STS CHECK IN....DISC ONE

Krasy,

Don't feel intimidated or discouraged. There's absolutely no reason to. Everyone is doing this program with what works for them. There's no set weight except for what your 1RM is--and that 1RM belongs to you. Why work yourself up using another series, regimen, or program when this one will get you to where you want to be? Also, at the end of this first rotation, you can always do it again by redoing your 1RM which I can guarantee will be higher than what it is now (I believe it will be for anyone that repeats).

Yes, I'll admit, previewing the DVD's was a bit intimidating, but when I put Disc 1 in and actually did it, that intimidation went away quickly because I could do it.

No one and nothing states that you have to do it exactly as it's recorded by Cathe and her crew. You can take longer rests, you can pause the DVD, you can modify--you can make this program your own and that's what so utterly wonderful about it.

Don't count yourself out before you've even tried it and don't trick yourself into thinking that you have to do it the exact same way another is to feel or see results. Hey, you may surprise yourself. Surprise me and just try it. I'm rooting for ya! ;)


krassymira said:
Cathe, I wonder if you are bamboozling us all to make us feel better, or what??? :) Ok, I do believe that its possible for a person to lose some of their fitness level due to (partial) inactivity and stress and work and all that, but I'm guessing, your body fat %-age probably went from 0.5 to 1.9 and instead of doing the push-ups like a robot who just had three Red Bulls, you just have to do them without talking at all...... sigh.. if YOU struggle with that, WHAT IS LEFT FOR US MERE MORTALS??? Cathe, I feel totaly discouraged now, honestly. I feel scared and not capable of going through with this program. I was probably one of the first to get it when it was released, but I havent started it yet due to the fact that I feel that I must "work up" for it first - do some heavy training etc. just to get in form to be able to do it. I havent been exercising since November (same excuses as yours, plus a vacation in Jamaica for a week) and now I can barely do a 35 min of cardio without having to pause the player. It feels depressing, that I was able to do a full hour before and now I cant. STS sounds so intimidating, you have no idea! I read all these posts here, everyone so cheerfully praising it, some people melting down like snowmen in July, and my heart is gripped by fear and anxiety.. all fed up even more by your post now!
Sigh..
Just wanted to share..
Krasy
P.S. Cathe, I love you still.
Click to expand...
 
Dear Ms Tara,
Thank you so much for your encouragement! Of course I always knew that I will do STS at some point, I just felt I need to prepare for it. I am doing other Cathe's DVDs, like LIC, Cardio Fusion, Body max 2, Imax, Cardio and weights etc. until I can lift a bit heavier and go for an hour without having a heart attack :). Your words are warming up my heart, same goes for you Heidi, thank you guys! really..
May be I will listen to you and give it a try with smaller weights, and see what happens.
:)
Best: Krasy
 
I was intimidated too!

Krasy,

I felt really intimidated when I got STS too! I started previewing it and thought, "OMG, what have I gotten myself into?!" So I put the workouts on my shelf and just looked at them for awhile:(

Then I decided to just do the 1RM tests. I'm really taking the workouts as they were promoted, that is they are for each exerciser at his/her own level. Once I got the 1RM out of the way I felt better.

I felt even better when I did Disc 1 and heard Cathe's friendly voice and saw Brenda shaking her head and making a face after an exercise (I wish I could remember which one!). It's still Cathe and the gang (okay, there are some new guys with REALLY great biceps too!) and it really felt okay:) Heck, I doubt that I ever can do all those pushups but I'm still going to try. I've given up comparing myself to others and am happy with my own accomplishments:) Heck, when I did the Ab Circuits (yoga) I was laughing at the levitation holds WHEN THEY STICK THEIR LEGS OUT!!!! Yeah, right, like I'm EVER going to do that! But I'm going to do MY best and enjoy the success of others along the way.

I just wanted you to know that you're not alone:)

Cassie

krassymira said:
Cathe, I wonder if you are bamboozling us all to make us feel better, or what??? :) Ok, I do believe that its possible for a person to lose some of their fitness level due to (partial) inactivity and stress and work and all that, but I'm guessing, your body fat %-age probably went from 0.5 to 1.9 and instead of doing the push-ups like a robot who just had three Red Bulls, you just have to do them without talking at all...... sigh.. if YOU struggle with that, WHAT IS LEFT FOR US MERE MORTALS??? Cathe, I feel totaly discouraged now, honestly. I feel scared and not capable of going through with this program. I was probably one of the first to get it when it was released, but I havent started it yet due to the fact that I feel that I must "work up" for it first - do some heavy training etc. just to get in form to be able to do it. I havent been exercising since November (same excuses as yours, plus a vacation in Jamaica for a week) and now I can barely do a 35 min of cardio without having to pause the player. It feels depressing, that I was able to do a full hour before and now I cant. STS sounds so intimidating, you have no idea! I read all these posts here, everyone so cheerfully praising it, some people melting down like snowmen in July, and my heart is gripped by fear and anxiety.. all fed up even more by your post now!
Sigh..
Just wanted to share..
Krasy
P.S. Cathe, I love you still.
Click to expand...
 
