Sticking a Toe In

nutmegoreo
nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
Hi Everyone,

I set up my first ever bench with squat rack (not a cage) last night and completed my First NROL4W workout this afternoon. :heart: I have spent many hours reading information and links on the boards and feel comfortable in my current plan. It may need tweaking at some point, but I'll worry about that when it happens.

I just wanted to say hi to the group, and ask if anyone has suggestions for a noob who is learning to lift at home. I have a trainer who I have asked to help while I am making sure my form is appropriate.

I also wanted to say that I have developed a deep admiration for those of you who are lifting. I have seen some pretty impressive transformation stories on the boards, but also just the commitment to self-improvement is nothing short of amazing! Thank-you for the inspiration :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • sleepyjen
    sleepyjen Posts: 679 Member
    Way to go, nutmeg! And thanks for the love :)

    There are a bunch of threads on this board directed at or started by newbies; you can also start following some of the chat threads. They tend to start when a bunch of people begin the program at about the same time but in the case of the thread I'm a part of, we're all now at different places due to a range of things (I was injured for a bit, for example) and we just chat about how it's going. Welcome aboard!
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Thank-you, Jen. I will spend some more time perusing the other threads and getting a better feel of the group. I'm just really excited, and quite humbled by everyone :happy:
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    Way to go, nutmeg! And thanks for the love :)

    There are a bunch of threads on this board directed at or started by newbies; you can also start following some of the chat threads. They tend to start when a bunch of people begin the program at about the same time but in the case of the thread I'm a part of, we're all now at different places due to a range of things (I was injured for a bit, for example) and we just chat about how it's going. Welcome aboard!

    HAHAHA life gets in the way.... and then some of us end up on totally different programs because our weight rooms are buried in remodeling house crap but still drop in and babble :bigsmile:
  • 1LadyKate
    1LadyKate Posts: 78 Member
    I am actually going to try stage 1 on Monday, if I can drum up the courage to go to that side of the gym.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    I am actually going to try stage 1 on Monday, if I can drum up the courage to go to that side of the gym.

    DO IT! I bought equipment for home, but honestly I am really fighting the urge to do back to back days. Pretty sad, only two days in. We can work through it together! :flowerforyou:
  • 1LadyKate
    1LadyKate Posts: 78 Member
    I am going to try going earlier in the morning after 8. Hopefully, people will be working and I can work out by myself. I wish I had the room for a home gym but my apartment really doesn't have the space.

    Do you think I can do the pushups and jackknifes at home before or after the workout rather than at the gym?
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    The book says that the workout is set up the way it is to give additional recovery time between sets for the exercises that are alternating with each other. It also makes sense to do the whole thing while your body is warmed up. Personally, I prefer to just do the whole thing rather than dividing it up. I might not do the whole thing. Maybe see how busy the gym is when you go and make a decision at that point? Hopefully, someone who knows more will be able to answer that.

    I hope it's not too busy for you and that you feel comfortable enough getting into it. My place is a bit small too, so half my living room is now equipment. :laugh:
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    my recommendation... do the rests in between or you risk injury.. ask me how I know ;) I am dealing with neck and shoulder strain right now.. my own stupidity.

    Try to do them as they are laid out because they work the best in that fashion.. once you are more experienced then you can start split programs.

    If you are waiting on equipment (I don't know since I do it at home), then move to the next exercise and come back to it - you can always ask the person how many more sets they have.. most will be cool about it.

    You can do it... :)
  • alpine_dog
    alpine_dog Posts: 34 Member
    Hi,

    New here too - I posted a new thread the other day and I just finished my first week of only lifting 2 days per week (Tues. and Thurs.), so I did 1A1 and 1B1 so far. After 1B1 this past Thurs. and I have 3 observations so far:

    1) I am very, very hungry this week, every day, not just lifting days, but I am hitting my macros, so need to leave it at that.

    2) Wed. through Fri. morning I felt OK, but by yesterday (fri) late afternoon, severe DOMS set in, I am incredibly sore all over, but today it is starting to ease up. I had planned a kettlebell workout for Saturdays and I may try it this afternoon. If I'm still too sore, I'll switch to Sunday.

    3) I think the lunges and wide-grip lat pull-downs have caused the most soreness so far. I am surprised at how weak my dumbbell presses are, I thought I was much stronger in my arms than I am.

    I'm just doing long walks on my days in between lifting right now. Next trip to the gym is this coming Tues.

    Hope it goes well for you and maybe I'll see you on one of the other chat threads.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    Hi,

    New here too - I posted a new thread the other day and I just finished my first week of only lifting 2 days per week (Tues. and Thurs.), so I did 1A1 and 1B1 so far. After 1B1 this past Thurs. and I have 3 observations so far:

    1) I am very, very hungry this week, every day, not just lifting days, but I am hitting my macros, so need to leave it at that.

