2011 New Year's STS Challengers

jnka825

jnka825

Cathlete
Hello all! I know a number of us who are starting STS this week were interested in a check in, so I figured I would start this thread. This will be my first time using STS. I just got it for Christmas and I am very excited. :D:D:D

I figured we could all tell each other a little about ourselves.

My name is Kristin. I live on Long Island and I am 33 years old. I am married and have two boys that are 5 and 2. I call them my little wise guys, because that is EXACTLY what they are. I love them to death. I have been doing Cathe workouts since July 2008, after having my second son. I weighed 206 pounds and knew I had to do something to get the weight off. I remembered Cathe from when Cablevision had FitTV, we don’t get it anymore :(. I thought of her because I was always impressed with the heavy weights and barbell she used in her workouts. I always would think to myself (as I sat on my couch and watched) how is she doing that? I started with Basic Step and Body Fusion and I was hooked. I now weigh 137 pounds and I am in better shape now in my 30s than I ever was in my 20s. My goal for using STS is not to lose weight, but to gain more lean muscle. Frankly, I was to be CUT. I am hoping that following this program I will get the results I am looking for.

Today is my official rest day for the week. I am starting STS Disc 1 tomorrow and I cannot wait. Some of my target weights are off. For example, for shoulders it says to use 7# and I don’t have a 7# DB, but someone suggested that I use weighted gloves. I have 2# weighted gloves, so that should do the trick. My biceps barbell curls weight is also a weird # . . . 28. For that I think I am just going to go for 30 and see what happens. I am so excited. I am glad we are starting this group too. It will be cool to have a check in for this rotation. I have many of the Shock Cardio dvds, but not all. I printed out the rotation for STS and Shock Cardio. Tuesday’s workout is supposed to be Hiit, which I don’t have. I am thinking I will do an Inensity premix instead.

Okay, so please join in and tell us about yourself. :D

Kristin
 
Hi Kristin!

My name is Cynthia. I'm 48 years old (was 44 when I joined Cathe;)) . I'm married with two sons ages 27 & 22 and two fur babies, a boxer and a mastiff.

This will be my second round with STS. I didn't have a great 2010. :(I wasn't consistent with my workouts and my diet has been awful. I need to shed a some fat and get back into a better fitness and lifestyle pattern. I'm using STS to get me back on track, build strength, and lose fat. I can't think of a better way to start off the New Year! I made incredible fitness gains my first round with STS and I have no doubt this will give me the results I'm looking for. :)


I did 15 minutes on my elliptical followed by Disc 1 today! I couldn't finish all the push-ups, but I worked to failure and that's good enough!

I'm adding an extra leg day in to Meso 1 so I will be doing the disc in a slightly different order.
I'm doing legs- disc 3 tomorrow, and disc 2 Tuesday, and then Friday do another leg day. I'm thinking about using Squeeze Stronger this week.
 
Hi Ladies!

My name is Wendy. I am 38 years old. I found Cathe in December of 2004 when I was 4 months pregnant with my son. He's now 5 1/2 years old and my only child except for my 7 year old male Golden Retriever named Clyde. My son calls the dog his brother!!! :D I have been working out consistently (5-6 days per week) since the 2nd half of 2002 but have been an on again off again exerciser since high school. I can remember working out to Jane Fonda videos in my mom's living room! :)

I started STS tonight with Disc 1 plus abs from High Reps.

Hope everyone enjoys their evening.

Be back in the AM! :cool:
 
Hello all!

I like the idea of doing introductions...it will be nice to get to know some fellow Cathletes :) My name is Lisa, I am 34 and live in Central Ohio. I am married and have two children, 14 (son) & 19 (daughter). I started with Cathe back in 2005 with Lowmax & Step Blast but suffered a back injury that took me 2 years to fully recover from! I restarted again last January and had a great few months. I lost 25 of the 35 pounds I needed to lose and built up my endurance. Unfortunately I went a little too fast with the advanced workouts (and probably too much KPC, I love that workout!!) that caused an overuse injury to my hip. I strained the ligaments...they take a looooong time to heal. I am finally feeling better and am getting back into the groove. I am hoping to lose these last 10 pounds by spring break.

