Gritty Ambition - NRL4W

[gritty]

Hello Everyone. I'm new here. I've been lurking for a day or so to see what you've been up to and decided to join the party.

Tomorrow i'm starting Stage 1, Workout A of NRL4W. I'm pretty excited. I've been looking for something that will keep me interested in what I'm doing and give me a variety of things to do. I had been doing some yoga and running in the past but got a bit burned out on both of those for their repetitive nature and lack of challenge. So I found myself a gym I like and joined up. Then I found myself a book that I respect and read it cover to cover in nearly 24 hours. Awesome.

I am currently weighing in at 142 and am 5'6". My weight has creeped up in the last 3 years or so, and I've noticed a great deal more softness settling in. I am looking to get down to my stable weight of 135 and to alter my body composition to include muscle. According to NRL4W, my BMI is 23. As you can see, I don't need to do anything drastic. My main goals are maintenance and tweaking. I want to feel strong.

I am inclined to eat relatively healthy without much effort, but I can certainly get a wicked craving for sugar and carbs. Seeing that FitDay was being utilized by many people on this sight, I went and set up an account to get a base idea of where I've been at nutritionally recently. I've spent time in the past being vegetarian, vegan and raw and have devoted more energy than I ever want to again to thinking about what goes into my mouth and shopping and preparing and cooking etc. Now, I'm into healthy easy convenience. My breakfasts are made once every 2 weeks and frozen. My dinners are made once a month and frozen. My lunches are made once a week and assembled the night before. I don't have the time or the inclination to give much thought to my food. That said, I also don't want to jeopardize my efforts because of poor nutrition. From where I am now, I need to add almost 400 calories a day and 65 grams of protein to meet Cassandra's 40-30-30, 2000K diet. I think this will be my biggest challenge. Thank goodness for whey protein.

Anyway, I'm pleased to be here, and pleased to meet you. I hope to hear from you soon and I will keep you posted on my progress.

- Laura

[missjane]

Welcome! NROL4W (and the original NROL, too) are great programs. I think you will really like the workouts!

I'd love to hear more details about you advance meal prep, as I am beginning to do the same; however, I haven't yet done breakfast in advance.

Sounds like you are off to a great start!

[gritty]

ok. so this morning before work, i had my first workout. this morning thing is rough. anyway, i started with the squats. i know from recent past experience i can do 90 + the bar on the controlled machine. i was working on the free bar today and ultimately brought my weight down to 25 so that i could maintain my balance and push through the middle of my foot rather than my toes. i think that's a better way for me to start. on the rows i started with 30 and moved up to 40 for the 2nd set. push ups, i did 8 full, 7 on my knees for the 1st set and then 12 at 15 degrees for the 2nd. on step ups, i set up a stair thingy with 2 blocks of height and was holding 30lb weights. i had a hard time maintaining a grip on the weights. i'll try lighter weights and a higher step next time. i managed both sets. lastly, I LOVE PRONE JACKKNIVES!!! i know we were only supposed to do 8, but i did 12 because i was enjoying it so much. I think the gym's ball was a bit deflated making them easier, but really, better than a carnival ride! my diet is going well thus far, but i am finding it hard to get enough calories. still i have yet to eat dinner, but i don't anticipate getting the 850 calories that i need to meet my totals for the day. i'll work on it.

[gritty]

incidentally miss jane, i make a baked omlet for breakfast. toss in a bunch of eggs, a bunch of spinach and peppers, a bit of black pepper, some milk, a healthy dose of flax seed. really, you can make it however you want. cook it for 30 minutes at 350. let it cool and freeze individual portions. in the morning, micro for 1.5 minutes, toast some bread, add a slice of cheese and you've got breakfast on the run. works great for me!

[stingo]

Nice work on your first workout - especially the squats, since moving to a free bar must've been an altogether different experience. Welcome to the forum.

[gritty]

thanks tom! incidentally, i'm quite sore today. not so much that i'm wounded, but definitely sore enough to debate working out tomorrow. 2-3 workouts recommended each week, and while i like to hit things full force, i may have to hold back a bit before i jump up to full speed. but really, it's a good hurt. i feel like i did something. still, the calorie issue. i'm used to eating around 1600. jumping up to 2000, plus so much protein is really harder than it seems like it should be.

[stingo]

Stage 1 as I understand it has a similar function to the Break-In in the original NROL - it prepares you for the evil that lies ahead. And lifting tomorrow may actually help your DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).

As for the nutrition, maybe breaking it down into x number of grams of protein per meal may make it seem like less of a mountain to climb.

[gritty]

turns out i took the day off. i was concerned that with my muscles being sore, i might end up compensating with my knees and i just got over a knee injury and am not terribly anxious to reinjure it so soon. unfortunately my schedule doesn't permit me to go on thursday, and therefore i am very excited about going on friday. i actually feel better today than i had anticipated (extra protein anyone?) and probably would have been fine with the workout. still, for the above mentioned reasons, i'd rather be safe than sorry, especially at the beginning. i will definitely keep your advice in mind and take it into consideration next week when i'm sure i'll be hurting again.

[gritty]

Stage 1, Workout B1
Deadlifts 15@60, 15@65
Shoulder press 10@25, 5@20, 15@15
Wide Grip Lat 15@55, 15@60
Lunge 10@25, 5@20, 15@15
Swiss Ball Crunch 15@BW, 12@BW

I worked out this morning around 8:00. It's 11:15pm now and i can feel the stiffness settling in. strange how it feels so good.

[stingo]

Nice work - you'll be revisiting those weights in the special workouts at the end of stage 1.