Cathe Fans Part 5
Replies
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Morning Ladies,
Had a very nice weekend, even though the getting together with family was because of relatives passing. A lot of my cousins came up from the Twin Cities, we have not seen them in a very long time. Of course it resulted in talking and laughing. My dad did get to attend, and he said that he had a good day. I'm sure that it was nice to get out of the nursing home for a while.
Of course with the long drive back yesterday, I wasn't able to get in a workout. This morning I was tired, but muscled through the STS 2.0 Tri Sets Total Body workout. I was able to up the weights on some workout for at least the first set, and then had to drop down. A little bit at a time is going to be my motto through these workouts. Can't believe that I will be on to the upper/lower next week. I was super happy to have that longer workout out of the way for the week.
Laurel, I'm sure you will enjoy your week off, and have a great time with your sisters.
Thelma, Hope you are doing well. We got out of the car at my Mom's on Friday, and we could smell the smoke. I hope that those storms didn't cause any damage for you.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies, I hope you had a great weekend. We got hit with a terrible thunderstorm on Sunday night that brought lots of rain, hail, wind and power outages. Not widespread outages but only on the main street our road is off of. We lost power Sunday night for about 5 hours, so I couldn't post my update.
We were busy over the weekend with house chores. DH spent a good part of his weekend washing/scrubbing the pollen off of our log house. He bought a power washer but felt that it's best to do use a hose and a brush. The house looks great, and the stain is shiny again. I cleaned the house while DH was outside.
My workouts on Friday were Walking, Gentle Flow Yoga and Tracy Steen Mini Band Upper & Lower Body Workout. I loved the mini band workout.
Saturday - Gina B HIIT for Weight Loss and Walking.
Sunday - Walking, Gina B. Low Impact Cardio and Cathe STS 2.0 Body Parts Back.
Monday - Walking, Jessica Smith Kickboxing HIIT and Cathe STS 2.0 Body Parts Chest.
I am loving the body parts workouts. I got to use my wall anchored resistance tubbing for the back and chest workouts. The back workout uses the turbo tower or those dip bars Cathe has, but I chose the tubbing option.
On the chest flies Cathe does halfway flies in the middle of each full fly and also does unilateral inclined flies and presses. Those 1.5 flies really fatigue the muscles. I loved that Cathe started out with 30lb dumbbells and in certain sets she would go down to 25 or sometimes 20 lbs. She does remind you that if you're fatigued you should probably go down in weights.
I didn't have time for the bonus exercises, but I can tell she totally fries the pecs with those moves. I loved the chest workout!
I plan to do all the body parts workouts back-to-back this week, but I noticed that Cathe doesn't do all six workouts back-to-back in any rotation. I just want to figure out my weights and go through the workouts.
Laurie, great workouts. I haven't tried the Mini Ball Abs. I bet that one really hits the abs. I can't believe you did the Tri sets Total Body workout on Monday morning after that long trip the day before! You go girl!!!
I am so glad you had a good weekend with your family and that your dad was able to attend the memorial service. How nice that you all got to talk and laugh together.
I can't believe you were able to smell the smoke. We never got notifications that our air quality was bad, but we definitely were hazy for a couple of days. I know Atlanta got bad air quality notifications. I think the smoke has left the area after last night's storm. I haven't seen anything about the Canadian fires in the news, but I hope they're more controlled now.
Funny that you are thinking that a STS 1.0 rotation seems doable after STS 2.0. I have also started to feel that way.
I can see why Cathe doesn't recommend cardio in this rotation, but I am going to continue with lite cardio just so that I move my body so it doesn't get stiff, and I can get my steps in.
Laurie, do you remember if Laurel is going to start the 10-week rotation as soon as she gets back from her vacation? If so, I'll start Sunday. I need to make time to figure out how to do those hip thrusts with the resistance bands like Caroline does!
Laurel, I hope you're having a fabulous time with your sisters!
See you tomorrow!
Thelma0 -
Morning,
It was very hard to get out of bed this morning, and I'm really glad that it was a very easy workout. I did STS 2.0 Mobility 2, and then of course our walk. That was about all that I could handle. Upping the weight really does make a difference. I was feeling my shoulders a bit more this week than last.
Thelma, Great job with those workouts! I was wondering if you had power outages and couldn't post. How nice that your DH was able to get all the pollen off of the house, I'm sure that it looks awesome. Yes, Laurel was going to start the rotation when she gets back from her vacation. I was impressed that she was able to get through all of them before she had to leave. I'm using the first week of workouts to determine what I will be using, and I'm aiming to keep them about 5lbs lighter than what Cathe uses. Glad to hear that the body parts are good workouts. I'm going to follow the 12 week rotation, and then the 8 week. After that I think I should be in the right frame of mind to get some STS 1.0 workouts in. I would think that Cathe may even come up with a rotation.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Laurie, my workouts on Tuesday were Walking, Gina B's 3000 Steps, Cathe STS 2.0 Body Parts Biceps and Yin Yoga.
My upper body is definitely feeling the body parts workouts. I didn't do the bonus exercises for biceps. I was tired. At the end of the workout Cathe did a wrist curl move with the barbel that felt dangerous to me, so I used dumbbells instead. I really liked that she's throwing these kneeling moves into the workouts. She did kneeling alternating sweeper curls and a hammer/crossbody combo.
Laurie, good job getting the mobility workout and walk in!
DH washed the screened porch off of our bedroom on Tuesday morning and he's washing the windows as well. The house is looking really nice.
Laurel is amazing. I was also impressed that she did all the strength workouts before her trip. Her body is probably very thankful for a well-deserved rest this week.
