Cathe Fans Part 5

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Thursday were Slow Flow Yoga, Walking and STS 2.0 Lower Body 1. This lower body workout was great! I was able to lift much heavier than I thought I could do because it was a slow rep workout to make sure you can lift super heavy. The barbell hip thrusts were in that video and I wasn't prepared with the resistance band. I hadn't tried doing it, so I had to wing it. Caroline's bands must be much shorter than the ones I got. I had to wrap the band twice around my feet to shorten it. I have no idea how Cathe and her team use the step without it moving back on them when they do the thrusts. I was practically pushing mine backwards. I will practice on my own using my workout bench.

Cathe's barbell weighs 75 lbs! I don't think I'd be able to get that barbell off of me! LOL. I ended up writing down the names of the exercises and the weights I used. It took me way longer than the 51 minutes the workout runs for. I was using my Bowflex dumbbells, so it takes time to change the weights. There was a one minute rest between sets. All the finishers came at the end of the workout using the Swiss ball. I waddled my way up the stairs after my workout for a walk, which helped a lot. I followed that with a long stretch and massage session.

I've been toying with the idea of buying a kettlebell converter grip. I finally decided to it tonight after trying to do sumo squats with a very heavy and big bowflex dumbbell. It also comes in black. Here's the link in case you're curious to see what this thing looks like.
https://a.co/d/9vFCq20

Laurie, that workout sounds awesome! Great job! I bet 40 degrees feels very cold now that you've had warmer temps.

Did you know Caroline toad taken a break from social? She now has a paid app. She has a beginner and a beast mode program. The beginner program format sounds a lot like Cathe's STS 2.0 format, 4 weeks of total body workouts, 4 weeks of upper and lower body splits, 4 weeks of body part workouts. She has a video announcing her new app and what she's been up to. She said her YT content will still be available, but she won't be posting a lot of new content there anymore.

I wish Cathe had posted the user guide before anything else. I kind of wish we'd gotten a hard copy like we used to get.
I'm glad you're going to have warmer temps during the weekend.

Laurel, congratulations on finishing STS 1.0! I it might be too much trying to finish the STS 2.0 workouts before your trip to Denver. I hope your DVDs arrived! I wonder if you will find this STS program way easier than STS 1.0. I kept thinking of you every time we had to take a one minute rest. I know you don't like that.
No doubt doing STS 1.0 for the last 6 months has made you stronger and also prepared you for the new program. Even I feel stronger from doing Tracy's workouts.

I think Cathe should've made the user guide available the moment she shipped the DVD's out. I didn't mind writing the exercise names and weights down as I did the workout though.

I am torn between doing a Cathe or Tracy's shoulder workout. I had been looking forward to Tracy's, but I'll do whichever is shorter! LOL
It may be too much to try to squeeze in the single body part workouts before your trip.

Have a great long weekend!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

I received my DVD's!!! It was weird just receiving this little package that fit in my mailbox. Really cold again this morning. In fact DH thought that we had frost on the ground. It was just a lot of dew. My workout this morning was Epic Heat Day 4 Full Body Fuse. I have to admit that I really like that Caroline doesn't use a lot of equipment, so hoping that I'm going to be okay with these new STS workouts.

Laurel, Hope you didn't have to wait to long to receive those DVD's. Congrats on finishing STS 1.0, and being able to try out the newer workouts before you leave. I'm expecting some really good reviews though. It is going to be difficult for me to get in those total body workouts unless I get my butt down in the basement as soon as my alarm goes off. Awesome job with those workouts. Another option for the hip thrusters, if you use your barbell, put a thick towel across your hips. That's what Caroline does, and it really does help.

Thelma, Great job with the workouts! Thanks for the information on the lower body workout. I do like a slower pace, so that sounds really good. To bad that you had to write down all the exercises. Does she give you options to not use the ball for the finishers? I really do not like the ball, I think it's because my legs are so long that it's not fun to use. Yeah I did know about the new app that Caroline created. She was offline for over 6 months getting this app set up. I have not really delved into it, just don't know if I want to spend the money for that. It's not a bad price, and I probably would use it. Hope you are able to decide on which instructor you want to workout to.

Have a great weekend!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a 30 minute spin followed by the STS 2.0 Legs and Shoulders premix from the Legs and Shoulders DVD. I ended it with 2.0 No Equipment Abs.

The format of the Legs and Shoulders workouts was how Thelma described the Lower Body work, but there were no finishers. She did film bonus material for these workouts, but since I was doing both of them ( technically two workouts), I didn’t do the finishers (which would have pushed the workout over 90 minutes long). The workouts involved pretty straight forward moves, all doing between 8-12 reps. There was a one minute break between each exercise. I like both of the workouts for the most part. But here are some of my reactions:

-Cathe uses a 50# dumbbell for plié squats. I only have up to 40#. I think I will try this with my 10# weighted vest and 30# once to see if I feel safe doing the exercise with the weighted vest on. I hope I do because I think 45-50# would be perfect for the exercise.

-She used the fabric bands in two parts of the leg workout. I was fine using the band for squats but on the clam shell move…..not so much. My hips just don’t like that move in the first place, so……no band for me.

-I am going to have to figure something out for hip thrusts. I did two sets lying on the ground (as demonstrated by Jenn in the background) and one on the step. I used a 30# barbell and could have used way heavier for the move. But it is getting that barbell moved into position that is my big issue. She had the other Jenn demonstrating with a heavy dumbbell, but I think my 40# would still be too light. So I think I may stay lighter or go with bands…..and double the reps. There is plenty of time to do that and while it would be more endurance than strength, at least it will be something.

-The shoulder workout used the wall anchors, and I did the substitute moves. For me, they felt good and useful so, so far, I am not sold on the wall anchors. But that is one workout.

-There was a lot of rear delt focus in the shoulder work. I like that, but it did lead to more repetition than there was in the leg workout. Not a criticism since I like working the rear delts. But I am curious how my shoulders feel tomorrow.

-When I do one body part workouts, I usually use workouts like the ICE Muscle Meltdowns or Ramped Up Upper Body which, because of the speed of them, leave a lasting burn in the muscles. These workouts didn’t do that. That is going to take some getting used to, but these workouts really lend themselves to lifting controlled and heavy. Based on these two workouts, I honestly believe anybody and everybody at all fitness levels could benefit from these workouts.

-The Abs workout was a great add-on. Challenging enough without being brutal.

-Al makes me smile.

Thelma, great workout! Now I am anxious to try that one. I actually enjoy the one minute breaks, and I really found them helpful in the workouts I did today because Cathe used the time to set up the next exercise which isn’t something she did in 1.0 since those workouts differed each week (she cut and pasted them together in other words). Based on what I did today, I do think these workouts will feel easier than the 1.0 workouts if for no other reason than they are shorter and because the formats are completely different. I am very curious how it will feel to do a rotation of them and see how the results compare. I, too, wish I had a users guide this morning. I popped in the DVD and started to go get my stuff ready, and then realized I had no clue what equipment I needed.

Laurie, great workout. And I am glad you got your DVDs!! Thank you for the suggestion for a towel doing the hip thrusters. With only 30# on my barbell, I was fine today. But I wouldn’t be with 75#! But I know I will never go that heavy for that exercise because I just wouldn’t feel safe getting the barbell in place or off of me.

Enjoy the long weekend!!

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, I hope you had a nice weekend. Our weekend was nice, but busy with house chores as always. We were expecting some rain, but we only got a passing shower on Friday afternoon and that was it.

