Borrowed CLX Burn - LOVE IT - have questions about set

[WWWendy]

I had previewed CLX at our VF get-together at Laura's--it looked so different from anything else I had, that I wanted to give it a try. Thanks to a generous temporary loan of the Burn disc (thanks, Laura!) I had my chance.

I've now done all 3 Burn circuits and I love them! I love the short length, love how they make me feel, I love how they force me to focus on the slow reps (but appreciate the fact that I don't have to maintain that focus for longer than 35-40 min!) and to my surprise I really like the combo moves. I had been concerned about needing much more weight to challenge the lower body vs. the upper, but that is not as much of an issue as I thought, at least in Burn.

I was in a bit of a slump over the winter, and was not as consistent w/ my workouts as I wanted to be, and all I was really motivated to do was DDR with some "maintenance" strength work thrown in there whenever I could. I think this is just what I need to get me back into the groove. My previously strong core needs work, too, and I can tell this set is perfect for getting my core back in shape quickly. P90X is my go-to program when I want to whip myself back into tip top shape, but I just haven't been able to face that one at the moment. Perhaps after CLX.

So now that I'm in the market to buy CLX, I have questions about the rest of the program. I realize I have not paid as much attention to CLX threads as I should have.

I think the chances of my finding just the strength DVDs for sale are slim, so I'll probably need to buy the whole set-- the whole package is so nicely put together, so I don't mind too much. BUT I would probably be doing cardio on my own (running, some DDR), so I'm not sure how much I'd use the cardio discs. What can you tell me about those? What is the cardio like? For reference, I have done P90X three times, but only the strength portions--I did my own cardio because I didn't want to stop running. I can take a bit of plyo/high impact, but not too much (knee issues).

re: equipment...I think I've read that you can use a barbell for Push, is that right? I have dumbbells up to 25 lbs. plus Platemates, and a barbell with lots of plates. Should I be looking at 30's? 35's? adjustable dumbell handles that I can put plates on? For reference, for this first week I generally selected a weight a bit below what Chalene was using and that felt just about right for most exercises, though on a few I bumped back up to what she was using. I know a weighted vest is an option, but I don't think I want to spend the $ on one of those at the moment.

FYI: I am not afraid of lifting heavy-- I know from experience that heavy weights work great for me.

Any tips? Phase comparisons? equipment notes? comments from anyone who did some (or all) of their own cardio?

Also, do I need to worry about the scratched DVD issue, or have they worked that out now?

TIA.

[westiemack]

Hi Wendy! I've done P90X and am now doing CLX in that same way, with my choice of cardio, not the program's offerings. Cardio is not my fave thing, and I only like "what I like".

Since I've only done the two cardio workouts that are included with the basic package once each (and it was 10 weeks ago), I will have to let someone else speak to the specifics of them. Just wanted to say that I have had great results using just the strength workouts!

You will probably have to look into getting the 30s and 35s, but you might be able to put it off until the Push phase, and you might be able to just use a barbell at that point.

I haven't heard anything recently about the scratch issue, so I am assuming that is resolved?? Pierre sorted out my issues with that!

Hope that helps!
Kathy

[Helen S]

WWWendy,

I think you'll be fine using your barbell for the Push Phase if you want to go heavier. There are no combo moves in the Push Phase. You will lift about the same amount of weight for the Lean Phase as you did in the Burn Phase. The Lean Phase has a bunch of core moves.

I mostly did other cardio. That's the beauty of CLX. You can mix/match the cardio. Burn It Off is cardio intervals. But I made a better workout by doing some of the harder intervals and doing 30-40 kettlebell swings between each interval. Burn Intervals mixes cardio intervals with active rests in between. The active rests are light weight moves (5 lbs. in each hand).

Helen

[JackieB]

WWWendy-

I've also been enjoying a modified CLX. I did Chalene's cardio but it was hard on my knee--and my postpartum body. I've been subbing my own cardio and stretch. I like the Recharge dvd, but also use Cathe Stretch Max, Sara I. Yoga, etc.

I have never done P90X although I want to this fall. I got by purchasing some dumbells I had missing (12's) and invested in 25's. Eventually I may need dh's barbell.

I finished Lean last week. Love the program, don't regret a single penny. I'm dong Lean for Life, and know I'll do another rotation in the future.

