My only problem with STS

[Amy Steppe]

You just do not see enough of the men working out. I think this might turn off some men who want to do the program. The men seem to be taking second place in the mesocycles and the ab circuits that I have done so far.

If some of the male cast were closer to Cathe for at least a few of the mesocycles, I think it would make the program more unisex, thereby attracting more males to the program.

Most of the time you can't even see the men because they are positioned so far out of the camera range.

 

[wendy loo]

What you say might be true (that men might want to see more men) but personally I'm glad we're not seeing much of them.

So far I've noticed so many examples of poor form when the men are on the screen that I'm glad they were edited out of a lot of the shots (or maybe they just weren't featured as much... whatever the case, I'm happy about it.)

There's my two cents, not that you asked for it

Wendy

 

[soon2bfit]

I agree. The men don't have nearly the form that the women do.

 

[MsTara]

Agreed. Also, on the unisex front, if it's a good workout it doesn't matter who's behind Cathe. My fiance is doing STS and even said that 1. He's unhappy with the guys weight selection, whether they're good at endurance workouts or not and 2. Their form is off. He really doesn't care who's behind Cathe. He did say that seeing how the guys hold their stability balls helped him though as he's always been iffy on that.

I agree. The men don't have nearly the form that the women do.

 

[kathryn]

From my previews, I personally think one guy gets way too much screen time vs the others (wonder if he had it in his contract). I also find him a bit annoying. (And he's the least 'my type of eye candy' of the bunch).

When they are shown, the men often don't look very comfortable (except the one with more screen time, who struts his stuff a bit). Several times, I wondered what editor chose some of those 'deer in the headlights' shots of the men?

 

[kathryn]

The men don't have nearly the form that the women do.

I agree in general.
The one exception is on chest flyes, where the men (at least the annoying one with most screen time, but who this once is NOT annoying to me, LOL!) keep the same bend in the arm throughout the move, and it looks like all the women are cheating the move a bit by bending their arms more at the bottom--no wonder they can lift heavier, they're doing a hybrid press/flye!)

 

[krassymira]

What you say might be true (that men might want to see more men) but personally I'm glad we're not seeing much of them.

So far I've noticed so many examples of poor form when the men are on the screen that I'm glad they were edited out of a lot of the shots (or maybe they just weren't featured as much... whatever the case, I'm happy about it.)

There's my two cents, not that you asked for it

Wendy

Wendy, right on!!!!!

 

[fit44]

I agree in general.
The one exception is on chest flyes, where the men (at least the annoying one with most screen time, but who this once is NOT annoying to me, LOL!) keep the same bend in the arm throughout the move, and it looks like all the women are cheating the move a bit by bending their arms more at the bottom--no wonder they can lift heavier, they're doing a hybrid press/flye!)

I wondered Kathryn. I actually changed my form and followed the girls because I thought I was doing them wrong all along. I will say that bending my elbows took stress off the shoulders.

 

[teddy16410]

I wondered Kathryn. I actually changed my form and followed the girls because I thought I was doing them wrong all along. I will say that bending my elbows took stress off the shoulders.

Cynthia~ this is exactly why I do them w/ bent arms- it does take tremenndous stress off the shoulders & I know that I can get the chest burn by simply focusing on the pec muscles as I lift towards the ceenter of body at the top of move.
To me keeping my shoulders safe is far more important than opening wide.

 

[lina9496]

What you say might be true (that men might want to see more men) but personally I'm glad we're not seeing much of them.

So far I've noticed so many examples of poor form when the men are on the screen that I'm glad they were edited out of a lot of the shots (or maybe they just weren't featured as much... whatever the case, I'm happy about it.)

There's my two cents, not that you asked for it

Wendy

I agree as well. With such a top notch program, it was disappointing to see many moves where the men lack on form. Obviously, it has had no impact on muscle growth for them, but it looks bad and they are prone to injury. I give Cathe a lot of credit since we are able to pick up poor form from a mile away thanks to all of Cathe's form pointers over the years. The boys just weren't listening. Maybe, Cathe should have consulted with one of us when they were editing the workouts. We wouldn't have let those shots make it to the final cut

 

[jillybean]

Amy:

Hello. In speaking with some SNM folks during the '08 RT, I learned that the men in the STS crew typically ended their sets before the women did (especially in the muscle endurance meso) so while the camera angle may show all participants at the beginning of the set, it will often cut to just the female cast members by the last few reps.

 

[NY25]

I was thinking this same thing last night. The men are hardly shown at all. And their form is terrible. In the future, I would prefer to see one of the guys in the front row, and doing things with good form. My favorite guy would have to be Robert. My least fav is the annoying one - and boy is he annoying. I actually yelled at him on Tuesday - "Dude, this isn't the David Barton Gym. Dial back the strutting and posing!" So, I'm fine when he's not on camera.
Luckily, I'm watching my weights and my own form so much, I don't spend that much time looking at the screen.

 

[kplv2ski]

The guys looked a little awkward..but Ok

The guys do look a little awkward doing the workouts along with girls. But I dont think its the guys fault. A small slender woman and a big bulky guy are going to look different doing the same workouts.

