STS - Mesocycle 3 (Strength)

Shoulders,Biceps,Triceps

Just finished a very slow but fun STS Meso 3 Strength week 1 shoulders biceps triceps. It works in giant sets with lots of rest. Be prepared to pamper and spend some spa time lifting heavy weights for only 8 reps. Very heavy if its only 8 reps.

1st giant set which has 4 giant sets of 8 reps. Shoulder press(15lbs), bicep curl(20 lb + added my 2lb weighted gloves which were too heavy ), double arm french press lying down(15 db)

2nd giant set side delt raise(10lbs), double arm bicep curl(I used 20 lbs) 1 arm french press(15lb)

3rd giant set rear delt(15 to heavy 12 lb okk), concentration curl(15...could use 2lb weighted glove next time)....1 arm horizonal crossbody laying kickback(12...could use 2lb weight glove)
loves of 1 minute rests.
some cheezy comments but can't remember like seeing the .....meatballs popping out of the muscle...lots of Cedie close ups drinking ,stretching,drying off, listening, smiling. Some comments: "are you wet yet? need the towel?" stuff like that.
she wore red and the other gals wore blueish...denise was cheezy pointing to her biceps and saying "right there and right there" and flexing for the camera hamming it up for the camera. There was alot of Dizzie and lots of facial close ups. Lots of close ups of Rob stretching ,writing ,blowing his eraser twice and talking to cedie and swinging his popeye muscles.he must be a gymnast because how can he stretch those huse muscles?????
I wished they showed what weight they were lifting!

liked this because Cedie is in it. and I sweated soooo much. I never sweated this much.

I'm done with week 1 for meso 2 strength STS!!!!

I have been very grumpy after heavy lifting and tired.
I like the giant set. I like the format. similar to joyce vedral but with no pyramid system, and alot more resting. but its like a pamper weight workout where you spend alot of time on yourself and take care of yourself. and believe me, the rests were needed in this workout!!! I was sweating and breathing heavy I burned 453 calories. I am really thirsty now so I will go and have a chocolate milk OR coconut milk..I need to have a recovery drink of something.
my back was feeling sore so I stretched it alot. I just like this workout! but the music was awful...use my own music next time and hopefully it will work with the counting.


More info on this workout...
Uses the same music for all 4 dvds
For the 2nd week, its basically the same film footage as the 1st dvd but they either cut the 8th rep out to make it 7 reps. Or Cathe filmed her just doing a rep and saying "7". They repeated Cathe's "seven" last rep alot. It started to get old. Also, there was a booboo mistake in one of the rear delt last 7th rep, they used footage of the side delt raise..it wasn't that big of a deal and didn't notice this until I previewed the DVD and watched in through in its entirety.
There is new footage and lingo in the 3rd week with 6 reps. yay! More talking about the 6th rep and going heavy. The music is the same though.
In the 4th week, its the same film as week 1. there is no talk about being the last week of Meso 3 except for the blurb at the beginning and ending of the dvd. The only difference is there is 85% of 1 reps max in week 4 but in week 1, it says 80% of 1 rep max.

Week 1 is 80% of 1 rep max and do 8 reps
Week 2 85% of 1 rep max and do 7 reps
Week 3 90% of 1 rep max and do 6 reps
Week 4 85% of 1 rep max and do 8 reps

working in giant sets or tri sets...first shoulders, then biceps, then triceps. Rest 1minute then repeat 2 more times. Same exercises. Lots of closeups of Cedie.
overhead press, bicep curl and tricep press laying on bench
side delt raise, bicep curl on incline using stability ball, 1 arm French press
rear delt, concentration curl, lying crossbody kickback

Instructor Comments:
Cathe had excellent form tips and lots of downtime resting with Cathe and the crew..ewe(speaking of the huge muscle guys in the back). I just wished Cathe would tell what weights she was using. She seemed to be lifting heavier then the guys in the back. There isn't much direction on what stretches to do. You can copy Cathe or Robeye(popey)which shows alot of variation of balistic stretches and static stretches. Or you can do some yoga stretches that Denise does or just fling your arms around like Denise does. Deazie shows good stretches. Cathe's makeup is perfect, very natural and she looks just gorgeous. She is so natural and relaxed in the camera. She makes nice comments as if you are right there with her. Cedie is having a bad hair day which isn't usual because her hair looks fab most of the time. There is lots of closeups of Cathe and Cedie so its like more personal in the workout.

Mandy Lee

Chest & Back


I just finished an even s-l-o-w-e-r Cathe workout in week 1 of STS MESO STRENGTH 3 Chest and Back. It is very very slow with 72 minute rests on all supersets within body parts. Its 4 sets of chest/back in a push pull fashion with 72 second breaks. Cathe and crew mostly use a barbell and have to change it constantly so if Cathe's Pyramid irritated you with having to change the barbell plates so much... this as lots more of changing barbell. For 4 sets you have to change barbell for chest press and then back for double arm row. I used 67lbs and you do 8 reps for each set. and you do 4 sets. For chest fly, I used 20lb db(my 1 rep max said to use 25lb but I dont have two 25 lb dbs).


