Cathe Fans Part 5

Morning Ladies,

This morning my workout was Kelly's Slim Sculpting. Love this one also, just a chance to get the kettlebell out.

Laurel, Nice job on the workouts, and getting some strength improvement from doing those GS workouts. Those push-ups will just be a distant memory. Awesome news on the IMAX 4 hitting all those good spots, and of course being one that is labeled as fun from that genre. I keep forgetting about Butts & Guts, it really is a good one for sure. Right now I'm on a Kelly kick, and really feeling the love from all those workouts. I'm going to continue the same 5 workouts next week. She put this rotation out on facebook, and said to do this for 6 weeks. I actually like all of these so I'm attempting at least 4 weeks. Will see how I feel. Just glad that tomorrow is my stretch/yoga day.

Thelma, Great job on the yoga fusion workout. We are suppose to be getting some rain/sleet/snow tomorrow, like you I'm not looking forward to any of it. I hope that you don't have to endure that pain again. Glad to hear I'm not the only one that enjoys butterscotch. My dd's don't like it, and I can't understand that at all.

Have a great day!
Laurie

Hi Ladies ~ Happy Friday "Eve"! What a strange but good week it has been. So our customer service lady as I mentioned had quit and was gone within like 2 days. Two of us moved offices and now I am doing what I was doing before + recording documents. I don’t know if you ladies remember when I filled in for the lady who was on vacation (She was our office recorder), well it is her office and position I moved into. So luckily I was trained and know how to do this. I will be doing what I was doing and this and then “training” is in the works for more. Just getting moved and set up. It’s been a good week and I have been promised by our company manager (not my dept. manager) that a different person is going to be training me. He is just going to be letting us get into the swing of our new positions and then we will make an actual schedule so it gets done. YAY! My dept manager (the one that can be very moody) was talked to about all of it and how angry she has been ……. So hopefully that will improve and she was TOLD to take time off.

At home …. Our washing machine went out the other day. UGH! So DH very kindly has been dealing with getting it fixed and/or looks like replacing it instead. In the meantime our little tiny laundry room feels overwhelming with a laundry hamper and basket sitting there . . . filling up. Workouts have been good but not quite the scheduled STS, etc. workouts I am planning on picking back up with you Laurel. Next week forsure.

Monday I went to BootCamp and there were literally only a couple people I recognized. The usual's have been gone or trying other things Katy said and then said a kind of snarky comment a bout me being too good for her class now that I have a Peloton. GEEZ. Tuesday DH and I ended up meeting some customers for dinner right after work so no workout, last night was a Peloton ride and tonight most likely the same. Tomorrow will probably be one of the PHA’s. Speaking of which, I do really like the new PHA 3 workout; the other two I think I enjoy more but I love having "new moves" to work with and the upper to lower, upper to lower factor. The other two I ended up returning ….. I know you guys are not shocked at all. I didn’t even open them. LOL I watched the online clips and was like “nope, that’s not going to be happening with this gal” so I contacted her customer service and no problem on returning, especially since they weren’t even open.

Laurel: Fabulous job as always with your workouts and getting though all of the new Step Boss workouts. As I mentioned above, I just knew those weren't going to be for me at all. I may have been able to learn it but thought I have so many others I still don't use, why force myself. I am glad you had a nice Christmas and New Years. I am glad to be through it and I was able to talk with my sister a lot on Christmas; she was in Australia and was really feeling homesick/mom sick and the "feels" as well.

Laurie: Great job with your workouts! I brought a couple KCM workouts out during the week of Christmas for the fun factor and really enjoyed them.

Thelma: Way to get on your yoga and looks like you have been getting in your strength workouts as well still the last couple weeks. Way to go! I am glad your body is cooperating with you.

Sorry I have to be so brief ladies …. Wanted to give you a little more of an update. Now that I am a little more settled I should have my usual time to check in. Miss you all and glad you are all doing well!

Talk to you tomorrow ~ Although tomorrow I am filling in for the girl I trained because she is off. It’s ok, I take all of this with pure joy that I am finally getting to do more.

Tami

Hi Ladies! Today's workouts were Ying yoga and Barre. In Ying yoga, you hold a deep stretch for a long time and we did a lot of hip flexor stretches. Barre was good but I pulled my left groin muscle doing plank jumping jacks but it was done more like a squat. We did this same move on Monday and I was OK but I think I went too wide on my squat and OUCH! So this afternoon I skipped the leg workout. I've massaged, stretched and applied heat, so I think I'm doing a little better.

Bracing for a rainy weekend here! It won't be bad tomorrow as originally predicted. Saturday will be 100% rain and it looks like a rainy week ahead.

Laurie, great job with the KCM workout!
I hope I don't have to endure that pain again Laurie, but I am preparing myself mentally in case I have to. I can't believe your dd's don't like butterscotch!