My workouts on Friday were Walking, Gentle Flow Yoga and Tracy Steen Side Shoulder Poppin' Workout. I was too tired for an STS 2.0 workout.

Saturday - Walking, Jessica Smith Low Impact Hiit and STS 2.0 Standing Abs, Cathe STS 2.0 Mobility 1 + Mobility 2 Premix. The standing ab workout was easy. I am looking forward to trying the other ab workouts and most definitely the longer premixes. The mobility 1 workout was too easy, so I'm glad I chose one of the premixes that combines both mobility workouts. The mobility 2 workout is really good.

Sunday - Walking, Cathe STS 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body and Cathe STS 2.0 Foam Rolling Lower Body.
The giant sets workout was a killer! I am so glad I have a few sets of adjustable dumbbells. I have the ones that use regular plates and the Bowflex with a max weight of 52.5 lbs. I have small plates in .5, 1.25, 2.25, and 5lb plates, which help me increase the weight in small increments. It took me 1.45 hours to complete, between writing things down or pausing to get a heavier weight than what I'd started out with.
I still wasn't prepared for the hip thrusts with the bands. I just went back to watch Caroline's video and I was doing it wrong! Anyways, I figured out a way to do it with the barbell, that was a major lightbulb moment! LOL. I used the rack! DUH! Why didn't I think of that sooner? I used the barbell brackets. I put them at hole #2 and I placed the rack as close as possible to the step. I put my yoga mat on the step for padding, then I loaded the barbell on the rack and sat down with my legs under the barbell. I did a little thrust to get the barbell onto my thighs and positioned it over my hips. It worked! I do have a barbell pad but need a bigger one. BTW, my barbell weighed 50 lbs.

The workout had 3 sets. Cathe did 2 sets of bilateral exercises and a middle set of unilateral exercises. The unilateral thrust was just too awkward with the barbell. I will use a dumbbell next time because you only use half the weight in this case. I don't think I could load the barbell onto my lap the way Cathe does it in the video.
I stretched after the giant sets workout, then had dinner and went back downstairs to do the foam rolling workout. It wasn't a workout, it was just a 'how to' video. This was disappointing and makes the video useless to me because I already do all those moves. I only use the roller on the upper body for one move, so I hope Cathe has better ideas for the upper body. BTW, I don't think the foam roller is good enough for the quads or hams. I have a hard plastic; bumpy roller and that thing is good! I highly recommend a lot of stretching and massage with a roller after these workouts.
I won't be using the chair yoga workout either.

Laurie, I'm so glad you got your DVDs too! Great workout! I hope you have enough weights to do this program too. Reps are slow in order to allow you to use a heavier weight.
I don't think Cathe gave an alternative to the ball for those finishers in Lower Body 1.
I had no idea Caroline had been offline for so long! I hope she does well with her app. I decided to do a Tracy workout on Friday because I was really tired.

I hope you had a warm weekend. Our temps at night have been in the low 50's, but 70's during the day.

Laurel, great workout! I hope the weighted vest helps with the exercises that need higher weights. Clams are very challenging with the bands! I hope my method using the rack helps you with the hip thrusts. I'm looking forward to being able to use the wall anchors!

How did your shoulders feel after the shoulder workout? I agree with you that anybody can benefit with the STS 2.0 workouts.
I had the feeling that you would find STS 2.0 easier than 1.0 and I agree. The key is to use heavier weights. It was unfortunate that Cathe didn't provide the user's guide at the same time as the DVDs.

Have a great week!
Thelma

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Monday were Walking, YinYasa Yoga and Gina B's 3000 Steps. My body was really feeling the giant sets workout, so this was an easy day.

Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

We enjoyed some really beautiful weather this weekend, got to see family, and enjoyed a very nice meal yesterday made by my youngest bf.

So I tried out a couple of the total body workouts. Just wanted to see how doing these for a week felt. I did Giant Sets on Sunday and the Super Sets this morning. For the most part I kept my weights about 5 lbs lighter than what Cathe used.

Of course Thelma gave a good description, just adding in that the workout was 10 reps. I was able to get the barbell onto my hips by sitting on the bench and then moving off and on. I have a padded bench, so that may be why I was able to do that. My barbell was set at 50#, but I will have to think of something else for the padding on my hips. I do have a pad that I can put on the barbell, so the next time I have to attempt the hip thrusters, I will try it that way with my thick towel.

The Super Set workout was 8 reps, done for 3 sets for each super set. You then got a 2 min. break, and you really do need that break. She sets up for the next series and does some stretching. The bench is at an incline through the whole workout, so you don't need to adjust that constantly. Pretty much every body part gets hit twice during the workout. The pink band is used for tricep kickbacks. The shoulder work at the end she said was a finisher. The stretching is referred to as abbreviated. The rotation has the stretching and mobility workouts done the day after each total body.

I really enjoyed both workouts, and they do get the hr up. I will give information on how my body is feeling after I get the last total body workout done. So far I'm sore and woke up this morning very tired. I don't know if that was going to bed later, or the workout. I wasn't able to try any of the stretching/mobility workouts yet, but will try one out tomorrow. I did a lot of weeding yesterday, so I counted that as my off day.

Speaking of hip thrusters, this looks like a promising item. https://amazon.com/dp/B0B72XPNDW/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pf_rd_p=d81b167d-1f9e-48b6-87d8-8aa5e473ea8c&pf_rd_r=698S82649248DXDP2B7A&pd_rd_wg=t3Y0a&pd_rd_w=gaiND&content-id=amzn1.sym.d81b167d-1f9e-48b6-87d8-8aa5e473ea8c&pd_rd_r=3894a2e7-b107-4663-b507-8ede02e2b30e&s=sporting-goods&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWM&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFXUEdSSTlSTU5QQiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRJZD1BMDU0Mzg0NzNVNDYwT1BFNFNZSjgmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDA1MjA3MzIxRE9KU0FUWTY1OFYmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWxfdGhlbWF0aWMmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Laurel, Thanks for the useful information on the STS workouts. I'm hoping that using the weighted vest will do the trick, because that may be how I will handle it also. These heavy weights have really been making my hands tired. I have also noticed some calluses forming, so I may need to get a new pair of gloves. I think that I will have to invest in some of those Platemates though. I can't quite do 20# for bicep curls, but 15# is to light.

Thelma, Great job with all the workouts! You are really getting in some good ones, and of course giving us some great information on the new workouts. It really does help. Interesting information on the mobility workouts. I'm going to try out the Mat Yoga tomorrow.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! I hope you enjoyed the weekend. Ours was busy but nice. We spent a lot of time on Saturday running errands, Sunday was spent on yard work and yesterday was playing golf. It was a very nice weekend weather-wise with no rain and temps on the cool side in the 70s. Those cool temps are now gone, probably for the season.

For workouts, on Saturday I did Jessica’s Build Balance and Inner Strength Core Control workout and yoga. Sunday was a 45 minute spin followed by 2.0 Giant SetsTotal Body and Standing Abs Metabolic. Yesterday was 2.0 Active Recovery, Cathe’s Intensity workout and 2.0 Total Body Stretch. And today was 2.0 Super Sets Total Body, a 30 minute spin and 2.0 Mini Ball Abs.

Regarding the 2.0 workouts, the Active Recovery workout served as a good warm up for me, but I will be very curious how Cathe recommends using it in the rotation. Describing it is hard, but I would say it is a solid 10 minute total body warm-up, and that is how I used it. The total body stretch was good though nothing new or surprising.

I have done three of the four Abs workouts (I have not done the 16 minute Standing Abs routine), and I find them all pretty tame….not to the point of being ineffective but not challenging either. I am okay with that as I plan of using them as add one to the strength workouts and will do tougher core work other days.

