Strength in Numbers

This morning was Lower Body Blast including the Leg Conditioning Drils. Wow!! That was one tough workout and I just know I am going to be feeling it tomorrow. Hello toilet test! :eek:

Janie Great job on those 8 pushups! You are moving right along! Until I started doing pushups regularly, I never realized how much they raise your heart rate. I also have to remind myself to breathe and not hold my breath. Great job on Power Max too. It is an oldie but goodie! Hope Rolly recovered from the horrible nail clipping. My dogs don’t make noises when I trim their nails but I do have to have Jason holding them so they don’t try to leave or pull their paw away. Funny how dogs think you are killing them just by trimming off their nails!

Helen Great job on all the workouts and sticking with it even with a small set back. I understand the frustration but I know you will work through it.

Pam I am sure we will be crossing posts today.

Happy Friday everyone! So glad it is the weekend!
 
Julie Imax 2 and 30 pushups, all I can say is WOW!!! Great job! You are going to love STS. I was really happy that I had done the 1 RM tests. It was so nice having a workout sheet every day that showed me how much weight I should be using for each exercise. It lets you get your weights ready in advance which I really like. There were cases where I had to go a little lighter/heavier, but for the most part they were right on. It's very cool to see the increases as you go from meso 1-2-3 too.
You should put a comment on the Workout manager forum about the weekly calorie deficit. They are really good about responding and will let you know if that is coming. If they don't already have it planned, it may help to get them to add it too!

Janie Great job on those pushups. They really do get the heart rate up, don't they?! It's amazing.
I did the whole power max today. It sure is a double headband wringer! I just love the cardio part of that workout. I find the upper body section to be a lot more challenging than the upper body section of BM2.
That is so funny that Rolly whines so loud when he gets his nails clipped. I'm sure it doesn't hurt him at all, the little drama king! Our cats get like that when we are brushing them, but I'm pretty sure it does hurt sometimes. Our cat Shorty is quite the big actor though. He really puts on a show :rolleyes:
I'm so glad you are going to do the hundred pushups too! I did my initial test last night and got 23. I was still sore from MM on Wednesday, but I figured there is never going to be a day when I'm not sore from something and I need to get started. I'm not sure when I will start into the program, probably Sunday or Monday. I have MM again tomorrow plus MMA Boxing, so definitely won't be starting tomorrow!

Helen You're doing great with your workouts and eating. When I first started STS I gained a couple of pounds too. I think it sometimes takes our bodies awhile to adjust but hang in there. As long as you are good about your eating while you are doing it you should lose weight. I know it can be frustrating when the results aren't showing on the scales though. Did you take measurements or before pictures? I wished I had done that. I couldn't see a difference in myself after STS but DH said that he could and that I should've taken pictures. Next time I go through it I will.

Julie Those leg conditioning drills are killers, aren't they?! The funn y thing is that I've done LBB a couple of times and didn't get DOMS either time. There's been some discussion about that on Facebook too with several other Cathletes who had the same experience. And we all had terrible leg/glute DOMS after STS total body, even though it doesn't seem to work the legs/glutes as much as LBB. It will be interesting to see what your experience is. For me it may be that the rotation I was doing at the time had a lot of leg emphasis so they were already conditioned. That is just my guess thought....

This morning as I said was the original Body Max. My arms are still sore and that was hours ago! The chest work in this one kills me. After presses and flies THEN we do pushups?! I was asking Cathe if she had lost her mind! :p I was on my knees for all of them today :rolleyes: Anyway, happy friday everyone. I've got appraisals to write - ICK :(

Pam
 
Joey and I did The Firm: Hi-Def Sculpt. It's a full body workout. Plus I did 9 push ups on the toes. Yeah!

Helen, Short and sweet is OK, it's always nice to here from you. Great job on MMA Boxing yesterday. Don't be disappointed in the weight gain, it could be that you are gaining muscle. Isn't that be nice?!?

Julie, Great job on LBB including LCD. Wow is right! Very proud of you. Good luck on the toilet, LOL:eek: Rolly was pampered while he went in to get his nails cliped. The person that did it, was very professional and just loved him up and down. He was a little bit better this time thanks to her.

Pam, Power Max is a step workout, did you mean Power Hour? Any of those two workouts are tough, well done. I can't wait for Monday when we do the pushups. I'm also going to add sit ups. :confused: I think I can do it. Great job on BM this morning, I bet your arms are sore. Tough work out for sure!

