I've known about Cathe for a while, but have finally decided to peel myself off of the couch. I have started walking 8 times around the track at the local high school.I wanted a cathe tape that will help look lean and tone. I was still planning on going to the track and also know that I have to still watch what I eat and when.Thanks
What's the best...............
- Thread starter dhcsim
- Start date
luvtorun
Cathlete
Bumping this up... there are a lot of knowledgeble people here that will help you. I am still a newbie on the forum, not to exercise, but I have so much to learn yet. I have a lot of Cathe's resistance workouts as well as cardio and I love them all.
I'm sure someone will give you some guidance on where to start.
I'm sure someone will give you some guidance on where to start.
kathryn
Cathlete
For your goal of getting lean and toned, I suggest starting with a full-body weight workout. The weight workouts are really more flexible in terms of intensity than the cardio workouts are, because you can choose the weight that suits you, and they'd be a good compliment to your walking. Just be sure not to be intimidated by the amount of weight Cathe and the crew use if you aren't there yet. It takes time and consistency.
A good start is MIS (Maximum Intensity Strength), which is a gym-style, full body workout. No nonsense and effective. If you are ambitious, the DVD also includes two other workouts: PH (Power Hour), another full body workout, endurance-based and tough, and a weight/cardio workout (oops! I forget which one, and don't have it here with me), that has some of Cathe's less complicated choreography for the choreo.
After you've worked with MIS for a while, you might decide to move into a split routine (dividing the body into two or more parts, and doing different workouts on different days).
A good start is MIS (Maximum Intensity Strength), which is a gym-style, full body workout. No nonsense and effective. If you are ambitious, the DVD also includes two other workouts: PH (Power Hour), another full body workout, endurance-based and tough, and a weight/cardio workout (oops! I forget which one, and don't have it here with me), that has some of Cathe's less complicated choreography for the choreo.
After you've worked with MIS for a while, you might decide to move into a split routine (dividing the body into two or more parts, and doing different workouts on different days).
Do NOT do any weight training workout every day. Also, when you get to the point where you're breaking your weight training down to 1-2 body parts a day, don't work the same muscle group more than a couple of times per week. You need to give your muscles times to heal after training them. When you weight train, you are actually tearing apart the muscle. Really: Little microscopic tears happen to your muscle while you weight train. That's why you get sore, because as the muscle tears, lactic acid is released, which causes the muscle to get sore. As the muscle rebuilds itself, it becomes stronger. It's through the repeated cycles of tearing apart and rebuilding that your muscles develop, become lean, and become strong.
Okay, with that said, when you do get to the point where you're working only 1-2 muscle groups per day, here is a good example of what body parts to work together: Back/biceps/shoulders; chest/triceps; legs/abs. When I used to body build, I was taught to work "opposing" muscle groups on the same day. The above is how I started weight training. Now, however, I will occasionally mix things up and do triceps and biceps on the same day. I don't feel that I get as good of a workout in either muscle group when I do that, but it's good to do on a light day.
Lastly, a word on strength training for becoming "lean" instead of building "mass". Lower weight, higher reps. In other words, use less weight, and go for longer reps. This creates lean muscle. Going with more weight and less reps is more for building mass. Now, as a woman, this probably won't be that big of a deal, because women tend to become more lean with strength training, anyway. However, if you are like me and build mass easily, and you don't want to, stick to the "low weight, high rep" rule. Cathe's Gym Style workouts from the new Hardcore series provide an excellent format for such a workout. But they're on 3 DVDs that each focus on a separate group of muscles (actually, the breakout is just like I listed earlier for opposing muscle groups worked on the same day).
It's taken me a long route to get here, but my recommendation is to start with a nice overall weight training DVD like the ones mentioned already by other posters. This will get your body on the right road. After a month or two of doing that DVD 2-3 times per week (absolutely not more than 3 - maybe rotate: 2 times one week, 3 times the next week, then back to 2 times the next, 3 times the week after that, and so forth - space it to get 2 rest days between workouts)...at any rate, after a month or two of that, I'd suggest that you invest in the Gym Style workouts and do each one twice a week. Make sure you're doing about 10 minutes of ab work 2-3 times per week, as well (Power Hour has a great ab workout, but you could always buy Ab Hits or Core Max, too). Last but not least, keep up your cardio, whether you're walking every day or you invest in some Cathe cardio DVD's. And STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH!!! You can buy a good book of stretches at just about any bookstore if you don't want to buy Cathe's Stretch Max DVD. You want to stretch your calves, quads, and hamstrings especially, and your lower back. Do this every day, regardless of whether or not you do anything else. Stretching lengthens the muscles, making them more pliable and leaner-looking.
Sorry for the over-abundance of information. I hope I didn't confuse you. I have a tendency to get a little carried away on the topic of exercise.
Good luck with your new commitment to exercise. If nothing else, maybe now you have a good 2-3 month plan laid out before you so that you can really develop a good strong exercise habit.
