STS PYRAMID ROTATION CHALLENGE

DixieGirl

DixieGirl

Cathlete
Hi Ladies,

I'm getting the pyramid check-in started :D For anyone not familiar, several of us had a discussion going on the STS Forum under "STS in reverse". What we'll do is M1, M2, M3, M2, M1. Some ladies are starting in September, some in October. But for anyone who would like to join in, please hop onboard...we'd love to have lots of gals. We'll check in with each other, motivate and cheer each other on, report our progress and have a good 'ole time as we make our way up and down the STS pyramid :)

I also thought it would be fun to tell a bit about ourselves...I'm Tracy & I live in Alabama in the northern part of the state pretty close to the Tennessee border. I went to school at Auburn University and that's where I met my hubby. We've been married for 17 years and have 3 boys ages 12, 8 and 5. I'm on my very first round of STS, on Meso 2 so I started a bit early in August.

Kiki is the brains behind the STS pyramid, Thanks Kikster! I'm really looking forward to seeing what kinds of results I get, so let's get the party started :D
 
Hi
My name is Stephanie and I'm from Montreal Canada. I am a 40 year old highschool PE teacher and I love my job!

I started sts in august as well and am now on my rest week from meso 1. For meso one i was also doing sts 6x a week. I would repeat each disc 2x in that week. I am going to try the same for meso 2 but i will go to the regular schedule if i find i am getting wiped out. I hadn't started work yet when i was doing it 6x week and i forgot how hard on my body it is when i get back to teaching..I might cut out one of the legs workouts since mine are pretty strong.

I have three kiddos:14-8-7 and am happily married.

I also have a stubborn 5-10 pounds that don't want to leave my hips and butt however i like to eat and will be happy to lose some fat.

I am pretty excited to try your pyramid as i have been reading through your posts! I thank you for the open invite:D
 
Hi ladies,

My name is Belinda, I am German, born & raised in Nuernberg/Germany. I am married for 29 years. My DD is 25 years and my son is 22 years old. Last week my husband retired from the US Army after after 31 + years. We moved from Germany to Harpers Ferry, WV:confused:, husband new job got us here:confused: Wished I could move tomorrow, lol!

We don't have a house yet (we are closing on a house), I am doing the STS in an RV;) I have to post some pic, lol! I also doing the 6 month STS rotation (up), will do the 3 month down pyramid.

This week is my recovery week, I will start M2 next week. On top of STS, I been doing Jillian Michels 30 Day Shred, I am on Level 2/day 7. You do each level for 10 days.

I can't wait to see what results I am getting.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!
 
Welcome girls! Thanks for joining the check-in :)

Stephanie, I've heard a lot of good things about doing STS 6X a week. How do you like it so far? That's another rotation I want to try sometime. I try to work my shoulders and tri's 2X a week anyway so that would probably be a good challenge for me.

Belinda, doing STS in an RV, that's dedication :D Hope all goes well w/ the house closing. How's your recovery week going?

Well, for me I got legs done today. I'm a day off b/c of Labor day so I'll have to probably give up one of my cardio days. Plan to be back on track next week :)
 
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Hello ladies!!

I am so excited to join you guys! My name is Natalie, I am 36 years old, recently divorced and have a 6 year old little girl who is awesome!!! :D We live in central Illinois. I work for the State of Illinois and am also a consultant with Mary Kay.

I will finish up my current round of STS at the end of this month so I will be starting the STS Pyramid in October but I thought I would go ahead and "sign in." I am really excited about doing this!! I have seen great result from STS - even more so this time as I have really been challenging myself like never before! (Might be the fact that I am back in the dating world. :p) Anyway, I am also really looking forward to the new Low Impact Series coming out and being able to combine that with STS. Right now I do the STS discs over the weekend and Monday, then another day of legs and a full -body also working in at least 2 HiiTs per week. That along with calorie counting for the first time ever seems to be working for me!

I guess that's it for now! It is great to "meet" you guys! Great idea Tracy getting this started with intros! :)

Have a great day!!
 
Hello everyone,
I started the pyramid challenge yesterday because my schedule makes it easier to fit weight workouts in on Wed- Fri- Sat. I have done several rounds of STS and have had wonderful results. I am 50 years old, married for 23 years and enjoying my empty nest years. I work as a radiation therapist and (until a recent hamstring injury benched me) teach group fitness classes. I am looking forward to this pyramid challenge because it will be the first time I can do STS without having to work it around the 6 fitness classes I was teaching.
I too am looking forward to Cathe's Low Impact Series and plan on inserting a few of the workouts in the STS rotation. I was lucky enough to go to the Glassboro Road Trip this year and I know the workout with the Dixie cups will be a real challenge for me- I had to really modify those forward lunges because of the darn leg injury!!
It will be great to "meet" all of you and share the joys, pains and DOMS that STS always seems to bring!!
 