Have a really nice day everyone,

Janie
 
This will be a short post. I haven't worked out for two days now. Yesterday I did laundry and today was shopping and packing. I was going to take travel fit with me and a couple of stretching DVDs but I can't fit all of my workout stuff in the suitcase :confused:. My suitcase is already jammed and I am going shopping for more stuff :eek::eek::eek:.

My excuse is the winter clothes are bulkier so they take up more space and I am taking my snow boots because it is suppose to snow there next week. I am hoping I will have time to post while am in Ottawa. It is about bedtime now. My flight leaves at 9 a.m. so we need to leave home just after 6 a.m.

Talk to you soon.

Cheryl
 
Janie Great job on the Firm AND those 9 push ups! You have made so much progress in such a sort time!! Great job!
I'm not sure what I said about Power max, I probably meant muscle max though because that is the weight workout I've done twice this week. I am excited for the push up challenge, I hope it works! Good for you adding situps too!!

Cheryl That's always a struggle when packing. I know the issue I always have is my workout shoes take up so much room! Anyway, I hope that you have a great trip!

Today was another double header with Muscle Max and MMA Boxing. Wow, there were a lot of abs! Now I need to get some laundry going and get to the grocery store. Have a great Saturday everyone!

Pam
 
Good Saturday morning, everyone.

Pam: This is actually my 3rd time through with STS. My first round started in January, 2010 and another round immediately followed. Then I did a mixture of other workouts and started up again with STS in mid-November of last year. I know I've gained a few pounds of muscle in the last year, but I've also gained some fat. I'm staying the course. I used to be very good about taking progress pictures, but I haven't taken any in about 9 months or so. Maybe I'll take some when I finish Mesocycle 3 at the end of February.

Cheryl: Travel safely!

Everyone: Great job on all your push ups!

Lurkers: I know you're out there...:cool: Join us whenever you want! We don't bite. :D

Have a wonderful day! :D Helen
 
This morning I did Pyramid Upper Body. I was smart this time and did the warmup, then 30 pushups, the ab work, and then the weight work. I think doing the ab work first I was able to get a few full pikes.

Pam Great job on Body Max! I hope your arms are all better now! You were right about Lower Body Blast. I thought for sure I would have killer DOMS today but I don't at all. Weird! Great job on your double header too!

Janie Great job on The Firm with Joey and those 9 pushups! Almost to 10 now. That's good that Rolly was a little more comfortable with getting his nails trimmed. Hopefully he will relax even more next time.

Cheryl I probably missed you but I hope you have a good trip and come back with lots of stunning new clothes!

Helen Wow 3 times through STS already! I am so looking forward to doing the program even if I don't see any results.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!
 
I did 10 pushups on toes today. I'll be ready Mon. to start training for the hundred pushups on toes. I understand that when people are ready for it, it won't be all at once, there will be breathers in-between. I'm also thinking of doing the situps, pullups and the squats. If I find I can't do them because it's to hard or whatever reason, then I will stick to the original plan and just do the pushups on the toes. Can't wait to get started. I'm working the weight workouts on Mon., Wedn. and Fridays, (that Joey and I do together, only gently this time around. like a long warmup), then after that, will train gun hoe with the pushups, situps,... At least that is my plan. :D I'm probably taking to much of a bite, but I'd like to try anyway. Hmmmmm, I hope I won't be disappointed in myself.:rolleyes: Shoot, I almost talked myself out of it already.LOL;) Wish me luck.

Cheryl, Do what you can while you are traveling with exercises. It won't be easy for sure. If you can't find the time, remember you can get back to it and catch up when you get home.

Pam, I can't wait to start doing the pushup challenge with you starting Mon. Yeah! Great job on MM and MMA Boxing. Wow is right! Well done.

Helen, Congratulations on doing STS three times and gaining muscle. Better pay more attention next time around and cheer you on more. Great job!

Julie, Great job on PUB and you are smart and was able to do 30 pushups on toes, plus ab work. Pikes are my weakness. Can't even do 1.

Janie
 
It is sooooo cold here. It is about -21C which is around 10F. I am not used to this type of cold. But we did go shopping today and I got 2 pairs of dress boots, a skirt, two sweaters and about 4 tops. I could have kept going but I thought I should stop while I could still pay for it :eek:.

Anyway it looks like all of you have been doing really well with your workouts. I will get back to it when I get back.

Have a great Monday.

Cheryl
 
I did the Viper this morning. Major calorie burn which is great since I am still recovering from the holidays.