It would be awesome if Cathe came up with a STS 1.0/2.0 rotation! I'm going to follow the 10-week rotation with Laurel, then we'll add 2-4 body Part weeks one per day like I'm going now. I don't know if I can do 4 weeks now that I'm doing a daily body part week.
See you tomorrow!
Thelma0 -
Morning Thelma,
This morning was my favorite of the total body with STS 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body. I was able to match Cathe on many of the exercises, and took a few at the same weight. I really do believe that she made these rotations just for me. I don't know if I could do these workouts another week. I do love them, but it is time for a change of pace. I'm really feeling the shoulders this week, and that may be because I'm lifting heavier. We will see how it goes when I'm just doing the upper/lower work.
Great job with the workouts! I know that I will not be doing the bonuses for the first round at least. Those kneeling moves really do take the momentum out of the move. That must be why she does the sitting for some of the exercises also. I know that I was using my body to hoist the weights for shoulder work in the first round of shoulder presses this morning. I took the weight down after that.
We received some much needed rain yesterday, and it rain all day. Of course we have not been mowing the lawn, because it just didn't need it. DH will have to tackle that chore today.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Laurie, my workouts on Wednesday were Walking, Gentle Flow Yoga, Cathe STS 2.0 Body Parts Triceps and Cathe STS 2.0 Total Body Stretch.
Another body part winning workout. I loved that tubbing is used for the last portion of the workout. There are three sets of triceps dips in he workout and I did them without weights because the barbell was hurting me. I didn't use the barbell pad and I should've. These were 10 rep sets, I did 20.
My upper body feels pumped. I'm sore everywhere, even my lower body and I've yet to do legs! I must be really engaging the lower body in order to lift to lift the weights. I don't know now if I could do 4 weeks of single body part workouts after this week.
I was disappointed with the stretch workout. Too short and too gentle for my body's needs. I feel that for this type of program Cathe could've gone with a long stretch routine in order to really target the different body parts. I had to do my own stretching after Cathe's stretch session.
I am doing legs on Thursday and shoulders on Friday. I just watched a preview of the leg workout and I'm scared! It looks very challenging and effective though.
We got 1/10" of rain on Wednesday afternoon. I didn't think we would've gotten that much rain, but we did.
Laurie, great job with the Giant Sets workout! I'm so glad you're enjoying this rotation so much.
Good move lowering your weight when you felt you were using your body to hoist the weight. Cathe also says that if you're arching your back, you need to lower your weight.
I'm so glad you finally got some rain! Some places in GA were under tornado warning.
See you tomorrow!
Thelma0 -
Morning Thelma,
This morning I did STS 2.0 Chair Yoga / Mini Ball Abs Workout. This time I did the mini ball workout without the ball just to see what it would be like. I liked both ways, so if I don't feel like dealing with the ball, I have the other option. These ab workouts are not crazy hard, but they do get the job done. The chair yoga was not all that, so I don't know how many times I will be doing that one. It does stretch out the back really well, but does nothing for the lower body.
Great job with your workouts! The sore everywhere seems to be a theme. This morning I woke up that way, so I knew that I used some good weights for the workout yesterday. I agree with you on the total body stretch. I also was surprised at how short it was, and I think that I will be using some of the P30 workouts when I'm really needing that extra stretch. I'm sure that you will handle the leg workout without a problem, but I'm sure that it will be a tough one.
We have an overcast day today, but no rain. We have been very cool for this time of the year, but it feels so good after having those temps in the 80's.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Laurie, my workouts on Thursday were Cathe STS 2.0 Body Parts Legs, Gina B. Low Impact Cardio and walking.
The legs workout has 2 sets of elevated lunges, which are my nemesis! There also three sets of hip thrusts. I did better with them this time around. I also had extra weight plates next to me in case I wanted to increase my weight while the barbell was already on my lap. I think it's better to add the weight this way.
Cathe also did calves at the end. She did 4 sets of 16 and a bonus 4 sets of 8 reps. She really hit every single part of the legs. I stretched a little after the workout, but it was dinner time so I ate, then went back for a short Gina B low impact cardio workout. My quads had already started to get a little stiff! I stretched and massaged after the workout. I used my hard roller because I needed a deeper massage than the foam roller offers. I then went for a very lite walk, then stretched some more. I'm doing shoulders on Friday.
I'm glad I left the leg and shoulders DVD till the end of the week, because leg day was a rest day for my upper body.
I keep thinking about the cardio I'm doing every day. Cathe recommends doing cardio only 2-3 times a week. I usually do 2 low impact sessions a day. It seems that feeling sore and not doing anything about it is a good thing. I think I'm going to cut back to my very lite walk after my STS workout. This is so against everything I normally do. I am not going to give up my yoga though.\
Not doing my second cardio workout will give me a chance to add the ab workouts into my routine, which is good.
We had a couple of showers on Friday but that was it. It looks like Monday will be a very rainy day.
Laurie, great workouts! Great idea to try the mini ball workout without the ball. I'm sure you still hit your abs very well. I like that the workouts are effective without killing us! LOL
I just can't see myself using that chair workout, but it's probably by design to keep stretching to a minimum. The P30 workouts will be better for stretching.
Have a great weekend!
Thelma
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Morning Thelma!
Awesome job on the workout, and thanks so much for the information on the leg workout. I'm not a big fan of those elevated lunges, but step ups are at the top of my list for that. I don't know if I could have been that dedicated after dinner to get in the extra work. Good for you.
My workout today was STS 2.0 Super Sets Total Body. This is probably the toughest of the three total body workouts. I was able to go up on all my weights, probably because it was 8 reps. The only thing that I had to go down on after the first set was the hammer curls. Started at 20, and had to go down to 15. I have to look at my old weight plate set and see if I can make them into 17.5lbs like Laurel has. That weight would be perfect for the next step up. After this 3 week total body, I'm very sore. I'm looking forward to having two days in between the upper/lower workouts next week. I'll probably pull out the stretchmax workout also.
