STS New Years Challengers...Week of May 1st

kikster

Cathlete
Hey ladies!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far. No workouts so far this weekend (this will be my 'mini' recovery time from STS) before getting back to hitting the weights hard next week. I did shoot some hoops w/DS friday, got in some Stretch Max this morning, and will be doing some gardening in a bit. So it will be a relaxing day for me. I did my final "official" STS weigh-in this AM and found that I was down another pound!!!! :eek: So that made for 5 lbs (out of my goal of 8) total this round of STS, with careful attention to eating, only in the last 4 weeks or so of the program (probably could've lost the other 3 had I started sooner ;) ) which is when those lbs actually came off, lol. Can't complain, love the body recomp that's taken place! If I just maintained from here on out I'd still be happy. For now, I'm gonna keep doing what I've been doing and see if those extra few lbs will leave me alone :p . If not, I will go back to maintenance eating, because I do not like to stay in a deficit for too long (hence why I waited til the last month of STS before dropping below maintenance cals, and even then, only slowly dropping). I'll give another month or so, and re-asses ;)


Tracy & Katie: I SO feel you on the eating. Let me tell you, your girl LOVES food! :eek: Plus, being a housewife who loves to cook/bake (mostly bake :eek: ), I can tell you that my family loves food too! (me being the enabler that I am :rolleyes:) Although none of us minds eating pretty clean in the summer, we get pretty stubborn about our comfort food in the cooler months. So I just clean it up as much as I can, and make sure that it all fits in my eating plans and it's been working. This is big for me, because even when I eat clean, I just eat too much! LOL. So this time, I tried not to stress myself or my family out too much, and just did a mix of the two. Some meals super clean, and others lightened up favorites. So that it really was "everything in moderation." Took quite a bit of planning on my part, but my guys never knew the difference, and we never over or under indulged, if that makes sense. So if I knew that I wanted a certain dessert that night, I planned the rest of my meals around it, making sure that all other meals were spot on in the nutrition/macro dept, but keeping enough leftover calories to "afford" that dessert. Or if it was a weekend (which demands things like pancakes and scones from my fam ;) ) then I'd plan for the rest of the day's meals to be lighter when we aren't really paying attention to food, because we're out in the garden, playing basketball, riding bikes, etc. IDK if any of that makes sense, but it worked. Another thing that I did to make sure that I didn't feel like I was depriving them or me, was to let them pick the dinners OR breakfast OR dessert that they wanted for each day that week. I picked the cookbooks that they chose from (mostly Comfort Food Diet cookbook, some Clean Eating, or any other family fave they thought of), and as long as each day they knew that something they (or I, lol) wanted was coming, the rest of the meals weren't that big of a deal to get through. There was a bright food spot to everyday. That may be too much trouble for some, but like Katie, I'm a planner, and I knew that I'd have to use that aspect of my personality to feel satisfied this time around. Because, even though I have the will power to go forever on a super clean diet, I'd make myself miserable doing so, and feel like I was depriving my family (who have no need/desire for dieting - crazy high metabolisms). Don't get me wrong, we still eat very healthy anyway, but we like our treats. (speaking of which, Katie, I eat 4 pieces of pizza EVERY week, WITH dessert - it's in the plan ;) . Family movie/pizza nite will not suffer just cause mommy needs to lose a few lbs. It has been our tradition for just too long now;) ~8 yrs :cool: )

But keep in mind that most things we eat are homemade, so I have full control of ingredients. I incorporate whole grains, no trans fat, low fat/sodium products into everything I make, even the treats, whenever possible. So for instance pizza nite = homemade whole wheat crust (Clean Eating Mag), homemade pizza sauce (using tomato sauce w/herbs), organic low fat cheese, organic/no nitrate meats, and homemade ranch dressing for dipping (using homemade yogurt and herbs) & Whole grain brownies (King arthur flour recipe)


I know, I know, Kiki's on her soap box again, lol :eek: . I sure know how to ramble once I get started :rolleyes:...really gotta work on that. :confused:
 
Hi chick-a-roos! Is it Monday again already? As usual I had a super busy but fun weekend. Yesterday my mom and dad had a cookout for a family friend who is visiting from Japan. I really enjoyed spending time with her. Hearing about the tsunami/earthquake from someone who lived through it was...wow..kind of fascinating, very scary. Unfortunately I didn't get home until late last night and didn't fall asleep until almost midnight. Translation - I didn't get my workout done this morning. I really need 7-8 hours of sleep to function properly and, because i'm working on a tough case at work right now, I didn't want to spend the day in a fog. I'm determined to get my workout (Rhythmic Step) done when I get home tonight though! Yesterday was my long day - Disc 4 + 4DS-BC cardio + CCC core only with extra side plank work. Good stuff!

