Stage 2
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Started stage 2 this morning. Yippee!!! I'm so excited that this stage is shorter than stage 1. And I thought some of the Workout A moves would feel awkward or self-conscious but so far so good.
FSPP -- I had to use the short bar (DH tells me it's 35 lb., but it felt lighter than that). I used the 45 lb. bar for 1 rep, but it would have been too heavy for 10 reps to push over my head. I had a REALLY hard time keeping my elbows high for the squat part though. I couldn't figure out where the bar would rest, so I think I kept my elbows lower than they were supposed to be. Any tips for that?
Stepups -- while I was re-reading the Stage 2 moves over the weekend, I realized I think I'd been doing my stepups wrong in stage 1. I'd start with the working leg, then tap the non-working leg on the step, then bring the non-working leg down, and then bring the working leg down & start over for each rep. Today, I left the working leg on the step the whole time, which I think was harder. Am I doing them the right way now?
1-point row -- I used 10 lb./hand, which felt really light, but MAN, it was hard to balance on one leg for these. And I kept forgetting to switch legs half-way through. I wonder why these aren't 10 reps on each leg for each set like everything else that works one leg at a time?
Elevated static lunges were killer too. I started with 10 lb./hand, but had to go down to 7.5, and even then, barely got my front leg parallel to the floor.
I was excited that I could hold my first plank to 60 seconds though. The second one I had to split into 30+30, but I wonder if a little longer rest next time will let me hold 60 seconds for both of them?
Finally, on the wood-chops, I think I had the pulley set slightly higher than my waist. With the spacing of the pegs on the cable machine, do you think it's better to be slightly above the waist or slightly below it for these?
Thanks in advance.
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Started stage 2 this morning. Yippee!!! I'm so excited that this stage is shorter than stage 1. And I thought some of the Workout A moves would feel awkward or self-conscious but so far so good.
FSPP -- I had to use the short bar (DH tells me it's 35 lb., but it felt lighter than that). I used the 45 lb. bar for 1 rep, but it would have been too heavy for 10 reps to push over my head. I had a REALLY hard time keeping my elbows high for the squat part though. I couldn't figure out where the bar would rest, so I think I kept my elbows lower than they were supposed to be. Any tips for that?
Stepups -- while I was re-reading the Stage 2 moves over the weekend, I realized I think I'd been doing my stepups wrong in stage 1. I'd start with the working leg, then tap the non-working leg on the step, then bring the non-working leg down, and then bring the working leg down & start over for each rep. Today, I left the working leg on the step the whole time, which I think was harder. Am I doing them the right way now?
1-point row -- I used 10 lb./hand, which felt really light, but MAN, it was hard to balance on one leg for these. And I kept forgetting to switch legs half-way through. I wonder why these aren't 10 reps on each leg for each set like everything else that works one leg at a time?
Elevated static lunges were killer too. I started with 10 lb./hand, but had to go down to 7.5, and even then, barely got my front leg parallel to the floor.
I was excited that I could hold my first plank to 60 seconds though. The second one I had to split into 30+30, but I wonder if a little longer rest next time will let me hold 60 seconds for both of them?
Finally, on the wood-chops, I think I had the pulley set slightly higher than my waist. With the spacing of the pegs on the cable machine, do you think it's better to be slightly above the waist or slightly below it for these?
Thanks in advance.
Yay! We're on the same schedule for this round.
FSPP- I guess I didn't look at my elbows, but focused on keeping the bar at my shoulders when I squatted and then would push it up. I felt like superwoman doing these.
Stepups- I've done them both ways. This round, I'm trying to increase my step height and that was really hard for me balance-wise, even with lighter weights.
1 pt. rows- I was blown away at how unbalanced I am. Standing on my left leg was fine, but when I checked myself in the mirror when I was on my right, my leg was only halfway up.
The woodchops felt really weird to me (probably because I'd never done them before). I had a friend check my form and she said it looked right. I tried one where it was right above my waist and them lowered it to waist level which was better.0 -
Interval questions:
I'm trying to run 365 miles in a year and have been running 1-2 miles before my New Rules workouts. I figure 10 min. for a warmup and then I was doing walk/run intervals for another 10 min.
So today I did the interval portion before the lifting (since I did that through Stage 1) and felt fine while lifting. Here are my questions:
1. Is it okay to do the intervals beforehand? I get that I might not be able to lift as heavy, but I feel okay about my numbers.
2. Is it okay to do them for A and B workouts? I had my book on the treadmill to follow and realized it said intervals only after Workout B. That one already seems long, but I don't know.
3. I was eating back all cardio calories that I burned in Stage 1. Do the intervals count as part of the lifting or should I still eat them back?
Thanks for any and all advice!0 -
Did 2A today. Whew!!! Hard work compared to Stage 1 for me!
