Hi all,
I'm preparing to start Stage 1 on Monday. Thank you to everyone who clarified how to read the charts in previous threads - my brain was hurting trying to decipher it at first!
Anyway, I'm new to building muscle and used to be a cardioholic, so excuse the questions that might have really obvious answers.
1) I can't do many full-bodied push-ups at once. I can do the ones with the knees on the ground relatively easy, but I can only get out ~2-5 regular push-ups at a time. Stage One calls for 15 push-ups in a row. Should I do them in increments of 2-5, resting in between, until I reach 15? Or is there a need to do them in a consecutive row without pausing?
(I'm really hoping to strengthen my arms before Stage 6's chin-ups!)
2) Day One calls for 2 sets of 15 squats, 2 sets of 15 push-ups, 2 sets of 15 seated rows, 2 sets of 15 step-ups, and 2 sets of prone jackknifes. This doesn't seem like many exercises. How long will it approximately take? Will I be sore from doing them? Should I add some more reps in or add some abs work in the end?
Also, I'm assuming I'm not supposed to do any cardio/HIIT afterwards? The author said there will be some days in Stage 2 where HIIT/intervals is listed. He wrote you can do cardio the next day (spinning, kickboxing) if you did weight training without intervals. Would 10-15 minutes of cardio be bad after the strength training, though?
Any advice from NROL experts on board would be appreciated.
the usual way that women here have addressed the pushup issue is to rack a bar (or use the smith machine) at some level like waist high or knee high - and then use that for the higher rep sets. or you could use a bench. This is preferred to the knee version as it still trains the midsection to hold tight.
I'd go for consecutive at the most difficult level that you can complete 15 reps.
Stage 1 runs pretty fast - maybe 30 mins. The key is to use enough weight (or difficult version) so that you are spent at the end of 15 and not able to do 16 or 17. 15 reps of relatively heavy squats will work your legs pretty well.
On the step ups, use a step that is high enough and really engage your glutes and don't push off from that down foot - just lift using the leg that is up.
ss cardio after training- bad? Probably not. Of benefit, who knows? If it was a major benefit, Alwyn would have written it in.
Why not try it as written with cardio on your off days if you really like it.
I don't quite understand what you mean by "rack a bar" or "use the Smith machine." Do you mean to lie flat on your back and push a bar upwards instead of doing push-ups? That was the impression I got after searching on YouTube.
yup. and pretty quickly - especially if you can already do a few on the floor as you say.
check missjane log - I think she celebrates 'moving to the floor' at one point
Just to chime in, Cinnamon--I started with the incline pushups on the bar, moved to floor pushups in the beginning of stage one, and now, at the end, I'm doing T-pushups. It moved fast for me and now I'm looking to find something more difficult for stage 2.
I had always done pushups on my knees too. In phase I, I did them at 60 degrees off an incline bench for the first 3 workouts. Then I did them at 30 degrees off a regular bench for the rest of stage I, and the first 2 workouts in stage 2. For the last 2 workouts in stage 2, I was doing them right off the floor! I feel so strong!!!
Wow Nancy, that's amazing how much you improved in just two stages. I hope to get there too. I went to the Cleveland MetroParks today and did some on a 30º bar set up - I got 4 in before losing strength. I can really feel them in my abs when I do them, though!
Cinnamn - are you another NE Ohio-er? Jane and I are, and Ginger lives in Columbus, Celeste and Leah aren't too far away... definitely see a mini-summit coming up in the area!
Hi Bytsi - yes, I live in a suburb of Cleveland (east side). That's so cool there are so many Ohioans here! Ohio is going to become one of the fittest states if this trend continues.
Hey Cinnamn -- I am starting tomorrow morning too! I am spending the day getting food ready, making charts, etc. Can't wait to hear how your first day compares to mine.
Hi Bytsi - yes, I live in a suburb of Cleveland (east side). That's so cool there are so many Ohioans here! Ohio is going to become one of the fittest states if this trend continues.
Hi, Cinnamn112! You've already gotten some good answers to your questions. In the beginning I concentrated on the NROLFW workouts and stopped cardio. After a couple of weeks, I decided cardio was too important for stress relief, so I added it back. I, personally, would do HIIT only on non-lift days and do steady state cardio on lift days. I didn't really do HIIT until I started Stage 2. I'm only on my third workout, so I'm just learning HIIT by following the recommendations in the book.
Hey Cinnamn112!
I'm in the last couple of weeks of Stage 1. Just started the sets of 8 today actually. You will be surprised how quickly you progress! Before starting NROL4W I too could only do about 5 or 6 in a row. Here's how I progressed through stage 1:
Sets of 15 done at a 60 degree angle.