Tracy: I didn't notice that the guys shaved their armpits! I'm definitely going to be looking for that tomorrow. LOL! For some reason the guys tend to annoy me a lil bit. I think it's because sometimes I feel like their form is completely off and then I start yelling at them and end up losing MY form. I do get a tiny bit of satisfaction, though, when I use heavier weights then the guys on leg exercises. I know that is completely silly...but it tends to give me confidence. IDK. Crazy! I think i'm going to adopt Kiki's idea too and insert lat rows for some of the chin ups/pull ups. I definitely don't want to waste my time here!

Kiki: Your rambling posts are great! I love all the awesome information. Feel free to ramble anytime. :) Your homemade pizza sounds awesome! Much better than the $5 Little Caesars pizza I picked up on Friday. I think i'll try making my own next week so, like you, I can control the ingredients and nutrition value. I also like the idea of letting my DH pick weekly recipes out of an "approved" cookbook. Great ideas!! I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling the best today. I hope you feel better soon!
 
Today I did STS 1.4. It was a pretty good workout and enjoyed it! However, the one exercise that I am not digging on is the barbell curls with the band. I find it just so awkward that I ditch the band. I can see the merit of it, but it is too fussy:confused: for me.

I am thinking that I miss cardio, so I may do sthg later, unless my husband makes me :) do a long walk, then that will suffice. We'll see.

Kiki: sorry you ain't feelin good gurl. I have been sneezing since Saturday with my sinuses bugging me. I hope you feel better! I agree with ricklik1 that I love your rambles. It's like having a talk over coffee. Ramble away. I also like to make everything from scratch. Besides the fact that most of the time it is wayyyy less expensive, I know what is going into my food.

ricklik1: i had to edit my post because I saw that we posted at the same time!!! and wanted to respond to you. I understand not wanting to be in a fog. I generally resist getting up really early and working out because then I feel that fog too. I am amazed at some posts I have read where they get up at 3 am to do their workout! Also: amazed at your workout yesterday....that must have been about 2 hrs!! I love those days when I have both time and energy. It's like a perfect kiss!
 
Last edited:
Hi!

Today was Disc 34 for me. Tomorrow is MMA Boxing. Well, I preordered. I am so excited.

Kikster - Congratulations on your weight loss. Like most people here, if I could be more disciplined with my diet, I could really go places. I feel like I have no will power sometimes.

I guess I had better get back to it. DD is getting spring fever and having focus problems. ;-)

Have a good rest of the day!

LaDonna
 
Hey ladies!!!!! I should just plan on checkin-in bi-weekly, lol. ;) So, last week I finished Meso 2. This is my rest week. Y'day I did Kettlebell Way The Empire State... I haven't decided about today. :confused: I may try Lower Body Blast... is that the name? Anyway, I may do it. I need to do some CleanMax but playing with the baby is so much more fun.

I pre-ordered the new DVDs. I am sooooo excited about the spin DVD. YiPpEe!!!! I can use my spin bike again... which I haven't mounted since I had the baby. Well, I tried but my pelvis just couldn't tolerate it... guess it was the post-SPD (symphysis pubic dysfunction) effects. :eek:

Tracy ~ I'm glad I'm not the only one who ditched the band. I just was fighting the band & it was winning. :p

ricklik1 ~ I can't watch the guys either b/c of their form.

kiki ~ I enjoy your posts & can't wait to meet you in person.

Ok, I hope I can come back later.
 
Good Morning Girls.

Just a quick pop in to say that I am still here. Went MIA for a few days but I am back. :)

NYC was fabulous! No work out sat or sun. I wanted to do D20 Saturday morning but started feeling icky and was afraid to push and ruin my w/e so I rested.

