STS CHECK IN ....DISC 6

Great workout this morning - I'm already feeling it, especially in my quads. Last week I couldn't even get down to 90 degrees on the wall squats due to sensitive knees, but today I did it without knee pain! Hopefully I'll be picking those weights up off a step next week. I think I'm already feeling the effects of going deeper. My form is improving on the paper plate work too. For some reason I really felt the deadlifts in my hamstrings today (probably because my back is still tired from Wednesday, so I had to focus on the legs to get the weights back up).

I use my high step for the one legged sit and stands. I really struggled with these last week, so today I used all 8 of my risers, and that made a huge difference. I plan to continue with this higher height until I build strength, then gradually reduce the number of risers. I love the step-ups with the band! Those always work me hard.

I have to say I am really loving this series! I was afraid I might have trouble sticking to the rotation because when I tried P90X a year ago I got tired of Tony and the whole "macho-ness" of it very quickly. I'm not getting tired of Cathe at all. In fact I'm reaching for her dvds on most of my cardio days too. I can't wait to see what results I'll get after 3 months!
 
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What a workout!!

I did disk 6 this morning and whew!! I'm kind of glad it's over, to be honest!! :eek: I tend to have a "dread" factor with leg workouts - not sure why since I love upper body weights so much - so it's always a challenge for me. I pretty much gave up on the one leg sit-n-stands! :rolleyes: I was flopping all over the place!! Oh well - next week I'll get it!

I had to do a lot of running up and down stairs this morning - I work in a plumbing shop & they were having me haul parts upstairs - and I could hardly make it up!! :p

Have fun everyone!!
 
Done with Disk 6. Is it just me or everyone experiencing the same. I am much more tired this time and have to pause several times. The One leg sit N stand just killed me. My heart rate was so high and could not continue for next two minutes. I thouguht I was going to black out. Why is that? :(

Loved the extended leg works. I never knew you can do so many things with the band. Very creative. I need to start stock up the bands. I am not sure if I have enough to last for STS. I am seeing a hole in mine already. It is the sign that it needs to replace soon before it starts tear off into several pieces and land on my face during the work out. Ouch!:eek:
 
Grumpy Workout Day

Hello Cathe and Everyone-

Today was one of those days that I affectionately call a Grumpy Workout Day. :mad: One of those days that you dont want to workout, dreading the type of workout your doing and would rather be back in bed or anywhere else, and to top it off your body picks up on the mental state and makes every exercise harder than normal. (not because of burnout, sickness or anything else, just purely mentality) Well that about sums up my battle with disk 6 this morning. lol :eek:

The reason I refer to days like this affectionately, is that now that I pushed myself through the workout and completed it, I end up curing my own grumpy state of mind through the accomplishment of it. (I think the 20min of walking I did on the treadmill to raise the endorphins afterwards helped as well :p).

Anyway, regardless of my grumpy state of mind this morning, that workout was tough! I am already starting to feel it. I am sure doing step tomorrow will be quite a joyful experience. lol :rolleyes:

Enjoy your day everyone. I look forward to reading all the comments to follow.

Mary
 
Hi Cathe & All,

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt tired going into Disc 6. I did it on Thursday after I got home from work. I was not at all in the mood to work out. Long, stressful day at the job, plus my body was aching for a rest from working out. So, it was a challenge to me the entire work-out. I didn't think I'd have the stamina to do bonus legs this time around, but did end up doing that section (hard to stop when you know Cathe is still exercising!)

The one leg sit n stands were the most challenging exercise for me. I too had trouble coming up on just 1 leg. Maybe did it for 2 or 3 reps, but then had to use my other leg to help me up. I would love to have you discuss proper technique for the Sit n stands, Cathe! I found that your pointers for the wall squats made a difference when I did them this week. I was able to complete all the reps--sometimes I just held the wts instead of putting them down, but did manage to put the down & pick them up a couple of times. :)

I think I'm already looking forward to the rest week once Mesocycle 1 is done! ;)
Actually, I think it's more just that I have to get used to working out 6 days/wk (3 days STS & 3 days cardio +Abs). I only exercised 4-5 days prior to starting STS, so my body just needs to adjust.

I'm still loving STS. My back & triceps are still a little sore from Disc 5, but I'm seeing more definition. I'm doing WW while doing STS so I'm monitoring my weight each week. No wt loss this week, but no gain either (whew!) Looking forward to resting on Saturday & starting week 3 on Sunday!
 
I'm back to report in!

Hi All! In case you didn't see my Facebook/twitter entry, I had my noon meeting canceled so I quickly slid my STS workout in its place.

Wow, I really felt today’s workout and I am SO ready for lunch, but wanted to add my thoughts now while they are fresh in my mind.

Disc 6 was equally as challenging to me as Disc 3 with some new and fun exercises added in to shock it a little differently. But I think any workout that has plate lunges in it is going to be hard no matter how you slice it, wink.

How about those sit n stands? The first few reps you bobble around and wonder if you are going to make it out of the chair and suddenly you find your groove and it’s a nice challenge. You have to really turn on your core and contract those leg/butt muscles to get out of your seat.

