JUST THE WORKOUTS~~SEPTEMBER, 2023~~*Everyone is Welcome!*

[Pam61]

AMD, yes I ordered all four of Cathe's new workouts! I don't even have a bike, but thought I could sell it if I don't get one. I could use a bike with all of my iFIT workouts though and there are so many good trainers. Maybe I can pick something up on an upcoming Black Friday deal, before Cathe's DVDs are shipped. Mo money, mo money. ;-)

[AnMrsDe]

Originally Posted by Pam61

AMD, yes I ordered all four of Cathe's new workouts! I don't even have a bike, but thought I could sell it if I don't get one. I could use a bike with all of my iFIT workouts though and there are so many good trainers. Maybe I can pick something up on an upcoming Black Friday deal, before Cathe's DVDs are shipped. Mo money, mo money. ;-)

I like your philosophy, Pam! You could definitely use a bike with all your iFIT workouts too. I'm thinking T2B may steal your philosophy re: Black Friday deal, too?

I'm not sure if y'all subscribe to 2lazy4gym's emails, but she included this STS 2.0 rotation she made...it looks fantastic (to me) as she includes 2 cardio days in the weeks, as well as doing the Body Parts Back workout so often!! I am doing this this winter and I can insert Cathe's new workouts as well! (I posted this in the GD as well under this thread: http://forum.videofitness.com/showth...92#post3008792

https://2lazy4gym.com/2023/09/13/sts-2-0-rotation/
STS 2.0 Rotation

by 2lazy4gym

STS 2.0 is a fitness program created by Cathe Friedrich. It is a follow up to her original STS program. Once I completed the STS 2.0 12 week rotation that Cathe created to accompany the program, I did not want to stop doing the STS 2.0 workouts. I love all of the workouts and they have given me great results. I am stronger since starting the rotation and I continue to make strength gains. I was not crazy about the "Phase" aspect of Cathe's rotations so I created my own rotation, mixing all the phases together and making good use of the premixes. I am enjoying my rotation even more than the one Cathe created. Because of that, I decided to post my rotation. Not only to share with others but because this is a rotation I will definitely return to. I am currently in Week 3 of the rotation and I plan to repeat it as soon as I finish it.

Some notes about this rotation. You will notice is that Body Parts Back makes a lot of appearances. Not only is the back one of my favorite muscle groups to work but Body Parts Back is my favorite workout in the STS 2.0 program. I believe our back muscles are very important to devote additional time working. Your back muscles support your spine, which is important in our daily functional movements (twisting, turning, reaching, bending--all require spinal mobility). Additionally, if you work a sedentary job like I do, it is even more important to strengthen your spine. A strong back protects your spine and prevents strains and other injuries. So the back gets some extra attention in this rotation. However, if you do not agree then substitute another workout on that day. Maybe you prefer to give your chest extra work (or shoulders/biceps/triceps). Make this rotation your own.

This rotation has a basic structure that repeats but the workouts change. It is 8 weeks but it can be repeated as often as you want. You can also shuffled the weeks anyway you prefer. I used only STS 2.0 workouts in this rotation except for one. I used Perfect 30 Flow: Mobility. If you do not own it and do not want to buy it then just substitute one of the STS 2.0 Mobility workouts. In my own personal rotation, I do things a little differently from what you see below. I also use foam roller workouts from YouTube; I do some of Cathe's other core workouts; I do yoga/flexibility workouts from other trainers as well as some Cathe's other flexibility/yoga workouts; and I add additional stretches onto the end of many of the strength workouts. I am following the rotation as it appears, but often I will use a different foam rolling, core/ab or yoga/flexibility workout than what appears in the rotation below. You do what works best for you. Finally, on your cardio days, do whatever kind of cardio appeals to you. Cathe has lots of cardio workouts that fall in the 30 minute range. But if you want something longer then do it.