I did disc 2 this morning. I took it a little easier than prescribed because I am still so sore from disc 1. Yesterday I was supposed to do Hiit 40/20 for cardio but after reviewing it I swapped out lowmax for that one. I was concerned about all the jumping...I want to ease back into high impact so as not to reinjure myself. I have all the shock cardio but have only done MMA boxing, kickboxing & athletic step. Several of them look downright scary :eek: I remember seeing threads where people were complaining that they weren't tough enough - I don't know about that. From what I've seen I am afraid to do most of them!!

But so far I consider myself on track. I hope Meso 1 goes by fast because I really don't enjoy endurance type weight training. I'll be working on MMA boxing first thing in the morning...I hope you all have great workouts tomorrow!!
 
Hi Guys,

I am starting disc 1 tomorrow. This is also my second time through. I did the first round as a 6.5 month rotation, doing each week twice in a row before moving on. I loved that format, so am doing it this way again, but with much lighter weights, because I have injured my back too (lower back bulging disk) and have only recently found a treatment plan that has educated me enough to not keep aggravating things. So my cardio will be all low impact, but I did get a Cathe Vest that I plan on using to keep the intensity up.
I'm 35, married with two kids 7 and 4 yrs old. They have both watched me do Cathy since the first week after they were born...:) I'm hoping to gain back some of the muscle I have lost during the last two years due to my back injury. I also wouldn't mind burning some extra pounds that have crept up due to the same reason and lack of motivation. But even with the setbacks, I am also in better shape and healthier now than I ever was in my 20s...:)
 
Morning! Today I will be doing Disc 1!!!!! I am very excited. Today is also my first day back to work, which means I am back to working out at night. I am also cleaning up my diet starting today (I kind of got carried away with all the holiday treats and such).

Lisa- I just recently got MMA Boxing and did it for the first time this weekend. I loved it. I loved that it was agood workout without a lot of high impact. Still sore from disc 1? So I guess I have DOMs to look forward to ;)

Wendy- I did a Jane Fonda VHS when I was a kid too, lol.

Cynthia- I saw on the wo card all the pushups in the beginning and wondered if I will be able to finish them all, lol. We shall see. I love boxers BTW.

Cendrine- Disc 1 today!

Okay, I'll bbl after I do my workout tonight.

Kristin
 
Athletic Step + assorted BBC ab work was this morning's work out. Great sweat followed by a great burn! Couldn't ask for more! ;)

I'm sorry I have no time for personals right now but I will come back later and do them for sure!

Happy Monday ladies! :)
 
Hi Everyone,

I hope you don't mind if I join the check-in. I caught the other thread under STS yesterday.

This is my third STS rotation and I am excited all over again! I started meso 1, disk 1 yesterday after an hour and 10 min. of spinning. I am sore already!

I am married with two fur babies and will be 42 at the end of the month. My heaviest weight in my mid-thirties was 225 lbs. I am now at about 160 lbs. and would like to lose addition weight.

I hope those of you with past injuries find new strength and I look forward to working out with all of you.

Chris
 
Hi Everyone!

Boy do I have a lot of catching up to do!:) My name is Julie, and I'm 43. I'm married and have five kids (4 boys/1 girl) ages 12, 9 (girl), 7, 5, and 2. We also have two Golden Retrievers (male-6, female-5 1/2 mos.).

I discovered Cathe almost two years ago when I was trying to figure out how I could work out from home when I left my gym. I have been active since I started running in the 7th grade, but gave it up in my 20s after too many injuries.:confused: I've still been prone to injury:rolleyes: but I love the fact that I can modify most of Cathe's workouts.

This is my first round of STS and I am starting my first active recovery week today after Meso 1. I had DOMS after just doing the 1RM's so you can imagine how I felt through Meso 1.:p I'm looking forward to a break from the weights this week but I'm so excited to start Meso 2!

I would love to catch up more but my kids are late waking up and it's their first day back to school!

This morning I did LIC cardio blast timesaver followed by abs/stretch.

Nice to "meet" all of you! It will be nice to compare notes on STS. BBL!

Julie
 
Julie - Enjoy your active recovery week. It sounds like you have a full house!

The Cathe newsletter today mentions a Workout Manager update. It is recommended that we download/print any workout cards needed for the week in the event there are problems when the update goes live.
 
