Weight work 3 times a week?

gonnabea5

gonnabea5

Cathlete
How many times a week do you weight work? I mean total Body, i.e. - High Reps, Muscle Max, TriSets, Power Hour, etc?

I used to do it three times a week, saw great results, and felt so strong. These were the times I could do almost all of her pushups on my toes. But, now I noticed that Cathe's monthly rotations rarely show weight work three times a week. I also noticed that on some of her weightwork workout descriptions, it says to do them at least twice a week but no more than three. I dont know why I stopped doing this.

Anyway, I'm going back to it for a while and see what results I can get.

All thoughts will be appreciated.
 
I always workout with weights three times a week. I don't follow Cathe's rotations. They don't work for me.
 
melagras said:
I always workout with weights three times a week. I don't follow Cathe's rotations. They don't work for me.
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Agreed! I can't be held to a rotation like that cause I have to use the Childcare at the gym. I do however lift weights 3x a week. That's why I love sts and I just insert cardio
 
I'm going back weight training 3x week for my next 4 week rotation. One of which will be a circuit workout. I'm feeling the need for some extra cardio these days and circuits are a good way to fit in cardio and weight training in one workout. Plus mega calorie burn for me typically.
 
Actually the new XTrain Series has weight training 3 x each week and includes circuit/metabolic training as well. The weight training is like STS in that you work Chest, Back and Shoulders one day, Bi's & Tri's another and Legs the 3rd day. It differs from STS in that it alternates lifting technique between burn sets and higher reps (16). I love it and have managed to both increase my muscle mass and the amount I can lift for most exercises in a month. I am not looking to bulk up but feel I need to increase muscle mass in order to increase my metabolism. Seems to be working.

HTH,
Vicky
 
gonnabea5 said:
How many times a week do you weight work? I mean total Body, i.e. - High Reps, Muscle Max, TriSets, Power Hour, etc?
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I have not done *total body* weight work (like the ones you mentioned) in awhile. However, last year I did a rotation with:
1 total body + 1 UB + 1 LB for 3 months and got excellent results. I NEED a minimum 3 weight days to see results and keep muscle mass. I can build muscle, but it does not come easily on my body frame :(. Increasing my weight days has been the key :).

Lately I have been focusing on split UB/LB weight work. Some weeks I can do up to 4 weight work sessions/week (2UB/2LB). I love weight training and dread cardio to a certain extent, so I guess that works well in my favor ;).
 
I lift 3x's a week. As I have become more "mature" :rolleyes: that dividing these three days between body parts works best for me. Mon upper body split Wed lower body and Thurs the rest of upper body I didn't hit on Monday. Abds three days a week also, usually another day.

This is not to say I don't occasionally do total body workouts but not on a regular basis.
 
Vicky, that format in XTrain is what is not working for me. I need total body 3 times a week. ie 2 heavy and 1 low weight/high reps one. Total body weight work has never bulked me up, but has made me stronger/increased muscle max. Crazy as it sounds, it normally leans me out and the extra fat burning from more muscle helped burn more calories. That's why I'm going back to it.

Thanks for your input ladies.
 
I'm loosely following the Xtrain rotation right now and it is working for me, but it is not how I generally like to structure my rotations. I always have a hard time fitting everything I want into my time schedule. But I like to do heavy lifting for each muscle group once a week--generally in a split routine, then hit each muscle group again with a total body workout. Then at least one metabolic weight training workout each week and at least one HIIT/plyo workout each week. And I want cardio AT LEAST 4 times a week. I can't always make all of that happen w/out doing doubles and right now I cannot do doubles because I am working longer hours. So I'm doing the rotation and am actually getting really great results.
 
I too have been loosely following the Xtrain rotation but have been adding in additional workouts. I still take a day off but have combined some cardio and weight days, especially using Hard Strikes as a “warm up” for an upper body strength training day. This gives me an extra day for either a Cathe circuit workout, Hi Reps or Leah Sarago upper body work (lots of plank variations and light weights/ballet inspired moves.) I’m also doing power yoga 1-3x a week (lots of upper body.) It’s a mix that seems to be working well. I think if I were just doing the strength training in the Xtrain rotation, I’d be wanting more. But, I also don’t have the home equipment to go as heavy as I could for chest and back. I do more reps and pushups, but that may be impacting my results.

