What DVD to buy?

M

Miranda17

New Member
Hi Cathe (or anyone who can answer), I am not a beginner but not yet advanced in my lifting weights. I am new to Cathe.com but have watched her on Fittv for a long time. I would like to purchase a weight lifting DVD and am wondering which one would best suit my needs. I do not want any cardio on the DVD, as I do my cardio/jogging on the treadmill or outside. I just want a total body weight lifting DVD. I see so many to purchase that it kind of makes my head spin. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much!
Miranda
 
Hi Cathe (or anyone who can answer), I am not a beginner but not yet advanced in my lifting weights. I am new to Cathe.com but have watched her on Fittv for a long time. I would like to purchase a weight lifting DVD and am wondering which one would best suit my needs. I do not want any cardio on the DVD, as I do my cardio/jogging on the treadmill or outside. I just want a total body weight lifting DVD. I see so many to purchase that it kind of makes my head spin. Any suggestions?

Thanks so much!
Miranda
 
Hi Miranda,

Are you looking to purchase just one total-body DVD or perhaps a split series, where you split up each muscle group and work each muscle part one time per week?

If you're looking for one total-body workout, my vote would be for Muscle Max. You can do it twice a week, and it really works you head to toe.

If you're looking for a split, then I'd recommend the three Gym Styles DVD's. I know that they're a favorite among Cathe users, and they yield great results!

I'm sure other folks will chime in, but these are my favorites!:)
 
Hi Miranda,

Are you looking to purchase just one total-body DVD or perhaps a split series, where you split up each muscle group and work each muscle part one time per week?

If you're looking for one total-body workout, my vote would be for Muscle Max. You can do it twice a week, and it really works you head to toe.

If you're looking for a split, then I'd recommend the three Gym Styles DVD's. I know that they're a favorite among Cathe users, and they yield great results!

I'm sure other folks will chime in, but these are my favorites!:)
 
Thanks Leanne! I guess I've never really thought about which kind of workout I would like. I want one that will give me results. I want to gain strength & stamina. What's the diffenrce between a total-body workout and a split series? I know what they are, but are the results different? Thanks for the suggestions.
Miranda
 
Thanks Leanne! I guess I've never really thought about which kind of workout I would like. I want one that will give me results. I want to gain strength & stamina. What's the diffenrce between a total-body workout and a split series? I know what they are, but are the results different? Thanks for the suggestions.
Miranda
 
Hi Miranda,

Muscle Max is more of an endurance workout, as are the Pyramid workouts and most of Cathe's total-body workouts. With these workouts, you're using lighter weights and doing more repetitions of each set. The way that Cathe has explained it in the past is that they help you with your endurance -- say, the ability to stand and hold a grocery bag for awhile.

Here's a recent thread that talks about the benefits of endurance lifting:
http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?...ic_id=79102&mesg_id=79102&listing_type=search

The Gym Style and other series like Slow & Heavy and the new 4Day Split are heavier weight workouts that should help you build more strength and increase the size of your muscles. You're only working each body part one time per week, and you work that muscle group to complete exhaustion. The idea is that you won't be working, say, for instance, triceps for another week, so your triceps will have that week to recover and really grow/build as the muscle fibers repair themselves.

I've had the best results using these three series (GS, S&H, and 4DS)! I'll usually do three- or four-week cycles using them. I know that some people find the pacing of S&H to be too slow, but I love them and find that I really can feel my muscles grow when I use them. When I first started doing serious weight training with Cathe last year, I was using Muscle Max and circuit workouts, and not really making much progress. Once I started doing the GS three days a week and cut back my cardio to twice a week, the pounds started dropping off and I started putting on some muscle.

Do you have time to fit in three days of lifting to your schedule? If so and since the Gym Styles are universally loved around here, they might be your best way to start, especially since you're not new to lifting and already have experience! They should help build both strength and stamina, which are your goals.

I hope that this helps! :)

P.S. I also forgot to say welcome to the forums! There are so many knowledgeable and great people around here that I'm sure you'll get lots of help with any questions you have!:)
 
Hi Miranda,

Muscle Max is more of an endurance workout, as are the Pyramid workouts and most of Cathe's total-body workouts. With these workouts, you're using lighter weights and doing more repetitions of each set. The way that Cathe has explained it in the past is that they help you with your endurance -- say, the ability to stand and hold a grocery bag for awhile.

Here's a recent thread that talks about the benefits of endurance lifting:
http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?...ic_id=79102&mesg_id=79102&listing_type=search

The Gym Style and other series like Slow & Heavy and the new 4Day Split are heavier weight workouts that should help you build more strength and increase the size of your muscles. You're only working each body part one time per week, and you work that muscle group to complete exhaustion. The idea is that you won't be working, say, for instance, triceps for another week, so your triceps will have that week to recover and really grow/build as the muscle fibers repair themselves.

