New to STS

Hazlady said:
For me Meso 1 is my least favourite phase.
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:D same here:D

I do own the Full 41 disc of STS collection because from the day I decided to add STS to my collection I knew I wanted to try both squat rack and plyo. I did both because I wanted to try both and I believe in cross training. I need to try and do various to keep myself moving and happy. I love plyo. Not just the feeling of explosif moves but also what it does aesthetically. The look result is temporary. The fluid retention is temporary. That is what people refer to as the "bulk"

Many here complained about the rest period during meso 3. I did not found it too long. What I do is select the adequat weight to earn the rest period. It is the same for meso 2, during plyo and those triset I do sweat and get winded throughout the workout. It is not a promenade/walk to the park. Today I did LMR2 bonus download for 10 reps. Yes I selected the adequat weight to earn the rest.

That said and reading various post here above, we are all differents. We all have different expectations embarking into programs. I think we all need to match programs to expectations. Aesthetics and fitness expectations. Each their own. IMHO, many women are struggling to make peace between aesthetic expectations and what they actually need for their own health.# just saying.
 
Kellyro77 said:
I'm almost through all my 1RM testing. Whew. I've got a lot that have yet to finish - mostly leg exercises - in part because I saw some comments from others who've done the series saying that their legs really bulked up in a way they didn't care for. So, I'm going to take legs a little less intensely. Partially, also, because I won't be doing the squat rack exercises in Meso 3.

As I've been prepping, I've been downloading the cards and inputting them into Numbers so I can track things while I work out (don't have a printer, so will need to enter data on my tablet).

I'm currently entering Meso 3 data and I've gotta say I'm a bit boggled seeing that I could potentially be doing 45lb chest flys by this stage at 85%. I mean... um... whaaaaattt?? Holy cow.

I understand my results may be different, too - just depends on what the rest of my progression looks like in Mesos 1 & 2.

Anyone else find themselves surprised when reviewing the weights they're ideally going to be using when they were checking their Meso 3 cards?
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@Kellyro77
Hello,

Just a question. Have you purchased an ebook?
 
Officially started today - I decided to start with the Legs (Disc 3) workout first while I'm fresh in my week so I don't risk skipping it later in the week - though since all these workouts are brand new to me, I really don't see myself skipping any of them because I'm excited for new (to me) content.

Workout probably took a lot longer than initially intended because I had to keep pausing to jot down additional notes on my tablet. I'm pretty sure if you do this series several times through the years, you get more efficient in knowing what's coming and what weights are going to be best - pretty much the same drill with all of her workouts.

I found the workout cards were kind of confusing when first setting up for the program - like they didn't warn that you go from squats straight into calf raises while holding the same weight the entire time. (Would have been clearer, in my opinion, if the card said "Squats & Calf Raises" in the one row instead of their being broken into two rows.)

I appreciated that she's got an extended stretch included on the disc - definitely needed it after leg day. Is the extended stretch the same through the entire program? Haven't popped in another disc to check.

Also massively appreciative of the vocals only audio option. Just do not care for metal/rock (even if it's timid compared to some of the stuff I used to listen to when I was a teen.) I'm way more motivated by EDM, so had a playlist that I put together playing the entire time through and used an "ambient chill" playlist for the extended stretch.

Anyway, good workout. My legs are definitely fried - and I did the bonus barre work at the end. I wish she threw in more tibialis exercises in more of her lower body workouts. She sure talks the exercise up when she does them, then neglects the exercise quite a bit in most of her LB workouts.

On the bright side given the cadence of her suggested rotation of this series.... no more leg days until next week! Woot!
 
Kellyro77 said:
wish she threw in more tibialis exercises in more of her lower body workouts. She sure talks the exercise up when she does them, then neglects the exercise quite a bit in most of her LB workouts.
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Yay! 1st one in the bag! The extended stretch is the same on all the discs. I saw or read something on working the tibialis anterior. Supposedly the need is especially important as we get older. Weak shins supposedly cause the foot to drag a bit, increasing the risk for a trip and fall. I think Cathe works them BodyBlast's Supersets too.
 
Kellyro77 said:
I'm seeing partially why I've held off on the original STS for so long - it's all the preparation work necessary for this series. The 1RM tests are fundamental, but holy crap, it's a slog.

I'm making it a point to only do one body part max per day of 1RM testing with good rest before I move on to the next body part, as I'm sure that 1RM test is ideally done when you're fresh and not fatigued from previous exercises.

So, for instance, today I'm going to do all upper body 1RM testing, which means I'll do back, chest, biceps, triceps, and shoulders. Just one exercise for each (ie: I'm not going to do bench press and then later chest flys).

