Cathe Fans Part 5

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Have to really pay attention to the rotation on this phase so that I do the right workout . After work was Build Shoulders, and I upped the weights by a half pound. This morning was Bulk Chest, don't know if I will be able to get in a workout after work so decided to do my weight workout this morning. Then if I do have time, I can do whatever I feel like. Was looking at the web last night and found this Body Beast rotation, and it really looks good. https://2lazy4gym.com/2014/11/29/body-beast/ I have the Weider workouts that are listed, and have been wanting to use them in some type of rotation. This one looks like it might be fun. Will put this one down for a future rotation. Like that there are Cathe and Piyo workouts in it also.

Laurel, Great job on the workouts! The LowMax is a step workout that is my pace. , but then you are used to the Extreme workouts (which I will never do)! Can't believe you are so close to being done with your current rotation. Looks like all of us are at the end of our current rotations. I have calculated that I can do a month of the H&C workouts, and then some more heavy weight workouts. The above rotation just might be a good one to try out. Really have enjoyed all these BB workouts.

Tami, Sounds like a good class, and nice job on the BB Total Body workout. I'm planning on doing that one also, have not tried it yet. That sounds like a solid plan with H&C and the workout scheduler. I've been thinking of using that option for the next 4 week session. Might plug in some of the other workout systems that I have, and see what comes up. Sounds like your vacation is going to be a good one.

Thelma, Congrats again on upping the weights! The next rotation will now have to include yoga, just to see how Rocket may or may not be distracted by his new toy.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today started with STS Disk 6/Legs, and it felt really good. So, for cardio, I did IMAX3, which is just a killer for me. But I enjoyed it today, despite being drenched in sweat throughout. But I am wondering how my legs will feel tomorrow.

Tami, that sounds like a really good class. At least the return of the 35lb kettlebell wasn't quite so bad as last time. Thanks for asking about my mom. She is doing okay. My BIL was down there Monday and Tuesday and got her back to her house for a few minutes to pick up some things. She has her good days and bad days, but at least she hasn't had the same breathing problems she had while we were there (knock on wood). She gets lots of visits from her friends, and that makes me happy. And she is happy in her group home (loves the food they serve!). So, all in all, better than I expected two weeks ago today when I thought we were going to lose her. I am anxious to get back down there, though.

Thelma, great workout. You drink a lot of water through your workouts!! That is really good for you. Glad I said something about the STS Disks!! I can imagine you looking at your rotation wondering why you were starting a rotation on Disk 13! So maybe your rotation is better planned than you originally thought.

Laurie, great workouts. Thanks for the rotation. It has a lot of variety in it, which I like. I have saved it because I might try something similar this next time I do BB. I don't have the Weider workouts (though I have read they are fantastic), but I want to incorporate Insanity Max 30 and T25 into my next program, and with the format of this rotation, I think I can sub them in quite easily for the workouts I don't have.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did ICE Low Impact Sweat Cardio 1, Hammer Conditioning, Stretch. For the low Impact Sweat workout I did the warm up in the beginning, then Hammer, then the rest of the low impact cardio then stretch.

Laurie, congrats on upping your weights! Great job! I can't believe you found the 2lazy4tym website! I was looking for an STS rotation and found that site too! It does look like a good rotation! Can't wait till you try a yoga workout to hear about Rocky's behavior. Hopefully he won't be bored with the toy by then!

Laurel, great workouts today! I'm so glad your mom is doing better and loving her new home!
So I was looking for an STS rotation (I actually had an undulating rotation BTW) and found that lazy4gym website. It has descriptions of each of the STS workouts and it has a rotation idea at the bottom. I think I can use that rotation as an idea because I don't have all those workouts.
https://2lazy4gym.com/2013/03/14/sts-overview-and-prep/

https://2lazy4gym.com/2013/06/16/sts-weeks-10-11-workouts-13-15-15/

I am concerned about the length of the STS workouts given my limited time. I hope it's not bad to two STS back-to-back days on Friday and Saturday.
I am really glad you mentioned that I had start on Meso 2 not Disc 2!

Good night ladies and have a great weekend!!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Didn't get in an additional workout yesterday, just got home to late. This morning I had the urge to do a step workout. I couldn't believe that I was in that type of mood, and the workout that appealed to me was X10 Step. Really do enjoy that one for short, easy step routine, but dang hard. We are told that it is going to be a very nice weekend, hope that happens.

Laurel, Great job on the workouts! Can't imagine how you did a leg workout, and them an Imax! That Imax is really tough! So glad to hear your Mom is enjoying the group home. LOL about enjoying the food, that is a bonus. The variety is what appealed to me also with that rotation, I need that to keep me motivated to do workouts. Plus it gives me a chance to use some workouts that I don't pull out to often. I think subbing the Ruthless workouts with Max 30 and T25 would be a great sub, since those Ruthless workouts are all body weight.

Thelma, Nice combo of workouts! Way to funny that you found that web site also. I wonder if she just recently posted those rotations, so that is why they showed up when I goggled Body Beast rotations. I did see that she has the rotations for each two week stretch, and then also has a rotation that she uses a ton of different DVD's that she has. She has one that is glute focused. I don't have a lot of the workouts she has on there, but I'm sure that just reading her reviews, would give you an idea of what type of workout to sub in. This morning Rocket had his new toy, and his rawhide downstairs. He started chewing on the new toy, and then as I'm doing the warm up, he puts the toy on the step. Before I was done with the warm-up, he headed upstairs with the toy. He came back down without the toy, and proceeded to chew on the rawhide. Go figure!

Tami, Hope all is well with you!

