So I tried S&S Ramped Up Upper Body

Kellyro77

Kellyro77

Cathlete
(This is gonna be a new series for me... "So I tried..." :p since these workouts have been out a long time already.)

Hooooollllyyyy cow! LOL I was NOT prepared for the intensity of this one.

Let's just say right from the start with those fast-paced 1-arm rows with 30# weights, I was seeing stars. I managed to push through both sets (muttering "JEEZ!!!" by rep 10 on my second set... 6 more to go!!), but definitely made a note that on the second set, at least, I need to lower it down to 25# next time.

I am definitely not used to hefting heavy weights that fast. I thought I was getting used to a faster pace with XTrain (compared to STS 2.0). Nope. XTrain isn't as fast as this one.

I guess not all the exercises are fast-paced. The chest flys felt manageable, for instance.

The combos of exercises she did were very challenging, though, and I found myself out of breath and wanting to hit pause a few times throughout. I tried to match her on most weights, but found by those with a second or third round, I was having to drop down an increment. (Not so with the chest flys, at least... 20# isn't too bad.)

My upper body is definitely cooked, and I know I'm going to have some serious DOMs the next few days.

Only complaint is relevant only if you have SelectTech weights. The set-up, where she has you pull out multiple weight increments to be ready to dive right in to the next exercise with new weights, is a bit difficult since you can't do that with adjustable weights. Be prepared to pause a few times to swap out your weights. Though, as I said earlier, hitting pause a few times provides a nice respite throughout the workout.
 
Nice review. Yeah, me and the pause button on my remote are good buddies now. With STS2.0, I got used to that "you earned 1 minute rest". Fortunately there's a back fly to give you a little reprieve after the 16 1-arm row reps with a heavy weight (I don't use 30# there due to the pace and # of reps). I give the earned rest to myself in other workouts now if I'm getting too breathy and am concerned my form might suffer cuz I'm more focused on breathing than lifting. I don't always do a full minute, just enough to allow the ATP to regenerate (LOL). Cathe packs a lot into RUUB - it earned the title of "Ramped Up". :)
 
Kellyro77 said:
(This is gonna be a new series for me... "So I tried..." :p since these workouts have been out a long time already.)

Hooooollllyyyy cow! LOL I was NOT prepared for the intensity of this one.

Let's just say right from the start with those fast-paced 1-arm rows with 30# weights, I was seeing stars. I managed to push through both sets (muttering "JEEZ!!!" by rep 10 on my second set... 6 more to go!!), but definitely made a note that on the second set, at least, I need to lower it down to 25# next time.

I am definitely not used to hefting heavy weights that fast. I thought I was getting used to a faster pace with XTrain (compared to STS 2.0). Nope. XTrain isn't as fast as this one.

I guess not all the exercises are fast-paced. The chest flys felt manageable, for instance.

The combos of exercises she did were very challenging, though, and I found myself out of breath and wanting to hit pause a few times throughout. I tried to match her on most weights, but found by those with a second or third round, I was having to drop down an increment. (Not so with the chest flys, at least... 20# isn't too bad.)

My upper body is definitely cooked, and I know I'm going to have some serious DOMs the next few days.

Only complaint is relevant only if you have SelectTech weights. The set-up, where she has you pull out multiple weight increments to be ready to dive right in to the next exercise with new weights, is a bit difficult since you can't do that with adjustable weights. Be prepared to pause a few times to swap out your weights. Though, as I said earlier, hitting pause a few times provides a nice respite throughout the workout.
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I did this 2-days ago. It’s a great workout, but in the past using heavy weights at that speed, with high reps, I was wiped out for about 4-5 days, so now I use it as a high reps endurance workout with lower weights, and the difference is remarkable. It’s still a great workout, and I feel it, but not wiped out. The back rows are a superset with back flys, so weights should be lower, and I’ve dropped to 15 lbs for rows, and 8 for flys, and this way I can enjoy a cardio effect too. I’ll save my heavier weights for STS2, and X-Train etc.
 
LJB said:
I did this 2-days ago. It’s a great workout, but in the past using heavy weights at that speed, with high reps, I was wiped out for about 4-5 days, so now I use it as a high reps endurance workout with lower weights, and the difference is remarkable. It’s still a great workout, and I feel it, but not wiped out. The back rows are a superset with back flys, so weights should be lower, and I’ve dropped to 15 lbs for rows, and 8 for flys, and this way I can enjoy a cardio effect too. I’ll save my heavier weights for STS2, and X-Train etc.
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Good point on going down in weights, not only for the cardio affect but also for correct form. That's what is hard for me going heavy with high reps and heavy weights. I try to keep good form, so I don't suffer an injury and at my age that is super important.
 
Kellyro77 said:
Thank you for the heads up on that! Is PHA smilier, too?
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PHAs are always fast paced it seems as there's no rest between exercises, you just go from upper to lower, etc. The heavier you go, the more cardio so choose accordingly. S&S PHA has a lot of redundancy in the sets compared to the LITE & StepBoss ones - I prefer those 2 and she has some PHA LIVES we purchased that are No Repeats. There is a premix that reduces the sets on S&S, but of course it shortens the workout too, but I'm okay with that so I can add-on something else.
 
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