STS CHECK IN....DISC ONE

Cathe Friedrich

Cathe Friedrich

Administrator
Hi Everyone! Late workout night for me so I didn't get to report in until now but all I can say is man I have gotten quite out of shape and just got my butt whipped :eek:

Ok, in case you didn't already know, let me give you a little background before I "report in"....

Due to editing STS and the recent holiday season I have not been able to weight train nearly as often or steadily as I would like/need to. But I can say that I have continued to do my classes the whole time and they are a mixture of cardio and light weight training. That has at least been enough to maintain my stamina but wasn't enough to maintain my "sorely" missed muscle strength and endurance.

So knowing that, here is my report for Disc One Chest, Shoulders, and Biceps:

Oh, boy, I was so excited to do this workout. I so needed this today :) I got all set up in the filming studio, popped my disc in and actually got goosebumps seeing the finished product from the other side of the fence. I could finally relax and "enjoy" this without grooming the footage for mistakes, lol.

The warm up was fun for me because I was all happy and charged up, taking in the cast, seeing how we all moved, remembering how the guys would come join us for the stretch and then boom......PARTY'S OVER Gulp....suddenly I find myself on my hands and toes doing 1.5's for 8, (okay, not too bad), then another set of 1.5's for 8..(ok, getting tougher but I'm good)....and then I hear the word THIRTY! (What???? 30??? Well, ok, how hard can it be, I mean I obviously have done it before so I can do it....). Well I did it, but thank goodness the camera wasn't rollling this time....my word (I mean my chest, shoulders and arms...). I was shaking and sweating by rep 20 and forget about after that....by rep 24 things got ugly...I sounded WAY TOO PERKY on video. How on earth is that possible? I'm going to have to have a talk with that woman ;)

Okay, so I'm gettin through the exercises and loving these 30 second rests. Yes, I'm scrambling fast getting my stuff together, but knowing me (and hopefully you'll feel the same) I will appreciate this brief rest when the routine and format become a little more familiar to me again.

I did pretty well on most of the exercises feeling perfectly challenged...some harder than others due to weaknesses that have snuck up on me during my time off.

I'll review where my real challenges were and you tell me yours, ok?

1) Well I already mentioned the opening push up sequence....amazing if anyone sticks with the program after opening with that...LOL

2) 1st round of barbell curls....good challenge but I needed to go way slower toward the end (I just couldn't keep up with myself :D) Which is fine and what I would expect any one of us to do...including me.

3) Rear fly into band pulls...ok, were the band pulls really necessary? Ha, that simply was not nice!

4) Biceps inclined on the ball. Wow, that was deceiving. I'm thinking no biggie, but by rep 8 I was like, HELLO!

5) Incline front raise on the ball with dumbells. I'm actually not commenting on the difficulty of this one (though it was not easy) but rather pointing out that I really like how the ball sits right in the curve of the back so that you can push that weight up to shoulder height with perfect back support. It felt great, didn't it?

6) 3/4 dumbell curls, again, pretty deceiving. By the end I was working for it!!!

7) Alright now, who's idea was it to put those high end reps on the seated lateral raises? Oh, wait that would be me :eek:. Ok, I meant to say whose idea was it to put the SUSPENDED HOLD at the top at the end of the last rep? Oh, shoot, me again :eek: :eek:. Brenda, your face was priceless!

8) Straddle Push Ups....hahahahahahaha...4/4 slow, okay, I'm hanging with myself....16 singles...well after 8 (at an already way slower pace) the girl on the screen left the girl on the floor in the dust. It was ugly, be happy you weren't there.

9) Preacher curls on ball. I love this angle for the arm. It is awesome but I needed to slow down a bit.

10) Seated front press with barbell...the last few reps were KILLER!

11) Staggered push ups...I staggered all right...right to failure with a flattened nose to prove it. Crashed and burned by the last rep.

12) The difficulty of the wide grip barbell curls caught me off guard and I really needed to go S-L-O-W on the last 7 full range reps.

Overall I LOVED the change and variety in this workout. The 50 minutes flew by, honeslty they did. The workout left me feeling warm in all the right places and very accomplished too.


Today's "event" has made it quite apparent that "somebody" (formerly known as the whip cracker in red) needs to get back with the program. I'm on it! Are you with me?

