Has anyone done STS 6X per wk for 7 wks?

I'm also doing a variation of this thanks to this thread. I am in Meso 1 and I am doing each disc twice as in the 6 month rotation. So each week I do each disc two times. I am only in week 1 (completed disc 2 for the second time today) but I think I am really going to like it.

After I completed STS each time (I've done it twice) I always wished I had done Meso 1 twice but couldn't bring myself to commit to the 6 month rotation. My body responds really well to endurance based workouts but when I stick to total body and circuit dvds I feel like I lose strength. I think this is the best of both worlds! I am pushing myself with weights and I like how the second time through I select the perfect weight thanks to the notes from the first time.

I haven't figured out how much cardio I'm going to do/need. I know for sure day 4 will be a long, intense cardio and i have added on Hiit and one shorter premix on strength days. I'm just going by how I feel. I am not as concerned in Meso 1 since it is endurance based and has legs 2x per week. Cardio will definitely be an experiment for me.

I'm not sure how I am going to proceed with the next mesocycle. I may drop the second time through and just do the meso in 2 weeks. I am going to play it by ear when I get there.

Anyway- thanks for the idea! I'll post results at the end of this meso.
 
greenfitmom: I really would like to hear about your progress...Like you I am only in week 1 (although in M3) of this STS everyday thang. And that being said, I am only doing 5 days. When I am done with M3, I may follow your lead and go right back into M1 after my rest week. M1 was my fav so far, and when I finish M3, this will only be my first time through STS....I really should try for 2 X dontcha think?
Like you, I am trying to figure out the cardio part...for a few reasons: #1-negotiating doing STS for 5 consecutive days for the first time and #2- I have started cycling with DH, so I have started working that into my w/o schedule,which has previously been mostly Cathe dvd's with a bit of TM running thrown in. So now, my whole workout schedule is in uproar! :eek::confused::D

Today I did STS disk 37 Squat Rack and I still seem to be maintaining...I might do a 20 mi ride tonite if it is not too hot here, otherwise I'll just do a cardio dvd and crank up my portable A/C machine.

dirtdiva: I completely understand about the "eating like a horse" thing. Doing your cycling rides, PLUS daily STS must burn soooo many cals. I did a 31 miler (w/ some good hills) with DH on Mon. and I burned something like 2000 cals that day. But you are the master with the squat weight...I am nowhere near your squat weight...you are strong!
 
greenfitmom I'm interested in your rotation. So do you do the 3 prescribed discs for that week, and then repeat them, or do you do the first disc, then repeat that same disc, do the second, repeat, etc.

tralaiven Today I burned a crap-load of calories, long four hour ride. I had buckwheat pancakes for breakfast, when we go there had a foot long chicken Subway sandwich. On the way back, had dinner consisting of a huge hamburger with bacon, greens, fruit and a bowl of icecream, and a glass of wine. I got on the scale tonight and I lost 2 pounds today :confused: . Tomorrow I'm going to get right back to my weight lifting. I know your schedule is tight, but remember that thing Cathe says, change is good!
 
tralaiven I think a second round of STS is a good thing. :) I bet you will see amazing results with STS and the change in your cardio routine! I am jealous of both of you gals riding bikes. I've always thought that would be something I'd enjoy. Maybe someday.

dirtdiva I am also in awe of your squat weights! Wow!! I do disc 1-3 and then repeat them again. I just realized that this rotation should take me right up until the new series is released. That will probably impact my decision on how to proceed with Mesos 2 and 3.

