STS 2.0 – New Slow Motion Rotation

[FitSaxe]

Thanks! You put a lot of thought in creating this rotation. Well done!

Nursing your knee is top priority..... STS 2.0 rotation is not. Please do not jeopardise the healing process.
Bad thoughts and excess of information don't help. Take care and prompt healing to you.

 

[Nabbe47]

The minimal effective training dose (MED), popularized by Tim Ferris in his 2010 book The 4-Hour Body and extensively studied by exercise scientists and researchers such as Dr. Patroklos Androulakis-Korakakis in his recently published book “Train Smarter, Not Longer: The Minimum Effective Dose for Muscular Development, ‎ Human Kinetics, 2026". Their systematic reviews and meta-analyses show that significant strength gains can be achieved on shockingly little volume.

The minimum effective dose (MED) refers to the smallest amount of stimulus required to produce a desired outcome. In resistance training, it’s the least amount of work you need to do to achieve a specific fitness goal—whether that’s building muscle, maintaining your current physique, or maintaining muscles while losing fat.

For many, the idea of doing less and still seeing results can seem counterintuitive. After all, the “more is better” mentality is deeply ingrained in fitness culture. However, research and experience show that more is not always better—especially when it comes to resistance training. The key is to apply just enough stimulus to trigger the desired adaptations in your body without unnecessary excess.

The main advantages to adopting a MED approach:

Improved Recovery: By avoiding unnecessary volume, your body has more time and resources to recover. This can lead to better long-term progress and reduce the risk of injury.

Avoiding Overtraining: Overtraining can lead to burnout, decreased performance, and increased injury risk. Following MED could help you avoid this by focusing on quality over quantity.

Consistent Progress: With MED, you can maintain consistent progress without the peaks and valleys that often come with more aggressive training approaches. This approach is sustainable and maintainable over long-term.

 

[Nabbe47]

discussing this, your premix rotation and volume work

Here is an excerpt from the last chapter of the "Train Smarter" book, adressed, in some way to older people. It summarises how to assess effectiveness of training programs and gives sample fitness programs as guidelines for design of MED based programs.

 

[Nabbe47]

You may also watch this interview between Dr. Patroklos Androulakis-Korakakis and his co-researcher Dr. Milo Wolf on YouTube:

 

[FitSaxe]

I guess it depends what results you are after. I've found I still get good results if I cut the workout length down to around 30 minutes. Sometimes it means I can go a bit heavier with the weights. Using workout manager, I've done the entire STS 1 program with shortened workouts and done combinations of STS 2 body parts, combining 2 body parts, that were about 30-35 minutes long. I've been happy with the results. For me it's better that I do a shortened workout and workout consistently rather than skip days because I don't have time for a 50-60-minute workout. You can also use this slow motion rotation and do add-ons if you want longer workouts.

Thank you for sharing your true, transparent, sincere experience. Less can indeed produce more in terms of results. Your thoughts also reflect your happiness and enthusiasm working out STS. Being healthy/Fit is also NOT being miserable dwelling into dark THOUGHTS and acts. Mental fitness reflect itself throughout our informative decision and interactions here! Thank you for being real.

We need data, facts to support studies. Your experience shared is what us women need to make informative decisions.

 

[Nabbe47]

on fractional sets

Well, I think it is fair, in a multi-joint exercise, to count in what all secondary muscles are also getting along with the main targeted muscle, but to consider this only as a bonus! No need to be stingy

 

[Nabbe47]

Following PAK's book "Train Smarter, Not Longer" recommenadtions for minimum effective dose gains for life, plan to follow the attached customised rotation next year (Have still my slow motion rotation for the rest of this year!).
Have learned that higher doses can be countereffective for the aging body!

 

[Nabbe47]

Do you have issues with Hinge (deadlift)? I didn't see or notice it in the rotation?

The second exercise in LB focus is RDL! Isn’t that Hinge?

Are you thinking of transitioning to paper workouts from follow-along programs via dvds/downloads and/or streaming?

Only for the three weight lifting workouts, unless MED workouts will be available as follow-along videos for download. Still, I do have high regard for Cathe’s workout series and will certainly make, out of them, several premixed and mini-premixed rotations, following MED criteria.

Actually, I started my serious training from a book, which was so good in teaching each exercise as if it is a cooking recipe, very detailed on posture, movement, timing and more. Also used a mobile app “Virtuagym”, where in addition to ready to follow-along workouts, one can design own workout, then follow-along it through animated video sequence and instructor voice announcing the exercise, counting the reps or time elapsed, etc., but it is now only available for coaches to a much higher price! My first follow-along video was Cathe’s Xtrain/LIS rotation, then Caroline Girvan pioneering YouTube Era, followed by others. Still I have used books to create interesting workouts.

 

[Debinmi]

@Nabbe47 After your post on the other thread asking AI to suggest a rotation specific to you, I did a little experiment. I put in my age, sex, years of lifting experience, my equipment, usual weekly rotation, desires for warm-ups & cooldowns, arthritis limitations, etc & received a number of suggestions for a MED weekly rotation. It was a very interesting experiment. Thanks for the idea!

 

[Nabbe47]

number of suggestions for a MED weekly rotation

Good! Would you consider sharing the suggested rotations?

 

[Debinmi]

@Nabbe47 Sure. Here's a 3-day knee friendly MED

2-3 sets; 8-12 reps for compound exercises or 10-15 for isolation exercises; 60-90 seconds rest; Intensity 2-3 reps in reserve or RPE of 7-8 or 60-80% of1RM. And of course, use some type of overload to progress.

Day1: LB + Core
Squats
RDL or Landmine RDL
St.Ball Roll-outs or Planks

Day2: UB Pull + Chest
Chest press
Rows
Band Pull-aparts

Day3 Full Body Auxiliary & Power
Shoulder press or Lateral Raise
Landmine twists or rows
Heavy Bag 3-5 rounds for power, cardio, coordination

2 other days are SIT/HIIT + Add--ons for balance, coordination, mobility

Warm ups are 10-15 minutes with low impact cardio & specific mobility exercises and dynamic flexibility for the areas being worked that day. Cooldowns are 5-10 minutes with slow walking to bring heart rate down & specific static stretches for areas worked.

AI will change it up dependent on the equipment listed, any joint issues or injuries you may have, and desire for hypertrophy, strength or a combination. Very interesting to play with the variables.

 

[Nabbe47]

Here's a 3-day knee friendly MED

Thanks for sharing! Looks interesting.
The "or" exercises are not exactly smiliar in their activation!
It seems you have real spatial gym for landmine
Standard Split UB, LB, FB! Although you seemed to like the Body Parts split?

 

[Debinmi]

seems you have real spatial gym for landmine
Standard Split UB, LB, FB! Although you seemed to like the Body Parts split?

Yes, we are very fortunate to have a dedicated workout space - we've been collecting fitness products since the 80's. I bought the landmine when STS2.0 came out to avoid having to purchase heavier dumbells. It attaches to our squat rack and provides some joint-friendly alternative exercises.

Being that I've mostly used Cathe's workouts for weights, I'm used to Body Splits. This June was the first time I've ever done a Full Body month-long rotation - used the premixes of STS2.0 & the bonus TB Metabolic from LMRE as a change-up. Surprised myself to have enjoyed it!