STS first time!

Hello-

I am checking in with snow here, too. We're supposed to get 4-8 inches between now and tomorrow morning. Bleh.

My workout calendar has me scheduled for the HiiT Pyramid today (I was also going to do stability ball abs, too.), but I kind of feel like either doing Athletic Step again or trying Step Moves today. Not sure, yet.

Betty, the only reason I am able to workout so much is because I am unemployed! :D It keeps me sane between the job hunting, resume sending and networking. I finished my Master's degree in social work back in June and the competition is so fierce for jobs right now. Entry-level positions are being taken by people who have been in the SW field for 5+ years, but I'm not bitter or anything.;) If I had a job, I think I'd be doing slightly less. (Sorry for the vent.)
 
Hi! I just started STS. I finished my second week of Meso 1 today (legs, disc 6). I'm loving it so far! Can I join you guys for the check in? I go on VF forum a lot but there aren't too many people at that STS check in right now so I feel like I'm talking to myself!;)
 
Hi, Cokonkel-I didn't even know there was an STS check in at VF. I guess that's because I only go read the general discussion.

Carolyn- I tried to get a ticker, but I keep getting a message saying I can't because I'm not doing an "offical rotation", even though I am doing the "Official" STS/Shock Cardio rotation. :confused:
 
mfv3 said:
I keep missing posts for some reason....still getting used to this phone. Carolyn....nice job on the workout! That wrap sounds amazing....love goat cheese! How do I get the ticker? Would love to have it! Jen.....good luck on the job hunt.....I know how frustrating it can be. Nursing is the same way.....I was working overnights just to get experience....that was no fun. Thank goodness that is over. Day eve rotation is more my style. Keep up the hard work though....its a full time job just looking for a job! It will come eventually. Welcome Cokonel. Glad to have you join the group :) STS rules doesn't it?! Marie :)
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Yes STS does rule! I'm loving it so far. I've never been one that could do rotations. I drift off after a few days and start doing other things. This is the first time I feel like I can actually stick with it! At first I didn't want to bother with calculating the 1 rep max but I finally caved last night and did some of them. I did the 5 star exercises as well as some of the 3 and 4 star ones. I got frustrated with guessing which weight I should do, especially for the upper body workouts.
I don't have all the equipment that is needed so I'm modifying here and there. I'm using the tubing over my door in place of the pull ups (I hope to acquire a turbo tower the next time I do the this) and my barbell is pretty cheap so I'm only using it for some of the exercises and subbing dumbells in for others depending on how comfortable it feels.
I can't believe how much I'm loving lifting weights! I sure wish I had discovered this in my twenties! Imagine the benefits I could have been reaping back then! (I'm 39 now).
 
My first name is Colleen. :) VF stands for videofitnessforum.com. It's a pretty great site but I like it over here too. I think I have more like minded folks over here whereas there is a greater variety of people there (into different workouts, a lot of people going with lower intensity, etc.). I messed up when I picked my username here... I intended to have the same username that I have on VF but I somehow put my email and I couldn't change it without using a different email to register. Sometimes I'm technologically challenged!

Man, I'm still at work right now and we are really slow...I've had lots of time to post on the forums! :eek:
 
Wow! I haven't checked in since yesterday morning - you all have been chatty!

Carolyn - nope my triceps aren't really sore today. Kind of strange, especially since they were sore after the chest/shoulders/bicep workout - I think that I was really using my triceps to assist on that million pushups!

I can't believe I'm off to finish meso 1 already! That time went fast!
 
Morning-

I've got disc 9 (legs) on tap today. I think I might have to wait for my husband to get home to do it. My son was up pacing the halls last night (he has Asperger's Syn) and he finally went to sleep at 4 AM. I let him stay home since today was a half day, anyway. He just would have been miserable and difficult for his teachers. When I do strength training, I need my full attention. I worry about him getting into something he shouldn't be, so my focus just won't be there.

