STS DISC CHECKI N DISC 15

Got disc 15 done. Wow!!! The whole time I'm thinking ahead in my mind wondering if I'm ever going to be able to go heavier than THIS workout?!?! Hmmm.... I have never been sore in my entire back before so I guess this is good. I'm finally getting my back worked out heavy enough to really count. By the time I got to the deadlifts, my forearms were fried! I had to do a lot less on the DLs because of that but I honestly felt like if the forearms strength was there, I could've gone heavier. I just might go out and buy some straps this weekend to help.

Biceps, ugh! Let's not even go there! :eek: I think biceps are my weakest muscle but hopefully not for long!!! :)
 
Back and Biceps

Just finished this one. It think it should have been named back and forearms! :p I did make it through till the end, however, I felt it mostly in the forearms. Not saying I didn't feel it anywhere else, but man did they burn! Felt I could have gone heavier with the back work had my forearms allowed it. No biggie, was still a great workout. The deadlifts about did me in since I am still sore from the ones done in "Disk 14 Legs" on Wednesday. I am thinking this month's recovery week is going to be pure bliss! :D Good luck everyone.
 
Week 2 of Disc 15

Hey Everyone

This time around I was hoping to feel it a little less than the first time but WOW. My target for the rows was 73 so last week I did 70 and this week 75. What a differerence.

My only big issue besides needing a cat nap today was that I seem to be exceptionally sore across the top of my back into my neck. Looking up and to the right tend to hurt and there is a pulling sensation in my left arm. I think something is rebelling!

I'm off to get some ibuprfen and start recovering!
Great workout Cathe!

Heather
 
Not too bad

Ok, I think my body is open to the heavier weight training again (gee - we haven't even hit meso 3 yet!). I liked the first 6 exercises. The band work was a nice warm up. Then we had 3 sets up pull/chin ups. I do these with my foot on top of a chairback with the pull up bar. I try to use mostly my arms at first, but as I fatigue my leg kicks in a bit more. I was spent after the 3rd set!

So then it was onto more back work with one arm rows and double arm barbell rows and then deadlifts. I was able to do the 1 arm rows with 30 lbs. I reduced the prescribed weight for the double arm rows - 65 from 75. I used 90 for the deadlifts - whoo! Then it was onto bicep work. I think I was lifting a bit light for the barbell curls (35lbs currently) - I will be sure to add more weight next time. The alternating hammer curls (15 lbs) were at the perfect weight and the preacher curls (15 reduced to 10) were a killer! I was not twitchy, but I felt I had a great workout. Perhapos I could have pushed harder with heavier weight? My traps were still a bit sore from holding the heavy weight from leg day - disc 14.

One more goal to add for this meso - start with the prescribed weight and try to finish the set. If it is too heavy then go to failure and finish with lighter weight. No fear! No fear!
This was a great workout to end the week. I will be moving this weekend so I won't bw at the gym for cardio. I will have plenty of lifting and unpacking so I am sure I will have plenty of exercise. I will take Mondya off to recover from it all and then onto disc 16 on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend all!
 
Hi Cathe and my fellow STS Warriors;)


Wow! What a workout. I love the longer rest periods between sets. I think as you go heavier its definitely needed. I also wanted to mention that I feel my Abs getting used when I'm doing these weight workouts with STS. Its great, like a bonus ab workout sort of a two for one sort of deal, talk about time efficient. :p I mean that in the best possible way because I love to do Ab work and Leg work, I know, that's crazy, eh:p Okay, be kind that was rhetorical. :D LOL!!:eek:

STS-Strength Disc 15 Back & Bi's = 54 min
Calories Burned= 442
This was tough but very doable and the longer rests helped with that. Okay, but the double arm dumbell preacher curls on the ball killed me at the end. The last few reps were extremely tough and shakey. I'm Loving STS!!

Thanks again Cathe for delivering as usual another awesome workout!

Hugs!:)

Nora
 
Just wanted to post to mention that I've found deadlifts a lot easier on my forearms if I alternate my grip - that is, if I hold underhand with one hand and overhand with the other. I don't know why that helps, but it does.

