My only problem with STS

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!)

Men are men. They are all professional fitness models/and or bodybuilders. Who better to represent an overall fitness program than them? Attitude is good for a program like this. Changing the body and getting fit is all about attitude and giving 100% with belief in yourself. In fact, its kind of perfect when you think about it. Nobodys perfect, but if you believe in yourself, no matter how you walk, how you talk, or what you look like, you too, can lose weight, gain definition, and feel better...Our imperfections is what makes us human and special in our own.

The guys forms may be off at times according to the textbooks, but if youve watched Arnold and some of the greatest bodybuilders ever perform their exercises, youd see how men have their own unique effective way of obtaining more results. Unfortunately, the camera MAY have caught this sometimes, but not all the time, but even Arnold and the best "cheat" on their form. Also, to "ISOLATE" a muscle on a specific exercise, it is known that "cheating" as men do is actually more effective than conventional stationary form would allow. This is because the body is a "system" of synergy, and twists and turns of joints during movements definietly do in fact allow more isolation, especially of larger muscle groups (for example, one arm rown- without a "twist on the pull", the bicep is the primary mover, which is not the targeted muscle (back)

As far as the weights go, its true that men have less endurance than women, which may account for the lighter weights (at SOME times).

Greg is the annoying one? All of the guys are good and a good asset to the video. Greg is a winning natural bodybuilder and has appeared in fitness magazines, city newspapers, radio shows, and has trained celebrities. I dont think its he's "all that poser". hes probably just nervous and from what I hear, he's a really good guy. But Rob, Erik, and Stuart are all good too...It must have been tough (you know how hard Cathe's workouts are!) Haha..
 
There seem to be three separate issues as far as the men go.

One is that their form is poor in many cases. One example is looking up during deadlifts (just as Cathe is saying not to look up--and the form is not corrected with her comment.) Often they just look awkward (such as during a hamstring stretch in one of the leg workouts of Meso1.) Sometimes they are jerking their weights.

The issues here isn't whether poor form is a bad thing or an ok thing or a good thing. The issue is that the editors are showing participants with poor form when the insturctor is clearly emphasizing good form.

The second issue is that the men are annoying and strutting their stuff. I have only noticed this with Greg. I think when an upper body is so developed it probably makes you look like you're strutting around showing off. But aside from that, Greg is often looking at himself as he is performing the exercise, and afterwards when he's drying off. It just makes it seem to me that he's admiring his own muscles. These shots of him add nothing to the program, and in my opinion should have been left out.

The third issue seems to be that the men are using ridiculously light weights. I think they sometimes are, at least in Mesocycle one. It is, as someone already stated, probably because they are used to higher weights lower reps, and the fact that they filmed for hours at a time.

All of these issues are pretty small for me in the end. I focus on Cathe as much as possible, and the women (and men--Robert seems okay to me) who have similar form. The editing on these workouts is otherwise really quite incredible. I feel like each workout is brand new, even though much of the material is recycled. I am amazed by STS, and I can't stop talking to my fiance about it. He probably wants to kill me. I'm sure he's zoned out by now :)

Wendy
 
Light dumbbells

Even though some of the guys look a little funny using lighter weights than the women, it's only on the lower body exercises that they do that (on the DVDs I've seen so far, and I'm not previewing them in order). Could that be because they have so much upper body mass, so they are already using a lot of weight for the leg exercises even if they don't use dumbbells at all? For better or worse, most of us women carry our weight, um, lower. It also seems like a lot of men are really into working their upper body and don't pay too much attention to other routines. I wonder if this made their Cathe workouts even more of a challenge! (Read that: lighter dumbbells.) They do seem to be working.

Maybe in some of the workouts Greg seemed to be strutting - not sure. In some he looks completely serious and into the training, so maybe he was just nervous at other times when he wasn't busy lifting. As far as the video in between exercises, it seemed like the point was to show a little bit about the people and their personalities...I like that. It makes me feel more like I'm working out with them than with my dog in my living room, lol (he likes to jump up at the dumbbells as I'm curling, though, so we need to find an alternate plan).

I do agree about the form shots, though. I like seeing how all of the participants - guys and women - perform the exercises, but there are definitely times when I need to see more correct form views instead.

Thank you all for your posts. I'm new here and am completely inspired by all of you and of course by Cathe and STS. I have a long way to go, but I can't wait to get through my 1RM tests and get working!

Deb
 
I could be wrong, but when I look at Greg in some of the workouts, I get the impression his flexing, struts, smiling are in response to something someone (another background exerciser) said to him. It appears that way to me. I'll admit, I'm concentrating on the workout so I don't put a lot of thought into the background.
Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with self confidence. Greg has a great body and he's good looking.:D

I can't help but love Eric's bright smile. I notice that every time:D
 
Men are men. They are all professional fitness models/and or bodybuilders. Who better to represent an overall fitness program than them? Attitude is good for a program like this. Changing the body and getting fit is all about attitude and giving 100% with belief in yourself. In fact, its kind of perfect when you think about it. Nobodys perfect, but if you believe in yourself, no matter how you walk, how you talk, or what you look like, you too, can lose weight, gain definition, and feel better...Our imperfections is what makes us human and special in our own.