DH is leaving today to go to Michigan for car stuff, and he will be back tomorrow. It will be nice to have the house to myself for a bit.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies! Just wanted to check in quickly before the weekend. DH is off on Monday, so I may not be beck until Tuesday. I had a wonderful time in Denver with my sisters. I wish I could have stayed for longer. I was able to workout throughout. Last weekend, while I was still home, I did the final Bonus segments from the 2.0 Body Parts workouts that I had skipped when doing the main workouts (Legs, Shoulders, Back and Biceps) on Saturday (with light weight) and on Sunday I did 2.0 Trisets Total Body. On Monday, before I left, I did a spin. Tuesday was Cathe Live Metabolic Conditioning 2. Wednesday and yesterday were Cathe Live Kickbox and Boxing Express workouts. Today, back at home, I did 2.0 Upper Body 1, Standing Abs Metabolic and a spin. I am so ready to start this 2.0 rotation.
Thelma, great workouts! I saw you asked when I am starting the rotation. I will start on Monday. I had thought I would do the 2.0 workouts on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, but I have more time to do workouts during the week than on weekends, so just today I decided to go with Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you are a day ahead of me, I look forward to you letting me know how it feels.
I think you are making a good choice to cut back on the cardio during this series. I am going to do the same. I can’t eliminate cardio, but I am going to cut back.
Laurie, great job finishing the first three weeks of 2.0! I so appreciate your feedback that three weeks was the perfect timeframe for that segment. I will so interested to hear how the upper/lower weeks feel to you after those intense total body workouts. I will also be interested to hear if you are blue to go up in weight on some moves because of more rest periods.
See you next week.
Laurel0 -
Hi Ladies, I hope you had a nice weekend! Our weekend was crazy busy, but it was nice. About a month ago we lost one of our chickens and we were down to one. chickens are social birds and they friends. Our poor Red was sad to be alone, but perked up when she was with us. I've been looking for young hens for her for weeks and finally I found some on Friday at one of our feed stores. As soon as I saw the post DH and I took off to get two chickens for Red. She is absolutely happy and hasn't tried to attack them at all. Usually, they peck each other to establish their pecking order. We've been busy with the chickens and Chico one of our dogs is obsessed with the babies. He just wants to be outside their cage watching them. There were lots of house chores and cooking involved too. DH and I are also in love with our new girls.
I finished the body parts workouts on Friday which felt great. I was really tired all week though. I have decided that I can't cut my low impact cardio. My hips and knees need the movement. The cardio I do is low impact, so I have to keep doing it. I don't think this type of cardio would interfere with my STS 2.0 results and even if it does, I am still going to benefit greatly from the workout.
My workouts on Friday were Gentle Flow Yoga, Walking, and Cathe STS 2.0 Body Parts Shoulders.
Saturday - Cathe STS 2.0 Mobility 1, Walking.
Sunday - Cathe STS 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body, Walking and stretching/massage. I followed the STS workout with a gentle walk like an indoor walking workout. I stand outside with my chickens and do a Jessica Smith type low impact cardio workout outside. I could feel my legs and sacrum getting stiff the moment I finished the STS workout and started to walk up the stairs.
I was able to increase my Giant Set weights which felt great. I couldn't increase my bicep and shoulder weights but went up on pretty much everything else which felt great. My abs felt like I'd just finished a killer ab workout.
I do hate those hip thrusts with a passion. I tried loading the barbell onto my lap from a seated position by lifting one end of the barbell to get myself below it. I did it but it felt very dangerous. It was actually easier to get it on my lap, than to get it off my lap. the unilateral thrusts are better with the barbell than with a dumbbell. The workout still took me 1 1/2 hours. I am amazed at how Laurie is able to do these workouts before work. I had slowed down a lot but the last set. I was exhausted, but I'd also pushed myself very hard.
I don't know if this happens to you, but I've found that some DVDs don't start exactly at the beginning of the DVD. Some seem to start after Cathe introduces the cast, so I have to rewind to make sure I've not missed anything. The Giant Sets DVD gave me a hard time and I wasted over 10 minutes trying to rewind it back to the beginning. It was totally skipping through the warmup section, and it was going straight into the giant sets. I eventually got it to rewind to the beginning. I never touch the DVDs at all I just stick my finger in the hole. The brand-new DVDs were not starting at the beginning for me. I am going to try cleaning them just to make sure they're not dirty but wanted to know if you've noticed this issue.
I am going to do Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday because by Friday's I'm usually very tired. This will schedule will also give me 2 days to recover.
Laurie, great job with the total body workouts! Great job increasing the weights! You totally need a 17.5 dumbbell set. I can't believe you've completed your three weeks of total body workouts! Congratulations! My Bowflex dumbbells have a 17.5 setting, but I wish I had a didn't have to keep switching the weight setting. Stretching is very important. I took one of those massage rolling pins with spinning balls to my thighs and calves after my giant sets and walk workout. I felt so much better afterwards!
I hope you enjoyed your day while your DH was away.
Laurel, welcome back! I am so glad you had a great time with your sisters! I am glad you were able to get your workouts in. Good job getting the bonus workouts in! I only did one set of bonus work.
I'm actually going to be a day ahead of you because I'm going to start on Sundays when I have more energy. I totally agree with you in not being able to eliminate cardio. My skeleton needs me to move. I was doing more strenuous cardio with Tracy, but now I'll stick to gentle cardio Jessica's style. I felt horrible on Saturday when I tried to go without my usual two cardio sessions. I was really busy on Saturday, so it's not like I was sitting around doing nothing, but it wasn't the same. I felt sluggish and I didn't like that feeling at all.
