New Rules of Lifting for Women group?

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  • baisleac
    baisleac Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Oh... 2nd 2nd thread. Bumping so I can watch both.
  • PixieGoddess
    PixieGoddess Posts: 1,833 Member
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    Does anyone have any pointers on doing dead lifts properly? I seem to have to put my feet farther than shoulder width apart and turn my toes slightly out so that i can squat down low with out my heels lifting but then my knees/arms get awkwardly in the way...is this okay? It hurt my lower back a bit and i'm not sure if this is just weak muscle or a sign im doing something wrong.

    I was having lower back pain at first too. I saw that you've watched some videos online - have you watched ones posted on the NRLW forum? There a group of women (one's a trainer and one's a noob) that went to the gym and recorded several of their exercises, including the deadlift. At one point, they tell the noob not to extend her back at the top of the motion - "Just squeeze your butt but don't throw your back back." Keeping this in mind really helped me. Here's the link for anyone who wants it. The forum's got lots of good stuff; I highly recommend checking it out.

    http://forums.jpfitness.com/new-rules-lifting-women/29352-ct-workout-sunday.html
  • BifDiehl
    BifDiehl Posts: 474
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    How's it going everybody?? Hope you're still lifting!

    I finished up week 4 today, so I have 4 more sessions of Stage 1! Time is flying by. I think I am going to do the special workouts so I can see how far I've come! I think my least favorite thing is the lunges. I have to work super hard to get back to standing, especially when my right leg is the one out infront of me.

    What's your least favorite?
  • a_stronger_steph
    a_stronger_steph Posts: 434 Member
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    How's it going everybody?? Hope you're still lifting!

    I finished up week 4 today, so I have 4 more sessions of Stage 1! Time is flying by. I think I am going to do the special workouts so I can see how far I've come! I think my least favorite thing is the lunges. I have to work super hard to get back to standing, especially when my right leg is the one out infront of me.

    What's your least favorite?

    Great job! I am starting the last part of Stage 1. Wheee!!! Excited to up my weights again, but it really is conflicting with my running schedule (I'm doing c25k as well, and I end up walking funny after I do my squats these days).

    Lunges are among my least favourite as well. The first time I started this program, a couple years ago, I didn't do the lunges at all, and just replaced them with other leg-based moves, because my knees would really ache when I did lunges. I think I've strengthened those muscles, now (and I guess it helps that I've lost over 25 pounds, haha), because it doesn't destroy my knees as much... but it still is a pain to do so many of them!

    I'm also not fond of the push-ups, because I'm still doing the 30-degree ones, and I feel like a bit of a dork doing them instead of "real pushups" (I know, it's stupid, and it doesn't stop me from doing them... I just want to move on to the real thing already!!!).

    I love love love my squats, deadlifts, rows, shoulder presses, and lat pull-downs, though. They make me very happy. :laugh:
  • elizabethblake
    elizabethblake Posts: 384 Member
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    How's it going everybody?? Hope you're still lifting!

    I finished up week 4 today, so I have 4 more sessions of Stage 1! Time is flying by. I think I am going to do the special workouts so I can see how far I've come! I think my least favorite thing is the lunges. I have to work super hard to get back to standing, especially when my right leg is the one out infront of me.

    What's your least favorite?

    Hey! I have four more workouts total in Stage 1, so next time (tomorrow) I up the weights for the last time of this stage! I'm not sure what I'll do since I'm currently using the 20 lb. dumbbells for squats/lunges and don't think I have the hand strength to use the 25 lb. dumbbells...I guess I'll watch some videos and figure out how to use the barbell for those exercises.

    I really haven't lost that much weight since starting this program. :o( But - I am stronger, and I definitely see more muscle definition, so I'm not losing hope that the weight will come off. I'm looking forward to the break after Stage 1 so I can increase my cardio!

    My least favorite would have to be the lunges too, I'm always worried that I'll hyperextend my knee (I have a history of bad knees) so I may not get as full a range of motion as desired. I am always ready to quit! (and when I say quit, I mean, stop lunging)

    My favorite? Prone jackknives, simply because it was SO HARD to do them at first, I could barely keep balanced on the ball, and now I love the challenge and the fact that my core is stronger.
  • BifDiehl
    BifDiehl Posts: 474
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    I really haven't lost that much weight since starting this program. :o( But - I am stronger, and I definitely see more muscle definition, so I'm not losing hope that the weight will come off.

