STS - day 1_ cardio _rotation?

[Jdnara]

Hello - So I started STS day 1 yesterday. Since I hate working legs I decided to always do leg day on a Monday to get it out of the way - LOL. This is my 2nd round of STS and by far STS is one of my favorite programs (well I really just love nearly all of Cathe's programs).

What I always struggle with is the cardio aspect - specifically how much is needed? When I did STS in the past, I don't think I was very aggressive with the cardio for fear of loosing the muscle I was trying to build. However, I would like to focus on burning some fat while maintaining muscle - in essence I want visible muscles (i.e. arms, quads, etc.). So I am a bit perplexed regarding what to do for cardio. Typically I'm not a fan of cardio so I only do cardio that I enjoy which is kickboxing, turbofire, Zumba, or sprints. Today I tried one of Cathe's step routines (loved it) and I can hardly squat to use the bathroom .

I was thinking that I need to "shock" my body and try some new forms of cardio?
1. Do you have a favorite Cathe generated rotation that you like with STS
2. I heard there was a 5.5 month Cathe generated STS rotation but I cannot locate it - any idea where to find it if it exists?
3. I found this rotation from Cathe - has anyone tried it yet?

http://cathe.com/forum/threads/sts-...cardio-rotation…-three-month-rotation.271387/

 

[nckfitheart2009]

However, I would like to focus on burning some fat while maintaining muscle - in essence I want visible muscles (i.e. arms, quads, etc.). So I am a bit perplexed regarding what to do for cardio. Typically I'm not a fan of cardio so I only do cardio that I enjoy which is kickboxing, turbofire, Zumba, or sprints.

You do not need to do excessive cardio to the point of doing session you do not enjoy. Reading what you enjoy, you fairly perform
a variety. I suggest you stick to what you enjoy at least for this round.
To burn fat, your nutrition should be on top to see your muscle. Abs are made in the kitchen is a cliche we have all heard
many time but yes diet is very important. Excessive cardio do not compensate poor diet. Minimal refined sugar, no hidden
sugar and no extra starchy food. Clean eating. Excessive cardio does breakdown muscle, it won't firm your physique, it will cause the flab!

1. Do you have a favorite Cathe generated rotation that you like with STS

My favorite combination is a personal preference which does not suit everyone. It consist of a 2x2 which mean
two upper and leg per week plus 30minutes Hiit 3 times per week. 3-4 times per week for cardio is enough.

2. I heard there was a 5.5 month Cathe generated STS rotation but I cannot locate it - any idea where to find it if it exists?

I believe you can access to this rotation by loggin on workout manager and uploading onto your calendar.

3. I found this rotation from Cathe - has anyone tried it yet?

I have not tried it personally but it meet your purpose of loosing fat maintaining muscles.
It is not necessary to add cardio to this rotation IMO.

Hope you like STS,

Kind Regards

 

[mince]

http://scoobysworkshop.com/does-cardio-burn-muscle/
Cardio (generally) won't eat your muscle away unless you are operating at a calorie deficit and don't have much fat to lose. This popular post http://scoobysworkshop.com/does-cardio-burn-muscle/ talks about this, referring in particular to long distance runners who ended up losing a lot of fat (visceral, in particular), some leg muscle, but no upper body muscle mass during a 2800 mile run. It makes a lot of good points.

It sounds like you are doing plenty of cardio already - certainly enough for general health. I've looked at Cathe's STS and cardio 3.5 month rotations. There's one with STS Shock cardio, and one with other dvds and more general physical activity. I've not seen a 5 month one. I saw a post where she talks about doing STS as 5.5 months by doing the first 2 mesocycles like the 6.5 month rotation (repeating weeks), then doing the last mesocycle DVDs just once. I didn't see any cardio discussion with this.

It sounds like your goal is maintaining the muscle you have and losing some fat, but you don't say how much you want to lose, or what kind of calorie deficit you're planning to have. Part of the trouble people run into when they mix weight loss with cardio and weight training is (over)estimating calorie burn. Combine that with people underestimating calories consumed, and it's not surprising that things don't work out as hoped. (I'm not saying you do either, just saying cardio makes number crunching for weight loss harder.)

I'm sorry I can't help you with the rotation you wanted, but I thought I'd suggest another rotation. The 3 month LIS/STS 3 month transformation http://cathe.com/forum/threads/january-2012-double-rotation.287356/ sounds like a good one for the results you want. The Cathlete who posted this

http://cathe.com/forum/threads/different-cardio-for-each-mesocycle.288478/
had done it, and liked it. I don't know if you like LIS, but it feels like cardio-for-people-who-prefer-strength training to me .

Anyway, good luck and enjoy STS! I completely agree with the other poster saying you don't NEED more cardio, but if you feel the need to burn off some excess calories, it won't hurt.

 

[lwd69]

I think it's important to point out (and stress) that NO cardio is necessary when doing STS. If you are looking to make muscle gains, then you want to do no or very little cardio - 30 minutes moderate walking 2x a week. If you are looking to lose fat (for which STS, as it is written) is not ideal, then you would want to start with a minimum amount of cardio and gradually ramp it up. ... You can add HIIT 2-3x a week BUT you should not do this continuously. HIIT is a tool to be rotated... You should use cardio as a tool in your fat burn toolbox, not consider it mandatory. You can get in great shape without any. This is a commonly misunderstand phenomenon.