Questions for those of you who follow rotations

[dutchgirl]

Hi everyone,

I am slowly getting an arsenal of Cathe videos and had some questions about the rotations. 1) Do you find that the rotations give you extra motivation or help you stay committed to working out consistently? 2) If you don't have a particular video/DVD do you find that substituting is pretty easy to do? 3) Approximately how much time needed for each day? I typically don't have more than an hour a day to workout so need to stay within this time frame. And 4) Which are your favorite rotations, fat burning cardio/moderate weights or the strength oriented ones?

Finally, if you would be willing to share what gains you have made by doing the rotations I would greatly appreciate. I do follow kind of my own rotation (alternate cardio which is either floor or step aerobics with circuit style workouts or strictly weight workouts) and am wondering if more structure would help me.

Thanks,
Sabine

 

[FitnessGoddess]

Hey Sabine,

I LOVE using a rotation. Here my the answers to your questions.

1) Do you find that the rotations give you extra motivation or help you stay committed to working out consistently?

I find that a rotation helps keep me on track in my commitment to working out. If I know what tape I'm supposed to do on a particular day, it's harder to say "Oh, I don't know what I feel like doing so I won't exercise." Even if I don't particularly "love" the tape I hae scheduled, I do it.

2) If you don't have a particular video/DVD do you find that substituting is pretty easy to do?

If it's cardio only, it's pretty easy to substitute. If it's a strength tape, it depends on what I'm trying to "accomplish" if I can substitute it. I have all of Cathe's strength tapes & do mostly Cathe rotations so it really isn't a problem for me.

3) Approximately how much time needed for each day?

I tend to stick to between 45 minutes or an hour. I hear people saying they work out 1 1/2 or more a day & wonder if they are nuts or just need to get a life! LOL

4) Which are your favorite rotations, fat burning cardio/moderate weights or the strength oriented ones?

I just finished Marlene123's tank top rotation (you can find it here at www.fitnessvideofanatics.com) & think it has to be my fav. This is a combination strength & cardio rotation. I had the best results with fat loss, strength building & muscle definition than I have ever had. Now it could be the rotation or it could be the fact that I finally got serious about strength training & eating clean. I lift heavier now than when I started. I feel better than I ever have & I've been told my butt is smaller by none other than Cathe herself (I've been to see her twice in the last 2 months). How's that for great results?! Ok, what she actually said was that I am "smaller in the hip area," but that can be translated as butt, right? LOL

Unfortunately, I think we all need to find what works for each of us individually because I know others that swear by cardio workouts being better for them. And you know what for that person, cardio is better. For me, strength training produces better results.

Hope this helps you.

 

[Dani53]

I totally find that the rotations help me with motivation! Not to mention that when you are looking at a shelf of tapes.....which one to do?!? I like the idea of knowing what I will be doing next. When I got my set of Intensity Series, never having done them, I had no idea where to start. I was sent three rotations, and dove in! Now, when I finish working out and am tidying up my bedroom, I will look at the side of my t.v. where I have them all taped, and see what the next day will bring. I can think about it the rest of the day, before I go to bed (perhaps to psyche up!), and wake up ready to go. Actually, I can wake up excited to work out! Silly, I know, but it has done wonders for me.

 

[Gayle]

Hi Sabine,

Here are my answers, I hope they help:

1) Do you find that the rotations give you extra motivation or help you stay committed to working out consistently?

I don't really have a problem with motivation or commitment, but what I've found is that rotations really help with creating a focus to my workouts -- like a focusing for a set amount of time strength building for a while, then fat burning, then muscle endurance, etc. It kinda makes me feel like I have more of a set goal. In the end, it's easier for me to where I've made progress.

2) If you don't have a particular video/DVD do you find that substituting is pretty easy to do?

So far substituting has been pretty easy, but I have a heck of a lot of tapes and DVD's! ;-)

3) Approximately how much time needed for each day? I typically don't have more than an hour a day to workout so need to stay within this time frame.

So far, I've found that I can do most workouts within 1 hour. Some days may be a little more, some a little less. If it's going to be a little longer, I try to arrange that day to be on a weekend.

4) Which are your favorite rotations, fat burning cardio/moderate weights or the strength oriented ones?

Hmmm...I'm a sucker for strength and mass building stuff (I'm currently doing Cathe's June rotation and liking it very much), but I did just finish up with an Intensity Series rotation for four weeks that was a blast too.

