I'm a brand spanking newbie, inspired by my sweetie, to take up lifting. I LOVED NROL4W, the first resource I found that focuses on strength and improving physical performance, rather than focusing on weight loss, and "shrinking, target toning" etc.
I have two newbie-ish questions:
1) OW the pain. Is it supposed to hurt this much? A 20 minute workout on Tuesday night has severely restricted my ability to decend hills and stairs. My legs can barely hold me. Part of this is being obliged to sit in front of a computer for 8 - 10 hours a day for work. I was not sore before I sat for 8 hours yesterday.
Today is supposed to be another workout day, and I still decend stairs! Climbing is ok. I haven't been this sore after two hours of horseback riding.
Stretching doesn't help at all. Should I just push through and do my workout tonight anyway (or try to?) Should I try to climb hills or stairs instead to warm up my muscles and move the lactic acid through, and post-pone my lifting workout by a day?
2) I would really appreciate it if some of the senior members could share stories of their first month on the program.
Right now, when I read about folks who are running for 20 minutes AFTER they lift, I just can't fathom that! While I was not in pain after my last workout, my legs were certainly far too shaky to consider a 20 minute walk, let alone a run.
I confess, I'm in poor shape. I didn't realize how poor until I started this program. I could stand to lose 30 lbs of fat and gain a LOT of muscle. I'm 5'6", 170 lbs. I'm not that invested in my scale weight, but I need to shed my mid-section bulk - it's getting in my way.
Was anyone else this bad when they started? Worse? Any tips for overweight beginners?
Any other newbies here as overweight and intimidated / in awe of the senior members as I am?
Welcome to the program. I don't think I am a senior member but I'm in the middle of stage 6 now. I am the same weight as you but 2" shorter.
To answer your questions:
The best thing I have found for muscle soreness is another workout. Yes I was very sore after starting the program and at the beginning of most of the stages. And yes for the fist couple workouts in a stage it is hard to do anything after. For example, when I started stage 6 even though I was only in the gym for 20 min there was no way I could do anything else when I finished. After the second B workout I was able to do 12 min of intervals, and today I rode the bike for 20 min before I left the gym. (I could have done intervals but I was feeling lazy.)
In terms of weight I do not think that being 30lbs overweight would make a big difference from normal weight for most of the exercises. The exception might be chin ups but I am determined to get myself there. Even though the program does not have a lot of traditional abdominal exercises I have lost a lot of belly fat and my midsection is so much stronger.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when you actually had to help me up out of chairs, and help me hobble across the street, b/c all these lower body muscles of mine -- that I thought were in pretty good shape before I started this lifting thing -- decided to totally rebel and refused to do one more ounce of work?
We can totally do this. We are strong and awesome.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when you actually had to help me up out of chairs, and help me hobble across the street, b/c all these lower body muscles of mine -- that I thought were in pretty good shape before I started this lifting thing -- decided to totally rebel and refused to do one more ounce of work?
We can totally do this. We are strong and awesome.
I am going to write "We are strong and Awesome" in big black marker across my NROL4W book.
I do remember - and you're a runner for heaven's sake! I am in awe of you to begin with.
So it looks like the consensus so far is to do my damn workout anyway tonight. *pokes thighs* Hear that? *thighs cry*
In terms of weight I do not think that being 30lbs overweight would make a big difference from normal weight for most of the exercises. The exception might be chin ups but I am determined to get myself there. Even though the program does not have a lot of traditional abdominal exercises I have lost a lot of belly fat and my midsection is so much stronger.
Thank you. I think being overweight is a big psycological barrier for me. It's great to know I'm not the only heavy heavy-lifter.
Good to know I wouldn't actually hurt myself by continuing to train on sore muscles, which was my biggest concern... no need to wait until I feel "normal" again.
Foam rolling or another form of massage will go greatly toward relieving the soreness, as will some stretching after the massage and general moving around. That way you work the lactic acid out of your muscles faster.
