"De-fluffing" after STS?

[Tugger31]

Sounds like maybe concentrating on metabolic workouts and straight cardio would be a total change. Do you have most of Cathe's workouts? If so, you could do workouts like To The Max, Cross Fit, Flex Train, Super Cuts, X10, Athletic Training, Afterburn and some Tabatacise, HiiT and running for straight cardio. Also not sure your macros on your calorie count, but perhaps eating more protein and less carbs if you aren't already doing that. Too many carbs definitely makes me retain water.

[wookiemouse]

I have a lot of those Cathe workouts listed, so I will add those in to my rotation. Wouldn't Meso 1 of STS also be considered a metabolic workout? I have that coming up to wrap up my rotation, and I definitely had better results with Meso 1 and 2 than I did 3. I'm at 40/30/30 on macros, I always hit my protein goal on weekdays (150g). The odd thing is, I seem to lose more weight with more carbs. I stick with my cal intake on weekends but ignore macros. So I usually have more carbs...and the scale will be stuck Mon-Fri but will drop by 2 lbs after the weekend, when I have more carbs and don't work out. It's odd and makes no sense to me.

[Tugger31]

I wouldn't consider Meso 1 a metabolic workout. Odd about your macros and weight fluctuations. I wish I had that happen with carbs!!

[wookiemouse]

What category would you consider Meso 1 then? I'm trying to get a good gauge of the current workouts I have to set up a periodization schedule in the future. Also see where my gaps are that I might need more videos.

[Tugger31]

To me, a "metabolic" workout is more or less a circuit workout where the weights are more to add an increased calorie burn than to build any strength. I would consider Meso 1 as simply an endurance based strength workout.

Here's an article Cathe posted on the topic.


http://cathe.com/what-exactly-is-a-metabolic-workout

Here is a post that was helpful for me as well...

http://cathe.com/forum/threads/your-...minute.295091/

[Taiga]

Originally Posted by wookiemouse

..... I definitely had better results with Meso 1 and 2 than I did 3. I'm at 40/30/30 on macros, I always hit my protein goal on weekdays (150g). The odd thing is, I seem to lose more weight with more carbs. I stick with my cal intake on weekends but ignore macros. So I usually have more carbs...and the scale will be stuck Mon-Fri but will drop by 2 lbs after the weekend, when I have more carbs and don't work out. It's odd and makes no sense to me.

I get great results with STS but only if I march to my own drum. Going against common advice, I do not protein load or even eat protein at every meal. I don't eat oatmeal or "mini snacks" to "keep fueled". If I add protein shakes or even have protein with every meal, I bulk up when I lift heavy. Makes sense as protein builds muscle. Took me a while to figure out what worked for me. I still get very strong (Use at least 50 lbs for 1 armed lat row, can do double ups on suspension trainer etc) without the extra protein but I stay much smaller. Also, I only do STS strength workouts (so 3 splits per wk). The rest days are gold and really keep me leaned out.

I eat mostly salmon/beans/salads/brown rice sushi/avocados/blueberry&spinach smoothies etc--heavy vege focus with complex carbs overall. Sometimes the common advice just doesn't do it and you have to find your own magic.

[nckfitheart]

Originally Posted by Tugger31

To me, a "metabolic" workout is more or less a circuit workout where the weights are more to add an increased calorie burn than to build any strength. I would consider Meso 1 as simply an endurance based strength workout.

Here's an article Cathe posted on the topic.


http://cathe.com/what-exactly-is-a-metabolic-workout

Here is a post that was helpful for me as well...

http://cathe.com/forum/threads/your-...minute.295091/

Based on information above, I agree there is definitely a difference between what was called, in the past, circuit and Metabolic workout.

That said I had great result with STS ---- FULL STOP!!

[marki64]

I don't like heavy weight workouts, for the simple reason, that I never feel like I am burning any calories. I rarely break a sweat unless I do a lot of reps and add a little cardio to it. If you go heavy, I would add some decent, heart pounding cardio to go with it. You'll see results.

[wookiemouse]

The funny thing is, I felt the same way - until I got my Fitbit HRM and found I burned more on my lifting days (no cardio) than I was on my cardio days! It wasn't the actual time that I was lifting but the afterburn that increased my calorie count.

I had a total lightbulb moment this morning, ya'll. I was doing a CLX cardio DVD and remembering (fondly) a few years ago when I was doing the CLX weight series and how I was in the best shape of my life back then. I used to do Couch 2 5k then a CLX weight video 3x a week, then Turbofire or Combat on the other days. I was extremely happy with my tone and weight and wanted to ramp it up a bit, so I started figured hey - why not weights AND cardio daily? So I did Body Beast plus Insanity. That's when things got all screwy and I started messing up my metabolism big time. I finally got a handle on that, but all these years, I thought it was the heavy weights from CLX that transformed my body. I was looking up routines last night and saw one that clicked - 30-40 mins of weights 3x a week followed by 4-20 mins of HIIT/intervals, then 45-60 mins of moderate cardio on the off days. Hello! That's what I was unknowingly doing 3 years ago when everything was working so great! So now I know that I can still do heavy weights, but I really need to shorten my sessions and incorporate some HIIT on those days. And lessen my cardio on my non-lifting days (lately I've been doing 1.5-2 hrs on the treadmill). Fingers crossed that this works.

[bee]

Originally Posted by wookiemouse

The funny thing is, I felt the same way - until I got my Fitbit HRM and found I burned more on my lifting days (no cardio) than I was on my cardio days! It wasn't the actual time that I was lifting but the afterburn that increased my calorie count.

I had a total lightbulb moment this morning, ya'll. I was doing a CLX cardio DVD and remembering (fondly) a few years ago when I was doing the CLX weight series and how I was in the best shape of my life back then. I used to do Couch 2 5k then a CLX weight video 3x a week, then Turbofire or Combat on the other days. I was extremely happy with my tone and weight and wanted to ramp it up a bit, so I started figured hey - why not weights AND cardio daily? So I did Body Beast plus Insanity. That's when things got all screwy and I started messing up my metabolism big time. I finally got a handle on that, but all these years, I thought it was the heavy weights from CLX that transformed my body. I was looking up routines last night and saw one that clicked - 30-40 mins of weights 3x a week followed by 4-20 mins of HIIT/intervals, then 45-60 mins of moderate cardio on the off days. Hello! That's what I was unknowingly doing 3 years ago when everything was working so great! So now I know that I can still do heavy weights, but I really need to shorten my sessions and incorporate some HIIT on those days. And lessen my cardio on my non-lifting days (lately I've been doing 1.5-2 hrs on the treadmill). Fingers crossed that this works.

Great that you had this lightbulb moment! I have really simplified my routine the last couple of months, too. I'm doing 20 minutes of weights three times a week and seem to be maintaining my strength (it is not exactly HIIT, but it's not just plain weight lifting, either-- more HIIT-like). Beyond that I'm doing a lot of walking to train for the Avon 39, but I think really scaling down my weight work has helped in both aesthetics and energy level.