The low pulse lunges really burned at the end. I wanted to cheat sooooo badly on that last deep rep but I was a “good girl” and got DOWN!

The 45 degree lunge felt especially good to me. I really felt a nice additional recruitment of the inner leg from the inside of the knee all the way to the inner thigh. I was digging that J

The static low end lunge was HARD. Going down slow for 8 was sooooo tough. Oh boy if I was ever going to cheat I was VERY close right there.

The wall squat with the straight leg hold and then 8 count pulse created a nice camp fire in my leg....Toasted!

Firewalkers still maintain high honors for their “camp fire” abilities in the outer thigh and upper glute. Love that though!!!

The bonus leg work with the band around the ankle and pushing back with both a straight leg and bent leg is a great hamstring challenge. I love to hate those…lol. I do these separately sometimes (when I need a quick energy break in my office) and they bite so hard. They NEVER get easier.

Overall I found this to be just as hard as Disc 3 but I'm hoping I won't have DOMS for as many days as last week since my body is a little more familar with the leg program this time around. Right now my legs feel a nice warmth and tightness but I'm sure I will be feeling the “stiffening" effects of the workout in a few hours.....leg workouts are always good for that.

Happy Weekend to all my Happy Lifters J
 
Awesome recap, Cathe - thanks!

I found the one-legged sit and stands to be the toughest exercise of the bunch. I'm **hoping** my balance and form improve with time.

And there seemed to be so many 'low end' exercises in disc 6 - yowza!! It's like every move found a new way to blast the buns!!

I really, really like the bonus work on the STS Meso 1 leg discs. They are TOUGH but you can feel them working immediately.

Question - which sadist designed those latex-free bands? Great googly moogly - I think the new green band is tougher than the latex silver band! Then again, your company is called "SNM"!!

For the record, I did disc 6 early Wed. morning (5:30 a.m.) - and I STILL have DOMS. Oh my goodness!!

Can't wait to do this one again! Thanks for a great workout, Cathe!!!
 
I DO have a question....

As I sit here, ignoring the pain in my butt, and reading everyone's comments about disc 6, a question popped into my mind:

Cathe, why are the exercises at the end of each leg workout "bonuses"? To whom would you say, "YOU can stop now....the rest of you keep going!"?

Cheers,
Sandra
 
OMG!!!!!!! This was a KILLER leg workout !

I am not doing 65% for legs.....am working with no or light weights for legs . I did everything with 10 pounds today, and still this really worked me !!
I did it this morning and already my legs are feeling tight . I expect serious DOMS tomorrow.

I couldn't do any one-legged sit and stands.:eek: I did them as regular ones with two legs on the floor.(but I still felt it , believe me!;))
The wall squats I did with no weight. I couldn't get far enough down to set the weights down. (back issues)

I used a purple band instead of the green one for firewalkers and I couldn't believe the difference ! I barely finished them !!:eek: They are a favorite of mine but today I was ready for them to be OVER !!!
UNCLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I did the extended stretch and am so glad for it. Just sort of wish there was one extended stretch geared more toward upper body and one for lower. Cathe, maybe in the future would you consider doing an all stretch dvd- with that sort of idea ??

I am LOVING STS so much. Normally when family is home for some reason during the week I don't workout, but with STS, I make sure it gets done. In fact, I did it before I did anything else today, to make sure I got to it !!

Becky
 
Hi all. I did Disc 6 at 6 this morning and am already feeling the pain in my butt. Those sit and stands got me just like they did for everybody else. Why did it look so easy when Cathe was doing it yesterday when I previewed it??? NOT!!!

I just know that my butt is going to be hurtin' tomorrow when I do MIC.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Bev
 
I think I was doing my workout the same time as Cathe today, so I'm happy we were suffering together.

Cathe please, as others have mentioned, include a tutorial on the sit and stands. Everyone seems to have problems with them. I couldn't get out of the chair during the first round with the right leg on the floor--and I wasn't even using a weight! I did manage a few reps using my left leg but that was because it had time to rest. I may switch things around next time and put the sit and stands at the beginning of the workout. Putting them in the middle of the workout was not too nice of you!;)

Otherwise I had fun, at least as fun as I can have with a leg workout. :confused: I do love the band work. I'm going to make up a band workout just using all the bonus exercises of Meso 1. They're my fave!
 
Cathe, What do you mean by . . .

What do you mean when you say when we are preparing to do the Front Squats Narrow Stance (dumbbell) "This time instead of heels elevated, keep feet flat." I went back to the first set of squats and there is no mention of foot position?

I was able to pick up the weights this time around for wall squats with ball. WOOHOO!!!
 
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Now that's what I call a workout!! I really enjoyed Disk 6...in a sick kind of way. It was tough for me. Much tougher than Disc 3.

There were some pluses here. The paper plate exercises are becoming much more manageable, and I was much better at doing the wall squats with the weights this week. I still have a platform under me, but I just felt much more secure in what I was doing than I did last week.