I was significantly overweight when starting NROL4W (well, I still am, but less so). And after the first A1 & B1 workouts I thought I would die. It does get better, although for the transition between stages ... the pain came back.
I confess, I post-poned my workout yesterday. I could not engage my quads, and they were randomly giving out on me. Basically my legs went Ghandi on me.
I do feel so much better today though, I can totally walk around without squeezing my eyes shut in pain. I'm at the point where I feel like a workout would actually help.
hey, why is my fully awesome hamster not appearing beside my posts? Is there something in my profile that I need to do? If you click on my handle you can see it, so it's there.
hey, why is my fully awesome hamster not appearing beside my posts? Is there something in my profile that I need to do? If you click on my handle you can see it, so it's there.
it is your profile picture. you need to also make it your avatar - just a different UserCP option
That's it! It hurts when you first start using it, but feels better when you are finished. I bought mine at a local sporting goods chain for around $30, I think. Seems like you should be able to find one cheaper as it is just foam, after all.
Well, it's a pretty high density foam, and the better (harder) ones are pvc wrapped in foam. So, they're not "just foam" and don't come too cheap, unfortunately. But they're not uber-expensive either.
Perform Better should have some decent ones for decent price. Pretty sure that's where we got ours. (It's where we got our pvc one, but I'm not sure on the 100%foam ones that the cats tore apart.)
That's it! It hurts when you first start using it, but feels better when you are finished. I bought mine at a local sporting goods chain for around $30, I think. Seems like you should be able to find one cheaper as it is just foam, after all.
Hah, I was surreptitiously using a 3 lb pilates weight ball and rolling it across my quads in the health food store this weekend... it hurt so good! I was tempted to roll it over my ass too, but I was worried I'd get kicked out of the store.
Also get "the stick" or "tiger tail," tennis balls, and a lacrosse ball. You'll learn to hate them all. Myofascial release is not pain free, but it's so much better later on…
Not NROLFW, but the basic idea's the same: Stick with it - it will get better eventually. When I began my journey, I was about 150lbs heavier, and was only able to do 1 minute, 45 seconds on the elliptical. Weights used were all machines, and not much beyond the level of elliptical perfomance. Since then, I've become a certified spinning instructor, recently accomplished a goal to do turkish getups with a 16kg kettlebell, and am working on doing an unassisted pull-up. All of which would have been unthinkable at the start of the journey, but which have been slowly but surely been moving into the world of the plausible. Way I see it - dream/jump big or stay home. It's your call.
__________________
Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
Even if it seems like stretching doesn't help, you may benefit from getting up and stretching every hour or two. It might not seem like much at the time, but the next day you'll probably feel a lot better.
Also, if you can get some protein in you ASAP after working out that will likely help, as it will give your muscles more fuel to rebuild themselves.
I cackled my head off in the coffee shop while reading this post. Thanks, cause I thought I was the only one who felt the whole-can't-bear-the-pain-to-even-lower-myself-to-the-toliet (I always do, of course! It's just painful!) Anyway, you're inspiring me to keep at it :-)
I cackled my head off in the coffee shop while reading this post. Thanks, cause I thought I was the only one who felt the whole-can't-bear-the-pain-to-even-lower-myself-to-the-toliet (I always do, of course! It's just painful!) Anyway, you're inspiring me to keep at it :-)
Glad my pain gave you some chuckles
Now, more than halfway through phase 1, I'm not sore at all anymore after workouts. I'm not wimping out on the workouts, but my body seems to be coping with the stress much better.
I hear the pain comes back every time you go up a phase, but now that I know it's not like this ALL THE TIME, I feel better about working through the program.
Meanwhile, if you can't sit to pee, get a pystol & stand to pee:
I LOVE these things. I got one in anticipation of road trips & camping trips this summer, but now I just carry it in my purse. No more hovering over nasty public toilets.
Ow the pain!
Linear Mode