Good morning everyone!
I just finished 15 minutes on my elliptical followed by Disc 3/ Legs with bonus leg work:eek::eek:. OMG, I was sweating buckets through the entire workout!
I love Cathe's leg work!!!:D:D:D How can she be so nice and mean at the same time?! LOL

I was planning to do a 3.5 month STS rotation, but decided this morning I will do 8 weeks of meso 1 while I try to shed some fat.
Also, I'm using BCAA's every morning before and during the workouts. I'm using a double dose. I'm hoping I will notice a difference in recovery. Call me crazy, but I love the taste of SciVatin Xtend watermelon BCAA's.

Here is an interesting study done with mice and BCAA's.

http://www.sciencecodex.com/amino_acid_supplement_makes_mice_live_longer
 
Cynthia:: Now you've got me considering either the 6.5 month rotation (dare I even TRY to stick to this!?!) or perhaps doing just mesos 1 and 2 for 8 weeks each and skipping meso 3 altogether (a little more doable). I don't have a squat rack and have no room for one so meso 3 may not even be worth it for me b/c I probably won't be able to lift as heavy as I should w/o the rack. Things that make ya go hmmmm. :p

Kristin:: I love MMA Boxing too. One of my faves for sure. Love to travel with it. Not a space hog and all I need to bring with me are my weighted gloves and I'm set! :) I enjoyed the Jane Fondas I did when I was in High School. She has made new work outs recently you know! ;) So how did day 1 of STS go today?
 
Last edited:
Disc 1 done! Yay! I definitely went a lot lighter than last time around, and I think the fact that I have to lift lighter is a blessing in disguise, because I could lift heavier but then my neck somehow always takes the rap for it. Say I do 15lbs overhead presses. I could do the reps, but then my neck would be very tight and sore and would need a lot of tlc to get better. Now I took it easy particularly on all shoulder exercises and I feel like my neck is still happy! Gotta keep reminding me of that as I go on! I get a bit competitive with myself about how much weight I can handle but evidently i seem to compensate with my neck...
I also did a tm interval first with the Cathe Vest that got me good and warmed up.

For those of you that are playing around with the idea of doing different meso cycles for different amounts of time, I decided last time around that maybe I would do Slow and Heavy for the 3rd meso cycle instead of the regular 3rd mesocycle. What do you girls think of that? I know for sure I can't go as heavy on the 3rd cycle as I should to see results.

I'm trying to watch the eating as well. Generally I eat healthy, just too much of it. I can't restrict myself too much or make myself count anything or I become rebellious....;) So my plan for this round is the 3 s (no snacks, no seconds, no sweets except on special days)
I've never heard of BCAA, so, thanks for the link, I will check it out!

Julie, you are ahead of us! Enjoy the recovery!
 
Greetings from Northeastern Ohio!

My name is Vicki and I am 55 with 2 sons ages 23 and 33 and 4 grandchildren. My oldest son and his family live in China and my youngest is in the Army and currently lives in Alaska until he heads out in March for his 2nd tour in Afghanistan.

This will be my 2nd time through STS, the first time being a 6 1/2 month rotation. I intend to do the 3 1/2 month this time since I am not as intimidated as I was the first time around. I started last February at 155# and am now at 132# with a goal of 125#. I saw very good results in muscle mass from my first round of STS which ended in August, but didn't drop any weight due to not eating as well as I should and cutting back too much on cardio. In September, I gave up drinking any pop and refused anything that had more than 11grams of sugar in it. I also amped up the cardio and made sure to include at least 3 days of it along with 3 days of weight training to alternating Cathe's Gym Style and Pyramid DVDs. That's when I really started to see the difference. Now that I'm very close to my goal weight and eating the way I should, I expect to see FANTASTIC results this time around.

I have never joined a check-in or challenge before, but sometimes in order to get a good result you have to do things in a different way, so I'm doing everything I can to make the best improvement possible. I started off this morning with Disc 1, and still can't do all those blasted push ups on my toes. Aaaaarrgh!

Looking forward to encouraging and being encouraged in this journey with all of you wonderful ladies!
 
Welcome to the check in Vicki! I've been in check in threads since early on in my Cathe days and have always found it very motivating and fun. I hope you enjoy it. :)

Cendrine:: I tried to do STS early in 2010 and quit after the first three weeks of meso 1. I was having a terrible time of it. I think I did my 1RM's wrong and ended up, like you, with weight loads that were too heavy!Most work outs were a total struggle for me! :eek: I also bloated up/gained weight that was too much for me to tolerate and was showing no signs of going away if I continued the program so I stopped, did a cardio intensive rotation for about 2 months and finally felt like my old self again. Now, after about a 6 month break in between, I am starting STS again but with lighter weights too and hope to have some nice results this time. Based on my experience with Disc 1 last night, so far so good! Good luck to both of us! :)
 
Hi Vicki & Cendrine!