The guys forms may be off at times according to the textbooks, but if youve watched Arnold and some of the greatest bodybuilders ever perform their exercises, youd see how men have their own unique effective way of obtaining more results. Unfortunately, the camera MAY have caught this sometimes, but not all the time, but even Arnold and the best "cheat" on their form. Also, to "ISOLATE" a muscle on a specific exercise, it is known that "cheating" as men do is actually more effective than conventional stationary form would allow. This is because the body is a "system" of synergy, and twists and turns of joints during movements definietly do in fact allow more isolation, especially of larger muscle groups (for example, one arm rown- without a "twist on the pull", the bicep is the primary mover, which is not the targeted muscle (back)

As far as the weights go, its true that men have less endurance than women, which may account for the lighter weights (at SOME times).

Greg is the annoying one? All of the guys are good and a good asset to the video. Greg is a winning natural bodybuilder and has appeared in fitness magazines, city newspapers, radio shows, and has trained celebrities. I dont think its he's "all that poser". hes probably just nervous and from what I hear, he's a really good guy. But Rob, Erik, and Stuart are all good too...It must have been tough (you know how hard Cathe's workouts are!) Haha..

I wish that some of the male cast had been a bit older.

I do not like the bodies of any of the men.

Their upper bodies are way out proportion to their lower bodies.

All the men have skinny legs.
 
I could be wrong, but when I look at Greg in some of the workouts, I get the impression his flexing, struts, smiling are in response to something someone (another background exerciser) said to him. It appears that way to me. I'll admit, I'm concentrating on the workout so I don't put a lot of thought into the background.
Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with self confidence. Greg has a great body and he's good looking.:D

I can't help but love Eric's bright smile. I notice that every time:D

Eric is my favorite by far. I wish he had more time than Greg. To me, Eric is the only good looking male in the cast.
 
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I wish that some of the male cast had been a bit older.

I do not like the bodies of any of the men.

Their upper bodies are way out proportion to their lower bodies.

All the men have skinny legs.


Can you even see their legs? Looks like theyre all wearing loose-fitting shorts. Male leg muscles can be deceiving. Usually, when a guys' legs are "Ripped", they do not appear massive if wearing loose fitting shorts or pants. If you ever went to a bodybuilding show, you would know this. Also, dont think a guy should have fat legs just so they "appear bigger" in his shorts or pants.
 
Can you even see their legs? Looks like theyre all wearing loose-fitting shorts. Male leg muscles can be deceiving. Usually, when a guys' legs are "Ripped", they do not appear massive if wearing loose fitting shorts or pants. If you ever went to a bodybuilding show, you would know this. Also, dont think a guy should have fat legs just so they "appear bigger" in his shorts or pants.

With all due respect, I've been to many bodybuilding shows. It used to be my sport of choice.

So where do you get off saying I've never been to a show? How rude!

I still think the men are way out of proportion.

No calf muscles, that I can see clearly.

I had a bodybuilder tell me once he wished he had my calf muscles.
 
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There seem to be three separate issues as far as the men go.

One is that their form is poor in many cases. One example is looking up during deadlifts (just as Cathe is saying not to look up--and the form is not corrected with her comment.) Often they just look awkward (such as during a hamstring stretch in one of the leg workouts of Meso1.) Sometimes they are jerking their weights.

The issues here isn't whether poor form is a bad thing or an ok thing or a good thing. The issue is that the editors are showing participants with poor form when the insturctor is clearly emphasizing good form.

The second issue is that the men are annoying and strutting their stuff. I have only noticed this with Greg. I think when an upper body is so developed it probably makes you look like you're strutting around showing off. But aside from that, Greg is often looking at himself as he is performing the exercise, and afterwards when he's drying off. It just makes it seem to me that he's admiring his own muscles. These shots of him add nothing to the program, and in my opinion should have been left out.

The third issue seems to be that the men are using ridiculously light weights. I think they sometimes are, at least in Mesocycle one. It is, as someone already stated, probably because they are used to higher weights lower reps, and the fact that they filmed for hours at a time.

All of these issues are pretty small for me in the end. I focus on Cathe as much as possible, and the women (and men--Robert seems okay to me) who have similar form. The editing on these workouts is otherwise really quite incredible. I feel like each workout is brand new, even though much of the material is recycled. I am amazed by STS, and I can't stop talking to my fiance about it. He probably wants to kill me. I'm sure he's zoned out by now :)

Wendy

IMO, there is not a male member in the cast who can come close to what the girls are doing.
 
With all due respect, I've been to many bodybuilding shows. It used to be my sport of choice.

So where do you get off saying I've never been to a show? How rude!

I still think the men are way out of proportion.

No calf muscles, that I can see clearly.

If you read my comment, you'd see that it said "if you ever been to a show", not you haven't.

And apparently, "Used to be" makes sense
 
Sent you a PM.

Seems you are here to start arguing with a lot of us.

I notice you are a newbie and a lot of your posts are defensive.

For that I can overlook some of your acerbic comments.

That is all I have to say on the subject.
 
Don't feel bad Lucy09

Lucy09,

Don't feel bad. It appears that the veterans on these boards feel ok attacking the "newbies" when they come around. Some of them are good for this type of behavior. I was jumped on in a post several months ago and then all the "Veterans" justified it while also attacking me. I was pretty shocked and put off and have stopped posting on this site due to that very reason. Some of the behvior on these boards is very "elementary school."

I totally understood your post and you were not making any type of rude comment. We all need to try and follow the 24 hour rule before responding to posts so we can re-read what people said in case we mis-read it and are taking offense to something that really was not meant to be offensive at all.

I know that there are many that have followed Cathe for a long time but that does not make it ok for you to be rude to the new people that want to post and address their post as if they are less important because they are "new" to the Cathe boards. I know Cathe would not appreciate that.
 
Oh, please, just let the thread die.

I have been flamed for years and I have learned to ignore it.

You yourself need to follow the 48 hour rule!
 

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