I do love Xtrain though and part of what I love is that the workout lengths vary, so I have time to tweak to my needs. I do plan to go back to more Total Body workouts after this rotation.
 
Shereta
Now you have me thinking that I might want to try 3X TB workouts/week :eek:. I've never worked all muscle groups 3X/week, so I'm curious as to what results I will obtain. Perhaps in March I will give this a go :).

I'm like you though, more weight training + more muscle = leaner ME :D. So ya, I like the sound of that ;).

Good luck!
 
I have never been a fan of "body part" lifting as opposed to "total body" lifting. It is probably because of my body type, but I simply do not get the results when I do body part lifting. In the past, when I have followed rotations and focused on once a week per body part, I have lost strength and results.

I think it is because of my body type, which is long and lanky or lean. I just need to lift TOTAL BODY at least twice per week, and preferably three, if I am going to be happy with the results.

And as far as following a rotation, I simply cannot do it. My recent experience is that I have followed 30-day rotations twice now and BOTH TIMES I ended up sick. This is because I followed the rotation instead of thinking for myself and listening to my body.

I am not slamming rotations. I know that they are good for some, but they are definitely NOT for me.
 
I usually do weight work 3x a week, too. It seems to be the optimum for me in feeling and looking good plus in being strong enough to do my step and HiiT workouts. Plus I love weight work!
 
gonnabea5 said:
Vicky, that format in XTrain is what is not working for me. I need total body 3 times a week. ie 2 heavy and 1 low weight/high reps one. Total body weight work has never bulked me up, but has made me stronger/increased muscle max. Crazy as it sounds, it normally leans me out and the extra fat burning from more muscle helped burn more calories. That's why I'm going back to it.

Thanks for your input ladies.
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I always "only" done full body weight workout 2 or 3 times a week. I work crazy on call schedule. I've tried the "once" a week per body part but with my schedule that looks like once a month per body part LOL

This is an example of my current workout schedule and it burns some great calories and keeps your strong.

M - High Step Challenge (cardio/weight circuit) Heavier weight
T - Kick boxing
W - Low Impact Circuit (cardio/weight) lighter weight
Th - HITT
Fri- Step Punch Crunch (cardio/weight) heavier weights
Sat - HITT and a stretch workout

M - Muscle Max (weight only)
T - HITT
W - SuperSets (weight only)
TH - Kickboxing
Fri_ Push Pull (weight only)
Sat - HITT and stretch

There is a section on the forum asking for Cathe new workout dvd. There are several of us that are requesting more FULL body weight workouts.

I hope you have some luck. I totally understand where you are coming from
 
Cafelattee said:
I always "only" done full body weight workout 2 or 3 times a week. I work crazy on call schedule. I've tried the "once" a week per body part but with my schedule that looks like once a month per body part LOL

This is an example of my current workout schedule and it burns some great calories and keeps your strong.

M - High Step Challenge (cardio/weight circuit) Heavier weight
T - Kick boxing
W - Low Impact Circuit (cardio/weight) lighter weight
Th - HITT
Fri- Step Punch Crunch (cardio/weight) heavier weights
Sat - HITT and a stretch workout

M - Muscle Max (weight only)
T - HITT
W - SuperSets (weight only)
TH - Kickboxing
Fri_ Push Pull (weight only)
Sat - HITT and stretch

There is a section on the forum asking for Cathe new workout dvd. There are several of us that are requesting more FULL body weight workouts.

I hope you have some luck. I totally understand where you are coming from
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Love your rotation! Do you alternate one week circuit workouts and then the next straight up total body weight workouts?
 
kariev said:
Love your rotation! Do you alternate one week circuit workouts and then the next straight up total body weight workouts?
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this month thats how i'm doing it

last month I did weight, weight/circuit, high rep each week

- I change stuff up every month .

January rotation

M - weight only
T - HITT
W - High Rep
TH - Cardio or HITT
Fri- Circuit/weight
Sat - Stretch
 
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