I'm new to Cathe type workouts or doing DVD workouts, but I notice in Cathe's other Videos everyone is basically is perfect sync and symmetry. Everyone gets used to seeing that flow and symmetry. You don't normally see a men at the gym working with Balls, Bands and Steps. When I tried do the same workouts, I was hitting the proper muscle groups but i didn't look like Cathe and the girls. I looked like....a guy.

I'm happy to see the men in Cathe videos. As a guy, that helped me to be willing to try things that I would would not normally have done, such as Balls, Bands and Steps in my heavy weight workouts.

I hope Cathe will integrate more men into her workouts in the future.

 

[Amy Steppe]

What you say might be true (that men might want to see more men) but personally I'm glad we're not seeing much of them.

So far I've noticed so many examples of poor form when the men are on the screen that I'm glad they were edited out of a lot of the shots (or maybe they just weren't featured as much... whatever the case, I'm happy about it.)

There's my two cents, not that you asked for it

Wendy

Hi Wendy,

I think the men have these little fiddlestick legs that are out of proportion to their upper bodies.

I know that at times the men disappear and then reappear, so your explanation helped explain that.

As for poor form, I think it is some kind of macho thing. I've been to gyms where the men are so full of themselves they have terrible form.

Which man cops the 'tude and acts like he's all that?

I think I know the one, but I don't know his name.

He is in almost all the STS calendar shots at the calendar's beginning except for the big one.

 

[Amy Steppe]

I agree in general.
The one exception is on chest flyes, where the men (at least the annoying one with most screen time, but who this once is NOT annoying to me, LOL!) keep the same bend in the arm throughout the move, and it looks like all the women are cheating the move a bit by bending their arms more at the bottom--no wonder they can lift heavier, they're doing a hybrid press/flye!)

Hi Kathryn,

I have to bend my arms a bit due to rotator cuff and joint problems in my left arm.

 

[Amy Steppe]

I wondered Kathryn. I actually changed my form and followed the girls because I thought I was doing them wrong all along. I will say that bending my elbows took stress off the shoulders.

No doubt, the women are better than the men, even P90X.

Tony Horton drives me crazy with this upper body work DVDs.

I also noticed that there is not a lot of Denise in the DVDs I've used so far.

I was amazed during the Yoga inspired abs when I saw Cathe levitate and then lift her legs straight out.

I can levitate, albeit not as long as Cathe, but I wonder if I will ever be able to lift my legs straight out during a levitation pose.

 

[jillybean]

Which guy are some of you ladies opposed to? Is it Greg? He gets the most screen time, but I personally think that's because he has the most endurance and best form. I like him. I like Robert a lot, too (dimples!). And Stuart - he makes me smile during the leg workouts - he really looks like he's feeling it! I like Erik, too, but he isn't in many of the workouts. When I workout, I am typically so busy setting up equipment or trying not to trip over my own feet (I'm sooo uncoordinated!), I don't get to look at the screen much. Which is why I preview. A lot.

 

[Pearlstrand]

You just do not see enough of the men working out. I think this might turn off some men who want to do the program. The men seem to be taking second place in the mesocycles and the ab circuits that I have done so far.

If some of the male cast were closer to Cathe for at least a few of the mesocycles, I think it would make the program more unisex, thereby attracting more males to the program.

Most of the time you can't even see the men because they are positioned so far out of the camera range.

Funny you should mention that! DH and I were doing one of the ab circuits this morning and he commented that none of the men were in the ab video. I told him that they were, but apparently he'd blinked and missed them.

Frankly, I like seeing the guys -- they're a hoot to watch! Especially the guy who does the one-arm pull-down with the band (Mesocycle 1, disc 2, I think). You're supposed to have doubled the band, but obviously he didn't and it shows. Anyway, they look like they're struggling so hard, but that doesn't seem possible with the weights they're using!

 

[Amy Steppe]

Which guy are some of you ladies opposed to? Is it Greg? He gets the most screen time, but I personally think that's because he has the most endurance and best form. I like him. I like Robert a lot, too (dimples!). And Stuart - he makes me smile during the leg workouts - he really looks like he's feeling it! I like Erik, too, but he isn't in many of the workouts. When I workout, I am typically so busy setting up equipment or trying not to trip over my own feet (I'm sooo uncoordinated!), I don't get to look at the screen much. Which is why I preview. A lot.

Actually, Erik is my favorite and I was disappointed to see him in fewer DVDs.

 

[Amy Steppe]

Funny you should mention that! DH and I were doing one of the ab circuits this morning and he commented that none of the men were in the ab video. I told him that they were, but apparently he'd blinked and missed them.

Frankly, I like seeing the guys -- they're a hoot to watch! Especially the guy who does the one-arm pull-down with the band (Mesocycle 1, disc 2, I think). You're supposed to have doubled the band, but obviously he didn't and it shows. Anyway, they look like they're struggling so hard, but that doesn't seem possible with the weights they're using!

Yes, the men are in the Ab videos, but they are placed so far away you have a hard time in even knowing they are there.