Have a great weekend,
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! I finished the week with a good, tough workout. I started with STS Disk 5/Back and Triceps. I was able to go up in weight on all of the exercises! I was very surprised by that, especially since I have done both weeks 1 and 2 this week. I am absolutely loving doing Meso 1 to finish the program, that's for sure. Anyhow, for cardio, I put together my own 'Hardcore Extreme' workout. I started with the warm-up from High Step Challenge, then did all of the cardio segments from that workout, then did the Interval Only premix from IMAX3, then did the cardio blast section from Kick Max (and the cool down/stretch as well). All totaled, it was slightly under 60 minutes but TOUGH!! I followed it with STS Pilates Based Abs which felt perfect after the tough cardio.

Thelma, great workout!! I am going to share some unsolicited thoughts on STS if you don't mind. The workouts are long, especially some in Meso 2, ringing in at 70 minutes. If you need to in Meso 2, you can cut the workouts down into 2 parts. It is the only part of STS this works for because it is the only section that works each body part separately. In other words, you do all the exercises for one body part and then move on to the other body, so it is easy to make it a one body part (or 2) workout, similar to the Body Beast Bulk Section. My recommendation, though, is to try to do the rotation this way: Day 1/STS upper body; Day 2/Cardio; Day 3/STS Leg; Day 4/Cardio; Day 5/STS Upper Body; Day 6/Cardio; Day 7/rest or whatever non-weighted workout you choose. Of course you can move it around, but the idea is to have one day between each STS workout and legs in between the upper body workouts. I suggest this because it puts the longest workouts (which are the upper body workouts in Meso 2 and 3) on opposite sides of the week so one may fall on a weekend (if you have more time on the weekend that is). It also gives you a lot of choices for cardio workouts, breaking up the sameness of STS. It looks to me like the rotation you posted put the two STS workouts on consecutive days so she could do a second strength-based cardio circuit workout during the week. I do the same thing now. However, my first time through with STS, I did it like I posted above and it worked miracles for me (and, no, I am not exaggerating!). I really think you will find you don't need more strength work than this, at least initially. This, of course, doesn't mean you can't follow some of the cardio options listed in the rotation. But where she has a circuit workout that focuses on using weights, I would suggest a purer, non-weighted (or lightly weighted) cardio option. If you are struggling choosing cardio, I also recommend what I have been doing which is choosing a program for each week. For instance, you could choose XTrain for your first week, and your three cardio workouts would be Hard Strikes (cardio section only), Tabatacise, and All Out Low Impact HiiT. The next week may be RWH. I know you don't like the Plyo HiiT workouts in that series, but you could do the two low impact HiiT workouts and on your third day, do one of the premixes combining the two. You could do the same with ICE and whatever other workouts you have. If you only have 3-4 weeks you can do that.....no problem. Just repeat. What I like about this is it gives me variety but it also limits my choices each week (so I am not staring at my DVDs for hours). Again, just some unsolicited thoughts. Hope you don't mind.

Laurie, great workout. That step workout is no joke. It is such a tough one, especially since she takes her bench height up to 12" for the weight section. I have a tendency to go to 10" instead, which is plenty. Good stuff! Hope you have some good weather this weekend. We are hot and muggy......no surprise there! But I like it.

Tami, hope you are well.

Enjoy the weekend!

Laurel

2BLean

Where did my post go from yesterday?!?!!? Luckily I had it saved:

Hi Ladies ~ Last night was Spinning and it was unusually warm in that room last night; Katy even commented, which I was glad it wasn’t just me and then the guy next to me said something. At any rate, despite the muggy-ness it was a good class. Going to get in my BB workout after work tonight for today’s workout.

Laurel: Fabulous job! I bet your legs were feeling it at the end. Those IMAX workouts are tough! I’m glad to hear your mom is having some good days along with better breathing and I bet she enjoyed going out and getting a few more things from her home. Great that she likes the food! That is a huge bonus. I bet you are very anxious to see her again.

Laurie: This phase really does mix it up doesn’t it!?! I am enjoying the variety forsure. Thanks for posting that rotation, I will copy it down for future rotations as well. I like how there are a few workout systems mixed together. I liked that BB Total Body workout yesterday, that was my first time with it. The time flew by.

Thelma: Another day down with Strength Chisel and upping the weights! That’s fabulous. Glad you are feeling the strength gains forsure. Getting all ready for STS, anxious to hear how it goes for you this time, again I am sure it will be a much better experience for you.

Here’s today’s message to you all ……

Happy Friday! Last night's workout didn't happen. I actually got all the way, was changing and had to go back to the office. By the time I got home again there was no time. So . . This a.m. was BULK Back followed by Cathe’s Tri-Sets Back/Bi’s/Core section from that workout. This was a great combo. I will head to Spinning tonight after work.

Laurel: Fabulous job on STS Back/Bis’ today; especially going up in weights on all. Sounds like a very TOUGH, TOUGH cardio this a.m.! Yowsa . . . nicely done and you always amaze me!
Laurie: Way to go on getting in that X10 Step workout this a.m.! I bet it felt great since you were in the mood for some step.

Thelma: Sounds like you put together a nice combo last night. Way to go!!!! I think Laurel gave you some fantastic advice on STS. Make it work for you Thelma.

Have a great weekend ladies ~ talk to you on Monday! Tami
(p.s. hope this all posts this time)

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, I hope you had a nice weekend. We had a nice, quiet and busy weekend. I pushed myself really hard this weekend with my workouts. Went up in weights too. On Friday I did XT10 w/u, H&C Chisel Cardio, on Saturday I did XT10 w/u, H&C Total Body Hammer. Today I actually did X10 w/u, Chisel Endurance! I am hoping I can finish the rotation on Friday morning before we go away for the long weekend. I've been working on my STS worksheets. It's taking me forever but I won't have to do it again since I'll have them on a massive spreadsheet. I am going to use the rotation that the 2lazy4thegym website has. I have to modify it though to add my own cardio.

Laurie, WOW! I can't believe you felt like doing a step workout! Great job!
Funny about that 2 lazy 4 the gym website. I love the website! I've been using this website for to create my STS worksheets and I'll modify the rotations she has after each 3 disc page. Sounds like Rocket let you do your workout without interruptions!