Some exercises I feel like I did with better form than 1A and some had more weight. Others were poor in comparison to 1A last week. I held the plank fine for 2 sets of 6 seconds last week and today I could hardly pull off 30 seconds
My shoulders were really tired from the earlier exercises and they affect the plank!
It's all good. Last week I only got in 2 workouts but this week will hopefully be 3 (mon-wed-fri).
Happy that this stage is shorter than stage 1!0 -
did 3B today. Is anyone still finding the cuban snatch awkward? I just find the move of lifting my weights up to my ear height really awkward and i feel like its wrong.... anyone having trouble with this?0
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Yup - I still find that exercise awkward and I can't lift much weight either only 10 pounds 0
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OMG! I did my first B workout last night. That deadlift on the box is crazy... stayed at the weight from Stage 1. 1st set was okay, but 2nd set was a struggle. .. definetly need to lower the weight next time.
The Bulgarian Split Squat - interesting. A girl working on a machine next to asked "Doesn't that hurt your FEET?" My feet... no.... I'm having a hard time staying up. The kettleball was too dang heavy and I didn't want to go get another one... so I kept tipping forward. Note to self: Lighter next time.
Hanna flexion - awkward! Too much concentration and coordination needed for the end of the workout. My knee kept coming up... Or I'd forget to lift my upper body...
It took me an hour and a half to complete. Overall, I'm happy with what I did.0 -
Yippee! I'm gonna finish stage 2 today!0
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Congrats HisChild2011!
I just did my first workout B today too, and it was weird.
Deadlifts on a box -- I was able to do 90 & 95 lb. sets, but they didn't feel right. I've read that until you're using the big 45 lb. plates (135 lb. total), anything smaller is from a deficit anyway, since the bar is lower. I'm considering doing regular deadlifts until I can get up to 135 lb. What do you think?
Bulgarian Split Squat - very hard to balance, but I did these with a 10 lb. plate. I think once I figure out how to balance better, I'll like these. Definitely felt them in my glutes.
Underhand lat pull-downs. LOVED these. I think it's the ego boost of actually lifting something heavy, unlike Reverse Lunge & Cuban snatches, which were wicked hard, even with weights under 10 lb.
Reverse lunge w/forward reach - I used 7.5 lb. dumbbells for these. I'll probably go to 10 lb. next time, but these felt awkward, and I had no idea how to tell if I was using good form. A few times, my rear knee hit the floor though. Is that a good thing? Or if not, should I be more careful to step back further?
Cuban snatch - these are just weird. I tried them with 7.5 lb., but had to go down to 5 lb./hand. Which felt ridiculous, but they were hard, so I'll keep working at them. It was also VERY uncomfortable to be face-down on the bench like that. It totally squashed my chest. DH suggested doing them kneeling on the floor with my stomach against a swiss ball instead. Have any of you tried that?
Hanna flexions - I tried Hanna 1 first, where you lift your foot, but I kept doing them wrong (my knee kept coming up too, ugh!), so I switched to Hanna 2, which was pretty much a side crunch, right? Those felt better, so maybe I'll eventually try Hanna 1 or 3 again, but I'll probably stick to Hanna 2 for awhile.
Also, I'm taking the option to do my intervals tomorrow as described on p. 231, since I have a dance class tonight too. Then Workout A2 on Friday or Saturday.0 -
I just started stage 2 today.
I had a lot of trouble with FSPP. I felt like I was doing it all wrong and it was very awkward and uncomfortable to hold.| Is there any way to modify these? I really love squats, but this was NOT my favorite.
60 second planks are NO JOKE. Oh man, oh man. I did them though!
Looking forward to my B workout on Friday!0 -
did 3B today. Is anyone still finding the cuban snatch awkward? I just find the move of lifting my weights up to my ear height really awkward and i feel like its wrong.... anyone having trouble with this?
Yes, and Yes... I did my first B workout on Monday and I thought I could lift 10 lbs... yeah... that didn't happen.. much better with 5's.0 -
Did my first B workout today too. It was... awkward.
Deadlifts-did 135 lbs because I was too lazy to grab more plates. I stood on the top of a step and it felt strange to lower the bar past the step. Gonna stay at that weight until I master the form of getting it down there.
Bulgarian Split Squats-these were good. I held 30 lb. DBs and felt like I was more stable on my left side.
Underhand lat pulldown-yeah, these make me feel powerful. I did 110 lbs. and that was perfect-a little tough for the last 2 reps so I'm going to stick with that weight next time.
Reverse Lunges-Hated them. Any sort of moving lunge throws me off. I held 20 lb. DBS in my hands and the whole move felt weird.
Cuban Snatch-loved these! Of course, I have no chest to speak of so leaning chest up on the bench felt fine to me. Started with 7.5 DBs and will go up to 8's next time. I've been taking a class called RIPPED on my off days and they do some compound moves that were similar to the snatch. I think that helped my comfort level with them.