FWIW, I never did 1RM:eek: I jumped right in and followed what my body feels.
Some days I feel stronger than others, some days I feel like I ate extra Wheaties!:) If I go too heavy I feel it in my neck too. I made significant strength gains by pushing myself to increase each week with the program. Following my body...Plus, Cathe lets you know where you should be struggling. In meso one it's around the 10th rep, so I'm squeaking out the last 5- sometimes I can only make it to 14. I quit when my form goes south.
 
I am learning so much about STS just from hearing your stories. I figured going into this the first time would be like trial and error. I have neck pain too if I lift too heavy and on the legs there are just certain exercises for which I cannot do weights because of a knee issue (like the side and backward sliding lunges).

I have MMA Boxing too and it is one of my favorite cardio workouts. I'm slowly building up my Shock Cardio series, but I agree with some of them being scary!:eek:

I would really like to start up next week following the rotation w/the Shock Cardio DVDs. What are your favorites if you have the series? I also have MMA Kickbox, CCC, Circuit Blast and Hiit 30/30 (downloaded).

Kristin, I stumbled across some 1 1/2 pound wrist weights at a Marshalls and I also have 2lb wrist weights as well as 1lb gloves. They help quite a bit, but I would prefer something else as the wrist weights tend to slide down my arm. My biggest challenge w/Meso 1 was getting my next weight put together fast enough to keep up w/Cathe and crew.

Hope everyone had a great day!

Julie
 
Hi everyone! I'm a little late chiming in and it turns out I won't start STS till next Monday, but wanted to connect with the group anyway just to get rolling with it :D I loved reading everyone intro/comments and am looking forward to working out with you all!

I didn't do the 1RMs the first go round but did most this time - I test ran disks 1 and 2 last week and the poundages were pretty accurate and definitely heavier than I would've guessed on some.

I'm 35, married with three lil hairies - aka german shepherds - we call them the kids ;) if we ever get around to actually having kids, they'll probably consider the dogs their siblings too :D

I really would like to see it all the way through Meso 3 even if I feel like a staypuff :p it'll only be until mid-March! (Post holiday diet cleanup now in progress...!) I've been an avid exerciser since my early 20s and the best shape I was ever in is when I lifted the heaviest weights and I was TINY (routine was most simiilar to cross b/w GS and Meso 2)... I couldn't even think of lifting those lbs now!

Today is rest day after Butts/Guts yesterday ow-ow-ow and High Reps UB the day before... 8 mile interval run tomorrow if my legs don't fall off first!

BBL in the week - have a great week/workouts !
 
Hey Ladies!

Would love to join you! I started STS today, jumping right in. Disc 1 and Ab circuits - pilates based abs.

My name is Sherry. I'm 44, married with 2 kids (DS is 14, DD is 12), 1 dog (golden retriever) and live in southeast Michigan. I started with Cathe about 4 years ago when I needed something more intense than the Firm. I did a BFL style challenge about 3 years ago using the Pyramids and Gym Styles and had great results, helping me realize how my body responds to heavier lifting. The past year has been rather rough, and it's all come back on. Last fall I started a new job and back to Cathe (starting with Basic Step). I'm now ready for more!

I'm starting STS without doing the 1RM's. Figured I'd kept putting it off, so might as well just jump in. I estimated my weights from previous workouts, and made slight adjustments this first round. The tell-all will be the muscle aches in the morning. I'm planning to just do the 3-1/2 month rotation as is this first time around.

Time to get a few more things done around the house tonight. Have a great evening and see you all tomorrow.
 
Hi all! I just finished Disc 1!!!! OMG with all those push-ups. I did the first two sets on my twos, and then teh rest had to be on my knees for the most part. I am already feeling sore. i am so glad we got a good group here to share this experience with. I too am back on the clean eating badnwagon after slipping up all holday long! I loved getting started with STS today, but I found myself rushing to figure out the next weight and getting my weighted gloves on and off was a bit tricky. hopefully it will get easier as time goes on.

I'll be back tomorrow to catch up on intros.

Night all!
Kristin
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top