Saundra

February 2010 is about conditioning and total body training. I will be doing workouts from Amy Bento, Cathe, CIA, and Cardio Coach. Clip the Picture for a larger view.

Today was a free day for me. No workout schedule. So I pulled out Cardio Kickbox Challenge and gave it another whirl. Mostly to see if I really like the workout as much as I thought I did. And I did. I like this workout alot. This is the only workout I have gotten so far in 2010. (I am trying to cut back on my DVD exercise purchases) I think if I buy other workouts they are going to have a tough time topping this one. The thing that irritated me the first time I did the workout, wasn't so irritating today. What I did pick up this time around, that I didn't notice the first time was the music goes in and out or rather it goes from loud to your straining to hear it. This happen about 3 times during the workout. Other than that loving this workout. I gave it 4 1/2 stars but it is inching closer to 5 stars.

Okay. Other than all the pushups, I liked the workouts in Mesocycle 1. I like the details that went into making the DVDs. I like how the exercise and the equipment needed appeared on the screen. I like how the break time was counted down in seconds. When I first bought this series, I was hesitant because I don't really like working out in parts or muscle groups. I prefer to do either total body strength work, upper body only or lower body only workouts. I don't like dividing my upper body work into different parts. The other reason I was hesitant to buy STS was because of the 3 1/2 month time commitment required to do the program as designed. I prefer to change my workout rotation monthly. That is where I am at now. I have completed STS Mesocycle 1 and now I want to do something different for February. I am still deciding what my February rotation will be. For STS Mesocycle 1 Muscle Endurance I am going to give it 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I would have given it 4 stars but I

Mesocycle 1 - Week 4 Weights at 70% of 1 rep Max Disc 10 Chest, Shoulders and Biceps - 56 minutes. I think this is the last of the pushups. If I remember right, there aren't any pushups in Mesocycle 2. I am tired of pushups. There are way too many pushups. I counted 143 pushups. I did them all but the last 16. Shoulder work has still been tough for me. Bicep work, I felt I could go heavier. Except for pushups, I really like doing dropsets. Disc 10 included a set of "Standing Dumbbell Curl" dropsets and a set of "Standing Overhead Press Both Arms Dumbbells" dropset. Disc 11 Back and Triceps - 53 minutes. This is the disc in which I hurt my back the first time I did STS. So I was being extra mindful of my weights. Other than that, the only note I wrote was that I could have went heavier on the "Seated Overhead Extension Both Arms" exercise. Disc 12 Legs - 54 minutes. This is the first time that I did this workout. Last year when I hurt my bac

Cardio Kickbox Challenge is a FitByTracey workout that is lead by Tracey Staehle, Jericho, and Josef. Josef was also in Tracey's Strikezone workout. The workout is a little over an hour long. I really like this workout. From start to finish I feel like this is a good solid and fun workout. It flowed really well. The combos are more drill oriented than routine oriented. Tracey, Jericho, and Josef each leads different portions of the workout. As they do,they show you various levels (from easy to hard) that you can do. Essentially they show you how you can get more power with each move. My criticism which I am sure will go away the more I do the workout and become familiar with the workout is the transitions when the leads were adding on to the combination. The person who was leading (and all three would do this) would start to show you the upcoming move before you had completed the move you were doing. So you had the lead doing something and the background people doing s

Cardio Core Circuit Express Premix - 34 minutes. I did the premix of this workout. One thing about doing premixes is that the transition in between the different segments isn't always very smooth. That was the case is this workout. The transition from the cardio segments to the core segments was abrupt. Other than that the workout was good and sufficiently intense. During the cardio sections you were doing Air Jacks, Mountain Climber, 180 turn, squat jumps etc. You did three cardio drills in a row followed by core work for 5 cycles. I was winded after several of the circuits The core exercises were different, a lot of them required the use of your whole body to execute the move. The moves were really intense and some of them were awkward. Equipment used - Mat. 3 stars out of 5 stars

