Beginner Rotation - starting Monday, August 15, 2011

Good morning ladies !!!

It's a cool gray drizzly day in NC. Not complaining! I'm loving the coolness and we certainly need the rain. But it means no Yard Max today. I finished the front yesterday. Still have the back yard to do. My townhouse is in the middle, so I have no side yard.

Deanna - it's addictive, isn't it? When I first found this website and the message boards, I couldn't understand why anyone would want to buy so many Cathe DVDs. LOL. Now I know..

I have Muscle Max and really like it... from watching it only.. haven't tried it yet. And Gym Styles is on my Wish List.

Did you see this?

Cathe Friedrich - Your Last Reason for Not Starting Just Went Back to School!

And do you get the weekly email newsletter? There is always a special on at least one DVD.. usually more than one. I've gotten all of mine at terrific bargains.

I somewhat blew my diet yesterday. Not with chocolate cupcakes, thank heavens. But I was craving carbs something awful (a common problem that I have) and I bought a loaf of Pepperidge Farm Cinnamon Raisin bread (I knew I shouldn't as I was buying it :eek:) and before the day was over, I had eaten half the loaf... sigh.

Anyway.. it's low fat, so even though my calories were up around 2000, my fat consumption was within range.

And.. I drank my 50 oz of water... so all was not lost.

I seem to have one day a week where I just blow it on the diet.... the other 6 days I have no problem being good. But.... my mantra is... progress, not perfection, so I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Onward and upward we go !!

We have upper and lower body and abs on today's agenda. I'm going to go do that as soon as I finish my coffee.

Have a wonderful Saturday !!!

I'll check in later.

We CAN do this... we ARE doing this !!
Go team !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
 
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Susan, I am still blaming you for my full cart since the other workouts were added to get free shipping on the PS series plus coupon usage encouragement. : D

I can relate to carb cravings. I try to anticipate it and do a preemptive strike by having a sweet potato or something, but it isn't always effective. I am sorry you won't get to enjoy your yard work today.

Deanna, I get the newsletter and fall for the specials every time. I just got the gym styles because of that plus they were featured in a rotation I am interested in using. But I haven't used them yet. I also bought Intensity series when series' were on sale (skipped the terminator tho). Anyway, I agree, I also like to purchase in series b/c it seems to be a good value, especially if they are on sale or even better on sale plus coupon.

Not sure what my workout will be today...prob something quick and dirty. I am already behind on fluid! : o

When will this rotation be complete? What do you have planned next or will you repeat this one?
How are pushups coming along?
 
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Morning Ladies :)

Sorry I did not post yesterday, a little busy with company and ordering the Mayweather vs Ortiz fight. Oh my, that fight was sooooooooooooooooooo good! I love Floyd Mayweather self-confidence and he can back every word up. Love it Love it Love it. :)

Did not workout yesterday at all. However, I did grill my meat for lunch next week. I grilled 2pcs of Salmon and several little/thin pork (something).

I just finished my worikout today and I made up for yesterday. I did 50 min of Kick Max 500 calories, Upper & Lower Body Sculpt from Basic Step 147 Calories each and 10 min of Core Max 67 Calories. For a total of 861 Calories Burned this morning.

I am going to hydrate myself with WATER, take a shower and go back to sleep.

Have a great workout and a wonderful Sunday.

Deanna

PS: My God is awesome, not to long ago my health would not allow me to do anything. But My God has shown me that all thngs are possible through him that strenghtens me. :)
 
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Good morning ladies !!

Way to go Deanna !!! You kicked it.... enjoy your nap. You have earned it.

I also did not work out yesterday. But... I was good about food (1644 calories) and I consumed 60 oz of water. A friend called just as I was thinking about starting my workout and asked if I wanted to go to the big flea market, so off we went. Between roaming the flea market and going out to lunch (I had a big salad), it took up the whole day.....

So I'm sitting here trying to decide what workout to do today to make up for it, but not be so sore that I can't do Body Fusion tomorrow.... hmmmmmm. I'll figure it out. I may do an intense upper/lower body workout today... like try one of my new DVDs using light weights and only doing several reps of each exercise... and then do a step only workout tomorrow instead of Body Fusion and get back on schedule.

FnV - if you want a scapegoat for all your DVD purchases, that's okay... lol. I can take it. You never did say that you pushed the "Buy" button... did you? I know you will use and enjoy all of your new DVDs !!!

We are only ending week 4 of the 12 week Beginner Rotation, so we have a long way to go.