When you finish the workout and get a chance to write, please let me know how you did. If you have any questions regarding this workout, feel free to post them here.

High Fives, Good Night and Sleep well!

Cathe
 
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Hi everyone,
Just finished disc 1, I'm checking in while my arms can still move. I'm glad I did abs first.
Joan
 
Hi Cathe,

I just did Disc 1 late this evening, and oh my goodness, lol. I loved the workout, but I did have to pause the dvd a couple times to get my equipment together. I also had to skip some of the pushups, or modify them, but I did soo much more than I ever thought possible. I must say, time flew by, I never once found myself looking at the clock to see how much longer I'd be working, lol. That's a good thing for me, means I was having fun while feeling the burn.

Thanks for checking in with us. I really enjoyed reading about your workout, and it makes me feel better knowing that it's a challenge even for you :) I look forward to checking in with you again on Wednesday. Have a great night :)
 
Cathe,

I too enjoyed today's workout--all those push ups had me huffing and puffing!

I do have one question about the straddle push ups and the staggered push ups...I feel this in the triceps more than the chest, is that where I'm supposed to feel it? Perhaps I'm not positioning my arms correctly. Any form pointers on this would be helpful!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much!

Karen
 
Way to go Iris! Isn't it hard to workout this late? But you do it when you can, right? We could have blown it off but we didn't. Yeah to us!!! Sleep well if you can. Count push ups to get sleepy :eek:

Iris_g1 said:
Hi Cathe,

I just did Disc 1 late this evening, and oh my goodness, lol. I loved the workout, but I did have to pause the dvd a couple times to get my equipment together. I also had to skip some of the pushups, or modify them, but I did soo much more than I ever thought possible. I must say, time flew by, I never once found myself looking at the clock to see how much longer I'd be working, lol. That's a good thing for me, means I was having fun while feeling the burn.

Thanks for checking in with us. I really enjoyed reading about your workout, and it makes me feel better knowing that it's a challenge even for you :) I look forward to checking in with you again on Wednesday. Have a great night :)
Click to expand...
 
STS Disc 1 Check-in

Cathe:

I have been waiting for this check-in. I just told Melissa in another thread that you must be too sore to type this check-in after kicking your own butt today. LOL! I hope you enjoy a nice warm bubble bath with plenty of epsom salt tonight.

I experienced this workout for the first time on Super Bowl Sunday. This looked like fun when I previewed it the last week in January. It is fun, but it is hard too. The one-rep max tests are amazingly accurate. That is the first thing I discovered during this first workout. I never push myself that hard or lift that heavy when I do Supersets. (This mesocycle reminds me of an advanced “split” version of Supersets.) The workout card told me how much weight to choose, and I had faith and just did it. I had to push myself through the last few reps. What a great workout! It was over before I knew what hit me! I love the way you do one set of everything and move to the next exercise. There is never a dull moment. My upper body was nice and sore the next day.

I am enjoying the 5-month rotation and looking forward to Disc 5 in the morning. You will catch up with me soon!

I shared in another thread last night that I believe STS stands for Sleeping, Training, and Shrinking because that is what I am doing! This is thankfully not making me extremely hungry like the Slow and Heavy Series. My body is needing around 7-8 hours of sleep at night and an afternoon nap on STS days when possible. (I have always slept 4-5 hours a night, so this is very unusual for me.) Good news! While I am sleeping, the Fat Fairy is visiting me and hauling off wads of fat! I looked smaller when I saw myself in the mirror this weekend before my bubble bath and decided to check my measurements and see if my imagination was playing tricks on me. It appears that STS is shocking the stubborn fat off my body! I have already lost 2 inches in my waist, 2 inches in my abdomen, 2 inches in my hips, and an inch in each thigh after 2 weeks of Mesocycle 1, Week 1 (with only 3 days a week of cardio)! I am getting stronger every week too.

Here is a word of encouragement for everyone who is starting this amazing journey this week. Commit wholeheartedly to this journey. Focus on these STS workouts and give your all to each one. You can do anything for an hour 3 times a week! Do what you want on cardio days, but rock STS! It works wonders!

Best wishes! Be sure to put your epsom salt next to the bathtub tonight. You will need it! Sweet dreams! :)

Blessings,
Heather B.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
 
Hi Cathe and all to follow:

Well, I gotta say that I had already started STS on 2/2, but when you announced that you were going to do this with us, I started over just to experience it with you!

