STS versus STS 2.0?

[dww]

I have all Cathe's workouts except the first STS - for some reason it just didn't appeal to me.
I'm loving STS 2.0 though!

I'm curious about the difference between STS 1 and 2 and the science behind each of them. Do they generally follow the same kind of periodization, or do they differ? (Since I don't have STS 1, I can't see the STS User Guide so I'm not sure of the details.)

 

[fitnation]

I have all Cathe's workouts except the first STS - for some reason it just didn't appeal to me.
I'm loving STS 2.0 though!

I'm curious about the difference between STS 1 and 2 and the science behind each of them. Do they generally follow the same kind of periodization, or do they differ? (Since I don't have STS 1, I can't see the STS User Guide so I'm not sure of the details.)

A while back Cathe wrote a very good post on her FaceBook page that discussed STS 1.0 and STS 2.0. The user guides for STS 1.0 (not free) and STS 2.0 (free) would also be very helpful for you to compare and contrast the two workout series.

 

[Braille]

I own both, but have yet to do either. The first STS was purchased for my husband, while the second was bought for both of us. I've only done a few of the recovery workouts on the new STS, because we're moving, so I can't start a rotation right now. I'm responding with the one tiny piece of info that I know - The workouts on STS 1 are longer than STS 2. I have less time than my husband, so I knew when we purchased it, that I'd never be able to do the first STS. I do longer workouts here and there, but not as part of a rotation, because I just can't come up with the longer spans of time on a reliable enough basis. STS 2.0, though, will work for me, because the workouts fall within the hour that I can reliably set aside to workout (after the chaos of moving is over - right now, I'm squeezing in whatever I can into whatever time I can carve out). The STS 1 is also a lot more workouts and discs, but you probably already knew that. You'll get a better answer soon, I'm sure, because we have quite a few people on this site that have already started an STS 2 rotation and have done STS (the first one) several times.

 

[Debinmi]

IMO, there are more differences than similarities.

Both emphasize progressive overload - so you increase the weight used as you get stronger. 1.0 incorporates this concept by doing the math for you as you progress thru the 3 Mesocycles, based on your individual 1 Rep Max. In 2.0, Cathe reminds you to increase the load when you find the lifting getting easier - there is NO 1 Rep Max used to determine the weight to use, just the suggestion to use a weight you can complete 8-10reps before failure.

2.0 incorporates much more recovery options throughout the rotation. 1.0 encouraged a 1 week recovery between Mesocycles without a lot of direction except to not lift heavy. 1.0 did provide a bonus extended stretch that Cathe encouraged you to use every time you lifted.

1.0 workouts tend to be longer, especially if you do the bonuses. 2.0 is more time efficient so it's easier to incorporate more recovery work or core if you're pressed for time.

1.0 encouraged more cardio & eventually provided the Shock cardio workouts; 2.0 does not.

2.0 rep count (8-10) is more like Mesocycle 2 - for hypertrophy. However if you lift to failure, it's more like Meso3 - strength. Due to the rest periods in 2.0, you can lighten the weight & do more reps at a faster pace during the rest periods if you want a more endurance-like workout - similar to Meso1 in 1.0.

Periodization is designed as Linear in 1.0, but it can be reconfigured to be Undulating easily. 2.0 doesn't specifically discuss periodization as you're not following the 3- Mesocycles concept.

1.0 recycled some previous video-footage. 2.0's workouts are all original.

1.0 is easy to follow once you complete your 1 Rep Max tests & enter the data into the Workout Manager - so your worksheets with the suggested weights to use are produced for every 40 dvds. 2.0 is way easier since there is no prep work. You should still keep track of the weights used as reminders as to when you're ready to increase the load.

HTH

 

[Debinmi]

... I've only done a few of the recovery workouts on the new STS, because we're moving, so I can't start a rotation right now....

Braille - does this mean you'll have a larger area for workouts?! I hope so!

 

[Braille]

Braille - does this mean you'll have a larger area for workouts?! I hope so!

