Rock NROL for dummies

[CA1]

Brief background about me

I'm 29, born and raised in India and working in the US as (what else) an engineer. My arrival in the US eight years ago to go to grad school marked the beginning of a change from a generally fit, active and somewhat carefree kid into an overweight, stressed-out workaholic. Over this period, I've tried to stay active and exercise, but it would invariably get derailed by long work hours, laziness/lack of discipline, or as in the past few years injuries (to my foot, back and knee).

Using a move to a new city (Boston) as a reset button, I've managed to be regular with some cardio (mostly on the indoor rowing machine) for the past four months, mixing in some work on the machine circuit in the last month (as much to prepare for a weight-lifting program as anything). I managed to lose around 12 lbs over this period, but sadly my body fat percentage only dropped by around 1.5%. The NROL book caught my eye at around this time and a week later (the fastest I've read a non-fiction book since school ), I started my first break-in workout. I went with the "eternal beginner" approach because while I've lifted before and for moderate durations at a time (~ 12 - 15 months), it was largely uneducated.

Current numbers

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 173 lbs
Body Fat: 27.3%
RMR: Fluctuates wildly between 1675 & 1745 acc to my home weighing scale

Desired numbers

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 165 lbs
Body Fat: 20% (Primary goal)
RMR: 1800

Other goals

1. Overall strength and good health
2. Stronger core
3. Increased energy level
4. Distinct jawline
5. Fit my clothes better

Challenges

1. Discipline
2. Patience
3. Nutrition

Program & Approach

NROL, Eternal Beginner

1. Break-in
2. FL I
3. FL II
4. Pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming about getting this far
5. Hyp I
6. Hyp II
7. Repeat stage 4
8. Strength I
9. Strength II
10. FL II

Thoughts, comments, feedback and advice will be much appreciated

[CA1]

Break-in Workout Week 1 Workout A (05/30)

Squat

Warm-up with BW - 7 reps
Set 1 - 45 (olympic bar) x 15
Set 2 - 45 x 15

Alternating Sets (Static Lunge + 2 pt DB row w/ elbow out)

SL

Warm-up with BW - 7 reps
Set 1 - 35 (fixed-weight barbell) x 15
Set 2 - 35 x 15

2PDBRWEO

Set 1 - 20 x 15
Set 2 - 20 x 15

Alternating Sets (Push-up + Swiss Ball Crunch)

PU

Set 1 - BW x 15
Set 2 - BW x 15

SBC

Set 1 - BW x 20
Set 2 - BW x 20

Notes

It felt like a good start overall. I stayed with very low weights (something I was quite self-conscious and mildly embarrassed about) and tried to focus on form as much as possible. The workout, especially the 60-second rest interval, wiped me out quite a bit and I was a little disappointed with how quickly I got fatigued.

I felt I ought to go much lower on the lunge and the squat, although with the latter I went as far as I can go without my knees extending past my toes. At this point, my thighs were forming around a 30-degree angle with the floor instead of being absolutely parallel to it.

[LisaS]

sit back more on the squat and if you need to widen your stance. Don't obsess over watching what your knees do - just sit back and then down.

Parallel isn't "thighs parallel" - it is that the line from the crease of your hip to the top of your patella is parallel to the ground - so probably lower than you think - but that's when your femur is actually parallel. You can practice with body weight to get the feel of the movement.

[CA1]

Break-in Workout Week 1 Workout B (06/02)

Deadlift

Warm-up with BW - 7 reps (just to memorize the lift)
Set 1 - 75 (fixed-weight bar) x 15
Set 2 - 75 x 15

Alternating Sets (Step Up + DB one-arm shoulder-press)

SU

Set 1 - 15 x 15
Set 2 - 15 x 15

DB1ASP

Set 1 - 15 x 15
Set 2 - 15 x 15

Alternating Sets (Close-Grip Lat Pulldown + Reverse Crunch)

CGLP

Set 1 - 90 x 15
Set 2 - 100 x 15 (last three reps were low-quality; hands came down only till my mouth)

RC

Set 1 - BW x 20
Set 2 - BW x 20

I wrapped up with a 20 min walk on the treadmill at 3 mph and an incline of 5, with one-minute runs at 6.5 mph one the 5th, 10th and 15th minute.

Notes

The pace of the workout still kicked my butt and had me wishing I had brought a spare t-shirt to finish the workout. I was quite disappointed with my lat pull-down performance. It's usually my favorite exercise and I expected the rowing of the past three months would help me do well. On the plus side I liked my form on the shoulder-press, which is typically one of the hardest exercises for me (I am convinced my shoulders take advantage of their location to whisper into my ear "that's enough now...four reps is plenty...how about we stop now...now...now"). I'm guessing the weights I used had something to do with the results.

I had also felt a bigger burn in my abs with the reverse crunch than the swiss-ball crunch, leading me to wonder if I was doing the latter correctly.