I'm actually on week 3 of Meso 2 right now, and we do one legged deadlifts instead. So you just hold onto one dumbbell, and it's a lot easier on the forearms. Something to look forward to ...
 
My shoulder hurt also

Hi Ligthtening16, and to all,
I have the same with my right shoulder that side is my week side but,this week I did chest,biceps and shoulders and I have like this weird clicking and kind of week,more then usual,even yesterday when I did legs I was holding 20# with the weighted glow 2# more for squats, and I couldn't finish calves right away,I had to drop my weight ,good next week is rest week and I'm planing going to the doctor,I want to be able to continue meso 2 with heavier weight...
Well anyways today my buddy and legs and hamstring are sore and I love it,I did finish Body Max2 cardio 55 min.or some around there my legs were tired!!!
I can't wait to see next Meso2...
 
I'm a little late doing this one! It was great though; really felt my back working good & was able to do all the back exercise & get to 8 or 9 on the TF sets.
Biceps were more challenging. Did good with the barbell curls to my surprise--usually the barbell is harder for me than dumbbells.
By the last set of the alternating curls, I had to lower my weights some. I was able on to do half of the first set of preacher curls with 70%, so I lowered quite a bit before continuing. Still, I was only able to do 4 of the TF set.

Afterwards, I felt great--muscles feel like they really worked. I know the DOMS will be kicking in soon!
 
One note to say that the next day my middle and lower back are SORE... to the point I'm concerned about throwing out my back. I'm definitely treating it very gingerly! (and backing off the deadlift weight since I'm pretty sure my form suffered yesterday... I was really struggling.) So be careful! :(
 
Hi Shani! Bands will offer a nice back exercise option if your struggle with pull ups or just want to have some variety. But a more effective way to help prepare you to do an actual pull up is to try to work on negatives. Pull yourself up with the chair as you have been and then kick it out of the way and lower yourself down super slowly. Then rest briefly, set up your chair and repeat. Try to do 5 to 8 reps like this...yowza!

shanihib said:
Totally shaky at the end... unable to lather up in shower... hands shaking while putting on makeup (fortunately it doesn't show!) LOL Definitely a thorough workout. I failed with the preacher curls at rep 5 on the first set so I reduced down quite a bit and still barely got in the reps! Crazy stuff. I also dropped my deadlfts down as my form was majorly suffering and concerned about throwing out my back.

Question: I still am unable to do pull ups or chinups. What is the best way to build up to body weight? I've been standing on my chair while doing them trying to put as much weight on the move as possible and still get the motiion going. The truth is that there is an awful lot of "assist" that way. I'm thinking that I should go get some of the Cathe bands so that I can use them on the door. I'm assuming that would be easier, right? Is what I'm doing going to help me move along?
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Great Job Everyone!

You are all doing so well with these workouts. I am sooooo proud of each of you. You are not giving up but rather giving yourselves a high five. Here is one from me to you....(come on now get that sore arm up in the air, wink)....HIGH FIVVVVVE! :D
 
Good Evening-

Finally got a chance to do this workout tonight after going out of town unexpectedly for work. I agree with everyone that this workout is a killer on the forearms, if it wasnt for my lifting hooks I wouldnt have made it. Even with them it was tough. I still love the deadlifts and it always feels good to have at least one exercise to really load up the barbell with weight. My biceps were less than thrilled however, my left bicep was just not strong tonight and kept giving out way before my right one did. I ended up finishing the sets with the right arm and then going back and finishing the rest of the reps for the left with a bit of a cheat. Just one of those days.

I will switch to a tues, thur, sat schedule this week so I will be a day behind, but I will enjoy reading everyones experiences anyway.

Good night all.

Mary
 
I finished this disc on Tues (5/5) and my biceps are still feeling shredded. I had to drop my weights for preacher curls big time. I was embarrassed for myself. Don't know if it was where they were fit into the program, bad day, or what. BUT - I was really glad (sorry Cathe) to read that they were hard for you too. Made me feel much better! :eek: I do have to admit, I am very happy to be feeling the burn though. Means I am working hard!

