STS STS 3.5 Mo.-Is Anyone Else Doing This?

Hi all ! Got stuck at work yesterday with no dinner and didn't get home till 9. Did bb legs in the morning but obviously didn't get to do cardio. Back up this morning and trying to find motivation because it's going to be at least a 12/13 hour day. I'm just going to start gs bsb and see how far I get. Will take enough food to make sure I don't crash like yesterday. Trying not to get to annoyed work is screwing with my work outs. Lol don't they know I need my sts/cathe fix??

Lab nick - how are your arms/upper body doing?? I'm noticing more doms as I go up in weights. Are you still using your vest? Mine was kind of sliding during dead lifts does that happen to you? My bis are really starting to come in - that's a first!

Toni - how is your vest working out? What are you doing for cardio?

Rlw - I'm so sorry for your run of bad luck!! But I'm really happy your still with us. Life does step in and kick our butt sometimes but I hope it's smooth sailing for you from here on out - keep your chin up.

Jen - how is ur recovery week going?? You should be done with the dreaded wall squats yes?

Ok I'll check in later as I grind it out today. How many rest days do you guys take? After yesterday I'm thinking I need to find more of a balance with rest and w/o. I really shouldn't be so mad I missed one cardio session. I was actually considering doing it at 9 knowing I had to get up at 4 and knowing I hadn't eaten since 1030 am. But I made myself eat and go to bed.

I love hearing how everyone is doing - thanks for keeping me motivated ladies :)
 
I really like the idea of the vest. Only problem is that I've already invested so much money in Cathe workouts (the workouts + the equipment) that I can't see spending the $ for a vest. Though I've considered it many times. Here is my question. It is to add weight for leg work--well, that seems like you'd have to be taking the vest on and off during leg workouts. Am I misunderstanding how it's used. It would have been useful during squats in Meso #1 but dumbbells were adequate for everything else.

fej327--This is my last week of Meso 1--so next week is my recovery week. But yes! yesterday was my last wall/ball squats! Yay! I am so happy to be finished with those. I hate them.

I take one rest day a week. I workout Mon-Sat. and take Sunday off. This Sunday however I may do some yoga on Sunday. Haven't decided. Thought it would be a nice way to enter my recovery week.
 
I hear you about the money - I didn't wait till some stuff was deal of day and didn't do bundles at first - big mistake! I use the vest for legs and only take it off for a couple of exercises- I useit for lunges squats dead lifts - I like it cause it gives my Forearms a break. I liked it for the slide lunges and the sit and stands - easier to balance.

Yoga is a great idea! I could have done that last night and it prolly would have helped me sleep. I have 2 cathe yoga and never even thought of it !:roll eyes -- thanks Jen for reminding me it doesn't have to be a total cardio sweat fest to do me some good.

Labnick and Toni how are you guys utilizing your vest??

Rlw - hoping today is a good day - sending you positive thoughts :)
 
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Hi all!

I am a little behind with my STS. Will be doing legs on saturday and back and tris on saturday. Yesterday was a rest day. I have no set day for my rest day. I usually decide at the spur of the moment. I let my body tell me when it is time to rest.

Today I did hard strikes. Been a while since I did this. Tomorrow morning i am planning Ride which I love!

Fej..i haven't used my weight vest yet for STS. But now that I have gone with heavier weights I am planning too on Saturday. At work when the girls do a Leslie Sansone's walk dvd I wear it and jog in place when everyone else is walking. The vest really bounces so i take a rubber band and tie the bottom underneath my breastbone together and this helps a great deal. My arms are looking great! My bis are popping and I have tris!!!!! Loving this.

Jen...i use the vest mainly for a leg routine. And I agree with you about spending $. Sometimes you just need to step back.
 
Hey everyone!! I finished my last week of M1 last Friday. I can honestly say I'm glad to be done with M1. That just about wiped me out :eek: It just moved soooo fast. I did my first M2 workout this morning(chest, shoulders, tri). Such a slower pace and I really enjoyed it compared to M1. I will say that I did feel results out of M1 and I'm glad I did it, even if I cussed the entire way through :eek:

I'm using my weighted vest for leg workouts. I don't like holding 20# dumbbells, so the vest is helpful there. But I totally hear you about the money. My fitness budget is a tad bit out of hand :eek: And every time I think I don't need anything else, something else comes up that I MUST have. A spin bike was totally not in my plan for the year, but here I sit with one just the same!!

