Should I buy one mesocycle now or wait for the whole lot?

[sarahg]

I have been wanting the STS Strength series for ages now, but I keep buying other Cathe DVDs and other DVDs instead because of the price of the whole STS series. This makes no sense, as I have spent more than the cost of the STS Strength series and not got the thing I really want. And again today, here I am with a lot of Cathe DVDs in my cart, and I just CAN'T spend $410 so am about to remove -- yet again -- the STS bundle! Argh!

Here is my question: should I perhaps buy one of the STS Strength 12-DVD sets instead of the whole series? Or should I wait until I can afford the whole lot, and keep working with my other Cathe DVDs until then? If I should buy just one of the mesocycles, which one? Would meso 3 be best, as I guess, because that is the one that is most focused on increasing strength? Is each meso basically the same but with a different percentage of one's 1-rep maximum?

I think one of the things that makes me unsure whether to buy the whole STS bundle is that if each meso is basically the same but with different numbers of reps (and weight, obviously) I would not want to buy the whole lot, because I have a(n annoying!) need for variety and it would kill me to do the same exercises (albeit with different weights and numbers of reps) for 3 months. My annoying need for variety is such that I have never used any of my multiple-month programs the way the makers intend. I do Insanity one day, a Cathe workout the next, a P90X workout the next, etc. I'm not the commit-to-a-3-month-program kind of girl. I can't commit! The boredom kills me!

So to summarize -- should I get just one of the mesos? And if so, which? Is it true that each meso uses the same exercises (but with different weights and numbers of reps)? If you think I should get the whole series, I'd love to be persuaded, because the other reason I haven't bought any of them is that I fear regretting having only bought one meso instead of the whole set!

[SNM Videos]

Each mesocycle in STS is totally different, not just the reps and sets.

[tralaiven]

Hi sarahg: if you are anything like me, you should go ahead and get the whole lot. Even in the first mesocycle, even though the thrust of the mesocycle is the same throughout all the 12 dvds, each dvd is a totally new work out. And I love that.

I am still only working on the first mesocycle, but I am so glad that I went ahead, bit the bullet, and got the whole thing. This is because I am almost done with the first meso. already and it went by so fast! If I had only gotten the first one, I would be kicking myself. As it is, I skipped not getting Ab Circuits, and found that it really would be a great companion to the regular STS workouts. I bothered me so much that I went ahead and got it, but I could have saved myself the bother and trouble and just ordered it in the first place.

I am soooo glad I got the whole thang and already I am planning on repeating the three months and turning it into an additional 6 months. I am already seeing good body changes too. Now, if I would just eat more clean! I have thoroughly enjoyed the structure of the system, the style and the exercises themselves.

I need a lot of change too, but I can't imagine that you will be disappointed by this workout.... ( and even if you are, which I doubt you will be, it has great resale on ebay) So, in any case it is a win, win.

good luck on your decision.

[CeciFifi]

Hi Sarahg,

I finally bit the bullet and bought the whole lot - all 40. I am glad i did. I've started STS and I am liking it. it's different from cathe's other dvd's so it's great to have both STS and her other workouts. That said - my DH was not supportive of me spending money on the program yet after scrolling thru a couple of the discs he started STS and even started doing it before me! He is more into playing squash and running and has always said weight training is boring. Now that he's met Cathe (on video) and sees guys in the background, it seems he is in and liking it. You know Cathe is good for you - Cathe's DVD's are not frivolous indulgences - they are great for your overall health!

s.

[kikster]

Yay for you CeciFifi ! It's such an awesome program! I've done it twice now, and I have to force myself to do other things in between rotations, lol. I've been lifting *Heavy* weights for years, but have never got the changes that I've experienced w/STS.

Sarahg - I was very skeptical at first, too, and I actually did what you're considering. I only bought Meso 1 @ first. I figured that way, it wasn't too much of an investment, and if I didn't like it, I'd sell it on Ebay. I was maybe a week or two in before I completely regretted not buying the other Meso's. By the time I finished Meso 1 (in time for my big anniversary trip) my HUSBAND was pressuring me to order the other discs, lol. He was as amazed as I was at the changes that were taking place. I was upset, because it ended up costing me more money that way (I pretty much paid the $ for the 40 disc set but only got 36 , which, BTW, I still regret not getting all 40 )

So, that being said, my advice: wait until you can afford the whole thing. Put off buying other stuff, and maybe just do a faux STS rotation until you can get the real thing. You WILL NOT regret it. And, like Tracy said, the resale value can't be beat, it by some crazy chance you don't like it, sell it/trade it/whatever, and THEN try out any of the others you were thinking of...

[DirtDiva]

I never thought I could do a rotation thing. No way. STS is strangely addicting, where you begin to look forward to that amazing musical opening and setting up your workouts on the Manager. Each Meso is different. My personal favorite is Meso 2, but each is so awesome in their own way. When you finish, you will feel this incredible accomplishment and if you are like me, I thought now what am I going to do? I missed it that much, I just waited a few weeks and started right over again. I would get the whole thing. Remember too, in the future you can do any of the meso's as stand alones, the program is so versatile. Good luck!

[DebbieH]

Maybe you could start with just Meso 1 and do it twice, then if possible, purchase Meso 2? Do it twice, then purchase the final Meso 3. Just an idea to space out your purchases. DirtDiva, I agree that the music in the intro is awesome. It just pumps you up!!!

[kpfen]

I was reluctant to spend that kind of money as well so went out and bought STS total body meso 4 just to see what it was like. After doing it a couple of times I bought the 40 dvd set of STS and am loving it. Just started week 3 of the 3.5 month rotation.

[Bobbi-B]

Sarah, I just pm'd you some STS info.

Another thought: you mentioned that you get bored doing longer rotations, but remember that STS is 3 days a week of weight work, so you can really vary the cardio that you do on the other days of the week.

[sarahg]

Having thought about it more, and having watched all the clips available on youtube, and having studied the detailed information available on this site that breaks down exactly what is on each of the 40 DVDs (which told me that it is not true that there is insufficient variety of exercises among the DVDs), I opted to buy the whole lot and it arrived a few days ago.

I have some more equipment to buy before I can begin, and I will be away from home for the next month or so but seeing the 40 DIFFERENT DVDs of STS I am actually looking forward to starting the whole 3.5-month STS rotation. And as someone brilliant in this thread pointed out, I can get lots of variety on the non-STS-workout days.

Speaking of which, do you think it matters if some of the workouts I do for cardio involve weights? Would you stick with Barbie weights on cardio days or would you still use a reasonable weight (though obviously not as heavy as on an STS day)? For example, my husband and I have recently started exercising together and one of the cardio workouts I would like to do would be the Cardio Challenge from Supreme 90, because my husband likes that, and Get Ripped 1000, and those (and others) do use some weights. Do you think that kind of interval training with weights is okay for the cardio days or should I stick with non-weight-using cardio workouts?