After years of lifting with various programs—the latest being BGB (a basic 5x5, 3x8 heavy format)—I read NROL and remain very interested in the principles and format. I don’t know if I can survive the various workouts, but I intend to try!
My name is Sona; I’m 55 years old, 5’2” tall, 103 pounds (give or take a pound or two in either direction). I haven’t reached this “advanced” age without my share of injury: 14 years ago, I was knocked over (by two romping dogs) onto the right side of my neck, which has left me with a “trick” vertebra there (neck goes out with too much overhead weight-bearing exercise), limited strength in certain areas (like lying side lateral raises, for instance, or being able to hold my head up by itself while doing stability ball crunches), and thousands of dollars in the hole to various chiropractors—each adjustment fixes me up fine...for about two to three weeks.
I’ve had a herniated L4/L5 disk that is fine now, provided I don’t do hyperextensions or good mornings.
Otherwise, I have the usual aches and twinges—I’ve been a jogger for about 30 years—but nothing that most people don’t experience at one time or another. I have no problem with exercises that don’t require overhead weight-bearing work (so OHP, militaries, Arnies, etc. are risky): I can handle squats, deadlifts, Bulgarians, lunges, step-ups, presses, push-ups, chin-ups, lat pulldowns, cable rows... they’re all fine. I lift as heavy as form allows.
Three weeks ago, I began the NROL Break-In workouts, and after completing four rounds of each (A and B), I began Fat Loss II. On the Break-In WOs, the weights in most exercises went up in each subsequent WO not because I was getting stronger, but because I wasn't sure at first how much weight I could handle and. Here’s a review of the four go-rounds of the Break-In WOs:
Workout A
dynamic stretches: cat/camel, yoga twist, bird dog, fire hydrants, anterior/posterior leg swings, windmills.
NROL warmups: Inchworm, stability ball bridge/Russian twist, stability ball crunches, walking lunges with body twist (5-8 reps each leg), lateral lunges with opposite hand reach and touch.
DB row, 2x15 (each arm):
10# DB, 12# DB
12#, 15#
15#, 17.5#
17.5#, 17.5#
push-ups supersetted with Swiss ball crunch:
2x15 and 2x20 (60 seconds rest).
On the push-ups, I experienced enough wrist discomfort after the first WO that I did the other two WOs holding on to two dumbbells while I did my push-ups. On the Swiss ball crunches, I must hold my hands behind my head to do the crunches: I cannot keep my head positioned by itself.
Workout B
dynamic stretches: cat/camel, yoga twist, bird dog, fire hydrants, anterior/posterior leg swings, windmills.
NROL warmups: Inchworm, stability ball bridge/Russian twist, stability ball crunches, walking lunges with body twist (5-8 reps each leg), lateral lunges with opposite hand reach and touch.
Shoulder presses will always be weak sisters for me, dumbbells or barbell—and I’ll have to be very careful not to overtax the area. I’ve just begun to see an ART chiropractor in addition to my regular chiro, but it’s too early to tell just what may be done to help my neck strengthen up.
For Break-In, I did one workout every other day, and on the in-between days I did metabolic overdrive cardio (19 minutes) + dynamic stretching/warmups afterward on my off days—with one day completely free/off per week.
I began Fat Loss II on Thursday. Entries to follow~
Congrats on starting your log!
I do believe that NROL FL is a great program and I am currently doing that, too. I'll be following along.
I assume your goal is fat loss even though you sound very petite. I hope you work around your injuries and have a great experience doing this
Hi, Galya, Mahler, and Greg! Thanks for coming by to welcome me; it feels really good.
I know what you mean, Mahler and Greg, about being happy to find other older lifters--it's come as quite a shock to me to learn that I am one~!
Galya, yes, my goal is fat loss--always is. It's funny, but you can be a fairly low weight in your 50s and still have plenty of fat (and look that way)--if I'd weighed 103 at 23 years old, I'd've been lean indeed! At 55, I look zaftig--not lean, really, although not overweight, either. So I'm hoping the fat loss WOs will help pull me together--if they don't kill me!
