Break-in (Newbie Questions)

[BJones]

I'm just starting the NROL program and have completed the first Workout A of the Break-in proram. I classed myself as a beginner and am trying to take it slow to avoid some of the injuries and other setbacks I've encountered over the years (and no serious workouts in the last three years). I'm 52 yrs old, 5' 11" and 200 lbs. I'm probably 37 lbs overweight (163 lbs was my weight back in triathalon/marathon days)...but it's probably worse when you consider body fat percentage.

Since NROL has been out a while, I thought I might find some advice here - I'd appreciate your comments, insights, and/or witty remarks.

1) I couldn't believe how wiped out I was from the first workout. Especially when I'd done every exercise at some previous time in my life and thought the workout looked easy. This compounded by the fact that I took it a little slower than I should as I experiemented with weights. I get the impression this (exhaustion) is a common phenomenom with all the workouts. Is it?

2) Any advice on avoiding lower back/hip pain? This has sidelined me in the past.

3) I am trying to rein in my tendencies to rush ahead (I'm already wondering if I could go ahead and workout 3 times a week instead of two as recommended for beginners). I'm not as sore as I thought I'd be yesterday after the workout.

4) Any general warnings or words of advice?

Thanks.

[Bytsi]

I am doing NROLW, but I can tell you that following the program exactly is going to be your best bet. Many of us were shocked at how hard the "easy" first stage workouts turned out to be. Follow the prescribed rest times and be super careful of your form to avoid injury. This forum is a great place to find info about any of the exercises if you're unsure of your form. Welcome!

[RacerBill]

Originally Posted by BJones

1) I couldn't believe how wiped out I was from the first workout. Especially when I'd done every exercise at some previous time in my life and thought the workout looked easy. This compounded by the fact that I took it a little slower than I should as I experiemented with weights. I get the impression this (exhaustion) is a common phenomenom with all the workouts. Is it?

Yep. The NROL workouts are a lot harder than they look on paper.

Originally Posted by BJones

2) Any advice on avoiding lower back/hip pain? This has sidelined me in the past.

Do you know what kind of movements aggravate the pain? I'm not expert enough to offer any real advice other than warm up carefully and finish with some stretches. Foam rolling (do a forum search for more discussion on that) might help, too.

Originally Posted by BJones

3) I am trying to rein in my tendencies to rush ahead (I'm already wondering if I could go ahead and workout 3 times a week instead of two as recommended for beginners). I'm not as sore as I thought I'd be yesterday after the workout.

I know what you mean, but I figure I'm not smart enough to second-guess Alwyn and Lou. If you want to do more, maybe some "active recovery" like walking. Your connective tissues will need some recovery time to adapt to weight training. You can move up to 3 days/ week when break-in is over.

[Brentv]

Welcome to the NROL workouts. They're all hard, and I say that either from firsthand experience, or by reading what others have said. They are all harder than they look on paper.

I would start out working them exactly as written until you find the proper weights for each exercise. Watch your form - that will prevent injuries. If there's an exercise you can't do because of equipment issues or physical limits, adapt the program to find a variation or other exercise that works the same group of muscles.

Good luck.

Brent

[Aoife]

They're all hard, but each is a different kind of hard. I prefer the hardness of low rep heavy weight, and positively am ass-kicked by the hardness of high rep crap. So, you may find some of the parts more to your liking and better suited to you than others.

If you have past injuries, imbalances, and/or issues, you can always try posting in the injury forum.

The first thing I'd suggest is to make sure your form is spot on. Don't round your back, don't forget to activate your glutes, don't rely too much on your quads for exercises like lunges, etc.

The second thing I'd suggest is to address any imbalances you have, properly massage and stretch yourself and warm up. Knee pain, for instance, may be caused by being quad dominant, and therefore the fix is some posterior chain work, etc.

Welcome to the forums.

[bacardio]

Welcome to the club... We all have had our collective butts handed to us by the "easy" break-in program. You are in good company.

If need be, go lighter with the weight, until things feel comfortable, then increase the weight. Don't worry about finishing the break-in program in the prescribed amount of time. Move to the other programs once you feel comfortable (but not too comfortable) again.

[flagmonkey]

Originally Posted by BJones

1) I couldn't believe how wiped out I was from the first workout. Especially when I'd done every exercise at some previous time in my life and thought the workout looked easy. This compounded by the fact that I took it a little slower than I should as I experiemented with weights. I get the impression this (exhaustion) is a common phenomenom with all the workouts. Is it?

i completed my third workout two days ago and do feel extremely exhausted after each of it. Even if I only use the bare barbell for squats and lunges. But it's a good feeling i guess, feels kind of manly and as if I'm double the size I was before the workout. At least for half an hour

[BJones]

All,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. It's nice to know that others have already blazed this trail and I'm not alone in feeling whipped by a seemingly simple program.

Everyone has made it clear...Schuler and Cosgrove are smarter than me...follow the plan. That's sounding like good advice, I think I'll step outside the norm for me, and follow it.

I am working hard on form, so those words of wisdom are also not falling on deaf ears. And, I'm also working on some stretching (even if Schuler is not sure that helps).

Oddly, I'm more sore/stiff on day 2 after the workout than I was on the day immediately after. However a lot of walking (just part of what I do every day) seems to have helped. And it's a "good" soreness, like Flagmonkey said, "kind of manly".

Racerbill, I think the foam rolling sounds like a real good idea. I'm a big fan of massage therapy and I respond well to it (I just can't afford it on a regular basis). This looks like a good alternative.

This looks like a great place. Thanks to everyone for all the help. I have to admit, when everyone is saying, "Don't be an idiot - follow the book" it's kind of hard not to...and that's a good thing.

I tried to do a quick response to each responder, but the system wouldn't let me do that. Is that normal?

Bill

[Aoife]

You can't post too fast, because the system will think you're spamming.

What you can do in the future, is the button next to the quote button is for quoting multiple people... so you could hit that on each message you want to reply to, and when you're done hit the "post reply" button on the bottom left here... and it'll take you to the edit screen with all the quotes in place ready to go.

[flagmonkey]

Originally Posted by BJones

All,

Oddly, I'm more sore/stiff on day 2 after the workout than I was on the day immediately after.

same for me.

[Columbus_George]

Good luck Bjones. I just finished a year of NROL doing the "Lifter #1: Eternal Beginner" program. I started on July 17th, 2007 and completed it on May 24th 2008.

[BJones]

Originally Posted by Aoife

What you can do in the future, is the button next to the quote button is for quoting multiple people... so you could hit that on each message you want to reply to, and when you're done hit the "post reply" button on the bottom left here... and it'll take you to the edit screen with all the quotes in place ready to go.

Thanks, I'll try it....looks like it works.

Originally Posted by flagmonkey

same for me.

That's good to know.

Originally Posted by Columbus_George

Good luck Bjones. I just finished a year of NROL doing the "Lifter #1: Eternal Beginner" program. I started on July 17th, 2007 and completed it on May 24th 2008.

Congratulations! That's the program I'm starting. I also start to check out your Blog. A few questions....1) Did keeping the Blog help you? 2) What's your overall feeling about the program - have you already posted that somewhere?

Thanks.

[Cynic]

Originally Posted by BJones

2) Any advice on avoiding lower back/hip pain? This has sidelined me in the past.

Lower the weight. Perfect your form. Go easy. Once the back starts to strengthen up, it won't hurt as much.