My NROL Experience

[tcoy777]

Tom,

Your doing an amazing job!!! Now some may disagree with me on this, but I am a firm believer in having 1 meal a week where you can indulge in some of things that you love. Be it some beer, dessert, Indian food, etc. I really think it keeps your satisfied while still staying focused on your overall diet.

[nutbar]

Originally Posted by stingo

There was, however, a bonus though - see below.

Um. My feet? The floor?

[stingo]

A Off Center Unilateral Flat Bench Dumbbell Press 1x10, 1x12, 1x15

B Incline Dumbbell Press 3x20

C Unilateral step-up w/lateral raise 2x10

D Dumbbell Squat w/lateral raise AMRAP

E Cable Row 3x15

F Rear Deltoid Row 3x15

G Lat Pulldown 3x20

H Front Plank AMTAP

A Off Center Unilateral Flat Bench Dumbbell Press - This one was a bit weird at first but I got the hang of it eventually. It's basically a one arm dumbbell press done with the weighted side of the body off the bench. The support being the foot on the weighted side.

B Incline Dumbbell Press - This was a bit novel in that Tim had me hold the dumbbells together, palms facing each other. He then put pieces of paper between each pair of dumbbell heads and said I was to press the DBs together hard enough so the papers wouldn't fall out.

C Unilateral step-up w/lateral raise - Another different exercise, which I know Tim gives me to help me work on my balance.

D Dumbbell Squat w/lateral raise - Did 50 reps with 5lb dumbbells - my left shoulder being the weak link in the process.

E Cable Row - Pretty standard here, except the twist when doing the row. Start palms down, but have palms up at the end of the pull.

F Rear Deltoid Row - Used a machine for this. No feelings either way about this one.

G Lat Pulldown - Used a just wider than shoulder width grip, and was struggling to get the last rep of the last set.

H Front Plank - An end of workout "surprise". I didn't do too badly considering it was at the end of a good workout.

Overall - This workout was brought to you by yesterday's carb overloading. I could tell I was going to do well when I got up this morning filled with all kinds of energy. Even Tim said I was really progressing with my dumbbell exercises (this after doing the off-center bench press), so I think my little at a time strategy of adding weights is paying off.

[Willie]

Originally Posted by stingo

Overall - This workout was brought to you by yesterday's carb overloading. I could tell I was going to do well when I got up this morning filled with all kinds of energy. Even Tim said I was really progressing with my dumbbell exercises (this after doing the off-center bench press), so I think my little at a time strategy of adding weights is paying off.

I love it when a little experimentation works in our favor! Nice work.

[Biskit]

Tom,

Things sound like they're working well for you. Don't beat yourself up over a night of enjoying yourself though. I believe in the 90/10 rule. Giving yourself 10% to 'cheat' is better in than depriving yourself and then just falling completely off the wagon.

Good work.

Deb

[stingo]

Originally Posted by tcoy777

Tom,

Your doing an amazing job!!! Now some may disagree with me on this, but I am a firm believer in having 1 meal a week where you can indulge in some of things that you love. Be it some beer, dessert, Indian food, etc. I really think it keeps your satisfied while still staying focused on your overall diet.

Yeah I'm not going to let it bother me - just have to move on and take care of business from here on out. Thanks for the support.

Originally Posted by nutbar

Um. My feet? The floor?

Multitasking... you posted before I could get my workout on here.

Originally Posted by Willie

I love it when a little experimentation works in our favor! Nice work.

Thanks Kate - even though I strayed this weekend, I know what to do to get back on track.

Originally Posted by Biskit

Tom,

Things sound like they're working well for you. Don't beat yourself up over a night of enjoying yourself though. I believe in the 90/10 rule. Giving yourself 10% to 'cheat' is better in than depriving yourself and then just falling completely off the wagon.

Good work.

Deb

I agree - I'm not going to let it bother me - just take it in stride. Thanks for the encouragement.