I thought Giant Sets Total Body was tough, especially in the first section and mostly on my hands and forearms with the grip. I like the speed and the rep numbers and (aside from hip thrusts) the exercises. But I will need to build up my grip strength if I am going to match Cathe’s weight on that first pass through of 10 reps for 10 exercises. I found Super Sets to be easier, but also more to my liking because there was more upper body focus than lower, which I prefer. I was able to match Cathe’s weight throughout except the bicep curls on my knees, which I did with 17.5#. I will try 20# next time, but probably standing. This one I can see progressing in weights more than I can the Giant Sets workout. But that could only be because Cathe used heavier weights in the Giant Sets workout, and I am using her weight as a standard.

So far I am enjoying the workouts. I am not going to lie, though. I am really going to have to talk myself into four weeks of three of these total body workouts each week. But maybe I will be able to envision it better after I do the Tri-Sets Total Body. Having only done two of the Body Part workouts, though, I can honestly say if the intensity of those two workouts (legs and shoulders) is indicative of how they all feel, I think that four weeks of workouts will feel pretty easy in comparison to the total body workouts. Those one minute rest after each exercise make a huge difference. Anyhow, still much to learn!

Thelma, great workouts! And I love your suggestion for hip thrusts!!! I am definitely going to try that. Thank you! Maybe I will feel that is an effective exercise if I can use the right weight. I am sorry to hear about the foam roller workout, though. It is a disappointment that it is just instructional. I have noticed in the last couple of years that Cathe is providing way more instructions in her Live workouts, and I am seeing that in these workouts as well. I am kind of curious what is driving that after so many years of catering to ‘seasoned ‘ exercisers. At times I welcome the pointers. At other times, I find them annoying. I didn’t feel my shoulders at all after Friday’s workout. My legs were more tired for sure.

Laurie, great workouts! And sounds like you enjoyed a nice weekend as well. Do you have the User’s Guide? You mention how she uses some of the workouts. I guess I will have to go look for it. I feel your hand pain. I was surprised how tired my grip got in that Giant Sets workout. I guess it is something I need to work on, though I would have thought doing 1.0 would have helped! I am definitely feeling these Total Body workouts. I was exhausted Sunday night after the Giant Sets workout. That is one of the reasons I am seriously questioning four weeks solid of them. But maybe when I actually look at the rotation, it will make sense.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Tuesday were Jessica Smith Low Impact Cardio, Yin, Cathe STS 2.0 Super Sets Today Body and Walking, followed by a long stretch session. I really liked the super sets workout and I'm really happy to be lifting a lot heavier than I would've had I not been doing Tracy's workouts. It took me 1.45 hours to complete the workout because when I kept increasing my weights when they didn't feel heavy enough. I really liked the kneeling bicep sweeps! My lower back felt really tight before starting the super sets workout, which worried me, but I still did it. The stretching after the workout took care of that!
I haven't looked at the users' guide yet.
I really think that you have to have some protein before and after these workouts. At least I do since I'll be doing them before dinner.

Wednesday is going to be a super easy day because we are going to Gainesville, GA to pick up our friend from the hospital where she just had surgery. It takes 1.5 hours to get there from our house. On the way back it will be at least 2 hours because our friend lives 1/2 hour past our house. I still don't know if she'll want me to spend the night with her.

Laurie, I'm glad you had great weather and a great time with your family.
Good job trying those total body workouts! I can't believe you did Super Sets before work! I'm glad you figured out a way to do the hip thrusts. I also have a padded bench, but I still couldn't do what you did. Maybe I could if I put the barbell on the rack though. I'll have to try that next time. Definitely use plenty of padding on your hips. You can get one of those pads Cathe sells on amazon. I felt really tired on Monday after the giant sets workout.

You definitely need a pair of weightlifting gloves! I'd never heard of those platemates! What a great idea! I've been doing biceps with 15 lb weights, but today I felt that I could go a little heavier. I will be adding 1/2 to 1 lb next time.

Laurel, I'm glad you had a very productive weekend and made the time to play golf. Monday was on the chilly side here! I had to get my sweatshirt because we had a cold breeze.

Fantastic workouts! I haven't tried the recovery workouts but from your description, it sounds like I will be disappointed about this one too. I wonder if Cathe went easy on the abs because you do use your abs while lifting those heavy weights.

I also think Giant Sets was harder than Super Sets. I also like the speed and rep numbers. Good job matching Cathe's weights! I was surprised that I was able to come close to her weight in some exercises. I'm actually able to go heavier than my usual on squats now. I think it's because I've been doing a lot of squats with Tracy.

I can totally see doing four weeks of these workouts. The only way to make them more difficult is to go heavier. I did like the two minute breaks because it gave me time to write down the exercise name, set up my weights and stretch.

I've been thinking of getting one of those hip thrust belts like the one you sent the link for. I saw it a few weeks ago but wasn't sure I'd be able to get the bowflex dumbbells in it, plus they're so big it would be really awkward for me. It might be good for the single legged hip thrust though.

I hope the rack idea for the hip thrusts works for you also because I really felt that move. I don't know if Cathe is providing more instruction because she gets a lot of requests to do so. I would be happy if she showed the move as she is talking. I felt that I got a good shoulder workout out Giant Sets but not Super Sets. The shoulder finishers were a big disappointment because you can't go heavy and on top of things, she only did 2 sets.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

This morning I did STS 2.0 Mat Yoga / No Equipment Abs, and that is it. I want to see what the first week of STS would be like. I found the yoga workout to be stretching. Really nice stretching, but more yoga inspired. It did help with the soreness from the Super Sets workout though. I enjoyed the ab workout, and it was a great way to get in stretching and abs. We will probably do some walking after I get home from work.

Laurel, I love the sound of your weekend. Great job with all the workouts! I didn't have the user guide, but they did have the rotations in the workout manager. I was able to see what some of the rotations looked like. I noticed that the longer rotations (just STS) had the total body and upper/lower for three weeks. I'm tending to look at the 10 or 12 week, and following the rotation. I'm not a huge cardio person, and I have always wanted to see what it would be like for my body to do just weights. This really does remind me of Caroline's workouts. Not necessarily her rotations, but how her workouts feel with getting the hr up. If the Tri-Set workout is like the other two, then I'm going to be very happy. Do you have 17.5# weights, because that is what I need for those bicep curls. I started with 20's, and was able to finish, but it was a struggle at the end. The 15's just seemed way to easy. I keep adding more and more things to my list of purchases. I had to throw away a couple of my bands, they had cracks. Don't need them to snap during my workouts.

Thelma, Awesome job with the workouts. I've only done two of the total body workouts, and I have to say that I'm a fan. Now if she throws in some push ups in this last one, that may make me change my mind. Kidding of course. Hope your drive goes well, and that your friend feels okay after the surgery. Have to admit that I'm looking forward to surpassing Cathe in weights as I progress through these workouts.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was Cross Fire Extreme and STS 2.0 Mobility 1 and 2. I was feeling a tad tight this morning when I got up from that Super Sets workout, but the mobility workouts helped with that. I liked both mobility workouts. Nothing challenging but also not ineffective.