I've so far knocked out 28 exercises, but good grief I still have a long way to go.

I was initially prioritizing exercises showing up in Meso 1 since I'll be experiencing those first. Still have quite a few left to do, but I'm now shifting over to prioritizing the 4- and 5-star exercises.

I'm also not sure how much more time I should bother with the lower body exercises since I don't have a squat rack and therefore will be doing plyo legs when that comes up. (I've completed the 1RM for the primary LB exercises: squats, lunges, deadlifts, and calves, at least.)

Just glad I've got this LMRE rotation that I wanted to complete first before jumping in to STS. Nice thing is the LMRE workouts are mostly light to moderate weights so I'm not totally burning myself out with heavy weight work following the 1RM tests. (And I do the 1RM tests after doing the warmup from any given LMRE workout before I jump in and do the whole workout, if that makes any sense.)

How long did it take you STS veterans to complete all your 1RM tests?

Also, after you completed STS in whole, did you re-do your 1RM tests to gauge improvements? And if you do STS regularly, do you do all the 1RM tests again before you start STS again?
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Kellyro77, you could do the Meso 3 legs with DB and not even use a squat rack. That's an option if you don't want to do the plyo legs.
 
Kellyro77 said:
Officially started today - I decided to start with the Legs (Disc 3) workout first while I'm fresh in my week so I don't risk skipping it later in the week - though since all these workouts are brand new to me, I really don't see myself skipping any of them because I'm excited for new (to me) content.

Workout probably took a lot longer than initially intended because I had to keep pausing to jot down additional notes on my tablet. I'm pretty sure if you do this series several times through the years, you get more efficient in knowing what's coming and what weights are going to be best - pretty much the same drill with all of her workouts.

I found the workout cards were kind of confusing when first setting up for the program - like they didn't warn that you go from squats straight into calf raises while holding the same weight the entire time. (Would have been clearer, in my opinion, if the card said "Squats & Calf Raises" in the one row instead of their being broken into two rows.)

I appreciated that she's got an extended stretch included on the disc - definitely needed it after leg day. Is the extended stretch the same through the entire program? Haven't popped in another disc to check.

Also massively appreciative of the vocals only audio option. Just do not care for metal/rock (even if it's timid compared to some of the stuff I used to listen to when I was a teen.) I'm way more motivated by EDM, so had a playlist that I put together playing the entire time through and used an "ambient chill" playlist for the extended stretch.

Anyway, good workout. My legs are definitely fried - and I did the bonus barre work at the end. I wish she threw in more tibialis exercises in more of her lower body workouts. She sure talks the exercise up when she does them, then neglects the exercise quite a bit in most of her LB workouts.

On the bright side given the cadence of her suggested rotation of this series.... no more leg days until next week! Woot!
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Good idea about doing your own music.
 
Wised up from my experience with not actually reviewing the workout first so I popped in Discs 1 & 2 last night to better acquaint myself with what was coming up - and glad I did because I had some of my data entered incorrectly in my spreadsheet for Disc 2. Spared myself some frustration there.
 
Kellyro77 said:
Wised up from my experience with not actually reviewing the workout first so I popped in Discs 1 & 2 last night to better acquaint myself with what was coming up - and glad I did because I had some of my data entered incorrectly in my spreadsheet for Disc 2. Spared myself some frustration there.
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Kellyro77 said:
I found the workout cards were kind of confusing when first setting up for the program - like they
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Reading this reminded me I didn't care for the printed worksheets from the workout manager. After the first 2x through using them, i created my own. Since they're customized to me and how I set up my weights I find them much more useful. You'll eventually find your best way too. Using your tablet may make a difference too.

Same as any new workouts. I'm still customizing my worksheets for LMRE2. Normally I preview new workouts before doing them, but with STS I didn't - that's weird for me but I think with all the prep work I just wanted to get on with it.
 
Debinmi said:
Normally I preview new workouts before doing them, but with STS I didn't
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Same - I usually preview workouts before I start them, but I'm a bit overwhelmed thinking of previewing 36 workouts. Definitely not a task to complete in an afternoon, for sure. Think I'll have to just try previewing the three workouts for the upcoming week on the weekend. More manageable that way.
 
Kellyro77 said:
Same - I usually preview workouts before I start them, but I'm a bit overwhelmed thinking of previewing 36 workouts. Definitely not a task to complete in an afternoon, for sure. Think I'll have to just try previewing the three workouts for the upcoming week on the weekend. More manageable that way.
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Actually because some of the footage is repeated each week in each Meso cycle, you may find that previewing just the first week may be enough. There is variation in each week, however, you may get away with taking a look at the worksheets/chapters and only doing a quick review of the new exercises.
 