Week 3 - 65% of 1 rep Max. Disc 7 Chest, Shoulders, & Biceps - 55 minutes. I am truly tired of the pushups. In this workout, there were 182 pushups. I did 162 pushups. I felt my bicep weight was too light but my shoulder weight to heavy or maybe just right. I finish all the shoulder reps but I was feeling it. Disc 8 Back & Triceps - 56 minutes. I have no notes for this workout. Like the other B & T workouts in this Mesocycle, it uses the band to work the back and the triceps. This workout included drop sets (one set) for each the back and triceps muscle groups. New exercise was the "Scapular Retractions" using the barbell. I liked this exercise. Disc 9 Legs - 55 minutes. I was short on time this morning so I elected not to do the plate and wall exercises. The opening lunge sequence was super tough for me so I only did one set. Also the bonus exercises in the workout (at least those that I did) were tough.

MMA Fusion . I did not think I was going to like this workout, but I did. It is definitely different from the standard Kickbox type of workout. In fact, many of the moves I found awkward, but not in an annoying way. I found the moves to be challenging but requiring practice to do them effectively. I thought the pace of this workout to be much slower than the other two MMA workouts but I felt that this was required due to the MMA moves being performed. The pace allowed you to be more precise and to work on form. There were 3 combos followed by 3 drills. The drills weren't that intense in the cardio sense but I they did require concentration to get the most out of the moves. The combos and drills were followed by core conditioning exercises which were my favorite part of this workout; and that is saying something, because working the abs/core is not my favorite. Approximate workout time is 50 minutes. Equipment used - Mat 4 stars out of 5.

HiiT Double Wave Pyramid is my favorite of the 3 HiiT workouts. It is 30 minutes in length and uses no equipment. It is called Double Wave Pyramid because the pyramid sequence (which is done according to time) takes you up and then down and it is done twice through. I actually like this. I like knowing what was coming the second time around. That allowed me to mentally prepare. It was tough. You start with 20 second intervals and progress all the way up to 40 second interval and then you start working your way back down to 20 second interval. Cathe gives you a 1 minute break between the two pyramid sets. Some of the exercises you are performing in these intervals are air jacks, tuck jumps, quarter turns, mountain climber etc. 4 1/2 stars out of 5

Step Moves . Step Moves. This workout is 44 minutes in length. I am really liking the length of the Shock Cardio workouts. It is nice to be able to have enough time to finish a workout as is without having to split it into two or wait for an off day from work. Not a bad workout. The combos were more intricate than Athletic Step but doable. There was only one move that stumped me. I thought Cathe gave us just the right mix of a break down and moving the workout along. The only move that I could have did without were the "Power 7s". This is more of an athletic move and Cathe included the move, or a version of it, a lot in Athletic Step. The workout contains 3 combos and a finish combo section where she runs through all the combos twice. The music was okay. I can't say I notice it much except for the opening (warm up) selection. I still think that the step workouts if not all the Shock Cardio workouts, could have used a music louder option. Well maybe not all but

MMA Kickbox - 53 minute workout. There was a time when I wouldn't even touch a kickboxing workout; wouldn't even look at one. Now, these are some of my favorite type of workouts to do. So needless to say, I really like this workout. I liked the combos more than the drills. I think that is because the drills left me feeling awkward and fatigue. They were done mostly using the strength of one leg. For the most part during the drill I kept switching between making the move low impact and making it high impact. Now the combos were some of my favorite combos of all the combos Cathe has come up with in her various Kickbox workouts. They were easy to pick up with familiar moves that were combined in a unique way. Often when I hear instructors say that, I wonder "Really, How Unique Can it Be?"; but I thought these combos were. My only griped about the combos was that the 3rd combo was much shorter or didn't have as much content as the first two. The workout contai

HiiT 40/20 (approximately 29 minutes). I had read the reviews and comments on this workout. The consensus seemed to be that this workout was much tougher than 30/30. All I can say is - YES IT WAS!. Oh my Gosh. Gasping for breath was I. Even the three minute breaks we were given didn't seem long enough. I will admit there were several intervals that I treated as a 30/30. I definitely need to work up my endurance and recovery time for this workout. It is a good workout and I love the length. Equipment used - Club Step 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars.

