Help Designing a Program

[newdawn]

I have completed NROL4W and want to try NROL now. Here are my goals:

~maintain current muscle
~build strength
~build on current PR of 8 man push-ups
~achieve a real chin up
~continue to improve cardiovascular fitness (I'll do this on off days obviously)

I was very religious about following NROL4W to a tee. I don't feel the same compulsion this time around.

What I don't want:

~The very last thing I want is more abs!! My lower stomach has never looked like it does now and it's even made me consider giving up lifting altogether. I have no more flat stomach, even though I *lost* almost 30 lbs! My abdomen is hard as a rock, but it protrudes and I don't like that. Do you know a woman that would? So I don't want to do much ab work. In NR4W I had to add all kinds of weight to the core exercises to make them challenging. Perhaps that was a mistake.
~I'm not really interested in fat loss at this point.
~I don't care much about hypertrophy. I have nice definition. I would like a butt. But I don't think any of you can help me with that.

So...suggestions for building a program? It seems too easy to just do the strength programs and skip fat loss and hypertrophy completely.

Tom are you out there?

[Aoife]

Well, yeah… you prolly did make a mistake in making the ab stuff harder and harder. I think people forget that some things aren't necessarily meant for more than just maintaining once you get to a reasonable point.

Are you feeling a pull to any of the setups already listed in the book?

Otherwise, I don't see much difficulty. Perhaps you start breakin, move to str1, maybe str2, hyp1, str3… I mean, "hypertrophy" and "fatloss" are just labels for a program setup, not really what it gives you if you don't set your eating for it. (ie, you won't lose weight if you don't eat at deficit, you won't gain if not at a surplus.) So, there's not even much harm in just winging it and doing whatever you feel like next after finishing a phase…

[LisaS]

sounds like a good plan to me
S1, S2, H1, S3, FL1 something like that

[newdawn]

Good point about the eating - I shouldn't lose or gain if I don't change my eating. And I like the idea of "winging it" after the discipline of NR4W. OK, I think I'll just jump into break-in (skipping the damn crunches or at least doing them as written without added resistance) and then progress through the other phases deciding when the time comes. I'll just try to do a good variety of set and rep structures. I could go on like that for a long while. I may not get in 3 days a week during the summer but more like two lifting and two cardio.

Thanks, Girls.

[Juleske]

Those strength fases look pretty brutal too. I'm looking to go the same way as you (again and I definitely wanted to do the strength phases, thought to mix it up with an endurance fase (fat loss) now and then. I'm a bit fearful of hyperthrophy still, but I suppose a few weeks on a deficit wouldn't hurt... After the shock to your muscles that is the strength stage, it seems like a good idea to let them mellow out a bit with some higher rep, lower weight stuff.

How is your break going anyhow?

[newdawn]

hey, Jules. The break has been nice. I've been concentrating on cardio, doing some running at the HS track. But I'm afraid if I don't get back in the weight room soon I never will. I just printed some logs. Monday, latest. Really.

[RacerBill]

I'm not sure about your abs being "too big." Have you ever been screened for anterior pelvic tilt?

[newdawn]

No I haven't been screened. But this seems similar to lordosis/sway back, which I've suspected because of how my clothes fit and how certain yoga postures are difficult to me. If so, though, wouldn't I always have had it? Or could lifting have exacerbated it? I will have to do some more reading on this. I did look up some pictures of anterior pelvic tilt online and the profiles do look a lot like my body.

[RacerBill]

If you're not taking steps to correct it, yes, lifting can exacerbate APT.

Galya and UConnJulie are the real experts in that area. Maybe they can offer some advice.

[galya]

Thanks RB, I don't consider myself an expert, but it's nice I feel like I can lend a hand.
APT is usually easy to see in a relaxed side shot.

newdawn (I am sorry I don't know your real name), just take a side shot in a sports bra and shorts and pm me the picture. Make sure it's a full shot from ankles

[newdawn]

Galya, I guess I can ask DD to do that, though I don't want to. This weekend maybe. It'd be good to know once and for all. I always feel very "crowded" in the area of my lower back, around my waist. As if there is not enough length in there when I try to do some yoga things, like back bends and bridges. And when I make skirts or pants for myself I have to scoop out the front waist and hem the fronts of skirts shorter than the back. thanks.

[galya]

Once you know it's not hard to exercise toward fixing things

[stingo]

Remembering past posts, doing hypertrophy I and II (and eating to support it) will give you a good foundation to start the Strength programs. More muscle will give you bigger gains in strength.

[newdawn]

Plan now is to start with break in on Saturday. From there, maybe a hypertrophy, then a strength, then a fat loss, then repeat the sequence. Guess I'll just mix it up like that. As for core work, I'll probably sub something for that for now. I think in Break in it's 20 reps of Swiss ball crunches. Maybe I'll do back extensions instead. Good to see you Tom.

[galya]

Neither crunches not back extensions are good options if you do have APT.

[newdawn]

I did them both, many many of them, with added resistance, in NROL4W. I'll take a pic this weekend for you, galya.