I did a fair bit of reading in the User’s Guide, and I am beginning to understand better what Cathe is trying to achieve with this program. In many ways, it is structured similarly to STS 1.0, but with a completely different pattern. But the Total Body workouts are strength and endurance, the upper/lower puts more emphasis on strength, but the Body Parts is all strength. So kind of like Mesos 1, 2 and 3, but also very different which is great. In reading the rotations, I am leaning towards doing the 10 week rotation BUT with an add-on. The thing I like about the 10 week rotation is that it does the Body Part workouts as split sets (and you know I love me some split sets). But after doing those four weeks, I am thinking about doing four weeks of the Body Part workouts—one body part at a time—as it is outlined in the final four weeks of the 8 week rotation. So, in other words, I am leaning towards a 14 week rotation. I am not set on this yet because I want to do the other workouts first before deciding. But I just wanted to toss that out there.

Thelma, great workouts. I am glad you enjoyed Super Sets. I agree with what you said about the shoulder work, though. I would have preferred some more strength moves in that area as well. I am curious as well as to why the core work is lighter than usual from Cathe…..and she also repeatedly emphasizes in the user’s manual to only do one or two core workouts a week. But I get the feeling she wants the focus to be 99% on the strength workouts and all other workouts were designed and recommended to not encroach on that. And the core definitely gets worked with those heavy weights.

Laurie, great workouts. It’s funny you mention push-ups because there were push-ups in the Cross Fire workout I did this morning and it dawned on me that I haven’t seen many of them in 2.0! There were some in the Active Recovery workout, though. But I don’t miss doing 120 push-ups in a workout like some of those Meso 1 workouts. Way back in the 1990’s, I bought two dumbbell sets that used plates, and that is how I have both 17.5# and 22# dumbbells. I use those 17.5# dumbbells a lot! It is about the perfect weight for me when it comes to biceps. For concentration curls and such, I can go higher. But if there is any speed to bicep curls, these work far better for my forearms for sure.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Wednesday were Jessica Smith Kickboxing Cardio Abs and Walking.

We got our friend Kathy home in less time than expected. We also went to the pharmacy, got her prescriptions filled and delivered them to her. DH texted her that her the pharmacy would deliver her prescriptions shortly. The look on her face was priceless when she saw us show up at her house. LOL. The pharmacy does deliver so she was expecting someone from the pharmacy. LOL

We finally got some rain on Monday! Yaay!

Laurie, great workout! Those two workouts are what the recovery? I'm going to have to add something else. I'm glad to not have encountered any pushups yet. LOL

Laurel, great workouts! I love the idea of that 14 week rotation because I also love those body part workouts. We always end up extending the body parts rotation sections, so this sounds great to me! Interesting about the twice a week ab work recommendation because they are so easy. I could totally feel that my abs worked hard after the two total body workouts though.
If you already have dumbbells that use plates you could just buy a few more plates to add weight as you go. You can get plates at Walmart. The bowflex has 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5, 20, 22.5, 25, then I think the weights increment by 5 lbs.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

This morning's workout was STS 2.0 Tri Sets Total Body. Really enjoyed this workout, and thank you Laurel for the tip on the sumo squats. I did manage to get on my weighted vest so that I could lift over 30lbs for that exercise. Now I really want to do these workouts again next week, just so that I can see if I can lift heavier than this last week.

DH's Uncle was in the hospital, and then transported to a rehab facility yesterday. DH received a phone call from him at around 4 this morning. This feels a little bit like deja vu. DH said that he feels like we are going though the same process that we did with his mom. I sure hope not, but this is her brother.


Laurel, Nice workouts! I have yet to try out the Mobility workouts, but I'm looking forward to them. I do like what you are thinking for the rotation. The 12 week has the body parts for 6 weeks, and I don't know if that would be something that I could handle. I will have to see how I feel about that, and make a decision. I guess that I have some push ups to look forward to with the Active Recovery workout tomorrow, but it shouldn't be to bad. So far I'm really happy with the equipment used in the total body workouts, but will need something to help increase the weight.

Thelma, Love the workouts! Glad to hear that your friend is okay, and that she is feeling well taken care of by you and your DH. I have not done the recovery workout yet, the one that did was the Mat Yoga, and then I followed it up with one of the ab workouts. I see that we all love those push ups.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a tame 30 minute spin followed by 2.0 Tri Sets Total Body and Standing Abs and Core Plus Floor. I absolutely loved this total body workout. My arms were screaming at the end, which is a feeling I love. I see lots of room for progression in this workout for sure. I couldn’t match Cathe’s weight throughout, so at least I have some already established goals with that. I think what I liked about this workout was that the fatigue I felt was in the muscle being worked, not so much in my grip. The Abs routine was another pretty tame routine, though she does hold a 10# weight in her hands and overhead for some lengths of time which I felt because of the total body workout.

Thelma, great workouts. I am so glad to hear everything went well with your friend yesterday. No doubt she appreciated you getting her meds to her. I am glad you like the sound of a 14 week rotation. I really want to do the remaining workouts I haven’t tried before deciding, but as of now, it sounds like a plan. I have individual dumbbells in 2-3lb increments up to 25 pounds right now. I used to try to change the plates on the dumbbells, but just like my barbell, I got frustrated with how long it took me to change the weight. So now I have a full rack of dumbbells up to 40#. The movers really hated me when we were moving all the time.

Laurie, great workout. Glad to hear you enjoyed it as well. And I am glad the weighted vest worked! I didn’t try it today because 40# seemed enough for today not knowing what was ahead in the workout. I think one thing I need to remember is, because there is so much time between lower body exercises, to do some squats in the break before the last lower body segment. That first set of step-ups felt a little wobbly. I agree about the 12 week rotation. I like that she changes the order of the workouts from week to week on the 10 week rotation, which will probably make them feel a little different each week. I did those push-ups in the Active Recovery on my knees since it is recovery. And they are just partial pushups so not too bad at all.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Thursday were Cathe STS 2.0 Tri Sets Total Body and Walking. The Tri Sets workout was brutal, but in a good way. I wish Cathe had inserted the second leg set in the middle rather than at the end to give the arms a break. I know there had to be a reason for her to do that. I just wish my arms could've felt a little stronger for shoulders and biceps. When we do the four-week rotation, this workout will be my Sunday workout because I'll be at my strongest. I think I will do Tri Sets, Giant Sets and Super Sets.
I did 45 lbs on the sumo squat, but I feel that I could've gone heavier. I was just afraid to lift the 50 dumbbell. I am glad I got the dumbbell kettlebell converter thing because it made holding the dumbbell easy.

I think the STS 2.0 workout sheets are actually good this time around. You do have to write small though and thankfully I do! LOL

I posted a picture of my hip thrust set up on Cathe's FB page and she replied with Brilliant!

We got 1/2" of rain on late Tuesday afternoon. It came down pretty hard for a while.

Laurie, great job with the Tri Sets workout! Tell me more about that weighted vest please. I saw some on Amazon that have iron weights. If a dumbbell is 40 lbs. Should I set the vest to 10 lbs to say that I lifted 50 lbs?

I'm sorry about your DH's uncle! I hope he bounces back.

I haven't tried the recovery workouts, but the mobility workouts are good. The first one is way too easy, and I loved the premixes because it combines 1 and 2 together. I will probably try the Mat Yoga one this weekend. Push-ups are not my thing, simply because I can't do a full push up. I have to do them on my knees.

Laurel, I see that Thursday was Total Tri Sets day! My arms were screaming at the end too. The only thing that was disappointing to me (and it's a mental thing) is that my arms were really fatigued for biceps and shoulders. I had to lower my weights from the heaviest I can do when rested. There is definitely a lot of room for progression. I agree with you about feeling the fatigue in the muscle being worked.