I gotta say that I felt better the second time around and after doing the first 2 weeks, I have a good feel for the timing and rythm of it all and am having a blast... Ok, I DO tell you off a few times during those ENDLESS pushups, but happy to say that they don't show their ugly heads again until next week!

There were a few "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING WOMAN!" shouts at the TV and the "ah, yeah?" when asked if "we are feeling that?" AH! :)

Seriously though, I can't do many of those pushups on my knees, so do them that way until my wrists and shoulders just can't handle them any longer, and I am managing to finish them leaning against the wall.

I was huffin and puffin at the Standing Quarter curls and managed to grunt them out!

I think I need to work on my chest flies... I have not been feeling it in the chest area, but more in the arms, so need to really visualize the pecks and remember to keep the shoulders retracted and work from the chest and not the arms so much... will try this more next week!

I admit that I FastForwarded through the Core Boot Camp Pushups :eek:, but there was NO way at that point that I was going to be able to do those, so I will keep working on those...

I totally agree that the 50 minute workout FLIES by and is SO enjoyable! I have a nice toasty feeling in the shoulders!

Yeah, M1W1D1 DONE (again :))
 
Great question Karen. You are 100% correct in that you will feel this exercise with emphasis on the triceps. But I chose to include it in this workout because straddle push ups also put nice emphasis on the inner chest muscles which is a nice compliment to the chest flys which emphasize more outer chest muscle. No matter how you slice any push up, you will always get triceps in there though. With that in mind definitely put a day in between this program and your back and tricep program to give those triceps recovery time. Thanks for asking and for checking in this late :)

kfoxyloxy said:
Cathe,

I too enjoyed today's workout--all those push ups had me huffing and puffing!

I do have one question about the straddle push ups and the staggered push ups...I feel this in the triceps more than the chest, is that where I'm supposed to feel it? Perhaps I'm not positioning my arms correctly. Any form pointers on this would be helpful!!!!!!!!

Thanks so much!

Karen
Click to expand...
 
Cathe, I would love to give you a high five, but I just did STS today and can't lift my arms. ;)

I actually just started week 2 (did disc 4 today) and I love love love this program. I am pretty advanced (or so I thought!) and this is kicking my behind--literally!

Those preacher curls are KILLER! I was grunting my way through those.

ANd DO NOT get me started on those push-ups. Holy moly.

If STS doesn't make me super-strong for my triathlon training this summer, then nothing will!
 
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oh...it was great. I wish I could type more but my arms are way too sore.


By the way......I'm sorry for all the bad names that I called you.

I am loving this wokout system!

Karen
 
Hi Heather! Thanks for your words of encouragement for all of us. I'm so thrilled to hear of your newest measurements. HIGH FIVE!!!!!!!! Fantastic!!!! I also love your new meaning for STS, lol. You are off to the most perfect start to your 5 month rotation. I'm so proud of you and look forward to hearing your future progess with the program. Sleep well, its good for your recovery as well as your metabolism. Good night!





BelovedHeather said:
Cathe:

I have been waiting for this check-in. I just told Melissa in another thread that you must be too sore to type this check-in after kicking your own butt today. LOL! I hope you enjoy a nice warm bubble bath with plenty of epsom salt tonight.

I experienced this workout for the first time on Super Bowl Sunday. This looked like fun when I previewed it the last week in January. It is fun, but it is hard too. The one-rep max tests are amazingly accurate. That is the first thing I discovered during this first workout. I never push myself that hard or lift that heavy when I do Supersets. (This mesocycle reminds me of an advanced “split” version of Supersets.) The workout card told me how much weight to choose, and I had faith and just did it. I had to push myself through the last few reps. What a great workout! It was over before I knew what hit me! I love the way you do one set of everything and move to the next exercise. There is never a dull moment. My upper body was nice and sore the next day.

I am enjoying the 5-month rotation and looking forward to Disc 5 in the morning. You will catch up with me soon!

