STS 2 Results

I just began my 5th week of the 12 week rotation. Getting stronger, for sure! Each week I've been able to increase my weight. I could have some better definition, if I had more discipline on the eating. ;-) But, I do feel more tighter and toned. I've done very little cardio since starting this rotation, but have since added more yoga, stretching, mobility and ab work. I'm excited to be keeping on and moving forward!
 
I'm doing each phase for a month and I'm finishing up Phase 1 and I'm really surprised at what I'm seeing. Ever since hitting menopause I've been gaining fat in really ugly places and after a month I'm seeing that ugly hip fat (you know that fat that looks like a butt cheek on top of a butt cheek) is disappearing. I actually have a low back again! The thing is, I'm not doing much cardio at all. I was hoping to lose weight with this series but I was thinking that I was going to have to add cardio on my off days, but so far, just hitting the weights and recovery has been working wonders. I have cleaned up my diet too and I'm being careful about late night snacking and stuff like that. So far, I'm really pleased and I'm looking forward to Phase 2.
 
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My eating has been abysmal the last couple months. Really going to reign it in in July. Joining a wellness challenge group at my work so it'll help having some face-to-face accountability and enthusiasm there. I'm staying away from the scale and will mostly be assessing my progress with how my clothing is fitting. I had to miss my workout yesterday and I was really anxious about it - I had a lot of energy just vibrating in me, so that's a good sign, too, that my body's responding positively to the workouts - extra energy! And I've been sleeping like a rock, all the way up to my alarm, too, which is also VERY good. I'm pretty sure I'm getting stronger in all this, too, lol. Oh! I did notice my biceps peaking out while just doing my hair and makeup this morning!
 
My eating has been abysmal the last couple months. Really going to reign it in in July. Joining a wellness challenge group at my work so it'll help having some face-to-face accountability and enthusiasm there. I'm staying away from the scale and will mostly be assessing my progress with how my clothing is fitting. I had to miss my workout yesterday and I was really anxious about it - I had a lot of energy just vibrating in me, so that's a good sign, too, that my body's responding positively to the workouts - extra energy! And I've been sleeping like a rock, all the way up to my alarm, too, which is also VERY good. I'm pretty sure I'm getting stronger in all this, too, lol. Oh! I did notice my biceps peaking out while just doing my hair and makeup this morning!
I get feeling anxious about missing a workout. I workout before work and I had one day when I just couldn't sleep. I got about 4 hrs. of sleep before my alarm went off. I turned it off and started to turn over to go back to sleep because there was no way I was going to make it through an hour workout and I was starting to feel guilty, then I remembered remixes! I jumped out of bed because I knew I could do at least 30 minutes. Sometimes life just happens. Congrats on the biceps. Seeing muscles pop when you aren't purposely flexing them is pretty darn cool.
 
I'm doing each phase for a month and I'm finishing up Phase 1 and I'm really surprised at what I'm seeing. Ever since hitting menopause I've been gaining fat in really ugly places and after a month I'm seeing that ugly hip fat (you know that fat that looks like a butt cheek on top of a butt cheek) is disappearing. I actually have a low back again! The thing is, I'm not doing much cardio at all. I was hoping to lose weight with this series but I was thinking that I was going to have to add cardio on my off days, but so far, just hitting the weights and recovery has been working wonders. I have cleaned up my diet too and I'm being careful about late night snacking and stuff like that. So far, I'm really pleased and I'm looking forward to Phase 2.
I'm 43 havnt hit menopause but I notices my middle area is starting to get soft and my arms aren't as cut as they were 3 years ago. And I'm losing definition on my quads. And nothings really changed as far as eating. I'm sure I have to cut back on some things hehe. Body is definitely changing and don't like it;(
I started adding more cardio
 
I’m really looking forward to getting back to STS 2.0. My calf discomfort is much better after rehabbing with P.volve last Thursday and Friday and then closing out the week with Perfect 30 Upper Body.

While I’m feeling better, I don’t want to do too much too soon so I’ve actually decided to use my free P.volve access and do an entire 6 day series. I just got finished making sure I can stream from my phone to my tv using my Roku player. I think I’ve got it all squared away. I don’t know how I ended up with an entire free year of P.volve but it’s coming in handy right now. The workouts I’ll be doing are all around 30 minutes long. I’ve been lifting heavy for a long time and consider this to be my active recovery week. I’m hoping that next week I can rejoin everyone doing STS 2.0. And one things for sure- I’ll be doing recovery workouts in between and only one day of gentler cardio.
 
