STS Equipment Requirements

[bostonmom]

Hello!

I am really interested in purchasing your STS 40 DVD Discount Bundle + Ab Circuits and the STS Users' Guide . However, I do not have the some of the required and/or suggested equipment and am wondering if I can utilize the product. I do not have the following:


a weighted barbell
a step (I have a BOSU ball that I have used in your muscle max video)
a squat rack.
medicine balls (I would be willing to purchase)
weighted gloves (I could purchase)
a pull up bar

I have the following equipment:

weighted dumbells in 2.5 pound incriments up to 50 LBS each
a BOSU ball
tubing
a stability ball
paperplates (and gliders)

I am looking for a really challenging weight workout that will deliver timeless results. If this product will not work for me, is there a product that will? I would appreciate any suggestions. Additionally, is it possilbe to purchase this w/o the payment plan at a discounted rate (as there is for the product w/o the abdominal section)? Lastly, what do you do when you have completed the 3rd cycle? Do you just start again?

Thank you!
Jennifer Lucchese

 

[lightening16]

Hi Jennifer

I think that STS is one of the best purchases that I have made for myself. I did not have any of Cathe's video's before but found out about them from another forum and when I saw the clips I was hooked. I have seen some pretty dramatic changes so far and I am doing my last week of Meso 2.

The weights in increments would be awesome for STS. Everything on the videos can be done with dumbells or with for some with a barbell or dumbells. I have a few weights and a barbell and I really wish that I had dumbells that went heavy. As for the step your Bosu ball would work for most things but you need a step to step up onto for some of the leg press work. I actually have been using a milk crate for these moves as I don't have enough risers for my step. That works great and it was free.
As for the squat rack, I did purchase one but I did not have to and I have not needed it until meso 2. I have strong legs and I could not have lifted the barbell over my head with eough weight to challenge my legs but I also did not have heavy dumbells weights. In Meso 3 you can do the plyo legs or the squat rack option. Plyo legs are very fun but very tough (I have been doing them as a cardio without weights on my cardio days). Cathe also recommends a weighted vest as an option... some people have been talking about using a kids backpack and added weight that way was well instead of buying a vest. The last thing that you need would be a way to do pull-ups/chin-ups. Some use tubing for this but you still need a way to mount the plastic tubing so that you can pull it down.
I don't have a medicine ball and if I need them I just use a weight. I did purchase the weighted gloves as I don't have that many weights so this allows me to make more out of what I do have.

As I said before STS is a great system and the workout manager is great. Having the 1RM calculated before hand and knowing what weights to pick up for each workout is great. STS has been very well thought out and very user friendly. You will not be disappointed.

Hope this helps
Heather

 

[FourAM]

Jennifer
I do not have much to add about the equip. needed but I wanted to give you my 2c on the subject...Personally I have been raving about STS to anyone that will listen. I have always lifted weights on my own and just used Cathe for cardio. Still the 3days cardio and 3 days weights. I always thought I pushed myself really hard on my own but I didn't gain much strength once I got to a certain point. Well STS has done exactly what it advertises. It has shocked my muscles and woke them up from some dormancy they were in. I have not had results like this since I started working with weights, which has been years. I am doing a 6 month rotation and love it. If you have liked what you have read and seen on the clips you will not be dissappointed.

Rachel

 

[Dela]

Hello!

I am really interested in purchasing your STS 40 DVD Discount Bundle + Ab Circuits and the STS Users' Guide . However, I do not have the some of the required and/or suggested equipment and am wondering if I can utilize the product. I do not have the following:


a weighted barbell
a step (I have a BOSU ball that I have used in your muscle max video)
a squat rack.
medicine balls (I would be willing to purchase)
weighted gloves (I could purchase)
a pull up bar

I have the following equipment:

weighted dumbells in 2.5 pound incriments up to 50 LBS each
a BOSU ball
tubing
a stability ball
paperplates (and gliders)

I am looking for a really challenging weight workout that will deliver timeless results. If this product will not work for me, is there a product that will? I would appreciate any suggestions. Additionally, is it possilbe to purchase this w/o the payment plan at a discounted rate (as there is for the product w/o the abdominal section)? Lastly, what do you do when you have completed the 3rd cycle? Do you just start again?

Thank you!
Jennifer Lucchese

Hi there, STS is a phenomenal series, but you do need to have a few basics to really work it.

You have to have a weight bench, in the videos, Cathe uses the Step as her bench, and slanted risers to create the incline for incline chest work, and a couple of rear fly exercises. So if you don't have a bench, you might want to consider buying the step and the slanted risers, this way you get a bench, and there are exercises that use the step in other ways.

You don't have to have the pull up bar, you can use the tubing with an over the door attachment, they are a little hard to find, but Cathe's tubing comes with one (but not the adjustable tubing, that does not have the over the door attachment).

You do not have to have the squat rack, in meso 3, you can do the plyo legs workout instead of the heavy weight legs, and will not need the rack. An added bonus, the plyo workouts are kind of fun, hard, but fun, and add some nice variety to meso 3.

I really love having the barbell, but you can sub I think any of the exercises with dumbbells.

You should get a resistance band, you only need one, and they only cost about $10.

The weighted gloves have been very useful for adding small increments of weights, but if yours are all at 2.5 increments, you could probably do without them, although, for a small investment, they really have come in handy.

I'm not sure where the bosu could be used, but I'm not all that creative .

Other than the weighted ball abs segment in the abs dvd, I can't recall the medicine ball being used all that often, another poster mentioned using a weight in its place.

Hope this helps with your decision, you won't be disappointed with STS.

 

[bostonmom]

Thank you all so much for the feedback. It sounds like I would really need to purchase some equipment in addition to the DVD's to get the most out of the workout. At this time I'll hold off and just keep doing my own weight routine.

Thanks so much!