Here's the first go-round of Fat Loss II:
Fat Loss II—Workout A-1
dynamic stretches: cat/camel, yoga twist, bird dog, fire hydrants, anterior/posterior leg swings, windmills.
NROL warmups: Inchworm, stability ball bridge/Russian twist, stability ball crunches, walking lunges with body twist (5-8 reps each leg), lateral lunges with opposite hand reach and touch.
(1) Front squats supersetted with wide-grip cable rows
Front Squats:
3x12 (60 seconds rest)
30#, 40#, 40#
Talk about ungainly! This was my first attempt, and I used the crossed arms method. I was not confident, and I looked like a drunk duckling. I ended up with bruises around my collarbone.
dynamic stretches: cat/camel, yoga twist, bird dog, fire hydrants, anterior/posterior leg swings, windmills.
NROL warmups: Inchworm, stability ball bridge/Russian twist, stability ball crunches, walking lunges with body twist (5-8 reps each leg), lateral lunges with opposite hand reach and touch.
(1) Snatch-grip deadlifts supersetted with T push-ups
DLs
3x12 (60 seconds rest)
40#, 45#, 50#
I can go a bit heavier next time; these were not as rough as I'd thought they'd be.
T Push-ups
3x12 (60 seconds rest)
BW AAAAAHHHHH!!!
(2) Bulgarian split squats/OH Press supersetted with lat pulldowns (underhand grip)
Yup, that one is a BEAST, LOL.... personally, the only w/o that has exhausted me nearly--I said NEARLY--as much was Oly lifting with a ntnl strongwoman. SHE gave me longer rest periods though
Awesome job, Sona... be prepared for some sore lats from those SG DLs. Hurts so good though.
Well, front squats remain a major challenge, one I'm doubtful can be overcome to my satisfaction. On this go-round, I did them with my canvas lifting straps wound around the bar, then I gripped them instead of the bar--this kept my wrists from extending backward painfully.
It was still a very awkward proposition, trying the keep the long Oly bar balanced this way. I had a towel around my neck to cushion the collarbone area, and I did my best to keep the bar up close to my windpipe and my elbows up and out. But it isn't a coordinated movement, and concentration tends to center on keeping my balance and my hands secure rather than on making sure my back and legs are behaving properly.
Next, I'm still curious about the supine hip extension w/ leg curl: I'm not sure I'm getting the full effect of these, although I recognize the hamstring stretch involved. Would it be possible to do lying ham curls instead, I wonder?
The barbell push press and overhead press (on the Bulgarians), remain the riskiest exercises for me, given the weakness in my neck vertebra. But I'm continuing to do them, moving up slowly in weight as I feel I can.
This tim around, workout B still kicked ass, but I don't feel as whipped today (the day after) as I did the day after the first go-round. So maybe it is possible to get stronger. I hope!
dynamic stretches: cat/camel, yoga twist, bird dog, fire hydrants, anterior/posterior leg swings, windmills.
NROL warmups: Inchworm, stability ball bridge/Russian twist, stability ball crunches, walking lunges with body twist (5-8 reps each leg), lateral lunges with opposite hand reach and touch.
If you were doing the SHELC right, you should be feeling your hams contracting pretty hard, not stretching.
Be patient with front squats, maybe substitute them for front dumbbell squats?
As for front squats my wife has similar problems with her wrists so you might try resting the bar on your shoulders and crossing your arms like this:
Keep up the good work.
__________________
Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
If you were doing the SHELC right, you should be feeling your hams contracting pretty hard, not stretching.
Yes, I must mean contraction (it feels like a stretch, but it must be the opposite; sorry): isn't that what lying ham curls do too--contract the hams? Would that be an acceptable sub, Galya?
Kuri, thank for the suggestion on front squats! As it happens, I did the crossed-arms version on my first go-round of Workout A, and I found it too hard on my chest/shoulder/collarbone area (even with a towel as a cushion). At least when I used the straps, the bar didn't seem to be crushing me there as much. But it's so ungainly! I must check out your log and see more about how your wife is handling the exercise~
Galya, I think I'd have trouble cleaning sufficiently weighted dumbbells up to my shoulders to front squat that way. See, as long as the Oly bar is racked at the squat cage, it's at the right height for me (doesn't have to be raised up to my shoulders), so I can handle the weight (with plates)--not as much yet as I can on back squats, but even so... I don't think I could clean two 25# DBs up to my shoulders properly, without potentially taxing my neck or who knows what as I jockeyed them both in attempt to settle them properly. If I had a trainer who could position them off to me, that'd be different.
