beautiful.libation.master improves her bootyliciousness!
Hi,
So I'm about a month into my NROL4W and I've decided I should keep track of all my info online. ever since I first heard about NROL4W in one of my magazines I have been super excited about it and have been keeping it with me practically at all times.
Since reading the book I have been telling every possible person who might care that they should buy and read this book and follow the program. I have drank the NROL4W kool-aid and I'm definitely a fan. lol
As I said earlier I have been doing the program for about a month now and I already am noticing a difference. Mostly in how strong and confident I feel on the inside, but also I am noticing my body physically beginning to change.
I guess I should take some pictures and take some measurements so I have a real record of how Im improving outside of how much Im lifting or how my clothes fit, (although I know that is the better indicator of improvement)
Well thats all I have for my first installment, I will post my goals and other info soon.
Workout B1
Dead-lift:1x15x75, (1x4x75/1x5x65) (First time I had ever done dead-lifts, second set I was worried that tightness in back meant I was doing something wrong)
Dumbell shoulder press:2x15x10s
Wide-grip lat pull-down:2x15x27.5
Lunges:2x15x15 (legs felt wobly)
swiss ball crunch:1x12x6lbs, 1x12x8lbs(too easy, need more weight)
Workout a2:
Squat:1x15x90 1x15x95
Push-up:2x15x45%incl
Seated Row:2x15x32.5 (dual pulley)
Step-up:2x15x15
Prone jackknife: 1x15xbw, made it harder by using bosu ball, 1x11
Workout B2
Deadlift:1x15x75, 1x15x85!!! I was so proud I figured the deadlift out and increased the weight!!!!!
Dumbell shoulder press: set1:5x20lbs/10x15lbs set2 6x20lbs/9x15lbs
Wide-grip lat pull-down:1x15x32.5, 1x15x35
Lunges:2x15x15 static lunge, 1x30x15 walking lunge (prefer walking, seems less stress on my knees, made sure not to cheat with momentum
swiss ball crunch:1x15x10, 1x20x10lbs, need something more difficult
Workout a3:
Squat:2x12x115
Push-up:2x12x30%incl
Seated Row:1x12x35 (dual pulley), 1x12x50(single pulley)
Step-up:2x12x20 (beginning to have grip issues with weight)
Prone jackknife:2x15xbw,Didn't use bosu ball b/c I was starting to have upset stomach-ache prob from protein shake before workout
Workout B3
Deadlift:2x12x95!!!
Dumbell shoulder press1x7x20lbs, 1x5x20lbs)(1x9x20lbs, 1x3x20) very proud of being able to do all with 20lbs weights, even though i had to break up the sets, my goal is to do whole set with 20lbs!
Wide-grip lat pull-down1x8, 1x4)(1x9, 1x3) both @ 42.5
Lunges:2x24x20lbs walking lunges, hands cramping a little
swiss ball crunch:1x15xholding swiss-ball, 2x15x10
man, that was a workout just catching up on the logs... but definitely good to see it more legible than my workout book, lol
So my idea to help with the grip issue during step-ups/lunges, but still use more weight as needed is to still use the 20lb weights in my hands but using a bookbag to add more weight as needed. When my hands are able to stand the 20lbs I'll bump the hand weights up.
I definitely was dreading dead-lifts after the first time I had done them, I was horribly sore for many days after, but after the second workout with dead-lifts I wasn't sore, so now I am excited about my improvements with dead-lifts and look forward to doing them.
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"May you be in heaven a full half hour
before the devil knows your dead."
"Unwillingness easily finds an excuse."
"The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid."
I have to sub to this one just because it looks totally like a spam post! HA HA HA
Welcome to the forum, and I am think'n that bootyliciousness improvement is exactly what I am doing too! (too bad it turned me green and hulky looking)
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
I finally found my charger for my camera last night! yea! I had been looking for it off and on for several months, oddly enough it was in the last place I looked for it, lol. Anyway, I had my boyfriend take pics of me in a bikini so I would have something to reference to see my improvements.
I have to say at first I was very disappointed, I hadn't seen my self in pictures in a bikini in a long time. My back side especially made me frown..........
BUT, then I reminded myself that if I didn't have room for improvement, then how could I call this "beautiful.libation.master improves her bootyliciousness!" My body is what it is and I need to love it for all that it has done for me. I can however, want to improve my body in a healthy, and realistic manner.
All in all, I have already begun to see some improvements, and my boyfriend has to. I think most of the improvements come from following NROL4W, and the other part comes from belly dancing. I have been taking classes for 8 weeks now, and I know they have helped strengthen my shoulders, core, and thighs.
So far in my working with NROL4W I have not been paying too much attention to what I eat. I have been trying to incorporate extra protein into my diet, trying to get my carbs and fats from healthier sources, trying to drink plenty of water. Silly enough, the hardest thing for me is drinking plenty of fluids. I can go several days with drinking enough, but if i don't actively try to get enough fluids, then I usually only end up with about half of a days total. The solution that has been the biggest help to me is adding a cup of flavored green tea into a 60 oz container of water and keeping that with me all day. I think a great mini goal for me would be to consistently get 8+ glasses of water/fluids a day and to see how many days in a row I can do that, then try to beat that number. Another goal I have is to log my food intake so I can get a better look at what Im actually taking in, and adjust my diet accordingly (diet as in food intake, not as in deprivation of calories).