But there were some funny moments as well. Like the One Leg Sit n' Stands. I never did quite feel my groove on this one and the leg that was supposed to be elevated was often finding its way to the ground (over and over and over). But I tried not to put any weight on it as when it dropped to stabalize me so I still felt a good burn in the leg I was supposed to be working. But these exercises are going to take some practice.

And then there were those static lunges with the 3/1 count into the stability ball wall squats with leg extension. I was rolling all over the place on those stability ball moves. I couldn't help but laugh at myself. I'm on the six month rotation so I'll have to remember this for next week and try to concentrate a little better on those. I just think those static lunges fried me so much I couldn't grasp that I was actually supposed to be doing anything after them!!

I really needed the extended stretch after this workout. And now, a few hours later, my legs still feel pretty rubbery. I often get shaking muscles when I work my upper body, but I don't often get that in my lower body, especially a few hours after a workout. But my legs are still shaking. I have no doubt I'm going to be sore tomorrow!

Finished the workout (after the stretch) with the pilates-based abs. While it was challenging, I felt this was the perfect set of abs for me to do after completing Disc 6 because I also found quite a few of the moves kind of soothing.
 
I actually did this on Monday and had DOMS for a few days....the plate exercises again got me good and my butt was on fire by the end.
I did have a better showing with the wall squats, mostly because I was superfocused after I didn't have a spectacular showing on disc 3 :).
The wall squat with the straight leg hold was killer.
The bonus leg work really helped to round out the program.

Looking forward to week 3!

Have a great weekend everybody.
 
lina9496 said:
What do you mean when you say when we are preparing to do the Frong Squats Narrow Stance (dumbbell) "This time instead of heels elevated, keep feet flat." I went back to the first set of squats and there is no mention of foot position?
Click to expand...

You'll probably see a heel elevated squat in week 3 or 4.
 
Hi Lina! I caught that too when I was doing it. I guess we can say that's a minor "editing oops", which can occasionally happen when repeating some footage week to week. Fortunately it doesn't change a thing as far as how the workout impacts you :)

lina9496 said:
What do you mean when you say when we are preparing to do the Frong Squats Narrow Stance (dumbbell) "This time instead of heels elevated, keep feet flat." I went back to the first set of squats and there is no mention of foot position?

I was able to pick up the weights this time around for wall squats with ball. WOOHOO!!!
Click to expand...
 
I completed this workout yesterday and all I can say today is DOM, DOM, DOM, DOM, DOMS! I was singing "my glutes, my glutes, my glutes are on fire" to the tune of "the roof is on fire" by the time is was over.... actually probably before ;). I really love the lower body work in this series - I need to challenge my tiny, little bird legs and no one does it better than you Cathe. I was feeling so frisky under the influnce of all the endorphins and my feeling of accomplishment that I decided to do some yoga - balancing poses were on the menu. Ay yi yi, what was I thinking?? :confused:

I can't wait for week 3.

Have a great weekend everyone!
 
disc 6 in the books! my buns are nice and toasty and will be screaming loudly tomorrow when I try to get out of bed... I'm looking forward to the first time I get to sit on the "throne" though! :eek:

I couldn't do the one legged sit/stands because if knee issues, so I was HAPPY to see this weeks CatheTV modifications for this exercisd!!! YEAH!!! I did double leg sit/stands though and still felt them!

Those low end front lunges with the DB were TOUGH! I eeked out most of them but was crying by rep 13 or 14!

I even think I will finally be able to add weights to my plates front and side lunges! but even without them I'm still feeling it ~ Boy Howdy!

Thanks Cathe for another great workout!!!
 
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Cathe Friedrich said:
Hi Lina! I caught that too when I was doing it. I guess we can say that's a minor "editing oops", which can occasionally happen when repeating some footage week to week. Fortunately it doesn't change a thing as far as how the workout impacts you :)
Click to expand...


Cathe, I'm just learning as much as I can through this program Thought that was something intrinsic to weight training and I didn't want to miss it.
 
I finished Disc 6 about two hours ago. I don't know what it is, but I always seem to have a problem completing lunges and there are A LOT of them in this workout. I think it is because I have so much bulk to be lifting:p!

I did A LOT better on the sliding lunges. I did all the reps but with no weight. I finally figured out what I was doing wrong last week. I was putting a lot of weight on the sliding leg. It is really more of a one legged move with the sliding leg used kind of as you would stepping back in a lunge (does that make ANY sense??).

I did the one legged sit-n-stands alright. I could swear they are in another Cathe weight workout but maybe I am making that up? I think in the other workout you start standing though.

I love deadlifts so enjoyed those and really felt them in my hamstrings.

Whose idea was it to buy the "way harder" Cathe bands? Oh yea, that would be me. But whose idea was it to use them to do let presses and then firewalkers AT THE END of the workout? THAT would be "Cathe the punisher!"

I really liked the bonus leg work at the end. I don't have ankle weights so used a band for the inner thigh work.

Let's hope for all of our sakes, the "DOM fairy" doesn't visit us:D. Take care all!

Carrie
 
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