I won't be doing my post STS walk, either. We've loads of snow on the ground and it's like 17 degrees outside. Last Friday, it was 54 degrees and very sunny. Crazy!

Carolyn, I do a lot of baking, too. My husband is from England, so I bake scones for him. I don't like to bake them because he scarfs them down and they are hard to resist (and I don't even have a sweet tooth). At 8 last night, he asked if it would be too much trouble to bake scones. Really?
 
Today is my rest day:) I'm still having trouble trying to figure out the various technological aspects of the forum. Like for some reason, on my home computer my sts ticker was showing that I was on disc 1 (?). I tried a few times to fix it with no luck. Then I got to work and it seemed fine and was showing disc 6 like it should. Ahhh! I get so frustrated with tech stuff! I got my hubby an ipod touch for Christmas and we are both struggling to figure stuff out on that!:confused:

I'm sorry you didn't get much sleep Jen! I'm pretty worthless if I get less than 7 hours a night. I really need 8-9 to feel totally human. I've noticed as I get older sometimes I'll struggle with mild insomnia. I don't usually wake up in the middle of the night but I'll have a tough time drifting off since I have a hard time turning my brain off some days! My kids used to both come into our room and try to get in bed with us when they were younger and wake us up (my son is 7 and my daughter is 4). Luckily, that habit seems to have died down!

Colleen
 
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Well last day of Meso 1 today ladies :) Now if I could just get my motivation up. Usually I work out right away in the morning, but as a couple of you mentioned if it doesn't happen then it pretty much doesn't happen. Sounds jsut about right for me too! I work until 3:30 and then have a 40 min drive home. UGH! Hope this workout happens.
 
I am waiting for my husband to come home. He should be home in an hour. It's hard to work out with my son here. I usually work out @2PM and my resolve is starting to fade. I think I will brew some coffee and set up my equipment, etc...
 
gratefuldog said:
Power to ya girls!! It takes every ounce of my being to workout late in the day. Especially if I have to get out of normal clothes to do it! That takes even more gumption!
I did go back and finish my legs! I only had the floor work to do so that was good. I love all of her bonus stuff on leg days! can't wait to hear what you think of the xtras in disc nine Jen! I was hurting for a couple days! I am definitely going to add those disc exercises to my leg routine when this sts thing is done.
Speaking of which...I am having a hard time with the rest week ahead. Do you think it is still ok to do the trisets dvd? or is that too much weights? I need to look up what exactly "active recovery" is.
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I was wondering that too actually...what active recovery is, that is. I have tons of circuit workouts (that and kettlebells was pretty much my strength work before I dove into STS). I was thinking when I get done with Meso 1, I would do my circuit and kettlebell dvds that following week...or maybe I should just do pure cardio?
 
OK, I did Legs and I am waiting for the DOMS Fairy now, Carolyn. I was going to do a premix of Low Impact Challenge, but I decided against it. How are you ladies doing that wall squat with the ball where you go so low? I can't do this! My thighs are flush with my chest when I go that low. I try different positions on the ball and foot placements and I just can't do this correctly. I think it might be because I have a very long torso. I tried again today and I heard and felt a noise in my left knee. Since then, my knee feels like its slightly out of alignment, so I nixed the step workout.

Betty-I don't have all of the equipment for this, either. I am just making do with what I have. I still feel like I am getting a comprehensive and thorough workout.

Have a fun Friday evening, ladies!:cool:
 
gratefuldog said:
Speaking of which...I am having a hard time with the rest week ahead. Do you think it is still ok to do the trisets dvd? or is that too much weights? I need to look up what exactly "active recovery" is.
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Carolyn - In the final segment of "CatheTV" for meso 1 she talks about the "active recovery" week. Basically she said stay active, keep exercising, but "Don't lift heavy weights." From that, I would think that the trisets dvd would be fine, as long as you stay pretty light on the weights, and personally I probably wouldn't even do that more than twice. I think that the point is to work on other areas of fitness rather than strength for a week (i.e. cardio, flexibility).

