i'm karen and i am a participant in the women's NROL4W challenge. in september 2006 i weighed more than 330 pounds (my scale only goes to 330 - never in my dreams did i think i could weigh that much!) and after a wonderful trip to arizona made miserable by my general lack of fitness, i started a healthy food plan and fitness routine. i've shed more than 70 pounds so far and have made fitness and healthy eating a major part of my life.
starting stats:
age 42
height 5'6"
weight 260
Upper Chest 44"
Right Upper Arm 18"
Ribcage 42"
Waist 43"
Hips 45.5"
Right Upper Thigh 27.5"
01/09 - 1B
deadlift: 50+bar (not olympic)/15 & 70+bar/15
dumbbell shoulder press: 12/25 & 11/25
wide grip lat pulldown: 15/70 & 15/70
lunge: bw/12 (after dropping the 20 pound dbs - what was i thinking?!) & bw/8
swissball crunch: bw/8 & bw/8 (easy)
01/11 - 1A
squat: 50+bar/15 & 70+bar/15 (machine)
push-up: 2x15 (first three of each set on toes!! rest on knees)
seated row: 90/15 & 90/15
step-up: 10/15 & 10/15
prone jackknife: 8 & 8 (with much better form! but not perfect)
01/14 - 1B - changed gyms today & had a pt supervise my form
deadlifts: 115/14 & 115/15
dumbbell shoulder press: 20/15 & 20/13
wide-grip lat pulldown: 75/15 & 82.5/15
lunge: bw/15 & bw/15 (static at pt's suggestion)
swissball crunch: bw/8 & bw/8 (easy)
i am also following the nrol4w nutrition recommendations, but having a hard time getting all my calories in - i'm just not hungry enough! this week i am working on planning my meals a day ahead so i will get everything in. it seems i'd been eating 40p/30c/30f for a while now without working at it, so the ratio works pretty well for me.
Congrats Karen on your success already - 70 lbs is a lot to lose! Glad to see that you're liking NROL4W so much - if you need/want more of the same, you could pick up NROL too. (I'd also mention the TNT diet book also has Cosgrove-designed workouts in them too.)
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Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
Congrats Karen on your success already - 70 lbs is a lot to lose! Glad to see that you're liking NROL4W so much - if you need/want more of the same, you could pick up NROL too. (I'd also mention the TNT diet book also has Cosgrove-designed workouts in them too.)
thanks, stingo! i actually ordered nrol and tnt from amazon and am eagerly awaiting their arrival. i guess you could say that i am a true believer!
01/16 - 1A3
squat: 45/15 & 45/15 - real squats, got to work on going lower
push-up: 5/7 & 0/12 - toes/knees
seated row: 75/12 & 85/12
step-up: bw/12 - couldn't finish - way too wiped from 01/15 plyometrics class
prone jackknife: zip
01/21 - 1A4
squat: 95/12 & 95/12 - my form is much better with real weight!
push-up: 6/6 & 6/6 - toes/knees
seated row: 95/12 & 95/12
step-up: 10/12 & 10/12
prone jackknife: 10 & 8 - form is improving, but these things are hard!
weight:
01/07: 259
01/14: 259
01/21: 253 yay!
started the tnt diet this past week and i like it so far. hard (mentally) to give up my carbs, but really not so hard in practice. mainly i am concentrating on getting veggies in every meal/snack along with my protein. i was eating pretty low carb before, but i wasn't eating enough calories. i'm not counting calories with tnt, but i know i am getting more in.
Well done - just remember that there's a chance you might feel sick as your body changes over from glycogen to fat as its fuel source. But hang in there - it gets better after that.
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Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
i'm pretty happy with my progress this month - i'm down 5 pounds and 3 1/2 inches, plus i've made real gains in strength. not seeing a lot of difference in the pics, but i'm okay with that. karen
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Hi Karen,
I can see a difference in your pictures, for sure! Keep it up. I'll be checking in to see how you are liking TNT, I've been thinking about making that jump, too.
