STS Pyramid 10/10 *October Invite* (all welcome ;) )

kikster

kikster

Cathlete
Hey ladies! Thought I'd get us going on a new week/new month thread ;).

This is also an invitational opportunity for any ladies that were considering joining. :D For anyone who is unsure on what the STS pyramid is about, feel free to check out the thread here. Basically we are doing the STS program in the following order: Meso 1,2,3,2,1. The ladies in the check-in are all over the place as to where we all are in the program, so no matter what stage of the game you are in (whether just starting or a couple months in), all are welcome. Some ladies are already about to begin their way back down the pyramid, and some (like me) are just getting started. Either way, the check-in will help us to see how others make the program work for them (everyone does some things differently), to stay accountable, best of all, stay focused....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now for my check-in :p

I pretty much rested all weekend, girls. It's TTOM and the cramps/bloating were kickin in big time! :eek: It was all I could do to keep the eating in check :confused: Today is supposed to be Disc 4, but since I'm still feeling pretty crampy, I'm thinking I may just do a stroll on the elliptical and do my STS w/o's on Tues/Wed/Fri, instead of my usual MWF sched. If I do that, I'll do Disc 4 -Tues, Disc 6-wed, and Disc 5-Fri. Since biceps are worked w/chest on D4, I don't want them to be too fatigued for my back w/o (D5) and I don't like working back/legs on consecutive days because of the deadlifts being in both w/o's. I like to lift VERY heavy, and don't wanna take any chances of not being in full strength for each w/o, if that makes any sense, lol.

I'll check back in later on what the verdict is (I just took some ibuprofen, waiting to see if it kicks in before I decide, lol)...


Hope everyone has a great Monday....And again, welcome to any new "pyramid-ers" :D
 
Hi Everyone,

I think I am going to make this an active recovery week and do no STS, just concentrate on some yoga, stretching and some easy runs in preparation for the half marathon on Saturday. I really also think I need a mental rest from all the workouts that I have been doing lately. I have been extremely tired lately and I think I may have been pushing myself too hard. If I don't do any lifting this week, will I lose what I have been gaining in definition? I had on a sleeveless dress Saturday night and couldn't believe how great my arms were starting to look.:D I'm afraid if I take it easy this week, I will lose all that I have been working for. I do plan on starting Meso 1 again next Sunday or Monday.

Kiki - I hope you feel better as the day goes on and I hope that ibuprofen kicks in real soon.

Hello and welcome to anyone new that may be joining!:)

Regina
 
Regina: I think a rest week is a great idea! I'm a firm believer in taking a rest when needed, and I can say from experience that one week off won't make or break the progress you're seeing. The only thing I have to remind myself on break weeks is that my body no longer needs the same amount of food for fuel that it needs when I'm goin all out. So, as long as you're not havin a free-for-all, lol, you should be fine ;)

Have fun, enjoy your rest, take it easy, stretch as much as possible, & keep us posted. We'll be here when you're ready to get back in action ;)
 
Hi Girls,

I'm back from my Disney vacation and starting M3, W1 today :D My legs got plenty of "work" last week since we were walking around the parks so much, and walking fast. I was sore every day. It's chest and back today but I may throw in some shoulders and tris too if I have time. I really feel like my upper body is screaming for some action ;)

Thanks KiKi for getting us started this week/month. Hope those cramps have eased up.

Regina, enjoy your recovery week :) Looking forward to hearing from everyone and welcome to all who are joining.

Tracy
 
Hey girls..
Kiki:hope the cramps are better..have you ever tried aleve?? works wonders for me

Regina: A rest week will not change your definition! relax already..you have a marathon to run!

Tracy: just finished meso 3 disc 1 as well...holy long breaks batman! this is my first time doing sts and i have to admit i cheated and advanced the dvd..:eek:

I absolutely LOVED my rest week! did lots of walking and tried ilaria's bodystrikes 2 and atletica...LOVE them both...
 
Hey ladies. It's a no go on the cramps, they decided to stick around regardless of my many attempts to medicate/sedate them :( . I decided on an elliptical run since I really would have been no good doing STS right now (no energy for those pushups!)