Someone asked what we were doing for cardio. Honestly, cardio hasn't been too much more than 2x per week with M1. Some weeks I managed to get a half hearted attempt at a third cardio session, but M1 just totally wiped me out at times. And the addition of spinning during M1 was also a factor. I will say that last week my body seemed to have adjusted and I was not wiped out at the end of the week. Now I plan on doing three intense cardio sessions a week. Two will be spinning and a third will be one of Cathe's higher intensity DVDs(IMAX, Intensity, TTM, CF...something of that nature). I read somewhere that you should try to get some impact in your workouts, so I don't want to do 3 spinning a week. I've become somewhat addicted to spinning since I got a bike a little over a month ago :cool:
 
Hi all!

Had company over since Friday so I am a little behind in my STS. I plan to start tomorrow where I left off. With this said disc 20 legs will be tomorrow.

Toni...I love my spin bike. I also was not looking to buy a spin bike and like you did. I have had mine since March. Boy what a calorie burner. I did spin three times friday thru today. It is quite workout and I was concerned about waking my guests. I usually spin once or twice a week and like to mix in higher impact workouts. TM, kickboxing and HIIT are my favorites.

How is everyone doing?

Lori
 
I finished Meso 1 last week and this week is my recovery week. I feel like I got great muscle related results in Meso 1, but I gained weight, which I am not thrilled about. I won't lie, my eating wasn't all it should have been, but it also wasn't any different than usual. So I'm a little irritated with the weight gain. Before anyone blames it on muscle gain, not only has Cathe and other trainers discounted any kind of large weight gain in relation to gaining muscle, I can tell this weight gain isn't just muscle. Which is truly odd because I have gained muscle as well--I can tell! But my thighs have also gotten larger and so has my waist and stomach. :( My stomach is my problem area so I am not thrilled at all.

Not sure what to attribute the fat gain to but I do know I need to work harder to tighten up my diet. So that is my new goal. This week for recovery I am doing primarily MWT--CT, TTM, AB. I did Low Max today and yesterday I did Bob Harper's Cardio Conditioning which is MWT. So hopefully if I keep my diet tight this week I can take off the weight I gained.

But this leads me to how I approach Meso 2 and 3. I do love muscle and I love the workouts, but to be honest I've never had this problem before. I'm pretty good at maintaining my weight and I've fought to not to gain (unsuccessfully) all through the 8 weeks of Meso 1. And I'll be lifting even heavier in the next two mesocycles.

For upper body I plan to keep on lifting according to 1RM like I have been, but for the Leg workouts, I don't think I will continue using the 1RM weights. I'll be honest--it's been a loooong time since I felt my thighs touch--AND THEY ARE TOUCHING. NOT DIGGING IT. :confused:

And I was so excited about the squat rack routines in Meso 3--my husband even got me a squat rack for Christmas just so I could do STS. Now I'm no longer sure I want to squat a massive amount of weight. And I once really wanted to! But I am so afraid my thighs will just keep expanding!

Any thoughts?
 
Jengolff: I know you did XTrain before STS. Did you gain weight with that too? I feel like you were really happy with your results from that. I'm just curious. That is frustrating that you are experiencing this. I know you are enjoying this rotation and have worked so hard. Hang in there! Good luck with tightening up your diet!
 
Hi Ladies!

Slept in this morning. Planning on disc 20 legs tonight then walking the dog 2.5 miles (very hilly) so conserving my stength.

Jen...I just read your post and I would be freaking out too. I have not had this problem at all with STS. I tend to have thick legs and I really need to work them. Once I stop my thighs expand! I eat well and follow a balanced diet. Not always clean but I try. XTRAIN and STS really have been leaning my legs. I love the heavy weight. The only difference between you and I is I did not do the 1 rep max and I am only doing the 3.5 month rotation. I know I am not lifting as much as you but enough to tone me. I also do spin, plyo, hiit workouts and run on TM and of course walk my huge yellow lab..all lower body trimmers. All the studies say you gain weight first but what your describing sounds off.

When I feel weight gain coming on I cut back a little on my eating and I notice results immediately. So perhaps you are correct with tightening your diet a bit? Sometimes we eat more than what we realize. I am very guilty of this!

Keep us informed and I hope next time you post you are seeing better results.

Hi to everyone!
 
