What workout or system has made a noticeable difference in your fitness level?

[chapina]

I know there was a similar thread recently, but I'm curious about whether there are specific workouts or systems that you've noticed have made a difference in your fitness level. Note I didn't say 'results,' as results vary from person to person, unless by results you mean greater strength, endurance and/or flexibility for daily life.

I'll give my fitness journey as an example. Other than doing Jazzercise and Richard Simmons as a toddler with my mother , my official start to vidiocy was in high school with Callanetics and the Cindy Crawford Shape Your Body workout, both of which I would do several times a week. Then I went to college and used the university gym for the most part. After college, I found Jillian Michaels in the library so I did her videos for a while. Then I saw an infomercial for P90x while on vacation (I don't have cable) and remember thinking that unlike other mainstream workouts out there, it didn't seem gimicky. I eventually did two rotations of that, though I only had 3#, 5#, 8# weights and bands. Up until then, pretty much every workout was difficult until I had done it a few times, and there was no noticeable improvement of my fitness level (probably very slow and incremental compared to not doing anything at all, but not noticeable). That is, I was fairly fit to begin with, but had no noticeable change to my fitness level since high school. My DH and I have a very heavy mattress, and I remember struggling to lift the corners when changing the sheets but during P90x it was a piece of cake with one arm. My DH also noticed my back was extremely toned. I think that the combination of consistency with the variety of the P90x program ('muscle confusion') really made a difference in my fitness level, and also got me started on yoga, which in general increased my strength and balance. I'm sure I would have had more 'results' if I had a greater range of weights, but it still made a noticeable difference. I'm also sure that another rotation of workouts or other systems with this combination (consistency, variety) would make a difference. P90x Yoga in particular noticeably improved my push-up form.

Another series of workouts that I feel has made a huge difference is Horizontal Conditioning. Interval workouts used to always be challenging for me; workouts such as Paul Katami's 4x4 Bootcamp or Patrick Godeau's Lean Hot Body would leave me wheezing and gasping for air. In daily life, jogging or running up a set of steps would leave me out of breath. After starting HoCo, I did 4x4 and Lean Hot Body and they were completely doable! I wouldn't say they're a breeze, but I noticed that I could at least do the whole workout without breaks. I also notice that I'm not out of breath after jogging up steps. This was a very interesting observation because HoCo is not interval training and it's mostly strength training done at a slow, controlled pace, but I'm pretty sure I can attribute my improvement to HoCo since adding it to my mix was the only difference in my fitness routine. (Note: I'm a variety junkie, so my fitness routine includes a wide range of workout types).

I'd like to give an honorable mention to Tonique and Dream Body - though I've only noticed my increase in endurance when doing their respective workouts - but Tonique does put other workouts with squats and lunges to shame and Dream Body is definitely a league beyond any barre/fusion workouts out there (that I know of). Another honorable mention to power yoga type workouts in general, that improve my strength for body-weight workouts, balance, and flexibility (I know, this isn't specific, but in the case of yoga I can't attribute these benefits to one workout or system).

So VFers, what specifically has made a difference in your fitness level? Please share!

- Maria

[PhyllisG]

Cathe Friedrich's STS. I really gained in strength. But it was TA's Meta Omni that slimmed down those parts I wanted slimming down.

[Cafelattee]

Chalene Extreme motivated me to challenge myself. I had been a runner not marathon or anything just fun keep the fat off kind. I did the quick bowflex workout to keep tone. I would say I was a intermediate kind of fitness person. I never not even as a teen do a push up on my toes. The Chalene program really worked my weak area of the upper body. It also got me pushing myself in the cardio stuff. I find Turbo Fire easy fun now I use Cathe and Michele D as my next to conquer I still pause and take breaks with some of their cardio. I just tried a Kelly advance workout it was easier and fun so I'll use her for light days.

I now do all the push ups in Cathe workouts on my toes I love pushing myself and the next challenge. I am in the best cardio fitness shape in my life at age 43.

[Nuggie's Auntie]

I'd say of all the 'systems' I've tried, Physique 57 made the greatest impact in my overall wellness. I gained strength, flexibility, cardiovascular capacity and it 'cured' me of many aches and pains from which I was suffering.

