STS 2.0: Upper Body 1

This workout is part of Cathe Friedrich‘s STS 2.0 program which contains 26 workouts. I am doing the 12 week STS 2.0 rotation. This was an awesome upper body strength workout. Especially after just finishing Phase 1 with all of the total body workouts. And though there are some drawbacks to all of the equipment required for this workout, I also loved it. The first time I did this workout it was a learning experience. Some exercises I chose the correct weight (or band strength) right out of the gate. If the exercises was done for more than one set, I corrected in subsequent sets. If it was only done once, I made a note to fix it the second time I did the workout. And for one of the exercises–the hammer curls (#15 below) I had to change weights mid set! That one is a burner!

Your rep ranges in this workout are primarily 8-10 reps. But you will do as many as 16 reps for a few exercises and you also have some bonuses like 24 pulses in one of the band exercises. You get a full minute of rest between most of the exercises, which is excellent for lifting heavy. It gives your muscles plenty of time to recover before hitting them again. I did run into problems with barbell set up. Cathe doesn’t alert you to your next exercise until about halfway through the one minute recovery, so if I needed to change the weight on my barbell, I was rushing. But now I know for the next time I do this workout that after the barbell tricep exercise is done, I need to increase my barbell weight again for shoulders. As long as I am aware, it’s not a problem. But the first time I was scrambling. The second time I had a sticky note on my workout chart that said “65->40->30->40” so that I knew the changes that needed to be made and I could work them in during recoveries.

As of the posting of this review, I have now done this workout twice and I still love it. It is very comprehensive and my arms and shoulders especially feel pumped. I have also now done Upper Body 2 and I absolutely love how the two workouts complement each other. Between the two you will hit all of your upper body muscle groups in so many different ways. I have to comment on one of the exercises. Cathe gives so many variations for the push ups to make them easier or more challenging. One of the easier versions is placing a fabric booty band around your arms above your elbows. I never would have thought something like that would make push ups easier but it does! 16 push ups is a lot after all of that heavy chest work and the first time I did this workout I ended up dropping to my knees around the 10th rep, but the second time I put the glute band around my arms and it kept me on my toes for all 16 reps!

You have so many options in this workout. For just about every exercise Cathe and crew show multiple different versions using different equipment (dumbbells, barbell, resistance bands, turbo tower, dip bars). Though I do own dip bars, I used my Turbo (or Fit) Tower for this workout. I love the idea of hitting my muscles in different ways–barbell bench presses for my chest and pull up variations for my back. So even though the set up time for these workouts is significant, I feel it is worth it. But to give an idea–tomorrow I am doing Lower Body 1. The time to change my equipment from what was set up for this workout to what I need for Lower Body 1 was TEN MINUTES. So even if I had wanted to add on a more thorough stretch at the end of this workout I simply did not have time. The second time I did this workout (today), I had to set up for Lower Body 2 tomorrow and that set up didn’t take as long but was still more than 5 minutes (I didn’t think to time it this morning).

Upper Body 1 is 58:29 minutes; 6:30 minute warm up and 1:20 minute stretch. Equipment: step bench or weight bench, dumbbells, barbell, light and medium or heavy (or both) resistance tubes with handles, Turbo Tower or dip bars and a fitness mat. Depending on what version of the exercises you do, you may need a wider variety of resistance bands/tubes/loops. Cathe’s step is set up at 14 inches. You will use the light resistance tube and light dumbbells for the warm up (12 & 15 pound dumbbells). You get a one minute recovery between most of the exercises.

1. Chest press, 10 reps (Cathe is using 35# DBs; I used a 73# barbell)
2. Repeat #1 for 8 reps
3. Repeat #2
4. Flat bench chest fly, 12 reps (thumb to thumb–palms face away from you) (Cathe is using 20# DBs; I used 22.5# DBs)
5. Push ups, 16 reps (Cathe’s crew shows lots of modifications to make the exercise easier or more challenging)
6. Vertical chin ups, 8 reps (underhand/palms face you, body is upright, you will use the dip bar or tower at a high height–Cathe is sitting cross-legged) (Cathe’s crew shows lots of options for the pull up/chin up exercises using dip bars, turbo tower, resistance tubes, barbell and dumbbells)
7. Horizontal chin ups, 8 reps (still underhand but body is extended horizontally w/ knees bent, dip bar or tower will be at a lower height)
8. Vertical pull ups, 8 reps (overhead grip/palms face away from you, body is upright again, dip bar or tower at a high height–Cathe is sitting cross-legged)
9. Horizontal pull ups, 8 reps (still overhand but body is extended horizontally w/ knees bent, dip bar or tower will be at a lower height)
10. Rear delt fly, 12 reps (palms face behind you) (Cathe is using 8# DBs; I used 9# DBs)
11. Banded face pull, 12 reps (band is anchored to wall slightly above your head, hold handles so palms are facing away from you, arms are raised to shoulder level in front of you, open arms out to sides, elbows bent to 90 degrees so arms are in a goalpost) (Cathe’s crew show different options for this exercise using both dumbbells and a barbell) (I used black resistance tube)
12. Barbell curls, 10 reps (Cathe is using 35# barbell; my barbell was at 42#)
13. Repeat #12 for 8 reps
14. Repeat #13
15. Alternating isometric hammer curls, 8 reps (with arms close to sides, raise DBs halfway so elbows are bent at 90 degrees and hold isometrically, do one full hammer curl with one arm, returning arm to 90 degree hold then repeat on other arm–the non-curling arm remains bent at 90 degrees while the other arm curls) (Cathe is using 15# DBs; I used 15# DBs)
16. Reverse curls, 16 reps (forearm curls, arms stay close to sides, palms face floor) (Cathe is using 10# DBs; I used 12# DBs)
17. Lying overhead tricep extension, 10 reps (skull crushers with a barbell) (Cathe is using a 35# barbell; my barbell was at 36#)
18. Repeat #17 for 8 reps (Cathe also changes the angle of your arms slightly to make the exercise more advanced)
19. Repeat #18
20. Single arm lying cross-body extension, 10 reps (lay on bench, hold one DB in one hand, raise arm with palm facing toward legs, bend elbow bringing DB to opposite shoulder, arm stays straight from shoulder to elbow) (Cathe is using one 12# DB; I used one 12# DB)
21. (no rest) Repeat #20 on other arm
22. Banded tricep press down, 10 reps + 24 pulses (you use some type of resistance band for this but everyone is doing a different version; I used the wall anchor and the black resistance tube–pull ends down to sides, keeping arms close to sides and bending and straightening elbows)
23. Barbell shoulder press, 10 reps (Cathe is using 35# barbell; my barbell was at 42#)
24. Repeat #23 for 8 reps
25. Repeat #24
26. Seated Arnold press, 10 reps (Cathe is using 15# DBs; I used 18# DBs)
27. Side lateral raise, 10 reps (you do not lower the arms to sides–raise arms/DBs to shoulder level then lower them to approx. 30 degrees away from sides) (Cathe is using 8# DBs; I used 8# DBs)
28. Alternating side lateral raise, 14 reps (raise arms to a T and hold isometrically, lower one arm then return it to shoulder level repeat on other arm) (Cathe is using 8# DBs; I used 6# DBs)

Premixes:

Express #1: One Set Only 45:22

Express #2: Two Sets Maximum 51:37

Mish Mosh #1: Full Workout 57:59

Mish Mosh #2: No Bands 53:24

Extreme: Extra Sets 64:22