Lean Phase of CLX

[Debbie S.]

Originally Posted by PeakFitness

That was me, and I stand by it. There is no point to working shoulders in 2 of the 3 Lean workouts. She doesn't have a clue how to pick the right exercises to fully work the body. It's shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, shoulders.

The other huge problem, is that I actually find Lean is too similar to Burn. It has a lot of the exact same exercises as Burn, just mixed in with some pushups and planks. I'm finding it very repetitious, like they repeated the same workout on a 3rd disk so they could call it a "3 month program" and charge you the standard Beach Body $120.

So if anyone wants my opinion of whether it's worth buying: do you want to spend $120 to work your shoulders for 3 months?

Oh, thanks for pointing out that it was you.

I did say that Burn prepares you for the Lean phase, so it isn't all surprising that it feels similar, but they are not the same.

Why is it wrong to have two different shoulder workouts in the Lean phase? In workout #2, the exercises are all isolation shoulder exercises, and in workout #3 they are all compound exercises consisting of shoulder presses. It is quite normal for a workout to contain both isolation and compound work for any body part. Chalene just so happens to split the two. I see absolutely nothing wrong with it.

For me, CLX had one flaw and that was the rotation written as is. I did revise the CLX and it's saved somewhere here at VF. For the Lean month, I switched the order to:
Monday-Lean 3

Wednesday-Lean 1

Friday-Lean 2

Lastly, it's not my job to try and get someone to buy a product, and to especially try and sway someone against buying a product, unless I think the workout is unsafe.

[Debbie S.]

Just in case anyone is interested, here are my revised CLX rotation, and my revised CLX maintenance phase.

Burn Phase:

Burn 1-Chest, shoulders, legs
Burn 2-Biceps, triceps, back, legs
Burn 3-Shoulders, legs

Day 1 - Burn 1
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Burn 2
Day 4 - Burn Intervals + Ab Burner Disc 6
Day 5 - Burn 3
Day 6 - Burn it Off + Recharge Disc 5

Push Phase:

Push-3-Back, chest, legs
Push 2-Shoulders, legs
Push 1-Biceps, Triceps, legs

Day 1 - Push 3
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Push 2
Day 4 - Burn Intervals + Ab Burner Disc 6
Day 5 - Push 1
Day 6 - Burn it Off + Recharge Disc 5

Lean Phase:

Lean 3-Chest, Shoulders & minimal Legs
Lean 1-Arms, Legs
Lean 2-Back, Iso Shoulders, Legs

Day 1 - Lean 3
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Lean 1
Day 4 - Burn Intervals + Ab Burner Disc 6
Day 5 - Lean 2
Day 6 - Burn it Off + Recharge Disc 5

My revised maintenance phase:

Week 1:
Lean 3-Chest, Shoulders & minimal Legs
Burn 2-Arms, Bac k, Legs
Push 2-Shoulders & minimal Legs

Day 1 - Lean 3
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Burn 2
Day 4 - Get Lean Intervals + I've Got Abs Disc 7
Day 5 - Lean 2
Day 6 - Fat Burn Challenge Disc 7+ Recharge Disc 5

Week 2:
Burn 1-Chest, Iso Shoulders, Legs
Push 1-Arms, Legs
Lean 2-Back, Iso Shoulders, Legs

Day 1 - Burn 1
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Push 1
Day 4 - Get Lean Intervals + I've Got Abs Disc 7
Day 5 - Lean 2
Day 6 - Fat Burn Challenge Disc 7+ Recharge Disc 5

Week 3:
Push 3-Back, Chest, Legs
Lean 1-Arms, Legs
Burn 3-Shoulders, Legs

Day 1 - Push 3
Day 2 - Rest
Day 3 - Lean 1
Day 4 - Get Lean Intervals + I've Got Abs Disc 7
Day 5 - Burn 3
Day 6 - Fat Burn Challenge Disc 7+ Recharge Disc 5

For cardio, I did add more cardio, mainly a 15-25 minute cardio workout before my CLX strength workouts. Nothing too intense, just enough to break a sweat. I also ran on Tuesdays.

You could switch change the days 4 & 6, too.

[Debbie S.]

Something else regarding the shoulder issue and I'm done.

You can safely work your shoulders up to three times a week, which gives you a days rest between workouts. This is the norm.