Swiss Ball Crunches-In Stage 1, I just kept upping the DB weight across my shoulders. This stage, I'm doing the long arm ones. Held a 15 lb. DB and that felt good.
Reverse Crunches-they were fine. I think I'll try them on an incline next time.
Hanna Flexion-strangest exercise I've ever done. I could def. feel them working, but i felt like a chicken.
Prone Cobra-I was really distracted doing these-like reading the book in front of me distracted. Could def. feel them working, but I think I was just ready to be done at that point.0 -
wow, mstawnya, you are STRONG.0
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So these intervals.....
For my warmup I've been running a mile or a mile and a half-anywhere from 10-15 min. depending on the day. For Stage 2, I've been doing the interval portion of the workouts instead of my regular warmup run. Think that's okay? I don't think I could tack on another 15 min. at the end of my workouts. What does everyone else do to warmup before lifting?0 -
I usually warm up with 10-20 minutes on the treadmill or elliptical @ low intensity. I'm not sure I'll have time for that, all the Workout B lifting, AND 15 minutes of intervals afterwards most mornings though. So I think I'll probably plan on taking the option to do my intervals the next day. Esp. since I do cardio on my non-lifting days anyway.0
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I warm up for 5 minutes on the stairclimber then get to it. With that, the intervals definately took some prayers to complete.
What is everyone doing for their intervals? I went right into intervals after the last lift b/c of time constraints. Jog at 8.5 with a 2 minute walk in between. Before NROL, I did intervals BEFORE weights and could do a lot faster intervals. I barely made it through these! 0 -
I started stage 2 yesterday and feel like someone beat me up today!!
The Front squat press was awkward for me too. It KILLED my wrists, anyone else? I see her hands bent way back in the photo and the bar did feel right sitting where it was when I rolled it back, but keeping your hands bent like that - ouch. Then getting the squat and coming up and pushing to a press was tricky for me to do smoothly.
I love the plank- did 60 seconds and maybe could have held longer. I bought mirrors at the end of stage 1 so I could make sure my back was flat but my 5 year old was my spotter- LOL I can't get over how much strength I've gained in stage 1. But it's still covered with a layer of fat....sigh
I had to modify for the wood chop but I'm getting a lat/row machine soon. On to B tomorrow, looking forward to the intervals.......I think0 -
I started Phase 2 last night and LOVED IT
I think I am doing the front squat press wrong, but I couldn't make the description fit my body, I don't know if I have long arms or what... I ended up just holding the barbell tightly up by my shoulders, did the squat, then when I stood I did a press. SO FUN! :laugh:
I coulda done without the lunges though... As usual...
And I was all confident about the planks since I can do unmodified pushups now, but that turned out to be pretty much irrelevant. I did manage to hold out for the full 60 seconds, then I sat in childs pose for another minute, moaning, then looked up at my lifting partner and said all cheerful, "your turn!" :bigsmile:
Oh, and I had to modify the wood chop since I'm doing this at home. I tried it the way they described it in the book but it didn't feel right, using a 10# plate. So I sat up, balanced on my butt with my knees bent and feet off the floor, stuck my arms out strait and moved the 10# plate left to right as far as possible, turning my body and using my obliques. THAT did it.0 -
I almost forgot-- a NSV from my lifting partner, who did yard work all day yesterday (before we worked out), and said she can tell the difference since she started working out, no pain in her back! Which is a big reason we started all this. Hurray!0
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I warm up for 5 minutes on the stairclimber then get to it. With that, the intervals definately took some prayers to complete.
What is everyone doing for their intervals? I went right into intervals after the last lift b/c of time constraints. Jog at 8.5 with a 2 minute walk in between. Before NROL, I did intervals BEFORE weights and could do a lot faster intervals. I barely made it through these!
You are speedy!
I've been doing treadmill intervals:
Level 1: 6.4
Level 2: 6.6
Level 3: 6.8
Level 4: 7.0
Level 5: 7.20 -
Did my first B workout today!
Deadlifts on a box .... I was able to do 125# but I only used a step up (with no riser) as my box. Is this enough height?
Bulgarian Split Squat... I liked these oddly enough. Used 25# plate.
Underhand lat pulls... I did these at 75# I was doing 90 on the overhand lat pull downs, but I didn't know how hard these would be since it's a different grip. Will definitely up these.
Reverse lunge w/forward reach... I started with 10# dumbbells, but upped it to 15 for the second set.
Cuban snatch... like the general consensus...these are very awkard for me. Luckily I go to the gym at 3 am, so no one was in there seeing me struggle with the 10# dumbbells I attempted this with the first time...lol. I used 5# the second set.
Swiss ball crunch with 12 # medicine ball
Love reverse crunches!