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Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
02/09 - 1A7
squat: 155/8 & 155/8 & 175/8 (warm-ups: bar/8 & 115/8)
push-up: 8 & 8 & 8 kept good form throughout
seated row: 125/8 & 125/8 & 125/8
step-up: 20/8 & 15/8 & 15/8 form gets much better by third set, but these things are going to kill me!!
prone jackknife: 15 & 15 (break at 10) & 15 foot placement is everything!
i really like the mm moves - i feel like they are making a big difference, particularly in my squats and deadlifts. having a love/hate relationship with the foam roller right now tho - it isn't easy and it takes a lot out of this ol' heavy body, but i have noticed that some of the "hot spots" from my first couple of sessions have cooled a bit.
and the tnt is going really well. i haven't felt the need to "cheat" and i feel like i am actually eating enough. i plan to be on the first stage for a while and i think i can maintain that pretty easily. it is tough to get over the "fat makes you fat" idea that had really been driven into my head! how is it going for you? i remember that the first week was a little rough, so hang in there!
Quote:
Originally Posted by nutbar
Workouts are looking good! So how are the MM moves working for you?
Since I've recently started on TNT, I'd love to hear how you're doing on that, too!
02/14 - 1A8
squat: 135/8 & 155/8 & 155/8 brought out the chair to check form - need to get lower
push-up: 8 & 8 & 8 kept good form throughout
seated row: 125/8 & 125/8 & 125/8
step-up: 0/8 & 0/8 & 10/8 really working on form
prone jackknife: 10 & 13 & 12
hiit-bike 5:30/1.12 mi: 3x30 work with 60 rest
02/16 - 1B8 - love my converse, but i need to eat breakfast!
deadlift: 155/7 (losing grip) & 155/8 & 155/8 mixed grip helped tons
dumbbell shoulder press: 35/6 + 30/2 & 30/8 & 30/5 + 25/3
wide grip lat pulldown: 112.5/8 & 112.5/8 & 112.5/8
lunge: 35/8 & 30/8 & 30/8
swissball crunch: 15 & 15 & 15
02/19 - special workout A
squat: 45/50
push-up: 20 (on knees)
seated row: 75/30
step-up: 10/15
prone jackknife: 8
02/21 - special workout B
deadlift: 85/30
dumbbell shoulder press: 25/15
wide grip lat pulldown: 75/25
lunge: bw/25
swissball crunch: bw/50
hiit-bike 5:30/1.93 mi: 3x30 work with 60 rest
i couldn't believe how fast i whipped through these or the strength i've gained - particularly in the squats/deads and rows/pulldowns!
i took most of a week off three weeks ago and i am feeling great, so i'm planning to jump right into the stage two workouts on monday. i'm a bit anxious about some of the exercises in workout b - i've never done most of them.
Oh, man. Bleh. That's how it's going. LOL Are you normally a meat & dairy lover anyway?
i have to admit - it's catching up with me this week. i haven't been feeling like eating at all. and the scale hasn't budged the last three weeks (and i have a LOT to lose).
i'm not a big dairy person, but i like meat pretty well. i think i'm getting a bit burned out and need to add some variety. i love eggs and omelets, but not every morning. it's easy for me to get all of my protein in, but the veggies with each meal are more of an issue - especially this time of year.
i'm going away this weekend and i think i'm going to lighten up of the food choices a bit - maybe that will help me get serious again!!
it's easy for me to get all of my protein in, but the veggies with each meal are more of an issue - especially this time of year.
The two of us would make a perfect partnership! I can slip my protein on your plate when no one's looking and you can slide your veggies right over to me!
i'm still making progress this month. i'm down another 3.5 inches, weight is the same (grrrr) but i am still getting stronger. i don't see a lot of differences in the pictures, but i do see changes in my body - upper arms and thighs have much more muscle and my back contours are changing. i wish things were moving a little faster, but i still have faith in the program! karen
Way to stay in there Karen. I am the first to admit that with a lot to lose the scale should move a little. What the heck? At least there are inches moving. I think there should be inches and moving scale!!!
Way to stay in there Karen. I am the first to admit that with a lot to lose the scale should move a little. What the heck? At least there are inches moving. I think there should be inches and moving scale!!!
thanks for the support, kelly! i need to work on my nutrition - i am eating very clean, but i'm not sure i'm always eating enough. that's my focus this month - track everything!! karen
02/25 - 2A1 - did three sets instead of two! (what was i thinking?!)
Oh, man! And you lived to talk about it?
It's difficult to tell with the different outfits in the pics but it looks like your hips are changing shape (for the better). Your arms look more toned as well. I'm with you, though, on wishing things changed faster! LOL
NROLling along the road to fitness
karen
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