I asked in the "Ask Cathe" forum for what to do next. Stacy pointed me to Cathe's Intermediate Rotation. I don't have a lot of those DVDs, but I know I could substitute. That rotation is from 2007 and there have been a lot of new DVDs made since then, so I'm hoping that once Cathe is finished working on the new Low Impact Series, that she will have time to come up with a new Intermediate Rotation. If she doesn't, that's fine too. Everyone here is so helpful, I know I'll come up with a good plan.

I'm still struggling with the pushups, but making a tiny bit of progress. It hurts my wrists which makes it all the more difficult. But.... as I was watching one of my new DVDs, Cathe said that if pushups hurt your wrist, put 3 lb dumbbells on the floor and hold on to those while doing the pushups. I'm going to try that today and see if it helps.

okay... I'd better get moving before the morning is gone.

Have a wonderful day !!!

We CAN do this... we ARE doing this !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Good afternoon ladies !!! I hope you are all having a great day...

I ended up going to the gym and doing 3 miles of interval training (alternating a moderate paced walk with a really fast walk) on the treadmill, then came home and did abs and stretching.

I'm going to change things up a bit for the next week.. maybe two. I just posted this in the Ask Cathe forum where I was asking what to do after the Beginner Rotation.

So I'll just copy it here...... :)

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I'm also eager to try out some of my new DVDs, so for this week and maybe next week, I'm going to change things up a bit and deviate from the Official Beginner Rotation.

Monday - cardio at the gym - intervals on the treadmill or elliptical
Tuesday - Lower Body, abs and stretch
Wednesday - Upper Body and stretch
Thursday - Cardio - step at home
Friday - Cardio - gentle 3 mile "meditation walk" on the treadmill
Saturday - Total Body, abs and stretch
Sunday - Cardio - step at home or go to step class at the gym

Friday being my "rest" day. I think I need that much cardio at this point, to help with weight loss. I know that weight training will also help tremendously with weight loss, but I'm at such a low level of weight training at this point that I think the extra cardio is still needed.

Anyway... for the Upper and Lower and Total Body weight workouts, I'll give some of my new DVDs a try... at whatever weights are appropriate and with however many reps are appropriate at this point.

I can try Muscle Max, High Reps, Supersets, Push Pull, Pyramid Upper & Lower and Pure Strength !!!! Should be fun.....
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that's what I posted in the other thread...... It's kind of what I'm been thinking about for after we finish the Beginner Rotation and with all these new DVDs, I'm eager to give them a try .... lol

I'll probably get half way through the week and go right back to the Official Beginner Rotation...... we shall see.

Have a great evening... see you in the morning... :)

40 oz of water consumed... better go get my 3rd bottle :p
 
I like your workout choice for today, Susan and also your plan for next week. It sounds like a boredom buster plus you are hitting all your body parts and keeping up w/ cardio. I am actually attempting to follow a real Cathe rotation for the first time. I usually just have a loose plan. I think following a rotation may push me to work out longer than I normally like to, but I might also enjoy having a boss tell me what to do.

I did Low Max today, is that one on your radar? My workouts remain in my cart, I have til the end of the month before coupon expires.

Flea market w/ buddy sounds like a fun afternoon.

Deanna, I am happy for you, you sound so joyful in your accomplishments and gratitude. Both you and Susan are really inspiring me. There goes the rocky theme...but now there is a gospel choir singing it. : )
 
Susan, all I can say is dedication. :) YOU GO WOMAN :) I am soooooooooooo very proud of you, you are doing the darn thing!

You have the right idea Susan. I like Body Fusion because I feel that it gives me a total workout Cardio, Upper and Lower body. :) I will eventually implement the other dvds that I have, but I really am going to try to stick with the Beginner Rotation. :) I have never completed this 3 month Rotation.

Week 7, 8, and 9
Mon: Low Impact Step - I have this one
Tues: Total Body Sculpting - 2nd workout on Low Impact Step
Wed: Low Impact Step
Thurs: Abdominal Add on from Basic Step DVD plus one stretch segment from Total Body Stretching
Fri: Body Fusion
Sat: OFF

The last 3 weeks of the Rotation is almost identical to weeks 8, 9 and 10. So, I may switch it up a little.