[stingo]

Encyclopedia of Kettlebell Lifting
by Steve Cotter

Beginner Workout #1

A Two Hand Swings 1x10@16kg

B One Hand Swings 1x10@16kg each arm

C One Arm Clean 2x5@16kg each arm

D Turkish Getup 1x3@5# each side

E One Arm Military Press 2x5@16kg each arm

F Deck Squat 1x10@BW

G Front Squat 2x5@16kg each side

H Squat 1x10@50#

A Two Hand Swings - Yup, swinging the kettlebell is cool. I'm definitely liking this exercise.

B One Hand Swings - These were noticeably more difficult for my left arm than my right, but, still cool to do.

C One Arm Clean - I need to get the hang of this one, particularly on the left hand side.

D Turkish Getup - This is truly the exercise from hell. Saying I did 3 on each side is taking a very liberal notion of doing an exercise and stretching it to its limit. Definitely an opportunity for improvement.

E One Arm Military Press - I wasn't sure how my left shoulder would respond to this, but it did pretty well, so I was happy.

F Deck Squat - I tried doing these from the floor but it just wasn't happening, so I did them with my weight bench. Of course it was too easy doing it this way, so I added a set of DB squats at the end. The ironic thing is that this exercise is supposed to get over a fear of falling when doing a squat. I can do squats just fine, but not this one lol.

G Front Squat - Did this with one KB holding it on the left side for 5 reps, then the right side for 5 reps - and counting that a set. Felt really weird at first but I felt more with it on the second set.

H Squat - As noted I added these in because of the easy variation of the Deck Squats I had to use. Did them holding a 50lb dumbbell in each hand.

Overall - A fun workout, because it was something very new to me, and of course because I used one of my kettlebells for the first time. I think the 16kg weight is ideal for me right now, as it is heavy enough to provide challenge but not so heavy as to risk injury. Once I get comfortable handling the exercises at this weight I'll move up. I will have to get instruction though on the deck squats and the tgu's since those are definitely in sore need of improvement. The rest though I felt pretty comfortable with. The other cool thing was it didn't really take that long either, and I'm already starting to feel it in my abs and my shoulders. I will definitely revisit this workout.

[LWilson212]

This workout looks fun Tom! It makes me want to get some kettlebells. Did you do this one at home? Did you need much space?

[stingo]

Originally Posted by LWilson212

This workout looks fun Tom! It makes me want to get some kettlebells. Did you do this one at home? Did you need much space?

Yes, I did this one at home with one 16kg kettlebell, and a small dumbbell for the turkish getup. Took virtually no space at all. The one that would take the most floor space would be the tgu or the deck squat - other than that you're basically standing.

[stingo]

237.75 - not a surprise certainly, and hopefully a reminder to not blow a whole week's worth of being good in one or two nights. I'm also telling myself that it's partly due to my glycogen stores being refilled - that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Still, what a great motivator - tonight is the chinese restaurant and I plan to have steamed chicken and vegetables with a hot garlic sauce on the side. Oddly enough I feel pretty optimistic, especially since today is a rest day now, having done the kb workout yesterday.

[nutbar]

Deck squats -- had to google those. Is this them (without the jump)? I might have to give those a try!

[stingo]

Originally Posted by nutbar

Deck squats -- had to google those. Is this them (without the jump)? I might have to give those a try!

I can't see youtube from work, so I'll try to describe it. Stand in squat position, and go down into a squat, but this time go to the floor. When your shoulders touch the floor you roll back onto your feet, and stand up.

[SpacecityPaula]

Yup that would be what the Youtube video shows.

[kfisherx]

Hmmmm.... Interesting to follow here regarding cheat meals and deals. Personally I never do them just because I don't want to wreck my current path. I don't know how they would affect me. I am told that for some people it works fine but I bet there are body types (such as endomorphs) who can simply not do them without having serious stalls to their progress. It will be very interesting to see how the next days unfold.

Then again it could just be glycogen storage.

[Mahler]

Hey, you became a kettlebell convert. Looks like you are really enjoying it.

I love the steamed chicken and veggies. I usually have it with a brown sauce, whatever that is, but good nonetheless. Enjoy.