I also want to do all the strength workouts before starting a rotation too, just to document the weights. it really is a pain to have to change weights. Thankfully I have enough plates to be able to set up some dumbbells at 12, 15 and 20 lbs. I do use the 17.5 weight a lot, but I use the bowflex for that. I am sure the movers hated you too! Those weights are heavy. We packed my weights in small boxes to make sure they wouldn't break anyone's back.

Have a great weekend!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

This morning I did STS 2.0 Active Recovery / Standing Abs: Core plus Floor. This active recovery was a great way to end the week of total body workouts. I think I'm starting to understand the method to Cathe's thinking about these workouts. For the most part I have followed exactly what Cathe indicated in her rotations. The ab workout for me was fun, and I think that was because it wasn't over the top. I loved all the moves, even though she said that I needed the slides. I think that I said "Oh crap" when she said those words. But I push play anyway, and so glad that I did.

Laurel, Great job with the workouts! I love that we all did the same workout yesterday. Like you I did those push ups on my knees, since Cathe was also doing them that way. That is the same feeling I had with the step ups at the end of the workout. I was wobbly, and with my bad knee, I really had to go down in the amount of weight that I was holding. I started out with 15's, but then changed my mind and went to 12's. Next time I may lower the step, just to see if that helps. My db's only go up to 30#, and I know that I can lift heavier than that, so adding on the vest was a great way to increase the load. I will have to invest in some 35# soon.

Thelma, Nice job with those workouts! I think that we are all in agreement on that last section of leg work. My weighted vest is 12#, can't add anymore weight to it. I know that they do make them so that you can add weight. I mostly use mine when I'm doing a no jumping workout, it just adds to the calorie burn. But since I know that I can lift heavier than 30# for legs, I added the vest so I was lifting #42 lbs. Thanks for the info on the mobility workouts. I think for this first round, I'm going to try them as is, and then determine what premixes I will venture into after that. One of the things that I have to do is look at the timeframe of those premixes. Sometimes I just enjoy hitting the snooze button once in a while.

Have a great weekend!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was something of a recovery day for me since I plan on doing a 2.0 Body Parts duo tomorrow before going into the Upper/Lower workouts next week. So I did LITE Rev’d Up Rumble with the Cardio Crush and Abs. And I followed it with 2.0 Chair Yoga, which was really a chair stretch just using some yoga terms for the stretches. I am not a huge fan of chair stretches because I think the chair limits the range of motion, but for what it was, it was fine. My body did feel nicely and gently stretched at the end, which I think is the purpose.

Thelma, great workout. We were all on the same page yesterday! I agree about needing to drop down in weight on the shoulders and biceps in that Tri Sets workout. I picked up 20# for overhead presses, and couldn’t even do one rep. I ended up at 15# for those, and doing only 8 reps, I would normally be able to go heavier than that even with my wonky shoulders. But I really think she lumped all of the upper body work together to add an endurance factor into the workout, and I love the thought of working endurance with heavy weights. It is too early to say, of course, but as of now, this is my favorite of the total body workouts for that reason. If I could never do leg work, I would be fine. Lucky you getting rain. We are dry with no rain in sight. But our wet spring means everything so far is still green.

Laurie, great workouts. I agree with you about beginning to understand Cathe’s approach. I am really having some long talks with myself about how I am going to do cardio during this rotation. This week was too much cardio for me for sure. But I don’t think I am going to be able to take it down as far as Cathe recommends. I will formulate a plan when I do the other workouts, but right now I am thinking of something like a 20 minute spin on 2.0 days and 30-40 minutes of something else on non 2.0 days. I know I really need to take the spinning down a lot of notches if my legs are going to be fresh enough for some of these workouts. But we’ll see. It could be that during each phase, my cardio looks different because those total body workouts had a cardio factor, but the two Body Part workouts I have done so far did not. So maybe no cardio on Total Body days. Cardio, for me, is all about my mind, so I just need to get my mind right. Anyhow, I did those step ups on 10” with 20#, and I seriously wished I had gone to 8” for that first round. I think if I ever try using 25# (like Cathe), it will definitely have to at least start with an 8” step. My balance just isn’t what it used to be for sure.

Enjoy the weekend!

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, I hope you had a great weekend. We had a very good weekend and Sunday ended with a massive thunderstorm that lasted four hours. We go 3/4" of rain.

My workouts on Friday were Gentle Flow Yoga, Jessica Smith Cardio, Walking.
Saturday Jessica Smith Low Impact Hiit, STS 2.0 Active Recovery, and Walking.
Sunday Jessica Smith Power Walking, STS 2.0 Lower Body 1 and Walking.

I really liked the Active Recovery workout. The Lower Body 1 workout is also really good. I'm looking forward to trying the upper body workouts. Cathe does pullups on upper body 1. I intend to use the new tubes I bought.

Laurie, great workouts! I'll have to try another ab workout this week. I just don't like to be wobbly during step ups. I had to lower my weight because I felt that I wasn't using proper form.

Thanks for the info on the vest! I think I'm going to hold off on buying one. The mobility workouts only have two premixes. mobility 1 + 2 and mobility 2 +1.

Laurel, great workouts! I am not a fan of chair stretches for the same reason you mentioned about limited range of motion.

I ended up so tired after the total body workouts that I don't have a problem reducing my cardio or just doing lite cardio.

I agree with you about Cathe's reasoning for lumping all the upper body together in total body Tri sets. I just didn't like not being strong enough for biceps and shoulders, but it's not like we hadn't used those muscles throughout the workout.
I hope you got some rain on Sunday too!

Have a great week!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

We seriously need some rain, so Thelma send some of that rain our way! I didn't workout on Saturday, I'm going to follow what Cathe is recommending in the rotation and taking days off. I did go to three quilt stores in the area for the Shop Hop. I have until the end of June to get to the other shops in my region. They have a special Wisconsin fabric line that was designed by a WI designer. It's so pretty, and I have an idea what quilt I'm going to use it for. Sunday I did STS 2.0 Super Sets Total Body, yep I'm going to do the workouts again this week. I'm going to go with the rotation early, because I just can't help myself. I was able to up my weights from last week on some exercises. I got through all the bicep exercises with 20#, so I was happy. We went to visit with my oldest dd, so of course got some g'ma time also. This morning's workout was STS 2.0 Mobility 1 / Standing Abs: Metabolic Core Warm Up. Found both of these interesting, and very very doable. I keep thinking that she is going to make me do something that I don't like, so will never try any of the ab workouts again. I only have one more to try, and that one uses the ball.

Laurel, Nice job on those workouts! I know that at some point I will have to include some cardio, because I don't think that I will be able to stay away from my boxing. I'm thinking that I can add on some cardio when we get to the body parts. I don't know what it is about these total body workouts that I like so much, but I couldn't help myself from doing them again. They are on my list of favorites for sure. My cardio on weight days will be walking. That is what Caroline suggested, and DH has agreed to go with me after work. Glad to hear that I'm not the only one that contemplated moving that step down. I would rather up the weight, and be more comfortable when I'm stepping up.

Thelma, Awesome job with the workouts! The two ab workouts that use weights are very effective, and I have been enjoying every one that I've done. There isn't anything crazy in the selection that she chose. Sometimes her ab workouts have a dread factor for me. That is the same experience that I had with the step ups, just not quite comfortable. I was using 12#, and hopefully by lowering the step I can go heavier and eventually strengthen that knee more. Thanks for the info on the mobility workouts. I guess that their isn't much more that you can do with two workouts in the premixes, without it getting choppy.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! I hope you enjoyed the weekend. Mine was quiet as DH is away (again). I really didn’t do much of anything this weekend outside of taking care of plants and the garden. I read alot and worked on a puzzle and it was wonderfully relaxing. I think I needed that after all those heavy workouts last week! We, unfortunately, did not get any rain this weekend either. So, Thelma, you can send some here as well as to Wisconsin.

