New to STS

[Kellyro77]

Whooo whooo! It's always motivating when that happens. Congrats!

That's interesting. I don't usually do this but I've been reading about the benefits of Pre- and Post- supplements.

I love a massage (Swedish-style is my favorite for relaxation - beware of a "sport massage" - that can hurt sore muscles. Nice gift to yourself for Recovery week.

I used to consume a carb-rich "snack" before I did my runs while training for a half-marathon and found it was pretty beneficial then. For those runs I'd have 1/4 cup rolled oats cooked with some added honey and half a banana. All quick energy sources for my body to pull from. And because those runs were pretty intense (for me at least), I'd also follow them up with an electrolyte drink and then have a more normal breakfast after I got home and washed up.

I opted for something similar this time, but I also added 1Tbsp peanut butter for some protein & fat. I only added the PB, though, as I was 60 minutes out from my workout. If I'd been closer to 30 minutes out, I'd keep it to something lighter and probably not include the fat/protein.

Not sure about doing the electrolyte drink after these STS workouts - that's mostly because I usually have my dinner soon after, and TBH, as awesome and challenging as they are, they're no 8- or 10-mile run.

 

[aqua girl]

I'd have 1/4 cup rolled oats cooked with some added honey and half a banana. All quick energy sources for my body to pull from. And because those runs were pretty intense (for me at least), I'd also follow them up with an electrolyte drink and then have a more normal breakfast after I got home and washed up.

I opted for something similar this time, but I also added 1Tbsp peanut butter

My breakfast every morning is a bowl of plain oatmeal, with a spoon of peanut butter and a bit of honey
mixed into it, and a banana. Sometimes I slice the banana & put into the oatmeal or just eat it as a "side"
with my oatmeal.

 

[Kellyro77]

Just finished week 1 of Meso 2 - good grief! At least with the first two workouts - Chest, Shoulders & Tris, and Legs, I felt absolutely wrecked.

Not quite so much with today's Back & Biceps, thankfully - though I did hit failure pretty consistently. Even couldn't squeeze out all of the scheduled reps when it got down to the preacher curls. (So we'll see how I'm feeling tomorrow where DOMS are concerned.) I am going to have to significantly lighten barbell curls - ever since I ended up with tennis elbow, my right elbow just clicks like crazy with traditional curls. I don't want to risk re-injuring it, so going to keep it on the lighter side. I fried my bi's pretty good with the sweepers and preachers.

I went back through the old comments from when STS first came out and was grateful to see that feeling wiped out was the same experience many others had when hitting the first week of Meso 2.

Kind of interesting considering that at the end of Meso 1, you're hitting 70% of your 1RM and that's where you start with Meso 2 - pretty sure it's the shift in focus to completely working just one body part before moving on to the next, whereas with Meso 1, she has you jumping around from one body part to another through the entire workout.

I made the mistake of doing IMAX 4 the day after leg day. Had to cut it short because although my heart rate was feeling pretty okay, my legs were like "WHAT are you doing to me, lady???". Will have to go back through the rest of my rotation and make sure I don't have a step workout planned for cardio after the leg days - or rather, nothing that's HiiT, really, since those all primarily fry the legs for the heart rate.

Was concerned about how I'd feel doing more deadlifts in today's workout. It wasn't so bad, though I'm glad she kept it to only 3 sets instead of 4. Still have DOMS in my legs and glutes today, two days after doing legs. Whew. And that's with doing a lot of extra stretching the last couple days.

After this experience, I went back and read through some of the comments from people when they hit the first week of Meso 3 to better prepare myself. Seems like that one isn't quite the shocker as Meso 2. I find that interesting - and also a relief!

 

[Kellyro77]

Confession: So, I do not like the pace Cathe keeps in the Meso 2 leg workouts. Considering I'm challenging myself with pretty heavy weights, I feel like she reps everything out a bit too fast - especially when she sometimes actually chooses to do some exercises faster - for the "Shock" factor, ya know…

I've been feeling sorely tempted to sub in any one of the three LB workouts from STS 2.0 or even the bonus LB heavy weight workout from LMRE.

I won't.

Because I want to see STS through in its original form in its entirety (with the Plyo legs version since that's what I got.)

But, yeah. I was feeling kinda testy by the end of yesterday's Disc 17 Legs workout after she decided towards the very end to hurry through the last set of squats, 1-leg elevated lunges and deadlifts.

EDIT: Also, another vent - was feeling a bit "cheated" when I was hefting a 45# weight with the pile squats and looked up briefly and glanced that someone was using a 25# weight. No wonder they have the energy to whip through tri-sets if they're going that light! (Vent over - I get that there's probably about 100+ reasons to explain seeing that 25# weight being used.)