Thanks Dixie for getting us started!!

Hello to all.

My name is Pamela. I am 47 years old, married to my DH going on 5+ years, have 3 sons, 20+, 17+, and 15+ :confused: lol

This is my first time out with STS and my first serious Cathe rotation. I am doing a combination of STS 6 times a week (like Steph) M1D1, M1D3, M1D2 rest day, repeat and so on, while doing the pryamid also. I have been stuck on a plateau over the summer and I am looking to really shake things up.

Once we get the new series I will work in some cardio on my rest days depending on how my body is doing.

So.... I am officially on day 2 and feeling really good :D

I am usually not very good with check-ins but I am really going to commit to checking in with you all daily along with commiting to the workouts and nutrition too.

I so am looking forward to getting to "know" you all and share this experience with you.

Pamela
(I still need to figure out the STS sticker/tracker....) :p
 
Hey ladies! I've been MIA on the boards lately, but have been following along via phone app. I'm so pshyced about seeing this check-in started that I had to pop in and say "hi"! Still waivering on my start date (was really looking foward to the new w/o's to assist me in rehabing this Achilles injury that I've been nursing since the Disney RT, but I digress...) was planning on starting in Oct., but may jump in here sooner, if I just can't take it anymore, lol.

I'll go ahead w/my intro, though ;) I'm KiKi, a happily married homeschooling mom to my two sons, ages 14 and 24 (with only the youngest currently @ home). This will be my third round of STS, I have really been enjoying my results from the first two times through, but I will say the the second time, when I actually joined and commited to a check-in (-currently "STS Body Rockers"- it's amazing how much the accountability factor + encouraging friends can make a difference), I got outstanding results. Even my DH thought so, and as a result, he has begun his first STS rotation! He is currently on his recovery week from M1, and is tapping his fingers ready to get into M2, lol. Even my youngest wants to get on the Cathe action, and has started doing the Shock Cardio w/o's (mostly HIIT and MMA) to cross train for his upcoming basketball season (this will be his first year that he's old enough to try out for a local high school team, that allows homeschoolers, and he wants to make sure he's got the stamina he needs :p ) So right now they are motivating me to keep going, esp when DH says "I hope this will make my muscles as hard and defined as yours" :eek: LOL

Regardless of when I get started, I'm going to be keeping up with this thread. I look forward to getting to know everyone!
 
Day 3 done - D2M1W1, rest day tomorrow for me, but I may do a little cardio I'll wait to see how I feel in the morning tomorrow ;)


Hey Kikster, I homeschooled my 3 sons, now 20, 17, and 15. The oldest is out on his own now, and the younger 2 made the jump into public high school and doing great, other than having already done some of the work several years back....lol Now it is just me at home with the "zoo" during the day which does help me get my work done just a little bit quicker.... lol


Have a great Friday!!
 
Hi Girls,

Happy Friday :D I'm so excited our check-in is going so well :)

No workout for me today :( During my regular exercise time, I got my hair cut, ran errands then picked up my little one from preschool. I hope to fit some cardio in later today. My older two boys will be home from school soon then it's off to their swim practice so fingers crossed I won't be too tired to get at least a little something in. But regardless, I'll for sure finish up this week of M2 tomorrow and be back on track next week.

Hope you all have a great weekend,

Tracy
 
Hello everyone
Today was M1W1D4 MMA Boxing. I haven't done this workout since spring and I was surprised at the calorie burn I got. Those upper and lower body drills must spike the heart rate even though I was having such fun i didn't notice how much I was sweating. I really like the ab segment at the end- my obliques will be talking to me tomorrow.
Meso 1 is the most difficult phase for me. I really really do not like pushups and pullups. I can do all of the pushups on my toes, but my wrists always get creaky ( the price of getting older.) The last couple sets of pushups always find me giving my wrists a break before I can crank out the last few reps. I have been using DBs for my hands to keep my wrists straight- it helps but the high reps of Meso 1 are pretty demanding on this weak link of my body. Pullups are just plain boring to me. I have gained great strength in my back and can do 6 full pullups and 10 chinups unassisted, but I have a huge dread of that exercise.
Overall the first 2 workouts went very well. I had a bit of DOMS in my chest and shoulders after disc 1, but surprisingly none in my back and triceps after disc2.
Hope everyone has a great weekend and remember to put flags out for Patriot's Day tomorrow. Wow.... amazing it has already been 10 years- in some ways it seems like a moment ago and in others I feel like a lifetime has past since that terrible morning.
 
