My Story: I used to be overweight and a smoker. Boo. I was a junkfood junkie in college and that transitioned nicely into my post-college jobs waiting tables. I gained a lot for my frame size and I think my highest weight was 160ish. The only exercise I got was riding my bike, as I didn't own a car. Anyway, around 2001, I joined a gym and started taking classes like kickboxing, spinning and weights. I started counting calories. I started mountain biking. They weight started to drop off. It was great!
Then I got laid off from my job and pretty much spent an entire 8 month period doing nothing but work out. I was a cardio queen. I was thin as a rail, and not really in a good way. I think my lowest weight was 115. Yikes. After that I got a desk job and put on ten pounds, which was fine. I've continued to mountain bike (sometimes competitively) and take classes, but the weights classes, like BodyPump, just weren't doing anything for me. Where was the muscle I was supposed to have? Ugh. I got tired of my weak upper body and started with free weights last fall. I'm not very good on my own, though, and lacked the focus that I'm hoping I'll get with the New Rules for Women.
Goals:
- gain muscle
- lose the jiggle
- build bone density
- have abs that make babies cry
- overcome fear of heavy weight (not fear of bulking, but of hurting myself)
- overcome fear of the squat rack (see above)
- overcome fear of the "boys club" mentality of the weight room
There's a BioMeasure scale thingy at the gym that calculated my BMI as 21 and my fat index at 24%. I have no idea how accurate this kind of machine is, but it got my height and weight correct so I'm assuming it's not too far off.
That's it! I did Stage 1, Workout A yesterday and will be doing Workout B on Wednesday. I'll post what I lift later in the week and if I get very brave I'll post my "before" pictures.
I'm excited to see how you find NROL4W. Its a great workout. And don't worry if you don't get the hang of the squat rack and free weights immediately at first--you will feel more and more comfortable with it as time goes on. I remember my first few workouts I was staring at the squat rack from a distance and mentally planning out how I should load it and how to weave through the guys blocking it. Now, I elbow through the guys and load my deadlifts like a pro.
I remember my first few workouts I was staring at the squat rack from a distance and mentally planning out how I should load it and how to weave through the guys blocking it.
Ha! That is exactly what I've been doing.
So, here are my numbers from my first two workouts. I can only go up from here, right? I definitely need to up my weight on deadlifts and lunges next workout, as neither felt gut-wrenchingly challenging to me. However, I was still just feeling things out and figuring out what weight to use. I definitely struggled most with the upper body stuff - pushups and shoulder press are tough for me.
2x8 Prone Jackknife - 10, 10 (I love these, they're so hard!)
So, I'm starting to inch up in weight but I have a few issues. The big one is my fear of the squat rack. I'm SO freaked out about doing it wrong or looking dumb or falling on my butt. My next workout A, though, I have to move up and I can't lift the 50lb bar over my head, so I just need to suck it up and do it.
Another suck: I didn't realize until just now that I was doing the pushups wrong! I was doing wide arm, not tricep pushups and dang, they are way harder with your arms in close. I might have to back up and do an easier version of these because no way can I do 10-12 of those at 30 degrees.
Good news: tonight when I did my rows I accidentally put the peg in at 75 instead of 60 and was four reps in before I noticed! That made me really happy.
I realized I haven't been talking about the "other stuff to do" that I've been doing. I'm trying very hard not to over-do the cardio as per the book. This is the way my week has shaped up:
Monday: off
Tuesday: Workout 1, B
Wednesday: spinning class
Thursday: Workout 1, A
Friday: off
Saturday: Workout 1, A, plus a spinning class (though I could skip it and do a shorter session of intervals on the stationary bike)
Sunday: possible mountain bike ride, probably nothing too vigorous
Hey welcome to the board and best of luck to ya on the path to fitness. Regarding squats, do a bunch of them with just body weight before you go in the rack. I generally do 30 or so. Make sure that your chest is out, head is up and weight is going down through you heels. Then if you want to add weight without going in the rack try holding dumbells. If you can hold 2x20lb db then you will be ready to do the bar and squat. It is fun and you can't possibly look any more ridiculous than the idiots who are doing curls in the rack all the time.
Thanks for the advice! I know I can do it, I just need to...do it. Currently I'm using a 40lb pre-weighted barbell (which is pretty challenging) but it's the most I can lift over my head without using a squat rack. On Tuesday I definitely have a date with the rack. I'll report back!
I have to say, I've been reading the hell out of this forum for the last couple of weeks and the food talk makes me want to curl up into a little ball and weep. Tracking, macros, calorie counts, it's all so. much. information. So much work!