Well, today I only got the first 32 minutes of Legs. I am watching a friend's girls today (ages 2,4, and 8) along with my 2 and 3 year old girls. I guess I should be thankful I got that much in before the chaos ensued. I'm always bummed when I don't get to complete a workout. But such is life, I suppose.
 
ok, i am doing my version of this...upper body only. yesterday I tried Discs 1 & 2 back to back & i did fine. am feeling a little sore, but I had abt a whole week of nothing thanks to a spider bite. thought I had the flu, but no...it was a spider bite, gheesh.

here is my plan: one day I will do both upper body DVD's from Meso 1, then 2 days later I will do only one of those 2 DVD's, then 2 days after that will do the other one. that way I will get 3 lifting days in with one day rest in between.
 
hi lainabaina, dirtdiva, greenfitmom: well, i broke my stinkin' arm cycling on thursday, took anasty spill...so i am off sts for a bit. right now i am basically bedridden with a sling 'cuz it broke in a weird place. praying and hoping i don't need surgery and metal plates! :confused: but i am looking fwd to getting back in on this whenever my dr releases me. so for now, as soon as i can i will just be lifting on my left and doing no impact stuff. big boo hoo..lots of disappointment, but refuse to give up.

i will be keeping an eye on your progress...!
 
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tralaiven said:
hi lainabaina, dirtdiva, greenfitmom: well, i broke my stinkin' arm cycling on thursday, took anasty spill...so i am off sts for a bit. right now i am basically bedridden with a sling 'cuz it broke in a weird place. praying and hoping i don't need surgery and metal plates! :confused: but i am looking fwd to getting back in on this whenever my dr releases me. so for now, as soon as i can i will just be lifting on my left and doing no impact stuff. big boo hoo..lots of disappointment, but refuse to give up.

i will be keeping an eye on your progress...!
Click to expand...


OOOH NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :(

I am so sorry tralaiven, I don't know what to say! Were you on pavement or on dirt and how did you crash? I couldn't believe it when I read your post ! I hope you take it easy for a few days. Its got to be tough to be so close to finishing STS and have this happen.

I just got home from mountainbiking, been going on a lot of smaller trips the past week and some, and its tough to get STS in, I am behind one workout now with another ride tomorrow.

Mend quickly, keep us posted.
 
lainabaina said:
ok, i am doing my version of this...upper body only. yesterday I tried Discs 1 & 2 back to back & i did fine. am feeling a little sore, but I had abt a whole week of nothing thanks to a spider bite. thought I had the flu, but no...it was a spider bite, gheesh.

here is my plan: one day I will do both upper body DVD's from Meso 1, then 2 days later I will do only one of those 2 DVD's, then 2 days after that will do the other one. that way I will get 3 lifting days in with one day rest in between.
Click to expand...

How are you feeling now? Today while I was riding I ducked under a web that spanned the trail and immediately thought of you. Always gives me the heebies when I just know the leg of the web attached to my helmet and not sure *who* I'm going to be dragging with it....ugh!
 
I'm feeling better, DD. Thx! Even did a TT on the mtn bike last Thurs. Was 30 seconds slower than my typical time but glad to know a week off didn't do too much harm. Very glad to have some energy again! I know what you mean abt spiderwebs, but I run into them more hiking than biking.

Oh, trailavern, so sorry to hear abt your arm. Hope you didn't get too beat up otherwise. Heal quick & get your rest.
 
Tralaiven That sucks!!!! I hope you are feeling ok and not in too much pain. Here's hoping you don't need surgery!

Is anyone interested in moving this to the check-ins forum? I'm not creative enough to come up with a name. I would love to have a check in.

I did cardio and abs this morning but it doesn't look like I'll get in my STS workout today. I will start with Week 2 tomorrow morning! My husband said last night as he was rubbing my stomach "Your workouts seem to be working!" Always good to hear! And I wore a pair of capris today that had been a tad too tight but now fit. WOOHOO!
 
This thread is inspiring and makes me want to try something like this. I would do week 1 discs then cardio then week 2 discs all in 1 week for a 3 day on, 1 day off rotation. I'd finish all 36 STS discs doing it this way in 8 weeks, taking 1 rest week after 7 weeks of workouts.

