STS first time!

Greetings, Ladies,

I'm just catching up on posts and you all have been quite busy the last few days, but that seems to always be the case based on the threads I've read to date.

Jean, your daughter lives about 30-40 minutes from me, probably. I live in Sterling, which is where Dulles airport is, so I'm farther west than she is. Since you have family here, you know how crazy and congested it is here...but aside from that, I like living in this area. There's lots to do and to see here, although it's also super expensive.

Marilyn, congratulations on your turbo tower. I want one soooo badly, but I think I'm going to hold out until after I finish this round of STS. If I do it again, I'll definitely get one, but my house is so tiny and I would have to store it in the garage when I wasn't using it. My fiance's patience is wearing a little thin with all of the workout equipment that is taking over our TV room, and I can see where he's coming from. I am going to buy another set of dumbbells, at least 10 lbs, and probably a set of 25s, but I'm going to wait on the tower. I also did not buy the resistance bands, so I'm basically wimping out on the pullups entirely. I was trying to find a good set of bands but all of the sets I saw on Amazon had mixed reviews. Does anyone have a set that they like that has not snapped and almost taken their eye out??? You also asked about TB and where we've been fitting it into our rotations...before I started STS, I would make Saturday and Sunday long workout days. On Saturday I would do something like Body Max or do a weight and cardio workout, and TurboBarre was my Sunday workout. I did it every Sunday for about 5 or 6 weeks. It's 74 minutes long, so it's long, but it was not cardio or weights in the traditional sense, so I guess I used it like you might use a yoga day. I found it to be relatively light, no huffing or puffing, but still gave me a workout. I've also used it as my rest day workout, but I've stopped working out on my rest day, as I think my body really could use one day off.

I doubled up on my workouts today because I had two cheat meals this weekend, one on Saturday, which is my usual schedule, and I went out for dinner with a friend last night. I felt I had some making up to do for that, so I did Step Moves this morning and Disc 7 this afternoon. I spent 90 minutes on Sunday learning Step Moves, and did it the first time through today. It went relatively well. I do like that workout, although it feels like I'm hardly working out. Now I think I'll do Intensity tomorrow. I am a little concerned about losing some of my cardio capacity with the STS cardio workouts. There's not a lot of huffin and puffin going on there for me, and I figure that after 90 days of light cardio, when I try to go back to Cathe's other workouts I'll be starting all over again. Has anyone else been through this cycle and had the same thought? If so, what did you do? I am trying to alternate between more challenging cardio and the STS cardio. I have to admit it is nice not to kill myself doing cardio some days. Some of Cathe's DVDs are just SOOO hard...it's nice to have a break, but still workout. But, I'm paranoid about calorie burns as well.

Colleen, I don't have MMA Boxing (yet!). How would you rate it relative to the rest of that series? I have Fusion and Kickboxing, and find Fusion to be the more challenging of the two.

I also need to get some weighted gloves, and am bummed that they are discontinued. But, I also noticed the reviews were kind of negative in regards to how they hold up. I think I'm going to get a set off of Amazon if I can find one that is well reviewed. Unlike the Turbo Tower, they won't really take up any more room!

Take care!

Eva
 
I just checked on Amazon, Cathe's site and the WalMart site where I had it in my cart (just not pushing the buy button yet) and the Turbo Tower is on backorder!!:( Who knows when it will come back? Crap. Should've gotten it when I wanted!:mad:

Eva, I really prefer the Boxing one to the Kickboxing and Fusion MMA's. It's so funny because when I was first checking out those 3 workouts I totally didn't think that would be the case! At first I wasn't crazy about the leg drills but now that I have my rebounder it translates beautifully to that. I use 1 lb wrist weights and since the punch combos are really straightforward I can totally put my all into it and feel it in my core. Plus the core section at the end is really good! I know what you mean about worrying about losing cardio capacity during STS. I was worried about that too, but I think it's good to change up your workouts, maybe even lose a little cardio endurance, then come back to it afterward to really break through a plateau. Sometimes when we go at it with the same intensity our body gets used to that and hits the dreaded plateau.

Have a great night ladies!
 
