Weight workouts - how to progress

T

taekwondomeow

Member
Hi there everyone :)

I recently posted the following question for Cathe in the AskCathe forum but I just realised that she's really busy with her Road Trip right now and probably won't have much time to answer people's questions so I was wondering if any of you experienced ladies (or gents) could perhaps give me a little guidance instead?

This was my original post:

"#77278, "Cathe - what should I do next to progress?"


Dear Cathe,

I discovered your workouts 6 months ago and I have been in love with them ever since! My first purchase was Drill Max, shortly followed by Kick Max and Boot Camp (+ME), and more recently Power Hour and IMAX3. I love all these workouts and I hope to eventually collect all of your DVDs (I believe Butts and Guts is winging it's way across the Atlantic as I write this). I have never been this fit in all my life and I have you to thank for that!

One question I would like to ask you is about how to proress with weights...I have done cardio in various forms for about 10 years now but have only recently begun to lift weights. 3 months ago I began doing a whole body workout 3x per week (either ME or Karen Voight's Great Weighted Workout). In the last 2 weeks I have done Power Hour 3x week and have seen a huge difference in my physique. The only problem I feel is that at the moment I can match your weight for the leg segements of all workouts but I have to lower the weights for most of the upper body exercises (esp. biceps, triceps and chest). Consequently, I feel that my legs need more of a challenge but my upper body is being worked to it's max and I was wondering what would be the best way to deal with this....would it be best to increase the weights on the leg segments of Power Hour or would it be better to start a 4 day split, doing Butts and Gutts twice a week
and an upper body workout twice a week? If a 4 day split is best, should I (i) stick with doing just the upper body workout from Power Hour, (ii) combine the upper body workouts from Power Hour and ME, or (iii) perhaps move on some heavier workouts like Gym Style? (I intend to get the Gym Styles eventually but I'm not sure when I should start these considering I have not been lifting very long!)

Sorry this is such a long post but I couldn't think of a way to ask my question more concisely! "

Any help advice in how to progress with weights would be greatly appreciated!! :)

Sally
 
Hello Sally,

Are you trying to improve upper body strength or overall body strength? Because from what I've just read it sounds more like you want to concerntrate on upper body, in which case I think it is better to do 2 upper body workouts and 1 lower body a week.

I am one who don't match Cathe weight for weight on the upper body, I can lift as heavy as she does for legs sometimes. I don't mind this as I don't want to develop too much muscles in the upper body - my weight choice is deliberately lower than Cathe's.

If it is overall body endurance and strength then what you are doing is fine - total body weights 2-3 times a week + 2-3 cardio. If it is upper body then I would concerntrate on upper body using the split routines like Pyramids, Gym Styles, Slow & Heavy or Pure Strength. You could do 2 x PUB p/w, 1 x PLB p/w. Or do the entire series of Gyms Styles, S&H, PS etc. and add on an extra upper body from MIS, PH, ME, MM etc. The second upper body workout is more endurance than strength training. I suggested this because I thought repeating the upper body in Gym Style, S&H, PS would be too much.

Gym Styles & Pure Strengths are good to use for heavier weight training. I prefer these to S&H, which I've used maybe once, although I think a lot of people think S&H is best for building strength. I keep telling myself to use it again but the time seem to pass by so slowly on that workout. I know Cathe is working on another S&H as well, you could wait for that.

I was not really clear on what you were trying to achieve, but I hope this gives you some ideas.


Yen
 
You may want to stick with what you are doing for a bit longer, maybe 2 weeks, as long as you are seeing results, and increase the weight you are using for lower body to get the extra challenge you need (if it's too much to lift overhead, try adding a weight belt---or two ankle weights attached together to form a belt--or a weighted vest).

After that, I suggest trying a split routine, either a two-day split (like PUB/PLB), doing upper and lower body each twice a week, or a three-day split (like PS), doing each workout once a week. This will both allow you to focus on upper body a bit more, and give those muscles more recovery time between workouts.

You might try alternating two weeks of this split routine with a week of your full-body workouts that you are doing now.

Of the options you listed, I wouldn't combine the upper body work from PH and ME. What you may need is more recovery time for upper body, so you can build more strength. Many people underestimate the benefit of recovery: it's when you are resting from the work you did that the body repairs and muscle builds. Work hard when you workout, and allow sufficient recovery time so that you can work a bit harder the next time. (One indication of not enough recovery is when you can't lift as much as you did in your previous workout using the same workout).

And don't compare the weights you use to what Cathe uses, but to what you have previously used. Make it a goal to increase the amount of weight you are using every 2 workouts or so. To best do this, it's important to be able to increase in small increments, maybe 1-2 pounds for smaller upper-body muscles, 2-3 pounds for larger upper-body muscles. (This only applies to when you are using the same or similar workout, because the number of reps per set and the sequencing of exercises may make it necessary to use a lighter weight in one workout than you do in another).
 
Thankyou Kathryn and Yen for your replies!

I'm sorry this is so late but I have been unbelieveably busy at work this last week or so!

Kathryn - thank you very much for your advice! I have done one more week of Power Hourx3 and this week I added 2-4lbs to pretty much all the moves (except chest because the weight I use nearly kills me as it is LOL). I intend to do this workout for one week more like you said and then move on to Gym Styles Upper Body (once each twice a week) and Butts and Gutts twice a week. (I went for GS rather than PUB and PLB as you suggested because after reading other posts people seem to prefer the GS series). Thank you so much for taking te time to reply to my post - I lways read what you have to say on a subjet because you seem to be one of the most knowledgeable people on this forum :) Thanks for sharing your knowedge and experience so readily :7

To answer your questions Yen - as much as I hate to admit this, the goal of my weight workouts is to make me look better and to make my limbs feel tired after the workout....whether this requires strength or endurance style workouts I don't know...what I do know is that my body does already look better after a few weeks of Power Hour! I would also like to try to balance out my natural pear-shape by building more muscle on my upper body. That said though, I do not want to neglect my lower body - my lower body is larger and stronger than my upper body but it still lacking in muscle definition!

Thanks again to both of you :)

Sally
 
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