Laurel, you put together a killer combo on Friday! Great job and congrats for going up on all the exercises!
You read my mind Laurel! I was going to ask you if I could split the workouts! Thanks so much for your advice! I copied your post to my spreadsheet so I can use it as reference. I will definitely have a pure cardio day between STS workouts. I love the idea of using the cardio from a given the program each week. This STS rotation is 3 months long!! I hope I can do it this time! I'm going to start with meso2 workouts.

Tami, you guys must've been drenched in sweat during that spinning class! I am definitely stronger as a result of BB and H&C. I hope I can do STS this time.

Good night ladies!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

This is going to be super short. I'm in a lean event again this week, so will not be posting until this is done. From what I understand this isn't all week, so I'm hoping to be back on at some point later this week.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies. We had a nice weekend here. Definitely getting a summer feel to it, that's for sure. But I don't mind since we enjoyed a perfectly wonderful spring. I guess it is time for humidity to return, though. I took Saturday off from my workouts, but Fitbit had Saturday as a 'goal day' competition, so I did at least walk my 15,000 goal steps. I also bought myself a new barbell!! First time I have had one in ages, so I will have to get used to it again. But I am looking forward to the variety. I ended up getting a standard barbell and 100lbs of weights because the local sports store was having a great sale. We got it so cheaply that I don't mind if I need to look into an EZ bar later.

Anyhow, I returned to my workouts yesterday. I decided to pair STS with a combo of workouts from Cathe's Intensity and Body Blast series this week. So yesterday started with Legs and Glutes followed by Step Blast. Lots of fun on both, and my legs are feeling Legs and Glutes, that's for sure. Today was STS Disk 7/Chest, Shoulders and Biceps (with my new barbell on biceps), followed by the IMAX Extreme workout from Cathe's Terminator DVD and STS No Equipment Abs. I know I mention this every year, but it serves as a constant reminder of why I do what I do with workouts. Ten years ago on my 41st birthday, my 'workout' for the day was to walk 1/4 mile on a treadmill at the physical therapist as part of my recovery from my dislocated/frozen shoulder. Having my arm hanging at my side while I walked (which was the purpose of the exercise) nearly killed me it was so painful. And I promised myself that every birthday after, for as long as I could, I would workout. So today was my 10th Annual Birthday Workout, and it was a good one! So thankful to be in a better place than I was 10 years ago. Having a hard time believing I am 51 though.

Tami, nothing worse than a muggy gym to workout in. Good job getting through the spin class. What a pain to have to go back to work when getting ready to workout! Good job getting your Friday a.m. workout in, though. Can't believe how close you and Laurie are to finishing Body Beast! That flew by!

Thelma, great workouts this weekend!! You really are pushing through on these H&C workouts. Glad my STS thoughts were helpful! Just this morning, Cathe's newsletter includes an article about strength training frequency saying (summarized) once a week (per muscle group) is enough if you are working high volume. STS is definitely high volume!! Hope you come enjoy it!!

Laurie, wow......another Lean class?? That doesn't sound like any fun at all. Hope it is a short one this week.

See you all tomorrow.

Laurel

2BLean

Hi Ladies ~ Weekend went by way to fast. However I did get some good workouts in both days, so that was nice. Saturday was BB Cardio followed by 21DFX Cardio Xtreme, which I loved. It flew by and was a perfect addition to the shorter BB Cardio workout. After that, I showered up and did a few things around the house before meeting my BFF for her Birthday lunch & movie that I was treating here to. IT was fun to catch up and the weather was terrible so good to be inside. Yesterday I did BB BUILD Chest/Tri’s followed by the LIHI Chest/Tri’s Pre-mix (#2 without Shoulders) . . . was feeling those muscles at the end forsure but I love doing those add-ons. Today will be BootCamp ~ Katy is subbing tonight! WooHOO. This is my last week of Body Beast, cannot believe it is already at the end, I’m ready to move on to my next venture however!

Laurel: Happy Happy Birthday to you!!! As always, what an amazing workout combo to celebrate how far you have come in your fitness lifestyle. WOW. Congratulations and you are way further than the majority of women (and men) your age! It’s only a number …. That’s what I tell myself too! So glad to hear your weather is so beautiful. We are getting hit hard with rain the last few days, but we need it so I am not complaining one bit. Congrats on your new purchase as well of the barbell set up. I bet it feels really good to have that, how fun! I can’t believe we are at the end either of BB. This is my last week. I haven’t written down or printed out a new rotation yet, but hoping to get it down this week.

Laurie: Hope your lean class is shorter than anticipated! Good Luck and hang in there.

Thelma: Fabulous job this weekend pushing through your H&C workouts! You are almost there and really giving it your all it sounds like for this last little bit left. Sounds like you are all prepared for STS and have a good plan in place with Laurel’s help. That’s so good. Yes, we were definitely sweating in the spin room on Wed, Friday night was way better . . . so not sure what was going on. It is often a warm room because it is pretty small and cramped with sweaty spinners.

Have a great rest of your day ladies ~ talk to you tomorrow!

Tami

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did X10 w/u, Hammer Max Strength and again I went up on weights. I'm on the last week of this rotation. I can't believe it! Thanks ladies for the kudos on my H&C workouts.
I'm going to miss Sagi and "his sweat" LOL and Autumn making my butt sore. I hope I can do STS this time around given that I've gained strength and learned proper form. I was reading some of the STS workout breakdowns and it didn't sound like she had the kind of warm ups I prefer in all the workouts. There was one where she started lifting a barbell. That will not work for me. I will have to start warming up with something else in that case. If doing one of these shorter workouts takes me over 1 hour an STS workout is going to take me 3 hours!

Laurie, another Lean week! I hope it's not the whole week and that you can get your workouts in!