Thanks for the replies. I know my diet isn't what it should be. I try to live by the 80/20 rule but that rule has gotten harder the older I get. It seems like my body tolerates no "cheat" meals these days without me having to do serious damage control. But that that's the kicker--my damage control was always successful--that's how I maintained. Damage control isn't working so well these past 8 weeks. So I need to stop having weekend cheat meals for a while I guess. Then there will be no damage to control!

Yes, I got great results from Xtrain. No weight gain. No weight loss. But I did see/feel "slimming"--I got leaner in some areas--my thighs, my bum got tighter, could see some obliques. My arms, btw, just keep growing through Xtrain and now with STS--but that is clearly muscle.

For cardio I have been doing primarily HIIT-type workouts with STS--Cathe's HIITs, TTM, Intensity, Imax workouts, Tabatacise. I'm changing things up in Meso 2--still doing HIIT-type workouts but I decided to venture out of doing exclusively Cathe and go back to some old favorites. Amy Dixon's Breathless Body workouts (very intense HIIT/tabata workouts), Michelle Dozois Peak 10 and PeakFit workouts, TurboFire's HIIT workouts and some Insanity, also some kickboxing: TurboFire and Illaria Montagnani’s workouts. On the weekends I'll do Bob Harper's brutal workouts. I do miss those.

Some of the best results I've ever gotten from workout programs were from TurboFire and the PeakFit program. So we'll see!
 
Hello ladies sorry I was mia - a few health issues cropped up. I won't bore you with the details but I'll be having surgery next Tuesday to remove several fibroids. I'm trying to be positive - nothing life threatening and an easy fix - just a bump in the road. A bump I handled by going off the rails and eating everything I'd even sort of craved since jan when i cleaned up my diet. But I am getting back on track - starting with this post to make myself accountable :)

Toni - way to go on Meso 1 !! I really like Meso 2 pace also - especially doing one body part at a time. Are you noticing your any stronger? I've thought about spinning but I've never tried it - did you try a class at a gym before you committed to your own bike? You've really given me an itch to try it -

Lab nick - how did disc 20/legs go? My butt has had doms ever since I've added my vest. I'm loving the heavy leg work as my thighs are a challenge - especially the back of them. Xtrain and butts and guts made a big difference and I'm hoping at the end of sts I'll have my dream legs - fingers crossed!
I really like walking too and I'm glad the weather is finally good enough to walk outside.
FYI - the terminater was on over the holiday and I caught the scene where she's doing pull ups in her cell. I swear I thought of your bis and tris ;-)

Rlw- how are you feeling? I'm hoping your energy has gotten better - is the weather getting warm where you are? Sunshine always helps

Jen - oh yeah - freak out wouldn't have described how I would feel with unexpected weight gain after hitting sts hard the way you've been. My stomach has a pouch after having my son and that is the first place bloat/gain shows, so I understand your frustration because it is a hard area to get in shape. I think your idea to experiment with your weights when doing legs is a good one. I know it's usually go big or go home - but everyone's body is different and if in the past lighter weights on legs has given you desired results I say return to it. And that rack will still get great use - you can throw in heavy sets here and there to keep ur body guessing.

I will be 44 next month and I agree with you (I think your over 40 if I remember correctly?) I cannot cheat as much even if I drink tons of water and throw in some extra cardio/walking etc. I honestly didn't think a few days of bad eating would kick the scale up like it did when I was still doing doubles. But coupled with little sleep and I'm in the same boat you are. I wanted to be at a certain weight for my birthday and I was on track if I lost at 1 lb a week ( reasonable right). Now I'm going to have to really get strict. But we can do this - you are an amazing athlete and can do anything you set your mind too. You've already gotten a plan together and your dealing it while it's a little jump in numbers. You will kick that weight right off - I don't doubt for a minute!!

I'm going to order some other cardio to mix things up - you said turbo fire and peak fit gave you good results??

Off to sleep and I will be up at 4 for bb legs and glutes-- 44 and goal weight here I come !!
 
Fej327:I hope you feel better! I know how the "routine" things feel. They certainly aren't routine when they are happening to you. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to eat afterwards. Your body goes through a lot after surgery, even a "minor" one (I'm a surgical nurse :)).

I am still struggling but I saw my doctor yesterday and he said to try backing my dose down. Hoping that works. I did figure out the hives are from the pill and so is my constant nausea. Hoping the lower dose does the trick. Good news is that my headaches are under control!
 
Rlw -thanks for the advice - I am not good at resting but I am determined to take it easy and listen to my body


I'm so glad you conquered your headaches - now I'm saying a prayer that the nausea and hives disappear too . It's about time you get a break and things start going your way. Fingers crossed for you.

