Stage 3
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First B workout today...after 4 days of rest from the A workout that kicked my tail on Thursday. I have to say I must be one of the few who love this stage! Looking at the exercises for B I was afraid I would feel indifferent to them like I did the 2B ones, but I actually loved it!
The barbell romanian deadlift with bent over row was great! I started out with 40lbs just to see because I wasn't sure about the row part. Realized that was too light so I did 1 set at 50lbs then 2 at 70. I can deadlift around 100, but will have to build up more strength for the row.
I also didn't mind the partial squats - lost my balance quite a bit but overall not so bad.
I had been dreading the YTWL after reading comments here but actually quite enjoyed it. Much more challenging than I expected - I did 6# for all three sets and by the end my arms were jelly!
I was concerned after 3A that this stage was too focused on legs - it felt great today to focus on arms and shoulders a bit.
I'm planning to do my HIIT on Wednesday with the BWM. Adding each of those to workouts that already take longer than an hour doesn't work in my schedule. The two of them seem to be a pretty good workout all on their own!0 -
Best laid plans...
I had all my gym stuff out for the morning, but then my 3 year old woke up at midnight with a fever and had puked all over himself. It was a restless night for all. Therefore, skipped the gym for obvious reasons.
Plan on going to a class tomorrow and starting stage 3 again next week...
Poor thing! Hope your little one is feeling better and you were able to restart stage 3 again today. My 3 year old has been sick pretty much non stop since August (started pre-school this year) so I feel your pain.0 -
Finally made it to the gym tonight for my 1st Stage 3 workout 12 days after finishing Stage 2. I'm so glad I did, I feel really pumped/knackered!
I've been struggling a bit with my motivation (I'm a proper bah humbug lol). Been eating horribly what with works Christmas meals etc and had family over for the weekend which was exhausting, but I dragged myself down to the gym tonight because I really didn't want the dreaded DOMS to kick in. I now feel really pumped, mojo restored and I have to say I like this stage much more than Stage 2. Boy that BWM is tough!
Hoping the DOMS will be kind to me and all being well I'll try workout B if I get chance before I fly out to the Alps for a week skiing on Saturday (yay!!)
Starting stats:
One arm Dumbbell snatch - 10kgs
DB single leg Romanian DL - 7kgs each hand (can really feel this on the left leg, not so much on the right leg).
BB bent over row - 20kgs (squat stands were in use so this was the heaviest BB I could grab)
DB single arm overhead squat - 7kgs & 4kgs
DB incline bench press - 7kgs (should've gone heavier and will do next time)
Plank - 90s
Reverse Wood chop - No. 4 on rack (whatever that is)
BWM - 1st set 4 mins 15 secs but realised I'd only done 12 lunges/jump lunges instead of 24! 2nd set 5 mins 9 secs (lots of pauses/resets to catch my breath!)
I'm pretty certain that my skiing will improve thanks to the additional strength I have in my legs since starting NROL4W (once they've recovered!)
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First B workout today...after 4 days of rest from the A workout that kicked my tail on Thursday. I have to say I must be one of the few who love this stage! Looking at the exercises for B I was afraid I would feel indifferent to them like I did the 2B ones, but I actually loved it!
The barbell romanian deadlift with bent over row was great! I started out with 40lbs just to see because I wasn't sure about the row part. Realized that was too light so I did 1 set at 50lbs then 2 at 70. I can deadlift around 100, but will have to build up more strength for the row.
I also didn't mind the partial squats - lost my balance quite a bit but overall not so bad.
I had been dreading the YTWL after reading comments here but actually quite enjoyed it. Much more challenging than I expected - I did 6# for all three sets and by the end my arms were jelly!
I was concerned after 3A that this stage was too focused on legs - it felt great today to focus on arms and shoulders a bit.
I'm planning to do my HIIT on Wednesday with the BWM. Adding each of those to workouts that already take longer than an hour doesn't work in my schedule. The two of them seem to be a pretty good workout all on their own!
I love this stage too! Both A & B, though I agree, the BWM and HIIT together could easily be a C workout. I really don't have the time to do HIIT after B, and BWM just kills me right now. You're doing 3 sets of A? My plan is to do 3 sets starting next week, for the 3rd and 4th run.
I did A today and didn't have my earlier log with me, so I did what I thought were the weights I'd used last Wed. I think I must have added some to the overhead squat, but I made it. I also think I might have missed form on the snatch. The reast was just fun! I am using a plate for the woodchop, not the machine. I used 10# but I think I should probably step up to 25. I honestly don't remember what I did on the incline bench press - boo!0 -
I love this stage too! Both A & B, though I agree, the BWM and HIIT together could easily be a C workout. I really don't have the time to do HIIT after B, and BWM just kills me right now. You're doing 3 sets of A? My plan is to do 3 sets starting next week, for the 3rd and 4th run.
I did A today and didn't have my earlier log with me, so I did what I thought were the weights I'd used last Wed. I think I must have added some to the overhead squat, but I made it. I also think I might have missed form on the snatch. The reast was just fun! I am using a plate for the woodchop, not the machine. I used 10# but I think I should probably step up to 25. I honestly don't remember what I did on the incline bench press - boo!
I did 3 sets for both the first A and B workout. Was that not right? Dangit now I need to go back and read! Great job increasing weights!!0 -
3 sets are optional. I am going to do three for the last 2 workouts and really push the weights. Um... I can just about guarantee you that I will NOT be doing 3 BWM!0
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I thought it was 3 sets too???0
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I thought it was 3 sets too???
