Weeeee, it’s Friday!!!!!
Whew. Sorry – just had to get that out of my system. 😉
ALSO – before I forget: I changed my twitter handle. I am keeping @jsutera654 for professional use mainly and have created a separate handle for my personal life (i.e. fitness, food, wine, y’know the drill by now). Please start following me here: @JessFit654. I started following all of you guys last night but if I missed you, please follow back! Who knew creating a new handle would be so stressful!!
Anyway, I’ve been riding quite a high after last night’s incredibly inspired Core Fusion class with Fred DeVito. It amazes me what a long-lasting impact just one class with him has on me. Seriously. And I’m pretty darn sore in the glutes/thighs and core region. Nice ‘n toasty, love that!
Before I get to the final post in my weight training series, I thought I’d share my workout from this morning. I won’t lie, it wasn’t my best effort, I think I was a little sleepy this morning. Plus, I think I might have held back a bit as I’m hoping to go for a run this afternoon since the weather tomorrow looks like a total fail of a forecast (rainy, cloudy, ick) so I might have to nix the run tomorrow in favor of Ride or another indoor activity. See? Always planning ahead. 😉
Back/Biceps/Triceps – endurance-style
Back – straight sets
pull-ups – bodyweight only; 3×10
bent-over rows w/dumbells @25 lbs; 3×15
Deadlifts @40 lbs; 3×15
Biceps/Triceps – supersets
Superset#1: barbell curl @25 lbs w/lying tricep extensions @25 lbs; 3×15
Superset #2: Hammer curls @15lbs w/dips on the bench (bodyweight); 3×15
Superset #3: medicine ball preacher curls @10 lbs (double-arm); tricep kickbacks @10 lbs (double-arm) <—these preacher curls got me good, love them!
Now – onto some Friday Faves – weight training, style. A few of you mentioned you’d love to start out with doing some weight lifting at home so I thougth I’d share with you some of my absolute favorite weight training DVDs.
Butts & Guts – this is an older Cathe Friedrich workout but my absolutely FAVORITE lower body workout. Really gets the butt GOOD. Uses mainly light handweights or body weight only activity, plus lots of floor work (love to hate). She actually just released an “updated” version of this workout called Lower Body Blast, highly recommend this one, too. 🙂
Pyramid Upper and Pyramid Lower Body – this is great for those of you who want to get at least one upper and one lower body workout in a week. As I mentioned in my post on styles of weight training, this workout is based on pyramids, or three sets of one exercise “up” the pyramid and then the same three exercises back down. You increase the weight to the top of the first three sets and then decrease back down. Realllly good burner. This one also has a great pre-mix that incorporates some upper and lower body workout for those of you who want to try a full body workout once a week.
STS (Shock Training Sytem) – ‘nuf said. This is an amazing workout series. It’s pricey, and it requires a time commitment (3 1/2 month rotation) but absolutely worth it).
Core Fusion Body Sculpt – my favorite Core Fusion DVD as it really does mimic the class experience the closest. Includes light handweights at the start and then bodyweight only work for the rest of the workout. Full body workout. Amazing.
Core Fusion Lean & Toned – this is my second favorite Core Fusion DVD, really focuses on the lengthening/strengthening idea behind Core Fusion. Mix of light handweights, body weight work and lots of stretching. Love.
STS Total Body – This is a newer Cathe workout as well – if you aren’t ready to invest in the full STS series, you could try this one out and see what you think. As the name implies, its a full body workout and is based mostly on the second phase of STS which is the hypertrophy phase (lower reps, mid-level weights).
High Reps – Another new one from Cathe. A great workout from an endurance perspective as it’s all about lighter weights but TONS of reps. It is killer, not gonna lie. This is another total body workout, btw.
Hm, I am pretty sure I could go on for weeks about my favorite workouts to do at home…or you could just check out this pic and you’ll spy lots more workout DVDs to try from my personal collection. 😉
EatDrinkBreatheSweat 
Great post, I like the selection of dvds you’ve chosen, I have them all. Not sure which one is my favourite, I like Muscle Max as well. I’m impressed you can do pull ups, do you use Cathe’s tower for them. Thinking of investing in a tower but can’t seem to find one here. Are you excited too for Cathe’s new dvds! Have a great weekend.
I haven’t done muscle max (incredibly, I don’t own ALL of Cathe’s DVDs, who knew?) – what is that one like? Is it heavy style or lighter weight work? Sounds like a heavier weight training workout to me by the title alone!
YES – get the tower if you can, it is SO SO SO worth the investment!
I think you’d like Muscle Max, it’s heavyish weight lifting style for the whole body. I usually break it up and work the upper body one day and the lower body another. The music on the dvd is good too, kind of old style 90s music but good. The tower sounds great!
I’m not the greatest at self-motivation for weight training, but stuff like this is always a good reminder! It’s NOT hard to do at home, and you don’t have to have a trainer telling you what to do 🙂 Great post! And whoop, Happy Friday!!
so true – you don’t necessarily need a trainer yelling at you to get a good workout in…it DOES help for some people, but I’ve found that having a trainer bark at you from the TV can be just as inspiring sometimes, too. 😉
Thank you for this! I think I’m going to start by checking out the STS Total Body DVD. I’ve got the light weights/high reps down with Core Fusion and I’m kind of feeling like I need to start mixing things up. This sounds perfect.
Ohh yay!! Let me know what you think of it, I promise you will not be disappointed!!
Pingback: Super Sets Weight Training
And what about STS Total Body? LOVE that one, did it yesterday. So good, loved how she combined stuff into compound exercises and trisets. Whoa nelly!
Doi. I included that in the list tooooo. How could I forget that one?? It’s a goodie!
So I have my exit exam from nursing school on Monday morning. After that I am a free bird. I am going to use all of my free time on Monday to catch up on your blog because I love it!!!!! 🙂
you are too cute, thank you!! Good luck on Monday!!
I have a Core Fusion DVD and it is hard stuff! I have to use like 3 pound weights and it’s still really hard.
I know – those 3 lb-ers add up quick when you’re doing like 40 reps of each exercise, right??
I have yet to try a workout DVD. It seems so lame, but I’ve never been great about working out at home. When I bust out of that rut, I want to try CF. Your posts about it make believe it would be something I would love!
I think you’ll be surprised at how nice it can be to have the option to workout at home when the thought of hitting the gym is the LAST thing you want to do. I like the option to do either one.
I have the hardest time doing weights in the morning. Just not alert enough to be hoisting around anything heavier than a coffee cup 😉
LOL I love it. Sometimes I have a hard time with hardcore cardio in the AM – mostly that happens in the winter when it’s dark and cold and I want nothing more than to rollover and hit snooze.
I love the run down of all these videos!
When I saw your new twitter account, I was a little confused. 😉 Thanks for clearing it up!
I know…the twitter thing is kind of a pain but I think it’s a smart move to keep a little professional separation. So I’m glad you are still following me 😉
Nice recap on the DVDs. I still haven’t tried High Reps.
you haven’t?? You’d really like I think.
i’m so behind on blog reading but i’m glad i didn’t miss this one – saw your new twitter account and am now following!
Pingback: guest post from EatDrinkBreatheSweat: why I work, what I work « poise in parma
Thanks for the rundown on the dvds. I just got my copy of core fusion body sculpt in the mail today. Can’t wait to try it tonight!