Debinmi, you gave an excellent answer to dww's question - very informative, and I'd forgotten how much time my husband took to get ready for the first STS with the 1 rep stuff. He really enjoyed all of the prep work. It kind of mentally psyched him up for the whole thing. Me... I would have felt I'd already completed a rotation by the time I was done getting ready for it. lol And yes, yes, yes! So excited! I'm going to have a workout room! I can tell already, though, that I'm going to have to "guard" it. I've been trying to figure out what's going to go where in the new home. Every time I mention to my husband that we might not have room for this or that, he suggests we can just put it in the "back room". That back room/addition to the home is officially our new workout room. I repeatedly told my husband that if it's not exercise equipment, it's not going in there. He keeps saying, but it's a big room. I keep telling him that a big room is what I want, what I need, and what I'm going to end up with. His hoarding is going to have stay in the garage, because I'm not giving up one single inch of that workout room. Hey, my new workout room has carpet and the previous owners don't know what's under it. Carpet is a knee torcher for me, so any suggestions on the cheapest (and large) way to make that floor something that will work better for me? We're going to be broke until we sell the house we're currently in (can't put it on the market right away, because it takes awhile to transition my son to a new environment), so price is a huge factor right now. Carpet's fine for my strength training, but for my cardio, it's just not going to work. I currently work out on a wood floor, so I haven't had any problems - well, except for the limited space. I don't want to be doing one of Cathe's figure eights or something and wrench my knee or ankle. I remember from my last home that there were some cardio workouts that I just couldn't do on carpet. Carpet or not, I am still soooooo excited about having a workout room. Smaller kitchen, smaller garage (poor hubby), smaller bedrooms... but I have a big workout room with windows that will give me a view of the backyard (instead of my neighbors vehicles up on blocks). Unfortunately, my new workout room also has the door we'll be letting the dogs out to the backyard through, and I'm not too happy about that, but I've lived with dogs running across my workout mats for a lot of years, so I guess I'm used to it. I've been trying to stay out of my new Cathe equipment, because it will be easier to move if I just leave it in the boxes, but it's been so hard. I really want to get into the weights with the hand grips and do that standing ab workout everybody keeps talking about! I even bought the bars (2 days before they announced they were out of stock) when I found out we were moving. I don't think I've purchased anything except food and gas since then. Gotta start cutting back. lol

 

[Debinmi]

And yes, yes, yes! So excited! I'm going to have a workout room! ... ... Hey, my new workout room has carpet and the previous owners don't know what's under it. Carpet is a knee torcher for me, so any suggestions on the cheapest (and large) way to make that floor something that will work better for me?

Congrats on the new workout space (&home)!

You might want to pull a little bit of carpet up in an inconspicuous area & see what's underneath... if it's sub-flooring, hardwood or laminate - it might be best to remove all or part of the carpet for a cardio area. Or you could lay puzzle-mats down over the carpet but I wouldn't use the ones you get at Lowes or HomeDepot as they don't have as much give as the nicer ones & you'd have to buy enough so they don't move or slip around. Probably the least expensive option would be to get a 4'x8' piece of smooth plywood to lay down over the carpet - the 1/2 or 3/4 inch would probably be heavy enough to not move around.

So fun to configure your space!

 

[Braille]

Congrats on the new workout space (&home)!

You might want to pull a little bit of carpet up in an inconspicuous area & see what's underneath... if it's sub-flooring, hardwood or laminate - it might be best to remove all or part of the carpet for a cardio area. Or you could lay puzzle-mats down over the carpet but I wouldn't use the ones you get at Lowes or HomeDepot as they don't have as much give as the nicer ones & you'd have to buy enough so they don't move or slip around. Probably the least expensive option would be to get a 4'x8' piece of smooth plywood to lay down over the carpet - the 1/2 or 3/4 inch would probably be heavy enough to not move around.

So fun to configure your space!

Thanks Debinmi! I have thought about seeing if I can take a peek at the floor underneath. The inspector suspects it subfloor, because there's evidently a crawl space underneath it. I didn't know there was a difference in the puzzle-mats, so thanks for letting me know, because I wasn't too impressed with the ones I saw at HomeDepot (and I figured Lowe probably had the same thing). As far as the 4' x 8' - that's a great idea to get me started. I'll have to ask my husband, but I'm not so sure we don't have one in the garage. If we do, I'll have a floor to get started with set up for free! I already have mat/roller racks put in my wish list on Amazon. Someday, I'll be able to afford them, and I actually have a wall in the new workout room! I'm even going to have room to use my big round Cathe mat that I bought before I measured my current workout space and then realized I didn't actually have the room). Once we get out from under some of this debt, I'm going to be able organize, install hooks for bands, and maybe hang a few motivational posters. I've been configuring my space on paper. lol Can't wait to do it for real! Thanks Debinmi!

 

[dww]

Debinmi, thanks so much for all the details - really appreciate it!

Braille, thank you too -- I think your answer gave me what I needed - the knowledge that I don't really *need* the original STS. The longer workouts and extra work to identify my 1 rep max sounds a little daunting. Congrats on your new workout room, what a pleasure! I hope your move goes smoothly.