Felt terrible y'day morning so I called out of work but ofcourse a few hours later I felt fine :rolleyes: so I went food shopping, etc and ended up doing D21 + weights portion of Weights n Plates Ab Circuits y'day afternoon. I should have done D20 but my right knee was hurting, probably from all of the walking we did this weekend so I will do it tmrw. This morning was BM2 Cardio Time Saver + All Step Cardio Only + Standing Abs from Criss Cross Cardio. Obviously my knee is back to normal now. lol

That's all for now but I'll be back!
 
Last edited:
Good Morning Ladies. Thanks for the well wishes from every one (sorry to hear you weren't feeling good either, Wendy), feeling a little better today, just have a little bit of a scratchy throat still that seems to want to hang around. I know we're supposed to have a beautiful day today (85) and then temps drop tomorrow (high 60 :confused: ) so I'm praying the weather's ups and downs won't make it worse, we'll see.

Today's plan is Muscle Max, probably the timesaver, IDK if I'll be able to give more than an hour for the workout today. I'm not sure if abs are included in the timesaver premix, though, so if not, I may add those in too.

Katie: WOW!!! What a workout you got in on Sunday! Let me know how your pizza turns out if you try it. There's tons of good recipes out there that you can tweak to your nutritional standards. That Clean Eating crust is a pretty good whole wheat crust, I roll it out nice and thin, though. Seems to me that's the best way to do most 100% whole wheat crusts, if we're in the mood for thicker crusts I often end up adding a bit of bread flour and semolina to the wheat as well to get a nice texture. I try to stick w/the thinner ones for the most part, though so that I can A) use all WW flour, and B) eat more :p , lol. But knowing as you're working and have that tough case, maybe a store bought WW crust would work better? IDK how much your schedule allows you to cook? I'm home all day, so I have no excuse ;)

Tracy: You are so funny about the guys armpits! I never noticed, lol. But, that's because, like Autumn, I can't stand looking at them because their form stinks! It's kinda like when I watch DH workout, :eek: lol. Yeah, that barbell curl w/the band is pretty awkward, but I think I was kinda used to doing it from either LIC or MM, I can't remember which one she does that on (guess I'll see today if it's MM)

Autumn: Good to hear from ya again! I was bout to put out an APB :p to make sure you were on top of your game. Wow you're on a rest week again? Seems like just yesterday you were on your rest week between M1 & 2. So you should finish up w/a couple weeks to spare for some major cardio and abs before the RT, right ;) ? I can't wait to meet you too :eek: (as long as you promise not to laugh at me if I fall off my step :eek: )

LaDonna: Yeah, that watchful eating gets us every time, doesn't it? I pretty much have designated times of the year (mainly winter, lol) that my eating just goes right out the window. Then I spend the rest of the year playing catch-up :rolleyes: , it's a horrible cycle. Speaking of cycle, lol, I pre-ordered, too! SO excited! Hopefully it'll come just as I'm getting ready to start my next round of STS, so I can incorporate some new "fun" into an old fave :)

Wendy: Glad your'e back in action, and had all that fun in NYC, while the rest of us just sat here green w/envy ;) . Was it just you and DH? or did your son come too? Your knee is obviously feeling better! LOL And I see you didn't waste any time getting back to that ab work :D
 
Last edited:
Kiki:: Oh no! You were sick too? Scratchy throat huh? Yep-here too! Still got it today! :( Ofcourse I jumped right back into ABtion! ;) What kind of AB NAZI would I be if I didn't? :p It was just my DH and I in NY. We haven't taken our son in yet but we plan to soon. Have to find a show or something that he would enjoy and we will take him for the day. There is a slight glitch though-he's not a lazy kid. He has tons of energy BUT he hates walking anywhere. He'll run around like a lunatic to play but if you want to walk some where it's constant complaining so unless we take a cab everywhere we go with him, it could be a very stressful day in NYC with him. :eek: It's something we need to consider and weigh our options on. May be better off waiting until he is out this "phase" before we attempt the trip with him, you know? :rolleyes:
 
LOL, I know EXACTLY what you mean. We took my son, when he was like 7 or 8......DISASTER :eek: :rolleyes:

And my son is only just about to turn 6! OMG-What about Disney!? I am NOT pushing a 50# kid around in a stroller!!!! He'd better walk w/o complaining!!!!!!!!!!!:eek::eek::eek::eek:
 
Couldn't get my workout in this morning unless I did it before 7, and I just don't like to workout that early. So I just finished IMAX 2 ... and woohoo!!! I could do it without pausing it! I have been seriously exercising again for a little over 6 months. I did IMAX 2 about 3 months ago, and I had to pause it a few times and was gasping for breath. But not today...well....maybe gasping few places....but not stopping! I'm very thankful to see some improvement for all my hard work in a cardio-vascular way!!! (thankful to share this bit of info with other cathletes who will understand!!)