 

[Kellyro77]

Ha! You had me chuckling. We've noticed Cathe 'n crew will hurry through sets, using momentum, in a number of workouts. We think it's a trick to make you breathless, so you feel as though you had a harder workout. And you did, cardio-wise. But if you want those muscles to really feel worked, you gotta slow it down some. In many of Cathe's earlier LB workouts, her pacing wasn't as fast. I'm so accustomed to her faster pace now that I sometimes zoom through the first set in STS2, finishing the set well ahead of her - then I have to remind myself to s.l.o.w. down! I laugh in many LIVEs when Cathe says " whoops, let's slow these down", but then she doesn't, so I just laugh. I think she's the energizer bunny in disguise

She does that with the last set of calf raises, too! She says "let's do 10 slow ones" when, to me, her pace isn't "slow", it's just standard. Yes, she does some quicker pulse ones after, but those ones that she said were supposed to be "slow" certainly were NOT.

Remembering this series came out almost 20 years ago - so she was a lot younger then and it's probably not great to compare her slower, more methodical pace in her current content to something she did when she was most definitely more peppy.

 

[Kellyro77]

Finished Meso 2 today - whoop! I'm happy to have another rest week coming up.

A few things I learned during this mesocycle:

1. Referencing a barbell racking calculator is super helpful for planning out my plates setup. Each week after I finished a given workout, I'd make any adjustments to my 1RMs in Cathe's calculator, then reference the disc's download sheet for the updated 1RMs and update everything in the spreadsheets I made for myself. In the notes section, I'd note down which plates to load, and even color-coded the text for faster recognition. Very helpful when it came down to the dropsets.

2. The Legs workouts in this reminded me painfully of why I used to really dislike quite a few of Cathe's earlier LB workouts. I already complained about it before, but the occasional sped-up pacing, and the tri-sets structure typically left me feeling stressed out. I can start to panic (and then get mad) when I'm hefting heavy weights and moving at a pretty quick clip. If I do the STS program again, I will likely be subbing in the LB workouts from STS 2.0 and possibly the bonus Heavy Lower Body workout from LMRE.

I know some people LOVE that kind of challenge - heavy weights, brief rests and quick pacing, but I just do NOT. Glad I have options.

Despite that Legs in this meso are supposed to be hypertrophy, Cathe even says during a couple of the workouts "this is an endurance workout". So - I suppose while weight increments and reps were technically in the hypertrophy range, she pushes it for endurance.

The only thumbs-up I'll give the challenge is that it helps keep my cardio endurance in good shape.

3. Speaking of cardio: Do NOT schedule cardio after the leg days in this series. Discovered in week 1 that I shouldn't do anything with step or HiiT. Discovered in week 2 that even on-the-floor hi/lo or kickbox workouts just felt like I was asking my body for too much, so on weeks 3 & 4, I opted to do mobility/stretching workouts the day after, or at the most, a light walk.

Really, the demands on the body from all the workouts when I started getting into the 75%-80% range were making me feel like I really needed to give myself extra rest. Will be interesting to see if I decide to cut my cardio to only 1 day a week come Meso 3 because of how I felt in weeks 3 & 4 of Meso 2. I know I'll get plenty of cardio with Plyo Legs.

4. Take heart - the first week is kind of rough, but afterward things start falling into place, and by weeks 3 and 4 of this Meso, I was feeling pretty secure and properly challenged with the weight selections I was using, with minimal needing to go back and reduce my 1RMs again and again.

5. My grip strength has improved quite a bit. Super happy about that. I found I needed to put on my hooks less and less often. Although I'm betting I'll still be needing them come Meso 3.

Curious if others have had similar thoughts during Meso 2.

Fabulous, well-earned rest week coming up after Sunday (have a cardio and then a mobility workout with core planned Sat and Sun). Will be throwing in some gentle yoga, leisurely bike rides or walks, and also just bumming on the couch!

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone.

 

[aqua girl]

Congratulations! Enjoy your upcoming rest week!

 

[Debinmi]

First - congratulations on finishing M2! All the Mesos are tough when you use challenging weights, so it seems you are. Way to go!

I know some people LOVE that kind of challenge - heavy weights, brief rests and quick pacing, but I just do NOT. Glad I have options.

STS2 taught me you can take the pace down to challenge yourself with the weights and let that be the focus (not sucking wind). it can be hard to slow it down with follow-along dvds. Again, I think sometimes the fast pace was meant to burn more calories as so many people's major goal in exercising is to burn calories/lose weight. It always bothers me when an instructor says things like let's burn those calories instead of focusing on the other benefits of working out. In M3 Cathe says something like the reason she works out is to look good in her jeans. That may have been true then, but it always irks me as aesthetics has never been a main reason for me to workout. It's a side benefit. In STS2, in the Active Recovery workout, Cathe says something to the effect that any movement burns calories ... grrrrr....that's true, but not the reason I do that little workout. Maybe it is for some, but goodness, you'd think we would have evolved more in why we work out.