Laurel, glad you had a good weekend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You are such a great example for women out there with your workout discipline and the way you transformed your body through exercise. As an added bonus you healed that frozen/dislocated shoulder! You must have the body of a 20 year old in good shape. It would be great to be able to know what your age is based on your health and physical shape. The Biggest Loser contestants are told their age based on their health/physical shape for a shock factor.
Interesting article on Cathe's newsletter. I've not had a chance to read it today but good info as always. I will definitely be doing more volume than I've ever done with Cathe this time around. I really hope I can do it. If I can do the program it would be a huge accomplishment for me.
Love that you got a barbell! I got my EZ bar via Amazon.com and it was less than $30. I have a straight bar too and I'll probably use it with STS but if I can just use the EZ bar I'll be very happy.

Tami, weekends are soooo short! Great workouts this weekend! Congrats on getting to last week of BB! I'm sure you had an awesome BC class if Katy was subbing.
I'm sure you'll pick an awesome rotation to work on next.
I've been pushing myself extra hard with the H&C workouts. I've been tight all over the place as a result. I am getting there with my preparation for STS. Just working on the actual rotation now. I still have to work on the worksheets for Meso 1. I have Meso 2&3 ready but totally forgot Meso 1. That's not urgent right now since I won't get there any time soon! LOL. I bet there was something wrong with the AC at the gym last week.

Good night ladies!
Thelma

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies. Thank you for the birthday wishes. I enjoyed a nice evening with DH, sharing some wine on our patio. The weather yesterday was as near perfect as weather can get. Today started with STS Disk9/Legs, and, as always, I felt it. For cardio, I did Kick, Punch and Crunch.

Tami, bet the BC class was something different this week with Katy in charge! Sounds like you had a nice weekend. I am sorry to hear about your weather but, as you mentioned, after last year I bet the moisture is much appreciated. Great workouts this weekend. I don't know how you followed BB with LIHI! I think I would still be laying in my workout floor trying to regain feeling in my arms. That's some tough stuff there!

Thelma, great workouts!! Regarding the STS warm-up, it is MUCH better than anything BB and H&C have to offer. For all of the STS program (Disks 1-40), she does about 3 minutes of marches, side steps, etc to get the body moving and then goes into a 1-2 minute stretch. The warm-ups on the leg workouts are a little longer/more intense, especially on the Plyo workouts in Meso 3. The only STS workout where she uses a barbell to warm-up is STS Total Body which is actually not part of the STS program and probably not a part of the rotation you are going to be doing. It is confusing because she filmed STS Total Body a few years after STS for those who wanted to add a total body workout to the program. But if you do the STS every other day rotation as we talked about, you won't be doing STS Total Body at all. Just wanted to let you know that before you started finding other warm-ups to do! Thanks for the compliments! I definitely don't have the body of a 20yo, but I am okay with that because at least I am more fit than I was at 20! But we have an 18yo girl next door who, in typical Florida fashion, likes to do everything in a bikini. There is no confusing our bodies! But I would be curious to know what my internal age is. That would be interesting to learn.

Laurie, hope the training is going well!

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

2BLean

Hi Ladies ~ Last night’s BC class was AWESOME! Which we all told Katy as well. She does such a terrific job. We had a high bench and did weight work with cardio bursts (running man on the high step, jump ups, run ups, burpees) in between; along with lots of variations of push-ups and some abwork at the end. The time flew by and I still have hopes she can take this class over permanently. This a.m. was Bulk Legs and tonight will be Insane-X!

Laurel: Sounds like a perfect Birthday …. Started with your great workout, beautiful weather and perfect evening! Very happy for you. Sounds like another awesome combo today for the legs. KPC never disappoints. Thanks for the kudos on the Chest combo, I wasn’t sure either at the time I pieced it together, but I did make it through and felt great at the end. Probably couldn’t have done one more push up but it felt great!

Thelma: Congrats on your last week as well! So good you are pushing through right to the end. As you read above “YES” the class was so good with Katy filling in. As Laurel already addressed, the STS warm-ups are definitely Cathe style and sufficient for lifting; and for the plyo she adds on a little time and effort as well. I’ve never understood why the BeachBody workouts have such short “non-warm-up warm-ups” …. LOL glad I have my Cathe DVD’s for back up on the warm-ups for BB & H&C.

Hi Laurie

Hope you ladies have a great evening ~ talk to you tomorrow,

Tami

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did ICE Low Impact Sweat w/u, Chisel Cardio. This workout is good and challenging.

Laurel, I'm so glad you enjoyed a nice birthday evening with your DH! Awesome combo today!
Thank God Cathe has proper warm-ups in the STS workouts! Thanks so much for letting me know about STS Total Body.

Tami, I'm glad Katy's class was a good (killer) one! If Chisel Cardio workout was a killer to me I can't imagine what a Katy class must be! I think it's crazy that BB and H&C don't have proper warm-ups.

Hi Laurie!!

Good night ladies!
Thelma

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies. I started today with STS Disk 8/Back and Triceps. It felt really good. For cardio, I did The Gauntlet workout from Cathe's Terminator DVD. It felt really tough to me today but I enjoyed it.

Tami, happy to hear Katy gave you a great BC class. What a difference a good instructor makes! Keeping my fingers crossed that those rumors about her and BC end up being true.

Thelma, great workout!! That Chisel Cardio is one of the best in the series for me! Love it.

Laurie, hope you are well!

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies! Tonight I did X10 w/u and Hammer Power. At the end of the workout Sagi said: "I'm proud of you!" and I replied with "me too!". I have two workouts left in this routine. Tomorrow is my last work day this week. DH and I are going to the Loon Mountain area in NH. This is the weekend we expected to do the aerial forest park but it's going to be rainy so not sure what we're going to do. According to the forecast it will be rainy early in the morning. If this is true then we can do the park.

Laurel, great combo today!
I have one more question about doing STS. Do you do the "recovery" week?

Hi Tami and Laurie!

Good night ladies!
Thelma

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today's workout was the 90 minute cardio premix of Step, Jump and Pump followed by STS Yoga Based Abs. Good stuff!