Heidi, you said you did the first disc with 5, 8, 10 and 25's. Do you think you can up from that on the next mesocycle.. actually, if you just go with your own weights, how are you gonna figure out the increase you need to do next? I thought 1RM is supposed to do that, tell you what you have to lift next, otherwise it would not be a periodization at all.. I dont know.. it sounds to me that if we do it just like that, blindly, we are gonna defeat the purpose of the program.
Or did you mean, try to do what we can until we are able to perform it the way it was designed? I am a bit of a perfectionist to a fault sometimes and I feel that it should be all or nothing. Perhaps I am wrong..
I am very glad I can share my thoughts with all of you here and that we are able to discuss things that are of mutual interest. Let me know your thoughts - ot anyone else for that matter!
Thank you!
Best: Krasy
 
Hey there Krasy!

I finished disc 2 today and upped all my weights from the previous workout.

I do think that I will be able to up my weights for the next Meso cycle because the weights I used didn't max me out at the high reps.

Important Note: This is the second time around for disc 1 & 2 for me. I was nervous starting and went light for this reason. I now know that this is doable as long as you take your current abilities into account and know your own limits. If something doesn't feel right modify or go lighter. My weak spot...my shoulders. I have to be careful with these type of exercises and tend to use lighter weights when needed depending on the move or form.

I did disc 1 the FIRST time really, really light 3,5,8 DB's with 20#BB. Disc 2 with 5 and 10#DB's w/20#BB.

2nd time: Disc 1 5,8,10DB's w/25#BB

Disc 2 8,10,12,15 and 20#DB's w/25#BB.

I had marked my sheets during the routines whether to increase or decrease in spots.
I am recording all this information into my workout manager which should give me the proper weights to use the next time I come to these type of exercises.

The periodization will all workout in the end. ;) I hope I have explained myself clearly...it is late and I am tired from work. ;)

Ok.....Now have you tried disc 1? :)

Take Care,
Heidi
 
Krassy,

Although, no, you don't have to know your 1RM, I do highly suggest it. Each mesocycle is different and your 1RM reflects the weight you should be using. For example: Mesocycle 1 is about muscle endurance. You don't want to lift super heavy. The 1RM is usually right on target. The 1RM does tell you what you should be lifting.

On the flipside of that, those of us that have been working out for a while (no offense to the philosophy of the 1RM) can kind of target what we're suppose to be using. I've noticed that. My 1RM 9 times out of 10 is what I'd be using for this specific work (the only thing I changed was my shoulder, my 1RM was actually too light).

I understand about being a perfectionist, I have those tendency in some areas of my life, but if you read the STS User Guide, it explains everything to you. I was able to complete my 1RM's in 1 week and was able to get on with the show. It's really not as hard as you're making yourself believe. Girl, you can do it!

--Tara

krassymira said:
Heidi, you said you did the first disc with 5, 8, 10 and 25's. Do you think you can up from that on the next mesocycle.. actually, if you just go with your own weights, how are you gonna figure out the increase you need to do next? I thought 1RM is supposed to do that, tell you what you have to lift next, otherwise it would not be a periodization at all.. I dont know.. it sounds to me that if we do it just like that, blindly, we are gonna defeat the purpose of the program.
Or did you mean, try to do what we can until we are able to perform it the way it was designed? I am a bit of a perfectionist to a fault sometimes and I feel that it should be all or nothing. Perhaps I am wrong..
I am very glad I can share my thoughts with all of you here and that we are able to discuss things that are of mutual interest. Let me know your thoughts - ot anyone else for that matter!
Thank you!
Best: Krasy
Click to expand...
 
Ms Tara,

YOU ARE RIGHT ON THE MONEY!!! Well said!

I have weight sheets from other programs that have helped me in realizing my strengths and weaknesses.
After entering all my current weights used for 1&2 the results were just where I should be later on in the program. It works!

Have a great workout Krasy GO FOR IT!
Heidi
 
Coming in super late...

Hi Cathe and fellow Catheites. :)

Did Disc 1 for the first time today and loved it. My arms were super tight for a while there ~ it'll be interesting to see if I have DOMS tomorrow (and how much).

I did the push-ups on a higher level instead of on my knees. First against the low back of our couch, and then I eventually moved to my step. It was a nice challenge without being impossible (like it is on the floor for me right now). I can't wait for the day when I can graduate to the floor.