As for gains, I'm happy to say that I'm seeing improvement in muscle mass and defnition. The nice thing about following some set rotations is that it's easier to keep the variety up and keep the muscles confused, so you're less likely to plateau. If you are interested in following some other rotations, I'd recommend any of the ones that Cathe has created. They are quite good and most workouts will fit right into your one-hour time limit. Good luck.

 

[Debra L]

>>I hear
>people saying they work out 1 1/2 or more a day & wonder if
>they are nuts or just need to get a life! LOL
>
>

Speaking for myself, I do have a life, it just doesn't include much tv time! I do agree that one doesn't need to work out that much to be fit & healthy.

Debra

 

[Aquajock]

RE: Fewer sessions, longer duration

Speaking also only for myself, I am one of those "nuts" who prefers to do longer sessions and work off of a 4-5 session-per-week schedule. Many consistent exercisers find that a more convenient schedule, because you don't have to carve out the time on more days and worry about dressing out, setting up your workout area; many also find it beneficial to give the body more rest days.

And I like to think I have a life, if a life constitutes a fulltime job, a parttime job, a fulltime hubby, a social circle and the ongoing tasks of maintaining house and home. I'm also (the last time I weighed myself) 5'3" and 106 lbs, with the vital signs and bone density of a person half my age.

Regarding rotations, it's fine to plan out your workouts in advance, be that advance weeks or months, if that keeps you consistent and gets you the exercise volume and modes that produce healthy goals. There are many good rotation ideas here on the Cathe forums, and it's also fine to cook up your own.

A-jock

 

[Buttercup]

I love rotations! I look for ideas for new ones all the time. They keep me focused, rather than committed. I also feel like I have a goal instead of just working out aimlessly.

The best rotations force me to do something I wasn't doing before. I've had the most success with the following:

Intense Cardio focused: This one was from Sports Illustrated for Her (a now defunct magazine) and they called it the exercise diet. Basically, 3 one hour cardios a week at 75 to 85% of your max. heart rate, 2 half hour weight circuit training with a half hour of cardio at the 75% to 85% intensity rate. You are working out 5 days a week. I stuck with it for 8 weeks. I lost a lot of weight with this, and went from a size 10 to a size 6. It also taught me the difference in working out with intensity.

Slow and Heavy: This was my beginning of the summer rotation. 4 weeks of Slow and Heavy using each one 2 times a week. Very little cardio thrown in just to make sure I didn't fall off the cardio boat! Followed by 4 weeks of Slow and Heavy doing one body part per day, so actually using a half of each tape once a week each (hope that makes sense) with a bit more cardio. I've gotten pretty strong with this one.

Circuit Training: Got this one from Muscle and Fitness Hers Spring 2001 issue. (I love to save these mags for future reference). This consists of circuits alternating heavy weight work with cardio. One circuit uses tri sets (three exercises in a row, done back to back with no rest)with 6 minutes of cardio go on to 3 more tri sets and 3 more cardios. The other uses a big set of 10 exercises done in a row followed by 10 minutes of cardio repeat 2 more times. Plus I put in a couple of days of pure cardio. This is what I'm doing now. I'm only doing this for 6 weeks because we are going on vacation soon. I don't really have any weight to lose at this point (just that obstinate last 5 lbs.}(), but I've lost some inches. and I'm fitting better into my "skinny" clothes. I also seem to have uncovered some ab definition that was hiding under some fat!

Next I'll be doing a Pyramid rotation. I'm also considering doing one from the latest Muscle and Fitness Hers that revolves around working out the right side of your body only and then working out the left side on your next training session. I just haven't worked out the logistics because everything I do, I do at home with free weights and a lot of the exercises involve machines. If anyone has done this or has any ideas, I'd love to hear from you!

 

[dpunch]

What I like about rotations is that it creates a focus. I also do not have to think about what workout I am doing today. It sometimes takes me forever to decide!! It also forces me to use some videos that I might not chose for myself. If it was left up to me I would do only do my favs and since I tend to gravitate to cardio more than weights I would never get any weight training in!

The one thing I don't like is that sometimes I do miss my favs, so I try to sub them in or chose rotations that use some of them.

Donna

 

[dani21496]

I follow rotations sometimes.

Most of the time I just do what I'm in the mood to do. It's all about how I feel that day. I have a basic rotation though, of doing 3 to 5 cardios a week (some higher intensity than others) working the different muscle groups at least one time per week. I also take 1 or 2 rest days per week.

I like to pick the workout I'm in the mood for that day and have gotten the results I've wanted and have stayed very motivated.