Good Morning ladies! I got so busy last night... I did B&G which is 80 minutes and also 30 minutes on the elliptical. I was pumped! I showered and then the Biggest Loser was on!!! I had to watch that!!!

This morning I did an hour run on the treadmill. I have afterburn scheduled for tonight!!! Yeah!!!!

Colleen---there is a tower on ebay----there are 2 bids. It is at $61. You have to put your zip in to see what the shipping is.

Okay, I am at work and I have to go. BBL!!!!

Have a nice day ladies! :D
 
Oh... Jean---Thanks for noticeing my loss. I am getting close. It is getting to harder and harder to lose an ounce. But, I am slowly but surely going to make it!!!

As you know, your body, gets use to the daily activity (chores) just like exercise. So, we have to continue to switch it up. But, the chores are the same. So it is just a part of my life. I do enjoy my animals though. So I would never change that. I do look forward to exercising everyday!!! Thats a good thing!

Okay....Gotta go! BBL :D:D:D
 
Just popping in for a quick Hello. Now that softball and soccer have started I'm even busier than before. I am trying to make it to the gym at work during my lunch hour but other than that I've had no time for Cathe this week. I wanted to start Meso 3 before I go on vacation next week too, but we'll see.

Colleen I did MMA boxing over the weekend, I love that one too. I like how it includes more upper body than traditional kickboxing workouts.

I have done TB a couple of times but I also find it hard to fit in. There is one move where you push down on the standing leg that really tweaks my knees.

Eva, for tubing, I've had the flat bands snap on me a couple of times, ouch! I also have the round tubing which seems to hold up better.

Mar, congrats on the Turbo Tower. I have been wanting that for a while but was hoping the price would go down. I waited so long it will probably go up!

Missy, congrats on the weight loss and keeping up with that amazing workout schedule!

Ok, gotta get back to work, have a great day!
 
Okay... I am back.....my Dr needed help with the computer. So I had to run.

Eva---I do cardio every morning! Even when I was doing STS. I never stopped. Call me crazy, but I feel I need my cardio every morning to get me going!

Marie---I am so proud of you for continuing with the workouts during preg. You will bounce back after with no trouble!!! I am so excited for you! Keep up the good work. And enjoy these months!!!

Carolyn---make sure you get abs in today!!!!! Bikini season is coming and we are all going to be ready!!!! :eek::eek::eek:

Have a lovely day!!!!
 
Hi girls!
Carolyn- I got an email from Amy and she said she actually won't be there next Thursday so you guys will be seeing her associate Corissa (not sure the last name). She said not to worry because she's really sweet and patient with kids though! I'm going to have to check out the ebay deal for the tower when I get to work! Thank you guys for posting about that!

Athletic Training kicked my butt today! You're right Marie, that one always seems to be harder than I remember it! I think Carolyn is right about CCC and pregnancy...I would probably hold off on that one until after! It's pretty intense and then with all the core work and up and down rolling stuff would be pretty difficult I would think! :eek:

Better get moving! Later!
 
Carolyn---Thats funny! "skinny" cow ice cream. There is a new diner/grill in town. My husband wanted to go try it on Saturday....so we drove over and the name was "fat" boy's......Okay, so I was in the car stating I can't eat in there....look at the name. I am not going to go consume something in there. So my husband, said I am sure they will have something healthy. Well......they didn't. We were the only people in there under 200 pds. They all looked at me like I was a WITCH!!! You know, fat people are mean because they are not happy with thereselves. So we were going to take it home with us... So, we ordered to go...a hamburger and french fries. I went home and made me a salad. hahahaha----Moral of my story is the "name" says it all. :p

BBL!!!
 
The Eagle Cam is so cool Jean! Decorah is right by where I live! In fact, where I went to high school in southeastern Minnesota (Spring Grove) many many of my classmates went to college there (Luther College).

I'm feeling a sore throat today and I've been sneezing a lot. I can't decide if I'm getting a cold or if it's allergies. I do this every year...more often it's allergies but can you get a sore throat with that? Dylan has been sneezing, too. I hate taking antihistamines. Even the ones that aren't supposed to make you drowsy make me feel "off".