So I totally expected to feel my workout yesterday a whole lot more than I am today. Legs is not really my thing, and when I push myself with weights I almost always start feeling nauseous. Yesterday it was so bad I had to stop half way through and come back later. I think I'm going to start with some sort of electrolyte/energy drink when I do legs from now on. Any recommendations on good ones? I'm not really into all the dyes and artificial stuff in Gatorade.

I love reading what you all have to say everyday!

~Rachel
 
Hi ladies! This is so fun reading all your posts every day! I love how active this check in is. :) I can't decide today if I'm going to do KPC or Athletic Training (I'm planning to keep the weights below 8 lbs if I do AT). Then I think tomorrow I'm going to do Disc 7. I like to get the chest disc out of the way on Sundays since that is my least favorite body part to work! All those push ups are realllly tough for me!

Rachel- for your nauseousness, do you drink a protein/recovery shake after your workouts? Maybe try drinking half of it before your workout? I like to put either pomegranate juice or acai juice in my shakes for a little bit of sugar. To be honest I didn't do the 1 rep max for most of the leg exercises. I love working my legs, in fact I'm making it a point to do another workout during the week that I know will challenge my legs (like Lower Body Blast or Afterburn) but I'm a little afraid to go too heavy in my leg workouts. Partly since I don't have a squat rack and partly because I'm worried a bit about bulking my lower body. I get muscle in my lower body easily but my upper body I have to work really hard for it.

Betty- I don't have all the equipment either but I'm modifying where I need to. I was worried at first that I wouldn't do the program "justice" as one VFer put it, but I figured this is more weight training than I've ever done so I'm bound to benefit regardless! I'm also looking at this first round as sort of a "getting to know ya" cycle. I figure I'll revisit STS again later this year and try to have more equipment (I really want to get the Turbo Tower!) and then really go all out for it! Plus, I swear even though it's been only two weeks I'm getting stronger already. I was putting two gallons of milk away in the fridge the other day and they felt super light to me!:D

Epcot Chick- DOMS Fairy...LOL love it!:eek:

Have a great day ladies!
 
gratefuldog said:
:D cool it worked!

Colleen, have you ever tried the Firm Kettlebell workout? I forget the name of it, and am too lazy to go downstairs and dig it out. It is awesome! Haven't done it forever, but it is a goody!

Carolyn
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I'll have to check this out! I love kettlebells. I have Lauren Brooks (expensive but good), RKS system, Bob's 2 workouts, Paul Katami and a few others. I also will sometimes do this quickie to boost my heart rate before a strength oriented workout: 15 kettlebell swings, 15 squat thrusts, 14/14, 13/13, 12/12 on down to 1/1. Talk about some sweat!:eek: It usually takes me about 13 minutes to do that. Of course, I only do it on days when I'm feeling really energetic!
 
Good afternoon-

I have MMA:Fusion on tap today. I've been cleaning and web surfing today. No visit from the DOMS fairy. I have only had DOMS once since I started and it was the first legs workout. Not sure why I'm not getting them, I'm going very heavy when I workout. Maybe next Meso?

Colleen-That is how I feel about doing STS. I feel like this is something new and challenging for my body, I am bound to get some sort of positive result from STS.

Rachael- Are you eating anything before you work out? I need to eat otherwise I feel exactly as you described. I am jealous of people who can do hardcore workouts in the morning, I have tried it and I just can't with an empty stomach. Maybe if you had something like an apple with a tablespoon or two of peanut or almond butter (my fave) about an hour before you work your legs, it could carry you through?

Marazoe- I look at the Bodyrock workouts from time to time, but I always thought those were for the benefit of men. ;)

Carolyn-I think I will just put a step under, instead of blocks. I think that should work. I need to start watching Cathe TV again.

