I have always enjoyed working out and made fitness a part of my life. While I was going through college and law school, the gym was where I went with my friends to burn off stress and clear my head. However, I never had a lot of definition and always wanted more muscle tone.
After I got married, I discovered Cathe and being in her age group, I realized I finally found my role model. I wasn’t able to go to the gym as often as I had done before so having home workouts was the best way to keep fitness somewhat of a routine.
I now have two boys, ages 6 and 3. After each of them, I used my Cathe tapes to get back into shape. When my second son was born, I actually got back into better shape than I was before I got pregnant with my 6 year old. I loved that Cathe posted her pregnancy picture for us. It was inspirational to see her before and after photos and know that she obviously had a healthy pregnancy where regular weight gain was easily shared.
Then I got pregnant a third time. While I was pregnant my STS shipment arrived. I figured it would be a great way to get back into shape after my doctor gave me the go ahead. I was very much looking forward to it. I continued with some Cathe workouts during my pregnancy and cut back quite a bit towards the end and on extra tired days. I never pressured myself that I had to work out. My little girl was born in July. I’m nursing her so watched my diet and slowly got back into a routine of doing some exercise. When my doctor gave me the go ahead to start exercising again, I was a little upset about the strength I had lost. I couldn’t handle the weight I had done before I was pregnant. I couldn’t even do one pull up whereas prior to my pregnancy I could do at least 3 (a big deal for me at the time).
Finally, I decided it was time to do the STS series. I told my husband about it and that it was a big commitment that I needed to do for myself. I will be turning 40 next July and when I do, I want to be in the best shape ever. It meant that for the 3.5 month cycle, I’d need roughly an hour for myself 6 days a week. I work from home as well and take care of the kids so work hours are during the day and into the wee hours of the night. Once the kids were off to sleep, I would workout. Not ideal to do it at night but something I have come to really look forward to.
I started the series wondering how I would be able to handle the weight. I never even really used a barbell to do curls and if I did, usually ten pounds. Still I went in positive knowing that Cathe puts a lot of time into planning her DVD’s so this just had to be good. Even better, she went through all the time and effort of putting the rotation together with excellent cardio suggestions for alternate days. I am entering the last month of the series now and already I have lost all of the weight I put on during my pregnancy (I gained between 35 and 40 pounds), I never dieted because I’m nursing my daughter, I’m working with the heaviest weights that I have ever used – before my first pregnancy even. I feel strong and confident. I’m starting to see some nice definition and just can’t wait to get through the next four weeks so I can see the final results. Then I’m going to pick a new rotation to focus on. Yes, I have STS Cardio on the way as soon as it starts to sh ip as well so even better!
I know that my 40’s are going to be just fabulous! When I hit 40, I’ll be in the best shape ever and Cathe made it challenging and fun. She remains inspirational to me.