Also I did IMAX 2 because I was feeling a bit nostagic. This was one of the first dvd's I got in 2004 when I learned about Cathe on a (I think) FIRM forum. The very first one I got was HST.

Anyway, I used to do IMAX 2 so often that my then (2004) 3 and 5 yr old girls memorized the song Pina Colada that is near the end of the workout. And one Sunday when we went to church, they were singing it in Sunday School!!!:eek: Their teacher was my friend so we were able to laugh about it....but it was funny at the time. I could just imagine the other little boys and girls telling their mommys and daddys that they learned about pina coladas in Sunday school that day!:eek:

Autumn: It would be great to hear from you more...but I am sure we will be happy to hear from you when you can get 'round to it!

blessings all
 
Good Morning STS'ers!

This morning was STS D20/legs. It nearly killed me :eek: but it's done! :p Now I have to wash rinse and repeat Discs 19-20-21 before moving on to the FINAL 3 DISCS OF MESO 2!!!!!!! OMG! :D

Tracy: Great job with IMAX2!!!! You rocked it! :D

BBL to see what's going on!:cool:
 
Just complete STS 1.5 back and triceps. I also did STS 1.3 Legs again. I like doing legs more than once a week. I think this evening I will do some Core thing because I haven't for a few days.

Gotta go.
Blessings.
 
Hi All!

Today was Disc 40. Tomorrow is Step Moves and No-Equipment Abs. Getting there!

FitMommy - I have always wanted to go to New York. Hope it was a good time. I'm glad you got a false alarm and didn't get sick. Chalk it up as a mental health day. :)

Autumn & Kikster - I am excited about the presale too. I ordered last weekend as soon as I could. I didn't get the deluxe though.

I hope everyone has a good day!

LaDonna
 
Tracy:: I am doing legs 2x a week too but I am doing something like Tonique, Squeeze or Barre as my second work out.

LaDonna:: I ordered the new series on Sunday evening after getting home from NYC. I did not order the deluxe set either but ordered the 4# weighted gloves instead so I got 15% off them plus I still qualified for the free shipping. :)
 
Fitmommy:

what about the Barre workouts do you like? I have never done it. Wondering what you think, so maybe I'll try it. Also thinking about getting an Amy Bento Advanced Step. What do you think of her?
Right now I am doing all Cathe, just am not liking the others. I haven't even done my Tracie Long, Jari Love or the FIRM for weeks.
 
Good (ouch) Morning (ouch)!:eek:

Getting the idea that I have some DOMS from D20 this morning? :p

This morning's work out was the cardio premix and ab work from KCM's Circuit Burn. I got the DVD for Christmas but this is the first time I've done any of it!:eek: The cardio alternates boxing with standard cardio drills. I purchased the 4# weighted glove set with my preorder so I decided to give them a go with this. OH.MY.GAWD! I had to ditch the gloves before I was even half way through! :eek: I did a few minutes of the cardio with no gloves at all and once I was recovered from the burn, I put my 1# gloves on and finished the work out like that. Perhaps I need to reduce the weight to 1.5# per glove to start instead of the full 2#! :rolleyes: Great work out though! Had extra time when I was done so I added on the STS Extended Stretch for the DOMS. ;)

Tracy:: I the like Barre and non or light weight/very high rep toning work outs. I wouldn't depend on them exclusively because I lurve my heavier weights too much but they give a great burn in the muscle that is different from a standard weight work out. They also reach the smaller supporting muscles that a standard weight work out won't necessarily reach. Plus all of those extra reps will get ya every time! :eek: I also enjoy it just soley from the standpoint of variety. I want it. I need it. I crave it. It works for me. :D I am hoping to get in a rotation post STS that is all super light weight/high rep and/or barre only for a few weeks cause like Cathe always says...change is good! ;)
 
Last edited:
Yikes, I haven't checked in for a few days! I stopped by the forums yesterday but got distracted and apparently never made it this way. :eek: Oops!