Jackie

[jenjenjen]

I'm also curious. I looked at a friend's discs and can't figure out which ones are the cardio ones. We tried a couple and they all involved these huge looking dumbells, lol. I need more cardio!

[naturallove]

Originally Posted by Helen S

I mostly did other cardio. That's the beauty of CLX. You can mix/match the cardio. Burn It Off is cardio intervals. But I made a better workout by doing some of the harder intervals and doing 30-40 kettlebell swings between each interval. Burn Intervals mixes cardio intervals with active rests in between. The active rests are light weight moves (5 lbs. in each hand).

Helen

Wendy-I had to stop doing CLX, but when I was doing it, I did what Helen did. I really liked Burn it Off, but I can't do a lot of impact, and subbed in kettlebell swings. I didn't like Burn Intervals very much though. Just felt really long, if you know what I mean! Recharge was just okay, and I'm sure you own better stretch workouts. There are plenty of things that you can sub in and there are a few threads floating around with good subs for the non-strength days.

[bonbon]

Wendy,

As far as the scratched discs, I just purchased CLX from Mary (totalfitness) 3 weeks ago and all of my discs are in perfect condition!

[mspina]

Wendy,

I'm doing an only strength workout version of CLX, using my swim/bike/run for cardio, and it's working BEAUTIFULLY! I love the workouts, I really do. I honestly haven't looked at all the cardio workouts, but the ones that I did give a brief peek at looked really fun. Sort of AWT-like, with more athletic moves.

As far as weights, you'll be able to do ALMOST all the heavy back work in PUSH with a barbell. I think that there is one set of single arm rows - you'll need more than 25# for that, I'm sure. So either a single 30# db, or an adjustable db that can take your bb plates would work well. Do you think you could go heavier than 25# for chest flies? That's the only other possible exercise where you might need a pair of db's heavier than 25's. The leg work you can definitely do with a barbell in push if you want to go heavier than 25's.

I don't know if this is helpful or not, but CLX prompted me to get the SelectTechs since I didn't want to expand my already huge db collection, and I them.

[Inchworm]

Hi Wendy,

Well I am in my second week of Burn and I love it! I have done her cardio workouts and they are not my favorite and I know I have others I can sub in. I think one that would be a fantastic substitute would be Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred workouts or the Results in 10 days workouts. They both have the intervals of cardio bursts and have some similar moves to Chalean and it is modifiable. They also generally use the light weights too, like Chalean for the Cardio Interval workouts. When an exercise has way too much impact, I either hop onto my rebounder or I do Kbell Swings too. I think as a substitute for Recharge, my Sara Ivanhoe Yoga Body Makeover workouts will do just fine.

I also had an issue with purchasing more weights and it is bothersome to figure it out. I have had to spend like $90 on dumbells, adding a 20 and 25 pound set. My DH has 30 and 40, so I may need 35's. I was soooo tempted to get an adjustable set because sometimes it would be nice to go up only 2.5 pounds instead of a full 5 pounds. I have also ordered an 18 pound Ironwear vest and now I've had to purchase Ladies Haulin Hooks because my forearms and hands were KILLING me holding onto those 25 pound each during Burn2. I do have a barbell that weighs itself about 12 or 15 pounds and then I have an additional 25 pounds to add to it, which only brings me to about 35-40 pounds. I would either have to get heavier dumbells or another 40 pounds in weights (actually, come to think of it it may be the cheaper option than having to buy 2, 35 pound dumbells). So, that's what I have done. The Select tech ones looked a bit awkward to me and I've heard they are REALLY long, and they look it too. If I didn't already have a decent selection of dumbells already, I would have purchases adjustable. Just so you know, someone else in another thread said that they kind of like just being able to grab the dumbell set they need instead of having to switch it back and forth.

HOpe this helps.

Kelly

[Helen S]

Originally Posted by jenjenjen

I'm also curious. I looked at a friend's discs and can't figure out which ones are the cardio ones. We tried a couple and they all involved these huge looking dumbells, lol. I need more cardio!

Burn It Off and Burn Intervals (this is more light weight/cardio) are the cardio wos. The SelectTech dbs look huge but they are only using 5 lbs for these wos. There is a 7th DVD with two more cardio wos but I don't have that one so I can't comment.