Fierce Watulans of 2022!

[KateTT]

Hi all! Monday already!

cataddict: I'm short and stout as the old song goes. People say I don't look heavy but I weigh heavy so I try not to let that influence too much. But unless I drop some weight and lean out, I don't show definition as much.

Kim: Good idea on the booster. Lots of people at Disney.

ChelePA: I think Cathe's Live workouts are more intermediate than anything and totally easy to modify. Many times Cathe will even show you modifications.

manleym: Ohhhh, STS is not scary because you use YOUR weights. Your One Rep Max weight may be different from Cathe or others. YOU choose. The program itself is what is so great! Lots of variety!

kittybug: Be careful in that heat! We've cooled off considerably. 80s for highs this week.

bee: I have a smallish front porch and smallish back porch out my kitchen. The back porch will be painted yet. Hubby needs to replace one board but he can do that himself.
I worked out after my vaccination too. Made my arm feel less sore. I never had any side affects though.
I'm only working on those Cathe lives in some order because I just hadn't done any of them yet.

horusosiris: My brother lives in VA and I know how hot its been out there. Everywhere it seems!

Waves to anyone I missed.

So I did do Live 404 Upper Lower Combos on Friday. LOVED this one! I really liked how she put the exercises together. Only wish it was a tad bit longer. But I did not add anything on, I just went heavier.

This week I was going to go back to Caroline and Epic II but I figured I'd close out July with Cathe Live metabolic workouts and some Les Mills on Demand. I'm really liking the extra cardio boost.

So today I did Live 98 You Can Do Anything for a Minute. Super good and good increase in HR. I loved all the variety of exercises again. I'm also liking compound moves a little better when I choose better weights - usually lighter so I can keep better form and lots of reps. Although I'm still going heavier than Cathe. Not always a lot but some.

Then I added on LMOD Trainer Series Lisa #16 Core Wildcard. 20 minutes of floor core, plank work, obliques and Lisa's wonderful personality!

Speaking of Les Mills on Demand...I got an email from them about a new program called Strength Development. More heavier weights as opposed to the lower weight high rep of Body Pump.
Here's what they say:
STRENGTH DEVELOPMENT

A progressive strength training program designed to build strength in phases based on strength and conditioning science. You progress through a sequence of 12 45-minute workouts learning the essential elements of strength training with slow and controlled movements, functional exercises and dynamic core work.
You need weights for Strength Development workouts – and the more you have the better.

Soooooo....next week I'm going to try these out. Since they are generally 40-45 min, I'll add on something else to round it out to an hour or so. I previewed on. I think I'll like these. We'll see after this week.

Have a great week everyone!!

[cataddict]

"Happy" Monday, Watulans!

Workouts: Saturday was "heat max" meaning I didn't do a darn thing. The heat has made me lethargic. Yesterday was CL #15 Lean and Mean Legs which used a stability ball for cardio, a barbell, the firewalker loop and dumbbells. Seems like a lot of equipment but I used dumbbells instead of a barbell since I was too lazy to load and unload the darn thing. This was an earlier CL so a little tougher (seemingly endless lunges and squats). I do think that since doing Caroline workouts my legs are stronger and I use heavier weights than Cathe does. I agree with Kate that most of the Lives are intermediate to low advanced depending on the weight selection.

I also threw in another Steven SanSoucie "stepless step." This one was before Covid as his voice was "normal." bee, I recall seeing Steven in a photo of the folks who went to a Cathe Roadtrip a couple years back, so yes, he is familiar with her style. I really like his music selection. The one I did included Earth Wind and Fire's September, Four Seasons "I'm working my way back to you, babe" and best of all, Dolly Parton's "Jolene." Hah! Funny he included Jolene since for the past few days we have been watching the Cincinnati Reds play baseball against the St Louis Cardinals and Joey Votto's walk up music is "Jolene" so we've heard the song a lot recently. Of course the songs are covers in the workout, but pretty good renditions. His workouts are definitely intermediate, but they have worked for me as good cardio add ons to weight training.

[cataddict]

Kate, I'm not tall either--under 5'6" and I wouldn't say I'm stout but I'm solid. I know what you mean about "weighing heavy" and I have always had large arms and legs even when I was borderline underweight. It's all good. I've noticed that the more recent Cathe Lives seem to be in the 45 minute range. Maybe people have been requesting that they be under an hour. She has said it's tough to gauge exactly how long the workout will be. The LMOD strength program sounds interesting---hope you like it!

bee, have a great trip! Yes, the Yosemite wildfire has made national news. Good that your son is in a safe place, relatively speaking.

Chele, happy anniversary again! Hope all goes well with your niece's delivery.