I'm doing 3 sets. I had no idea they were optional. But come on, it's only 6 reps...so 3 sets should be fine!0 -
Ha, the irony is I re-did 3A today and thought it was 3 sets of 8, so I ended up doing more! So much of a better workout today now that I *know* the exercises and could push myself.
Used 30# for the dumbell snatch - woo hoo me!
My rows suck. I hate doing back. I don't know why!
I beat my BWM time by a minute! Today's first round: 3:55 Second round: 4:05 They seemed so much easier today -- still brutal but didn't have to catch my breath as much....0 -
What aspect of the single arm overhead squat do you find difficult?WTF???? Started stage 3 today and took so much longer than other stages!
And what is with the single arm squat???? I could NOT do it! It is soooo awkward for me!!! Is it a flexibility thing because I am SO not flexible!!!
Starting weights:
One-armed DB Snatch - 25lb DB
Single Leg Romanian - 15 lb DBs
Barbell Bent Over Row - 50 lb
DB Single Arm Overheard Squat - 10lb DB
DB Incline Bench Press - 20 lb DBs
Plank - all 3 sets at 90 secs
Reverse Wood Chop - 17lbs cable weight
BWM - 4:45 sec first set. (forgot to time second set)
I don't know if it's a range of motion thing??? I'm in decent shape and I can do body weight squats no problem...but when I try to squat with a weight straight up in the air, my arm just doesn't want to stay in an upward position! Maybe I should try an even lower weight??? I will try next week. And I'll also look it up on Youtube to be sure I'm doing it properly! Thanks
I totally understand, I thought One arm squat would be pretty easy, start out with a med-easy weight 15lbs. I started down and not only almost fell over but about bashed my head in with weight. This excercise is extreamly awkward for me as well. ended up using 8lbs and pulling some pretty amusing faces of strain along the way. Room for improvement? I think yes
We'll work through the stupid one-armed squat thing together - I went with 8lbs today too. Still felt awkward. And it feels like I'm holding a 'barbie' weight! LOL0 -
I too do 3 sets. I find the overhead squat very challenging too, but I quite like it and much prefer it to the dreaded lunges/split squats!
My deltoids are still very sore today after Monday's workout (beginning to think I didn't grab the DB tight enough and allowed my delts to take most of the weight?). Think I'll just do the HIIT at home on the rowing machine tonight. The next few days will be pretty stressful getting stuff done at work and packing etc before I go on holiday on Saturday. Will then start Stage 3 over when I get back and hopefully feel super powerful having spent a week at altitude lol.0 -
Tried 3B for the first time today...didn't like it...especially the one leg squat (awkward!) and the YTWL and my 5lb barbie weights. Where's the POWER??? LOL0
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Tried 3B for the first time today...didn't like it...especially the one leg squat (awkward!) and the YTWL and my 5lb barbie weights. Where's the POWER??? LOL
I will FINALLY be doing 3B today. Almost 2 weeks after I did my first 3A. I'm grateful to be working a lot this season, but annoyed that it's cut into my gym time!0 -
FINALLY got in my first B workout! Starting stats:
BB Romanian DL - 85LB
Partial Single Leg Squat - BW
Wide Grip Lat Pulldown - 90LB
YTWL - 7.5LB
Swiss Ball Crunch - 12lb ball, 2 sets of 12
Prone Jackknife - 2 sets of 12
Hip Flexion w/crunch - 2 sets of 12
No time for prone cobra. And I was starving. I love Stage 3!0 -
I did the first A workout of stage 3 today, I really liked it! Once I figured out the logistics of the first exercise, I liked it. I was loving the burn with the single overhead squat thing too. Probably will be sore tomorrow, I'm worried about the length of B, we'll see tomorrow I guess.0
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Ok so I did B today, with the first exercise, the deadlift plus row, do you do the deadlift, then the row, then go all the way back to the ground with the barbell, take a second breather and repeat? I wasn't sure if the barbell was supposed to go all the way back to the ground or not.0
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Ok so I did B today, with the first exercise, the deadlift plus row, do you do the deadlift, then the row, then go all the way back to the ground with the barbell, take a second breather and repeat? I wasn't sure if the barbell was supposed to go all the way back to the ground or not.
I think you are supposed to go back down and deadlift up again. That's what I understood from the book, but I could be wrong!0 -
I truly suck at the one arm overhead squat. I even went on Youtube to figure out what I'm doing "wrong"....it's just so awkward for me. I really really hate it! But I'll suck it up...I only have to do it twice more before stage 4...
I feel like my progress has stalled since stage 1...it seemed like such a drastic change from stage 1 to 2....maybe I'm not pushing myself hard enough...0 -
What weights are you using on one arm overhead squat? I really like that one, pushes me, you know. I've been doing 20 low and 15 overhead. I have a much tougher time holding my left arm up though for sure, I almost lost it and crashed my coffee table today.0
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What weights are you using on one arm overhead squat? I really like that one, pushes me, you know. I've been doing 20 low and 15 overhead. I have a much tougher time holding my left arm up though for sure, I almost lost it and crashed my coffee table today.
Ummmm...embarrassed to say 8's or 10's..I find that my squat form is crappy when I do them....my knees go over my toes rather than my butt going back....maybe because I'm not very flexible...??? Annoying.
What do you mean 20 low? 15 overhead? Glad you missed your coffee table. I'm always worried about dropping the dumbell on the first move...
I do 30lb dumbell on the first move (snatch?), 15lbs on single leg deadlift and 25lbs on incline chest press.0