Week 2 - 65% or 1 rep max. Disc 4 Chest, Shoulders, and Biceps - 55 minutes . This workout started with Pushups Drop Sets. Now, I only do the intermediate version of the Pushups and still by the last set which only contain 6 pushups I was screaming for mercy - But - I did do all the reps in the Pushups Drop Sets which when all added together contain 50 pushups. The whole workout contain 165 pushups. I think this is why Mesocycle 1 - Upper Body workouts is my least favorite of the Mesocycles. Many of the exercises were the same exercises that appeared in Disc 1. So other than the pushups nothing really new to note. Disc 5 Back & Triceps. I don't know why it bothers me that the Back & Triceps workouts are longer than the Chest, Shoulders, & Biceps workouts. It could be just the logical assumption that a workout working two muscle groups would be some what shorter than a workout working 3 muscle groups. Anyway this workout clocks in at 58 minutes and featured anothe

Marie Callender Rigatoni Marinara Classico. This is not a "diet" food. It comes in at a whopping 10 points. What I like about though is that it is a single serving. What I didn't like about it is that for a non-"diet" food it could have tasted better. It didn't taste bad, I was just wishing for a richer flavor. The dish contain sausage slices and meatballs. The pasta was penne. All in all - edible but not worth 10 points. 3 stars

Well, I wanted something different for use with my treadmill. I had been using the IFIT programs or the programs that came with my treadmill. Cardio Coach was recommended to me by some of my fitness friends. Cardio Coach was also having a 40% off sell during the holidays so I thought it would be a good time to try it. Cardio Coach Volume 1 is approximate a 36 minute workout. Sean, the coach for Cardio Coach has a very nice voice. He leads you through the workout and tells you when to crank it up and when to take it down a notch. What I like about him though was the fact that he was not constantly talking. For instance, when you were doing a steady state section, he would let you be. I especially like the music. It was good. I was under debate as to which version I would purchase, the original or the instrumental. I can easily see myself going back for the instrumental version of this workout - maybe when another sale is offered. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Shock Cardio Athletic Step is a 47 minute all step workout. I like the length of this workout. I liked most of the athletic moves in the workout. Actually the only move that I really didn't care for were the Power 15s; and that is only because Cathe used the same move earlier in the workouts when she did Power 7s and Power 3s. What this workout and DVD is screaming for is a MUSIC LOUDER OPTION. While this is the first time for me doing this workout, the moves were not hard to pick up at all. So as I am going through it, I am thinking I really would like to be able to crank the music up so I could really get into it. But the DVD didn't come with that option, so I can't do that. 3 1/2 stars out of 5

MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Boxing is a Shock Cardio workout. This workout clocks in at 49 minutes. It consist of boxing combinations that work the upper body and cardio drill sets that workout the lower body. I really enjoyed the boxing combinations even though they were a bit on the repetitive side. There were a total of 3 boxing combinations and each combinations work one side and then the other. So really there were 6 boxing combination sets. Cathe used the tubing as a mark and guide during the lower body cardio drills. These were easy to follow but intense. During this portion I was above my targeted heart rate zone continuously. The workout concluded with an ab/core set and a stretch. In the core work, Cathe used dumbbells to increase the intensity. Funny thing was, I thought the hardest core move came when she put the dumbbells down. I like the simplicity of this workout and give it 4 star.