I was going to do Paul Katami today but I think I'm going to do Circuit Blast instead if I can get myself moving here. I feel so tired, I don't think I'll be putting my all into it. As for the tower on ebay, I started looking at it and thought about bidding but I have this weird thing about ebay (plus the shipping was $20 which kind of bugged me-I'm getting used to free shipping). I've never bid on anything or even purchased anything from there. I have this weird anxiety about bidding and bartering prices. I remember when I went to Mexico in college on spring break I was totally freaked out about the bartering down there. I'm like, just give me the price dammit! I hate negotiating! That's why I hate buying cars, too. Mark always wants to negotiate price and it just plain makes me nervous. When I went to the Dominican Republic last year with my sisters, I had to have my niece barter for me to buy a painting. Yep, it's a neurotic hang up!:eek: Sooooo, I'll probably just wait and I'm sure it'll become available again soon at regular retailers (hopefully).

Jean- I'm soooo glad you liked AT! Yay! I thought you might like that one a little better since there are more strength exercises for upper body and the cardio section isn't too long. I'm glad you liked the cookies too! I wound up having a second cookie for breakfast this morning!:eek:

Happy Anniversary Betty! Wow, I can't believe you did both Hiit's back to back! You must have incredible cardio capacity!:eek: I'm glad the Hydraplenish seems to be helping your knees! It sure does mine. As far as the eye strengthening exercises, it depends on what kind of exercises you are doing. Accomodation (near focus) maybe temporarily strengthened if you work that. I'm afraid most of it isn't going to do much though. There was this optometrist awhile back who was trying to sell a system to "strengthen your eyes and throw away your glasses!"...I'm afraid it was pure hogwash though.

Better get a wiggle on (as Carolyn would say)!:D
 
Good Morning!

I couldn't wait and started Meso 3 last night. I don't know why but it wasn't quite what I expected. I felt like I got a great workout and felt pleasantly fatigued when it was over, but I don't know if I pushed myself enough weight-wise. I did not feel like I went to failure on all the sets with the weight I had. But its based on my previous weights so I don't know what was going on. The only weight I did not even attempt was 30lb dumbbells for chest flies. I actually picked up that weight and realized I could seriously hurt myself if I tried it so dropped to 25. And 8 reps was perfect for deadlifts as my forearms were really stinging at that point. I thought the breaks in between sets might be too long but I found I needed the extra time to get my barbell adjusted for the right weights. I also thought I would have DOMS today but I don't have any. I am going to try to get the rest of week 1 done before we head out for vacation, and then I'll repeat this week when we get back. Betty I'll be interested to hear what you think when you start Meso 3.

Marie, congratulations on becoming an aunt! That's so great that your babies will be close together.

Betty, 2 back to back Hiits - wow! I think 40/20 is the hardest one of all, it really winds me.

All this talk of cookies makes me want to bake. I love to bake, it makes me relax, but I see myself eating all those cookies and I think better not. I have not been good with all the chocolate in the house this week.

Have a great day!
 
I did Circuit Blast today! I always forget how fun that one is. I like that it's short too! Despite that, I still had to stop and skip the cool down/stretch to get Dylan out to the bus in time! That is a really bad habit I've developed lately. I've been weasling out of the cool down and stretching way too much these days because I'm always running out of time!:eek: That can't be good for me!

I think this will be my 400th post!:eek:
 
Today was meso 1, disc 2. :)

Colleen - TB looks hard to fit into my schedule too, so I'd be most likely to use it during an "off" week or else on my day off.

When I ride my stationary bike and when I lift weights, I take my BodyMedia off so that later I can fill in the "off body" times with an accurate calorie count. The band doesn't count biking properly (really only walking and running) and the moving around I do for Cathe weights doesn't reflect my real calorie count either. So I hand input them. I always try for 10,000 steps a day although if I did a long bike ride or a super long weight workout instead of walking more, I'm happy even if I don't reach 10,000 steps (I do get more than 15,000 steps on some days).

gratefuldog - let me know what you think when you do TB again.

Eva - I use Prosource Resistance Bands that I got from Amazon. All 5 of them fit into a small bag and so far none of them have broken.

Jean - I did two weeks of meso 1 week 1 and then I started over with the turbo tower (and changed the rotation from 3 months to 6 months). So I didn't take a week off, but that's good since those first two 'practice' weeks helped me to figure a lot of things out.