    2) Wed. through Fri. morning I felt OK, but by yesterday (fri) late afternoon, severe DOMS set in, I am incredibly sore all over, but today it is starting to ease up. I had planned a kettlebell workout for Saturdays and I may try it this afternoon. If I'm still too sore, I'll switch to Sunday.

    3) I think the lunges and wide-grip lat pull-downs have caused the most soreness so far. I am surprised at how weak my dumbbell presses are, I thought I was much stronger in my arms than I am.

    I'm just doing long walks on my days in between lifting right now. Next trip to the gym is this coming Tues.

    Hope it goes well for you and maybe I'll see you on one of the other chat threads.

    Hi ladies!

    clambert, thank-you for your thoughts. I was having some serious issues for the better part of last year with bulging discs in my neck and need to work on balancing my muscular strength to help best protect them. I will be happy to hear any warnings to prevent injury. That's the main reason I am holding myself back from doing more than every second day. I have a history of overtraining when I get into something I enjoy and then end up with injuries. I am stubborn :grumble:

    adkmtdog, thank-you for these observations of yours. I don't know that I've been more hungry so far, but I have upped my daily calories, and have been swimming a lot more and eating half of that back, so that helps. I am experiencing some lat DOMS today, but the tension/pain in my neck has improved since I started, so that's a happy surprise! Funny enough, I wasn't sore after 1A1. I just completed 1B1 yesterday.
  • 1LadyKate
    1LadyKate Posts: 78 Member
    I did it! I went to the gym and did the workout. Going early helped. I was short on two exercises and I couldn't do the the prone jackknife but over I feel satisfied I pushed myself as much as I could.
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    I did it! I went to the gym and did the workout. Going early helped. I was short on two exercises and I couldn't do the the prone jackknife but over I feel satisfied I pushed myself as much as I could.

    Good Job! feels great doesn't it...

    hungry - yes all the time... I eat.. and eat alot :bigsmile: I am still recovering from my stupidity so on our Nov 1 thread here.. me and my friend decided to restart next week. So as of June 30 - I will be rocking back with everyone :)
  • alpine_dog
    alpine_dog Posts: 34 Member
    hungry - yes all the time... I eat.. and eat alot :bigsmile: I am still recovering from my stupidity so on our Nov 1 thread here.. me and my friend decided to restart next week. So as of June 30 - I will be rocking back with everyone :)

    clambert, good point: I ate all the time too, that's how I ended up here :ohwell: But after doing MFP for a couple of months, and just doing cardio for workouts, I was able to handle that level of hunger. Since starting lifting last week, however, I've been way more hungry than I ever was before just doing cardio.

    Anyhow, just finshed 1A2 today and my pushups are improving, so is squat form. I went to a higher height on my step-ups, boy that was tough! I was drenched with sweat by the end so I guess that's a good thing. The prone jacknifes seem so easy to me that I wonder if I'm doing them correctly...Next workout is on Thursday (1B2).

    Hope everyone is having a good week!
  • 1LadyKate
    1LadyKate Posts: 78 Member
    I found this video on prone jackknife:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPacmjg26Sg
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    I am meeting my trainer for a butt kicking just now. I will see how I feel if I will do 1B2 today or if I will wait for tomorrow. I am a bit of a night owl, so if I am up to it I might do it before bed.

    Love being able to increase the weights. Feels good to see early progress.

    Kate, I found the jackknifes to be tough as well. Thanks for the video, I will look at it later.
  • clambert1273
    clambert1273 Posts: 840 Member
    hungry - yes all the time... I eat.. and eat alot :bigsmile: I am still recovering from my stupidity so on our Nov 1 thread here.. me and my friend decided to restart next week. So as of June 30 - I will be rocking back with everyone :)

    clambert, good point: I ate all the time too, that's how I ended up here :ohwell: But after doing MFP for a couple of months, and just doing cardio for workouts, I was able to handle that level of hunger. Since starting lifting last week, however, I've been way more hungry than I ever was before just doing cardio.

    Anyhow, just finshed 1A2 today and my pushups are improving, so is squat form. I went to a higher height on my step-ups, boy that was tough! I was drenched with sweat by the end so I guess that's a good thing. The prone jacknifes seem so easy to me that I wonder if I'm doing them correctly...Next workout is on Thursday (1B2).

    Hope everyone is having a good week!

    You will be surprised at how many calories the girls that lift eat... upwards of 2000+ per day lol It is a whole different ball game than cardio ;)
  • alpine_dog
    alpine_dog Posts: 34 Member
    I found this video on prone jackknife:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPacmjg26Sg

    Thanks for the link! I had my legs further back on the ball than this, and rounded my back going forward (like in the NROLFW book). I'll try it this way next time, this looks harder.
  • nutmegoreo
    nutmegoreo Posts: 15,532 Member
    I found this video on prone jackknife:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPacmjg26Sg

    Now that I have seen this link, I was doing it all wrong! I was trying to do more of a pike (that's what it looks like to me in the book), like this:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNjIiETmCk4

    I wasn't quite getting it, but it was very challenging. I will try the proper way next time I do the A routine.