One Hot Mama...Almost

I get a lot of questions from friends and family about my workout habits and routines so I thought I'd share my current endeavor.


It has always been a goal of mine to see my body in a very specific form, to the point that I considered doing fitness show competitions. I want to be somewhere in the 17-19% body fat range, a maximum of 115lbs, and have a 24" waist with the body fat being the most important piece (since it tells the most about one's level of fitness and composition). I came pretty close the year Ryan and I got married. I hit the 115lb mark and had the 24" waist but I was still about 21% body fat. I looked good. Sorry if that's conceited. I was proud of the way I looked because I'd worked to achieve it.

I don't naturally stay fit, I work for it just like everyone else. I gain weight when I have babies or hold processed eating habits, and have flab to lose just like the next mama. I do drop weight pretty quickly after my babies but only because I put forth extreme effort to do so along with staying active (almost to a fault) through my pregnancy. I did a high impact aerobics class the night before Ally was born and did kickboxing just days before Jace's birth. Anyway, I digress. Back to my fitness goals and journey to them.

I recently decided I was going to invest in an at-home DVD program I'd had my eye on for quite a while, Cathe Friedrich's STS (Shock Training System). She's my favorite fitness guru and pretty much embodies everything I want my body to be. Her workouts I already own are tough so I knew I wouldn't be wasting my $200. The program is 3, four week sessions or mesocycles as Cathe calls them. Each mesocycle has a different focus but all are based on using heavy weights, 60-90% of your 1 rep max (how much weight you can lift if you only do 1 repetition of any given exercise). The first cycle stresses endurance, second is hypertrophy, and third is strength. You do a different DVD every single workout which I LOVE. Yes, there are 41 DVD's to this system. I get bored so easily and boredom keeps your body from changing because it knows what's coming next. It's all about shocking the muscles, hence Shock Training System. www.cathe.com/sts for a full explanation and pics of my fave fitness female.
I started by taking circumference measurements and skin fold measurements with calipers as well as taking a before picture. I wanted to document the change with each mesocycle so I could see for myself since I am my own toughest critic. I found I had about 3" to lose in my waist and 8-10% body fat. I started at 121 lbs with a goal of 115. Here's my "Before" picture (please forgive my self-picture taking and crappy lighting):

The means to my goal were/are:

STS Mesocycle workouts on Mon, Wed, Fri
Cardio of various forms (kickboxing, step, hi-lo, boot camp, HiiT) on Tues, Thurs, Sat
STS Ab Circuits daily (7 different core workouts that are part of the STS program)
Continue my fairly clean eating habits (with the exception of my homemade raw milk ice cream and Friday night dinner/cocktails date with my Honey, yum)

I chose to workout everyday to really shock my body and get the most out of the system since I wasn't about to give all that effort and not see maximum results! As a side note, it takes 21 days to develop a new habit.

I started my workouts on January 31 and completed the first mesocycle on February 27. I then took a one week active rest as directed by the program. This week included teaching my normal Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness classes and of course the perpetual motion of a mother.

These workouts took me to new levels of the word challenged. I could barely carry my empty water cup up the stairs after the first workout! "Something tells me I'm into something good!" -Herman's Hermits.

So I worked through each of those first 12 workouts one at a time and felt accomplished each time and most certainly cursed at the TV during each one. What I loved was that even Cathe the Fit visibly struggled using her chosen weights. She and her crew weren't all grins and happy, perky, non-sweaty models. I felt an extreme sense of accomplishment when I finished the final workout, I actually mustered enough energy to jump up and down; it had been a leg workout day.

I took a new set of measurements on March 7 when I started mesocycle #2. Much to my surprise I'd lost 3lbs, 7.5" total body (2.5" in my waist measurements alone), and exactly 4% body fat! The first 4 weeks had gotten me halfway to my goal! This makes me really anxious and excited to see what the next 2 mesocycles will bring. Here's my first "After" picture:

I'll update after the completion of the second mesocycle with new progress and pics!

Happy Fitness!