 

[nickisteen]

I own both, but have yet to do either. The first STS was purchased for my husband, while the second was bought for both of us. I've only done a few of the recovery workouts on the new STS, because we're moving, so I can't start a rotation right now. I'm responding with the one tiny piece of info that I know - The workouts on STS 1 are longer than STS 2. I have less time than my husband, so I knew when we purchased it, that I'd never be able to do the first STS. I do longer workouts here and there, but not as part of a rotation, because I just can't come up with the longer spans of time on a reliable enough basis. STS 2.0, though, will work for me, because the workouts fall within the hour that I can reliably set aside to workout (after the chaos of moving is over - right now, I'm squeezing in whatever I can into whatever time I can carve out). The STS 1 is also a lot more workouts and discs, but you probably already knew that. You'll get a better answer soon, I'm sure, because we have quite a few people on this site that have already started an STS 2 rotation and have done STS (the first one) several times.

Also, STS includes Endurance. High reps, lower weights and only 30 second rest between exercises. It was hard to move from exercise to exercise with only 30 seconds and I felt my form suffered at times. I like that STS 2.0 is slow and heavy, enabling me to concentrate on my form and really hitting each exercise with the focus I need. Love it!!

 

[ashaw]

After starting week #2 of STS 2.0, one thing I don't remember from my 4+ complete rotations of the original STS is the grip strength challenge and forearm soreness. Maybe it was because I wasn't as strong back then and wasn't lifting as heavy as I am now. I'm also using Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells and the only thing I don't like about them is the handles are a bit large and my hands are on the smaller side and sometimes it feels hard to hold onto the weight when going heavy. Even my 20 pound dumbbells don't have handles as large as the SelectTechs. But I'm loving these total body workouts and I'm looking forward to moving to the upper/lower phase.

 

[Debinmi]

After starting week #2 of STS 2.0, one thing I don't remember from my 4+ complete rotations of the original STS is the grip strength challenge and forearm soreness. Maybe it was because I wasn't as strong back then and wasn't lifting as heavy as I am now. I'm also using Bowflex SelectTech dumbbells and the only thing I don't like about them is the handles are a bit large and my hands are on the smaller side and sometimes it feels hard to hold onto the weight when going heavy. Even my 20 pound dumbbells don't have handles as large as the SelectTechs. But I'm loving these total body workouts and I'm looking forward to moving to the upper/lower phase.

Could be the weight handles... Also in 1.0, you gradually increase the weight load for 8 weeks before Meso3, so there's a longer period to adapt to the heavy weights.

 

[Hazlady]

I find larger handles harder on my grip strength. I use hexagonal dumbbells up to 9kg (20lb) and I'm OK up to 5kg but at 6kg and up the dumbbells have a larger handle. I also have Powerblocks which I use when I need to go heavier and these also have a large handle. In STS 1.0 I was having trouble with grip strength and sore hands on Meso2 as I was increasing the weight. For STS 2.0 I'm using weights closer to what I used for Meso2 and my hands are sore afterwards.

 

[Kellyro77]

The Select-Tech weight handles are definitely chunky. When you add weight gloves, even those few millimeters of thickness can add to the grip challenge. Again, why I heft them up onto my shoulders where possible, although I must say, I look forward to one day having a crushing handshake from all this work. lol

 

[klirosi]

Another key difference between 1.0 and 2.0 is that the three mesocycles of 1.0 are all 3 day per week splits that last 4 weeks, while 2.0 uses different schemes in each phase (Total Body 3x, Upper/Lower split 4x, and Body Parts 5x). I have done STS 1.0 several times and love it. I'm in week 5 of the 10 week rotation of STS 2.0 and love it!

 

[Bouchh]

Braille, I put Pavigym in my workout room over the garage. Before that my gym was in the basement and I used Springstep from Stagestep. It was a platform made up of 2x2 foot squares with high quality foam attached underneath to give you spring for impact and it was covered with a marley top, which provided the best ratio of friction and slide. Hands down I liked the Springstep over the very expensive Pavigym, but the Pavigym looks so good. Pavigym is great for a workout room and OK for aerobics, but not slippery enough for Cathe's disks. Both floors are indestructible and easy to clean. Since my gym is so beautiful, I'm glad I put in Pavigym (the plus side is you can do this yourself). I didn't want to have a raised Springstep platform. I wanted it flush with the carpet tiles. Springstep is affordable, depending on how many squares you buy. My platform was 8x10 roughly and that was big enough for most of Cathe's workouts. You'll love having your own gym. For me, it was definitely worth the price. My ultimate she cave.