Then the 2nd push pull 4 set is chest fly and 1 arm row. I used 20 lb dv and 25lb db for 1 arm row.


the 3rd push pull 4 set is chest press on incline and I lowered my barbell to 57lb barbell and 20 lb db and then for the deadlifts, I did pull over with 20 lb ). my back was starting to get sore from getting up and down from the step bench and rolling up and down with weights.


for the 4th push pull set, it is incline chest fly and 1 arm horizontal row..I could have used 25 lb for this but used 20lbs for both exercises.

the music is heavy metal rock and cathe is wearing green top and pants and she says " you sweat in places you never imagined." there is alot of repeat audio from Meso 2 like "give your self a pep talk cuz your doing a great job." Cathe makes a comment about Greg sweating and alot of weird "hard" comments. and then greg lifts up his shirt to show his abs while he wipes his face at the end to show his perfectly ripped abs and you KNOW he wants to get it on camera...right, trying to wipe your face..haha.


Oh, Brenda is in this workout now. Yay! love her to pieces and she is out in FRONT! And there is this one part in the rests...ZZZZ...so much resting that Brenda starts flirting and talking to Greg while wiping her neck with a towel and its caught on camera! and then Cathe catches her and she looks at Cathe like, "oh no, I'm in trouble because I'm talking in class!"hahaha.
I liked that Cedie is in it and having a bad pony tail day. Well, it was like feathers sticking up. Interesting to watch on the rests..haha. You also see her wipe off and drink and laugh and roll her neck and flirt with rob. and she helps Cathe change her barbell ...to sweet Cedie...all the models are checking themselves out and fake smiling and always fixing their top. There are LOTS of close ups on Rob grimacing and looking like he's going to pop. And one nice thing is that denise is GONE! yay! I just wished Cathe used the regular gals and not paid models.

this is a very slow slow slow workout so if you like to workout with cathe and have all the time in the world, then this workout is for you. If I DO stick to this rotation, I will use my own music and get another heavy 25lb db. and remember that CAthe says the rests are just as important to build muscle under my fat llloooollll!!!
The music is heavy metal and rock. I would rather have silence and I'm so thankful for the music off option!

its nice to see cathe struggle, But I wish I could know how much weight she is using! I could see Cedie was using 25lb . And Cathe what I could see was using 35 lb db's for chest fly..Super Cathe.


My second week feelings of STS Meso 3 Strength Week 2 Chest and Back


Very long and slow. But the reps are not as slow as Cathe's Slow and Heavy.I'm supposed to be lifting 48 lb dbells or something like dumbell for lat row but the heaviest I have is 25lb db and use 2lb weighted gloves. I am doing ok on the chest press 67lbs. and 20 lb for chest fly on incline and flat and using 2lb weighted gloves. THe 1 rep max told me to use 28 lb dumbells for chest fly. But I don't want to get INJURED! and then for deadlifts, I did pull overs.


There is so much rest that I started doing house cleaning and washes during the rests...lol so I guess I'm not lifting as heavy as I should so now I have to go out and buy more equipment. I used my own music which was much better but still I wonder why rests are so long. there must be some kind of science behind it. Cathe knows. But I really don't feel a burn in my chest at all! Nothing like high rep. Its more like a warm feeling in my chest as I type this..ewe.

Cathe is in all green like a leprochan. And she says cheezy stuff like you sweat in places you never though you could sweat. Also if your bench gets wet or sweaty wipe it ? uh? isn't that the same thing? there is so much close ups of Rob checkin out Cedie and Cathe. He looks like he is wiped out. He must be lifting 1000 pounds LOL. lots of close ups of Cedie drinking, wiping, helping Cathe change her weights, smiling, nodding, laughing, writing. Also close ups of Brenda too. If you like watching Brenda and Cedie drink bottled water, then you will love it..haha There is also LOTS of Cathe growls as she lifts herself up from the incline. Cathe growls is a great term. I will use that often. Growl Tiger Cathe!!!

This is just a really slow, test your patience workout and I sweated alot!!! I'm not sure if I like it and then when I go back to more endurance type workout, I want to run back to this one because i like the long rests..hahahaha!


This is Cathe's heaviest weight training workout that is well rounded and well thought out. I like it much better than Slow and Heavy.


Week 1: 8 reps at 80% of your 1 Rep Max

Week 2: 7 reps at 85 % of your 1 Rep Max

Week 3: 6 reps at 90% of your 1 reps max

week 4: 8 reps at 85% of your 1 rep max


Cathe said that increasing the weights to 5% for each week isn't that much so that is why she recommends using weighted gloves.


This workout is filmed very close up. Its different from other Cathe workouts. I liked this way of filming and felt like I was right there on the set. Lots of close ups of Cathe and Cedie and Brenda.


There is an optional yoga type stretch workout option on every STS menu. She suggests doing the extented stretch. But Cathe also gives you lots of stretch options throughout the workout that I don't think its necessary to do the yoga stretch. You can follow all the background exercisers stretches during the long rests or just do your own stretches. Believe me, you have all the time in the world with this workout. So be prepared to lift some heavy weights and rest a long while taking care of your chest and back muscles.

Instructor Comments:
Cathe's lifting very heavy weights. over 100 lbs it looks like on the chest and back. She has excellent form pointers and talks so much through each set that even she makes comments on how did she talk through that one? I would describe her teaching style as polite, caring and working very very hard right along with you. She sweats with you. She's groaning and putting on her game face. She wants you to use the heaviest weight you can. She also is very aware of not only you and caring for you but also the people in her group. She doesn't stop ,drop her weights and go back and check the form of someone else. She keeps working and finishes the entire workout right along with. Cathe is real. Real sweat!

Mandy Lee