Saundra

Hello. Just a quick wrap of 2023.  To sum it up, I felt that most of 2023 I spent taking deep breaths and resetting; while most of the time, felt I was on a fast moving train and the year was speeding bye. I caught Covid for the first time. I managed to escape getting it until earlier this month just when I was ready to pick up steam and not wait for 2024 to get here, I got knock down a bit and was laid up for about two weeks. I did recover in time enough to have a decent birthday. The picture below is me on that day. I am grateful for my family and friends and that they have come through 2023 all right as there were a couple of scares. I am super excited about tomorrow and all that the New Year will bring. See you then.

December 2023 Workout Rotation. Sunday - Treadmill Monday - Yoga Tuesday - Zumba Wednesday - Yoga Thursday - Zumba Friday - Lower Body Saturday - Rest I will be following the treadmill workout with a stretch session.  Monday through Friday. I will do single upper body part session.  

Yoga Plus Pilates Power Fusion Mix are workouts from Jessica Smith All Access Pass streaming service that she has put on DVD.  The settings are different for each workout. In each workout, Jessica is working out in bare feet. There are four workouts on this DVD. Pi Yo Flow - 33 min Yoga Fusion Sculpt - 34 min Pilates Fusion Sculpt - 37 min Pilates Fusion Core Ball - 30 min Pi Yo Flow contains both standing and floor exercises. The workout is performed barefoot.  Jessica takes you through several series of range-of-motion inspired Pilates and Yoga moves.  Several moves offer you the opportunity to work on your balance.   Yoga Fusion Sculpt uses a light pair of hand weights and your own body weight to work the entire body.  This workout also contains standing and floor exercises.  Jessica encourages you to stay present throughout the workout. Pilates Fusion Sculpt uses a light pair of weights to work the total body. There are both standing and floor exercises.  You are often doing tw

The FIRM Cardo Overdrive is a workout that is included as part of The FIRM's CardioWeight System. Yes. I have had this workout forever and probably have done it 1/2 a dozen or so times but when I search my blog, I could not find that I reviewed it. So here it goes. This workout is led by Alison Davis. Alison is one of my favorite FIRM Instructors. The workout is made up of roughly 5-minute segments.  Most of the segments are cardio base. In two of the segments, you use light weights for some targeted toning. These were my least favorite segments.   Along with Alison, there are four other cast members. One of the cast members does show beginner modifications. The workout clocks in at 47 minutes and the workout is chaptered. You can skip ahead or back while in the workout. Overall, I thought the music was pretty good. DVD Menu Workout  Express Workout FIRM Moves The FIRM Believer's Club Language Selection Express workout is a 25 minute workout and it is made up of segments from

November 2023 Rotation   This month features workouts from CoffeyFit, The FIRM's Body Sculpting System (BSS) 5; some of the "retail pink" FIRMS, Zumba,  and workouts from  Jessica Smith newest DVD.

Another one of the recovery workouts in STS 2.0 Muscle & Recovery is Active Recovery + Total Body Stretch.  Active Recovery clocks in at just under 12-minute.  It is a workout that takes you through a series of mobility and range-of-motion exercises.   Total Body Stretch clocks in over 23-minutes and it takes you through the series of  extended stretches for the the entire body. Premixes include: Active Recovery + Total Body Stretch - 35:15 Double Active Recovery + Total Body Stretch - 40:49  

Mobility 1 + Mobility 2 is one of the recovery DVDs in the STS 2.0 workout system.  This DVD contains two mobility workouts.  Mobility 1 clocks on at 18:56 and Mobility 2 clocks in at 17:24. Both workouts contain both standing, kneeling and floor based exercises. Cathe uses range of motion and dynamic stretching to loosen tight muscles, increase flexibility, and prevent injury.  DVD Menu Mobility 1 Mobility 2 Premixes (There are two premixes) Audio Settings  

October 2023 Monthly Rotation Sunday - Treadmill & Stretch Monday - The FIRM Total Body workouts Tuesday - CIA and Cathe Kickboxing Wednesday - 10-Minute Solution Pilates Thursday - Kelly 30MTF Cardio Friday - Cathe Metabolic workouts Saturday - Active rest, Cathe  

Total Body Timesaver Strength features Kelly Coffey-Meyer delivering five timesaver workouts. 'Strength' is part of a two disc series with the other disc being "Scupt'. DVD Menu Warm up Push Pull Lower Body Functional Strength Abdominals Get Fit Anywhere Audio Options  The warm up on this DVD is the same as the warm up on the 'Sculpt' DVD.  The warm up is about 7 minutes which is a bit long for a Kelly warm up.  Kelly is the only participant in the warm up Push is an upper body workout. In this workout you are doing exercises for the chest, triceps, and shoulders.  You are performing two exercises per muscle group for two sets for 8 reps each.  The workout is around 16 & 1/2 minutes in length.  Pull is an upper body workout. In this workouts, you are alternating back and bicep exercises.  Similar to Push, you are performing two sets of each exercise for 8 reps each set.  Pull clocks in at around 16 minutes. Lower Body is 16 minutes in length.  Three exe

