STS Legs

A

Alex1004

Cathlete
Hi Cathe,

I am a little concern using STS Legs. I am trying to slim down my thighs A LOT and read that using heavy weights only makes big thighs bigger (yuck). Is this a fallacy? I do run on the off days. I do like using heavy weights for upper body but I really don't want to make my big thighs bigger. What should i do? Use STS legs or do something different? Will STS legs slim my thighs? I'll take suggestions from the educated crowd as well.

Thanks

Yvonne
 
Yvonne - my two cents...

Lightweight, high rep endurance type exercises may be best for you for the long haul, but if you have STS, you will find that you are not doing super heavy lifting, especially if you go the plyo option in Meso 3. Meso 1 is endurance lifting. Meso 2 is more muscle building but still, the weights are not that heavy. You do not even need a squat rack. I would not even consider leaving out STS legs if I were you. There are so many amazing exercises in there, none of it so heavy that it will bulk you up.
 
What I've done to slim down my thunder thighs (24" down to 22") is run and muscle endurance-type work outs. I'll do B&G, BC, HSC (favorite!) and DM. I think HSC has done the most toning. I wouldn't stop using weights, just find out what works for you. It may be the case of trial and error. I did the traditional weights and would see minimal results. It wasn't until I upped the cardio, did muscle-endurance workouts and lowered my calories did I see any significant changes.

HTH,
 
I've been on this program since January and I've dropped my body fat 4.5% and lost 13 lbs.
 
you mean january 2009??? and you've lost 13lbs and 4.5% body fat?? that is excellent! do you mind sharing your training and nutrition program.

thanks
 
Sure, I can share what worked for me.

My workouts consisted of two-a-day workouts in the beginning. I was unemployed at the time and got antsy in the afternoon so I’d workout. Now, I’m working part-time, I’ve eliminated the two-a-days for the most part. Here’s an example of my “unemployed” workout:

Monday: High Step Challenge (HSC) in a.m. then a jog/run in the afternoon, 45 min.
Tuesday: Lighter Intensity Step (LIS) then Core Max, balanced premix
Wednesday: Walk 4.1 mph for 45 min.
Thursday: Drill Max, cardio only
Friday: LIC Cardio Blast premix in a.m. then running 5.4 mph for 4.17 miles
Saturday: Off

Now, however, the workouts are basically the same, but without the afternoon workouts. My goal is a workout that’s at least 45-60 minutes long, unless I feel I need a lighter workout, then it’s 30 minutes. And I try to push myself once I feel a workout gets too easy.

My workouts are all Cathe: BM2, LIC, DM, HSC, Bootcamp/ME are the ones I did the most.

As far as nutrition, I joined Weight Watchers. No food is off limits; only the portion size is. I use all of my weekly points plus the extra 35 that’s allowed, but I’ve never used my activity points. While I’m thrilled with the results, I will say that I’m hungry most of the time. I do eat often, 4-5 times a day, just not as much as I’d like.

I was concerned about losing muscle, but I keep detailed records of my weight and measurements. According to my chart, of the 13.6 lbs. I’ve lost, about 70% of it has been fat.

I’ve done the clean eating in the past and did the lifting weights but what I found is that I have an all-or-nothing attitude. The clean eating made me want to eat “forbidden” foods; I felt guilty then I’d just say, screw it. I ate like a bodybuilder, making sure I got all this protein, the only thing is that I didn’t workout like one, even though I was lifting weights. I didn’t lift heavy nor hard enough to justify the calories/protein intake. I never saw any significant changes in my body and my weight certainly didn’t budge. I was stuck on this “plateau” for YEARS!

So, while I still prefer to eat clean, I do want to eat a bowl of Cheerios without feeling guilty. I want to have a piece of pizza and not feel guilty. Currently, my goal is another 6 lbs. weight loss, focusing on cardio and muscle endurance-type workouts. Once I reach my goal weight, then I want to focus on more weight training for that defined look. In the past, I had just too much body fat and the only way I could get it off was calorie restriction and cardio.

Hope that helps!
 
I have completed Mesos one and two. I am currently doing the first week of Meso three. After Meso one, my thighs ( and back) did slim down. I continued to do 3-4 days of cardio while doing STS. As stated previously, you may have do do some trial error to determine what works best for you. Don't forget the nutritional aspect. If you do not do all of STS (although I would suggest that you do) definitely give Meso one a try.
 
Regina - how do you like meso 3 so far? I'm finding that I don't like it at all - except for the plyo legs! I'm done with week 1 and dreading the other 3 weeks. My main disappointment with it is that the same exercises are used - no variety. What happened to shocking the muscles?
 
jansherman - I hope you don't mind me chiming in...first post here. I am pretty much done with the program although I am not doing it along with Cathe or her guide. The muscle confusion is from the combinations she has lined up (ex. meso 2's first workout was chest, shoulders and tri's and meso 3's is back and chest). That is one part of the equation. The second is the number of reps performed with the increased weight. Meso 3 works the large muscles first (back, chest, legs) and then blasts the smaller muscles. The large muscles will not be able to take over being exhausted from the previous HARD workouts and the smaller muscles will be forced to work harder and more independently from the larger muscles.
 
You're right, I guess I wasn't thinking of it in those terms. :) I was just thinking about how bored I get doing it, and how I could so easily do it without even watching the dvd.
 
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