STS is terrific!
Hi all,
I've been going through the posts - and I'm sure I'm missing a ton of interesting updates.
Laura, Michelle: Flowers? Sigh ... We're still in winter, with snow everywhere, so no crocuses here. I am a rabid gardener, though a bit eclectic in what I plant, and bulbs are high on the list. It will be at least two before the earliest ones show. The relatively warmer days (above freezing) mean that a very few places have bare patches! That makes it much easier to deal with outside chores.
Janie: I saw your other post - you just did disc 3 legs and then step-cardio today? Wow! How did that feel?
Elle: I'm also not one to preview the dvds. It comes down to time. I can either work out, or I can watch the workout. So - I fumble my way through, and use extensive rewinding, and that's okay. No one is watching me except sometimes the cat
BTW, on eating - I found that tiny little changes made a huge difference. I need to eat 400 calories or slightly more in the morning, usually oatmeal, fruit, and low fat yogurt. If I don't get enough protein in that meal - even by as little as three or four grams - I am ravenous. Enough protein and fiber, and I'm fine. And, I've stuck with the habit of having many small snacks through the day. That plus the exercise has helped me keep those nasty 52 pounds I lost from creeping back on, for two years now
For workouts last week, I chose to lighten things up. I had meetings scheduled roughly every half hour, people writing to me interactively at 2pm about some joint projects (they are in Europe), and I don't think any day was less than 14 hours of work. I don't mind long days, but I *do* like to be able to focus, and it simply wasn't possible. With the flu going around the office, little sleep, and the constant mental jumping jacks going on, it didn't seem like a good idea to overstress my body with intense training. Instead, I went for fun! I did my morning hike on Monday before leaving, tried my new BodyStrikes with Ilaria one day, did 4DS kickbox/no weights two times, and another day I threw in some unusual variations of pushups and my favorite kettlebell swings. It seemed to help. One day I did take off as a rest day. There will be time for CardioCoach next week, while I'm on travel again (this time in hotels).
Friday, when I drove home, I found STS waiting for me. I decided ... hmmm, I have three days here before flying out on Monday, and it is supposed to be ok to do the three days back to back ... so I started with disc 2, triceps, late Friday evening. Fortunately my husband is very understanding and did not get offended at my going to the basement for an hour, rather than sitting down to watch the news. Today, since we have a dinner function, I did my hike in the morning and then STS disc 3, legs, just now. Legs is also one terrific workout! Thank goodness I have been doing Leaner Legs pretty regularly and so it did not actually kill me. But both times, whenever I had done the 1RM test, it was accurate in exactly how many reps I could do. I am so glad I did as many tests as I did - all of the four and five stars, and a few of the three stars.
How are the rest of you going to handle your workouts? I'm more convinced than every that I'll be better off doing it on the 5 month plan, repeating each week, since sometimes I'll be doing the exercises three days in a row.
[edited in afterwards]
Oh! I meant to ask - I use a HRM when exercising, and although there are differing opinions for whether it is accurate in strength training, for Cathe's workout it seems to be right on target. Anyway, by that measure, I burned quite a few more calories per minute both on disc 2 and disc 3 than I normally do for an upper body and a lower body strength workout - comparing to what I usually burn for gym style triceps and Meaner Legs. Did anyone else notice that, or is it just me?