    I'm getting stronger! Annnnddd... I noticed a few days ago that when I look in the mirror, my abdomen is just starting to get that shape that's like this inbetween my hip bones: ( )
    If I look in the mirror and turn just the right way so the light hits it just right, I can see a little indent. Yay!! I even made my husband come and look to make sure I wasn't imagining things. He said he saw it, but you never know if he REALLY saw it or not - he might've just been trying to say the right/smart thing. :bigsmile: I still have a bunch of excess fat around there that needs to come off, but I think I'm moving in the right direction!
  • elizabethblake
    elizabethblake Posts: 384 Member
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    GRIN!!!!!!!!!! Me too, well, sorta! I turned to the side one day last week and was like, whoa, I think there's a dent there that wasn't there before! Also, I used to put my hand on my formerly-squishy thigh and be amazed at how firm it was. The firmness is slowly working its way upward, now the squish is pretty much the very top of my thighs.

    I re-read the nutrition chapter and took a big leap of faith this morning. I've upped my calories to 1600. Crazy, I know. But it's even crazier to eat 1200-1400 calories and work so hard to build muscle to boost my metabolism, while at the same time eating a deficit and suppressing my metabolism. It just doesn't make sense. And - the scale hasn't moved in a couple of weeks, so I figure I have nothing to lose! (actually I have everything to lose - namely FAT) ha. We'll see if this works, and if I can eat that many calories in a healthy manner...
  • duckpond11
    duckpond11 Posts: 197 Member
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    GRIN!!!!!!!!!! Me too, well, sorta! I turned to the side one day last week and was like, whoa, I think there's a dent there that wasn't there before! Also, I used to put my hand on my formerly-squishy thigh and be amazed at how firm it was. The firmness is slowly working its way upward, now the squish is pretty much the very top of my thighs.

    I re-read the nutrition chapter and took a big leap of faith this morning. I've upped my calories to 1600. Crazy, I know. But it's even crazier to eat 1200-1400 calories and work so hard to build muscle to boost my metabolism, while at the same time eating a deficit and suppressing my metabolism. It just doesn't make sense. And - the scale hasn't moved in a couple of weeks, so I figure I have nothing to lose! (actually I have everything to lose - namely FAT) ha. We'll see if this works, and if I can eat that many calories in a healthy manner...

    I think it will work for you. I spoke to a trainer before I left for my business trip this week, and we discussed my calorie intake. She said for my height (5' 5"), 1700-1800 calories was exactly where I should be. Her advice was actually to stick to that for 6 weeks, and if it didn't work (and I was honest in my reporting), then we were going to do one of those metabolism tester things that you can get at the gym. I do think the key is like you said to make sure you are eating those extra calories cleanly, and making sure you are getting enough protein.
  • BifDiehl
    BifDiehl Posts: 474
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    Just completed the first session of 3 sets of 8 reps. Upped all of my weights but didn't change my push-ups. Who would've ever thought doing a push-up properly makes it sooooo hard? Before I started this program I thought I could do 10-12 real push-ups. Wrong!! I had my elbows sticking all the way out - keeping them close to your body makes it so hard!

    Elizabeth - let us know how your calorie change works for you. I'm still playing with my calorie amount. I have mine set for 1300 and on days I work out I seem to eat 1500-1600+. On days I don't work out I don't worry if I go over the 1300 since I'm eating good stuff - those days I seem to be ending up eating 1450. A few weels ago when I started this program I moved my calories from 1200 to 1500 and I think that was too fast to make that big of a jump. So I'm increasing slowly - another week or so and I'll bump my base up another 100 calories to 1400. I wish there was a simple formula that would just work for everybody.... I'm soon heading into maintenance and it's very difficult trying to figure out what my body needs!
  • BifDiehl
    BifDiehl Posts: 474
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    Elizabeth & Duck!! did you know there's another thread that rolled over from the first thread? I didn't until just now... I wondered where everyone had gone!

    It's here:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/327552-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-group-part-2
  • elizabethblake
    elizabethblake Posts: 384 Member
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    Well poo! I didn't know about the other thread!

    I can tell you that I'm a lot happier eating 1600 calories, 1800-1900 when I workout. It is hard to stay away from ice cream with the additional calories, though! I'm eating a piece of fruit in the afternoons and that's helping with the sugar cravings.