Week 10, 11, and 12
Mon: Low Impact Step
Tues: Lower Body Add On with hand weights from Basic Step DVD
Wed: Body Fusion
Thurs: Brisk walk for 40 minutes plus abdominal add on from Basic Step DVD
Fri: Total Body Sculpting
Sat: One segment Total Body Stretching
Sun: OFF
Sun: Total Body Sculpting

As for the Intermediate Rotation, I hope to have purchased all of the GYM Style dvds for strength training and implement them with Kick Max, Low Max, Slow & Heavy and Pyramid Lower + Upper body, which I already have.

I am starting to feel the effects of the 2 hour workout I had this morning, and tomorrow is Body Fusion. I hope I can make it through. :| Going to go to bed early to rest up so that I can complete that workout in the AM. Will post in the morning, I hope everyone have a good evening.

Deanna
 
Good morning ladies !!

I'm off to the gym shortly to do the cardio that is on my "Susan Rotation" for this week. I'm excited about doing this. I'm not crazy about Body Fusion because I don't like the circuit training method. I prefer to do my cardio one day and weights another day. So we'll see how this works :D The workout program for Weeks 4, 5, 6 was just not feeling right for me.

I do like the looks of the Weeks 7, 8, and 9 program though. I really like both Low Impact Step and Total Body Sculpting, so when we get to those, I'll do the program as written.

FnV - which rotation are you doing this week? I find that I need a plan. If I don't have a list of what workout I need to do each day, then I slack off.

I own Low Max, but haven't tried it. How did you like it? I can't remember... is that all step or step with cardio blasts? Those blasts about kill me... lol

The flea market was fun.. now that the weather has finally cooled down. I wouldn't have gone if it had been in the 90's.

Deanna - I hope you slept well last night after your 2-hour morning workout and are ready for a busy and productive week !!! I know you can do it.

I too am looking at Gym Styles .... That's really the only one left that I am itching to get. Eventually, I want to get Slow and Heavy, but I'm not as "driven" ... lol... to get that one as I am Gym Styles. But before Gym Styles, I'm going to give Pure Strength a good go....

It's Week 5 !!! Hard to believe.

We CAN do this !!! We ARE doing this... for 4 full weeks we have been doing this!!

Go team !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll check in later.... off to the gym I go............

Ohhhh.. almost forgot.... yesterday's calories were about 1700... don't have my sheet right here... fat was within goals.... water consumption = 60 oz !!

Haven't weighed myself yet this morning... Monday is my official weigh-in day.

off to the gym....
 
Good Monday Morning. :)

I am not doing my workout this morning. I previously mentioned that I have not been sore since the 1st or 2nd week we started the Rotation. Well today I am a little sore, mostly under my breast and part of my back. This could be because I increased the weight when doing my Upper Body routine from 4lbs to 8lbs. If I feel up to it after work, I may do Body Fusion this evening if not then I will do it Tuesday morning.

Deanna
 
Good morning Deanna !!!

I'm sorry to hear that you are sore, but it's not surprising if you jumped from 4 lb weights to 8 lbs. Yikes... that's a huge jump. I'm still using 3 lb weights, but this week I'm going to graduate to 4 lbs..

You have to listen to your body. Body Fusion will be there tonight or tomorrow. If not tonight, then maybe some stretching or yoga !!! And Fusion in the morning... lots of possibilities.

I just weighed myself. Total pounds lost = 2 1/2. That's during the last 3 weeks. I started calorie counting and official weigh-ins the 2nd week of our program. 42 1/2 pounds to go :)

So I'm happy with that... a little less than a pound a week. Slow and steady wins the race...:p

off to the gym..... Have a wonderful day my friends. I couldn't do this without you !!!!
 
gym workout report :)

I did:

1 mile of moderate walking on the treadmill
1 mile of vigorous moving on the elliptical (gets my heart rate way up there)
1 mile of moderate walking on the treadmill

20 ounces of water consumed.

Have a great day. I'll check in later this afternoon or this evening.

off to do some housework :(

I need to decide which lower body workout I'm going to try tomorrow:

Pure Strength Legs
Pyramid - lower body
Muscle Max - lower body
High Reps - lower body
Supersets - lower body
Push Pull - lower body

hmmmmmmm.... too many choices.....

I may just put them all on the dining room table, close my eyes, move them around and pick one at random :p
 
Hey Susan, I hope you have a great workout at the GYM today.

Regarding my increase in weights from 4lbs to 8lbs, it is during the Bicep curls. My dumbbells are in increments from 2lbs, 4lbs and 6lbs, and I normally workout with the 4lb dumbbells. So during the Bicep workout when I am working one arm at a time instead of 4lbs per arm, I use both dumbbells at one time per arm. :) I would like to get another Dumbbell Set with heavier weights. I have been looking at Bowflex, PowerBlocks or I think they are Cap Dumbbells. Bowflex are way too expensive, PowerBlocks are less expensive but the design I am not sure about or the traditional GYM style Cap ones. I like the Gym Style ones the best but I am still researching.