Jen I ate super clean today and every time I was tempted I thought of you - you inspired me to buckle down and stop with excuses. 3 1/2 weeks to my birthday - no cheating till then. I'm taking it one day at a time. Summer here we come :)
 
Good evening!

Fej....hoping you are feeling well soon. I agree with rlw....you need to rest up before you dive in to your workouts.

Rlw...hope you are feeling better soon too! Sounds like you have had a tough time lately. Yeah headaches are gone! Yeah!!

Disc 20 was great. Used my weight vest which added some intensity for sure! Loved it. I actually have some DOMs in my butt today. :)

At lunch I did a leslie sansone walk dvd with the girls and had so much fun. We did a 2 mile walk and I had 1lb ankle and hand weights. I also turned it into a higher impact workout. Ran instead of walked. Pretty much jumped and ran the entire time. Like I said it ended up being a great workout. Wasn't overly intense but a good work out just the same. Sometimes it is exactly what is needed.
 
Hello everyone! I've been super busy this week, so haven't gotten back here like I wanted to.

fej327--so sorry to hear about your health issues. I hate it when things out of your control throw you off your game. But getting back on track as soon as you can is the only way to handle it! So sounds like you're doing the right thing.

Yes, I am 42 and I can't seem to get away with anything that I used to be able to. Seems crazy and makes me think--wasn't that the reason I have been lifting weights all these years? Why is it no longer working? The past 2-3 years I have worked out harder than I ever have--lifted heavier, done way more HIITs and plyometrics than ever and yet I gain weight easier than ever. I didn't think it was supposed to work that way.

I will say that my recovery week has already fixed some of the damage. This week I did Bob Harper's Cardio Conditioning, Low Max, TTM extreme premix, AB and today was CF + core premix. Tomorrow I am doing Low Impact Circuit (for at least one real recovery workout). I've dropped 4.5 pounds just this week. I need to not mess it all up this weekend so that I can keep the scale moving downward! That is my goal. I gained 6 pounds, but I'd like to lose 10 pounds. It was my goal when I started STS to lose 5 pounds--clearly that didn't occur!

rlw3--wow! I am so sorry to hear about the difficult time you are having with your rx dosage. I hope you have straightened out now. Are you feeling better?

Next week starts Meso 2! I haven't printed out my workout cards yet, so I am a little scared. I will this weekend. Like I mentioned before, I plan on not using the workout card 1RM for the Leg workouts. I'll still print it out and use some of the weights as a guideline, but all the heavy lifting is over! At least until Meso 3. I'll figure that out when I get closer.
 
Labnick way to go on using ur vest to kick up the intensity- I love DOMS in my butt - means it was a perfect workout - I think I do disc 20 next week - I hope I get the same :). Love that you did the walk but got more of a workout in with the weights and running. That's really making it work for you- smart woman

Rlw - how are you doing? Is the dosage adjustment helping?

Toni- this was your recovery week right? What'd you do instead ?

Jen - I am right there with you in the not able to get away with anything. I've done well the last few days eating but they started me on some meds to shrink those fibroid b4 surgery and its making me bloated - almost pms like water retention. But even without that since turning 40 I've increased my weights, added hiits, added way more veggies and it is a battle every day. I eat more protein than ever and drink water like crazy but I swear my body holds onto every pound ( I miss my diet Pepsi but that had to go too) I'm trying to just wait until after I'm off these meds ( I take nothing usually just vitamins ) so I can see where my weight is. I'm only 4 lbs over now but it's hard to say what's meds/water and what's me. But I do know I'm keeping track and watching my eating - I don't want 4/5 lbs to turn into 10.

I know I thought with my consistent working out and eating well most of the time I didn't think my 40's would be such a battle. Doesn't seem fair but I won't give in. I've put in too much time and sweat to just accept this. But the more reading and research I do the more I'm realizing its going to come down to diet. Sigh

Jen you'll love Meso 2. I know I'm stronger because push ups are finally getting a little easier! Excited for you!

Enjoy you weekend ladies :)
 
Hey all!! I just finished up my first week of M2. Love, love, love the slower pace!! I am definately feeling like I can go up in all the weight selections, except a couple of shoulder moves. I've also been doing doubles this week :eek: I did three of them. I have so much more energy now that those endurance workouts are over. I guess they worked though!!!