All of the workouts have been reviewed on this blog. I will link to the review the first time the workout appears. You can also get a list of all of the STS 2.0 workouts on Cathe's page as well as the 12 Week Rotation post. Most of the premixes from the strength workouts that are used in this rotation are also broken down within the reviews. The only one that isn't is the Shoulder Express premix but that's because it is the same as the main workout--you just do one set of every exercise. The premixes from the core or recovery workouts are not broken down on this blog--but their main workouts are.

Week 1:

Day 1: Upper Body 1

Day 2: Lower Body 1

Day 3: 30 minutes of cardio followed by Perfect 30 Flow/Mobility

Day 4: Body Parts Back + Bonus premix

Day 5: 30 minutes of cardio + No Equipment Abs + Mini Ball Abs premix

Day 6: Giant Sets Total Body

Day 7: Mat Yoga + Foam Rolling Lower + Upper Body premix

Week 2:

Day 1: Body Parts Chest & Triceps Mish Mosh #1 premix + Body Parts Shoulders Express #2 premix

Day 2: Body Parts Legs + Bonus premix

Day 3: 30 minutes of cardio + Mobility 1

Day 4: Body Parts Back + Bonus premix

Day 5: 30 minutes of cardio + Standing Abs: Metabolic Core Warm Up + Core Plus Floor premix

Day 6: Supersets Total Body

Day 7: Chair Yoga + Foam Rolling Lower + Upper Body premix

Week 3:

Day 1: Upper Body 2

Day 2: Lower Body 2 Express #4 premix

Day 3: 30 minutes of cardio followed by Perfect 30 Flow/Mobility

Day 4: Body Parts Back + Bonus premix

Day 5: 30 minutes of cardio + Standing Abs: Metabolic Core Warm Up + Mini Ball Abs premix

Day 6: Tri Sets Total Body

Day 7: Total Body Stretch + Foam Rolling Lower + Upper Body premix

Week 4:

Day 1: Body Parts Triceps & Chest Mish Mosh #2 premix

Day 2: Body Parts Legs + Bonus premix

Day 3: 30 minutes of cardio + Mobility 2

Day 4: Body Parts Back + Bonus premix

Day 5: 30 minutes of cardio + Standing Abs: Metabolic Core Warm Up + No Equipment Abs premix

Day 6: Giant Sets Total Body

Day 7: Mat Yoga + Foam Rolling Lower + Upper Body premix

Week 5:

Day 1: Upper Body 1

Day 2: Lower Body 1

Day 3: 30 minutes of cardio followed by Perfect 30 Flow/Mobility

Day 4: Upper Body 2

Day 5: 30 minutes of cardio + Standing Abs: Core + Floor + Mini Ball Abs premix

Day 6: Lower Body 2 + Bonus premix (or Express #4 premix)

Day 7: Chair Yoga + Foam Rolling Lower + Upper Body premix

Week 6:

Day 1: Chest + Triceps Mish Mosh #1 premix

Day 2: 30 minutes of cardio + Mobility 1

Day 3: Legs + Shoulders Mish Mosh #1 premix

Day 4: Back + Biceps Mish Mosh #1 premix

Day 5: 30 minutes of cardio + Standing Abs: Core + Floor + No Equipment Abs premix

Day 6: Supersets Total Body

Day 7: Total Body Stretch + Foam Rolling Lower + Upper Body premix

Week 7:

Day 1: Triceps + Chest Mish Mosh #2 premix

Day 2: 30 minutes of cardio followed by Perfect 30 Flow/Mobility

Day 3: Shoulders + Legs Mish Mosh #2 premix

Day 4: Back + Biceps Mish Mosh #2 premix

Day 5: 30 minutes of cardio + Mish Mosh: Standing Abs premix

Day 6: Tri Sets Total Body

Day 7: Mat Yoga + Foam Rolling Lower + Upper Body premix

Week 8:

Day 1: Upper Body 1

Day 2: Lower Body 1

Day 3: 30 minutes of cardio + Mobility 1

Day 4: Upper Body 2

Day 5: 30 minutes of cardio + Mish Mosh: Mini Ball Abs + No Equipment Abs premix

Day 6: Lower Body 2 + Bonus premix (or Express #4 premix)

Day 7: Chair Yoga + Foam Rolling Lower + Upper Body premix

[T2B]

AMD - thanks for posting the rotation. It is very similar to what I'll be doing next week, the format is similar to the Sept 2022 rotation.

