--you will conquer this video. Just give it time!
Wendy
Thanks everybody for making me feel better! And yes, Wendy, I am a HUGE Piglet fan, being that both of us are small, but brave. I am a just a tad under 5 feet tall, and brave enough to keep plugging away at Imax. I am glad that I have been attacking this right, I have been doing the warmup, the first interval, then moving onto another tape, so I guess I had the right idea. My three month fitness goal is to get through three of the intervals.....I can not wait(or maybe I can!!)..but I can just imagine how proud you all must feel when you actually finish!!! I'll just dream for now and keep plugging away, all the while cursing the goddess and the amazons!! Thanks again! Piglet.
naughtoj
Cathlete
OK, yeah, but does anyone really go really deep on those lunges..you know the interval I am talking about!!! Anyone REALLY keeping that 90 degree angle?? That interval is my most dreaded one other than the plyo one with 64 or whatever reps. Would it be appropriate to say that IMAX trains your anaerobic system right along with your aerobic system??? The cardio part is not AS TOUGH as the "burning of the legs" part. I just thought about this today (when I was doing IMAX) and wondered, if I can make it through more "reps" of an interval without that lactic acid burn...what am I gaining?? Is staving off that burn the definition of a conditioned anaerobic system?? The burn is just so much more intense than anything I ever do...including heavy weight-lifting. Does anyone do this tape and feel NO burn?? If so, you are an amazon!!!!
Oh, and a tip...today I did IMAX after a rather lazy weekend and I could not believe how much better I was at it!! My muscles were fully rested and it really made a difference!! So all of you struggling with IMAX...starting to feel like a real failure....take a few days off and THEN do IMAX. It really helped my confidence. I think it will be my regular Monday workout...even though I work out on the weekends usually, I have one easy day. I will conquer this!!!
Oh, and a tip...today I did IMAX after a rather lazy weekend and I could not believe how much better I was at it!! My muscles were fully rested and it really made a difference!! So all of you struggling with IMAX...starting to feel like a real failure....take a few days off and THEN do IMAX. It really helped my confidence. I think it will be my regular Monday workout...even though I work out on the weekends usually, I have one easy day. I will conquer this!!!
Hey naughtoj! Oh a fellow shortie!! I love it! I only use 6 inches and I am most happy to report that when i tried the dreaded Imax yesterday I took it easier on the "warmup" and I managed to get through most of the first two intervals....a first for me!!! I work on my feet all day and I have been doing that for the better part of my whole working career, so my knees are not the greatest, so the 6 inch step is as far as I dare to go. I will never be an amazon in any sense of the word. But I got the greatest compliment from a delivery driver yesterday....he said that I looked like an athlete....little ole asthmatic short stuff me....when I told him I lifted weights....he asked if I competed! I was so flattered...all thanks to that goddess from Jersey!!