About doing the push-ups on the turbo bar...it came with a poster of 24 pictures of folks doing exercises on the TB and of those 24, 7 were doing push-ups. So that's where I got the idea from. :D

Happy Anniversary Betty!

For those wanting a Turbo Tower. The cheapest place I saw on the internet, was Walmart at $97 and all the other places were sold out anyway. I must have really lucked out and gotten one of the last towers from Walmart. Hope they get some more in soon for anyone who wants one.
 
Gratefuldog (Carolyn, right?) Is he a Jack Russell? We had one and he was a cutie. Miss him a lot. You're going to have a lot of fun with him.

Jean - when I was reading reviews of the Turbo Tower on Amazon, I read a few where the folks were upset because they didn't get a poster included in the box. My box had a poster inside of it and also the same pictures were on the outside of the box. I'm glad too, because I would have been afraid to try the pushups on the TB if I hadn't seen the pictures, since the TB seems so wobbly.
 
Greetings,

I hope everyone had a good day and I'm sure you're all looking forward to the weekend as much as I am! Today I did disc 8, and it was pretty good. I am at the point where I could increase some of my weight but I don't have 1-2-3 pound increments. I'm thinking about getting some adjustable hand and ankle weights. I looked up the adjustable gloves but they're not as versatile. Do any of you use adjustable ankle/wrist weights instead of the adjustable hand weights? If so, what do you think of them? Come to think of it, my fiance has a pair around here somewhere, I just need to find them.

I have not been very sore after my upper body workouts, which makes me think I'm not working hard enough. I was pretty sore the first week, but not so much last week or this week. A little tender, but definitely not full blown DOMS. I guess I should bump it up a notch? Or should I just wait until I get to Mesocycle 2?

Jean, you live so close to me, relatively speaking! I know Maryland quite well. Although I am a native New Yorker (from Brooklyn), my parents moved to Maryland when I was in high school. We lived in Aspen Hill for a few months, and then bought a house in Frederick, and I graduated from high school there. I'm also a UMCP alumna (go Terps!). I moved away for 8 years after college, but moved to Virginia in 2005. It was a little weird when I moved to Virginia, I was so disappointed to live on the other side of the river! But, I'm settled in now and it's not so bad. :) If you don't mind me asking, what town do you live in? My former in laws live in Silver Spring, off of Walden, near 193 and Flower Ave. I hope you have (had) safe travels.

Congratulations on being an Auntie, Marie. That is so wonderful. I don't have any kids and I am waiting for one of my sisters to have one, so that I can be an Auntie soon! One of them is engaged, so she's getting a little closer, but my mother is dying for grandkids at this point. We've all been very uncooperative! I cannot believe you're doing Cathe workouts while you're prego. You are quite an inspiration. I'd like to think that I would be that intrepid if I was pregnant, but I'm not so sure.

Missy, you're even more of a cardio junkie than I am! I have been thinking about trying to add two workouts some days, because I am in a serious plateau right now. I am working out consistently and I just cannot lose these last ten pounds. I don't know what to do. I'm thinking about getting one of those body fit thingies so that I can start learning more about how many calories I am burning during the day. I eat clean and exercise hard, but it's not dropping the pounds, so I need to do something different. I am going to try to add a second cardio workout at least 1 or 2 times a week during STS, and see how that goes. It sounds like you get a lot of peripheral exercise doing chores and stuff. Do you live on a farm?
I can totally relate to the experience you had at the diner. I'm such a clean eating freak that I am probably not much fun to go to dinner with these days. I'm sure my fiance is tired of the nitpicking about eating somewhere "healthy", but if you give in too much, then the next thing you know you've blown your plan and you're not getting the results you want. I try not to be difficult about it, but I'm sure it's annoying!

Thanks to all who shared about the bands and your experiences with them. Today I just skipped the pull up exercises. Last week I did back exercises with the barbell. I'm not sure what I want to do long term. I'm kind of tired of buying stuff for a while, so I don't want to really buy anything else right now. BUT, I feel like I'm being lame by not at least using the bands.