LaDonna: Great job with discs 34 and 40!! You're rocking and rolling through STS! :eek: I pre-ordered the non-deluxe set too. We're definitely going to have to have a "low-impact" celebration this fall. :p

Autumn: We're always excited to hear from you! I'm sure life with a little one is keeping you very busy. Great job finishing Meso 2!!! Are you enjoying your rest week?

Wendy: Welcome back from NYC! What a fun weekend. :) I'm glad the icks decided to look for real estate elsewhere. :eek::p You and Tracy are making me feel like a slacker...legs TWO days a week?!?! NONONO! I hate legs. I mean, not legs in general, just working legs (okay, you knew what I meant - haha). Maybe I should try a barre workout too. I love ballet (even though I stink at it) and I tend to enjoy non-traditional leg work. I'm sorry you have DOMS! I've actually done Disc 20 before (as part of FitnessFreak's 2010 Get Ready for Summer Rotation) so I completely understand how you feel. I couldn't walk for days after Disc 20. What does KCM stand for??

Tracy: I usually get up about 5:15 am and start working out at 5:45 am. I use that first 30 minutes to eat something small (1/2 banana, 2-3 crackers), drink a glass of water, feed the cats, get dressed, and generally wake up. I just switched to morning workouts 2 months ago and it has taken me a looooong time to adjust! If I'm not in bed by 9:30 and asleep by 10:30 I can't get up in the morning. Well, I can but my workouts suffer. I 100% agree about the biceps curls with the ditch the band and up your weights a few pounds. :p Great job with Imax 2! Imax 2 is in my top 3 list. I'm still giggling at your story about your girls singing Pina Colada in sunday school! :p :D I'm always singing that song for hours after Imax 2.

Kiki: I'm definitely going to give that WW pizza crust a shot soon!! I LOVE to cook! Oddly enough I couldn't slice a tomato until college but now i've developed a huge passion for cooking. My DH and I only eat out 1-2 times a week MAX so i'm cooking the rest of the time. 95% of the time I don't mind. I'm always on the hunt for new recipes, cookbooks, etc. so feel free to send any suggestions my way! :) I tend to experiment a lot. My DH has a close friend who comes over a lot on weekends and the friend often eats dinner with us. Unfortunately the friend has tried some of my not-so-great experiments. Now, whenever my DH invites his friend over for dinner he always says "Katie is cooking normal food tonight, no experiments." :D:p

I have to admit my Sunday workout was a killer. I've designated Sundays to be my long days consisting of STS + 30/40 minutes of Cardio + 10/15 minutes of abs. Bring on the DOMS!

Let's see what i've done this week....Monday was Rhythmic Step. It was my first time doing this workout and I LOVED it! At the end of the first combo I was worried the intensity wasn't going to be there but Cathe sure laid it on thick in the third combo. Fun! Tuesday - M1.D5, Wednesday - KPC (another fav of mine), and Today - M1.D6. Tomorrow is my rest day and boy i'm sure looking forward to it!

BTW - i'm almost done with this frustrating criminal case i've been working for a week and a half. YAY! Most cases take me 3-4 days but for some reason this case in particular has really gotten to me. Sometimes it's hard for me to separate what I think is right from what the law actually says is right. :rolleyes: Anyway, i'm off to do the final read through on the opinion and then i'm sending it off to the judge!

Have a great day all!
Katie
 
Good morning!

Yesterday was Step Blast, and no matter how many times I hit rewind, I came to the same conclusion...I STINK @ STEP! :( Seriously, lol. Now I remember why the majority of my step vids either are covered in dust, or still in the plastic! Geez, the worse part is that I'm not getting in any good cardio, because I'm constantly staring at the screen, like :confused: ? I only have time for about 3 cardio sessions/wk right now, so I've been making them mostly step - trying to make myself learn :rolleyes: , but. I gotta tell you, I'm so ready for a good Kickbox w/o or something!

Today is gonna be disc 26, Plyo legs (doin FF Get Ready For Summer rotation), so that should bring some cardio factor w/it. It's almost like doing a HIIT, for me. Hmmm, maybe I should work some abs eventually. I can't remember the last time I worked them, so that can't be good, right? :eek: Oh, yeah, Muscle Max did have a core segment on the timesaver premix, so its only been 1 day since I last worked them.

Well, I hope everyone's having fun and gettin it done today! BTW, any volunteers to be my stunt double @ the RT :p ?
 
Last edited:

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top