But thank you for trying to come up with a suggestion, Galya. And who knows? Maybe some of the shoulder exercises--the push press, the overhead press, and so on--will help strengthen me enough to work with DBs for front squats!
You could try the stingray to add to your front squat comfort. I've used the mantaray with success with some clients, even though then you have to pay more attenion to breathing, bracing and form, but I think it's worth a try. http://www.qfac.com/gear/stingray.html
For front squats I always cross my arms like Kuri's wife does, I've never been able to do it any other way.
I didn't quite understand what the issue is with the shelc; lying ham curls would not be a good substitute since shelcs combine both knee flexion and hip extension, a 2 in 1 deal that gets both the major functions of the hammies. If it's absolutely impossible, then yet, maybe that's a possible sub.
keep up the good work
You could try the stingray to add to your front squat comfort. I've used the mantaray with success with some clients, even though then you have to pay more attenion to breathing, bracing and form, but I think it's worth a try. http://www.qfac.com/gear/stingray.html
For front squats I always cross my arms like Kuri's wife does, I've never been able to do it any other way.
That looks like a fabulous piece of equipment, Galya, but I'm not yet convinced that I will be adopting front squats so completely (over back squats, I mean)--other than whenever they appear in the NROL WOs--that the $60 (price + tax + shipping) can be easily absorbed. I bought lifting hooks at one point in my WO life, and they helped enormously; same with the neoprene knee wraps I use regularly. Both worth the cost.
If I fall in love with front squats, this may be the way to go, and I thank you for pointing me to the site.
Quote:
I didn't quite understand what the issue is with the shelc; lying ham curls would not be a good substitute since shelcs combine both knee flexion and hip extension, a 2 in 1 deal that gets both the major functions of the hammies. If it's absolutely impossible, then yet, maybe that's a possible sub.
keep up the good work
It's the last movement, where the neck is in such a compromised (for me) position--I end up holding my neck with one hand to protect it--which keeps the weak vertebra on my right side from potentially "misaligning," but may jeopardize the effectiveness of the exercise.
Since ham curls won't work as a sub, I will keep doing SHELCs, but I will have to keep my hand around my neck at the end.
Front Squat
55#x10, 60#x10, 65#x10 (failed and moved to back squat for 70#x10)
supersetted with
Wide-Grip Cable Row
80#x10, 80#x10, 85#x10
Supine Hip Extension with Leg Curl
3x10
supersetted with
Barbell Push Press
30#x10, 40#x10, 30#x10
Dynamic Lunges
17.5# DBs x 10, 17.5# DBs x 10, 20# DBs x 10
supersetted with
Upper Body Russian Twist
3x10
Comments
Front Squats: These are a train wreck--an accident waiting to happen. Crossed arms hurt my collarbone, even with a towel as padding. Wrists back position taxes the wrists! I can manage low weight front squats using my lifting straps wound around the Oly bar, holding them in front. But I doubt the weight will ever be anything than negligible. So I think I'm going to cave: do low-weight front squats with good form, then add a few sets of back squats for the quad work. It feels like nothing otherwise.
BB Push Press: Still have to go low weight with these--my shoulders are too iffy (esp. the right one, rotator cuff area). 35# would be good, but the BBs go up in 10# increments, so it's either 30# or 40#. Damn!
Hey Sona... if you haven't tried them yet, I will highly recommend doing the goblet squat as a substitute for front squats. They are killers--in a good way--and shouldn't impact your trick vertebrae. I really think back squats and front squats aren't interchangeable; they really hit different areas.