    The best estimate I've seen for how many calories to eat is the 10-14 calories per pound rule. For details, read this:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

    Of course it's all individual and you have to play with the numbers.
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,616 Member
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    Just a couple of questions, and please accept my apologies if these have been answered:

    1) Is the kindle version of this 'usable' - just wondering about pictures etc?
    2) I want to try my hand at free weights, will this give me enough info to get started without a) embarrassing myself and b) needing to ask for help in the gym? (I know it's sad, but I *hate* drawing attention to myself when exercising.)
  • elizabethblake
    elizabethblake Posts: 384 Member
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    Just a couple of questions, and please accept my apologies if these have been answered:

    1) Is the kindle version of this 'usable' - just wondering about pictures etc?
    2) I want to try my hand at free weights, will this give me enough info to get started without a) embarrassing myself and b) needing to ask for help in the gym? (I know it's sad, but I *hate* drawing attention to myself when exercising.)

    Can't answer the first question cause I don't have a Kindle, but yes, you will definitely have enough information to do the exercises in the book without asking for help. They explain the exercises very well, you may want to read the descriptions through beforehand for the first week or two, until you get the hang of it.
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
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    GRIN!!!!!!!!!! Me too, well, sorta! I turned to the side one day last week and was like, whoa, I think there's a dent there that wasn't there before! Also, I used to put my hand on my formerly-squishy thigh and be amazed at how firm it was. The firmness is slowly working its way upward, now the squish is pretty much the very top of my thighs.

    I re-read the nutrition chapter and took a big leap of faith this morning. I've upped my calories to 1600. Crazy, I know. But it's even crazier to eat 1200-1400 calories and work so hard to build muscle to boost my metabolism, while at the same time eating a deficit and suppressing my metabolism. It just doesn't make sense. And - the scale hasn't moved in a couple of weeks, so I figure I have nothing to lose! (actually I have everything to lose - namely FAT) ha. We'll see if this works, and if I can eat that many calories in a healthy manner...

    I think it will work for you. I spoke to a trainer before I left for my business trip this week, and we discussed my calorie intake. She said for my height (5' 5"), 1700-1800 calories was exactly where I should be. Her advice was actually to stick to that for 6 weeks, and if it didn't work (and I was honest in my reporting), then we were going to do one of those metabolism tester things that you can get at the gym. I do think the key is like you said to make sure you are eating those extra calories cleanly, and making sure you are getting enough protein.

    couldn't agree more. i also did the same thing (increased my cals to 1680) and focused on eating clean and getting in lots (120 g +) of protein. I gained a bit when i started but now i'm back down to losing (down from 162 to 156.8 last week!!!!) I can definitely tell my metabolism has picked up (going #2 more frequently) and that i'm getting stronger! I'm starting week 5 of phase 1 this week and LOVE these work outs more and more each time.
  • AggieCass09
    AggieCass09 Posts: 1,867 Member
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    Well poo! I didn't know about the other thread!

    I can tell you that I'm a lot happier eating 1600 calories, 1800-1900 when I workout. It is hard to stay away from ice cream with the additional calories, though! I'm eating a piece of fruit in the afternoons and that's helping with the sugar cravings.

    The best estimate I've seen for how many calories to eat is the 10-14 calories per pound rule. For details, read this:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/how-to-estimate-maintenance-caloric-intake.html

    Of course it's all individual and you have to play with the numbers.

    i always use fat2fit.com or freedieting.com to determine mine...this is pretty close too
  • kent4j
    kent4j Posts: 391 Member
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    bump
  • VLGmom
    VLGmom Posts: 21 Member
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    Bump for future reading :)
  • VLGmom
    VLGmom Posts: 21 Member
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    I've read through this thread and think all the positive feed back from all the ladies on here is wonderful! Today was my first day on the B workout from stage one and I enjoyed it. Before I would go to the gym and would wander around the machines doing a bit of this or a bit of that with Barbie weights and no real plan. I'd spend an hour there and never really accomplish much. Now I have a plan and it is great! And I know I've worked too - with three young kids I never thought about how many times I get down on the floor with them or go up and downstairs, now I know it because my thighs tell me :wink: . I'll check back here periodically to see if anyone else may be starting their NROLFW challenge.
  • bluiz13
    bluiz13 Posts: 3,550 Member
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    i'm starting next week from the beginning...can i join your group????
  • ladytinkerbell99
    ladytinkerbell99 Posts: 970 Member
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    I would like to join as well. Is this group still in existence?

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