For workouts, on Saturday I did 2.0 Body Parts Back and Biceps, Cathe Live Kick, Jump and Box Express and 2.0 Mat Yoga. I enjoyed the bicep and yoga workouts, but was slightly less enthusiastic about the back workout. I think it is because there were four sets of pull-ups and about three different exercises that used bands, and I know I would prefer more weight work. I might modify it a bit next time I do it. Don’t get me wrong…..it is a good workout. It just didn’t include enough exercises where I think I would be able to see progression.

On Sunday, I did 2.0 Lower Body 1, and endurance spin and some Peloton yoga. I loved this lower body workout and am feeling it nicely in my quads today. Today I did 2.0 Upper Body 1, No Equipment Abs and Cathe’s live class from last week which was Boom Boom Pow Kickbox. As the name implies on the latter workout, it was just a fun little Kickbox workout, and it was nice to see Cathe able to fully box with both arms. I am finding kickboxing to be the perfect cardio complement to 2.0. Regarding Upper Body 1, I loved it. I modified the pull-ups in this one to one arm rows, which was one of her suggestions. There are 16 push-ups in it, but she recommends a second set of chest flies in case push-ups aren’t welcome. I met or exceeded Cathe’s weight throughout and think this is one where I will be now to find the perfect weight that really challenges the muscles. Can’t wait to try Upper/Lower 2 later this week.

Thelma, great workouts. I completely understand using the tubing in place of the pull-ups. I was surprised to see four sets of pull-ups in both the Body Part Back workout and Upper Body 1. It is not my favorite exercise for sure. I am glad you enjoyed the Active Recovery workout. I like that it is just a tidy little workout that hits the whole body without working the whole body. I can definitely see now where it will fit in nicely in this program. Sadly even though parts of the city got rain yesterday, we never even clouded over. I just got back from a walk, and things are beginning to dry up. Hopefully we’ll get some moisture soon.

Laurie, Saturday sounds like it was a wonderful day. And great workouts!! I don’t blame you for pressing on with the rotation. If I could figure out how to do these workouts while at my sister’s house, I would have done the same thing, I really like that all of the recovery workouts are very tame. I think they will be perfect during this rotation because of that. Like I said above, I am finding kickboxing and boxing to be the perfect cardio for me so far. Cathe’s latest Live kickboxing workouts are so moderate in intensity that my heart rate stays in about my walking range, yet the boxing and kicking really help ease some of the tightness in my muscles. Well, and there is the fact that I will use any excuse I can find to do some kickboxing.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Monday were Cathe STS 2.0 Upper Body 1 and Walking.
I really liked this upper body workout. I got to use the Brad & Bob tubbing and what a game changer! I did the pull-ups with 65 lbs of resistance and do I feel it in the scapula area! I also loved doing the banded triceps pull downs with the tubbing. I used the 35 lb tube. My triceps are feeling it. My entire upper body is feeling the workout. I hope Cathe uses the tubbing and bands in the other upper body workouts.

Laurie, I wish I could send you some rain! Are you at least having warm temps now? I just can't take a real day off. I think lite walking is a good thing and those mobility and stretching workouts don't count as workouts.

I am doing Yin on Tuesday, walking and some ab work. I think that will be my day off because my legs are feeling the lower body workout too.

Sounds like you had a fun weekend between the quilt stores and g'ma time!

Great job with the total body workout! I like that Cathe selected lite ab work. Last week my abs felt like I had done a tough ab workout after a total body workout.

I am glad you like the ab workouts and that Cathe didn't do any of her crazy hard moves! I'd rather have a lower step and a heavier weight.

Laurel, DH is away too, and I've spent the last two days walking the dogs to make sure they potty and in between letting the chickens out of the coop for a little while. It took me two hours Monday morning to feed the deer, turkeys, birds, chickens, cats and dogs. I'm including walking the dogs in those two hours and washing all their food dishes.

I can't believe you didn't get any rain! We normally have the same weather. Some areas in BR got hail too. I think that at this time of the year things dry up very quickly, even after a good rain.

Great workouts! I'm sorry you didn't like the back workout. I have the feeling I will like it if she uses the bands. I don't think I've felt ever my scapula area talk to me like I felt after the upper body workout. I like how Cathe is offering alternatives to some of the exercises. Good job exceeding Cathe's weights!

I HATE using the tower for pull ups. The tower always moves on me. I don't know why, and I just don't feel anything. I am really excited about using the tubbing for this upper body workouts.

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a solid but not too intense 60 minute spin and 2.0 Foam Rolling Upper and Lower.

Thelma, great workouts. It sounds like you really have the perfect bands and the right set up for these 2.0 back workouts. I would probably feel very differently about the band work if I had a similar system. But I am stubborn in not wanting to buy any more exercise equipment, so I am going to try to muddle through with what I have. I am so thankful that Cathe gives a ton of options, because it makes me feel like I am still doing the workout ‘correctly’ using those options. I am going to try Upper 2 tomorrow and previewed it this morning. There are no pull-ups, which made me happy. Anyhow, I completely understand what you were saying when you reviewed the Lower Body Foam Roller workout. She really does move through it a little too quickly for it to be considered a full session. But I did the upper first, which honestly felt more like a mobility workout that a foam rolling workout because she uses the foam roller in several segments as a stretching assistant more than actually rolling on it. That, combined with the lower body segment, made me feel like I got a decent stretch in. Actually, I see myself doing this one more than any of the others, especially when I get familiar with it because then I will be able to move at my own pace. And the fact that Cathe clearly doesn’t love foam rolling (neither do I) entertains me enough to enjoy it. But if I loved foam rolling, this would not be for me at all.

Two hours to take care of all your plants and pets?!? That’s a lot. But it took me 45 minutes yesterday just to take care of the plants and birds (and I didn’t even fill all of the feeders), so with pets on top of that……it makes sense! But, like you, I do a lot of walking through it and I do enjoy the time outside. But there are days when I would like the plants to water themselves.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Tuesday were Yin, Gina B. Low Impact Cardio and Walking. I am seriously feeling the STS 2.0 Upper Body 1 workout. The Yin class focused on shoulders, and it felt amazing. My body felt tired, and I really needed a day 'off'.

Laurel, great workout combo! i think you would feel differently about pull ups with the right set up. I hear you about not wanting to buy more equipment! I definitely don't want to buy more workout DVDs.

I would've been really happy if Cathe had included Pilates and Barre workouts in this program instead of the foam roller and chair yoga DVDs. I still don't get the chair yoga workout. I will never use it, unless I'm injured. I will try the upper body foam roller session, because I hope to gain something from it. It's like she needed filler stuff just to sell accessories and I'm pretty disappointed about it. I do like the strength workouts though.

I just searched in YT for foam roller pilates and there are lots of great workouts. Mira is an instructor I love and she has plenty of those workouts. I am going to try some of those on rest days.

I got a little faster about the morning routine with the morning feeding and walking routine. The two hours didn't include watering the plants! Thank God DH is back home!
I will try the Lower Body 2 workout on Wednesday. My upper body needs more rest!

See you tomorrow!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Sorry that I was not on yesterday, but I had Grandma duty. We also had some rain, but not enough. I took the grandson home, so that when he was napping, I was able to do some sewing. He was a good little boy, which I think surprised my dd. Hey I'm the g'ma, and baby R really loves his g'pa. It's really cute to see how he lights up when he sees DH.