Good for you on increasing your weights this week. You are such an awesome woman, so proud of you.

These Cathe workouts especially the weightlifting I am finding addictive. :)



SusanMcL said:
Good morning Deanna !!!

I'm sorry to hear that you are sore, but it's not surprising if you jumped from 4 lb weights to 8 lbs. Yikes... that's a huge jump. I'm still using 3 lb weights, but this week I'm going to graduate to 4 lbs..

You have to listen to your body. Body Fusion will be there tonight or tomorrow. If not tonight, then maybe some stretching or yoga !!! And Fusion in the morning... lots of possibilities.

I just weighed myself. Total pounds lost = 2 1/2. That's during the last 3 weeks. I started calorie counting and official weigh-ins the 2nd week of our program. 42 1/2 pounds to go :)

So I'm happy with that... a little less than a pound a week. Slow and steady wins the race...:p

off to the gym..... Have a wonderful day my friends. I couldn't do this without you !!!!
Click to expand...
 
Deanna - Do you have a used sporting goods store anywhere nearby?

We have a Play It Again Sports store that sells both used and new sports equipment. They have great buys on dumbbells. Some I had ordered from Power Systems when I got my other equipment, but others I got used at Play It Again Sports.

I now have 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10s Yikes... I was being optimistic when I bought the 10s... lol

But I'm thinking I'll go to Play It Again Sports and see if they have used 6s and 7s. But there's no rush.... I'm still using the 3s. Going to try the 4s tomorrow.... So I'm a long way from needing 6s :rolleyes:
 
Hi Susan, I stumbled upon your checkin....keep up the good work!!

I've been slowly coming out of a no workout/weight gain/stressful work situation, or at least trying to make the best out of a bad situation right now since work issues arent changing, anyway....

Reading your progress is very inspirational!

And, dont be surprised if you outgrow those 10 lb dumbells sooner than you think! I was looking back over my starting weights I used when I first got the Pure Strength Series years ago. I started some of the chest work with 5's and now I can use 15's! Of course, I'm back out of shape again, but definitely working on it!

I hope your barbell comes soon!

Which lower body workout did you do?? I think the High Reps lower body work is killer, too hard for me right now, especially those disc exercises, not sure I'll ever be able to do those, a bit too tough on my knees!

I did Jillian Michae's new lower body workout recently and had sore legs for 3 days!
 
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Morning Ladies, no workout for me this morning. :(:(:(

I had a stressfull day at work yesterday. And when my son came home last week I did not give him back the key to the house. He kept calling me after 11pm breaking up my sleep telling me he was on his way home and did not get in until after 12:30am. I am up posting this to let you know why no workout for me this morning. I am going to get a little more sleep before work. Tomorrow is another day, I am going to go to be early tonight and get up and hit it hard Wednesday morning.

Deanna
 
Hi Stacy !!!

I'm glad you stopped by. Drop in any time. We are a friendly bunch and always appreciate good company !!

Good for you for getting back on the exercise bandwagon even though your work stress is continuing. I know how difficult it is to make oneself exercise during stressful times in life, even though we all know that exercise is a great stress reducer. Our brains know that, but it's so difficult to do.

And thank you once again for being so helpful in the other thread in helping me to choose some more DVDs. I'm very pleased with the ones I ordered !!!

I haven't done lower body yet... that's on today's program !!! I'm leaning towards doing Pure Strength Legs because I like the fact that Cathe gives form pointers along the way. I won't be able to do anywhere near the number of reps that Cathe and crew do, but I'll do what I can..

I keep looking at the pair of 10 lb dumbbells thinking they were a waste of money, but I shall remain optimistic that someday I'll be able to use them.

As I said, drop by any time. We always welcome company along our journey.... beginner or not !!!
 
msdeedee3 said:
Morning Ladies, no workout for me this morning. :(:(:(

I had a stressfull day at work yesterday. And when my son came home last week I did not give him back the key to the house. He kept calling me after 11pm breaking up my sleep telling me he was on his way home and did not get in until after 12:30am. I am up posting this to let you know why no workout for me this morning. I am going to get a little more sleep before work. Tomorrow is another day, I am going to go to be early tonight and get up and hit it hard Wednesday morning.

Deanna
Click to expand...