Have a wonderful week!
Thelma
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Morning Ladies,
Had a great weekend. Saturday I spent most of the day sewing, and I got quite a bit done. Rocket wasn't to happy with me, so I did take him for a walk. He was happy after that, and DH finally got home around 9PM. They had a pretty interesting start to their drive to Michigan, the camper they where hauling with blew a cylinder. So they had to head back and get a different vehicle. On Sunday we went to the oldest dd's to visit, it was sunny but a bit cool closer to the lake. After that DH and I went for a ride in the convertible. Such a nice evening for that.
My workouts this weekend where Saturday STS 2.0 Foam Rolling Upper Body / Lower Body, nothing on Sunday and this morning was the start of the lower/upper with STS 2.0 Lower Body 1. When Cathe said to pull out the stability ball I was a bit afraid. I'm okay with the amount of roll ins, and the last move was doable. I do have to increase the amount of weight for the close grip squat, but I made sure that I was going slow. For this first round I tended to stay about 5lbs lighter than Cathe, or matched her weight. Next week I can for sure match her weights, so I do credit the total body workouts for that aspect. Grip strength has gotten way better, and I do appreciate the 1 min. break. So far I'm not missing the cardio.
Laurel, Glad to hear that you had a great time with your sisters, and that you where able to get some workouts in. That part is really hard to do when you are not in your workout space. Great job with all those workouts by the way. My legs can really handle quite a bit of weight, so I know that I can handle some increase. I think that the moves that she chose, pace and reps help with being able to increase the weight. Of course adding in that minute not only helps with the mindset of getting out the right weight, but gives those hands a break. Increasing weight will be my main goal with this section.
Thelma, Awesome job with those workouts! I don't blame you for needing to do cardio. I'm probably going to be adding in some cardio when I get to the one body part. Right now the timeframe just doesn't work for me. My DVD's start right at the beginning, I have not had a problem with them skipping to the workout after the intros. Sorry to hear that you lost some chickens, but that Red has some new friends. Funny how Chico reacts to the young ones. Got to wonder what those doggie brains are thinking when they do things like that. Our daycare is moving to a new location at the end of the month. We are all curious how Rocket will handle this, because he is such a creature of habit. He actually stands in front of "his" cage. He will not go into any other cage, but the one that they gave him when he first started going there.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies, my workouts on Monday were Jessica Smith-1 Mile Walk, Cathe STS 2.0 Mobility 1 and Walking. I kept my cardio very light, but at least I got to move my body.
We had torrential rains here on Monday. It started with a bad thunderstorm at about 3:30 AM with torrential rain. I'm not sure how long the thunderstorm lasted, but it was still raining by 9 AM. It wasn't raining hard by then though. On Monday afternoon the torrential rain started again for about 1 - 1.5 hours. I checked our rain gauge, and we got 3 inches of rain on Monday!
Laurie, I'm glad you had a great weekend and that you got a lot of sewing done. Does Rocket let you know when it's time for a walk? Chico tells DH when it's time for a walk. He is so cute. I hope your DH's trip was good after that interesting start. How nice that you got to spend time with your DD and her family and that the weather was nice for a convertible ride.
Great job with your workouts! You had me scared when you talked about the stability ball and roll ins. I thought I was losing my mind because I had no recollection of those exercises, then it hit me that you'd done the bonus exercises and I hadn't. LOL. I love that with these workouts you get to go slow, which allows you to use heavier weights. Great job with the weights. I rarely am able to match Cathe's weights but with this program, I've actually matched her in some exercises. I feel that my grip strength has gotten better too. Especially because I have very small hands and the Bowflex dumbbell handle is pretty thick.
I wonder what it will feel like when we go back to doing full cardio. Are we going to be winded?
I am going to clean my DVDs because it is possible that when they were going through quality control, they got dirty. I noticed that issue in a few of my DVDs the first time I played them, so I thought there was some bad editing. The Mobility 1 workout started at the beginning today.
DH thinks Chico would kill the chickens in a second if he ever got a hold of them.
Hopefully Rocket won't be too confused at the new daycare facility. I can't believe that he has claimed a cage for himself! So cute! Our Red is so happy with her baby sisters, and we no longer separate them because she is not going to hurt them.
See you tomorrow!
Thelma0 -
Morning Ladies,
This morning's workout was STS 2.0 Upper Body 1. I really liked all the options that she gave for the exercises. I don't think that I will be pulling out the tower to often, but I like that I have the option to try it if I want a change of pace. One of the things that I really like with the barbell, you actually can increase the weight by only 5 lbs, but that isn't as bad as say 10 lbs. So bicep curls with the barbell was increasing the weight by only 2.5lbs per arm. I was matching Cathe's weight, I did take the first set at 5lbs under then upped the weight on the last two. Two thumbs up for the lower and upper #1 workouts.
Thelma, Wow on the rain, we actually still need some around here. So cute that Red so needed the companionship that she didn't even bother with the pecking. Great job with the workouts! I don't know how the cardio factor will be after doing just weight work for so long. I'm hoping that I will be okay, but these leg workouts really get my hr up, so I think it will be okay. That's probably why I'm thinking of adding in some short cardio workouts when doing the one body part phase. Rocket just sits and looks at you until you figure out that he really wants to walk. Of course being that he is a creature of habit, he knows exactly when we should be walking in the mornings. Right after my workouts.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies! I hope you enjoyed the weekend. Ours was nice. Saturday was a day of golf, which was fun. Sunday we spent on errands and yard work. And yesterday was more errands, including looking for new furniture and materials for possibly re-doing our decking. It was a pretty productive day.
