Nowhere to Go but Up by Pinky

I’ve been doing Cathe’s workouts when “Cathlete” was still “Catheite” and cathedotcom was still Step ‘N’ Motion. I found Cathe in an online search. I was tired of the same-old, same-old gimmicky workouts on the market. I wanted tough, I wanted exciting, and I wanted results. Cathe gave me all that and more.

When STS was released, I already considered myself pretty fit and well conditioned. I was using Pure Strength, CTX, Intensity, Body Blast, Hardcore, and 4-Day Split series, and mixing them up with many of Cathe’s older and more recent workouts. I knew STS was the toughest and most elaborate series she has produced so far, and I couldn’t wait to get my butt whipped. Oh boy, be careful what you wish for…

Because I’ve been doing Cathe’s workouts for years, I already had numbers for many of the exercises, and the 1RM test went more smoothly than I anticipated. The workout manager has been a tremendous help in getting me organized and constantly progressing.

I started STS in March 2009, and I’ve been cycling Endurance, Hypertrophy, and Strength ever since. As of this writing, I have gone through STS more than three times, with my last 8-week rotation alternating between a week of Meso 1 with a week of Meso 2. What I like about STS is that there is no one way to use it. You can choose to stick to just one way of training for a period of time, you can undulate, or you can follow many of Cathe’s shock-type rotations that mix STS with her other workouts. Either way, it’s fun and always challenging.

In my last Strength cycle, I was able to bench press 100 lbs., and barbell row 95 lbs. This is a big jump from 80 and 75 lbs. respectively. I was also able to squat 120 lbs., something I never thought I could do. I have ornery knees and scoliosis, and squatting more than my body weight has been a pipe dream. ‘Til now.

During the holidays, I fell off the clean eating wagon and gained more weight than I wanted to. Lucky for me, Cathe came out with Shock Cardio. Her timing couldn’t have been any better. And just when I think she’s done it all, she comes up with new ideas to keep challenging me and keeping my body from plateaus. At first I was very intimidated by HiiT because of my bad joints, but I found out that I can actually do them with modifications that I learned in many of her older workouts. The MMAs are a wonderful variation of and addition to her kickboxing workouts, and Travel Fit is something that I can also use during active recovery weeks.

Soon after the New Year, I cleaned up my eating and hit the cardio and weights as hard as I could. The best part about being a Cathlete is being part of a community of people devoted to fitness, people who keep you going when the going gets tough. With Cathe and my fellow Cathletes, STS and Shock Cardio, I lost all the extra weight and got leaner and stronger. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself using some of my old Meso 3 weights for my Meso 2 exercises, and some of my old Meso 2 weights for Meso 1. I was also happy to finally see – after many long years – some definition in my legs, where my body keeps just about all its fat. Those paper plate exercises really get in there! And those tri-sets, which have pushed me into puke stage many times, are worth fighting for ‘til the last hard rep. I got my pre-holiday weight back, but I’ve been shrinking my clothes in the dryer. That’s a good sign.

Cathe has been my personal trainer for many years now. She has taught me many things that I can apply not just in the fitness arena, but to the rest of my life as well – mind over matter, belief in one’s innate abilities, dedication, perseverance, and most of all, resilience.

Thank you, Cathe, for your genius and excellent coaching over the years. Like fine wine, you only get better and better, and we are all the healthier for it!