Thelma, . I love hearing you say you are proud of yourself for all your fitness accomplishments. You should be!! God job pushing through on H&C. I am so glad it turned into a positive experience for you. Regarding STS, I haven't taken the rest week the past few times I have done the program but did when I first started. I would suggest listening to your body and if you have any little aches and pains that would benefit from a week away from strength training--or if you want a mental break from it--take the week. But if you are up to pressing on, there is no problem with that either, especially(as we talked earlier) if you aren't adding any extra strength training through the week. Hope you have a great weekend and the weather cooperates with you. Sounds beautiful!

DH is off tomorrow so I probably won't be back until after the weekend either. Hope you all enjoy the Memorial Day weekend!

Laurel

2BLean

Hi Ladies ~ Sorry I missed you both yesterday ... we have been SOOOOO busy this week and I barely had time for anything yesterday; worked right through lunch and when it was about 5:15 I headed home. Tired as could be! All good though and I love every moment of it. If I am that busy, I feel like I am contributing to the super important people around me So yesterday was a REST day, which I usually ignore and do something, but yesterday I did take a REST day. This a.m. was TEMPO Back and no workout tonight; going to dinner with friends.
Saturday will be my last day with BB. I started working up a rotation with H&C and 21DFX Xtreme. Will start it either Sunday or maybe do some misc. workouts next week and then start the following Sunday.

Laurel: Fantastic job the last couple of days with your amazing workouts. Those Cathe workouts actually scare me at this point (in my old age ... LOL) to pull one of them out "The Terminator, The Gauntlet", etc. so good on ya for powering through.

Thelma: I am proud of you too! Seriously .... you started out with some hesitation on liking H&C I know and you powered through like a champ! Congrats on finishing up and gaining strength, flexibility and I am sure endurance throughout! Woo Hoo. Your weekend sounds like it will be so much fun. We don't have any plans at all, but hopefully we will find something fun to go do, at least one day or afternoon.

Have a fantastic weekend ladies .... sounds like nobody will be here until Mon or Tues.

Tami

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did X10 w/u and Total Body Chisel. I pushed hard on this one and I'm feeling it! Looks like the weather will cooperate and it will be HOT around here and in NH too. Had to dig out some shorts! LOL. I intend to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning (12:44am now) to do my last H&C workout!! This is one of those moments when I have to tell you ladies how fortunate I am to have found you. Thanks so much for cheering me on and all your wonderful advice!

Laurel, that sounds like an awesome combo! Great job!
I really feel so proud of myself. I think it's because I'm feeling stronger and the beginning of some muscles deeeeep under my skin trying to break out! LOL. I think this puts me in a better place in order to do STS. I will incorporate the rest week in my rotation and will play it by ear. The only strength training I will do is STS so maybe I can skip the rest week. Again though I will play it by ear. I hope NH is a lot of fun. We have been going to this area once a year the last few years.

Tami, you've been so hard! It is a good feeling when you feel appreciated so working hard is not a painful task. Good job with the Tempo workout! That rotation sounds really good!
Thanks so much for the kudos Tami. I've improved a lot with these programs and I never was able to do that with Cathe. I hope H&C and BB have prepared me better for STS. I hope you guys find something fun to do!

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend ladies! I'll post back on Monday night!
Good night ladies!
Thelma

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, I hope you had a nice holiday weekend. DH and I had a blast in NH! The weather was perfect too. It was in the 90's but not humid which was great.

On Friday I finished my H&C rotation with ICE Low Impact w/u, Hammer Plyo, stretch. Then in the afternoon we did the 2 ml hike around the Flume Gorge.
On Saturday we went to the Loon Mt Aerial Forest Park. We did the level 2 course, then DH moved on to do level 3. I was too much of a chicken to go up to 40 ft height. 25ft off the ground was good enough for me. I was scared but once up there survival instincts kicked in. All I wanted to do was finish so I could get off those hanging logs. I wouldn't have been able to do as well as I did if it hadn't been for my workouts. All that balancing training was very helpful as well upper body strength. You have to totally concentrate, calm down and breathe during those course.
I didn't think it was going to be a workout but it was. The next day my biceps, triceps and lats were very sore. I got pretty banged up during the aerial course and I have the bruises to prove it. Later on in the afternoon we went up to the top of the mountain in the gondola to enjoy the amazing views and we followed that with the zip line across the river and back. Can you ladies believe I did all that? I still can't believe it myself!

On Sunday we walked around Sugar Hill, NH for 2.5 mls and today I started my STS rotation with STS Me so 2, Disc 24 Chest, Shoulders & Triceps + Extended Stretch. My chest, triceps and shoulders are feeling the workout. I used the EZ curl bar when Cathe used the barbell. I lifted just as heavy as I was lifting with Body Beast which is pretty good.

Good night ladies!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Wow last week was actually a great lean week. We had a different Sensei for the event, and he was a breath of fresh air. He embraced technology. The previous one used to work for Toyota, and wanted us to do everything with paper. Have to say that by the end of the week I was super tired, and then had to drive up to my brothers cabin. On Sunday we went to my nieces grad party, and from there we headed home. Yesterday we worked on getting the garden beds looking better by putting new mulch down.

I have been keeping up with my BB workouts, and I have two workouts left of this rotation. Yesterday I started my morning with UFC Fit Power Punch, went out to garden, and then came back in to do BB Tempo Back/Bis. With all that I managed to get in over 17,000 steps. This morning was UFC Fit Ab Assasin, which is probably one of the best ab workouts I have done in a while. I would sub this one for any of Tony H's in a rotation.

Rocket had a great time up north, got a couple of wood ticks that I had to get off. He managed to chew thru his harness while on the car trip, so we had to stop to get him a new one. One of the project for this week is to get an area cleared in our tree line that I have not tackled yet. At the end of the week we are getting an invisible fence put in. So those are my updates from last week.