For workouts, on Saturday I did 2.0 Lower Body 1 and Cardio Core Challenge. Sunday was a 45 minute spin and 45 minutes of Pilates. And yesterday, to start the rotation, I did 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body and the Lower Intensity Step workout from 4DS. Today was a 45 minute low impact spin, Cathe Live Sore to the Core and 2.0 Mobility 1.
The Giant Sets workout felt much better this time than it did in my first run through. I think knowing what was coming up and understanding the pace helped, and I had no issues with my grip. Really, the only exercise I couldn’t match Cathe on is shoulders, but I did use my 17.5# weights for all three sets, so I have hope that by the end of the three weeks I may be able to use 20# for a set or two. But I am not there yet for sure.
Thelma, great workouts! I read Cathe’s newsletter yesterday where she explains her rationale for recommending little to no cardio for this series. It sounds like she has had a lot of questions about it. I say go with what works best for you. Like you, cardio gives me energy and, most importantly, is a mental health reset for me each day. But I am going to keep the intensity and time lower than usual. Like you, I am a tad concerned about losing cardio capacity over 10-14 weeks, but as Laurie pointed out, at least some of these workouts have a cardio element which will help that. Regarding hip thrusts, I have decided to do them with my 40# dumbbell on the floor (maybe sometimes on the step) and doubling the reps. I have no problem getting the dumbbell in place and everything about that move is more comfortable for me that way for certain. I have had no issue with my DVDs not playing from the beginning. Cathe is so good about replacing DVDs so if you keep having problems, contact her customer service people. Yay for the new chickens! I am so glad Red has friends again. We had tons of rain (and lightening) yesterday morning as well but nowhere near 3”. The rain is much needed now for sure.
Laurie, great workouts, I am glad you are enjoying the Upper/Lower workouts. I have a feeling that will be my favorite segment during the rotation. I just love the pace and options in those workouts. I am opting to use my tower for a few exercises like the chest press. I really can go heavier and I feel it is much safer for me than getting those heavy dumbbells off of the floor and pushing them up. Yikes on your DHs trip to Michigan. I am glad they were able to get another vehicle.
See you tomorrow.
Laurel0 -
Hi Ladies, my workouts on Tuesday were Walking, Cathe STS 2.0 Super Sets Total Body and Yin Yoga.
I really loved the Super Sets workout. It was a sweatfest and I was able to go up in weights for the majority of the exercises. I even managed to do a set of hammer curls with 17.5 lb dumbbells! What? Me? I never thought I'd be able to lift so much. It was a huge struggle, but I did it. 16 lbs will be much better. I did two sets of shrugs and calf raises with 25 lb dumbbells. I had to drop to 22.5 on the last set because my grip isn't strong enough for 25 lbs and I felt that I was about to drop the weights. I went into this workout dreading it and came out of it feeling great!
We didn't get the rain predicted for Tuesday. We got about 1/10 of an inch.
Laurie, great workout! I love the choices offered in those workouts too.
You are right that these workouts have a cardio factor in them. I felt it in the Super Sets workout!
How cute about Rocke sits looking at you till you figure out it's time for his walk. Chico starts wining and now all he wants to do is watch the chickens. He isn't crazy about going out when it's raining but he did it today. I told DH to put Chico his raincoat on and off he went to see his chickens. I hope you'll get some rain soon!
Laurel, I'm glad you and your DH had a nice weekend. How exciting to be shopping for new furniture!
Great workouts! The second time around is definitely feeling much better now that we know what weights we will need. I have no doubt that by the end of the rotation you'll be doing shoulder presses with 20 lb dumbbells!
I read Cathe's newsletter too and it makes sense that she wants us to be rested, so it's not like we're not going to see results just because we did cardio.
I am going to clean my DVD with an eyeglass cleaning cloth to make sure they are clean. I don't see any smudges on them, but will clean them anyway.
I am glad we got all that rain on Monday because next week looks like a dry week. I hope you'll get more rain soon.
See you tomorrow.
Thelma0 -
Morning Ladies,
This mornings workouts where STS 2.0 No Equipment Abs / Total Body Stretch. When I woke up this morning I was sore, and after the stretch, I felt great. I'm looking forward to the #2 lower tomorrow. So far this rotation is my cup of tea.
Laurel, Your weekend and day off sound great, and of course getting new furniture for the patio is always fun. We really enjoy sitting out on our patio. Awesome job with all the workouts! I think that you will be able to do those 20# weights for shoulders no problem. Right now I'm able to do 20# on shoulders for at least one set. I have noticed some great improvements in strength from those total body workouts and then moving onto the upper/lower body. One of the things that I like about these workouts, I'm not afraid to up the weights. I can always go down on the next set or increase. The other thing is that I have time. Some of her other workouts move so fast that I don't have time to think. I agree with you on the chest exercises, I was thinking about trying that option out the next time I do the upper workout. I did use the barbell for the back exercise, I didn't think the tubing would be effective enough and I don't think I will ever do them like Cathe and Jen.
Thelma, Love the workouts! Congrats on upping the weights for biceps. That grip strength is becoming something that you notice a lot more while doing these workouts. I'm starting to develop some calluses even with my lifting gloves on. I felt the cardio factor in the Superset and Giant Set workouts more than the Tri Sets. I love that Chico has a rain coat, that really has to be cute. I have not read Cathe's newsletter, so will have to look at that on my break.
Have an awesome day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was 2.0 Super Sets Total Body and Cathe Live Low Impact HiiT and core. The Super Sets workout felt fantastic today. I matched Cathe’s weight throughout and know I will go up in a few areas next week. I felt my grip a bit more in this workout, but I find with 8 reps I can push through it okay. Like Thelma, I wasn’t sure going in to this workout whether I was going to enjoy it or not and came out feeling wonderful. So good.