I've had the best results using these three series (GS, S&H, and 4DS)! I'll usually do three- or four-week cycles using them. I know that some people find the pacing of S&H to be too slow, but I love them and find that I really can feel my muscles grow when I use them. When I first started doing serious weight training with Cathe last year, I was using Muscle Max and circuit workouts, and not really making much progress. Once I started doing the GS three days a week and cut back my cardio to twice a week, the pounds started dropping off and I started putting on some muscle.

Do you have time to fit in three days of lifting to your schedule? If so and since the Gym Styles are universally loved around here, they might be your best way to start, especially since you're not new to lifting and already have experience! They should help build both strength and stamina, which are your goals.

I hope that this helps! :)

P.S. I also forgot to say welcome to the forums! There are so many knowledgeable and great people around here that I'm sure you'll get lots of help with any questions you have!:)
 
Hi Leanne, Thank you so much for all the info.! I've been reading the forums for awhile now and I have noticed that there sure are a lot of knowledgeable people here to help me with any questions I might have. What a great site!! I'm am so glad I've joined the forums.

Yes I have time for to fit three days of lifting to my schedule. I think you've talked me into the GS series. When you say that you do a three- or four-week cycle, what does that mean? One DVD for three weeks and then another? You only do cardio two times a week and you lost weight? That's great!!

Again thanks for all the information!
Miranda
 
Hi Leanne, Thank you so much for all the info.! I've been reading the forums for awhile now and I have noticed that there sure are a lot of knowledgeable people here to help me with any questions I might have. What a great site!! I'm am so glad I've joined the forums.

Yes I have time for to fit three days of lifting to my schedule. I think you've talked me into the GS series. When you say that you do a three- or four-week cycle, what does that mean? One DVD for three weeks and then another? You only do cardio two times a week and you lost weight? That's great!!

Again thanks for all the information!
Miranda
 
Hi Miranda,

I really do think that you'll love the Gym Styles series! If you'd like more feedback on them from other people, you might even want to post a message in the DVD section of the forum asking for more input about them.

Sorry to be confusing when I said that I do them in cycles! What I meant by that is that I'll do one weight series for three or so weeks before switching to another. So if I'm doing the GS series, a week of workouts might look like this for me:

Day 1: GS Back, Shoulders, and Biceps
Day 2: Kickboxing workout (Kick Max or KPC) + abs
Day 3: GS Chest and Triceps
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: GS Legs + abs
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Step cardio workout

I'll repeat that for about three or four weeks, changing up the cardio routines, and then I'll move to something else as my weights workouts, such as the three Slow & Heavy workouts in place of the three GS workouts. Does that make sense?

Some people jump around, so that each week they're doing different weight routines, but I like to stick to one series for a few weeks at a time so that I can see results from it and really concentrate on my form during the exercises.

Yes, I was completely shocked that I was able to lose weight while cutting back on my cardio! I was sure that I would put on weight since I used to be a cardio junkie, but the opposite happened. I found that lifting weights was really the metabolism-booster that I needed!

I know you said that you're not looking for any cardio routines, but the new 4DS series is also great! A lot of people have been posting that they've gotten great results from using it. It's a series of four workouts, where each workout starts with about 30-35 minutes of cardio, followed by 30-35 minutes of weights. When I've used it, I've added in one extra day of cardio, and got great results!

Good luck -- and let us know what you decide to purchase!:)

Edited to Add: Some people were just talking about the GS DVD's on the forum! Here's a link to their discussion:

http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=69671&mesg_id=69671&page=
 
Hi Miranda,

I really do think that you'll love the Gym Styles series! If you'd like more feedback on them from other people, you might even want to post a message in the DVD section of the forum asking for more input about them.

Sorry to be confusing when I said that I do them in cycles! What I meant by that is that I'll do one weight series for three or so weeks before switching to another. So if I'm doing the GS series, a week of workouts might look like this for me:

Day 1: GS Back, Shoulders, and Biceps
Day 2: Kickboxing workout (Kick Max or KPC) + abs
Day 3: GS Chest and Triceps
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: GS Legs + abs
Day 6: Rest
Day 7: Step cardio workout

I'll repeat that for about three or four weeks, changing up the cardio routines, and then I'll move to something else as my weights workouts, such as the three Slow & Heavy workouts in place of the three GS workouts. Does that make sense?

Some people jump around, so that each week they're doing different weight routines, but I like to stick to one series for a few weeks at a time so that I can see results from it and really concentrate on my form during the exercises.

Yes, I was completely shocked that I was able to lose weight while cutting back on my cardio! I was sure that I would put on weight since I used to be a cardio junkie, but the opposite happened. I found that lifting weights was really the metabolism-booster that I needed!

I know you said that you're not looking for any cardio routines, but the new 4DS series is also great! A lot of people have been posting that they've gotten great results from using it. It's a series of four workouts, where each workout starts with about 30-35 minutes of cardio, followed by 30-35 minutes of weights. When I've used it, I've added in one extra day of cardio, and got great results!

Good luck -- and let us know what you decide to purchase!:)

Edited to Add: Some people were just talking about the GS DVD's on the forum! Here's a link to their discussion:

http://69.0.137.118/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=69671&mesg_id=69671&page=
 
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