Total Body Timesaver Sculpt features Kelly Coffey-Meyer delivering five timesaver workouts. 'Sculpt' is part of a two disc series with the other disc being "Strength'. DVD Menu Warm up  Cardio Box & Tone  Shadow Boxing Intervals Abdominals The warm up on this DVD is the same as the warm up on the 'Strength' DVD.  The warm up is about 7 minutes which is a bit long for a Kelly warm up.  Kelly is the only participant in the warm up. Cardio is around an 18-minute workout.  Along with Kelly, there are two other participants.  Kelly takes you through a series of hi-low moves. You do each move for a minute. Box & Tone is the longest of the timesaver workouts, clocking in at around 20 minutes, but Kelly does an intro for the 1st minute.   This workout uses lightweights. Each move is performed for 45 seconds.  Kelly alternates upper body boxing drills with lower body toning moves.  The exercises are performed twice through. The second time through, you are ch

September 2023 Rotation A combination of treadmill, Cathe metabolic and strength workouts, Amy Bento Cardio, and Cathe recovery workouts.   

XB Pilates by Andrea Rogers is a 3-week program that consist of 12 main workouts and 2 bonus workout.  The main workouts clock in around 30 minutes.  The bonus workouts are around 10-minutes, These are streaming workouts on bodi.com formerly BeachBody. The workouts Week 1 Level 1 Hit the Mat 1 Cardio Fusion 1 Sculpt & Define 1 Abs & Booty 1 Express Abs - bonus Week 2 Level 2 Hit the Mat 2 Cardio Fusion 2 Sculpt & Define 2 Abs & Booty 2 Stretch Session - bonus Week 3 Level 3 Hit the Mat 3 Cardio Fusion 3 Sculpt & Define 3 Abs & Booty 3 I did the first week of workouts. I found them to be quite challenging, so I switch to Bodi's Beginner Pilates with Lisa Hubbard.

                               August 2023 Monthly Rotation For August, I will be doing CoffeyFit  RAW  & RAW Timesaver workouts at the beginning and end of the month. In the middle of the month, I have BODi Andrea Rogers' Xtend Pilates workouts on tap.  Michelle Dozois cardio and iFiT treadmill workouts complete the month. 

STS 2.0 Body Parts Legs + Body Parts Shoulders DVD Menu Body Parts Legs Body Parts Shoulders Premixes (9-premixes) Audio Settings  For the premixes, two of them include the bonuses, three are express, two are extreme, and two are Mish Mosh. They range in time from 23:34 (shortest express) to 92:59 (longest extreme). Body Parts Legs is a 45 minute workout.  You are warming up with dumbbells squats. You get a minute rest after each exercise. A mat, barbell, dumbbell, loop band, elevation plates and step are on the equipment list. Body Parts Shoulders include a full minute break following most exercises.  Exercises are performed in the standing and seated positions or against the stability ball.  Warmup includes several pieces on the equipment list.  This is a 40-minute workout. Equipment:  barbell, dumbbells, resistance tubing, mat, & stability ball.  

STS 2.0 Body Parts Chest + Body Parts Triceps DVD Menu - Body Parts Chest     * Getting Started + Equipment     * Preview     * Play     * Bonuses     * Chapters - Body Parts Triceps     * Getting Started + Equipment     * Preview     * Play     * Bonuses     * Chapters - Premixes (9 pre-mixes) - Audio Settings In Body Parts Chest you need dumbbells, a step, resistance tubing, and a mat.  The step bench is used in the flat back position and the incline position.  The tubing is used towards the end of the workout in finisher exercises.   The warmup includes a set of pushups and a few sets of weighted work. A minute rest is given between each exercise.   The workout clocks in at 37 and 1/2 minutes.     The equipment listed in Body Parts Tricep s includes a barbell, dumbbells, step, tubing, mat, band, and STS Bar.  You can substitute the STS Bar for a Turbo Tower if you have one. You are doing a combination of bilateral and unilateral exercises.  Cathe uses the tubing and a set of dumbbe

  STS 2.0 Body Parts Back + Body Parts Bicep s DVD Menu - Body Parts Back     * Getting Started + Equipment     * Preview     * Play     * Bonuses     * Chapters - Body Parts Biceps      * Getting Started + Equipment     * Preview     * Play     * Bonuses     * Chapters - Premixes (There are 9 pre-mixes ranging in time from 28:52 to 86:08) - Audio Settings (Normal Mix or Vocals Only Mix) Body Parts Back clocks in at just over 42 minutes.  Equipment used includes a step/bench, dumbbells, STS bars, tubes, barbell, and mat.  In the warm-up, Cathes uses a tube and a set of dumbbells.  Cathe mixes barbells, dumbbells, tubing and body weight exercises in this workout. Between the weighted exercises, Cathe gives you a minute's rest.  Throughout the workout, Cathe or the cast shows variations for some of the exercises. Body Part Biceps clocks in at 37:30.  In this workout, you are using a barbell, dumbells, stability ball, tubing, and a mat.  Cathe intermixes kneeling (working on knees)