Hey ashaw, I'm glad you're "listening to your body" & feeling better. I'm doing only 2 days of cardio with STS2.0 - one steady-state (mostly) for 30-45 min from other instructors in my collection, and one Cathe higher intensity but shorter - these shorter cardio workouts allow time for a core workout & recovery workout those 2 days. It's been working out well. I've already modified my STS2.0 rotation too by doing more repeats of the same workouts so it'll take me longer to get thru all the workouts too - I intend to savor every workout :).

Things evolve - no worries, you'll get to experience them all. :)
 
I'm 43 havnt hit menopause but I notices my middle area is starting to get soft and my arms aren't as cut as they were 3 years ago. And I'm losing definition on my quads. And nothings really changed as far as eating. I'm sure I have to cut back on some things hehe. Body is definitely changing and don't like it;(
I started adding more cardio
I started menopause at 48, I'm 55 now and while my symptoms aren't nearly as bad as they used to be, it just seems like it's never going to end. As I've gotten older, certain foods just affect me differently than when I was younger. My body also loses conditioning much faster than it used to. The good thing is my body is responding really well to this series so far.
 
I started menopause at 48, I'm 55 now and while my symptoms aren't nearly as bad as they used to be, it just seems like it's never going to end. As I've gotten older, certain foods just affect me differently than when I was younger. My body also loses conditioning much faster than it used to. The good thing is my body is responding really well to this series so far.
I'm 46 and have supposedly been in perimenopause since around 2017. I have no symptoms other than the absence of regular periods. I've had tests for hormones, thyroid, etc. I've been using natural progesterone cream since April 2021 and that has helped at least protect my uterine lining from thickening too much and over that time, I've had what resembled periods although I believe I haven't ovulated in several years.
 
This morning I'm proud to report that during my yoga, I was able to get into crane pose several times and hold it for more than a split second!

That pose recruits just about every muscle in the body... triceps, biceps, chest, shoulders, back, core, hip flexors and even glutes! Even good wrist strength is necessary. Woohoo!

Thanks STS 2.0. I've been attempting crane pose for years and years!
 
I just wrapped up the first week of the upper/lower body splits and really liked it. Because it was my first time through these, I chose some of the different options on equipment, one time because I didn't feel like dragging out my STS Tower and another because I wasn't sure about using my old door anchor that came with Cathe's old Altus tubing. But this week, I'm going to try to challenge myself on the options. I wrapped up today with one of my absolute favorites: To The Max. I love that workout and have since it came out in 2012. The music is some of the best there is. My favorite song comes in the HIIT 30/20 segment right around the time of the 3 forward/backward hops and straddle jump on the step and the icebreakers/attacks. The core segment is especially good and I use lighter weights on it. I'm looking forward to next week, which will be week #2 of the upper/lower splits.
 
I'm currently doing my own 14 week rotation. It's similar to Cathe's 12 week rotation, but I decided to do it a little more like the original STS so I'm doing:

Weeks 1-4
Mon: STS 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body
Tues: Cardio
Wed: STS 2.0 Supersets Total Body
Thurs: Cardio
Fri: STS 2.2 Trisets Total Body
Sat: Cardio
Sun: Rest
Week 5 - Active Recovery week
Weeks 6-9
Mon: STS 2.0 Upper Body 1
Tues: STS 2.0 Lower Body 1
Wed: Cardio
Thurs: STS 2.0 Upper Body 2
Fri: STS 2.0 Lower Body 2 + 20 min cardio
Sat: Cardio
Sun: Rest
Week 10 - Active Recovery week
Weeks 11-14
Mon: STS 2.0 Body Parts: Back and Biceps
Tues: Cardio
Wed: STS 2.0 Body Parts: Chest and Triceps
Thurs: Cardio
Fri: STS 2.0 Body Parts: Legs and Shoulders
Sat: Cardio
Sun: Rest

I'm currently in week 9, so it's my last week of Phase 2. Looking back at my notebook, I already think I could go heavier next time I try the Phase 1 workouts, but I want to complete my full rotation before I try Phase 1 again. And I have noticed A LOT less soreness in my lower body from doing the recovery workouts. Loving it so far!!
 

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