Laurel, great leg workout and congrats for completing all the Step Boss workouts! I think I'm going to like the new PHA workout. I like that it is slower even if it has more reps at times. I like compound moves but I would use a heavier weight for the deadlift than I would use for a squat. The S&S PHA is a killer. I wonder how you would've felt had you done this workout after yoga day.

Too bad Cathe has been shortening the stretch workouts. I hope she doesn't start shortening the warm up times!

The workouts are feeling good. I'm starting to dread the length of the STS workouts. I might just switch to STS for the 4 weeks so I can do all the discs. It feels like a very long time since the last time I did an STS workout. I'm starting to miss The Beast!
Thanks for your kind words about the potential pain due to switching meds. My doctor has already written and spoken to our insurance. Being afraid of needles is not something they consider a problem, so it's not a good enough reason to pay for the expensive med.
I hope the weather people are wrong about this weekend's weather. Even though the weekend will be rainy, Monday is the day that worries me. They're talking about thunderstorms and they are pretty bad here.

OMG Tami, I'm so happy for you! Congratulations on the new job. I hope they have bigger and better things in store for you! I knew all that training you've been doing when filling in for others would eventually pay off. I'm so glad you'll be trained by a different person than your manager and that she was spoken to about her behavior! How long was she told to take time off for? Probably not long enough.

Sorry about the washing machine! If you get a new one, don't get a front loader. The giant rubber gasket at around the opening gets really nasty and mildewy and it smells. I spent hours cleaning our machine in MA with all kinds of cleaners and brushes. I eventually ended up having to dry the gasket after each use to prevent that from happening. This is a big issue with front loaders.

Good job getting workouts in whenever possible! I can't believe Katy has lost most of her regulars! Maybe she should dial the killer workout dial down a few notches.

I'm glad you like the new PHA workout too. Good for you for returning the DVDs you didn't like. I wish I hadn't removed the shrinkwrap off the IMAX workout. I always get lost when she goes around the step.

Erika, welcome back! I'm so glad you and your family had a great time in Duluth! How wonderful that your oldest played so well!

I bet the first full week at work has been hard. At least you're busy. Do the best you can because that is all you can do. Congrats on finishing up another rotation!

It really rains a lot here. I hope the first injection is really the hardest but I think every injection will be hard. The pen is a huge pen, but you're right is a giant version of a finger prick tool. You have to pinch the skin at the injection site, press the needle opening against the skin, press the plunger part at the top and wait about 15 seconds before releasing the pinched skin. Thanks for sending good vibes my way. Keep them coming, please!

You are really busy with work and hockey season! Stop in whenever possible!

Goodnight ladies and have a great weekend!
Thelma

Hi Ladies! Another good workout today. I did the 59 minute Upper Body Blast premix from Supersets (which is such a good upper body workout) followed by a 45 minute ride with Peloton. My legs are feeling pretty tired from yesterday but, for whatever reason, once the music started in the spin ride, I was all in! I love days like that!

Tami, congratulations on the new position at work!! I really hope that you do get more training now. And I bet it just feels nice to have some different responsibilities and some recognition from the highers up about your difficult manager. But yuck on the washing machine. So Thelma told you to avoid front loading machines, and I will tell you to avoid a top loading one without an agitator. Unlike Thelma, my problem isn’t with keeping the machine clean.....it is with getting the clothes clean. Honestly, I would be very happy if I could have my 10 year old Maytags (with an agitator) back after having these current machines for not quite three years. Because the other issue I have is the washer isn’t going to last probably very much longer. Granted, it didn’t handle the move from Alaska well, but I hate having ‘disposable’ appliances, but that seems to be how they are made anymore. Boy do I sound old!!! But just some thoughts because I would not recommend these to anybody. And btw, they are Samsung. Maybe other manufacturers make them better, but I know my DHs cousin had the same experience I am having with mine not cleaning clothes. And a simple load takes over an hour to clean....and then it isn’t always clean. Anyhow, I completely understand about the workouts being off through all this holiday/new job/etc. So Sunday we are starting STS Meso 2 for the four weeks! Looking forward to it actually. I am glad you like the PHA3 workout and don’t blame you a bit for returning the other two. What a strange comment for Katy to make to you. I understand she puts a lot of herself into her classes, but she really shouldn’t try to make you feel badly for your workout choices. Just seems....odd.

Erika, so glad you enjoyed your trip to Duluth! I am glad your DS enjoyed his birthday and your other DS did well in the hockey tournament (despite no trophy). Glad you have enjoyed your LITE/RWH rotation. You really have me thinking about a summer rotation using those two series, plus I want to add in the PHA workouts Cathe has as well. And then I want to add in something else, and I am not sure yet. One of the things I like to do with my summer rotations is change the style of strength training workout I am doing every week, so one week would be heavy (RWH) and then the next may be more metabolic (PHA), then more endurance (LITE) and then......something .....and then repeated a time or two. But that is months away yet!! Since I keep extending out this current rotation I don’t think I will be starting another rotation until mid to late May! But if you have some ideas of ‘themed weeks’, I would love to hear them! Be safe with your weather!