Finished Disc 1 with Chest, Shoulders & Triceps.

As I suspected, although it suggests that 60% of my 1RM for incline chest flys should be about 25lbs, I was dubious I could do 15 reps of them at the speed she was going. I only managed 13 reps.

So - my question here is this:

Next week when I'm supposed to be doing 65% of my 1RM (which should be 28lbs), what do I do? Do I up my weight increment to 28 lbs (or as close to it as I can get, given my set up), or do I stick with the 25s and see if I can hit 15 reps?

Or... am I supposed to re-enter what I managed into the 1RM calculator to get a new 1RM calculation? (And what if that calculation still suggests something heavier than what I was actually able to manage?)

Appreciate the feedback - none of the above is covered in the user's guide.
 
Kellyro77 said:
Or... am I supposed to re-enter what I managed into the 1RM calculator to get a new 1RM calculation? (And what if that calculation still suggests something heavier than what I was actually able to manage?)
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This is what I do. I found it took twice through STS adjusting my 1RM every week to get a good idea of the appropriate lifts for me. As you found, I thought the system over estimated my best weight for the reps and pacing used. Maybe it was spot on for others, but I found i had to adjust it for many lifts the first times through. The entire program aims to improve your strength by 5% (I think, I could be wrong but that's what remember Cathe saying). So that's not much. So 25# would mean an increase to 26.25# by the end of 3.5 months.
 
Debinmi said:
This is what I do. I found it took twice through STS adjusting my 1RM every week to get a good idea of the appropriate lifts for me. As you found, I thought the system over estimated my best weight for the reps and pacing used. Maybe it was spot on for others, but I found i had to adjust it for many lifts the first times through. The entire program aims to improve your strength by 5% (I think, I could be wrong but that's what remember Cathe saying). So that's not much. So 25# would mean an increase to 26.25# by the end of 3.5 months.
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Thank you! Super helpful. I'm not sure I'd have figured that out without spending a ton of time digging through the various old discussions in the forum, so thank you for sharing your experience!
 
The 1RMs were kinda tricky, I guess, in that I did all those tests completely fresh - so I wasn't already fatigued from doing 50+ pushups beforehand.

I know I can do 30# flys, as I learned during STS 2, but of course that program was slower, less reps, and longer rests (at least compared to Mesocycle 1).

Glad to know about re-entering my rep results in the 1RM calculator and attacking everything again next week. Turns out my recommended weight for next week for flys stays at 25# after re-calculating.
 
I had to recalculate for some of the exercises too. With the weight increments I had available, and working with weights in kg rather than lbs, I couldn't always match the 1RM calculated weight, so I had to choose between going slightly lighter or slightly heavier. E.g. 25lbs is 11.34kg so I would either have to do 11kg or 11.5kg. I found I mostly went slightly lighter due to fatigue.
 
Agree - there's no way I'm going to exactly match some of the weight increments that get spat out by the calculator. I'm opting for whatever's closest that I can manage... trying to push myself if my closest match is a slight bit heavier.

Bright side of this program is that I get to use my offset weight options with my SelectTech weights to get some of those odd, in-between weights. Gets me a little closer, at least instead of having to say, jump from 25 to 30, I can create an offset weight that's 27.5. Though with the offset, the weights themselves are a bit off-balance.
 
Alright - week 1 is in the bag. I feel much more prepared for week 2 coming up knowing the following:

1. The workouts in the following weeks will be very similar to week 1, just with some variation.
2. For any exercises where I had to lower/raise weight and did fewer reps, re-calculate them in the 1RM calculator to get the recommended targeted weight for the upcoming week.

Since this was my first time using the fit tower (or the Exer Tower) for chin ups and pull ups, I had a very rude awakening. I mean, I knew I'd probably not be able to heft my entire body up sitting cross-legged like Cathe—I did a version with my knees bent so my legs could assist a little—but wooooaaah. I mostly found that with chin ups, my elbows and forearms got really unhappy. I think I'm going to have to just continue to experiment with hand and body placement and just do the best I can.

The equipment has a pad on the bar so I'm going to try removing that to start, as I found it kept slipping around and that probably wasn't helpful in the least, as well.

Definitely excited to see where this program is going to take me. I've definitely had DOMs after the first two workouts this week, and I'm sure I'll have more DOMs tomorrow after today's workout.
 
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