STS now has a cardio element and it is called Shock Cardio. Shock Cardio HiiT (High Intensity Interval Training) 30/30 is the second workout that I have done from this series and I thought it was good. I did this workout after I had completed Disc 1 Chest, Shoulders, and Biceps and was very happy that the length of the workout allowed me to so. The workout clocks in at 28 minutes. I thought the warm up was a bit long but the rest of the workout flew by. You had 16 intervals that you did for 30 seconds and then you had a 30 second break after each one. There were about 3 to 4 exercise - where first you did the right side for 30 seconds and then you did the left side fro 30 seconds. Each side counts as its own interval and thus made up the 16 intervals you had to do. I think this is why the workout went by so fast. Also, after you did one side, you knew what was coming on the other side. The workout was over before I knew it. Cathe used a step with two risers on each side. I did the sa

Okay. Yes. I have DOMS! My STS/Shock Cardio program has begun. I am using my 1rm results from last year's calculations. Redoing all of those 1rm test held little appeal to me. Even with that, I back of the target weight on many exercise to ease myself back into the program. And I still have DOMS. The reason for this is last year during week 4, I ended up hurting myself (lower back) and I don't want to be sideline by that type of injury again. So the week started on Sunday with STS Disc 1 Chest, Shoulders and Bic eps . I forgot how quickly this workout moves and how quickly 30 seconds (our rest time) goes by. I had equipment everywhere as I moved from exercise to exercise. What I truly dislike about Meso 1 Muscle Endurance are all the push ups. In Disc 1, we had 136 total push ups - more if you count the fact that some sets were 1.5. Looking at my workout card, I had a couple of areas where I wrote "Go Heavier". I have the word "tough" marked agai

Edible but not a favorite. Weight Watchers Smart Ones Artisan Creations Stone-Fired Crust Pizza Fajita Chicken (wow! - the name itself is a mouth full) is another item that was a part of my menu this week. This was the first time that I had this meal and it was okay. I could taste that something was missing. I think it is the sauce. There was something lacking there. What I will say is that it was full of ingredients. Lots of bite size chicken, cheese and various vegetables. Sometimes with the "diet foods", manufacturers are sparse on the ingredients especially if the ingredient includes meat. So I was please with how much was included. The meal is a 7 point meal. So it takes up valuable points if your are following WW points system. I don't know if it is worth it. If it tasted better to me, it would be worth it. However, let me say, I am an extremely picky eater. So I tend not to like most things. 3 stars

Weight Watchers Smart Ones Chicken & Cheese Quesadilla is one of my favorite Frozen Entree Meals. I honestly can't tell the difference in taste from this and something I would get from a restaurant. The box come with 2 half quesadillas and each one is 4 points each. I usually add low fat sour cream and fat free salsa - making them 5 points each - to complete the meal. Delicious and filling. This is a 5 star item for me.

Wow this week got away from me. I have lots of workouts to review. First let me start by saying that I am on day 6 of my 2010 Get Fit Plan; and so far so good. I won't weigh in until Sunday, but I think as long as I don't go over board and my BF's birthday dinner (which will be Saturday) I will be fine. My menu for this week has mostly consisted of : Oatmeal and Toast Andrew Lessman Secure Smoothies Fruit: Grapes, Bananas, Clementines PreWashed Salads Snack: 100 Calorie Pack Almonds Weight Watcher Entress and/or Lean Cuisine Entres Diet Hot Cocoa I did try soups. I have decided that I am not a soup person. I bought several things of Progresso and Healthy Choice soups and they just were not appetizing. I will be taking the remainder back Wal-Mart. I was hungry a couple of days this week, but not so much that I felt the need to go grab something to eat. That surprised me considering all the crap/junk I ate over the holidays.

Click image for larger view. Tomorrow I start the first leg of a 3 1/2 month total body conditioning program. I plan to change my eating as well to correspond with the exercise program and to achieve maximum results. Posted to the left, you will find the first month's rotation. Actually this program doesn't go by months but by cycles. Each cycle, called a Mesocycle is 4 weeks long. After each fourth week, you get a week off from weight training. This time off is called Active Recovery. During this time I am permitted to do any type of exercise except for weight training. The first cycle is called Muscle Endurance and it, as well as all the other mesocycles are broken down into a three day split. In Mesocycle 1, the first weight split day features chest, shoulders, and biceps, second split day features back and triceps and the third split day features legs. The basic framework of this program was put together by Cathe Friedrich. I have organized the cardio in my own way, to incl