Hi Betty! Happy Belated Anniversary. 23 Years is AWESOME! You're my hero. I would love to only workout three days a week, but unfortunately my body is not that cooperative with me. I've never done 40/20, but it's been haunting me. I have crappy feet and HIIT is kind of hard on them, but I keep coming back to it like a moron because I love the burn and I love to feel like I'm working super hard. I might have to download that and see how it goes. I should just to the LIS workouts, but I did those for 3 month straight and I got so tired of them that now when I think of them I kind of dread them. Tomorrow is a cardio day for me and I really love Cardio Core Circuit, so maybe I'll do that in the morning and 30/30 in the afternoon. That would be cool. Not back to back though! Thank you for the inspiration. If you have time to share more about your experience with Hydraplenish, I would be interesting in learning more. I don't think it's going to help my feet, as that is not joint related per se, but I do have a tweaky right knee that has been getting more tweaky the last six months or so. I have to be really careful with my form and I've thought about wrapping it, but I have not.


Mary, you may have mentioned this already, but where are you planning to go on vacation?

Carolyn, congrats on your new fuzzy buddy! I bet you cannot wait to bring him home. He is so absolutely, positively adorable! Have you had a puppy before? I'm terribly allergic to dogs, so I've never personally had a doggy friend, but I do have a cat. And congrats to your husband on his Barracuda! Does he like the new ones too, or is he only into the old ones? It's crazy how they're bringing back those old 70s muscle cars. Who would have thought???

Take care everyone,
Eva
 
Happy Friday everyone!

I just finished Disc 26 - Plyo Legs. All I can say is WOW, fantastic workout! It felt like a hiit workout with weights thrown in for good measure. My heart rate stayed up there the whole time, and I literally saw stars after that 2nd round of 180 degree jump turns. Maybe I was just dizzy at that point. Anyway, I was kind of missing those longer breaks from Disc 25. And now that its over, I feel great!

Betty, you are too funny with your Syn-ake stories and missing pumps.

Carolyn that puppy is so adorable, I just want to scoop him up.

Eva, I bought a pair of weighted gloves at walmart which are 1.5Lbs each, and some adjustable ankle weights up to 5 lbs. Between those 2 I have been able to come up with the weights needed for my workouts. And I usually only had DOMS during the first week of each mesocycle, although I just started Meso 3 and have not had any Doms.

Missy, I have had B&G for a while now and I don't think I have ever made it through the whole thing. I make it through the standing work, and then when we go to the side exercises on the ball my legs can't take any more! You must be in great shape!

Jean, hope you have (had) a good trip. If I left 3 dozen cookies with my husband I know they would be gone by the time I got back.

I plan to do Disc 27 tomorrow and then we leave for Mexico, yay!

Have a great day!
 
Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

I was so busy yesterday I never got to post!!!! I missed ya'll! :)

I did do my workouts, of course!

My glasses came in. They are so cute! Now, I just have to get use to the new prescription. Did my run this morning. Athletic Training tonight!!! Yeah.

Carolyn---Congrats on your puppy! You are going to have so much fun. My puppy turns 3 next wednesday. She still has that playfulness in her. Enjoy, because they grow up so fast!

Eva---Yes, I can say I am a cardio junkie! I just love it! I too am trying to lose the last few pounds also. I seems to get harder and harder to lose an ounce. And I have 2 horses, 1 dog, 2 indoor cats, and 1 outdoor cat. So My husband always jokes and says we live on the funny farm. I do alot of animal chores, but I have been doing that for so long my body is use to it. It is just a part of life.

Mary---I am trying to get into incredible shape! I was so excited that I finished B&G!!!! I just push my self, thats the only way to see results!!! They don't come for free!!!! (I wish they did) hahaha :p

Well, I am at work and it is crazy busy. BBL :D
 
Well, I'm going to be going out of town this weekend for an optical conference in Appleton so I won't get to visit with you guys until Sunday night. I do get your posts sent to my email which goes right to my Blackberry so I'll be able to read posts but I haven't figured out how to sign into Cathe's site with my Blackberry. I can get internet on it but it is wicked slow and hard to use with that itty bitty screen. I need to get a new phone!:eek:

So before I leave today I'm going to do one of my kettlebell workouts. My allergies are feeling a little better today after I took some Benadryl last night before bed so I'm not as out of it as I was yesterday!