[mtngoat]

Cathe's STS for me too. I was the strongest I have ever been after finishing STS. (Felt strong, was functionally strong.)

Along with STS, I did a 4-min tabata finisher about 4X/week, plus a couple of long steady-state cardio sessions. In addition to the gained strength, my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were in the low-ideal range.

So why don't I always do such a routine? I began to dread the tabata more than anything I have ever done! (This was a give it my all type of tabata - not just HiiT.) The gained strength I attribute to STS, but I think my other result indicators may have been from the tabata/steady-state cardio.

eta: Of course it depends on how you define 'results'. I lost no inches with STS, although I had cuts I haven't seen before.

[EnglishIvy]

Originally Posted by chapina

....... After starting HoCo, I did 4x4 and Lean Hot Body and they were completely doable! I wouldn't say they're a breeze, but I noticed that I could at least do the whole workout without breaks. I also notice that I'm not out of breath after jogging up steps. This was a very interesting observation because HoCo is not interval training and it's mostly strength training done at a slow, controlled pace, but I'm pretty sure I can attribute my improvement to HoCo since adding it to my mix was the only difference in my fitness routine. (Note: I'm a variety junkie, so my fitness routine includes a wide range of workout types)........

So VFers, what specifically has made a difference in your fitness level? Please share!

- Maria

I have absolutely found that to be the case. If I build a strong muscle base that especially focuses on unified core strength, my aerobic endurance improves dramatically. Far better than doing regular aerobic work-- as a matter of fact I can skip aerobics completely and never notice a change in my fitness level. Of course there is an aerobic component to even slow/heavy weightlifting. But well conditioned muscles yield highly efficient movement and that equals improvement in endurance.

I had excellent strength gains with STS. It was a stepping stone into suspension training, which yielded the best overall results by far. It gave me truly functional strength that opened up the door to a world of new activity.

ETA: I've done many strength training systems (and I loved P90X) but in terms of systems, STS gave me the greatest strength gains by far. Suspension training can be too hard/dread inducing if you don't at least have enough general and core strength to get started. Because of STS, I had enough strength to make it fun from the start and it grew from there. P90X2 was fun for the same reason.

[bubbles76]

For endurance the best system for me was Weider X-Factor:ST. It really toned me up and increased my endurance. All without equipment!

For strength and aesthetics, I would say any Cathe rotation, not a specific system.

For motivation and "getting back in the workout groove" I would say Powerfit Harmony.

For flexibility, Eoin Finn's Pursuit of Happy Hips and Romy Phillips Yoga dvds.

ETA: I really wish people would stop dismissing aesthetics as "results". I'm not saying that anyone on this thread has done this, but some comments here have made me think of other threads that basically poo poo you wanting to achieve aesthetic results. Increased strength, endurance, flexibility, AND the pursuit of college fine are all great goals Just because you want aesthetics does not mean you sacrifice the other goals.

[Tugger31]

For me, I've always been a Cathe girl, but Zuzka's online Warrior workouts and her ZCUT dvds really took my fitness level up a notch with both strength and endurance.

[laurajhawk]

The OP was really specific about which types of results she's interested in. I don't consider that to be pooh-poohing other types of results; it's just focusing the thread on the topic she wants to know about.

[Jane P.]

When I first started exercising, the early Firm vids really did it for me. I didn't lose much scale weight, but lost a lot of inches, especially on my hips. My saddlebags completely disappeared. At that time the heaviest weight I used was 12 lbs. Eventually I plateaued and also became tired of the workouts.

Later on when I wanted weight loss results, I used Cathe's CTX system for 6 weeks and lost 5 lbs without changing my eating. However, I did get a hip injury from doing Leaner Legs, so I've never done that set again.

For my abs, Pilates gave me the best definition. No specific rotation just lots and lots of it.

Other than that, I've just developed strength and endurance over the years by doing lots of different things.

Right now I'm doing D2S. I'm not lifting heavier than when I did split routines, but doing total body routines without isolation work is a new experience for me. I'll see how it goes.