Hanna flexions... I did the 2nd one. The first one looked weird. Who moves their knee like that anyway? 2 seemed easy enough, but I definitely felt it! I didn't try 3. I like 2, so I think I will stick with it.
I don't feel like I stuggled on the intervals either. I have been doing a run after my weights anyway, so this was just a shorter run for me. (I did tack on a 10 min walk with an incline when I was done.
The cobra thing was weird, but definitely had some spunk too it! Only held for 60 each time, will definitely move up to at least 75 next go around.0 -
Stage 2 2B today using dumbbells. DH made me a box so I finally got that covered. I warm up using the warm up from CLX, lift, then do treadmill incline intervals or elliptical intervals whichever suit my fancy that day.
Have a good weekend ladies!0 -
Okay. When I'm standing on a frikkin short stool, how am I supposed to get the deadlift off the ground?? Anyone else have trouble with this?
I may rearrange the garage (again) so I can use the benchpress rack or the low squat rack and grab it off that. But it'll be a bit of a far reach away from my body...
I had my lifting partner help me get it off the ground this evening, but that scares me because I'm deadlifting over twice what she is because of her bad back. Maybe I can get her and the other housemate, one on each side of the barbell... haha
Ideas??0 -
If you can't reach the bar, step off, pick it up, step back on. That's what the book says, I believe. I use one of those rebook steps.0
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deadlift off the box felt so strange to me. I have a reebok step too. I had it as low as it would go. I put my feet all the way to the front edge yet when I bent over I felt like it wasn't right. Like it would hurt my back because you have to lean over with the bar out in front of your feet to drop the bar slightly below the step before rolling it back up.
Maybe I need to find some videos online.
Loved the intervals. I finally got a new weight bench with incline but it didn't come until later yesterday so I had to modify the Cuban snatch. The cobra was fun. I like the split squat too and liked all of the ab work!
I just did some un-official measurements this morning and I think I'm down 1/2in in my resistant hips- woohoo!!! My pants are feeling looser even though not much going on with the scale, which is fine by me!0 -
I'm not loving deadlift from a box either. I used an aerobic step with no risers for B1 and my first set today in B2, but for my 2nd set, I just went back to regular deadlifts. I was excited that I was able to do 100 lb. for the first time.
For bulgarian split squats, I also tried taking my shoes off for these, and it was MUCH more comfortable resting my rear foot on the bench with just socks. I did these with a 12.5 lb. dumbbell (up from a 10 lb. plate last time), so I'll try 15 lb. next time. It's hard for me to get low on these though, but they're growing on me.
I was also excited to get my Cuban snatches to 7.5 lb./hand, and extend my prone cobra to 70 sec. each, and intervals felt GREAT afterwards. I did the elliptical at the levels outlined in the book for the 2nd HIIT.0 -
Today I am doing workout A2 and I am really loving this stage, I have started doing a cardio interval 30 minute class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and lifting M,W,F. I just wanted to share that I am feeling better then ever. I dont know if its cause both the class and stage two where new to me last week, but I just felt sore in the right places, energized and I am feeling like I lost some weight too,my pants are for sure baggier today then last week, still waiting to finish next week before I do my measurements, but I am excited to see if there is any change in just these short 3 weeks.
Wondering if any of you are feeling this way after a long 6 weeks of the same workouts in stage one, does your body feel like you just kicked it in high gear?0 -
Wondering if any of you are feeling this way after a long 6 weeks of the same workouts in stage one, does your body feel like you just kicked it in high gear?
WTG Airplanes!!! Yes, today especially I felt kicked into high gear and loved it. I practically floated out of the gym this morning, and I can hardly believe I'm half-way through this stage already, having done each workout only twice! 0 -
OK sorry to post so much today, but I am having a really good Monday and just want to share it, maybe when I am having a bad day I can look at this post and get uplifted.
So when I went to the gym this afternoon, it was very warm, bad day to lift in my yoga pants. I did however have a tight sports bra and tank on. I pulled up my pant legs to my knees and then I saw it, my body, in the making nice strong calf’s, thighs getting their hips, and arms too. I for the first time in a long time liked what I saw. Now I could still see the areas that need work, i.e. my hip fat, back of arm and bra fat, and of course my dreaded back fat and inner thigh fat...LOL but I could see my body starting to take shape, my muscles getting stronger, I felt like I belong in that weight room, just as much as all the other dudes in there.
Thanks for listening just want to share, I am not there yet, but I can see the light.0 -
I went on vacation last week (to Destin. How I wasn't born into a filthy rich family, I have no idea). The suggested week off fell pretty perfectly -- I'd done 1A and 1Bof Stage 2, took a week off, then did 2A today. Um...I thought with no muscle soreness I'd be able to lift a little more. WRONG! Hahahaha! It felt great to be back in the gym. I don't plan on taking another week off though. I do have to say my balance on the 1pt row was already much better!0
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