 Cathe STS 2.0 Muscle & Recovery Phase 2 Upper Body workouts contain exercises for the chest, back, shoulders, triceps and bicep muscle groups. Upper Body 1 has a running time just shy of 58 minutes.  Cathe focuses on one muscle group before moving on to the next muscle group.  Cathe gives you a minute rest in between each exercise.   There is a huge equipment list in this workout that include:  bands, STS Pull up/Chin up bar, bench, barbell, mat, and dumbbells. In UB1,  you start off working chest, then back, biceps, triceps and you end with shoulders.  There are 5 premixes. Upper Body 2 clocks in at just over 59 minutes.  This workout starts off with back, then shoulders, Cathe combines chest and triceps before ending with biceps.  For the weighted exercises, your rep count fall between 8 and 10 reps.  The equipment list is the same as UB1.  There are also 5 premixes on this DVD. Because the STS 2.0 is a series that is meant to lift heavy, Cathe gives you quite a bit of rest b

Phase 2 of STS 2.0 Muscle and Recovery program consist of workouts that focus on either the upper body or the lower body. There are a total of 4 muscle workouts in this grouping; two for the lower and two for the upper.  Lower Body 1 clocks in at just over 51 minutes.  In this workout you are completing multiple sets of squats, deadlifts, lunges, hip thrust and calf raises. With most exercises you are doing between 8 to 12 reps.  After almost every exercise, Cathe gives you a one-minute rest.  A bench, barbells, plate, and dumbbells are used.  There are four premixes.  Lower Body 2 has a running time of just over 51 minutes.  The exercises perform are similar to Lower Body 1 but there are slight variations.  This workout contains a total of 5 premixes.  A step with several risers, barbell and dumbbells are all on the equipment list.  For me, these workouts are missing a countdown clock for the rest periods. Cathe talks through the rest periods giving you tips and a preview of what is

July 2023 Monthly Rotation More STS 2.0 I am doing the workouts in a different order than originally planned. Week 1 will be Phase 2 workouts Week 2 will be a return to Phase 1 workouts. Week 3 will be Phase 3 workouts.  Week 4 will finish off Phase 3 and a couple of the recovery workouts. I am going to do the Ab workouts and some of the recovery workout on Saturday. And as usual, Sunday will be treadmill day.  

Cathe STS 2.0 Tri Sets Total Body. In this workout, there are 7 groups of exercises. Within each group, you do three exercises for eight reps each and repeat the exercises for a second set.  There is very little rest between the exercise.  After you complete a grouping,  you get a two-minute break before moving on to the next grouping.   

  Cathe STS 2.0 Giant Sets Total Body.    In Giant Sets you do 10 exercises back-to-back.  You get a two-minute break. Then you tackle another 10 exercises, followed by a two-minute break. The workout concludes with a final 10 exercises and then a brief cool down. In the first two sets, you are doing 10 reps per exercise.  In the last set, you do 8 reps per exercise.  Giant Sets clocks in at just under 52 minutes and the DVD includes 9 premixes. 

Super Sets Total Body clocks in at 59 minutes. In this workout, there are 8 groups of exercises. Within each group, you do two exercises back-to-back and repeat the superset twice more before moving on to the next grouping.   So, you are doing three sets per grouping and 8 reps per exercise.  You get a two-minute rest between groupings.  

  June 2023 Monthly Rotation Cathe STS 2.0 I am embarking on a 8-week STS 2.0 rotation.     Below are the workouts for June. I have a 5K race on June 10.

XB Sweat + Sculp t by Andrea Rogers is a new program at BODi (formerly Beach Body). All the workouts  that are a part of the series are listed below. However, I only did the first two weeks plus the  express stretch workout. The main workouts are 30-minute (ranging from 28 min to 32 mins) in length.  The express workouts are around 15-minutes.  Each of the workouts I did had a beginner modifier.  Ankle weight, resistance band and a mat are on the equipment list.  Andreas uses both the band and ankle weights for lower and upper body resistance moves.   Each of the 30-minute sweat workouts included some form of toning (whether that was targeting the core, lower, or upper  body or even total body).  The sweat workouts alternated cardio dance segments with sculpting toning segment. The sculpt workouts were pretty much strictly sculpting with a particular focus. Andrea worked the body at various levels (i.e. seated, standing, lying, all fours).  I felt the warm up and cool down very minimum