Mini goal 1: drink 8+ glasses of water/fluids a day
Mini goal 2: log food intake and adjust accordingly
Here's two quotes, that I think can inspire me to look at the up side of my workout journey... I know this is a long term thing, not an overnight change.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
-- Confucius
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
-- Winston Churchill
__________________
"May you be in heaven a full half hour
before the devil knows your dead."
"Unwillingness easily finds an excuse."
"The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid."
Workout B3
Deadlift:2x12x95!!!
Dumbell shoulder press1x7x20lbs, 1x5x20lbs)(1x9x20lbs, 1x3x20) very proud of being able to do all with 20lbs weights, even though i had to break up the sets, my goal is to do whole set with 20lbs!
Wide-grip lat pull-down1x8, 1x4)(1x9, 1x3) both @ 42.5
Lunges:2x24x20lbs walking lunges, hands cramping a little
swiss ball crunch:1x15xholding swiss-ball, 2x15x10
so i didn't mean to make sad faces on this workout I was using a semi-colon followed by a parenthesis to seperate the different weights and it was interpreted as a sad face to the page, lol I was actually very proud of this workout!!!
__________________
"May you be in heaven a full half hour
before the devil knows your dead."
"Unwillingness easily finds an excuse."
"The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid."
Welcome! I have NROL4W but haven't done the program (heard it can cause issues for some women who have "sensitive hormones," and I've had issues with that in the past). I may try to give it a go, though, when I'm no longer in deficit mode.
Looks like you're doing great so far!
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They call me Amanda, that being my real name, and "They" being people who know me in person as I don't go around introducing myself in real life as "scribess." 'Cause that would just be strange.
And to greg, it does! I've actually learned to love squats, deadlifts, and even lunges(well im actually working to love them, but I do love what they do for me, lol). Now I have to start to romance those damn step-ups! lol
__________________
"May you be in heaven a full half hour
before the devil knows your dead."
"Unwillingness easily finds an excuse."
"The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid."
And to greg, it does! I've actually learned to love squats, deadlifts, and even lunges(well im actually working to love them, but I do love what they do for me, lol). Now I have to start to romance those damn step-ups! lol
Hahaha. Have you read some of the threads on step ups? I think they are the most hated exercise of all! I am only beginning to do them without loathing every step I take, partly because once you're past the first few workouts it's no longer 15 reps on each leg. I would rather do 1000 lunges than 10 step ups!
I dunno, Bulgarian split squats (especially with overhead presses) seem to qualify for most hated too.
I really like BSS. I haven't done them with OH presses yet, but BSS and reverse lunges are my faves so far. I can really feel them working my rear, and I really like that feeling. . . .
I haven't gotten far enough as to get the pleaseure of meeting the bss or the press/bss. I'm sure I'll have to buy them some chocolates and flowers too!!!
__________________
"May you be in heaven a full half hour
before the devil knows your dead."
"Unwillingness easily finds an excuse."
"The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid."
So yesterday was my first downer day. It started with taking the pics so I would have something to compare to. I got over that pretty easy though.
Then I dealt with frustrations over getting the new house. My boyfriend is in the process of buying a new house. He's had an offer on a short sale for about two month now, and its coming down to the wire whether or not the lenders will have an answer before the end of the contract next week. After hearing from the realtor it seemed like they were not going to get the approval or at least take more time that was was allowed to give my bf the answer. SO that was quite annoying, it seemed like we had wasted two months waiting on a house that they weren't even going to give us an answer on. I was like, "what if the perfect house had already gone on the market and been sold, while the lender were taking their sweet time....***grumble*grumble*few expletives*"
Well, it seemed like someone hear my bitching because our realtor got a hold of the lenders and heard that they had given a verbal approval to the seller's realtor. Well that seemed like awesome news. But I didn't want to get excited yet, we had not been given anything in writing and it could have been just hear say about the approval.
Later that day, I decide to play undercover detective. I call the real estate company and realtor selling the house to see what I could find out. I used a pseudonym and pretended I was interested in buying the house they had listed. Well they gave me great news!!! The selling agent told me the house was under contract, and he had actually received verbal approval on the house and it should be closing soon!!!! I was sooo ecstatic. Yet until my bf's realtor tells him he has the house I will contain myself.
By the time I got to the gym, I really didn't feel like being there. I had procrastinated as much as possible (by the way, usually I love going to the gym, its actually something I crave). I did my lunges, like in the videos missjane had directed me too. I started with just the bar to make sure my form was correct. That went well. So I added weight, 20lbs less than my last squat day. I wanted to make sure I was using good form more so then using a lot of wight. With weights the squat felt awkward. Holding the bar lower like Mark Riptoe suggests is the biggest issue I had. The bar kept wanting to roll down. That was aggravating, but I kept going with my set. Secondly, I was trying to get low enough without rolling my back. I think that I was doing it ok but I couldn't see it and I don't have anyone to lift with. I was lifting pretty late so, there was no one near by to ask. Doing squats in the correct way, I noticed something in my back, it felt the same way as when I was doing squats. It feels, well first, like its being worked, there's almost a tightness in it, not a pain though. It was awkward to say the least. After feeling that with my dead-lifts the first time, I was worried I was hurting my back, but then I realized it was just from working my muscles in a way they were not used to. I don't feel it anymore during dead-lifts. I did manage to get out my 2x12 set, but I ended up raising the bar to my shoulder, like I normally do.