I got my STS order on Friday and read through the user guide already. I am planning on doing the 1RM testing in late April and then starting STS May 2. I am so excited and can hardly wait! I would start it earlier but I already have some fat burning rotations in store for the next few months.

Janie Great job on your 10 pushups. I am sure you will do great with all of your challenges. You seem to be the type that sticks with a plan/challenge. I have thought about adding chin ups/pull ups to my every other day pushups but haven’t made it there yet. Maybe someday.

Cheryl Looks like you are having a blast even though it is frigid! I have to say great job on controlling your spending and stopping yourself from spending more. That is always a struggle for me (stopping that is)!

Pam and Helen I’ll catch up with you two later!

Have a very happy Monday!
 
Helen Wow, 3rd time through STS, that is awesome. I'm going to do a second round one of these days. I had been thinking I would start in January, but then I really liked how Cathe's January rotation looked so I decided to do that instead for now.

Julie Great job on PUB and your push ups! I bet those pikes were really hard after all of those pushups. Ouch!
That is weird about LBB and not getting DOMS, I wonder what is going on with that?!

Janie Congratulations on your 10 pushups!!! Today is the big day to start the 00 pushups challenge. Are you doing your initial test today? I did day 1 yesterday. Since I did 23 for my initial test they recommended starting on week 3. Let me tell you, it was HARD! I did 12/17/13/13/17 The last set is as many as you can do but at least 17 and it was all I could do to get that 17th one in there :rolleyes: Those 60 second rests between the sets go by really fast too! I already have a feeling a may be repeating this week! Wow, situps, pullups and squats too?! You GO GIRL! I'm sticking with the pushups for now :D Don't talk yourself out of it, I will be looking to you for inspiration!

Cheryl Oh boy, that is COLD!!! I can't stand to go outside when it's like that! It sounds like you had quite the successful shopping trip though, that's great. It's always fun to get some new things to wear.

Julie Great job on the Viper. That sounds like a fun rotation that yoiu are doing, is it one of Cathe's? Glad to hear that your STS arrived already too!

As I said, I started the 100 day pushup challenge yesterday and it was really really hard. Tomorrow I am supposed to do even more per set, I hope I can do it. Maybe starting on week 3 was too ambitious?! :confused: I am still sore from it today. This morning was the original Imax, always a goody! I am shopping for a new rug for my sunroom and figured that everyone would be home watching the football games yesterday so there wouldn't be big crowds. Boy, was I wrong! The place was packed and the woman said they were much worse on Saturday. I have 3 rugs at home now to try out and my cats have been laying on them ever since I brought them in. They are so funny! We were very happy to see the Steelers win on Saturday!!! :D My DH is in a much better mood when they win! ;) Anyway, have a good Monday everyone!

Pam
 
It is so cold here. No walk after work which I really missed. This morning it was -23C which is around 8F. My Vancouver winter clothes really don't cut it here. However it is supposed to get warmed only around -2 but it is supposed to snow :( for the next three days. All I want is to be able to get out of here on Friday without too much trouble. We are suppose to go to a casino in Quebec which has a buffet around $10 tomorrow. I guess it depends on how much it snows.

Julie Good job on the viper. You will really like STS. That is a really good workout series. I really really wanted to spend more but I was good.

Pam The shopping was great but why oh why do they schedule training in Ottawa in January!!!!! I like training in April but January :eek:. Good job on your pushups. You were already doing pushups so starting on week three isn`t ambitious. You can do it. Your cats are so funny I can see our guys doing the same thing.

Anyway have a great Tuesday.

Cheryl
 
Joey and I decided that we will do TBS for 6-7 weeks. He will do it with heavy weight and I will do it as a warm up. Joey is in 7th heaven.

This is what I did today with the challenges, with 60 sec. rest between sets and good form.

Pull-Ups:
Assisted 3
Assisted 4
Assisted 3
Negative 1 (lowering down from top slowly)
Negative (max. hang, starting from top lower down slowly and stay there until you can't any longer. For me, 5-8 sec. Total of 12 assisted.

Push-Ups: 6, 6, 4, 4, 5...total of 25...What? Can't believe I did that.
Squats: 8, 8, 5, 5, 7...total of 33...Wow
Sit-Ups: 9, 9, 6, 6, 8...total 38...I can see that.

Cheryl, That is Winter 10F! Burrrrrrrrrr! Dispite that, you seemed to have accomplished a lot of shopping.:D Good for you, you deserve it. Hope you can make your plans. Stay warm and safe.