My question to those that are doing this and seeing good results, are you just doing cardio on your off days? Or are you adding more cardio in somewhere else? Some weeks I have 1 day of cardio planned but most average 2 days per week of cardio. I need to lose weight but I am planning on tightening the diet up and eating more protein, etc. I've never trained like this before, especially so intently on weight training vs cardio.....so I'd love to hear what everyone is doing in regards to their own personal cardio doing this.

Thanks for the thread and good luck everyone!


Denise
 
Hi, everyone - I've been doing something somewhat like this - I've been doing the undulating rotation (Meso1 wk 1, Meso 2 wk 1, meso 3 wk, 1, etc. and I've been doing the primary 3 STS workouts Sat. afternoon, Sunday afternoon and Monday night (UB/Legs/UB, which is why I can do them 3 days in a row). I've been also doing cardio all three days in the morning.

That leaves 4 days in the week of which i've worked in 1-2 other supplemental weight workouts such as higher reps, STS total body, Plyo Legs (I've been doing Squat Rack for Meso 3, but I love PLyo Legs too) or PUB.

Usually I just do one work out a day for the other four days, and I use one of them (whichever is busiest with my work schedule) for my rest day. So that's about 5 cardio workouts and 5 weight workouts per week, with the weight workouts being the most critical ones I focus on and protect.

I've lost 30 pounds since Dec. 24. More, actually, since I've gained several pounds of muscle from STS. Cleaning up my diet was critical - I avoid all sugar and processed flour and make sure to get at least 70g of protein and generally closer to 95-100g per day. I try to keep calories as close as possible to 1000 but 1200-1300 is not untypical and occasionally there's a rare day that's even higher than that. I see fastest results at 1000 calories per day and if there's an hour run or challenging cardio workout included wherever possible.
 
"I am so sorry tralaiven, I don't know what to say! Were you on pavement or on dirt and how did you crash? I couldn't believe it when I read your post ! I hope you take it easy for a few days. Its got to be tough to be so close to finishing STS and have this happen.

I just got home from mountainbiking, been going on a lot of smaller trips the past week and some, and its tough to get STS in, I am behind one workout now with another ride tomorrow. " [dirtdiva]



dirtdiva: we have cool bike trails that wind around our city and thru some vineyards. They are like road- pavement, not dirt. I had just started my anticipated 20 mi. ride around the city, and was about 3.5 mi into it, when it was time to turn left into the trail that winds exclusively thru vineyards. I have ridden this route before, so it was familiar. As you turn left, for some stupid reason, there is a 4 ft oblong caution sign right in the middle of the trail. I was going a wee bit fast, turned left, ran rt into the sign, off the pavement and onto the dirt and gravel on the shoulder of the trail, onto my right shoulder, breaking the top of my humerus. Really ridiculous and stupidly dramatic as i lay there until the paramedics came. My right arm is brilliantly purple and hugely swollen with crazy intense pain. BUMMER!

from where I sit dirtdiva, it's ok to be a workout or two behind!:) I think you are doing great, sound phenomenally fit and disciplined :). (As i lay here and type with one hand and pray that my bone knits)

It is frustrating to not be able to finish...but I look fwd to starting again when I am better.
 
dirtdiva: we have cool bike trails that wind around our city and thru some vineyards. They are like road- pavement, not dirt. I had just started my anticipated 20 mi. ride around the city, and was about 3.5 mi into it, when it was time to turn left into the trail that winds exclusively thru vineyards. I have ridden this route before, so it was familiar. As you turn left, for some stupid reason, there is a 4 ft oblong caution sign right in the middle of the trail. I was going a wee bit fast, turned left, ran rt into the sign, off the pavement and onto the dirt and gravel on the shoulder of the trail, onto my right shoulder, breaking the top of my humerus. Really ridiculous and stupidly dramatic as i lay there until the paramedics came. My right arm is brilliantly purple and hugely swollen with crazy intense pain. BUMMER!

