Cathe Live: PHA 3

#184 PHA 3 yet another amazing PHA workout from Cathe! They are all so good! I thought her PHA 2020 was the best but I hadn’t done this one yet! Now I am not sure which is better. What sets this one a notch above the others is that you get 3 circuits–not just 2 like you get in most of her other PHA workouts. Like all of her PHA workouts this is fast-paced so your heart rate is elevated and you are burning fat while building muscle. This is a total body metabolic strength workout.

Here is the PHA definition I add to all PHA workouts. PHA stands for Peripheral Heart Action. What this means in training terms is you alternate between upper and lower body resistance exercises, allowing as little rest as possible between each movement. The lack of rest and recovery keeps your heart rate up for cardiovascular and fat burning benefits, while switching between upper and lower body exercises maximizes blood flow to all parts of the body and reduces build up of lactic acid.

Cathe does not share the weight of her barbell. However, the barbell Cathe is using looks like one of mine. If it is, then the bar weights 5 pounds, the large plates are 10 pounds each, the medium plates are 5 pounds each and the small plates are 2.5 pounds. Using those weights, I am estimating what it looks like Cathe is using in the breakdown. And as usual, unless noted in the breakdown, I used the same weight as Cathe did. You can do Cathe’s live workouts by subscribing to her streaming site or purchasing the individual downloads. Here is a video clip of this workout.

PHA 3 is 46:30 minutes; 4:30 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. Equipment: barbell with plates, dumbbells, a fitness mat and a heel wedge (Cathe used 3 pound dumbbells). You do each circuit twice. Sometimes during the second circuit Cathe has you do less reps then you do the first circuit but never more reps. The majority of the time you do the same number of reps both times through the circuit.

Circuit 1:

1. Sumo + curtsy/cross-back lunge (you are holding one DB and you pass it hand to hand with each lunge) (Cathe is using one 10# DB; I used one 12# DB)
2. Barbell curls (Cathe is using 35# BB)
3. Front lunge into a knee lift (Cathe is using 12# DBs)
4. Overhead press (Cathe is using 12# DBs)
5. Squats, both single tempo and low ends (Cathe is using 35# BB; I used 40# BB)
6. Rear delt flys in sets of 3 reps (Cathe is using 10# DBs)
7. Repeat #1-6

Circuit 2:

1. Deadlifts with toes elevated on 3# DBs (Cathe is using 40# BB; I used 60# BB)
2. Overhead tricep extensions (French Press) (Cathe is using 12# DBs)
3. Alternating side lunges, reaching DB toward opposite foot when lunging (Cathe is using 10# DBs; I used 12# DBs)
4. Push ups
5. Squat Exchange (transfer one DB from hand to hand as you squat–these are also more fast low ends since you never actually rise completely out of a squat) (Cathe is using one 10# DB)
6. Straight arm side raises (Cathe is using 8# DBs)
7. Repeat #1-6

Circuit 3:

1. Front squat with heels elevated on 3# DBs (Cathe is using 30# BB; I used 40# BB)
2. Upright rows (Cathe is using 30# BB; I used 12# DBs)
3. Rear lunges (Cathe is using 12# DBs; I used 15# DBs)
4. Hammer curls (Cathe is using 15# DBs)
5. Wide plie squats, both single tempo and low ends (Cathe is using 30# BB; I used 40# BB)
6. Single arm bent over row (Cathe is holding one 15# DB and one 10# DB in one hand; I used one 25# DB)
7. Repeat #1-6