Quick post---for me!! Waves to all!!

[kittybug]

Happy Monday, Watulans!

Sunday I did Tracey Mallet's Booty Barre Ballet, all freaking 90 minutes and it was grueling, as I remember. Goodness gracious, I was soaked! And after I had showered, it felt like somebody had turned gravity WAY up and I ended up napping for an hour and a half, so it did me in. And of course, today, the soreness, oye, the soreness.

Today I did Cathe's Crossfire, the Crossfire plus core premix. The two tabatas in here and where they're placed just slay me every time, especially today with my cement legs! Another soaker, but I wanted to get my most intense workouts out of the way early in the week. After today, we're supposed to be at 105 for several days. UG!

Bee, I can't stop thinking/worrying about your son. That fire is no joke! Hope he's safe and stays that way.

Horusosiris, I got exhausted just reading your post about moving, especially in the heat. Huge kudos to you because that is indeed quite the workout. Hang in there!

Dang it, Kim, with the turkeys and the deer, I'm coming over to YOUR place to enjoy your animal kingdom!! Sounds wonderful.

FN2, hah hah hah...Great Googly Moogly, Whole Lotta _ass!!! I need the T-shirt now. BWAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

ChelePA, happy anniversary and happy Christmas in July! Keep us posted!

KateTT, interesting with the Les Mills program! I always think of them as the high rep stuff, so keep us posted on how you like the new program.

Manleym, SHHHHHHH....don't say such things in the same sentence as 'Cathe' and 'retiring'....nooooooo!!!!!

Yikes, gotta run...hope I didn't miss anyone...waves and hugs to all!

[Mickey12]

Hey Watulans,

Workout tonight was Christi Taylor CIA 9801, step workout from the Humble Beginnings DVD. So. Much. Fun!! Just love Christi’s attitude and energy. She didn’t do any singing in this one though. The combinations were mixed impact and sorta tricky in spots but I just did my own thing when I got to those parts and I usually ended up on the correct lead leg when it counted.

Happy Anniversary Chele, hope you enjoyed your giant chocolate chip cookie.

Sleep well, everyone.

[ChelePA]

Kim… The cookie was delicious! We ended up at Frank’s Place for dinner. Love to eat in the outdoor area. A few of my favorite restaurants are closed on Mondays.

Cataddict…. You’re right about Steven‘s step. I remember back in the day people recommending him since he was so similar to Cathe as well as a class member at times.

Kittybug… you’re my hero. There is no way I could do 90 minutes of a barre workout.

Kate… I think I may be ready for Cathe live in the next month or so. Probably not her cardio unless it’s low impact. But even then, she’s often too difficult or fast paced for me. I like to keep a beat so it frustrates me.

This morning I did a 20 minute Peloton hike. I reached a new speed when walking for short periods of time on this one. Also did Cathe’s Perfect Pump Upper Body. Lifting lighter than everyone as always.

Reina finally arrived in the middle of the night. Hoping to see her today depending on how exhausted the parents are. She is absolutely gorgeous.

[KateTT]

Happy Tuesday!

Today I did LMOD Body Attack 114. SO much fun as are all of Lisa Osbourne's BA's! Fun tunes, easy to modify or not. Lots of good cardio.
No adding on anything. Not needed.

I've been doing lots more stretchy, Hatha or Yin type Yoga practices. It just feels so good so slow down and stretch. I still like flowing classes too, but leaning a lot more towards kinder/gentler. Especially since my workouts are already pretty tough.

HUGS!!

[manleym]

Kittybug, and this is how you got the nickname FN1 - doing crazy things like TTM Extreme premix! I sometimes like getting the intense workouts done early in the week when I have the stamina and am not worn out from the week. Or on Saturday when I'm rested. 105 is H-O-T! UGH! And yes, bite my tongue and hang my head low for even the thought of Cathe "moving on." I'm following your rotation plan - barre 3 days and cardio, circuit, metabolic, whatever I feel like, the other 3 days. I'm looking forward to doing new to me and also revisiting workouts, and a variety of instructors. It will be interesting to see which barre style/instructor I like the most since each week (or within the same week) the workout will be different. I'm trying to get as much variety as possible.

Horusosiris you've been busy! I'm sure you're glad to be switching primary homes, even though it's alot of work right now. Your house in MD sounds wonderful, with the trails, privacy, and being near a state park. That sounds like a wonderful place to be.

Kim fun seeing the turkeys, deer, and fawn. Agree that it's better for the deer to be in the road than to dart out. That is so scary. And no one wins, unless the deer makes it safely and quickly to the other side.