It is frustrating to not be able to finish...but I look fwd to starting again when I am better.[/QUOTE]


We call those *fireroads* here, they are easier to wipe out on depending on the class gravel they use and your tires. Geez....and your upper humerus. Don't let anyone scare you to derail your recovery. I am probably the queen of busted anything (latest is a fractured nose in 3 places) and from experience, my hand (both actually) arm, foot and shoulder plus a few dislocations. The longer bones heal faster because they are more vascular on the ends, but the shoulder area is very touchy, especially the closer you get to the socket. Its going to be that line of the fracture (fragments) that will depend on if you will need surgery, and most likely you won't. The other issue will be radial nerve damage, which I went through, but it was gone in 3 months. Your bones will heal completely, to the point it will become history. Lifting weights is one of the best things you can do for your bones. Now you should be resting, but as soon as the doc says to start moving that arm, do it regardless if it hurts cuz it will just get stiffer. Your nutrition is going to be a good part on how fast you mend too. Stay away from too much caffeine and sugar, and I know your arms hurts, but I still think some pain meds will impede healing, so take them for a limited time and then get off of them. For that bruising, vitamin C is going to be a really good thing right now. I'm not a fan of ester c supplements though. Cheaper ascorbic C is good, I take this one C from Now Brands called AlphaSorb C. NOW AlphaSorb-C 1000 at Bodybuilding.com: Lowest Prices for AlphaSorb-C 1000. Vitamin K, D3, and plenty of calcium and magnesium is going to speed up bone regeneration. Anything with boron in it too (raisins). Eat sockeye salmon, cheese, greek yogurt, tons of spinach and beans. Almonds and nuts will have loads of magnesium in it. Drink enough water and get enough sleep, but you need to move about also, as soon as you are told you can....

I am really sorry about this, I know how it puts you back and you feel like you have to start over, but you really won't be starting over. Your working out is cumulative and because you were lifting weights, you should also heal faster too. As bad as this is, I'm really happy you haven't mentioned any ACL or rotor cuff tears.

Let me know how it goes.
 
Denise R said:
This thread is inspiring and makes me want to try something like this. I would do week 1 discs then cardio then week 2 discs all in 1 week for a 3 day on, 1 day off rotation. I'd finish all 36 STS discs doing it this way in 8 weeks, taking 1 rest week after 7 weeks of workouts.

My question to those that are doing this and seeing good results, are you just doing cardio on your off days? Or are you adding more cardio in somewhere else? Some weeks I have 1 day of cardio planned but most average 2 days per week of cardio. I need to lose weight but I am planning on tightening the diet up and eating more protein, etc. I've never trained like this before, especially so intently on weight training vs cardio.....so I'd love to hear what everyone is doing in regards to their own personal cardio doing this.

Thanks for the thread and good luck everyone!


Denise
Click to expand...

I think that's a great plan, the 3 on then a rest day, then continue. Personally, its more difficult for me only because of my schedule with destination groups rides at this point in the summer.

You've been working out for a while (I'm sure) so you know what your body will feel like if something is off, or too sore, etc. I wouldn't suggest this to someone just starting to lifting weights and unfamiliar with proper form and a bad diet either.

So right now, I'm a little behind, I should have done legs yesterday but was riding and I realized I have to catch up which means I will push through to reach it by doubling up in one day and its not doing any weird voodoo on me. My cardio is all mountainbiking and that's about 4-5 times a week in the later afternoons or evening. Since this is my 4th rotation with STS, plus I've lifted heavy for a long time, I'm really liking these results. I'm a lot stronger this summer then in quite some time and I'm sure its because STS is incredibly balanced and changes with each workout so I'm not repeating the same moves each day. Usually I don't lift as much in the summer because of riding, and riding also whittles away my muscle. Now I'm able to throw the bike around easier with my upper body and that's where I am very happy. I still believe if you want to go straight through, you have to pay closer attention to protein/carb ratios and plan on more sleep. I'd also stay away from too much salt or anything with higher sodium because of water retention and muscle building somethings equates to that word...bulky. Give it a try, you can back off if its not your thing. I still think you should add cardio if you are wanting to lose more fat. I don't agree with the notion you can't build muscle and lose fat at the same time. And here's the thing, I can start off a day lifting and make sure I have that bowl of oatmeal and raisins (with coconut milk instead of milk) and feel absolutely no strain on the evening rides. Plus by the time I get home, take a shower after all that sweating, my muscles are that much more defined, which once again tells me that bulky is in part for some of us, a combo of water retention (sodium aggravates that) and too much refined carbs.
 