Thelma, great workout. Sounds like we are having similar responses to the workouts right now. Great job with the hammer curls! I was surprised to do all three sets of the sweeper curls with 20#, but I only did two of the sets on my knees. Next week, it will be all three. We are finally getting some rain today. I don’t think it will amount to much, but it sure is nice to have right now.
Laurie, great workouts. I’m glad the recovery workout did its job and helped ease your soreness. I am so happy to hear you are seeing some strength increases after the total body workouts. I agree about not being afraid to go heavy in these workouts. I don’t move my heavy weights around as quickly as Cathe. (I have a tendency to move anything over 20# one dumbbell at a time instead of two like she does). Having the extra time to set up for exercises allows me to get those heavy weights in place whereas in other workouts, I reach for lighter dumbbells just to keep up with her. I have tried several of the options in the workouts, and I love it because it provides good variety as well as effective alternatives. I am loving these workouts more than I thought I would, and I was pretty excited to get them.
See you tomorrow.
Laurel0 -
Hi Ladies, my workouts on Wednesday were Gentle Flow Yoga, Gina B Hiit Walk, Mobility, Walking.
It was a pretty cloudy day with little rain. It did rain all night on Tuesday night but wasn't heavy rain. We got about 4/10" of rain on Tuesday. Thursday and Friday may be a little rainy too.
Laurie, great job with your day off workouts! I've been spending a lot of time stretching after the strength workouts and it's definitely keeps me from getting sore. I'm so glad you're enjoying the rotation!
Using the tower to do barbell work is great. I used it in the past and it's definitely a great idea to do it with STS 2.0. The tower was the only reason why I could do barbell squats because I can only lift the barbell over my shoulders with shoulder work weights.
I agree with you that it's not scary to go up in weight. I sometimes do one rep with one weight and realize it's either too light or too heavy. I get up, pause the video and change weights. I love the fact that the workouts give you the time to change weights without being in a rush.
Sounds like it's time to get yourself some weightlifting gloves to keep those callouses from getting harder.
The dogs all have the same ducky raincoat. They are just too cute.
Laurel, great workouts! Congrats on matching Cathe's weights throughout the workout! I really like those kneeling on the floor exercises.
I hope you got a good amount of rain.
See you tomorrow!
Thelma
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Morning Ladies,
My workout this morning STS 2.0 Lower Body 2. I didn't do the bonus portion, but these as is workouts are great. I did the wall sit like Cathe, anything to avoid that stability ball. I just don't have a wall that works very well with the stability ball option.
Laurel, Awesome job with the workouts! I noticed that what I considered heavy weights are fast becoming easy to move around, so these workouts are increasing strength. I think that it does help to have a 1 min. rest vs the back to back and then two min. rest like the total body workouts have. When I had done the STS workouts, I felt that my clothing was getting really tight because of building muscle. So far I have only felt that way once, but still getting strength gains. Don't know if I explained that right. I will have to get my tower out of the corner, just so I can try out the chest option.
Thelma, Great day of workouts. I have used the tower with the STS workouts, but really have not seen the need to use it recently. Just have to get down to my workout space a little early, so that I can set everything up. I have to put everything back in place afterward too. Do all the dogs go out in the rain with their coats on? I'm sure that is fun to see. Rocket doesn't have a rain coat, because his fur seems to repel water. This is the first dog that we have had that doesn't have that dog smell, so it must be something with his fur.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a 45 minute spin and 2.0 Mat Yoga. My body felt pretty tired this morning but the spin/yoga combo seems to have taken all of the aches away.
Thelma, great workouts. We had quite a bit of rain all day yesterday and it has been raining all morning, which is wonderful. This little hill we live on has been put on voluntary water restrictions because of that long spell with no rain (and the fact they keep approving new communities up here and haven’t expanded water production, but that’s another story altogether), so the rain is very welcome right now.
Laurie, great workout. I liked that lower body workout slightly more than Lower Body 1, in part because of the wall squats vs the hamstring roll-ins as a finisher. I completely understand what you are saying about 1.0 vs 2.0 and that parts of 1.0 made me feel like I was bulking up, but I actually feel like I am slimming down with these workouts even though I am lifting as heavy if not heavier.
See you tomorrow.
Laurel0 -
Hi Ladies, my workouts on Thursday were Cathe STS 2.0 Tri Sets Total Body and Walking. The Tri Sets workout is HARD! Now I remember why I'd said that I was going to do Tri Sets first! I followed the workouts with a lot of stretching and massage.
I was shaking during the bicep section. I was able to go up in weight on a couple of exercises, but this workout moves too fast for me, so my current weights are still challenging. I'm so glad week 1 is done! I definitely felt that my grip strength wasn't as strong as it was earlier in the week.
We got 1.2" of rain on Thursday. 4.2" of rain this week! It was pouring late Thursday night and it pretty much rained from 3AM till 3PM, then it was misty, then it rained again till about 7:30PM.
Laurie, great job with the lower body workout! I also did the wall option, in order to avoid the stability ball! LOL
Maybe you should leave your workout area set up for the next workout the night before, so you can sleep a few more minutes in the morning.
Our three dogs wear their raincoats when it's raining. They get cold easily. They really don't like going out in the rain. I don't even know if our dogs smell when they are wet. They do get a little wet at times, but DH dries them up as soon as they walk back in the house.
Laurel, great workouts! I definitely feel tired the day after a strength workout, and that is when I understand why Cathe wants us to use those days as recovery days.
I am so glad you finally got a good dose of rain! There's a lot of construction here too and people complain about the county not upgrading our infrastructure. Sadly, the locals can no longer afford to live here and they move out of the area. At least your water restriction is voluntary. In MA garden/lawn water restrictions were mandatory. We could only water the lawn once a week on a certain day. They allowed daily watering for vegetable gardens.