Laurel, Great job on the workouts! Looks like you where enjoying them all. Nice that you where able to get a good deal on the barbell. I would think with Sports Authority going out of business, they would have some good deals there also. Happy belated Birthday! Having a nice relaxing glass of wine on the patio sounds wonderful. We actually ate our lunch outside yesterday, it wasn't cold or raining. Seems that we have had either one or the other.

Tami, Congrats on finishing up the BB rotation! Being busy at work really makes the day go by so fast. I will be busy this week, just catching up from last week. I did take one day last week, just to get some of my order requests done. If I didn't, probably would have a bunch of angry people wondering where all their parts are. I'm sure that you will come up with a great rotation, I have been experimenting with UFC Fit, and will probably incorporate the H&C Chisel workouts into the rotation.

Thelma, Congrats on finishing up the H&C workouts, and that you grew to like them. Your weekend sounds like a lot of fun, and like you I probably wouldn't have gone higher than the 25ft. Awesome to hear that the added upper body strength gave you the ability to get though all that you encountered at the park. Glad to hear that you had the same weight for STS and BB, that has to make you feel great.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! We enjoyed a nice weekend here. DH and I were able to golf our favorite course on Friday, which is always fun. Saturday we had the in-laws over and after a nice breakfast on the porch, we went and visited the ocean for a bit. It was a perfect day for the beach. We tried golfing both yesterday and Sunday, but only got half rounds in due to rain and lightening. Must be summer in Florida!! But at least we got some outside activity in, which is always nice.

Friday's workout was Muscle Endurance and IMAX2, which finished my STS/Body Blast/Intensity Series week. This week I decided to combine STS with the workouts Cathe filmed with STS Total Body (High Reps, Lower Body Blast, etc) and some other workouts that aren't in a series. So Sunday was Lower Body Blast followed by To The Max Extreme premix. Yesterday was STS Disk 10/Chest, Shoulders and Triceps followed by Rhythmic Step (which is still so much fun for me after all these years). Today was STS Disk 12/Legs and STS Medicine Ball Abs followed by Cathe's Intensity workout with the Boot Camp portion. Good stuff!

Tami, hope you enjoyed a nice weekend! Congratulations on finishing Body Beast. Sounds like a good plan to take a week off before jumping in to your next rotation.

Thelma, congratulations on finishing H&C!! So happy you feel better for having done it. Your weekend sounds amazing!!! Sounds active and fun and exciting and everything a weekend away should be. I really want to try zip lining some time. I am afraid I would chicken out once they strap me up, but if I could get past that, I think I would have so much fun with it. Maybe some day, right? Hope you enjoyed that STS workout better. It is a long one, but such a good, thorough workout. Sounds like the strength you gained with Body Beast will definitely help.

Laurie, glad you enjoyed the Lean week. That makes for a nice change, doesn't it? Sounds like you had a busy weekend, too. Great workouts since getting home. 17,000 steps is amazing! I bet you are looking forward to the invisible fence. That will be so nice with Rocket.

See you all tomorrow.

Laurel

2BLean

Hi Ladies and happy to see everyone back safe and sound from their long weekends! My weekend was really good, nothing special just enjoyed having that extra day and longer time frame in the a.m. to get my workout in. I also cleaned out a couple of drawers and spare bedroom closet on Sunday due to poor weather. That felt fantastic! For workouts: Sat was my last BB workout, Total Body and I followed it up with Blizzard Blast and ICE Core, Sun was KCM Lean Body Circuits, yesterday was Total Body TriSets, which I always love so much. NO workout this a.m. which I had a feeling I might hit the snooze after 3 days off, but I will go to Katy’s class tonight! Most likely we will be outside because our weather has turned amazing starting yesterday. This weekend is supposed to be in the 90’s. YIKES. Glad we got all the rain we did lately.

Laurel: Sounds like such a nice weekend of family time and golf as well. Plus you were able to get in your great workouts. Your combos you are putting together with STS is providing you with a ton of variety throughout, so awesome!! Thanks on the congrats for BB! Always a good feeling to finish up a rotation forsure, sense of accomplishment. I will definitely do another BB rotation in the future, probably combine it with another of some sort. Worked on getting my next rotation together a little bit over the weekend but as I mentioned, this week is going to be “misc” type workouts and then into a rotation. Just a mental break and enjoy some that I have missed but haven't had time for. That list could go on & on however. LOL

Laurie: Glad to hear your lean week went good for you! You are almost finished up with BB – Congrats! As I told Laurel, it always feels good to finish up a rotation. Congrats on the 17,000 steps! WOWSA. Even on the weekends when I hardly sit down I don’t get that many, good on ya! I bet Rocket had a blast at your brothers cabin. Funny little fella chewing off his harness ….. mischief! The invisible fence will be so nice for him. That’s awesome. I went into Sports Authority over the weekend to check their sale ….. clothing was only 10% off full price; I didn’t look at larger ticketed items, but maybe that is where the real sale is happening. Sounds like you have a plan in place then for your next rotation or experimenting and putting one together as you go?!!?

Thelma: I’m so glad you and DH had such a wonderful time in NH! Great weather too ….. that’s perfect! Your hike(s) sound like they were very nice as well, way to get in some great exercise while on a mini vaca!! Congrats again on finishing up H&C!!!!! WooHoo. Great job going right into STS! I think you are going to do fabulous with it after your last couple of rotations, your body is ready for it.


Have a wonderful evening ladies, talk to you tomorrow!
Tami

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did Slide & Glide. My pecs, triceps and traps are pretty DOMSY from yesterday's STS workout. I had to force myself to workout tonight. My uncle passed away unexpectedly this morning. I am so sad. I wanted to go home for the funeral but my aunt tells me it's really dangerous.

Laurie, great job keeping up with your workouts during your busy week! I'm glad the lean week was good. Funny about Rocket chewing through this harness! He must've been bored.
Thanks on the congrats on finishing up H&C! I'm glad I grew to like the program too. It does feel great to be able to use the same weights I used in BB for STS.