Great response DirtDiva! I've completed STS several times but this will be challenging!! I think I'll add in cardio so I'm getting at least 3 days per week to help with fat loss. I am planning to start this on Sunday 7/31, if all goes well!
 
DirtDiva said:
dirtdiva: Don't let anyone scare you to derail your recovery. I am probably the queen of busted anything (latest is a fractured nose in 3 places) and from experience, my hand (both actually) arm, foot and shoulder plus a few dislocations. The longer bones heal faster because they are more vascular on the ends, but the shoulder area is very touchy, especially the closer you get to the socket. Its going to be that line of the fracture (fragments) that will depend on if you will need surgery, and most likely you won't. The other issue will be radial nerve damage, which I went through, but it was gone in 3 months. Your bones will heal completely, to the point it will become history. Lifting weights is one of the best things you can do for your bones. Now you should be resting, but as soon as the doc says to start moving that arm, do it regardless if it hurts cuz it will just get stiffer. Your nutrition is going to be a good part on how fast you mend too. Stay away from too much caffeine and sugar, and I know your arms hurts, but I still think some pain meds will impede healing, so take them for a limited time and then get off of them. For that bruising, vitamin C is going to be a really good thing right now. I'm not a fan of ester c supplements though. Cheaper ascorbic C is good, I take this one C from Now Brands called AlphaSorb C. NOW AlphaSorb-C 1000 at Bodybuilding.com: Lowest Prices for AlphaSorb-C 1000. Vitamin K, D3, and plenty of calcium and magnesium is going to speed up bone regeneration. Anything with boron in it too (raisins). Eat sockeye salmon, cheese, greek yogurt, tons of spinach and beans. Almonds and nuts will have loads of magnesium in it. Drink enough water and get enough sleep, but you need to move about also, as soon as you are told you can....

I am really sorry about this, I know how it puts you back and you feel like you have to start over, but you really won't be starting over. Your working out is cumulative and because you were lifting weights, you should also heal faster too. As bad as this is, I'm really happy you haven't mentioned any ACL or rotor cuff tears.

Let me know how it goes.
Click to expand...

thanks so much dirtdiva...i really appreciate the "been there" advice...sounds like you know whereof you speak...i have been trying to stay off the pain meds unless i am out of my head and crying(literally) with pain. I have been taking my vits w/ extra calcium and magnesium, but will ask DH to fetch me some D3, K, and ascorbic C. Funny, I was craving salmon for lunch, as we have some in the freezer. all those other foods are my fav staples too.

DH and I took a short 20 min. walk today and i was done, funny that...since last Mon. we did a 31 mi ride and THEN i did STS...but I guess this type of trauma wipes a person out :confused:...
 
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Utah Gal said:
Hi, everyone - I've been doing something somewhat like this - I've been doing the undulating rotation (Meso1 wk 1, Meso 2 wk 1, meso 3 wk, 1, etc. and I've been doing the primary 3 STS workouts Sat. afternoon, Sunday afternoon and Monday night (UB/Legs/UB, which is why I can do them 3 days in a row). I've been also doing cardio all three days in the morning.

That leaves 4 days in the week of which i've worked in 1-2 other supplemental weight workouts such as higher reps, STS total body, Plyo Legs (I've been doing Squat Rack for Meso 3, but I love PLyo Legs too) or PUB.

