STS 6.5 month rotation re: active recovery weeks

Fit_mommy

Fit_mommy

Cathlete
Hi All. I posted this over in Ask Cathe first but I'm copying it here too just incase....

After attempting the STS 3.5 month rotation unsuccessfully over the summer, I've come back to try again. I am now in week 4/meso 1 of the STS 6.5 month program and loving it!:) The rotation doesn't call for an active recovery week until all of Meso 1 is completed. That's another month away and quite frankly, I don't know if I can make it. I am loving the rotation and getting results already but I am tired and could use the break soon. If I were to take an active recovery week between weeks 4 and 5 and then again at the end of meso 1 do you think that would have any negative affect on the program?

TIA~
Wendy
 
I doubt it. If you're tired and feel like you can't make it through another month, then it's probably time to take a break. Is it mentally tired, or physically? I'm also doing the 6.5 month rotation and just finished Meso 1. I gotta tell you... I've really been looking forward to Active Recovery week! 2 months straight without a break is a lot, but it was mental for me. So I just sucked it up and kept plugging away.
 
Thanks for your thoughts. I think it's a little bit of both in my case-mental and physical. It's not that I can't keep going....I could....but because I am a bit tired and it's been 4 weeks, a part of me is wanting to take a break. Hmmm. I think maybe I'll try to push through and see what happens. I've been doing 2 out of 3 of the weight work outs on sat and sun along with a 20-30 minute cardio each day. Add on the ab work and I'm doing a 90+ minute w/o 2 days in a row (2 hrs if you include all of the down time for set up and break down). This is not my norm and probably part of why I feel like I need a break. I wanted to include a bit more cardio in my routine though and this was the only way to make it happen. Instead of taking a recovery week right now I can always try dropping 1 or both of those weekend cardios and see if that helps if I need to...and just knowing the recovery week is there earlier if I need it to be could be enough for me (totally mental). Time will tell...Thanks again.
 
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I've been doing the 6 month program, too, and am almost done with Meso 2, so about 5 months along. I've found that because Life Happens, I sometimes end up taking say, 4 days off STS, and find that is a good break. Also, I've gotten colds twice, and that just ends up being a rest week no matter where I am in the program. So I have yet to take an official "recovery week", but feel it's working out fine.
 
Could you do cardio on the days that you don't do STS? I have only 1 day during the week where I do both, and I break it up so I run in the morning before work and STS when I get home. The other days it's either cardio or STS. Everyone's schedule is different, so it may not work for you. And I only do abs 2 - 3 times a week. If I'm feeling like I've been in the workout room for too long, I'll do a short ab routine, like Medicine Ball abs. On Saturdays, I do also do two workouts, but lately it has been Tonique Mat and not an STS.

I think you're mentally tired - it's pretty hard to psych yourself up for such long workouts.
 
I work out 6 days a week and my current STS rotation looks something like this::

day 1) cardio (averages 45 mins)
day 2) cardio (avearages 45 mins)
day 3) rest
day 4) sts upper (no cardio)
day 5) cardio (averages 45 mins)
day 6) sts upper + cardio (20-30 mins)
day 7) sts lower + cardio (20-30 mins)

I also try to work my abs 5 days a week even if that mean a few minutes of various plank holds because I find I get better results that way.

I used to be able to get away with a lot less cardio but it seems as I age my body requires more. Even if it ends up only being 30 minutes per session, doing cardio more days per week seems to work better for me.

As for my weekend work outs of STS + cardio/abs, sometimes I do it all back to back and sometimes I split it up. It depends on how I'm feeling and what my day looks like. Y'day for example, I was more tired then usual after disc 6 so I took a break and went back to do cardio/abs several hours later. It worked out well. Last weekend though, I was able to bang out the entire work out in one shot on both days and I was fine.

I was considering moving my rest day to Mondays (right now it's Wednesdays). I think taking the day off after the extra long w/e work outs might do me some good...

There's a definite mental game to it though. Wrapping my mind around a 6+ month rotation has been tough. I try not to think about it or I freak myself out! :eek::p

ETA:: Cathe just responded to this post on Ask Cathe and said she encourages the active recovery week even though it's not written in the rotation so I think I will take it after all! Thanks so much for the responses though! Very helpful! :)
 
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I apologize in advance for hijacking your thread, but I just got sts and I cannot find info about the 6.5 month rotation. Could you point me in the right direction? TIA
 
I think it's in the workout manager? Not sure, but essentially you repeat each week twice. So week 1 Meso 1 all 3 workouts. Repeat for a second week. Proceed to week 2 Meso 1 for all 3 workouts, repeat for a second week. At this point you'll have been with STS for one month. Keep with this pattern until you're done! I believe you are only supposed to do Meso 3 through one time, but not sure about that.
 
Yes, the rotation is in the work out manager! Be warned though, it does not include recovery weeks until each meso is completed IN FULL so if you want them at the 4 week mark like I am doing, you will need to add them yourself. :)
 
This is great information, thanks everyone for posting. I was wondering the same thing about recovery weeks for the 6.5 month rotation. I'm only 2 weeks into the 3 month STS rotation for the first time ever, and I'm loving it so much that I'm mentally planning my next STS rotation already! :D
 
Hi All:

What do you do during active recovery weeks - walk, or something else light, after every 4 weeks?

Also, for those who have done the 6.5 month rotation, what results did you achieve vs. the 3.5 month program?
 
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