[Peaches6311]

Hi,

I started NROL in May. So, it is still new to me too, though I been lifting for a long time.

Good for you for putting form before pride. Just do as much as you can while keeping good form. The rest will come.

See ya later,

[CA1]

Originally Posted by LisaS

sit back more on the squat and if you need to widen your stance. Don't obsess over watching what your knees do - just sit back and then down.

Parallel isn't "thighs parallel" - it is that the line from the crease of your hip to the top of your patella is parallel to the ground - so probably lower than you think - but that's when your femur is actually parallel. You can practice with body weight to get the feel of the movement.

Thanks for the correction and the advice, Lisa! I knew I should have started my training-log earlier . I just finished my third day of Workout A (as you can see, I have some catching up to do in terms of logging everything in one place from my scribbles on loose paper) and I find myself going much lower now than I did the first day. I will definitely try widening my stance and see if I can achieve parallel without pushing my knees out too far. I'm trying to recover from some knee pain (which my doctor thinks could be a torn meniscus) and want to be careful about it.

[CA1]

Originally Posted by Peaches6311

Hi,

I started NROL in May. So, it is still new to me too, though I been lifting for a long time.

Good for you for putting form before pride. Just do as much as you can while keeping good form. The rest will come.

See ya later,

Thanks for the support!

[CA1]

Note: I'm just going to combine the next three workouts (until today) into one post for compactness.

Break-in Workout Week 2 Workout A (06/06)

Squat

Warm-up with BW - 7 reps
Set 1 - 45 x 15
Set 2 - 65 x 15

Alternating Sets (Static Lunge + 2 pt DB row w/ elbow out)

SL

Warm-up with BW - 7 reps
Set 1 - 50 (fixed-weight barbell) x 15
Set 2 - 50 x 15

2PDBRWEO

Set 1 - 25 x 15
Set 2 - 30 x 15

Alternating Sets (Push-up + Swiss Ball Crunch)

PU

Set 1 - BW x 15
Set 2 - BW x 15

SBC

Set 1 - 10 x 20
Set 2 - 10 x 20

Notes

Felt better on the squat and lunge being able to go much lower on both. I had a few balance issues on the first 5-7 reps of the lunge with my right leg out in front that went away when I pointed my back foot at a 45-degree angle to my front foot and pivoted inwards on it during the descent. I'm not sure if that spoils the quality of the lift though.


Break-in Workout Week 2 Workout B (06/08)

Deadlift

Warm-up - 45 x 7
Set 1 - 95 (switched to olympic bar) x 15
Set 2 - 95 x 15

Alternating Sets (Step Up + DB one-arm shoulder-press)

SU

Set 1 - 22.5 x 15
Set 2 - 22.5 x 15

DB1ASP

Set 1 - 22.5 x 15
Set 2 - 22.5 x 15

Alternating Sets (Close-Grip Lat Pulldown + Reverse Crunch)

CGLP

Set 1 - 100 x 15
Set 2 - 100 x 15

RC

Set 1 - BW x 20
Set 2 - BW x 20

Notes

I made a cardinal error on the shoulder-press and especially the step-up. I couldn't find any dumbbells of 15 or 20 lbs, and so went with the 22.5 which was the closest weight around. On top of that, I couldn't find a platform of slightly-below-knee-height and so went with one that was slightly higher than knee height. The quality of the second set was quite poor for both exercises. While I performed the complete motion, the form suffered. Was quite ticked off at myself.

Break-in Workout Week 3 Workout A (06/13)

Squat

Warm-up with BW - 7 reps
Set 1 - 85 x 15
Set 2 - 95 x 15

Alternating Sets (Static Lunge + 2 pt DB row w/ elbow out)

SL

Warm-up with BW - 7 reps
Set 1 - 45 (switched to Olympic barbell) x 15
Set 2 - 55 x 15

2PDBRWEO

Set 1 - 35 x 15
Set 2 - 35 x 15

Alternating Sets (Push-up + Swiss Ball Crunch)

PU

Set 1 - BW x 15
Set 2 - BW x 15

SBC

Set 1 - 10 x 20
Set 2 - 10 x 30

Notes

This felt like my best workout so far, with better form and better weights than any of the previous days. I'm going to spend some time in the next week practicing the squat with body-weight and wider stance as Lisa suggested so my last shot at the Break-In squat is as high-quality as possible. Now that I think about it, I might be getting a bit too carried away with the weights. I'd hate to end break-in without good form on the squat.

The balance issues at the start of the right foot lunge continue and I'm doing the pivoting until about rep 8, after which my balance seems to get much better and I can bring the left (rear) foot back inside.

[LisaS]

feel free to push your knees outward if you need to in order to keep them straight - you don't want them caving in.
when you widen your stance, chances are your feet will be about a 30 degree angle (or a little more even) - you want your thighs when you go down to be on a parallel line with your feet \_/