Bee I hope you and your sister have a blast on vacay! I think the beach? Wherever it is, I know it will be nice to get away and spend time together. I saw the Yosemite fire on the news last night. That is absolutely horrible! Glad your son and the others are in the best place possible for evacuation. I know it's a relief for you.

KateTT I will have to give STS a try. Your encouragement, along with Horusosiris and Cataddict's, have me thinking. I really do need to go through them to see which ones I like and would revisit and which ones I would do once and move on. Glad you didn't have any side effects from the vax. I also love yoga for stretching out and just feeling good, especially after an intense, hard workout.

Cataddict ha on Heat Max. I think we can all relate. Just feel drained due to the heat. I think CL are also intermediate to low-advanced. Also think she tries to stay within the 45 minute range. I'm sure it's "easier" to make a dvd at the advanced level because they can film in stages and edit everything. Can't do Live workouts in segments.

ChelePA glad ya'll had such a wonderful anniversary! And yay on the arrival of Reina! You've had alot of sweet things happen in your life recently, and I'm so glad!

Well my friends, summer is over for me and I have to officially go back to work on Monday. I'll be doing online training from home the next couple of days, but summer is over. Boo!! I don't mind working and have a great job. Just not ready to hit the floor running. But it happens every year so I will adjust. I've decided to work this year, and then play it by ear. Maybe one more after this year. We'll see how it goes.

Hugs and waves everyone!

[manleym]

Workouts:

I finished Fuel!! YAY ME!! Now I'm starting a barre/cardio/metabolic/circuit rotation just to change things up. I've never done barre workouts consistently (just here and there, or as an add-on to another workout). It will be interesting to see how my body and mind respond. I hope to have some fantastic results, like Kittybug. It will be a nice change of pace from Caroline and the traditional weight workouts. And I really need to try some of these barre dvds that are sitting on my shelf.....

Saturday: Fuel Series Finale 30 Min No Repeat Dumbbell Hiit Workout Day 30 (LOVED! FAV! FLEW! EXCELLENT metabolic; lighter weights, higher reps, lots of compound, core, full body moves) + Michelle Briehler 10 MIN Knee Friendly Leg Workout with Ankle Weights No Lunges No Squats (great add-on) + JSmith Walk On 15 min Fast Fat Blasts Fast Fat Burn (great add-on; good music)

Monday: Suzanne Bowen BarreAmped Bootcamp (I like Suzanne; I like that the workout is broken into each body part - would be good add-on but is also easy to do all of it as once; have to focus on staying on my toes and not letting my feet drop; liked the focus on core, tighten muscles; LOVED the stretch) + JS 4 Mile Power Walk (Mile 1 - warmup level; Mile 2 - little more intense; Mile 3 - Active Recovery (her words); Mile 4 - little more intense; good recovery workout or need light weights/vest to increase intensity)

Today: Michelle D Your Best Body Circuit (really liked; nice variety of moves; cardio, light/med weights, resistance band, no HIIT type moves; probably an intermediate level - worked out, not wiped out) + Ultimate Workout Flexibility Stretch

[kittybug]

Happy Tuesday, Watulans!

Today was Chihuahua Max (because I'm still terribly sore!), AKA Pure Barre Pure Results Feature Focus: Seat. Sami has such great form pointers (like the leg is only moving because the seat is, etc.) that it really helps get deep in there.

I'm just proud of myself for doing SOMETHING today because I didn't sleep for crap last night. For whatever reason, Cheeto decided to sleep like a little human, pinned right next to me under the sheet all night, with his silly orange head sharing my freaking pillow so every time I rolled over, I got a mouth full of fur and cat breath and otherwise couldn't move. But he was so comfy and cute with his snurring (he snores and purrs at the same time) that I couldn't bear to move him.

ChelePA, I think I missed this before, but didn't you said you did Cathe's Perfect Pump Lower at half the weight of Cathe and crew? Don't they go darn heavy in that?? So half the weight is still a LOT and incredible progress!! And you did the upper body too, which geez, progress in leaps and bounds woman! Big congrats to you on sweet Reina.

KateTT, I was curious if you finished that yoga teacher training (was it through Bryan Kest or am I thinking something else??)? I feel like you'd make a fantastic yoga teacher, coming at it from both a physical aspect AND all of the grace you've had with life challenges, teaching others how to do the same.

Manleym, hah hah hah! I'm curious to hear about your barre journey and which instructors/styles you like best. My top (if it's not obvious already) are Leah Sarago, Ballet Physique, Pure Barre, and Tracey Mallet for sure. I still have other DVDs on my shelf that are collecting dust though that I need to get to. I'm loving the change of pace!

Kim, does Christi do workouts anymore? I'm curious...and if not, why?

Have a great night, all!