Hardcore: Gym Style Back, Shoulders and Biceps

I have a very small list of “go to” instructors for weight work, and Cathe is at the top of this list. I particularly love her workouts pre-STS. I think her earlier ones are really well-designed, and BSB is no exception. I feel happy and worked out at the end of it, and it’s stood the test of time for me (almost 10 years now, yikes!).

I’d categorize BSB as more of an endurance workout than strength. It is divided into five main sections: warm-up (3 minutes), back (15 minutes), shoulders (11 minutes), biceps (17 min), and stretch (3 min), and the weight sections are chaptered by exercise. There are also two premixes: Timesaver (36 minutes) and Back & Biceps (35 minutes). Cathe uses a barbell, dumbbells, and a band, and she does 8-12 reps of each exercise at a moderate pace.

The things I like about this workout are: at almost 50 minutes, it’s the right length for me (note that the case says
it’s 62 minutes; I think that’s a typo); the pace is slow enough to concentrate on form; there aren’t a lot of equipment changes; it’s well chaptered and can be broken up into smaller workouts if you don’t have a lot of time; and Cathe is upbeat and motivating. The things I don’t like are: nothing. I wouldn’t change a thing … well, ok, maybe the music, which is a little bland. But that’s not much of a negative, because I’m usually so focused on the weight work that I don’t pay it much attention. Love this one! Grade: A

Instructor Comments:
Cathe is at her best in this workout - genuine, happy, and motivating. Both her form and her cuing are good.

shawnt

I agree with the previous reviewer that the time here seems to be off - I believe it is more in the 50 min area than over an hour. Which, is great for me. I love that this workout uses very little equipment. A barbell, some weights and you can even get away with not using a band. At times, I work out in a gym that doesn't have bands and easily sub the bands out with light weights for the pulsing work.

I love the variation here - slow/heavy meets 15 in 1 pulses meets 2/2 counts. No getting bored here.

My only somewhat negative comment is the time spent on each muscle group seems disproportionate to "typical" weight lifting practice. It is typical to spend more time working larger muscle groups vs. smaller muscle groups. In this case, it seems to be the reverse where biceps are worked longer than either shoulders or back.

mmis29