Hi, not Cathe here.
Some things for you to consider.
What the other posters say about weight is weight whether barbell or dumbbell sounds right.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's book on bodybuilding is great for weight training info even if you are not a bodybuilder. I bought it used in paper back at Amazon for $10. HIs beginner program urges doing training for forearms consisting of wrist curls (both regular and reverse). This would help with the problem of picking up and holding the heavier dumbbells. You could start with, e.g. two sets of 10 reps, and do it after finishing Cathe's DVD. Just start with low weights so you don't injure anything and build (more weight and maybe another set) gradually.
Re. the "cut" look. If you go to bodybuilding.com, and look under articles and the section about transformations (before and afters for people who started exercising), you will find a lot of info about getting the cut look. In general, they point out that building muscle is one part of getting cut. The other part is fat loss, i.e. getting rid of the subcutaneous fat layer that hides the muscle (particularly an issue with abs). So we all have to figure out how to balance the muscle building and fat loss to get whatever degree of muscle definition you decide you want. By the way, if you do go to that site, be prepared. There are people who really go to extremes. But lots of helpful and knowledgeable info.
Re. the muscle building. Arnold Scharzenegger's book says that to build muscle, you have to exercise it to exhaustion. I also use Cathe's Pyramid DVD every week and find that, in order to complete the pyramid which is, I think, 5 sets for each exercise, I use less weight than when doing 2 or 3 sets. This makes it, for me anyway, at least in part an endurance work out (lower weights and many reps) and not, strictly speaking, a muscle building (higher weights, fewer reps) work out.
Both for variety and for musclebuilding purposes I alternate between Cathe's Pyramid DVD and her Musclemax DVD. The Musclemax does 2 or 3 sets of each exercise. Also, there is is PREMIX on the Pyramid DVD where you do the ascending sets of each exercise only (I think it is called "up"). So you might try this different type of routine once or twice a week and on the last set have heavier weight so that you can barely finish the set or even, in the beginning, only be able to do half or two thirds of the reps in the final set. As you strengthen, add weight until you get whatever muscle size you want. And be sure there is enough protein in your diet to build the muscle fiber you are trying to get.
If you want to stick with the Pyramid program only, then try to increase the weight on the third set with the heaviest weight. Just add 3 or 5 lbs more than what you are currently doing.
Other posters on cathe.com have recommended cathe's slow and heavy or the Gymstyle series for muscle building. Have not tried them myself.
Re. your schedule. Several of the weight training books I have read talk about exercising each muscle every other day. So if your goal is muscle building, you might try doing one less cardio per week and one additional weight training so that you are doing 3 cardio and 3 weight training. Or, add one more weight work out per week for whichever muscles you are trying to build.
Good luck. I always want to learn more, so any corrections or additions to the above are appreciated.