Sets of 12 and 10 were done on a bench which I'm guessing was a 30 degree angle.
Sets of 8 were done on floor. Yippee!!!!
You could change it by trying to do the sets of 10 on a step which would be halfway between the bench and the floor in height. I didn't have one so I stuck with the bench.
Have fun! You've certainly come to the right place.
I just got done with Stage 1. I did a 10 minute warm-up on the Elliptical, keeping my HR at 125 the entire time. Then I did the workout, and 20 minutes of SS cardio (15 elliptical, 5 on this crazy walking machine where your feet are on two planks - one rises while the other lowers).
So far, so good! A few questions:
1) What is the point of step-ups? Does it work the glutes, calves, arms...? I used 10 lb. dumbbells in each hand, but I might need to increase that, or increase the height of the step-up. (I used a platform that fell halfway between my knees and feet). I wasn't feeling much as I did them.
2) About the seated rows, are your arms supposed to be doing 100% of the work, or does your core aid when you pull back?
Either way, my abs, arms, and legs feel like they might be a little sore tomorrow, and it was definitely a good work-out! I'm pleased!
For the step-ups, you want to target your glutes and get a full ROM on that step. You want to make sure you aren't using your back (non-working) leg to help you up. Use as high a step as you can. I use a weight bench. You may want to start with no weight just to ensure you aren't using any momentum from that bottom leg or by swinging the weights to get you up onto that bench/step.
I use a weight bench. The very first time I did them I did them at about the height you did and thought they were easy, then I moved to a higher bench and um... I hate them lol! Be sure you are really pushing yourself though. I know my legs are jello after each workout and it's a nightmare to do cardio after. If at any time you aren't feeling the exercises do anything evaluate if you are really pushing yourself. IMO you should feel like you got your butt kicked at the end, maybe a tad past feeling like it was just a great little workout . I'm starting over Stage 1 after having to take a 2 month break halfway through due to both a hand and leg injury ugh and forgot how hard I worked even in Stage 1. Congrats on starting!
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Kim. Not Kimberly, not Kimmie, and certainly not Kimbo. Just Kim. Though it was frankcassiesmom for a blink of an eye.
JustKim - Trust me, I'm not taking this too easy. I woke up today and my abs (obliques too), arms, and back/shoulderblades were really sore.
There are two reasons why someone might not be getting results: 1) They're slacking (which is the last thing to describe me) or 2) They don't understand the proper form or the exercise, which was my case with the rows and step-ups. Now I know to take the platform much higher.
Trust me, I'm anything but a slacker and I'm putting a tremendous amount of work in my exercises. It was my very first day and I needed clarification on a few things - I think I did pretty darned good, especially with how sore I was this morning.
Please quit criticizing my description of the workout and making assumptions of how hard I'm working. Thank you
Sorry, it was just frustrating to wake up feeling really sore and thinking I had a great workout to read, "IMO you should feel like you got your butt kicked at the end, maybe a tad past feeling like it was just a great little workout."
That to me seemed like criticism, but I know you were trying to help me. Maybe I'm just hypersensitive. Sorry if I misunderstood.
I'm certain Kim did not mean anything like that. It's legitimate to inquire if one is truly pushing themselves. -- especially for you, being new to weights. Soreness isn't necessarily an indicator of how hard you did or didn't work, either.
So, by pushing yourself we (and I am using the universal "we" here) are just saying that you want to use heavy enough weights that truly challenge you to that last rep. Many people who are new really underestimate the weights that they can and should be lifting.
Oh I wasn't criticizing you I promise! I just suck at conveying myself online most of the time. Really it's a talent of mine. I was just making a blanket statement. I know that often people start too low of weights and don't quite feel as tired at the end as they should. I know I did for sure. Thanks Jane for stepping in. Welcome to Stage 1! This is great fun. Great great fun.
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Kim. Not Kimberly, not Kimmie, and certainly not Kimbo. Just Kim. Though it was frankcassiesmom for a blink of an eye.
Cinnamn, it's great to clarify on form issues. I had to do that with step-ups, too. I'm really short and thought a bench would be too high. I just make sure the bench is about knee height and I'm OK.
With the seated row, one of the guys at the gym showed me the correct form. For me the key is to make sure my core is engaged the entire time and that I'm leaning back a little...
The soreness will improve. By the end of Stage 1, I was surprised at how little soreness I had compared to the increased weight I was doing. I finish Stage 2 this week!
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