Thelma, sorry to hear about the leg injury. Hopefully some rest will take care of it. Regarding PHA3, I definitely think I would enjoy it more not sandwiched in to this current rotation. I think a refreshed body would be the best approach with it....but I was too anxious to try it! I am toying with taking a week ‘off’ after these next four weeks of STS because what I have planned for after this four weeks is 12 weeks of heavy workouts. I haven’t quite worked all that out yet, but that is where I think I may be going. And a week after Meso 2, where I can properly do a workout like PHA3, may be the best thing for giving my body a little recovery and still working out. So if I do that, hopefully I will get a better feel for the workout then. But I do think you will like the pace of the PHA3 workout. I never felt rushed in it, and I can get frustrated at times with Cathe for how she rushes sometimes! Would love to see you join us on STS! Stay safe and dry this weekend. Our worst weather is supposed to hit tomorrow afternoon. I think we will have mostly rains and high winds. At least that’s what I hope!

Laurie, nice workout! Sounds like what I have planned for tomorrow. Regarding the weights in PHA3, she used mostly 12 and 15 pounds for lower body (one set of rear lunges from the step she uses 10#). For upper body, she uses 5# for one shoulder move (front/side lateral raises), 12# for Arnold presses and bicep curls and 15# for one arm rows in a plank position and pullovers into chest flies. The rest (if my memory is serving me right!) are body weight exercises. So definitely heavier than LITE but not too heavy. The only one that pushed it for me is the Arnold presses, but my shoulders were tired and they don’t love that move. Like I said, I took that and the bicep curls down in weight yesterday and still felt it was a good workout. Hope that helps! Hope your weather doesn’t get too bad! But I also wouldn’t mind a good old fashioned Green Bay football game in the snow on Sunday! Said by somebody who is not playing or attending and sitting in 60 degree temps in Alabama.

Enjoy the weekend!

Laurel

Hi Ladies! Hope you enjoyed the weekend. Ours was good. Yesterday was another beautiful January day so we headed to the golf course. I love being able to golf in January! Saturday, on the other hand, was not a beautiful day. Like Thelma, that storm hit and it hit hard. We were under a tornado warning for about 45 minutes and could hear the sirens from about 15 miles south of here where a pretty big tornado went through. But we just got wind and rain....lots of both. Looking at the power grid map, it looked like quite a bit of the city lost power. We were without ours for about five hours. Not a fun storm, but it encouraged DH and I to buy a generator, which we did during the power outage. Home Depot had power as did a restaurant down the road where we sat and watched football for a couple of hours. I also got a lot of house work done during that power outage until it became too dark to see anything. DH took a nap.

For workouts, on Saturday I did a 20 Jessica Smith low impact cardio workout followed by 30 minutes of yoga with Kristin McGee and Peloton. Yesterday was STS Disc 14/Legs (which I am feeling today!) followed by Cathe Live Keep the Cardio Coming. Today was STS Disc 13/Chest, Shoulders and Triceps followed by Cathe Live Express Your Step, which was a fun mix of Step Sync, IMAX4 and Abs Stacker....all done in 45 minutes! Perfect after that long STS workout.

Thelma, I am glad to hear you are safe from that storm but yikes on the water coming in!! I hope you can figure out where the leak is. I am glad you didn’t lose power, but I am surprised so many are still without. I used to love power outages as a kid. Now they drive me crazy. All I can think about is the food in the fridge and freezer....and having hot water! I suppose that means I am an adult. Great workout! I am glad you enjoyed the STS workout. No doubt your workouts feel different when not doing them after a long, stressful day at work! Congratulations on your Push/Pull purchase!

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

Morning Ladies,

Sorry I was not on yesterday, just was busy right when I got here. No workouts for the weekend. I usually try to workout on Sunday, but I had a meeting and then of course the game was on. Yesterday I did Kelly's RAW Box & Pump 2 and this morning was RAW Cardio & Sculpt Overload.

Laurel, Great workouts! I just love the Superset workout, but have never tried the upper body one as a stand alone. Thanks for the weight information on the PHA3 workout, those presses always get me too. Makes it nice that she has given us three stages to choose from. We really didn't get all that much snow, it was more ice. My youngest dd slipped and fell, but she is doing alright. Your weather sounds way worse than what we had to go through with a tornado. I'm sure that generators are like snow blowers around here. Or should I say bags of salt. We had to buy two bags of salt, and DH used up one of them already. Nice that you where able to go golfing again in winter.