Tracy: welcome back!! glad you enjoyed yourself, I know what you mean about the walking (and fast, lol) we went for the RT, and DS made sure that the time we spent in the parks counted! LOL.

Steph: I know this will sound crazy, but I L.O.V.E the rest periods in M3. I lift extremely heavy, and therefore suck up every last bit of that rest. I used to train w/mostly an M3 mentality, though, so that could be the result of the bias towards it :eek: . M1 is the one that gives me fits :mad: , I hate endurance w/o's and moving so quickly..but I know that my body needs both, so I push through it and follow the program as it was intended (much to my dismay :rolleyes: ) and get beautiful results every time ;) ....Sooooo, don't underestimate the beauty of those rests, lol. If they seem too long, try lifting heavier :confused: ? Idk, it could work...On another note, I've been wanting to try those same Ilaria dvd's for quite some time, so I'm glad to hear your review of them. You may just be the enabler I was looking for :p , to obtain yet another victim of the cellophane prison....
 
okay kiki...you got me....HOW MUCH DO YOU BENCH?????? AND ROW???:eek:

i am ashamed to admit i am doing :eek: slim in six..old style to thin out my legs....since i have been cathe and sts ing with high weights my legs have gotten a little hulky...absolutely love the upper body results but not so much my thighs....so i was on another site and they sing the praises of the debbie seibers...so...i caved...i have done the 4 days now...i will let you know how it goes...don't think i will make it to the six though...
btw i love plyo legs...maybe that is my problem...
 
Steph: in Meso 3, I bench & row around 100lbs (98 in week 1, 102 by wk4) . May not be too impressive, but I'm a shorty, and it's really heavy to me :). As for the slim in six, I won't judge you :eek: , because it took me nearly 3 rounds of STS before deciding to purchase squat rack legs, due to the same fear of legs that won't fit in my jeans, lol. So during m1 & 2, I was typically squatting, calves raises, deadlifting, etc w/my barbell w/o any extra weight added (45lbs). But I'm biting the bullet this time around, so keep your fingers crossed for me :eek:, I'll be your guinea pig :p
 
listen that sounds mighty impressive to moi!:eek: i am at 65 now....part of my problem is that i don't have a barbell rack or a spotter...
i hear great things about you (from skulking on the other threads) I am pretty motivated by that 100! i am a mini shorty..5'5:p

bbl
 
OMG, Steph and Kiki that is amazing how much you guys lift. I don't know whether to be motivated to be like you guys or run the other way because I don't think I would ever be able to lift that!:p

I was able to get a 6 mile run in today but we had to unexpectedly put our dog to sleep today so I have been pigging out on chocolate all day because I've been very stressed about it hoping that I made the right decision.:( I am hoping to get back on track with my eating tomorrow. By the way, do any of you guys count calories? I've been wearing the BodyBugg for the longest time and have just gotten to a point where I just can't seem to lose any more weight. I've been wondering though if I am eating enough to sustain me through doing STS and running. I'm so afraid of eating too much and gaining back the weight that I've been able to lose.

Regina
 
Regina: First, I wanna say I'm soooo sorry to hear about your dog :( , we have one that is like my son's sister, because she's been around for so long (11yrs), and I know that day will come one day, but I never want to think about it, so go ahead and enjoy your chocolate - I won't judge (I can eat some, too, if it helps ;) )....
Second.....Don't run! (well, ok, maybe for your marathon...but not AWAY! :p) It's not really about the amount of weight (although it helps you to set goals), it's just making sure that the weight that you're lifting is as heavy as it should be...for you! I guess it's kinda like how you can get in a 6 mile run :confused: and I could barely get down the block, rofl! Seriously, I have ZERO endurance. I mean, I work on it, and I get by, but I'm more of a "sprinter", by nature. I do better w/short powerful spurts, vs. long and steady state. I'm the type that, back in the school days, when we were running laps around the track, I'd be lightening fast on the first round (at the head of the pack), toward the middle on the second lap, and coming in last on the final :mad: . Anyway, as for calorie counting, I use myfitnesspal to keep track, makes it pretty easy to adjust based on what I'm doing because it ups your cals automatically on days you log exercise and lowers them on days that you don't, so I don't have to worry about figuring it out anymore. Plus there's a small group of Cathletes over there and we kinda keep tabs on each other and the accountability factor (plus being able to see what others are eating) helps out alot...
 