Most of my 1RMs were right on target. Only 3 exercises ended up being too heavy, and 2 ended up being a bit too light. I really enjoy working with these numbers, as they give me direction. Not that I mind eyeing up my weights and estimating the appropriate poundage, but this is a bit more exact, and often my 1RMs push me to use something heavier than I would have picked on my own.

The music is fantastic, especially during the Extended Stretch. It was a treat to see some yoga moves too. Kinda felt like a yoga class, which I totally dig. :eek:

Looking forward to Disc 2. Thank you again, Cathe and crew, for putting together such a comprehensive program. Like everything you offer, it's worth every penny.
 
Hey Laughing Water!

I did Disc 1 today for the first time, too! I really loved it and the time flew by. I didn't have the time to do all my 1RMs and there were a few exercises that what I "eyed" up wound up being too light. I kept notes all the way through so I know what to do the next time around. I don't think I'll be having DOMS too bad, though...I hope!;)

are you doing the 3-month or 6-month rotation? I'm still trying to decide!

Michele
 
Hi girls! I did disc one yesterday as well. And boy am I really feeling it today. I woke up last night and could barely move my arms! LOL. I also did a Step workout yesterday, and I'll be doing another one today. I'm doing the 6 month rotation (only a little different - meso 1, meso 2, then finishing out with meso 1 again). Can't wait for disc 2 tomorrow! :D
 
I did this last night - and I did all of the push ups, every rep, all off my toes! And they weren't even that hard!

Cathe, gotta ask, when you are doing your workouts by yourself, do you find yourself talking during them because you're just so used to it?
 
DH surprised me with STS for my birthday and I confess to not having followed discussions too closely since I didn't expect to own it. so since my Bday (3/30) I've been hustling to understand
I did disk 1 on friday. holy cow. how many pushups and types of pushups are in there? I didn't count. I relaized from reading this thread and a few others that I need to pay more attention to the 1 RM process ... I did 6 exercises and can see that wasn't enough, especially since on two of those I was way underestimating what I could do. I can do more flys at heavier weight than I ever imagined! I need to buy some 20's today.

There were loads of exercises I didn't recognize... did I miss something, is there a place that shows or describes what the exercise is so we can calculate a 1 RM?
 
Happy belated Birthday! :) STS was my birthday present too (though my actual b-day isn't until the 21st of this month).

Did you get the STS guide in your package? The back of the book shows all the exercises by disc number, and they are rated according to necessity (an exercise with 4 stars means you should probably do a 1RM test, and an exercise with 1 star means you can skip it if you want).

I started working with the online Workout Manager, but I actually found it easier to take my discs and guide downstairs to my workout area and go through the 1RM tests that way. If I wasn't sure how the exercise was performed, I popped the appropriate disc in and previewed that exercise.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
 
And Happy Birthday to you too, Lori!

Yes, I got the guide. I also printed it from this site so I could enlarge the type a little ( lighting is NOT great in my exercise area) and wouldn't scribble up my guide. but I'm not familiar with many of the exerccises, at least by name. I've done some of the obvious ones. Is there an efficient way to find exercise #123 on a particular disk to see how it's done so I can do the 1 RM test? am I missing something obvious here? it wouldn't be the first time.... TIA. valerie
 
morningstar said:
I did this last night - and I did all of the push ups, every rep, all off my toes! And they weren't even that hard!
Click to expand...

WOW!!!!!!

that is impressive.. pushups are the hardest for me and i've been working out a long time. still can't do more than a few straight-legged and then i go to my knees. i like how you say "and they weren't even that hard" -- WOW
 
marnapril said:
WOW!!!!!!
Click to expand...
I agree! MorningStar, that rocks! :eek:

Thanks, Valerie. :)

Okay, I've got my book in front of me. The exercise numbers are listed, along with the photo, the disc number, and the rating (1 star vs 5 stars).

I think the only way to find a particular exercise (and its coordinating disc #) is to look it up by name.

What I did was pop in Disc 1 and go through the 1RM tests listed on Disc 1 while it was playing. I obviously didn't do the actual workout with Cathe and crew, but I got to see the exercises plus preview the workout while I was testing. Then I moved on to Disc 2.

What you'll find, if you haven't already, is that many of the exercises are repeated in upcoming workouts, so you don't have to do a lot of 1RMs for each disc. As you move through the One Rep Max Chart, there are fewer and fewer exercises to test.

This might seem like a slow way to work through the 1RMs, but it kept me from jumping around and possibly missing some exercises.

The Workout Manager offers up a list of all the exercises per disc too, but I don't think it has the option of searching by exercise number. (I could be wrong.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top