Thelma, Glad to hear that your leg is doing fine. Great job on the workouts and your class. The bridges really do sound brutal, but I'm sure effective. Dang on that weather, and all the rain getting through. Hope your new dvd arrives soon, it is a good one for sure. You are making me want to do that one again.

Glad to hear that both of you made it through the storms!
Laurie

Hi Ladies! My workout today was STS Meso 2/Back and Biceps-disc 15. This workout felt really good even though I can't lift as heavy as I used to. I was still able to hit muscle failure using lighter weights.

We had another rainy night and it continued till noontime today. No water came in the case this time!

Did you get Cathe's email? She's already working on her 2020 Perfect30 workout series! I love that the workouts are 30 minutes long! I hope she includes warm-ups and cooldowns.

Laurie, nice job with those workouts!
I really lucked out with that groin pull injury! The bridges were killers! I hope the new DVD arrives on time for this week's workouts.

Laurel, great workouts!

The bridges looked pretty simple but the more you squeezed that ball the harder it got. It was even harder when we had to hold the bridge up while squeezing the ball. I honestly don't know how I did the STS workout after that. I'm sure the bridges were the reason why the STS workout was so hard. I have serious inner thigh DOMS!
I think you're right about the Meso 2 workouts making you feel tired. They are long workouts and we're lifting heavier weights. Funny about the warning to your DH in case he finds you asleep by 8 PM!
Thanks so much for the tips on the replacement workouts. I actually have Kick, Punch, and Crunch + Legs and Glutes DVD!

We also had thunder this morning. OMG! I can't believe that the tornado went about that family's house! It must've been really scary to hear all the debris inside the tornado.

Goodnight ladies!
Thelma

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was STS Disc 15/Back and Biceps followed by Cathe Live Fitness Fusion. Good stuff.

Thelma, great workout! 🙂 I saw that note from Cathe about the new workouts and, like Laurie, they are purchased! Love the sound of them, especially the 30 minute timeframes. Seems like they will be able to be used in so many ways. If you give that Body Blast Legs and Glutes workout a try, it is a good one. Cathe moves fast in it, but it is worth learning. I think it was Tami’s favorite leg workout at one time, and you know how Tami can crush the leg workouts!

Laurie, great workout! Like you, the new workouts are ordered. I got to the description of the flow workouts and had hit ‘add to cart’ before I finished reading about them. I am so hoping they are similar to what she did at the Road Trip. I love the idea of a premix rotation. Like you, I don’t feel like I have ever taken full advantage of all the premixes on so many of her workouts. And in many cases, the premixes are better workouts! Yep, I don’t need a tornado to come over my house. I have been close to them but, oddly, have never seen one. But spending summers in Iowa as a child with my grandparents has had me forever fearful of them though.

Until tomorrow.

Laurel

Morning Ladies,

This morning I did LITE Metabolic Blast. Just needed a change of pace, and this one felt great this morning.

Laurel, Great combo of workouts! I think that is the very same thing that I did when I read the last description of the flow workout. It couldn't get in my cart fast enough. Some of the premixes add a metabolic component to them. I'm going to continue with the current metabolic rotation that Kelly gave us, but adding in some other instructors. Tomorrow is going to be some Jessica Smith, at least that is what I'm planning so far.

Thelma, LOL about the pre-sale purchase. Resistance if futile... Love the workout, and of course you listen to your body and new that was all that it could handle. Glad to hear that the DVD arrived in time. I'm sure that I will have an opportunity to order the workout again. I'm sure that she will have that one on sale at some point also. I'm just thankful that I know a lot more low-impact moves so that I can take it down when necessary.

Have a great day!
Laurie

Hi Ladies! Today's workouts were: Yin, Barre, Cathe's Body Blast Series Legs & Glutes. OMG, I thought I was not going to be able to walk after Legs & Glutes! I had to take longer breaks during the workout. The 51 workout took me 68 minutes.

The pills I am taking now were denied to me again. I'll have to start injecting myself in 3 or 4 weeks, depending on how many pills I have left. If the RA symptoms come back I won't be able to continue with the rotation. This makes me very sad because I am loving this rotation, and I'm feeling stronger every day.

Temperatures were much cooler today and will be even cooler tomorrow.

I can't believe that Saturday the 18th, will be the first anniversary of my last day of work!

Laurie, great workout! The workout I bought is the Supersets Push and Pull which is the workout I'll need for two Fridays.
It really is important to learn how to modify certain exercises.

Laurel, fantastic combo! I don't know how you found the energy to include the step workout into your routine today! Great job!
You always push yourself very hard Laurel! I am not surprised that you're feeling this part of the rotation. I am glad that you're thinking about altering the rotation to lessen the lower body workouts. Definitely listen to your body!

My new workout is the Body Blast Push and Pull

Hi Tami!

Goodnight ladies and have a wonderful weekend!
Thelma