So, really, other than making a conscious effort to add more protein to my diet, I haven't really changed how I eat. I have no idea how many calories I eat in an average day (2,200? ish?) but I've maintained a weight of 128 for a year or so, and I figure for the first stage I am supposed to maintain anyway, so I'm not completely throwing the rules out the window. Here are a couple of average food days for me:
Breakfast:
"old fashioned" oatmeal w/ cranberries, walnuts, milk, and a drizzle of maple syrup
blueberry Kashi waffle
coffee w/ milk, no sweetener
Snack:
half an apple w/ peanut butter
Lunch:
couscous salad (whole wheat couscous w/ veggies, raisins, apples and a little bit of vinaigrette) w/ baked chicken breast and baby greens
coffee w/ milk
Snack:
half an apple w/ peanut butter
Dinner:
curry shrimp and potatoes
steamed broccoli
glass of wine
Lunch:
baked chicken breast, sweet potatoes mashed with black beans, steamed green beans
Dessert:
Darjeeling tea (plain)
hazelnut biscotti
Snack:
half an apple w/ peanut butter
Dinner:
tofu satay stirfry (tofu, broccoli, red pepper, onion, carrots, celery w/ Satay sauce) over jasmine rice
glass of wine
I know I need to limit the wine but I do love a glass with dinner. It'll be hard to give up. I also should mention that I have a protein shake (just pp and milk) on the days I lift.
I don't know if you are eating Piles of chicken breast or slathering your potatoes with butter. KWIM?
Absolutely. I will admit that I have a really hard time with portion control. I almost always pack my lunch and snacks, so that's portioned out, but dinner is a struggle. My husband is always going back for seconds and I tend to go with him - that's where the extra calories are coming in. Under-eating is NEVER going to be my issue.
I guess I really should track for a little while just to find out where I am. Wah.
Squats- 45/12, 55/12 (I used the squat rack! Go me!)
Push-ups - bw/10, bw/8 (1st set from a counter, 2nd set from a bench)
Seated Row- 75/12, 75/11
Step-up (step w/ four risers) - 20/12, 20/12
2x10 Prone Jackknife - 10, 10
By the end I was dripping sweat and happy as a clam. Some guy who was busy using all the single-muscle machines actually stopped his adductor work to watch me do my step-up/jackknife sets. Ha.
Question: how does one improve grip strength? I was barely able to hold the 20lb dumbbells by the end of my step-up sets.
How high is your step? You might try dropping the weight and upping the step height so you can get a fuller ROM on the step-up (for example, a bench). Lots of challenge!
It depends on which gym I'm using*. I'm either using an aerobic step with five risers or a bench, but both are about mid-shin. I'll definitely try a higher step next time.
* I belong to a chain gym, but can also use the gym on the campus where I work. I prefer the latter for weights because it's much less crowded, but they aren't open on Saturday mornings so I go to the chain for weights one day a week. This presents a challenge I didn't expect - the cable machines do NOT feel the same. At all. I've had to adjust my weight accordingly. I can row 75lbs on one but only 60 on the other. Isn't that weird? You wouldn't think there'd be a difference like that for similar cable machines.
I do wear gym gloves, the kind without straps and with fingers showing, but I am not sure if it improves my grip strength as much as it prevents my fingers from getting scraped and dirty. When I was doing the deadlifts on box from stage 2B yesterday my fingers kept trembling and threatening to drop the 95 lb weight on the floor or on my feet (embarrassing!). I read somewhere that grip strength will improve as overall upper body strength improves, and grip strength is also correlated with health. Grip strengtheners are definitely a good idea, I will give them a try too.
By the way, great progress on your lifts, I’m rooting for you!
I do wear gym gloves, the kind without straps and with fingers showing, but I am not sure if it improves my grip strength as much as it prevents my fingers from getting scraped and dirty. When I was doing the deadlifts on box from stage 2B yesterday my fingers kept trembling and threatening to drop the 95 lb weight on the floor or on my feet (embarrassing!). I read somewhere that grip strength will improve as overall upper body strength improves, and grip strength is also correlated with health. Grip strengtheners are definitely a good idea, I will give them a try too.
By the way, great progress on your lifts, I’m rooting for you!
The women on this forum convinced me to lose my gloves and my grip instantly improved. Of course I had to lose my rings too.
Deadlift - 60/12, 60/12
Dumbell shoulder press- 15/12, 15/12
Wide-Grip Lat pulldown - 60/12, 60/12
Lunge - 15/15, 20/15 (I kind of forgot I was supposed to do 12 reps. DUH.)