Laurel, I'm glad you had a nice weekend! Great workouts! You're so good at putting those rotations together! It takes me forever because I have to check each workout on Cathe's website to make sure it doesn't call for a lot of weights given that I am trying to stick to just cardio in between STS workouts.
Thanks so much for the congrats on finishing H&C! We really had a very active weekend and I loved it. The zip line was scary but since I had done the zip line on the aerial course I knew what to expect and what to do. The zip line was the last part of the course I did and when I got to that platform I stood there and told the guy who works there who stands on the ground below you that I was afraid. He said: you already did most of the course this is the easy part and told me to sit down and go. Basically it was a squat and go. The good thing about the zip line across the river was that one of the workers goes before you and when you get the other side he pulls the zip line to stop you. The river below us was very dry and full of huge rocks but I wasn't afraid to look down. It happens so quickly that you hardly have time to look at your surroundings. I do remember the big rocks though! LOL. I wanted the guys to put 5 harnesses on me in case one failed I'd have 4 backups! LOL
I did enjoy the STS workout and thought about you during the recovery minute between sets. For me though that minute was very helpful. I love the fact that all the muscles I worked yesterday are feeling pretty DOMSY today. The strength I gained in BB is helping me for sure.

Tami, glad you too had a nice weekend! Congrats on finishing up BB! Great weekend workouts too! I really think too that my body is well prepared to take on STS. I can't wait till Cathe sells that tower again. I love the idea of putting the barbell on the tower. Makes it easier for barbell squats!

Good night ladies!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

After work was BB Bulk Shoulders and UFC Fit Cardio Cross Train. This morning I did UFC Fit Power Pull, and after work will be my final BB workout with Total Body. Feels great to be finishing another rotation.

Laurel, Great workouts as usual, it looked like it was Extreme! Noticed that you sneaked in that Intensity workout. Your weekend sounds like it was nice an relaxing. One of these days I will get to have breakfast on my patio. Just a cup of coffee would be a nice way to start the weekend. I was very happy with how the lean week went, felt like we actually accomplished something positive. I usually leave one of those weeks feeling like I wasted my time cutting out paper dolls. Oh that invisible fence is going to be a blessing, just wish it wouldn't be raining when I get home from work to get at the clearing of the brush/weeds in that area.

Tami, Your workouts sound like you really enjoyed the change of pace. Hope your class was a good one. Great accomplishment with cleaning out some closet and drawer space. I was surprised at my step count for that day, because you really don't feel like your doing all that much when gardening. I will have to check out the SA on my way home, just to see if they have something discounted that I need.

Thelma, I'm so sorry to hear about your Uncle, you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers. To bad it isn't an ideal time for you to be there for your Aunt. Great job getting the workout in despite not feeling like doing it. I'm positive that Rocket was bored, we had a 5-1/2 hour drive. He is a very good in the car. Cami was the one that was agitated during the long car rides. You really don't hear a peep out of him during the whole trip. On the way back he was pretty tired, so didn't have the energy to be bored.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today was my last day in this rotation of STS. I know there will be a 'next rotation' because after seven years, I still love this program. I finished it with Disk 11/Back and Triceps. I really liked doing the Mesocycles in this order (2,3,1). Next time I might try 2,1,3......just for something different again. For cardio, I did X37 premix and Shock Cardio MMA:Fusion. That latter workout is one I didn't do when I did the Shock Cardio series earlier in my rotation. Definitely not my favorite workout, but it was good after that tough premix.

Tami, sounds like a nice weekend. Congratulations again on finishing BB. I am sure both your mind and body will enjoy a week of something completely different. Looks like the west coast is headed into a heat wave. Temps in Phoenix are supposed to be 117 on Saturday!! They will have cooled down to 113 by the time we arrive next Monday. I have been there when it is this hot, and I am not looking forward to it, especially since we are going to be clearing out a house. Oh well. Stay cool!

Thelma, I am so sorry to hear about your uncle. I am thinking about you. I am also sorry to hear your aunt say it is too dangerous to visit. How sad! Maybe she can visit you soon? I hope so. Glad you enjoyed the STS workout......and the breaks. I love the pace of those Meso 2 workouts, that's for sure. I was laughing when you said you wanted 5 harnesses on the zip line. That is exactly how I would feel!!

Laurie, great workouts! I love morning coffee on the back porch. This time of year it gets a tad toasty out there in the morning because it faces east. But I still try to get out there in the mornings when it isn't too bad. Just 15 minutes of staring at the ducks swimming in the water is enough to clear my mind for the day.

See you all tomorrow.

Laurel

2BLean

Hi Ladies ~ So last night’s class was actually a Cross Fit class that was from a friend of her brothers, who was a Navy Seal! Yes . . . so TOUGH was the word to describe this and we did it for a Post-Memorial Day even in honor of him. She actually modified it slightly due to our time frame. At any rate, it was a warm-up of running 1 mile, then at our own pace we did 100 KB Swings, 200 Pull-Ups, 200 Push-Ups, 300 Sit-Ups, then with 10 minutes left, no matter where we were we ran the mile again. YIKES. It was outside, along the road, down a hill, around a corner and back up the hill. It felt great to complete the class . . . however I did not complete my pull-ups; all the other items on the board I did though. Not many finished it all, other than a couple of guys in the class. She did yell out to me during our run … “Do you hate me right now?” Because she knows about my love for running. LOL Tonight will be Spinning after work.

Not sure if you guys saw/heard on the news about the shooting at UCLA today??? Well that's where my sister works and it scared me to death. Luckily she is ok and she was on the complete other side of a very big campus; put in lock down and fine. Her 2 boys go to a school there on campus as well and they are fine. Just SO scary. She has been on my mind all day, despite being safe. the "what if" is so frightening. But beyond thankful that she is ok.