Carolyn- that puppy is soooo cute! I'm not even a dog person and I just wanted to kiss him! :D Have fun with him! As for guys into cars, that's my Mark all right. He's got metal madness! He loves classic Camaros. He restored a 1969 Camaro and also has a 1995 one. He is definitely a Chevy guy, although he sort of likes Mustangs, too. Let me tell you, it is NOT a cheap hobby!:eek: Oh well, I have my fitness obsession and he has the car one...we each have our weakness!

Eva- be really careful with your knee and feet!! I've learned to be really careful with myself after I developed chondromalacia in my knees. The Hydraplenish helped a lot with that! I also take turmeric (curcumin), drink tart cherry juicy while I work out as well as take a joint supplement with glucosamine. Even with all that I have to keep high impact to twice a week, be really careful with my form and keeping my knees "soft" when I land. Also, some high impact moves, like tuck jumps, I do on my rebounder (mini-trampoline). I was sidelined for awhile when my knees were screwed up so I'm really careful and try not to let them flare up! There's nothing worse then when you can't workout because of injuries!! With your feet, do you have plantar fascitis? I saw a thread on that in the OD section. As far as incremental weights I do have wrist weights that are 1 lb and 2 lbs and I found that useful. For dumbells if it would say 13 lbs, I'd get my 12 lb dumbell and put the 1lb wrist weight on. Like Jean, I'd also wrap them around the ends of my barbell when needed. Sometimes, though I'd get too lazy to do that and just round up or down like Carolyn!

Betty- that's so funny about the Syn-ake stories! I'm more convinced than ever that Carolyn is right now and they've stopped making it. It makes me so mad when they discontinue stuff I like!:mad: I am sooo picky about the things I like. When I find a shirt I like, I'll buy it in 4 different colors. It always seems like my favorite things go away and I have to go back to searching again!:(

Missy- I'm glad you like your glasses! It always takes me awhile to get used to a new pair even when the prescription is exactly the same!

Okay, better get that workout in and pack for this weekend. Later girls!
 
Okay, I have a quick minute......

Carolyn and Colleen---As for our men and cars....well, you just get use to it. My husband is a mechanic, and is a Ford Man. And, is into racing. He use to race cars...but, thankfully he is out of that because the tracks around here are not doing well. Its not fun to race with only a few cars. So... now he is just into cars!!!!

Colleen--I think getting use to new glasses, you have to get use to the new frame as much as the new prescription.

Tomorrow---my husband and I are going hiking! So excited! We are also taking a picnic! I have been wanting to do this for awhile, and now that the weather is better we are going before it is too hot!!!! Yeah! :D----I am getting up extra early so I can get my run in!!! :D

Have a nice Friday!
 
Good Afternoon!

Betty---I do see you shop at TJM/Marshalls alot. You must have better stores in your area because I can never find anything at those stores.

I went home for lunch, and my crops are looking awesome. My squash is growing already. I have 4 squash right now. I can't wait till I can pick it and eat it!!!! :p:p:p

I am so looking forward to 5' o'clock. It has been a crazy week at work. Can't wait to be able to do things at normal pace. :D (for 2 days)

Well, Talk ta ya later. One of our receptionist is leaving early today, so I will have to help. :( The joys of a Dr Office!!!!:D

BBL! Have a lovely afternoon.
 
Hi Everyone!

Today I did Disc 27, Sh, Bis&Tris. I really liked this workout. With the slower pace and fewer reps, I was able to increase my weights on a few of the exercises. I felt fatigued when done but not completely wiped out.

I have been following the updates on the road trip. How great is it that Cathe makes herself available like that? Looks like alot of fun and I can't imagine what its like to workout with Cathe live.

Missy, have fun hiking today.

Betty, Italy sounds like a great trip! My niece spent a semester in Florence and I am kicking myself for not visiting while she was there. So many places to go....
Drill Max used to be one of my favorites but I am also finding I don't like the jumping as much. The low impact series has spoiled me.

Carolyn, hope your daughter is feeling better, nothing worse than the vomiting. And I hope it does not spread through your family.

Marie, I hope you have some relaxing time, that's alot of hours for work.

Okay, got to get some things done. Beautiful day here!
 

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