I had wrist problems with the front squat because I was keeping my elbows low as if I was going to press the weight overhead. I finally realized that I must bring my forearms almost parallel to the ground. This relieved the wrist stress and brings a thicker part of the delt up to cushion the bar. Here's a pretty good picture from the CrossFit site:
I had wrist problems with the front squat because I was keeping my elbows low as if I was going to press the weight overhead. I finally realized that I must bring my forearms almost parallel to the ground. This relieved the wrist stress and brings a thicker part of the delt up to cushion the bar. Here's a pretty good picture from the CrossFit site:
Thanks for this info, Bill--I really, really worked at keeping my elbows up, up...and my wrists were still yelling at me. I think the lifting wraps method is the one I'll have to use for now, but the weight will remain low as a result. It's just too ungainly a situation, balancing the OLY bar in front. I know I can't be the only short person (5'2") to grapple with this, so maybe it's just a matter of practice.
I wish my gym had one of those manta ray things, or whatever they're called!
Superset 2
Bulgarian Split Squat/Overhead Press - 10x8# DBs, 10x8# DBs, 10x8# DBs
Chin-ups - 3x10 (5 unassisted + 5 set at 8)
Superset 3
DL/Bent Over Row - 10x45#, 10x55#, 10x65#
Lower Body Russian Twist - 3x10, BW
Comments
This workout continues to exhaust me. Sweat streams down my face and back, and I'm heaving to catch my breath before the next set (45 seconds in this case). I'm pleased with my progress on these exercises, however, although I doubt my shoulders will ever strengthen up enough for me to push/press significant weight. When I get to the 8-rep portion of this series, I'll try for 10# DBs on the OH press/Bulgarians.
Sona, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised at just how much MENTALLY easier a set of 8 reps is to handle, as I accidentally found out this morning
Sona, I just read through your log for the first time and enjoyed it very much. You're doing great!
I suggest you ask your gym manager or fitness floor director to purchase a sting ray for your gym. It might not happen before you finish this workout, but if they buy it, it will be there for you when you come back to front squats in a future workout. In the meantime, forge ahead with your straps. A front squat will never equal the weight of a back squat. It will always be less.
I can see that your issue with the supine hip extension with leg curl is not about the leg curl, it's about your neck. I suggest substituting something that gets you off the floor but still requires hip and knee extension. A King deadlift (which is a bent-knee, single-leg deadlift) would do the job. It's harder than the SHELC, but maybe that's a good thing.
Front squats:
I absolutely hate these. They hurt, they are unwieldy, the towel makes it bulky (but I bruise without it), all possible ways of hanging on do not seem to work well. The straps are the best of the lot--I can handle up to 55# that way. But that's a nothing weight. I am disgusted with this. The goblet squats are fine, but they aren't front squats. And they're not back squats. They're like deep knee bends.
BB push/press:
I realize that 35# would be a good weight for me right now. Next time (why I didn't do it this time, I don't know. I must've been oxygen-deprived) I'll use the EZ curl bar for that; the pre-weighted bars run in 10# increments.
The gym was way too crowded this evening. It was also underventilated, which makes it hard when you're doing this kind of WO.
One thing, though: I see changes in my body, and I had little belief this would happen to me! I will reserve judgment until I see more of this, but suffice to say it makes me very happy. 'Course, one good refeed and I'll undo a lot of work. It takes constant vigilance at my age and height. But that's not the fault of the program--that's me. The program seems to be working, and that is encouraging and motivating!
Glad things are working out.
Goblet squats are quite a hard job, they would be knee bends if you weren't attempting to go up. If you want to leave them, though maybe you should think of holding a weight plate out in front of you; it will be lighter load and more challenging. Good luck
Superset 2
Bulgarian Split Squat/Overhead Press - 10x8# DBs, 10x8# DBs, 10x8# DBs
Chin-ups - 3x10 (5 unassisted + 5 set at 6)
Superset 3
DL/Bent Over Row - 10x55#, 10x60#, 10x65#
Lower Body Russian Twist - 3x10, BW
Comments
At least there was more air circulating in the gym! The last time, the air was off somehow--way too humid and close. And another good thing: It was practically deserted this time, which is WONDERFUL! Wish it could always be like this.
Sona's Log...
I was so wiped next day that cardio was out of the question.
But that's not the fault of the program--that's me. The program seems to be working, and that is encouraging and motivating!
Linear Mode
