Advice please

Sarauk2sf

Would you mind checking back in 1 week so we can see what you weight looks to be doing without your cycle throwing things off (pesky water weight fluctuations we get!)

jo_marnes

Yep, no worries :-)

jo_marnes

Hey, sorry for delayed response - thought it best if I give a bit more time and add in all weigh ins from the past 3 weeks for a clearer picture. Starting from last weight mentioned in previous post;

54.9kg
54.8kg
54.7kg
54.8kg
week off
55.2kg
54.7kg
52.8kg
52.5kg
53.1kg
53.8kg
53.9kg
53.4kg
53.8kg
54kg

This is on the 1950 cals per day.....think I am pretty close to this most of the time. I have been lifting 2-3 times per week (usually 5-6 times per fortnight) and cardio (usually combat classes) 2-3 times per week.

Aim is still to gain strength and put on minimal fat (I appreciate that gaining muscle alone is not going to happen). I do feel like my strength is gradually improving but it is very slow. I would like to lift significantly heavier but don't want to undo all the work I did to lose the weight in the first place. Your advice on my next steps is appreciated.

Thanks! Jo xx

Sarauk2sf

Hey!

So looking over the trend in your weight, you look to be pretty much maintaining - the fluctuations seem to be in the normal range of water/food weight variances.

With regard to the waist measurement - 1cm is so small it could very easily be inaccuracies with measuring - it is just about impossible to get exactly the same tension in the tape and measure exactly the same spot.

We would recommend staying where you are and checking back in 2 weeks. We may suggest putting the 3rd day of lifting back in, as 2 days a week is usually not ideal for trying to improve strength and gain muscle mass, however, your lifts are increasing at the moment and so if your preference is to keep the body pump as opposed to the 3rd lifting day, it should not be a huge issue at the moment.

jo_marnes

Thanks - I'll keep plodding away and try to add that third session in - doesn't always work with the life/ work balance etc but will do what I can. What do you suggest to do if sore? I often hurt my shoulders (overuse my massage therapist says) and have knots - should I avoid working them while they are weak or shall I just reduce the weights and keep the muscles going?

Sarauk2sf

Bumping back to the top

jo_marnes

Update: Weight has not changed and have been increasing weights - I'm a happy bunny :happy:

I am almost at the end of NROL supercharged - one more round to go. Can I ask for some suggestions as to what to do next? I like a plan!

Goal - maintain weight and increase strength - particularly upper body. Don't want to forget DLs and squats, but my bench is truly pathetic. Would also love to crank out more than 3 pull ups! Any suggestions?

Thanks

Sarauk2sf

Bumping to the top as we missed this - will try to get to shortly.

jo_marnes

bump :-)

jo_marnes

sorry to bump again!

jo_marnes

SideSteel

Hey! Sara and I will get to you this weekend, sorry this took a while!

Sarauk2sf

What does the upper body part of the routine look like. We are not very familiar with the details of the programming in NROL Supercharged

Thanks

jo_marnes

Well its hard to detail because it gives options from which you choose and each stage is different. But ultimately, each workout is full body and centres around push, pull, hinge, squat, lunge and single leg moves. Upper body exercises that frequent my workouts are dumbbell rows, push ups, cable rows, shoulder press, pull ups, chin ups and bench. NROL supercharged has 3 main stages - basic, hypertrophy and strength and power. So now, in strength and power, my workouts focus on a max lift (either squat, DL, bench or pull ups) in a wave rep range (so either 7,5,3,7,5,3 or 6,4,2,6,4,2 or 5,3,1,5,3,1) followed by 4 exercises of 2-3 sets at 10-12 reps. These 4 exercises come from the other exercise groups that are not the focus of the max strength move. So, if squats are my max strength move, I use lunge, shoulder press, lat pull downs and dumbbell rows as my other 4 exercises in that specific workout. It is a bit complicated, but it works once you've read the book and written out your plan, lol. Thanks for checking back in with me xx

jo_marnes

Not sure if you've seen my reply so giving it a bump xxx

Sarauk2sf

First of all, our upper body strength is disproportionately weaker than guys, and 3 pull ups is very good to be honest.

How many times a week do you squat, bench, deadlift and OHP currently in the lower rep ranges (i.e. as a main lift v an assistance lift)?

jo_marnes

Approx once per week for each exercise in the lower reps/ max weight. Then higher reps in other workouts.

I've really enjoyed this last stage of NROL with the focus on the lower reps. Will increasing the frequency of low reps help me? I have found previously that my joints (particularly elbows) suffer when I lift a lot, but they have been much better with lower reps, despite heavier weight. That said, I don't want to skip hypertrophy reps if they are beneficial

Sarauk2sf

I have some thoughts on routines that may suit better, but want to chat with SS about it first.

jo_marnes

Ok thanks Sara. I was thinking about my reply - my max lifts are actually more like once per 10 days..... as I usually lift 3-4 x per week

jo_marnes

Bump

Sarauk2sf

Hi!

Sorry for the delay.

We would suggest something that ups the frequency of the main lifts. Two ones that spring to mind are MadCow and 5/3/1 (with proper assistance selecion).

MadCow is suggested as a follow on from Strong Lifts:

http://stronglifts.com/madcow-5x5-training-programs/

A description of 5/3/1 can be found here:

http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/hardcore-look-at-jim-wendlers-5-3-1-powerlifting-system.html

With 5/3/1 you would want to be careful with your assistance work selection to make sure you are doing each of the main lifts 2 x a week. So, on deadlift day you would select squats as one of your assists. On OHP day you would select a bench press as an assist and on bench day you would select at least one shoulder press.

Check out the routines and let us know if either appeal to you.

jo_marnes

Thanks for this - I had glanced at madcow so will look at it more closely. Is there a reason you'd not recommend stronglifts 5x5 - I think that without opposing advice, that's probably what I would have ended up doing. I prefer madcow with the ramping though as it is similar in that respect to my current program