I haven't ordered Cathe's new workouts yet but I'll be buying all 4. I loved my stationary bike but it was too squeaky, boy did it make a racket. I'll definitely be checking the discounts around the holidays!

I will be back!

[T2B]

Where is ASAS? And Bex and Cabcalloway and Jane, and amg, and Elsie, and Chrys, and Liz, come back!!! Hope everyone is well!!!

[Dontmindthemess]

Hi Everyone

I popped in here to say Hi and I think it must have been the ear burn from TB2!!


I was probably still doing mostly Hamelin when I last checked in. I mostly did that off and on mixed in with some other lighter workouts and walking until May. My left shoulder had been bothering me for months really, I was having an out of pain if I raised my elbow above my shoulder and then I twisted my knee a little and that was bothering me. I was really feeling discouraged and on a whim I rejoined the yoga studio. I looked at their schedule and they had a lot of 7:00 and 7:30 classes so I went for it. I figured I’d either feel better or need surgery My shoulder felt awful with every chatarunga for a good three weeks. My knee wasn’t too bad but I felt it too. And then everything felt good!! So all summer long I’ve just been going to yoga about 5 days a week, a mix of regular classes and Fiit classes. I also walked once or twice a week. I occasionally added in a Barlates or Hamelin but nothing crazy and I really just started feeling better. My whole thing this summer was that I would only do what I felt like doing, no pressure to do any workouts that I felt that I “should” do. The last few weeks I’ve felt like I’ve just gotten back to my old level of fitness. I just have felt super energetic and my endurance is back!! It feels so good! I added in some Tonique the last week or so and even that feels good. I go at my speed and take breaks but I haven’t had to modify the moves.

I really had a rough couple of years on the workout/fitness/weight loss front. It was like working those weird hours and menopause just hit me all at once. For a long time I really wasn’t enjoying any workouts and I was making myself do almost everything. Honestly, checking in here felt like I was putting pressure on myself. Trust me I know no one cares what workouts I’m doing or not doing. This was totally internally driven. Checking in just made me feel like I wasn’t doing enough or the right things. After those couple of years I was feeling discouraged about my fitness and weight. I just felt like everything I had always done wasn’t working and I had a hard time figuring things out. Those Hamelin workouts really got me through. Lighter, nice music, no dread. Just happy to be feeling good now! I even ran this morning for the first time since Covid days. It was really chilly this morning and I was trying to stay warm. It felt pretty easy too!!

I really loved reading about all the STS 2 workouts!! Sounds like Cathe put out a great set and everyone got great results. Outside of 2 or 3 McLane fitness workouts I haven’t been lifting at all. I do find the full body workouts tempting but I’ll probably wait to buy them. It’s hard to fit everything in!!

On a personal note my MIL is in a lovely and sunny 2 bedroom condo in a nearby over 55 community that she absolutely hates but now my son and his girlfriend are staying with us to save up for a down payment on a home. Rent price have almost doubled around here. Apartment rents are more than our mortgage payment. They are also expecting a baby in November!! So that’s exciting :heart My grandson Wes is 2 now and he’s doing great! He’s also a big brother now. My daughter had another baby boy and he’s doing fantastic too. My heart is really full

If you guys don’t mind pretty repetitive workouts I’d love to check in again!!

I’ll be back later with my TV and movie picks (The Bear!!!!!)

Jane

[Dontmindthemess]

September

Just going to go back a week. I don’t write anything down!