Yesterday was STS 2.0 Tri Sets Total Body, was able to increase some of the weight on certain exercises. I'm really feeling the triceps this morning because of that. This morning was STS 2.0 Total Body Stretch, really enjoy this one. Now that the temps are out of the high 80's, a walk will be on top of my list when I get home.

Laurel, Thanks so much for all the great information on the workouts, and awesome job with all of them. I really enjoy the names that she is giving those live workouts. Very glad to hear that the kickboxing/boxing is working with this series. I will probably be adding those in after I have gone through these total body workouts. I'm finding that just doing the recovery workouts, adding in abs, and walking have been about all that my body can handle. After next week, when I go to the upper/lower, I will see how I feel about adding in the boxing. They are not short workouts. I can say that the one saving grace to these workouts so far, is the variety. I had to LOL when you said that you didn't want to buy anything more equipment. I'm in that same mode, but I do need to buy tubing, just have not hit the buy button yet.

Thelma, Fantastic job with those workouts. I love getting the different information from the both of you with the reviews. I have not tried that chair yoga yet, so will let you know my thoughts on it, seeing that I'm not adding in any additional work during this first phase. She didn't include that one until the very last day of the phase.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was 2.0 Upper Body 2 and Cathe Live Mixed Impact Cardio and Core. I don’t quite know how Cathe did it, but Upper Body 2 felt very different than Upper Body 1, which is fantastic. The first half was focused on back (no pull-ups though) and shoulders. Then she did chest and triceps together with exercises like close grip bench presses. She also did dips on her parallel bars (I did Tricep dips with Al) and then finished with biceps. My arms felt pretty fried at the end and I used Cathe’s weight or a little less than she used. It was a very good workout, just like Upper Body 1. And just like Upper Body 1, there is room to grow with this workout for sure.

Thelma, great workouts. I am glad you are listening to your body and taking the rest you need. I think Pilates and Barre might have been more intense than what Cathe had in mind for recovery, to be honest. I think that’s why she stuck with stretching and not very intense core work. And I think that’s why her yoga isn’t really yoga but stretching with some yoga poses. But you might be right that she developed some of these workouts to sell products because she does talk about her products a fair amount in these workouts. I can’t say I am disappointed in the recovery workouts because they may be perfect when I get to the rotation. But I know right now I am missing my Peloton Pilates and Yoga and am definitely considering substituting that in for these recovery workouts. But, again, I will see how I feel when I get into the rotation.

Laurie, yay for a day with your grandson! I love how you describe his relationship with your DH. So sweet. I love the feedback you are giving us on how you feel about the recovery days while doing these back-to-back weeks of the Total Body workouts. I was thinking this morning about how I blazed through STS over the last six months doing some intense cardio, but I really don’t feel like I could do that with this series. Even taking the intensity down in time and, well, intensity still has me questioning my judgement. So I will be curious to hear how you feel your body is responding to less intense cardio, heavy weights and more recovery workouts as it gets more used to this series. The Upper/Lower workouts are long and despite having more breaks than the Total Body workouts, are pretty tiring. Honestly, I am thinking the Body Part workouts are going to feel easy in comparison, but I haven’t really given the four of them I have done my all so they may surprise me, especially when they are done consecutively.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Wednesday were Cathe STS 2.0 Lower Body 2,
Walking and Gentle Flow Yoga. Great lower body workout! Lots of squats, plies and calves. Cathe started with a goblet squat. I used a 40 lb dumbbell, which I did plie style because I couldn't hold the weight goblet style. When Cathe got to the actual plies I realized I'd done the goblet squat wrong. I will use a lower weight next time in order to do the squat properly. My inner thighs got quite the workout! Cathe included bonus exercises too, but I ran out of time and couldn't do the exercises. I will do them on Friday.

My sciatica was bothering me big time and my sacrum felt really tight. I could hardly do yoga because the sciatica kept giving me what feels like electric shocks. I powered thought it though, by the afternoon my hip bones were hurting badly, and I took an Aleve. It wasn't enough and I took a second one in order to be able to do the lower body workout.

Laurie, great workout! I'm glad you got to have some Grandma time and that the baby was good. How sweet that he gets all excited when he sees Grandpa!

Laurel, great workouts! I love that Cathe did shoulders in the beginning of the workout! I wonder if she does biceps at the end of both workouts because it will be easy to fry the biceps because you're already tired.

I think you may be right about Cathe's idea of doing very gentle recovery days. I don't consider chair yoga a good stretching method though. I agree with you that the chair limits the range of motion. I just hope I'm not too tired during the actual 4-week rotations that I can't do my regular yoga because I do gentle yoga. The Yin class is a deep stretch class so that will be perfect.

See you tomorrow.
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

This morning was STS 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body, by far this one is my favorite of the total body workouts. The hip thrust where so much better the second time around. This week really has given me an idea of what weights I'm good with, and I'm surprising myself as to how much I can handle. I'm going to be picking up some heavier weights tonight on my way home. Yesterday I was starving when I got home from work. I'm sure it has to do with increasing the weight and doing total body workouts. Overall I'm really feeling great, I have not gained any weight, but I can already see a difference and feel a difference in my clothing. Tomorrow is the recovery workout, and I will be adding in the mini ball ab workout.

Laurel, Awesome job with the workouts! Now I'm looking forward to trying out those workouts in two weeks. I will be doing the tricep dips the way Al does them also. After doing these longer workouts, and of course getting up a little earlier, I'm coming to the realization that I could probably handle the STS rotation in the future with no problem. Of course that will be about 12-14 weeks away for me. I'm going to stick with the 12 week rotation, and still have to investigate how long the workouts will be for the body part mishmosh premixes. Are you going to be doing the mismosh premixes that are in the rotation? I think that you will do fine with adding in some of your Peloton workouts.

Thelma, Great job with the workouts, but sorry to hear that you are having problems with the hips. I may have to start writing notes on the workout cards with things like, "lots of squats". Just so I'm prepared. I would think that you should be able to continue doing your Gentle Yoga, with adding in the stretching and abs I have been doing fine. Now that may be different when I get into the upper/lower, but right now I'm good.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was 2.0 Lower Body 2 with Bonus premix, 2.0 Mini Ball Abs and a 30 minute low impact spin. Like Thelma, I really enjoyed lower body workout. There are some different moves (like the goblet squats) as well as pretty standard moves. The three bonus moves were tucked in the middle of the standard workout and were three sets each of Step Ups, Elevated Lunges and Outer Thigh Squeezes with the fabric band loop. Going into those bonus moves having done most of the heavy work in the original workout made those moves, especially step ups, pretty challenging. I think the workout is effective with or without the bonus to be honest.

Thelma, great workout. I can’t hold 40# the way Cathe was holding it either, but I did okay with 35#. I think when my hands get a little stronger (and they should from this series), I maybe will be able to handle 40#, but only if I get really good lifting gloves. I definitely feel like the inner thigh got a lot of work, and the bonus material hit that outer thigh pretty good, which I liked. I’m not sure how I feel about the step ups or lunges in the bonus material yet, but they did give the legs a little extra ‘burn’. Some days I might want that. Most days I won’t. I hope your sciatica is feeling better. I think you will be fine doing your yoga during the rotation since it is gentle.