Heather

Cathe Friedrich said:
Biceps always work me hard but some of those super slow reps on the failure set were SUPER HARD!!!! The preacher curl really got me good too. That exercise was the hardest of the three for me.
:D
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I did this one last night. It went okay. I subbed pullovers for the deadlifts because I love 'em and because I had major DOMs still in my hamstrings from the leg workout a couple of days before.

I just don't understand why I can't do one single chin up or pull up. I can lift myself up off the ground, I just can't take myself all the way up. I must be doing something wrong, because I do 85lb deadlifts and 85lb barbell rows, 35lb pullovers and 35lb one arm rows (I could go higher on those, but that's the highest weight DB I have!). Surely if I can lift those weights with my back in good form, I should be able to do a chin up, for crying out loud?
 
I just finished this one a half hour ago and my forearms can barely handle typing :) Definitely frustrated at my forearms. My bicep work suffered because they were so fatigued.

Another thing I've noticed since starting Meso 2 is the obvious strength differences between my left and right sides. I've never lifted this heavy for some of the body parts and at times I start laughing because my poor left side can barely keep up!

It's been four days since Disc 13 and my shoulders and chest still have some lingering DOMS. Crazy! Crazy good :)
 
What a difference a strong day makes! I upped my weights a little from my target weights and it felt good. The workout felt easy for some reason - I wasnt as wiped out as I felt after the last leg workout (my butt is still talking to me - not the legs, just the glutes!). Anyway, one arm row was easy with 30, BB row was easy with 50 and the heated deadlifts were ... um... ok - like I said, legs still hurting from disc 14. And I just read Cathe's comment that on the deadlifts we were not supposed to go as deep for we are not targeting the hamstrings, only the lower back - way to go Cathe, to say this NOW.. duh. At least I'll know for next time - thanks anyway!
Then came the BB curl (easy), the alternating curls (easy - even added an extra rep or two) and then the preacher curls.. ahem.. 10 lbs did the job and TF came at around 6. Strange, no? That you have to drop so much for that exercise.
After the workout I felt strangely energized and did the timesaver cardio premix on LIC with ease, I was even singing with the music. I dont know how is it with you guys but for me it is now easier to do cardio on an STS day after the workout and harder on the days off when I have to do only cardio - this phenomenon is new to me as I was able to do an hour of cardio before with no problem. I really dont have an explanation for that - expecially when I read here that STS makes people feel wiped out etc. For me its the other way around - I just love it! Meso 2 rocks!
Krasy
 
I've been feeling really down lately because my body still hasn't bounced back from hormonal imbalances that I've been working on fixing. I kept telling myself that I needed to budget for a new personal trainer (as mine moved to Hawaii :) ), but it really isn't in the budget. I'm a personal trainer, and often train clients out of my home gym. However, when I'm finished training them, I'm usually exhausted and training myself is the LAST thing that I want to do. Cathe is the name I trust, and she delivers workouts that WORK! So, I decided to continue on with my STS program. I completed Meso 1 in March. I just decided to start STS Mesocycle #2, and I started with this disc. I thought it was great (as usual)! It's been a while since I've lifted heavy, and this DVD was just what I needed to get me back on the right track. For the first time in what seems like ages, I'm looking forward to hitting the weights again tomorrow!
 
Cathe Friedrich said:
Hi All! Just so that I don't forget to post again, let me post this check in early. If you have already done Disc 15, please share...we want to know what we're in for :eek:
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Meso 2 is my favorate so far, and I really like the way you change it up. I've noticed I've really gone up in weight and feel so strong. I am able to complete each set and on average go to 20 on the last TF set's.
I'm on disc 20 now.
Love It!!! Autumn
 
I also have to go lower on preacher curls, I thought I could do 15, but went down to 12, then 10's, then back to 11's. Something about the angle makes me have to go lower.
 
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