Usually I just do one work out a day for the other four days, and I use one of them (whichever is busiest with my work schedule) for my rest day. So that's about 5 cardio workouts and 5 weight workouts per week, with the weight workouts being the most critical ones I focus on and protect.

I've lost 30 pounds since Dec. 24. More, actually, since I've gained several pounds of muscle from STS. Cleaning up my diet was critical - I avoid all sugar and processed flour and make sure to get at least 70g of protein and generally closer to 95-100g per day. I try to keep calories as close as possible to 1000 but 1200-1300 is not untypical and occasionally there's a rare day that's even higher than that. I see fastest results at 1000 calories per day and if there's an hour run or challenging cardio workout included wherever possible.
Click to expand...


I think the computer ate my questions, I can't find my post. Ok, if this is a double post, please forgive me.

My main question was...how do you exist on 1,000 calories a day with that sort of work load? You are amazing and I have to congratulate you on the weight loss.

This is yet another way of doing STS that totally interests me, undulating. But what do you do when you switch Meso's and your weights are up much higher? So you follow the weights you have listed for that workout and that Meso right?
 
Congrats on the weight loss, Utah Gal!!!!!

Holy cow though! I couldn't survive on 1000 calories a day even if I were a complete couch potato I don't think! :eek:
 
Finished my 4th rotation of STS a few days ago, but have not had the time to post up my experience running it straight through.

What I did by suggestion of tralaiven was doing STS 6 times a week (doubling it) with one rest day. I started this after the first week of Meso 1. I followed it successfully 6 days a week, and took the week break inbetween meso's. I never expected what happened after that. My strength exploded and there was NO downtime, it was as if everything kicked in for me and I went on auto-pilot. I decided to go throughout the week, which means every day I did an STS disc, the only break came when it was a scheduling issue for riding. I also did not take the one week rest going into Meso 3. During Meso 3, I did Plyo Legs with Squat Rack together, but I omitted squats and dead lifts from the Plyo workout, since they were already on the Squat Rack workout. I thought that my weight lifting would suffer, but ended out UP on weight, especially my squats, dead lifts and bicep curls.

I am down 4 pounds (was not trying to lose weight). My goal was to keep the muscle I usually lose during my riding season. My other worry was my legs, and was careful not to double up on the day of large group rides. I ate more then I usually do and still lost weight.

What I'm really happy with is my over-all definition. I've been lifting weights for a long time, kettlebells since 2009 and I know this is the best I've looked muscular-wise since before I had my first child.

I would not suggest this if you are starting out with weights, or your first time with STS (of course). I know certain things were key in making this work for me.

1. Adequate protein. I shot for nothing less then 80 grams per day, more like 125 grams. Whey protein, salmon, chicken, greek yogurt, unsalted almonds, occasional honking burger :p.

2. More vegetables then fruit.

3. Carbs in the form of oatmeal and 100% whole wheat bread (Nature's Pride is the best!) and beans. I stay away from pasta and I don't care for rice because it never satisfies me versus the calorie amount.

Snacks were peanut butter, Laughing Cow cheese, anything coconut, chocolate and vanilla ice cream with honey.

4. More sleep, no less then 8 hours per night (this is not easy to do, but I think key to the whole process).

5. Proper lifting form, goes without saying, but I was extremely aware this time around. I listened to my body paying special attention to how I felt when I got up in the morning, if I felt tired in the afternoon and how I felt during mountainbike rides at night. If my averages were off, or I was suffering too much, but this never happened, which is why I'm so happy! I improved on all fronts. I came away stronger on the bike with more endurance and I love the added definition.

I bought a bungee rebounder early this summer and I jump on that inbetween sets on Meso 3. Totally relaxes my body after lifting heavy, but keeps my heart rate up so I don't cool down completely.

I am going to head back to kettlebells and full body workouts and then of course Cathe's low impact will be coming out. I am going to do another rotation of STS but in reverse this time in the winter.
 
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