2x8 Swiss ball crunch- 10, 10 (added a weight overhead to make this more challenging)
I finally did the math and figured out how many calories I should be eating: 2,180 on lifting days, 1,940 on non-lifting. I then used Sparkpeople to track my calories this week and I'm more or less on track, so that's good. As long as I'm careful with portions, that is.
Hi.
I was drawn to your log after I tried your soup and loved it!
If you have maintained your weight over the course of a year maybe you don't need to track that closely. It looks like you eat well. I track because I have a really hard time with portion control and my appetite always seems to lead me astray. Plus having lost 50 lbs I have tons of paranoid issues about gaining it all back.
Hey, I'm glad you liked the soup! I can't take credit for the recipe, but I do love passing it along.
I'm not closely tracking my calories now, but I was really curious to see what I was eating and if it matched up with the guidelines. I'm happy to discover that as long as I'm careful with portions, it does. I definitely have a tendency towards over-eating and I spent a good 10 years of my life being overweight and unfit, so I do understand the fear of re-gaining. That fear is definitely part of what gets me in the gym. I don't know that it ever really goes away.
Squats- 45/10, 55/7, 55/10
Push-ups - bw/10, bw/7, bw/7 (1st set from a counter, 2nd & 3rd set from a bench)
Seated Row- 75/10, 75/10, 75/7
Step-up (step w/ four risers) - 20/10, 20/10, 20/10
2x10 Prone Jackknife - 10, 10, 10
The gym was crowded and some equipment had been moved so I spent a bit more time between some sets than I meant to. It happens, I guess. I followed this workout with a spinning class. Sunday I took off and last night was another spinning class.
Tonight: Stage 1, Workout B #5, 3x10.
Goal this week: raise up my squat and dead weights. Alwyn thinks I can take it, so I'm taking it.
Deadlift - 65/10, 65/10, 65/10 Dumbell shoulder press- 20/10, 20/8, 15/10 Wide-Grip Lat pulldown - 65/10, 65/10, 65/10 Lunge - 20/10, 15/10, 15/10 (My knees started giving me trouble so I dropped the weight a bit.) Swiss ball crunch- 12, 12, 12
I upped my deadlift five pounds and was able to complete all my reps. Might try adding another five pounds on Saturday! I also tried doing my shoulder presses with 20lb dumbbells and actually got ten reps out on the first set! That was pretty cool, even though I had to drop back to 15lbs for the last set. Still, it's progress.
Last night:
Stage 1, Workout A, #6: 3x10
Squats- 55/7, 55/10, 65/10 Push-ups - bw/10, bw/10, bw/6 (1st set from a counter, 2nd & 3rd set from a bench) Seated Row- 75/10, 75/10, 80/7 Step-up (step w/ seven(!) risers) - 15/10, 15/10, 15/10 Prone Jackknife - 10, 12, 12 (I swear these are getting harder instead of easier!)
Last night I really wanted to do HIIT afterwards, but I ran out of time. I added a few risers to my step ups (ow) and upped my squat weight another 10 pounds! I'm definitely feeling it.
My eating has been pretty good this week, though I did have to go to a meeting Tuesday night and it was pizza and pie for dinner. Oops. Otherwise I've been cooking up a storm. Last night we had broiled fish tacos with avocado and a side of sauteed zucchini. Very tasty!
That said, I made the mistake of weighing myself last night and the stupid BioMeasure scale at the gym claims I've gained 5 pounds and my fat index is now 26% instead of 24%, so I smashed it with a bat and went home to eat dinner. The end.
sorry for the hijack -- but desiraenicole your pup is adorable - a Saint I assume? I had a half-mask many years ago and she was a delight (and a lap-cuddler)
[/hijack]
How has your mountain biking improved/suffered with this? I'm just starting the program (Stage 1 workout A on Saturday) and I love to ride my bike also. That was the only thing I really used as a workout.... other than my martial arts training. It's still a little too muddy in the Pacific NW to ride mtb, but road season is quickly advancing! I can only
imagine that the lifting will help.
That said, I made the mistake of weighing myself last night and the stupid BioMeasure scale at the gym claims I've gained 5 pounds and my fat index is now 26% instead of 24%, so I smashed it with a bat and went home to eat dinner. The end.
"Brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop people who don’t want it badly enough. They're there to keep the other people out.” -Randy Pausch
That said, I made the mistake of weighing myself last night and the stupid BioMeasure scale at the gym claims I've gained 5 pounds and my fat index is now 26% instead of 24%, so I smashed it with a bat and went home to eat dinner. The end.
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