[howardrsh]

Debbie,

Thank you for sharing your rotation. I totally ignored CLX when it first came out. I was doing kettlebells and it just didn't appeal to me at the time. However, due to life's little surprises over the last year, my workouts were not consistent and I felt I had lost some muscle. I had a Body Gem test done in June and found that my metabolism was really shot. The trainer's suggestion was for me to add more weight training, so I bought CLX. It was the best purchase I made this year!! I'm very bad at rotations, and the only parts of the CLX rotation I followed was doing the main weight workouts. I had some business trips and interruptions so I am just finishing up the Lean phase now (I have Lean 2 and Lean 3 left). I have noticed changes in my body even from my poor attempt at this rotation, but doing just the weight portion, with my regular daily walks and yoga thrown in has made a tremendous difference. I may not weigh that much less, but my clothes fit better, and I have noticed muscle definition in my legs and my arms. I can only imagine what I would look like if I had done the rotation as it was written - or as you have suggested Debbie. I plan to take a short break from CLX, and then dive into another CLX rotation - maybe doing the plan as written (but I am really bad at committing to rotations!)

I love CLX.

Robbin

[desderata]

I dunno -- if all I did was work my shoulders for 3 months how come I got so much definition in by chest, biceps, abs and quads? How come I lost so many inches in my waist, thighs and hips without changing my diet? I don't claim to be a fitness expert, but I have been working out consistently at home with videos for 20 years. All I can say is that CLX provided results that I haven't seen with Cathe, The Firm, or other workouts. Considering that the workouts are significantly shorter than all of the other ones I have, that's saying something. There must be some method to the design to accomplish that.

I can't stand to do the same workouts with the same instructors all the time, so I still mix it up, but I will do a CLX rotation once or twice a year.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by PeakFitness

That was me, and I stand by it. There is no point to working shoulders in 2 of the 3 Lean workouts. She doesn't have a clue how to pick the right exercises to fully work the body. It's shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, shoulders, shoulders.

The other huge problem, is that I actually find Lean is too similar to Burn. It has a lot of the exact same exercises as Burn, just mixed in with some pushups and planks. I'm finding it very repetitious, like they repeated the same workout on a 3rd disk so they could call it a "3 month program" and charge you the standard Beach Body $120.

So if anyone wants my opinion of whether it's worth buying: do you want to spend $120 to work your shoulders for 3 months?

With all due respect, hogwash on the shoulders bit. I gained inches and noticeable changes in my bicepts, chest, quad, abs, tricepts and my shoulders. Saying it's all shoulders isn't a matter of differing opinions, it's just flat-out inaccurate.

Furthermore, while the exercises are similar in Phases 1 and 3 (there's only so many ways to do curls and overhead presses), they're not the same in the least. Much like the OP, I enjoyed Phase 1 but really started to dread Phase 3 because the exercises are a bit awkward. There were a few where I really felt the need to dial down the weights to protect my back, something that I didn't encounter in Phase 1. Still, working out while trying to maintain balance and so forth really does help isolate the muscles. As such, Phases 1 and 3 ended up being very different for me, with 3 requiring a lot more effort and concentration. Phase 3 built on Phase 1, but it certainly ramped it up to another level. I didn't feel at all that it was tacked on to lengthen the program.

Ultimately, CLX was recommended to me on this very board and I feel it was worth every penny. Likewise, I'd recommend it to most anyone - beginners or workout warriors - because it was pretty awesome (even with a bit of Phase 3 dread).

[icebergslim]

Just told DH that this is what I want for Xmas. And he concurs and will use it too!! Thanks to everyone for all the information because I have been fence sitting for a year about this. Debbie S., you are a wealth of information and I trust your opinion. Thanks again.

[ebianco]

I'm glad to find I'm not the only one who dropped out at week 2 of Lean! That circuit really just had a major dread factor.

I am overall very pleased with CLX, I only did it once through (less the last two week of Lean) and didn't see any physical changes because I didn't watch my diet. I also didn't do the interval workout which I'm sure didn't do me any favors (although I did incorporate other cardio). But the short workouts were awesome, sort and sweet, and I thought Chalene was great! She's a natural instructor, both with strength in CLX and cardio in Turbo Jam (can't speak to Turbo Fire-yet!)

While I wouldn't at all say it was ineffective, I have to agree that she had a whole lot of shoulder work in the CLX series. And back work, particularly the back+dead lift combo IIRC. Thankfully I rather like working my shoulders and already have a foundation of endurance and strength in that muscle group (thanks to The Firm).

I really think CLX is a great program, and am going to do it again soon...and finish Lean this time hopefully!

[MARIKA]

I don't find Burn & Lean similar. Lean is sooo hard for me. Like Debbie said too you really do focus when doing this phase so that's what I'll do. My chest, bis' & tris as well as shoulders and back have really shown gains. This was probably one of the best purchases I made as well. Get in get out! Oh, and try not to fall over.

[shortie]

Marika -- have you considered wearing your stilettos for this workout?