Off to do a bit more cleaning...
 
Thanks all for the tips! I'll let you know how legs goes next time. I'm not a huge fan of the wall squats either. I've been mixing up how I do them. Either I don't set the weights down, or I do them with no weights and work on the range of motion. Having the flexibility to get down far enough to pick up weights isn't my problem, but if I have heavy weights my knees kill when I try to get back up to 90 degrees. Not good!
Off to do Low Impact Challenge before church - I still haven't mastered the final sequence, that's my goal for today - I am not the most coordinated of people, but I still love step workouts. Odd.

~R
 
I'm still here! I tend to read often, but I usually don't have much time to write. And last week was particularly crazy...2 hr drives home Wed & Thurs, and my husband was working late with crazy search warrant stuff, so I had the kids on my own those nights too. Still got week 3 done though! :D

About the wall squats... I had a hard time doing them the first time... very wobbly and straining to get down to pick up the weights. I think I used 12-15 lb DBs that first time. The 2nd and 3rd time, I did much better. I used only 10 lb DBs. That's one of the exercises where it isn't really about the weight you use, but about how you execute the move. (I actually think the STS crew might be using 10-12s for this one too. So we should not feel bad about choosing lower weight on this move.) It takes a ton of strength (legs, glutes, back, core), balance, and flexibility to go all the way down and then hold at 90 degrees and finish the move. It is NOT easy. But it's not supposed to be either. It's supposed to kick our butts! :eek: Oh, and make sure the ball is really low on your back when you are standing. That seems to be a key for me, so that when I roll down the wall, the ball is in the right spot to support my lower back as I strain to get so low.

And about pumpkin bread... Hungry Girl has a trick where she takes a box of spice cake mix and just stirs in 1 can of pumpkin... no eggs, water, oil, etc... just the mix + 1 can of pumpkin. The mixture is REALLY thick and hard to stir, but you wouldn't believe how good they come out. We still get the sugar from the cake mix, but there is no added fat. And they are pretty good. I sometimes sprinkle with a little powdered sugar after they are cool. (You can also do this with devil's food cake mix & pumpkin, for sort of brownies!) Here is a link to some fun 2-ingredient cake ideas, from Hungry Girl...

Hungry Girl - Friday Newsletter

Leane (Stafford, VA)
 
Well, I did disc 7 (chest,shoulders and biceps) today. Oh my, I'm thinking the DOMS fairy is definitely going to visit tomorrow! Actually, I'm already feeling it and it was just a few hours ago!:eek: I think I wasn't pushing myself enough the first two weeks, so I'm glad I did the one rep max stuff. It's funny because I actually like getting doms in my lower body but in my upper body; not so much.;)

I was feeling pretty proud after reading some posts about the wall squats with ball since I found I could do those...then I read the weights you guys were using! Yeah, I only used 8 lbs...pride diminished! I think this week I'll try to do the 10 lb dumbells and see how I do.

I hope you had a good run Carolyn! :)

ETA: Do you live close to Portsmouth New Hampshire? One of my best friends from school lives there. It's such a beautiful and quaint town!

Colleen (Western Wisconsin, LaCrosse area)
 
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Evening-

Just finished Step Moves for the first time. I wasn't too bad, but there's always room for improvement.

I tried the wall squat today and to get to anywhere close to the ground, I have to keep my body at ~45 degrees and then my knees are bearing the load--and I still can't reach the weights. I will chalk it up to idiosyncratic biomechanics and modify. I think she does a similar move in Total Body Trisets, but without the reaching down. I can't quite remember, I will look later.

Rachael-I am not good with step choreo, but I still do step workouts. I figure I'm still burning calories and eventually, I get it. It takes a while though. :)

Carolyn-I don't know how you run in 11 deg weather. I hate being out in the cold and I drop hints to my husband on a regular basis about moving somewhere warm.

Jen-Chicago.
 
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