I also feel like I'm slimming down with these workouts. I was able to pull my jeans up/down fully zipped and buttoned today. I hadn't been able to do that in a very long time.
Have a great weekend!
Thelma0 -
Morning Ladies,
This morning was another great workout STS 2.0 Upper Body 2. This one moved at a little faster pace, but overall I was able to keep up. I LOVE these upper/lower workouts. She gives just enough variety that I can do any of the options. I was able to do 2 sets of shoulders with 20#, and all of the biceps too.
I did use the barbell for the 21's, and matched Cathe's weight. Can I say again that I'm so enjoying this series, it really is what my body is needing at this time in my life. 
We are babysitting tonight for the grandson, so I'm only working a half day today. I'm picking him up, since I work fairly close to my dd's place.
Laurel, Great job with the workouts! Yep that was my feeling about the wall squats vs. the roll ins. I'm glad that you understood what I was say, but of course you said it better. I have really noticed the slimming factor, and this morning was an indication that it is working. I have very big thigh muscles, and many jeans don't fit or are very tight. I'm not to the point that Thelma is with them being buttoned, but I think that I will get there no problem. Guess I better go by myself a belt, just in case.
Thelma, Nice job getting through the Tri-Set workout, those biceps sound like they where really working hard. Your body really does feel the three total body workout by the end of the week. That would be a great idea to set up for the next workout. I will try to remember that, but sometimes I just want to get upstairs. Now that I have been through the workouts, next week I probably can try that option.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was 2.0 Trisets Total Body followed by a long break where I seriously questioned my sanity and then 4DS Kickboxing only. I echo what Thelma said about this 2.0 years workout today. It felt really tough. I upped my weights in a few areas and really lifted as heavy as I could throughout, and my entire body was quivering at the end. Next week the order of these total body workouts changes and I think this one is second in the week. I will be really curious if it feels any easier. But I reached out and grabbed my 20# weights today during this workout and thought to myself that they felt surprisingly light. I must be getting used to moving this heavier weight around already.
Thelma, I feel your pain on this workout! Great job with it. And I agree this workout seemed to move a bit faster. I remember feeling my first time through it that the lower body was short shifted, but I could not have managed any more lower body work today. I can only guess that is the cumulative effect of the workouts. I went down to 8” on the step-ups, but managed to do them with 25# dumbbells which really surprised me. But I know I am not ready to do that at 10” and probably will never try at 12”. But I don’t know if I will ever be able to completely match Cathe’s weight on some of the moves in this workout. Those tricep presses with 30# dumbbells are insane! I am so glad we have two days off right now.
Laurie, great workout. I love your feedback about the upper/lower week! Makes me excited to keep moving forward through this rotation. I agree that it is something I need right now. I felt that doing 1.0 this year, but there is something about these 2.0 workouts and the consistently heavier weights that is so appealing to me right now. I hope you enjoy your time with your grandson.
Enjoy the weekend.
Laurel0 -
Hi ladies, we got hit by a very violent storm. 72% of the county is without power. It's been almost 8 hours since we lost power.
It was incredibly scary and now people are saying it was a tornado. I've not bothered to verify that but I believe it was.
There are down trees everywhere. Some of them snapped un half and others were uprooted.
I couldn't get my workout in due to the power outage. Hopefully our power will be restored tomorrow.
Thelma0 -
Morning Ladies,
Had a wonderful time with the little guy, and he had his ups and downs. Right now he is at the point that he wants to be entertained. I pulled out my full arsenal of ideas. I didn't workout at all, so didn't get a chance to do the mobility workout that was scheduled. This morning was STS 2.0 Upper Body 1.
Rockets daycare moved to a new location starting this morning, and it was crazy how many dogs where arriving when we got there. They must have been having to refuse dogs before, because of capacity issues. He was a bit nervous, but he will get used to this new place fairly soon.
Laurel, Awesome job with all the workouts! Doing the STS 1.0 before this series probably does help with being able to up the weights, and moving them around too. I'm glad that I can give some good insight into the next phase, it really did help me that you both did all the workouts and gave information beforehand. I look at the sheets and determine my weights. The one body parts will be a bit of a challenge, only because it will be just that body part.
Thelma, I'm so sorry to hear that your area got hit with the bad weather. Very glad to hear that you are okay, that is the most important thing. Hope that your power is restored quickly. We did have the storm around here, and have branches and debris all over the yard, but didn't hear about any other damage besides power outages. We didn't lose power, so I'm very glad about that.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies! My weekend was pretty busy. DH was attending his 40th high school reunion, and I decided this weekend was going to be all about deep cleaning. When I was moving furniture around on Saturday, I was thinking to myself that Cathe probably wouldn’t approve of my recovery day. But I got a lot done. Unfortunately because of the storms Thelma’s area saw yesterday, DH was delayed pretty significantly in Atlanta last night, and didn’t get home until 3:30am. I, of course, couldn’t sleep wondering if he was ultimately going to be sleeping in the airport there. But he made it home, and I had to get up at 7am because I have to be ready to let our termite guy in to inspect our traps ‘sometime today’. Not my favorite thing waiting around for hours for somebody to show up, but at least I got my workout in.
So my workouts on Saturday were 2.0 Active Recovery, Jessica Smith Cardio Core Flow and 30 minutes of Peloton yoga. Yesterday was a 45 minute spin, 30 minutes of Pilates, and yoga. Today, with no sleep, was 2.0 Super Sets Total Body, 2.0 No Equipment Abs, and Cathe Live Cardio Quick Fix. I think Super Sets is the easiest of the total body workouts. I was able to go higher than Cathe on quite a few exercises today and probably could have upped a couple by a few more pounds beyond that. It felt good.