Good morning Deanna !!!

I'm so sorry that you are continuing to have a stressful time with your son. And at work too. Sending big hugs your way workout buddy !!!

Get some sleep.... tomorrow is a new day.

Remember... progress, not perfection. There will be bumps along the road, but we shall continue..

We CAN do this.... we ARE doing this !!!!! :D
 
FnV - where are you ?????? What's on your workout agenda today or did Low Max wipe you out Sunday ?????

on my "Susan Rotation" for this week... today is lower body. I'm strongly leaning towards Pure Strength Legs.

However... I'm off to the shower and an early dentist appointment, so I shall ponder my options while at the dentist. It will give my brain something to focus on. I hate going to the dentist.... lol

I'll check back in later...... Went a little over on calories yesterday, but not too bad (1800 something) Fat grams were within goal range though, so that's good. 50 ounces of water consumed and did my cardio at the gym. So.. all in all.. not a bad day !!!
 
Susan, I love the "progress not perfection" mantra!! That's what I need to drill into my brain. I"m VERY often much too hard on myself. I work 12+ hr days at work and some days I come home and think...should I eat or sleep! Workouts seem to fall way low on the list as does food planning lately. I have no clue most days when I'm going to get home so trying to plan meals ahead is a bit difficult and my brain is too fried to think about it so I find myself stress eating and eating junk. I'm sick of myself at this point and the bad eating is wreaking havoc on my GI system!

I've been contemplating getting up at 5am to workout, but I also know getting enough sleep is vital to good health, so it's a day to day balance right now.

I have one day off a week from work, this week, it's today so I try to get shopping done, get in a good workout, sleep in and refresh my mind and body. However, going back to work, the stress and fatigue sets in so quickly that I forget the pep talks I give to myself on my days off!

Progress not perfection...I'm going to keep repeating that to myself until it sinks in!

My goals are to try to fit in 30 minute workouts when I can and try to slowly incorporate healthy food choices. I've tried in the past to food journal and count cals and Weight Watchers Points, and it works for awhile but it's too much calculating and counting that it just adds to my stress and I finally just rebel and overeat.

Sorry to vent! I hope I can pop in and post whenever, I cant commit to daily posts b/c it usually backfires for me. But, I like to stay tied into fitness minded to people to keep me in the loop!
 
Hi Stacy !!!!

My goodness... with a work schedule like that it's no wonder you are struggling with eating healthy and getting your workouts in. It would be bad enough with a schedule like that, but add in stress at work on top of it.... oh dear..... sending big hugs your way !!!!

Progress, not perfection is something that I have to keep telling myself every day... and often.. many times per day. My brain keeps telling me that if I don't stick to my diet for one day, then I might as well give up... and we know that isn't true. Same with exercising.. if I skip a day, I say to myself, "I blew it. I can't do it. Why bother." And that makes no sense...

so ... we shall all repeat many times a day... "Progress, not perfection."

I once read in a book... If you are having trouble getting yourself to do something that you know you should do or that you have to do.... figure out what the smallest increment is that you can easily commit to.

Let's say you decide that you can do a 7-minute workout each day before work without it being a hassle or causing stress or disrupting your need for sleep. Or maybe it's 5 minutes... or 8 minutes.... or 10 minutes .... Whatever is the magic number that you KNOW you can commit to.

Then you do just that. No more.... So if you decide on 7 minutes each morning, then that's what you do. 7 minutes. No more.. no less. Try that for a couple of weeks and see how it goes !!!! I have read that it takes 21 days to create a new habit. As FnV said recently, for some of us it may take several weeks... lol

You could do "x" minutes of a warm up from any Cathe DVD or "x" minutes of step or "x" minute of playing a favorite song and just dancing around the living room. Anything just to move for your magic "x" minutes each morning. Something easy and fun.....

But anyway... pick your magic number and do exactly that for 3 or 4 weeks until it becomes a habit. Once that's ingrained in your daily routine, see if maybe you feel like you could up it a few minutes a day. Say 10 minutes.
But not so much that you scare yourself .... Baby steps...

You get the idea.

Same with food. Pick a small goal. Maybe eating a good satisfying but healthy breakfast every day. Once that is a habit, try building on that and decide to have a salad first every day at lunch before eating your regular lunch foods. Baby steps..... and always.... Progress, not perfection.

And.. as Deanna reminds us all the time.. water.. water.. water !!!

And.. please... stop in here anytime you want or need to... you will always be welcome in our little group !!!!!!
 
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