Laurie, great workout! I am anxious to get back to those total body workouts for sure. I am glad to hear you are already noticing improvements. Right now, I am planning on doing the 10 week rotation as is. I have toyed with making it a 12 week rotation by adding a fourth week of both the total body and upper/lower body workouts, but as of today, I am going to do the 10 week rotation. But I am not going to do the mish mosh premixes Cathe recommends and, instead, will do the premixes that include the complete body part workouts on the DVD (without the bonus material). No doubt Cathe did not recommend those because they are all well over an hour long. I will most likely do four weeks of that (as recommended in the rotation), and then I think I am going to add on 2-4 weeks on the One Body Part workouts, but doing one body part each day with the bonus material. But if I have had enough of the one body part workouts when I get to that point, I will move on. Yay for thinking you may want to do STS again!! I’m sure there is a way we can combine the two series into an intense but fun winter rotation.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, my workouts on Thursday were Walking, Gina B. Low Impact Cardio, Slow Flow Yoga and Cathe STS 2.0 Upper Body 2. I loved this workout and I got to use my wall anchored tubbing. I also did the dips with Al. This was my first workout where I come close to the DVD run time. The workout is 59 minutes and I finished it in 75 minutes. I had a better idea of what weights I would need, and I actually surprised myself going heavier than I thought I could handle. Next week single body parts! Tracy released a mini band workout this week. If I don't feel too tired, I'll do it on Friday afternoon.

I forgot to comment on the bridge hip thrusts on Lower Body 2. I did them with the dumbbell like Cathe did. I didn't feel much and that was my least favorite exercise. Next time I'll use the barbell.

My hips are back to normal. I think my hamstrings were tight. Either that or something with the weather.

I recently watched an interview with Jillian Michaels, and she recommended a greens drink and collagen. Since everybody seems to recommend products like this, I decided to order the ones Jill recommended. The greens drink tasted like freshly cut grass and the collagen was flavorless. I mixed both products and added lots of ice. At first my stomach didn't seem to agree with drink. I felt like I had just drunk some acidic drink, but I felt great during my workout. I don't know if it was the drink or the fact that I took a cat nap before the workout.

I read on the local news that are getting some of the smoke from the Canadian fires here in Northern GA. It's been hazy but that is nothing new around here, so I would've never guessed that has to do with the fires in Canada. A lady told me that she smelled the smoke. I'm sure someone near her was burning leaves.

Laurie, great job with the total body workouts! How did you do the hip thrusts? Were you able to lift the barbell onto your lap from a seated position?
How exciting about your strength and new weights! I am sure your appetite has a lot to do with the total body workouts. I am so happy for you about how great you feel and the difference in the way your clothing is fitting! I felt that change with Tracy's workouts and I hope things will get better with Cathe.

I really think I'll be OK doing my Gentle Yoga, low impact cardio and lots of stretching.

Laurel, awesome job with your workout! Tracy does a lot of goblet squats, so I was used to doing them. I haven't even looked at the premixes. Next time I'll do that bonus premix. Step ups at the end of the long workout sound pretty risky and I like the idea of the bonus moves being in the middle of the premix. I agree with you that the workout is effective without the bonus moves.

I am good with the 10-week rotation, and I love the idea of adding 2-4 weeks of the one body part bonus premixes at the end!

My sciatica is doing better. Thanks for asking!

I seem to remember that you're for CO on the 12th. Is that right? if so, have a lovely time with your sisters!

Have a great weekend!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

My workout this morning was STS 2.0 Active Recovery, and the Mini Ball Abs. The recovery workout is really growing on me.

Going up north with my sister today, so will probably leave early. We have to attend a memorial service for my Dad's brother and SIL. She passed away during covid and my uncle just recently. Hopefully my Dad will still be able to attend.

Laurel, Great job with the workouts! Funny how your reviews are not making me scarred of the workouts. Thanks for the information on what rotation you are doing. I was curious if you would be doing the full length of those splits. We will see if I'm able to get through the one body part phase. I'm really good at the 3 weeks, but I think that the 12 week rotation has the body parts for 6 weeks. I'm going to try my hardest at keeping to that schedule, and then after that maybe starting back with the 8 week rotation. Instead of doing the body parts I would do the splits. So I'm really making myself a long rotation.

Thelma, I'm so glad to hear that your back issues are better. Great job with the workouts, and thanks for all the good information on the workouts. It really helps me get ready for when I get to the upper/lower phase in a week. I don't know if I could handle something that tasted like grass. We have been receiving that smoke for a while around here. We had multiple days where this haze had settled over the area. The winds have shifted for sure, because the skies are blue again around here. Yes, I was able to lift the weight to my lap, getting it off was a bit more difficult. I found that tipping the barbell to one side helps with getting it off.

Have a great weekend,
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was 2.0 Body Parts Chest and Triceps with Bonuses premix and Cathe Live Cardio Boxing Arms and Abs. I loved both the chest and triceps workouts.

The chest workout is about 40-45ish minutes long (with the bonuses) and outside of push-ups on the knees in the warm up, there were only 10 push-ups in the workout. They were pause push-ups so not easy, but perfectly manageable. The rest of the workout was a combination of presses and flies at different angles, paces, some unilateral, some with bands, etc. The bonus work was drop set presses, and then flies and presses with a core challenge (in bridge position, and with a leg up on the flies). This type of chest workout is, without question, my favorite way of working chest. Heavy, controlled but with variety. And not focused around push-ups. So good.

The tricep workout was equally as good. She did dips again in this workout, but I did the standard tricep dip on my bench, and that was plenty. The last few exercises are all band work. If they hadn’t have been, I would not have done the bonus because my arms were fried. But the band took some of the sting out. The bonus work is just two moves…..seated overhead tricep extensions and lying side push-ups. I liked doing this bonus work because they felt like finishing moves and I left the workout feeling that nice pump that the band work had kind of eased out.

So I have done all of the 2.0 strength workout minus the bonuses in the Body Part Legs, Shoulders, Back and Biceps workouts. I will definitely be doing the 10 week rotation that Cathe posted, but doing these longer premixes during the Body Parts weeks. And then I will add on 2-4 Body Part weeks doing one body part per day for six days straight (which is not how Cathe recommends doing them in any rotation). But because the Body Part premixes start with the larger muscles and then go to the smaller muscles, my weeks will focus on giving the smaller muscle workouts more emphasis, so I will probably do something like Biceps, Back, Shoulders, Legs, Triceps and Chest. Depending on how many weeks I do, I may flop the order of the biceps and shoulders workouts, thus leading with shoulders for one or two weeks. But…we’ll see. However, doing these workouts today has me more excited for those weeks than I had been.

Thelma, great workouts! I am glad you enjoyed that Upper Body 2 workout as well. I did the hip thrusts with a 35# dumbbell and didn’t feel challenged either. I think I will try 40# next time and doubling the reps. No matter how I try with my barbell, getting 65# on and off my hips just doesn’t feel safe for my back. So I will focus more on making the exercise effective without worrying about whether I am going to injure myself. We have our first Air Quality Alert because of the smoke today. And I definitely can smell it here. But it isn’t so bad we can’t be outside for sure. So sad what Canada is going through with those fires right now. They predict they will have them through August.

Laurie, great workout. I think I am going to do that Active Recovery tomorrow. My body is pretty sore right now, and I think it will help with that. I agree that six weeks of body part workouts seems like a long time. I think that’s why I have opted for the 4 week/split sets version. I have no doubt that I, too, will turn around and do another rotation of these workouts after I have finished this one. There seems to be so much room for growth, and I haven’t seen anything in them that is going to give me a huge ‘dread’ factor (like the Meso 1 push-ups did ). After just two weeks of these workouts when I was just trying them out, I feel so strong. I hope your weekend goes will and your father is able to attend.

As Thelma mentioned, I am off to Denver next week! Stay strong!!

Laurel