8. 45 min Fiit yoga
9. 60 min FiiT yoga
10. Tonique Barcelona Roof Much easier than I expected! I never tried this one before but I’ll definitely do it again.
11. 45 min Fiit yoga
12. Tonique Infinity 2 + 60 min hot yoga Infinity is definitely tougher! I need those lunges though. I feel like my upper body is a bit stronger right now than my lower body.
13. 3 mile walk + 60 min Fiit yoga I love this Wednesday class. The instructor is great. It’s fun and tough. The workout part actually makes sense. Also did the monkey bars today for the first time ever!! I couldn’t even do them as a kid.
14. 3 mile walk + 60 min yoga It’s beautiful out this week and I’m on vacation!!
15. 3 mile run + 60 min hot yoga I walked outside in shorts and a tee shirt and had to walk back in and change. So chilly today but it got me to run.

Jane

[T2B]

Jane - omg, it is so good to see you checking in, you’ve been missed, for sure. I’m glad that you have your groove back. IIRC, your yoga classes were pretty intense and very challenging, like way harder than lifting weights. I’m also happy that the family is doing well, and growing. Apartment rentals and home prices are insane here as well. Plus all the bidding wars for homes that are on the market. It’s crazy.

Bear, Season 2 - excellent. Would love to hear what you've been watching!

[AnMrsDe]

JANE!!!!!! HI and so good to see you back!!!!

And wow on the baby front!!! You have hit the GrandMother Lode!!!!!! I am so jealous!!!! I'm still (IM)patiently waiting....as she taps her fingers on the table and am just about ready to give up! But at least I am back to caring for babies at church again and can get my "baby fix" there! /Are you back to working normal hours now?

Your MIL sounds like she has struck gold with her condo for everyone involved...I'm sure she will come around and will grow to love it as well as all her new friends she will make.

So sorry you've had the menopausal crap going on. Post menopause is SOOOOO much better than the Peri crap!!! (I think I mentioned before I think I lost a couple friends when I was going through it!! But they have moved away so we don't keep in touch anyway.) But it is certainly not worth getting stressed about posting here and doing workouts you don't enjoy! And on the opposing note of that, is why I personally love this check-in, as I write up notes to myself to print out about each workout, how I feel, and why I loved/hated it, LOL! But there were def times when I would've liked to take a break or two from posting. I'm glad you found something familiar you can enjoy and make you feel better again! I may have actually done the same thing in the past year, too, by eliminating more rigorous yoga (i.e. Travis' stuff) and all his thousands of forward bends, side angle poses, triangle poses, and the like. My lower back has been non-existent with pain ever since (even with all Cathe's STS 2 heavier weights!) and *I think* eliminating those was the culprit, along with including all my mobility which is my staple to keep my body happy and healthy. I know now during other yoga and stretches to always bend my knees or sub another move in their place. Life is too short, ya know, and who needs injuries? So we need to do what we need to do to keep moving in injury-free ways we love!

Anyway, good to see you back...maybe all the other MIA's T2B shouted out to will pop in??? (Good job, T2B!)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

[Helen]

Welcome back Jane!

* Glad you focused on what you enjoy instead of what you thought, maybe, you should be doing, because really, you should be doing IS what
you enjoy - that's the best thing to keep doing it - the enjoyment.

* Congratulations on the expansion of your family (my girls are 26 in a few days but that's not even vaguely on the horizon). I'm not hankering YET, but I can see it happening (the hankering).

* Also congrats on finding the possible source of your lower-back pain - that must be a huge relief for you. We won't tell Travis - promise.

[Helen]

Love it when I can tell I've made progress!

Last night, with Amy Bento's Cardio Pump Step - had a pleasant surprise.
I keep slips in with the DVDs of what weights I use. If it was too hard, put a "-" next to the weight, too easy, put a "+" next to it, and just right gets a tick. I see my progress as numbers have a +, then higher number written...

This is because we go heavier with fewer reps & lighter for high rep count - we don't always grab the same weight for the same exercise.

Anyway, had for the dumbbells 5kg (9lb) with a tick, and 3kg (6.5lb) had been moved up to 4kg (9lb), which also had a tick.

Didn't look at the slip BEFORE I did the workout last night, just went with my gut and used 7kg (15lb) and 6kg (13lb) and felt on one particular move (deadrow) that should have gone with 8kg (17.5 lb).

The last time I did the particular GOOD mix was 2007, and earlier than that for the main & other mixes. Huge motivation booster!