steph_arena said:
listen that sounds mighty impressive to moi!:eek: i am at 65 now....part of my problem is that i don't have a barbell rack or a spotter...
i hear great things about you (from skulking on the other threads) I am pretty motivated by that 100! i am a mini shorty..5'5:p

bbl
Click to expand...

Girl, 65 is good! As long as you're lifting as heavy as possible for you, it's all that matters. ;) That's all I was saying. I just know that for me, I am completely spent after the final rep :eek:, and therefore need every morsel of rest in order to be able to put out the amount of reps expected on the next set. If I rush it, I'll come up short. If I rush it and DON'T come up short, then I know that I haven't lifted heavy enough. That last rep should be a struggle. I do not set the weight down, if I know I could have done more. I continue and do as many as I can, write down that weight, and log it in the w/o manager, thus giving me a new 1RM on that exercise. I have to do that often, because I find that as I work through the program, my 1RM's are constantly changing as I gain strength. So I don't keep working w/the #'s that I had at the start of the program, because as I get stronger, I don't want to halt progress. I will say that having a bb rack does help tremendously ;), and having a spotter would be quite beneficial as well (I have to progress much more slowly now that DH and I don't w/o together anymore, because he used to spot me). I'm pretty sure that I couldn't bench that heavy if I didn't have the rack :confused:, I can't even imagine the effort it would take just hoisting that amount weight into the starting position :eek: . Be careful, woman!

BTW, your height is like a supermodel to me, lol. I'm barely over 5'0 :rolleyes: , just don't tell that to my drivers license, lol (says 5'2 :p )
 
Hello Ladies!!

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend! I know I did! Got in Discs 4, 5 and 6! I am now up to 8 unassisted pullups which I am way excited about!! :D Yahoo!! I am excited about the weights I am using for legs as well this time around. Seriously cannot wait to get bday money so I can by 30 lb dumbbells!!

Regina - I am sorry to hear about your dog. That is so hard! I am sure you did the right thing. As far as counting cals go - yes I do. I went to bodybuilding.com and figured out how many I should be eating given my level of activity. I had to tweak it a bit which took some trial and error but I think I finally got it. There seems to be a fine line between getting enough to sustain the workouts and losing the extra pounds. Don't let yourself get too low either...that will curtail any weight loss and muscle building.

Tracy - I am glad you enjoyed your trip. Disney rocks!! Enjoy Meso 3!!

Steph - Glad you enjoyed your rest week. It is so refreshing to change things up a bit sometimes! ;)

Kiki - You are so funny! I hope you are feeling better!!

Natalie
 
Hi Girls,

I got kickboxing, bi's and abs in today. Kind of nervous about plyo tomorrow but I haven't come across a single w/o in STS that hasn't been great.

KiKi & Steph, way to go on the heavy lifts!! Y'all are motivating me to work for higher weights.

Regina, I'm so sorry about your dog :( We had to put our boy chocolate lab to sleep a couple years ago. His sister is now 14 so I know the time will come sooner than I want it to to make the decision about her.

I don't count calories but I try to keep my eating as clean as possible and watch my portions.

Natalie, congrats on the 8 unassisted pull-ups!! I can only do 4 :eek:

Tracy
 
Well, I skipped my STS w/o again yesterday (because I felt a migraine coming on, and was afraid the pushups might push me over the edge), but I did do 4DS KB (cardio) in the AM and then when DH got home, he wanted to do STS-AC (Med ball/partner), which we did half of, the download quit on us (before getting to the "partner" part :rolleyes: ), and then we finished up w/ the Functional Core Premix of CCC. He's also doing STS right now, but he's on his last wk of M2, so we're not at the same place in the program. This is his first time doing it, and he LOVES it (and trust me, it LOVES him :eek: )

Anyway, since I'll be outta town over the weekend, it looks like I've used up all my cardio days this wk, and will be doing discs 4,5,6 today, tomorrow, and fri.