After that I continued my workouts until I got to step-up. I was annoyed again at the fact that my gym has nothing to do this with, (that i've figured out) except a workout bench. The step benches they have there can only be stacked one rise high, silly i know. I've looked around for other items i could use, I've been creative in my process. But alas, it seems like there is only the workout bench. I started in my step-up and I was just not into it. I was cheating and didn't really care. I stopped my self and decided if I'm not going to do this right, then I might as well not do it.
I then went and got on the treadmill for the last 15 minutes of my workout.
It was just one of those day in the gym, where my heart wasn't in it.
Thats ok though, today is a new day. Everyday you workout isn't going to be all sunshine and daisies. I will be better day!
__________________
"May you be in heaven a full half hour
before the devil knows your dead."
"Unwillingness easily finds an excuse."
"The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid."
1. When doing squats, like Mark Riptoe suggests, am I supposed to feel my lower back working any?
2. Also when doing the Riptoe squat, Do I have to have the bar in the lower position, or is it ok to have highter on my shoulders.
3. What is a goodmorning, in relation to squatting, and why do I not want to do it?
4. Does anyone live in the west florida area, I live in excambia county and could use a workout partner. (However, I am very weary about getting one offline for fear of crazy internet killers and such, haha lol, but seriously).
5. Can someone please explain the difference between the dual pulley and the single pulleys for lat pull down and seated row. Here's the deal though.
I have been using the machine with two pulleys, why, because I didn't notice it the first time and I like using the same machine. I keep the two pulleys linked to one handle, not separate. When I use the dual pulley machine at say 35lbs and I use the single pulley machine at 35 lbs, the dual pulley machine seems more difficult(i.e. seems heavier) at the same weight.
Now, when I have asked people about this, they tell me using the dual pulley machine is easier at the same weight because of the two seperate pulleys. That seems the opposite of what I am feeling in weight resistance though.
Thanks in advance for any and all help I get with these questions!!!
__________________
"May you be in heaven a full half hour
before the devil knows your dead."
"Unwillingness easily finds an excuse."
"The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid."
1. When doing squats, like Mark Riptoe suggests, am I supposed to feel my lower back working any?
2. Also when doing the Riptoe squat, Do I have to have the bar in the lower position, or is it ok to have highter on my shoulders.
No, your lower back should not be in any pain; however, the squat does incorporate your entire core. This Q&A might help you with bar position (especially as it relates to back angle and how the bar position correlates to your feet). I also highly recommend reading his book, Starting Strength, to learn everything about the compound lifts you are now attempting....better to learn proper form now than to unlearn bad form later.
3. What is a goodmorning, in relation to squatting, and why do I not want to do it?
A good morning is an exercise where you have the barbell on your shoulders and you bend forward from the hips. If someone says you are GM'ing your squats, this means that as you come up from your squat, you are leaning too far forward.
4. Does anyone live in the west florida area, I live in excambia county and could use a workout partner. (However, I am very weary about getting one offline for fear of crazy internet killers and such, haha lol, but seriously).
5. Can someone please explain the difference between the dual pulley and the single pulleys for lat pull down and seated row. Here's the deal though.
I have been using the machine with two pulleys, why, because I didn't notice it the first time and I like using the same machine. I keep the two pulleys linked to one handle, not separate. When I use the dual pulley machine at say 35lbs and I use the single pulley machine at 35 lbs, the dual pulley machine seems more difficult(i.e. seems heavier) at the same weight.
Now, when I have asked people about this, they tell me using the dual pulley machine is easier at the same weight because of the two seperate pulleys. That seems the opposite of what I am feeling in weight resistance though.
No experience here, as I have always used the single pulley for my pulling.
Thanks in advance for any and all help I get with these questions!!!
See above.....
ETA: You may find some nuggets in this thread, too:
Purchasing a home is one of the most stressful experiences. One of my BIL's has been having a nightmarish experience closing on his house. It turns out that the guy he closed the deal with hadn't told his current tenants there that they had to move out. They found out when BIL went to the house to do a quick inspection, and he was the one who told them, not the landlord. Anyway, I hope you get the house!!!
As for the step ups, don't skip them - they're valuable in building glute/general lower-body power. I'd stack a few of those step benches (if the height of the workout bench is the issue) and practice the move. Even done with bodyweight, they're still challenging.
beautiful.libation.master improves her bootyliciousness!
1x7x20lbs, 1x5x20lbs)(1x9x20lbs, 1x3x20) very proud of being able to do all with 20lbs weights, even though i had to break up the sets, my goal is to do whole set with 20lbs!
Anyway, I hope you get the house!!! 
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