Really, the demands on the body from all the workouts when I started getting into the 75%-80% range were making me feel like I really needed to give myself extra rest

In the past, rest periods were pretty prescriptive (0-30 seconds for endurance, 60 for hypertrophy and 2-3 minutes for strength). Now many trainers are saying take what you need based on your body's recovery. So if you need a little more in an endurance workout and your goal isn't calorie burn or increased VO2Max, take it. Go by your heart rate recovery in hypertrophy so you can focus on the lift not your O2, and watch your performance in strength as it will decrease faster in subsequent sets if not enough rest. The prescriptions still are a good guide though.

Enjoy your rest week!

 

[Kellyro77]

First - congratulations on finishing M2! All the Mesos are tough when you use challenging weights, so it seems you are. Way to go!
STS2 taught me you can take the pace down to challenge yourself with the weights and let that be the focus (not sucking wind). it can be hard to slow it down with follow-along dvds. Again, I think sometimes the fast pace was meant to burn more calories as so many people's major goal in exercising is to burn calories/lose weight. It always bothers me when an instructor says things like let's burn those calories instead of focusing on the other benefits of working out. In M3 Cathe says something like the reason she works out is to look good in her jeans. That may have been true then, but it always irks me as aesthetics has never been a main reason for me to workout. It's a side benefit. In STS2, in the Active Recovery workout, Cathe says something to the effect that any movement burns calories ... grrrrr....that's true, but not the reason I do that little workout. Maybe it is for some, but goodness, you'd think we would have evolved more in why we work out.


In the past, rest periods were pretty prescriptive (0-30 seconds for endurance, 60 for hypertrophy and 2-3 minutes for strength). Now many trainers are saying take what you need based on your body's recovery. So if you need a little more in an endurance workout and your goal isn't calorie burn or increased VO2Max, take it. Go by your heart rate recovery in hypertrophy so you can focus on the lift not your O2, and watch your performance in strength as it will decrease faster in subsequent sets if not enough rest. The prescriptions still are a good guide though.

Enjoy your rest week!

Thank you!

Agreed on so many of your observations/preferences,@Debinmi

I saw this quote the other day and loved it:

For Sanity, Not Vanity.

I have a feeling that for most people, our attention shifts from aesthetics to just general physical well-being as we progress through life. So much time in our younger years has us preoccupied with comparing ourselves with others and trying to impress them and "fit in". And western society's obsession with youth and beauty feeds into that and thus the majority of us get caught up in things like calorie burn and wearing a certain clothing size as being important, instead of being active and mobile so we can enjoy day-to-day activities and be fairly independent.

Regarding extra rest, I was actually talking about extra rest days - not necessarily rest periods between exercises. I'm already guilty of pausing workouts between sets when needed, so I'll sometimes be taking more than just 30 or 60 seconds as I catch my breath and swap out equipment. (I have a feeling that the longer rest periods mentioned in Meso 3 won't have me pausing so frequently - we'll see!) I don't necessarily go off and check my email and what not between sets - I do try to keep things moving else that 60-minute workout turns into a 90-minute one.

But I agree, good point - listen to your body and push as you can to reap the benefits of the workout as designed.

 

[Debinmi]

I have a feeling that the longer rest periods mentioned in Meso 3 won't have me pausing so frequently - we'll see!) I don't necessarily go off and check my email and what not between sets - I do try to keep things moving else that 60-minute workout turns into a 90-minute one.

I think the longest rests in M3 are in the Legs-Squat Rack routines. Those could drive me batty. My craft room is next to the workout room so I'd find myself wandering over there to work on some project or other & then rushing back for the next set. Since you're doing the plyo-legs, you won't have that issue.

As I get older, my needs change. I'm finding i need longer and different warm--ups & cool-downs. STS has the shortest warm-ups (~2.5 minutes), and STS2.0 has the shortest cool-downs (maybe a minute?). So I gotta do more. For recovery days, I'm glad Cathe has provided more of those types of programs. I found Nabbe47's idea of putting in various non-weight work dvds from LMR/LMRE between strenuous lift days helpful - often I do a TimeSaver & tack on shorter spin workout for HIIT & SIT cardio. Provides variety.

Loved your quote! Do you recall the source?

 

[Kellyro77]

I think the longest rests in M3 are in the Legs-Squat Rack routines. Those could drive me batty. My craft room is next to the workout room so I'd find myself wandering over there to work on some project or other & then rushing back for the next set. Since you're doing the plyo-legs, you won't have that issue.