Natalie: way to plow through those discs over the weekend, and the 8 pullups! That's awesome!

Tracy: How'd you like those Plyo's? :eek: I'm sure you'll love them. It's a great w/o. And when you're done, it's like "I can't believe I did that!"

Regina & Steph: Hope ya'll are having a good week so far!
 
good morning gals!

just finished disc 26 plyo...love it...

regina: sorry about your dog:(

Natalie: 8 pull-ups...you are my hero! i can do one and i pat myself on the back!

Kiki: love your name makes me smile everytime i read or write it..
congrats on the cardio...i know you are not crazy about it! have you tried maxalt for your migranes...LOVE IT! i am a firm believer in medication;)

i am on myfitness pal however i am really trying to total my daily eats...very hard for me.. i am not really sure how it works besides that...every thread seems to be about jillian:confused:
bbl
 
Hi Everyone,

Yesterday I logged another 6 miles on the treadmill and did Stretch Max. Today I plan on doing the spinning bike. I found a great workout on Oxygen magazine's web site for the spin bike, I just have to figure out if we have all the songs on iTunes and then try and make a playlist...not very capable in this department, usually kids or hubby do it for me but no one is home so I guess I will struggle through on my own :).

Kiki - I hope your head feels better soon. I used to get migraines alot too so I know how you feel. My hubby is also doing STS. He's taking a break this week from it but will start again probably next week. Once he got over doing a DVD by a woman, he actually liked it :).

Natalie - Awesome on the 8 pull-ups. I still do them like Brenda and Denise do on the DVD. I hope someday to be able to do at least 1 with my feet off the ground. Hope you get that new weight soon.

Tracy - Hope you survived the plyos. You'll learn to love it. I think its awesome too that you can do 4 pull-ups. You all are very motivating for me!!
 
Happy Wednesday girls!!

Thanks for the kudos on the pullups. I have been working hard on them despite the fact that I despise them! Yesterday I did the Pryamid HiiT and very early this morning was Gym Style Legs. Wow those hamstring roll outs with one leg are tough! I have a feeling I will be sore tomorrow. Which is good...

Reginia - Good work on the run! I wish I had a treadmill. Of course I just got hired to work PT at our brand new YMCA that is opening so I will have access in about a month. Very excited about that!!! :D And I totally hear ya on the technology...I can usually figure it out but takes me forever! :eek:

Steph - Good work on Plyo!

Kiki - Hope you are feeling better! Although I don't get migraines I would agree that the pushup position is probably the last position you want to be in with a headache! Good job on your other workouts though! Must be great to have someone to work out with...maybe I will find me one of those some day! ;)

Tracy - Good luck on the plyo! You will love to hate it!! :p

Have a great day everyone!!

Natalie
 
Hi Ladies:
I am back from rest week and halfway through Meso 2, week 1. Today was Disc 14, legs.
Love those trisets!!! I tend to get bulky in the thighs while doing STS so I may adjust my leg workouts going forward. Not sure if I will lighten the weights and keep with the trisets (which I really, really love) or do some other kind of legwork instead. Another option may be to do different cardio- maybe more plyo or throwing a run day. Any thoughts from those of you that have this same issue?

NATALIE: WTG on the pullups!!! Persistence pays off. I am sure your hammies will be talking
to you after the rollouts. That is one of my favorite exercises to lift the rear.
KiKi: Great weight numbers!! I can see why you are totally exhausted
Steph and Tracy: PLYO is fun- such a feeling of accomplishment when it is over
Regina: Once you master the playlist, you will have sooo much fun creating all kinds of lists.
Have a great ride!
 
Hello all!!

Today was STS Total Body - the Upper Body Premix. Exactly what I wanted/needed today!! Yep, hams are sore today after the rollouts yesterday! :D

Brenda - Welcome back from resting! :p I can't really help with the bulking issue...I'm sure one of the other girls will have some words of advice.

Have a great day!!

Natalie
 
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