Julie, Great job on the Viper. Wow! That does burn a lot of calories. Like your plan on STS in May. Thank you for your encouragement on my challenges. Don't know what I got myself into.:rolleyes: The first day went well.

Pam, I did the tests on Friday after Joey and I worked out. On all of them, I was average, except the pull ups. I'm on level 1, or is that prep. I can't do one. But I'm going to try to.:rolleyes: If you started with week 3 with push ups, you are incredible. I don't doubt it was hard! If week 3 was to ambitious, you can just go to week 2. Still incredible in my opinion. Great job on IMax 1. Looks like despite the crowd, that you accomplished your shopping. ;) Cats seem to know what is comfortable. LOL:D

Janie
 
Last edited:
Cheryl I hope you don't have any issues getting ouf of there and home on Friday. I know how that feels, you just want to get home after being away on a business trip! I hope you are able to get to the casino tonight, they have been talking about a terrible storm on the news. Again!
You are so right - they should be scheduling Ottawa in the spring! I think they do that on purpose sometimes!

Janie WOW, you did amazing with your challenges!!!! I am especially impressed with the pullups, I can't even do 1! I need somewhere to work on them too, I don't have that either :confused: You did fantastic on all of the challenges, great job!!!!

This morning for me was CCC! Ouch! I hadn't done that one in awhile. I have something wonky going on with my hip too, I think I need to stretch it out. I made it through, but it wasn't easy. Those darn drop, squat rolls always get me! It's on the calendar again for next week, but it's the morning that we are leaving for Mexico, so I either won't get it in or might sub it for another day depending on how ambitious I'm feeling! Have a great Tuesday everyone. Stay warm Cheryl!

Pam
 
I did Cardio Kicks this morning and 30 pushups. I am liking doing pushups every other day. Eventually I might try doing chin/pull ups on the non-pushup days. Gotta talk myself into it though!

Pam Great job on Imax! The 100 day pushup challenge looks interesting. I’m really going to have to look into that but it might have to wait until after my STS round in May.

The rotation I am doing is my own creation. I based it off an article from Muscle & Fitness Hers for trimming down pear shapes. I have Beyonce’s thighs and J-Lo’s booty. They might look good on them but not so much on me. :rolleyes: The generic breakdown is

M Circuit
T Steady State Cardio
W Circuit
TH Imax/Intensity
F Leg – concentrating on higher reps
S Upper Body – concentrating on heavy weights

I tried to pick the highest intensity workouts I could which is why you are seeing the Terminator workouts. I’m only on week 2, day 2 but I have to say I am already seeing significant fat loss. Although that could be due to cleaning up my diet now that the holidays are over. :confused:

Cheryl Brrrr!! Try your hardest to stay as warm as possible. Sometimes I think businesses plan trips like that on purpose to limit the amount of fun you can have. :p I’ll be praying you don’t get snowed in.

Janie Great job on your challenges! Starting day 1 is sometimes the hardest part. Those pull-ups are amazing! I hope I can do that well whenever I get my booty in gear and get started on them. :eek: Sounds like you and Joey have a great plan going on for working out.

Pam Great job on CCC! That one is a goodie but any of the roll-back moves are especially hard for me. Maybe that is what I should practice instead of pushups! :)

Have a wonderful Tuesday!
 
Will be using my mini trampoline tonight while watching TV for about 30-45 min.

Anyone can do the assisted Pull ups. I'm using these techniques (preparing for) so one day I can do a real pull up. ;)

There are preps I'm taking to one day do a full pull up, but anyone can do what I did. Here is what I'll follow in order to get there. First assisted, then negative, then Austrailian and then the real thing, hopefully.:rolleyes: Baby steps first. If you are interested in doing some of these challenges, go to "one hundred push ups". In the index on the left, you will find other challenges, like sit ups, pull ups...

Assisted Pull-Up

Use a band, spotter chair or bench or assisted machine (as shown) to support some of your weight while using proper form and building the pull-up muscles. This is vital for learning the proper body position and strengthening. PLEASE be careful when supporting your weight or balancing on a chair or bench
prep_assisted.jpg


Negative Pull-Up

Use a spotter, chair, or bench to start you at the top of pull-up position and slowly lower yourself down. PLEASE be careful when supporting your weight or balancing on a chair or bench
prep_negative.jpg


Australian Pull-Up

Position yourself under a bar (Smith machine works well) with your feet lower than your hands. Using an overhand or underhand grip (vary grip from set-to-set) keep back straight and pull your chest to bar, and return slowly to starting position. If you struggle, you can raise bar and increase the angle of your body to be more upright.
prep_aussie.jpg



Pam, Great job on CCC. OOOOO be careful with your hip. Use a roller or like you said a stretch, gently.