OK Brenda you are my ultimate HERO!!!!! 6 pull-up and 10 chin ups UNASSISTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I bow down to your supreme excellance! (i am totally not kidding)

My goal was 1 chin up before i died and lets say...this summer i was finally able to die a happy woman!...I can manage 2 if i am doing the bicycle with my knees to get up the second time!

Well back to business

today was disc 1 of meso 2... I like meso 2 so far (ok only first disc) but so much less running around and less equipement!
 
Thanks Steph!!
What really helped me was doing the RKC Rite of Passage. It was amazing how those clean and press ladders helped build my back muscles. After I completed the program I was able to do the pullups unassisted for the first time. I love my kettlebells and always include a couple rounds of swings, snatches and turkish getups at least 2 days a week no matter what else (STS pyramid!!) I am doing
 
Completed Disc 3 legs. I had to modify some of the lunges because of my right hamstring- couldn't go deep on right leg forward lunges and the touchdown lunges in the warmup looked like little pulses on my right leg. Overall a great workout.
Off to a cookout with extended family. Enjoy the rest of the weekend
 
Completed disc 13 yesterday and 14 and 26 (plyo legs) today.. I have a busy week and wanted to get my 2 legs outta the way...I hope I can walk tomorrow:eek:

So I have one more chest and 2 back and bi-seps for the rest of the week...

So far feeling great..had some good doms in my pecs this AM and that totally morivates me..

Off to enjoy the rest of the day!
 
steph_arena said:
.I can manage 2 if i am doing the bicycle with my knees to get up the second time!
Click to expand...

ROFL :eek: - had to giggle at that Steph, cause I know exactly what ya mean :p ! LOL


But seriously, Brenda, those pullup/chinup #s are quite impressive :cool: ;)


Hope everyone had a good weekend!
 
Hey girls!!

I had to comment about the pullup/chinups too...So funny Steph but it is so funny because I know exactly what you are talking about!! :)

That is way impressive Brenda!! I can do 6 pullups unassisted and then go on to so some slower assisted ones. My goal is to crank out 10 w/in the next couple of months...We'll see. ;)

So I started Meso 3 this past weekend and am doing the "Squat Rack" DVD this time for the first time. I really like them! I have a weighted vest and got a new barbell that can handle heavier weights. Has anyone else used those DVD's? How much weight do you feel comfortable putting over your head? Right now I am at 40lbs on the barbell plus the 20 lb vest... I am hoping for some better muscle definition/strength gains from it. I am doing the Plyo disc as well on my second leg day each week.

Anyway, I hope everyone is well!!

Have a great day!

Natalie
 
Hi Girls,

Hope your week has started out good :)

I got shoulders, tri's and chest done this morning. Last week's w/o's seemed a bit off for me but today felt much better so I'm hoping this last week of M2 goes out w/ a bang :D

Brenda, you've motivated me to work harder on chin ups and pull ups :cool:

Natalie, you go girl w/ those leg workouts!

Take care everyone,

Tracy
 
Hey girls,

I am still with you all. I been sick and in/out of the hospital since last Friday. I got a ear/sinus infection. My left ear/face is swollen. I saw the ENT doc yesterday, have to go back Thursday. I started M2 D 13 yesterday, had to take extra breaks (got a little light headed), but I pulled through. Somehow I messed up my workout schedule yesterday, I wasn't suppose to do D13 on Monday:eek: it was schedule for today? Somehow in the workout manager it was listed for Monday (the 6 month rotaiton), the forum shows for today:eek: Oh well! I am not sure, what cardio I will do today, since I can do any high impact cardio? I been walking my dogs alot.

Keep up the good work, you all doing great!
 
Hello All:
Melinda- I can't believe you are back doing M2 so shortly after being in the hospital. You go girl!!!! if I had ear issues like you described I wouldn't be able to do that workout, my goodness I would be light headed doing front raises and falling off the ball when the time came to do those side leaning tricep extensions. Great accomplishment. I hope you are feeling better.
Today is my rest day for week 1. I am going to take a power walk this evening- 5 miles in about 70 minutes or so. I will try to work up enthusiasm for disc 4 on Wednesday- I am not looking forward to those &@#* drop set pushups. I know I will be on ibuprofen the following day!!
Thanks for the props on the pullups everyone!! SERIOUSLY- kettlebells will get you there quicker than one might expect. Another technique I have seen to build up strength was to do assisted lifts up and slowly come down to about 95% extension on the arms down- then get an assist up. Working the negative really helps isolate the lats and build strength (so I have been told by people using that technique)
 
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