I shared in another thread last night that I believe STS stands for Sleeping, Training, and Shrinking because that is what I am doing! This is thankfully not making me extremely hungry like the Slow and Heavy Series. My body is needing around 7-8 hours of sleep at night and an afternoon nap on STS days when possible. (I have always slept 4-5 hours a night, so this is very unusual for me.) Good news! While I am sleeping, the Fat Fairy is visiting me and hauling off wads of fat! I looked smaller when I saw myself in the mirror this weekend before my bubble bath and decided to check my measurements and see if my imagination was playing tricks on me. It appears that STS is shocking the stubborn fat off my body! I have already lost 2 inches in my waist, 2 inches in my abdomen, 2 inches in my hips, and an inch in each thigh after 2 weeks of Mesocycle 1, Week 1 (with only 3 days a week of cardio)! I am getting stronger every week too.

Here is a word of encouragement for everyone who is starting this amazing journey this week. Commit wholeheartedly to this journey. Focus on these STS workouts and give your all to each one. You can do anything for an hour 3 times a week! Do what you want on cardio days, but rock STS! It works wonders!

Best wishes! Be sure to put your epsom salt next to the bathtub tonight. You will need it! Sweet dreams! :)

Blessings,
Heather B.

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
Click to expand...
 
Hello!

DH and I just finished Disc one. Whoa...I think we will both be sore tomorrow!! What a great workout! I have to admit that we "cheated" a little bit. Since DH and I are doing this together, we had to pause a little longer so we could both get set up. We also had to share a few pieces of equipment. I hope we can add to our home gym soon so we won't have to pause so much (although it felt great to sneak in a little break;)).
I only did about 40% of the push-ups on my toes. I haven't felt strong enough to fully support my core during push-ups since having my little girl---but, I will keep working on it!!
I plan on buying pace weights as well. There were a few exercises (shoulders specifically) that I thought I could go up a pound or two.
Thanks Cathe!! STS is wonderful!
 
Hi Cathe

I started STS on the 2nd and today was Disc 7 and I just want to know, is it necessary to start out with push ups. It's great that you are posting and doing the system with us. BTW, exactly how many push ups are there?
 
You're forgiven, lol, I had a few choice words for myself there too :D I was actually getting annoyed that I couldn't keep up with myself. Not because I was thinking I had to race myself, but for the fact that I obviously was able to do it at that pace before (and with what appears to be "some" ease...that's where I had a few choice words for myself, ha) and felt frustrated that I no longer could at this time. Oh well, something to strive for :) "If it was too easy it wouldn't be worth doing"....hmmm, where have I heard that before? :p


KarenL said:
oh...it was great. I wish I could type more but my arms are way too sore.


By the way......I'm sorry for all the bad names that I called you.

I am loving this wokout system!

Karen
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There has got to be an easier way to do those pushups with out shaking so much.
If I can't finish out some of the exercises or keeping up with you on the DVD, am I going to get the results I desire?

Veronika
 
What??? You want me to count them???? Hey wait...does that burn calories? :D



tothemax said:
Hi Cathe

I started STS on the 2nd and today was Disc 7 and I just want to know, is it necessary to start out with push ups. It's great that you are posting and doing the system with us. BTW, exactly how many push ups are there?
Click to expand...
 
Absolutely Veronika! As long as you are challenged doing what YOU can do...you are getting results. Want them or not, you're getting them...and that is my final answer :p


Burning2 said:
There has got to be an easier way to do those pushups with out shaking so much.
If I can't finish out some of the exercises or keeping up with you on the DVD, am I going to get the results I desire?

Veronika
Click to expand...
 
By the way, do you recommend pace weights or would you just use the weight closest to the recommended poundage and then drop to a lower weight if needed?

Veronika
 
This was my second experience for M1 W1D1, since I did it once and then got sick. I liked it just as much this second time and maybe even more. Knowing in advance a little more what to expect helped me set equipment up better, including bringing in a TV tray to hold my STS notebook to make notes and not have to walk as far (which I originally didn't think was far at all) to do it between sets. That little thing made a big difference.

As with the first time through, I got thrown off by the beat and the movement in the warmup that don't seem to match in places. Is that just me? I'm usually pretty good that way.

All pushups were on my knees, but I tried to vary them according to whatever style you were doing. I got through most of them, but not all. In all of the exercises I appreciate how you encourage everyone to go at their own pace. That makes a big difference and takes the pressure off to try to lift faster than I should/am able and to be able to finish the sets (most of the time!).

There was plenty of gruntin' and groanin' going on and I had more than a few welfare checks from the many cats that roam through the house!
 
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