Julie, great job on CK this morning and 30 push ups. Love the breakdown on your rotation. Congratulations on the fat loss.

Janie
 
Julie Cardio Kicks is so much fun! Great job on that and your push ups! Beyonce's thighs and J-Lo's booty?! Those sound like they would be good things! Great job on your fat loss, for whatever reason!! I'm sure it's the combination of your killer rotation and your clean eating. Good for you!

Cheryl I hope the weather isn't too bad there. I was just watching the news and they were showing one car after another just sliding down a hill and crashing into things in Philadelphia because the roads are a sheet of ice! :confused: I'm glad we are finally getting some decent weather, it's supposed to be almost 60 here today! :D

Janie I love the sound of jumping on the mini trampoline while watching TV. I think I might need one! Myabe I can try some of the assisted pull ups with a bench - I don't have anywhere to do real pull ups right now. I'm going to see how the push up challenge goes first though. Thanks for the instructions and the photos!

Helen I hope you are doing well!

This morning was LIC for me. The weight work always gets me in that one! It was a nice one to do after IMAX and CCC though! I also did my pushups yesterday: 14/19/14/14/19 they were HARD, I'm thinking I will be repeating this week! Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Pam
 
This morning was Boot Camp, original style!! Terminators!!! :eek: I still don’t like them but you gotta do what you gotta do!

Janie I am imagining you hopping around on your trampoline last night!!! :p Nice pictures on the pull up variations. I was looking at my Big Book of Exercises last night and they actually recommended working on negatives and then moving on to assisted. Probably just a preference on whoever wrote the book. I think I am just going to have to buckle down and start doing the pull-ups. I am pretty busy this week so I am going to start doing it on Monday. No ifs ands or buts about it!!

Pam Great job on LIC and on your pushups! Even if you repeat this week, you are still improving! The weight work in LIC is a doozie. Those barbell curls with the band? Ouch!! Cathe knew what she was doing with that one! Those body parts might look good on celebrities individually but putting them both on me :confused:, well, not so much. It accentuates the pear shape a little too much for my taste! I am really hoping to lean out my thighs, especially right around the knee area. I also have cankles which need to go bye-bye as well. I heard running helps with the cankle issue but I still have problems with doing that on a consistent basis.

Cheryl I hope you are thawing out or at least not freezing through!

Helen I imagine you are busy with STS so I hope all is well!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
 
Hello, ladies. Great job to all of you on your pushups and pullups!

I'm not doing a very good job keeping up with all of you. Sometimes I can only check in once a week and then there's so much information here I feel badly if I don't respond to each of you personally. Know that I read everything and have lots of respect for all that you are doing even if I don't do a personal shout out.

STS is going well. I had my leg workout today (Meso 2 #23), so I'm almost 2/3 finished. I've got all my workouts on the calendar from now until mid-June, so there's no stopping me.

Hello to everyone. Keep up the good work!

Helen
 
Joey and I did TBS, Joey with heavy weight and me, with heavy weight with biceps, triceps, inner and outer thighs, and hamstrings. All the other exercises were warm ups. My challenge suggests 60 sec. rest per set. unless otherwise mentioned.

Pull-Ups: I have DOM's
Assisted 3
Assisted 5
Assisted 4
Negative 1 with 30 sec. rest then
Negative 1 yet again

Push-Ups On Toes:
6 read it wrong and did 10 OOPS!
8, then 6, then 6, then 7. Was hard! 37 total

Squats:
8, 11, 8, 8, 9

Sit-Ups
9, 12 obliques, 9 Lower(with legs up), 9 combo and 10

Pam, Great job on LIC. And on the pushups, mine are hard too. Yozeee!

Julie, Great job on Boot Camp Terminators! Well done. I do have fun on the trampoline and my stair climber, both can watch TV while doing them. I know, I'm spoiled.:) Yeah! I'll be thinking of you while I do my Pull-Ups too. Glad you will be joining me. Would love to see the progress.

Helen, Checking in once a week is just fine. We miss you of course, but not everyone has the luxury of posting everyday. It's OK. Great job on STS leg work today. Those are really hard on me. Are they for you? Love your plans about filling in your calendar. Yeah! "No stopping attitude" is great!

Janie
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top