As I get older, my needs change. I'm finding i need longer and different warm--ups & cool-downs. STS has the shortest warm-ups (~2.5 minutes), and STS2.0 has the shortest cool-downs (maybe a minute?). So I gotta do more. For recovery days, I'm glad Cathe has provided more of those types of programs. I found Nabbe47's idea of putting in various non-weight work dvds from LMR/LMRE between strenuous lift days helpful - often I do a TimeSaver & tack on shorter spin workout for HIIT & SIT cardio. Provides variety.

Loved your quote! Do you recall the source?

Thanks for the tidbit on rest periods - makes sense they'd be long for the squat rack legs. I'm expecting something akin to XTrain's Cardio Leg blast for the Plyo Legs workouts, so yeah - not much rest there!

I did notice the warmups in STS are pretty brief. I honestly feel barely warmed up at all. I don't feel like I really notice any kind of a cool down at all in STS. Sometimes after the end of the last set she's like "Welp - that's all. See ya next time! Oh and use the bonus stretch." (not verbatim, of course).

Yes, I'm really appreciating LMR/LMRE for the rest/recovery days - at least all the mobility and stretch workouts. I've used Yoga Fusion + bonus Restorative Yoga a couple times, as well as P30's mobility with the core bonus, and Dynamic Flexibility & Core. This is were I appreciate her putting those series together, though the weight and cardio workouts are gathering dust.

I saw the quote on a YouTuber's video a while ago. Was one of those random algorithm suggestions and I can't remember who it was now - nor do I recall her saying where she saw it. But it's definitely catchy.

 

[Kellyro77]

Finished first week of Meso #3.

Really happy to see it wasn't such the shocker that the first week of Meso #2 was.

I appreciated the longer rest periods - although I caught that sometimes between exercises in Shoulders, Biceps & Triceps she'd only give you 30 seconds, not 60. I recall puttering around a little between a couple of the sets, grabbing some water and then hearing Cathe in the background saying "Here we go! One! Two!…" and I was scrambling to hit the pause button to rewind and get back to work.

I've decided where legs are concerned (I only have the Plyo version), that I'm going to sub in RWH's Legs workout once, and XTrain's Cardio Leg Blast once through the 4 weeks (I'll do one more STS Plyo legs, too). I just know I'm going to get really bored really fast with the same workout 4 weeks in a row from STS - yes, I'm sure there's some subtle changes, but I just know myself and I'll be dreading the workout before it comes up. Don't know why, but when it comes to LB workouts at that kind of intensity, I'm picky that way.

Finally, I'm super bummed when it came to Chest & Back, because I crashed my bike last weekend and when I did so, I tweaked my left arm in a way where it's just not tolerating my going heavy with flys. Fortunately it seems to be kinda okay with bench presses - I just have to be super aware of how low I let my elbows go. And, unfortunately, when it came to the horizontal rows, my left arm said "NOPE". I'm worried my left arm and shoulder are going to be pretty uncomfortable the next couple days now.

I tried to at least tag along a bit through the workout by going really light and making the flys an endurance exercise with high reps - pumped out a lot of them while Cathe and crew did their 8 reps. But I just know that I'm not going to be able to experience the full 5% strength gain for those exercises this go-around with STS.

I know I could just stick with this first week and try again next week, but I'm really trying to stick to the rotation I planned out for the remainder of the year. I do have another go at Meso 3 towards the end of the year, so hopefully by that time I won't have another injury snarling things up. I'm reminding myself I'm not training for something in particular - it's not the end of the world to have to pivot my plans there. I'll just keep doing what I can, even if it's going light, so long as my left arm tolerates it. Will go in to see my sports doc about it if next week is no better.

On a positive note, I appreciated the 90 second rests in Chest & Back, especially given you're having to continuously rack and un-rack your barbell if you're using one between the chest and back exercises.

 

[Debinmi]

Yea! Another week in the bag! Sorry to hear or your bike crash. Chest flys can be wonky on shoulders. You could also sub in the tubing chest flys Cathe does in STS2.0 BP/Chest. Those feel good to me and tubing is supposed to be good for the joints. You can also try icing it for a few days, then maybe applying heat.

This cracked me up cuz that's me in M3:

I recall puttering around a little between a couple of the sets, grabbing some water and then hearing Cathe in the background saying "Here we go! One! Two!…" and I was scrambling to hit the pause button to rewind and get back to work.

I've been enjoying reading about your journey through STS1.0. Keep us informed the next few weeks as you finish up and your overall impressions.

 

[aqua girl]

Kellyro77, I have enjoyed reading about your journey thru STS as well! Job Well Done!