Gym Style Legs

Gym Style Legs is a strength workout from Cathe’s Hardcore series. There are 3 Gym Style workouts (Gym Style Chest & Triceps, Gym Style Legs, and Gym Style Back, Shoulders & Biceps) and together they are a split series. The difference between this split series and Cathe’s other split series, is that they are sold separately—meaning the 3 separate workouts are NOT all on the same DVD. Each can be purchased individually, so I will review them that way. However, the three workouts were designed to be used together, so I will put this little paragraph at the beginning of each review. The only other “split” workouts Cathe puts out separately are her lower body workouts (Lower Body Blast, Butts and Guts, Legs and Glutes) but they have no corresponding upper body splits connected with them, so they don’t really count (though you can obviously substitute any of her lower body workouts for the lower body workout that comes with a split series). On to the workout…

Gym Style Legs is 67 minutes long; 4 minute warm up, 33 minutes standing legs, 24 minute floor work and 6 minute stretch. I don’t know what it is about Cathe’s lower body workouts, but the floor work murders my legs. I can power through the standing leg work but once we get to the floor, the pain and muscle failure start. Since prior to Cathe, I did almost no floor work for my lower body, I am assuming that these exercises are now hitting muscles that were being sorely neglected. So it will take some time and regular use of Cathe lower body workouts to build that strength and endurance to get through the floor work without whimpering.

This is another excellent and tough lower body workout from Cathe. She likes to hit the lower body hard and this workout is no exception. I will say that the standing leg work seemed easier to me than many of her other lower body workouts. That might have been due to the weights I used. Since it was my first time doing the workout, I used the same weights as Cathe for most of the exercises and she went much lighter than she usually lifts. I could have gone heavier on all of the exercises (and I did on some) except her platform deadlifts. The 40 pounds she used for that exercise was plenty for me—or will be in the future. I was feeling ambitious and had added more plates to my barbell for the deadlift. The first set, where your toes are elevated, the extra weight was appropriate. But the next set is platform deadlifts and I barely got through those. My form was suffering by the end of the set. The floor work was brutal, as always. You will do two sets of most of the standing legs work (3 sets of squats) and (thankfully) one set of most of the floor work.

Equipment needed for this workout is a high step (square step) with risers that will be used at 14, 10, 6 and 4 inches; a stability ball, barbell, dumbbells and a dynaband/resistance band are also used.

Standing Legs:

Barbell squats

Front lunges with dumbbells

Reverse lunges with dumbbells

Plie squats with dumbbells

Leg press on high step (14 inches) with resistance band looped underneath

Deadlifts with barbell, toes elevated on 3 pound dumbbells

Deadlift off 6 inch step with barbell

Slow motion lunges with dumbbells

Calf raises off 4 inch platform, holding barbell rod for balance

Floor Work:

Tibialis anterior toe pulls with stability ball

Glute squeeze with shoulders on stability ball

One leg roll outs with shoulders on stability ball

Glute tucks on 10 inch step

One leg glute tucks on 10 inch step with dynaband over raised leg

Roll-ins with feet on stability ball

Single leg roll-ins on stability ball

Inner thigh squeeze with legs on stability ball

Inner thigh lift with dynaband

Outer thigh “V” press with dynaband

Outer thigh lift with dynaband

Premixes: Timesaver #1 (standing leg work) 32 minutes and Timesaver #2 (standing leg work and some of the floor work) 49 minutes.