Laurel: WOW! Can’t believe you are already done with your STS rotation! That was super FAST. Glad to hear you love it just as much now as you did the first time; that’s how I am with STS. So awesome! Will you be doing BB again when you get back from AZ then? Yes, we are definitely headed into some HOT weather, not like AZ though, thank goodness. That is just too hot. I hope you stay cool when you are there. YOWSA.
Laurie: Excellent work finishing up your 2nd rotation this year! So awesome. Great job with the UFC workouts as well, they must be shorter time frames? Yes, enjoying the change of pace and circuit/misc type workouts this week. Tomorrow I am going to do STS Total Body I think. I’m kind of winging it this week, so that is subject to change. LOL

Thelma: So sad and sorry to hear about your Uncle passing away. I’m sorry you cannot go to the service due to the safety issues, that also makes it sad. How is your Aunt doing/dealing? Way to go pushing through your workout, I bet you didn’t feel like it at all …… may have helped ease the tension a little for you. I am sure you are going to love the Cathe Tower when you get it; will be perfect for your barbell as well!

Have a great evening ladies ~
Tami

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did STS Meso2 Disc 14-Legs. I had to force myself to workout because I am still sad about my uncle. Once I got going with the workout I got into it and my legs are feeling the workout. I am still feeling the DOMS on my triceps and pecs from Monday's workout! I am enjoying this rotation so far.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for my family and I. My uncle's wife sounded calmer tonight. She has ups and downs. My aunt (his sister) in El Salvador sounded calmer too. My aunt in Italy is taking it really hard I think it's because she can't be there. My grandmother used to say that you have to tell loved ones that you love them when they're alive. The same thing with giving flowers she said: you give flowers when people are alive. Once a person dies they can't enjoy the flowers anymore. So I reminded my aunt tonight about what her mom used to say. It really is sad that I couldn't go because it is so dangerous there.

Laurie, great workouts! Congrats on finishing your BB rotation! Now wonder Rocket chewed through his harness. That was a long car ride!

Laurel, congrats on finishing your STS workout! It really went by so fast! Great combo today!
DH and I pay for my aunts' airfares once a year so they can visit with us. They will be here in November. The Meso 2 pace is good. My kind of pace.

Tami, WOW! That was a killer workout! Good job! I heard about UCLA!! I'm so glad your sister is OK. I just went to a scare like with DH who works for Tufts U. They had a bomb scare. I saw how Cathe does pull ups on the tower. I doubt I can pull myself up from a seated position! LOL

Good night ladies!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Finished up with BB Total Body yesterday after work! This morning I did UFC Fat Fighter, this one has jujitsu style ground work. I had to modify some of the moves, because this old body isn't going to move as well as those young ones on the DVD. And I'm okay with that.

Laurel, Congrats on finishing up your STS rotation! I like that you will do the rotation again, but in a different order from this one too. I have heard that people have done 3,2,1 also. I have never enjoyed that Fusion workout either, it just never flowed like the MMA workouts that I'm doing with UFC do. Our patio faces east also, but up here it isn't as toasty in the mornings. I think this morning was the warmest one we have had yet. Low 60's, and now I'm really ready for my Saturday to arrive.

Tami, Good thing that you opted to just have your class yesterday, that sure sounds like a TOUGH workout. Oh my on the shooting, didn't realize that your sister and nephews where there. That has to be a scary situation to go though, and I can understand why you would be worried. The UFC workouts are all 30 to 45 min., so I can get them finished in the morning without a problem. These workouts have giving me some major DOMS in my lower body, so I'm thinking that the change in style will be good. Makes me second guess adding in the Chisel workouts, wonder if it will be to much on my lower body. I plan on trying Chisel Endurance after work, so will see how I feel tomorrow.

Thelma, Great job on the workout! I'm sure that it is hard for your family not to be there, but it doesn't sound like a good situation to enter into. Your Grandmother sounds like a very wise woman. My little guy was trying to chew thru his new harness this morning while we were driving to doggy daycare. After I noticed, he laid down, but there is a little nick in the front. Naughty little guy.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies. I started today with the lower body premix from High Reps which is short and sweet. Then, for cardio, I did Cross Fire Extreme premix. Good stuff. I am headed out the door in a little bit to get my hair fixed up and then I have to pack. DH and I are leaving tomorrow evening after he gets off work to get at least a few hours of driving in.

Tami, the minute I heard about the UCLA shooting, I thought about your sister. I was following the news all day hoping they would give the location on the campus, hoping not to see anything about Performing Arts. Scary stuff, but I am glad they are okay. I can only imagine the nail biting hours you must have had. Yowza on the class, though!! That sounds killer. Congrats on doing the running. I think I would have given up in that part. I plan on getting back to BB probably a week or two after we get back from Phoenix. DH will be home for the summer and I kind of want to figure out what our summer days are going to look like and plan my rotation around that. Besides, I never did get to XTrain or ICE in my STS rotation, so I would like to do a week of those programs before starting BB.

Thelma, glad you are enjoying this rotation so far. Those leg workouts are no joke. Good job pushing 'play' and letting your workout help you with your grief. It sounds like you had a very wise grandmother. In our own situation with my mom, my sister is debating whether she should try to convince my nephew to go down with her next week. Her concern is if he goes now, he won't have the time off to go to the funeral. I very bluntly said that mom isn't going to care if he is at her funeral but she would love to see him now. Your grandmother was so right about celebrating life and love when people are alive to appreciate it.

Laurie, congratulations on finishing BB. Hope your weather stays nice for the weekend and you get a chance to enjoy your patio for a little while. I am dreading spending the next two weeks going from one air conditioned environment to the next. I will miss my daily dose of fresh air, that's for sure. But at temps over 110, no air is 'fresh'. I should probably warn my DH that if the weather is remotely nice in the places we are stopping across the country, he will probably find me walking circles in the parking lots. A little exercise, a little air.........who cares if I get funny looks!

See you tomorrow.

Laurel