Okay, with that said, when you do get to the point where you're working only 1-2 muscle groups per day, here is a good example of what body parts to work together: Back/biceps/shoulders; chest/triceps; legs/abs. When I used to body build, I was taught to work "opposing" muscle groups on the same day. The above is how I started weight training. Now, however, I will occasionally mix things up and do triceps and biceps on the same day. I don't feel that I get as good of a workout in either muscle group when I do that, but it's good to do on a light day.
Lastly, a word on strength training for becoming "lean" instead of building "mass". Lower weight, higher reps. In other words, use less weight, and go for longer reps. This creates lean muscle. Going with more weight and less reps is more for building mass. Now, as a woman, this probably won't be that big of a deal, because women tend to become more lean with strength training, anyway. However, if you are like me and build mass easily, and you don't want to, stick to the "low weight, high rep" rule. Cathe's Gym Style workouts from the new Hardcore series provide an excellent format for such a workout. But they're on 3 DVDs that each focus on a separate group of muscles (actually, the breakout is just like I listed earlier for opposing muscle groups worked on the same day).
It's taken me a long route to get here, but my recommendation is to start with a nice overall weight training DVD like the ones mentioned already by other posters. This will get your body on the right road. After a month or two of doing that DVD 2-3 times per week (absolutely not more than 3 - maybe rotate: 2 times one week, 3 times the next week, then back to 2 times the next, 3 times the week after that, and so forth - space it to get 2 rest days between workouts)...at any rate, after a month or two of that, I'd suggest that you invest in the Gym Style workouts and do each one twice a week. Make sure you're doing about 10 minutes of ab work 2-3 times per week, as well (Power Hour has a great ab workout, but you could always buy Ab Hits or Core Max, too). Last but not least, keep up your cardio, whether you're walking every day or you invest in some Cathe cardio DVD's. And STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH!!! You can buy a good book of stretches at just about any bookstore if you don't want to buy Cathe's Stretch Max DVD. You want to stretch your calves, quads, and hamstrings especially, and your lower back. Do this every day, regardless of whether or not you do anything else. Stretching lengthens the muscles, making them more pliable and leaner-looking.
Sorry for the over-abundance of information. I hope I didn't confuse you. I have a tendency to get a little carried away on the topic of exercise.
Good luck with your new commitment to exercise. If nothing else, maybe now you have a good 2-3 month plan laid out before you so that you can really develop a good strong exercise habit.
kathryn
Cathlete
>Thanks for the advice. Is MIS the name of the dvd that I am
>supposed to get? Should I do it every day or every other day
>w/ Sunday off? I am a stay at home mom so I have nothing but
>time on my hands. I have a curling bar, olympic bar, free
>weights, step and willingness
As others have mentioned, DON"t do it every day. Muscle needs time to repair (THAT"s where the increase in strength comes from). If you are a novice weight trainer, I suggest doing MIS two times a week (for example, Tuesday and Friday...try to spread the workouts out as evenly as you can. NOT something likke Monday, Wednesday only). After 3-4 weeks, up this to three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday...or whatever days fit in your scheduled, so "day 1, day 3 and day 5").
SOunds like you've got all the materials you need (especially the willingness!) to make a good start of it!
>supposed to get? Should I do it every day or every other day
>w/ Sunday off? I am a stay at home mom so I have nothing but
>time on my hands. I have a curling bar, olympic bar, free
>weights, step and willingness
As others have mentioned, DON"t do it every day. Muscle needs time to repair (THAT"s where the increase in strength comes from). If you are a novice weight trainer, I suggest doing MIS two times a week (for example, Tuesday and Friday...try to spread the workouts out as evenly as you can. NOT something likke Monday, Wednesday only). After 3-4 weeks, up this to three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday...or whatever days fit in your scheduled, so "day 1, day 3 and day 5").
SOunds like you've got all the materials you need (especially the willingness!) to make a good start of it!
Lots of good advice here (as usual!) I may have missed someone's answer to this, but "MIS" stands for "Maxiumum Intensity Strength." It was Cathe's first strength tape (or did the Wedding Tape come first?) and is really excellent. Weight training will strengthen and tone your body like nothing else!
FirstFitnessGal
Member
This was some very good advice! You girls really know what you're talking about. A lot of that info will help me as I get toned and tightened. Thanks!
FirstFitnessGal
http://www.firstfitness.com/slendereasy
;-)
FirstFitnessGal
http://www.firstfitness.com/slendereasy
;-)
WOW, quite a bit of interesting info. Thanks a bunch. Right now I do 8 laps around the track. Walking of course and on Mon-Wed-Fri I do the FIRM vol. 1. I used to breeze through the firm, but now I have to ease off on the running, squats and lunges. By the end of the table setts I'm cusing at her. LOL Everything else is easy. Should I be using any weights while doing the squats or lunges?