3 or 6 month rotation question for Cathe/SNM?

princessbear

princessbear

Cathlete
First - I must say that after previewing the first 4 discs of Meso 1, and doing the Ab Circuit stability ball workout today - BRAVO!!! What an amazing product you folks have put out - I'm looking forward to the STS journey.

I'm not sure if I will get the best results doing a 3 or 6 month rotation of STS and am looking for some feedback.

I have been on a bit of a layoff from lifting since shoulder surgery in October. I've been back to weight training since December, starting very slow (can you say THREE POUND dumbell bench press?). In January, the doctor said "Go for it" and I started slowly upping my weights and started my 1RM testing this morning - chest and back. I'm amazed at the results of my testing and likely could have even gone heavier on some moves.

My goals - to lose some bodyfat (about 5 pounds), tone up and BUILD more muscle. I was a competitive bodybuilder until about 9 years ago, let myself go a little (not too much), and am still, at 44, in pretty good shape and respond well to weight training.

So......... long story short .......... would I benefit more from a 3 month or 6 month rotation?

Thanks for any suggestions!!
 
I asked also and got no response. I was debating doing the 3 or 6 month rotation also but just wanted to get started. I'm about to complete my first week and I decided to go with the 3 month rotation this time around. I was venting to my dd (7 yr old) and she said Mom, do what Cathe said, 3 months. So I figured it was so simple to her! I'm also not trying to loose any weight really just add definition and muscle. Sorry, I guess that didn't answer your question at all, just my thoughts.
 
I don't know how to answer your question. However, I'll explain my rationale for doing the six month rotation and why I think it will benefit me more right now. When I am unsure of a move or concerned about it due to previous injuries (I've had both back and shoulder injuries, both of which have been severe), I have a tendency to go lighter on the exercises and ease into them slowly. Looking at Mesocycle 1, I'm probably going to do this for a number of the exercises the first time I do them (especially on the legs routine)--and right now I'm seeing new exercises in each week for which I'm going to modify initially until I see how they feel. BUT, I know I'll want to also push on some of these exercises once I've done them, so I want to give them a second chance (especially for those that pop up in weeks 3 and 4) to give them my best shot. So given that, I definitely think doing each week twice for this mesocycle will benefit me the most.

I've also decided that this would be the best start for me because I am still....again....forever :) trying to lose that famous 'last five to ten pounds'. And I think I'll be able to concentrate more on weight loss during the first mesocycle than I will the other mesocycles given the intent of those mesocycles. And I figure 8 weeks (I'll start my rotation tomorrow) plus the rest week gives me more time to try to work off these pounds (while still taking in enough calories to sustain the workouts) than the 4 week plan would give me.

And, finally, I'm actually much more interested in mesocycles 2 and 3 in terms of what they do than mesocycle 1 (I much prefer lifting for building muscle and strength), so I simply think I will enjoy repeating each of those weeks twice.

I don't know if that answers your question or not, but that's my rationale for how I'm approaching this program. Have fun!
 
I've decided that I like the idea of being able to do each week "twice" - at least for the first mesocycle. I'll be able to focus mainly on form the first week, and mainly on effectiveness the second. And, I travel so much that this will take some of the pressure off of finishing in exactly a week.

This doesn't help you with the injury question, of course - what does your doc think?

There are several threads going where people are talking about the various options and you might find some information there that will be useful, too. I read them over while I was making my own decision.
 
I'm not too worried about my shoulder actually. I decide to do the 1RM testing for shoulders yesterday and it held up pretty well - some DOMS today but not from the injury/surgery so that is good.

I really wish Cathe or SNM would answer the question about the benefits of 6 vs. 3 month rotation. I'm still going to do the 6 month, but would like to know how my results may differ from doing the 3 month.
 
I don't know if this will help, but I too am coming off some injuries. Mine are my shouder and my ankle. So I've decided to do a 6 month rotation too. My goal for mesocycle1 is to lose the last 5 pounds(haven't been able to do it in 10 years, but I keep trying! LOL!) and to help rebuild strength in my ligaments and tendons to get ready for meso's 2&3. I'm still going to do these for 8 weeks each as well, but it will be for some serious muscle building!!

P.S. For meso1, is anybody thinking about grouping two of the workouts on Wen&Thurs, doing cardio on Fri and then doing like PH or ME on Sat, so each muscle group gets hit twice? I'm considering it..........
 
After obsessing about it for weeks...

I finally decided to do the 3.5 month rotation. I usually like to do a workout at least a couple of times to get used to it. But, after looking more closely at each week, many of the exercises are the same or similar, so I can still improve my form while slowly increasing weights. So, it's not like they are TOTALLY different ea. week, but there's no way I'll be bored.

Also, I decided that, for me, I'd like to have an active recovery week every 4 weeks as opposed to 8.

I guess everyone just has to do what's best for them...although deciding that was really tough for me.

I start week 2 today & can't wait! Waiting for kids to go to school....
 
I'd like to hear an 'official' response to this question as well. I went back and forth, back and forth. I was SET on the 6 month rotation, but once I got STS in my hands I was just so excited and decided to do the 3 month rotation.

BUT.......

.......I started week 2 yesterday with disc 4 and although some of those exercises were repeats from the previous week, I'm really SERIOUSLY thinking about changing my mind BACK to the 6 month rotation! lol Talk about indesicive (sp?)! lol I just personally feel that repeating the weeks will do many things for me....allow me to get to 'know' the exercises in order to really work them, it will keep me 'on task' for a longer period (6 months) which would really benefit my body better. (am I making sense?) So I will decide once I finish this Week 2 if I'm going to start repeating the weeks or not.

Gayle
 
I know...

it's soooo hard to decide. I thought the same thing when I did disc 4 yesterday! 6 mo. would keep me on task into the summer (when I can show off my arms!hopefully), but i do tend to get a little bored after 3-4 months....

BUT, what will i do in april when sts rotation is over? Maybe another round of sts (redo 1rm tests - yuck!) or another P90X....
 
I am struggling myself...My main reason for maybe having to do the 3 is because sometime in the summer (still not sure of an exact date) I will start working out of town for 4 days a week and will have to work out at a gym Tues thru Thurs and I don't know how I could take STS with me. So I would be able to workout at home Fri thru Mon. But am not sure about doubling up on weight days. If I did all my weight workouts at home, two of them would have to be back to back and given how intense STS is going to get I do not think this would be a good idea.:confused:
But on the other hand, I predid D1 and D3 last week when I recieved them but started today officiallly with D1 and can seee how beneficial doing a workout twice would be...uhhgggg. So torn. But of course the beauty of the whole thing is that we do own it now. And can go both ways at some point.:D
Rachel

I think I will post the back to back Q to Cathe and see if I can get any feedback on what she thinks the best thing would be to do.:confused:
 
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