Thelma, I am so sorry to hear about the horrible storm. We got hit pretty good in parts of Huntsville as well, but I haven’t heard of any damage like you are describing. As Laurie said, I am just glad you are safe and I hope your power is restored quickly.
Laurie, I’m glad you enjoyed your time with your grandson. It’s hard to believe he is already six months old! I bet his personality is really beginning to develop. Great workout this morning. I will be very interested in hearing how the one body part workouts feel after the upper/lower weeks. I am thinking heavy weight is going to be key for making them feel effective. I hope Rocket enjoys his new daycare.
See you tomorrow.
Laurel0 -
Hi Ladies, we finally got our power restored after 21 hours. There are still 2200 homes without power. Thank God we survived that scary storm. What hit us wasn't a tornado. It was a series of thunderstorms that come together in one place and can span across multiple states. Something common in the South. I forget what this type of storm is called, but it can resemble a tornado. Our weather guy says that we may get more of these thunderstorms toward the end of the week!
A massive tree on our property fell downhill nearly missing our garage!
My workouts on Friday were Gentle Flow Yoga and Walking.
Saturday - Jessica Smith Mobility - Full Body Dynamic Stretch and Walking.
Sunday - Walking.
Monday - Cathe STS 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body and Walking.
I was able to go up in weight in only a couple of the exercises, but my gain was that I was pretty much able to keep up with Cathe's pace.
Laurie, great workouts! I'm so glad you're enjoying the upper/lower workouts so much, but most importantly that they feel so right for your body!! I also love all the options and I agree with you that they feel so right. STS 1.0 always felt like such a drag to me. I was worried about these workouts being long, but as long as I allow myself enough time, run time doesn't matter.
I am so happy you had a wonderful time with your grandbaby! I hope he liked the entertainment provided. LOL
I hope Rocket was able to enjoy his day at the doggy daycare. Was he OK with his assigned cage? I wonder if he'll claim it permanently for himself. LOL
You are so right about the most important thing is that we are OK. I really didn't mind not having power. I kept myself busy and thankfully, I had just ordered a set of portable power bank phone chargers. They arrived early last week, and I hadn't bothered to open the box until we lost power. Thankfully the chargers came charged, so I was able to be keep my cell phone charged during the outage.
Laurel, great workouts! Great job going higher than Cathe with the Super Sets workout! I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt the Tri sets workout incredibly hard! Thankfully this week is the second workout! I hope it will feel easier! I the leg part was just right for the level strength I had left in me.
OMG, I am so glad your DH made it home safely and that he didn't run into any down trees blocking the roads. Sorry you had to get up so early on Monday though! I'm glad your area didn't seem to get hit as hard as ours was.
My poor DH worked so hard trying to cut the 5 trees blocking our road with a manual saw!!! Thankfully the people who own the vacation rental next door had to pay someone to finish cutting the trees DH couldn't cut because their guests couldn't get to their house. The guy who was hired to cut the trees is someone that family always hires often and so have we. Great guy and he showed DH his battery-operated power saw and he liked it. He has refused to buy a gas one because of how high maintenance those are. A power saw is very much a necessity around here. On Tuesday morning DH drove to our closest neighbor to help him cut the tree that was blocking his driveway.
See you tomorrow!
Thelma
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Morning Ladies,
This morning's workout was 2.0 Lower Body 1. I'm still keeping up with Cathe's weight, which surprises me a bit.
Laurel, Glad that your DH made it home safe, not fun spending all that time in an airport. Those seats are so uncomfortable. Great job with all your workouts, and of course your "recovery". If your body felt good then it's probably the best type of recovery. Awesome that you where able to up higher in weights than Cathe. I did find that a few of the exercises I was able to lift higher than her. It will be very exciting when each exercise is above Cathe's. I was just looking at the one body part rotation. I still need to look at the weights that she is using. I'm glad that these are shorter, it's been a bit hard some morning's getting myself out of bed. This morning was one of those days.
Thelma, So happy to hear that you didn't have severe damage, and that the tree missed your garage. Glad that those batteries where charged so that you could receive updates on the storm. That storm really does sound intense. Awesome job with those workouts, and keep the pace. They said that Rocket did very well, and once he saw his friends he was a happy guy. I'm sure that he will have his assigned cage, because he is that type of dog.
Have a great day!
Laurie0 -
Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was a super fun and pretty tame 45 minute spin. I think this one might have a place in my routine throughout this rotation because it was the kind of ride that you could do easy or hard and had great music. Today it was really perfect for a recovery workout. I followed it with core focused yoga and 2.0 Mobility 2.
Thelma, great job with your workouts after all of that turmoil. I can’t believe how many trees fell around you. That is scary, and I am just glad you didn’t see any significant damage. It sounds like it was one of those catastrophic thunder storms (which is what they called one here this year) where the winds are tornado strength but there isn’t the rotation. But the damage is still intense. I really hope you don’t get any more like that….ever….but definitely not this week. I am glad you were able to get your road cleared, and I bet your neighbor appreciated the help clearing his driveway. We are under a heat advisory at the end of the week with temps shooting up into the 100s on Thursday/Friday. I guess it is summer after all.
Laurie, great workout and great job keeping up with Cathe’s weight. I am in awe that you are able to do these long workouts so early in the morning before work. No doubt shorter workouts will feel good though. I think the thing that surprised me a bit is Cathe pretty much used the same weight in the One Body Part workouts as she did throughout the program. Granted the load on that one muscle being worked is much more intense because of the focus, but there are also a fair amount of exercises in some of the workouts using tubing. So I am thinking I may try to go a bit heavier than I normally would in some of these workouts when I get there and see how it feels. I am most curious about how those weeks feel in comparison to the total body and upper/lower weeks.
See you tomorrow.
Laurel0
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