intro and question

[14at40]

Hello. I'm a(nother) nearly 40-year old mom. I've been lifting heavy off and on for, e-gads, a decade now. The most recent "on" period has been since July of 2007, so a shade over 7 months.

I lift 3-4 days a week. My program now is built around a four-day split, as follows:

1) legs: front narrow squats, SLDL, split squats and/or barbell lunges
2) back: barbell deadlifts, pullups (can do 3x8 overhand, unweighted), Yates rows, back hyperextensions
3) chest: flat bench (I know, I know -- but I'm sooo close to being able to press body weight!), weighted dips, incline DB bench, DB French press
4) shoulders (usually combined with HIIT or on a time-constrained workout day): standing DB military press, shrugs, YTWL

I do hanging leg raises, roman chair situps, and/or planks for abs, usually twice a week. I do cardio 2x per week at most, at least once as HIIT.

I'm happy with my body fat level -- 14% at last measurement, via calipers. Although there's always room for improvement, my strength is pretty good, too. My main goal is thus to maintain this level of body fat, possibly at a higher weight if some of the increase is muscle. (I'm currently around 136, at 5'8.5".)

So, why NROLW? Because it's time to change things around. I've been doing my 4-day split long enough that it's starting to get stale. Besides, I want to see what all the hullaballoo is about, and it never hurts to try new things. (Yeah, yeah, I know: if it ain't broke...)

So, here's the question: where do I start? In looking over the NROLW workouts, it seems like I'd be backtracking if I started with Stage 1. Should I try the workouts in later stages until I find one that's suitably challenging? Or is there some reason why I should begin at Stage 1 anyway?

Glad to "meet" you all!

Be strong,
Kim

[missjane]

NROL4W is a full program that builds upon each stage - it's meant to be from start to finish. The stages are not independent of one another as was the case with NROL. You should begin at Stage 1 and work through the entire program...Stage 1 thru Stage 7, consecutively.

[beach_plums]

Start at stage 1, just make sure that you are using weights that are challenging. If you scan through this forum, you'll see a lot of others who have also been lifting for a while and who have the same question as you.

[ledove]

Heavier weights can make any of the stages challenging. You can also keep up your 2x cardio in Stage 1, so long as you still have ample recovery time between workouts.

[marygrace]

I agree with what the others have posted before me. Before I started the program, I was a little skeptical about Stage 1 not being challenging enough. Its pretty tough though, especially when you push yourself with the weights!

Welcome!