Jengolf: Glad you are starting to see the scale of back the other direction. My scale hasn't moved really at all since I started STS, but my fat is definately less. I've been limiting my calories to between 1700-1800 though, which is a bit challenging I must say!! I've also been trying not to let the weekend eating mess up the week. I also have problems with that. So far so good. No scale movement, but I feel good about the way I look. 80% really is in the eating. I keep trying to remind myself of that!!

fej327: I actually didn't take a recovery week. It didn't really fit into my vacation schedule, so I just moved right to M2. I'll be taking a recovery week after I finish M2. Then I'll only be able to do M3 for three weeks before another vacation, but I'm ok with that.

labnick: How do you walk to a DVD. I find this completely baffling. I need to go look at a clip on You Tube or something. I just can't picture it in my head.
 
Good afternoon ladies!


Really hot here in New England the past few days. Been taking my dog for his walk and swim at 5am instead of working out. Just too hot for him in the evening.

Did disc 21 back and biceps on thursday and WOW!! What a workout. Never have I have DOMs in my biceps before. I am so loving meso 2. I love everything about it. Hoping meso 3 is as good. The double wave load was awesome. I am lifting so much more than I ever dreamed I would and I love that every workout is different

Does anyone use Cathe's workout blender? I recently started using it and I have to say I love it. I have purchased a few downloads in the past and recently a few more. I added all the kickboxing ones I have and took the best from each and made one heck of a workout. A little from KPC, Cross train express, 4day split and cardio kicks. Came out to an hour and 16 minutes including warm up and cool down. Did it for the first time this morning after my walk and it kicked my butt (in a good way). I am looking forward to the new workouts and what I can create as I have bought both dvd's and downloads.

Have a great weekend.
 
Good evening all!

Today was disc 22, ch,sh and tris. The drops set brought me to failure every time. Incredible workout. This is my last week of meso 2 then recovery week. Because I am behind a bit with my STS I am also not going to have a a full recovery week. I am going away on vacation 7/2 and do not want to come back and have only 1 more week to finish. This makes no sense to me. Would like to have it all completed before I go!

So far STS has gone by really quick for me. I like that I feel I am always doing a different workout.

Toni....I hear you about the walk DVD's they made no sense to me until I did them. Picture marching in place. That is the basic movement.

Fej...how are you feeling? Hope your recovery is going well.

Rlw...hoping you are feeling better too!!!! Let's us know how you are feeling.

Jengollf...how are you liking Meso 2? Are you loving no wall squats!

Chat with you all later.
 
Meso 2! I've actually only done 1 Meso 2 workout so far--Disk 13 Chest, Shoulders and Triceps. That was yesterday. My shoulders are so sore! It was definitely different from Meso 1 and I really liked it. Don't get me wrong--I loved Meso 1. I love Cathe's circuit workouts--you get such a good burn with them. But I also love the heavier lifting workouts. For one--the rest period between exercises actually gives me set up time! My weight bench is finally getting some great use--along with my bench press/squat rack stand.

Tomorrow is Legs. I am so glad there are no wall squats but I have myself freaked out after Meso 1. I am so afraid my thighs will just keep getting bigger and bigger. Which seems absurd because I have never had this problem until Meso 1. But I also don't know how to get them to go back to the way they were. It seems like continuing STS Leg workouts will not "shrink" them. But I'm doing it anyway--with lighter weights that is!

I also can't stop thinking about the squat rack workouts I purchased for Meso 3. :( At this point I think I will just do plyo legs and skip the squat rack workouts. And I wanted to do them so bad. Those were the whole reason my husband got me the squat rack for Christmas. Now I'm afraid of them. Oh well.

I have lost the weight I gained! Yay! Now I can work on losing the 5 pounds I wanted to lose to begin with. Hopefully from my THIGHS!

I did the walking workouts. A long time ago. I was in a bad car accident in 2009. Both heels shattered and I now have 2 plates and 12 screws in each heel. I didn't walk for 4 months. My recovery period was very long when I was walking again. However I have always been a dedicated exerciser and was in fact in the middle of P90X when the drunk driver decided to hit my car head on. So I slowly but surely started working out again, building my strength and stamina back up. And I used A LOT of Leslie Sansone walking DVDs back then. They gave me a really good workout, too! I really liked them.

I have a lot of interest in the workout blender. Seems like such a cool idea. but I already own almost every Cathe workout out there. So I haven't spend more on the downloads yet. maybe one day. I'd have to figure out how to use them in my workout room.
 
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