Stage 2
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Hello All - starting stage 2 on Monday - I was very happy with my numbers from stage one I know this is only a 2 1/2 week stage (I do 3x a week) but I hope I can see at least half the numbers I did in stage one. Cant wait for the challange it looks like its gonna be a good one, cant wait to join you.0
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Hi everyone---
I'm about to start Stage 2 and I had a question about rest days. I know the author says to rest for a "full day" --- which means 24 hrs.... so it should be okay to workout on Sunday at around 2p... then again on Monday around 7p. It meets the 24 hour requirement, but not sure if that's what he really meant.
My gym has changed around their classes for the summer and looks like I can only get in 2 NR workouts per week if I can't do the above....
Thoughts?0 -
Honestly,
That sounds a little too soon. Stage 2 incorporates HIIT. It is challenging. IMHO, you should take more of a rest than that.0 -
Hi all,
I finished Stage 2 last Thurs, but haven't had a time to post my stats...so here goes:
Workout A
FSPP: Bar (45 lbs) to 50 lbs. Not a big increase at all, but it was so hard for me!!
Step up: 26.4 lbs (never increased weights, but did use an extra-high step at the end)
Dumbell 1 pt. row: 15 lbs to 20 lbs
Static lunge: 26.4 lbs (never increased)
Push-up: all reps on the floor, form improved but didn't change anything else
Plank: 60 seconds to 85 seconds
Cable horizontal wood chop: 30 lbs to 50 lbs
Workout B
Wide-grip deadlift: 95 lbs to 110 lbs
Bulgarian split squat: 25 lb plate to 30 lb medicine ball
Underhand grip lat pulldown: 70 lbs to 82.5 lbs
Reverse lunge: 10 lbs to 15 lbs (each hand)
Cuban snatch: 5 lbs to 10 lbs (but that last one was done standing because all the benches were taken--much easier!!)
Swiss ball crunch: 12 lb medicine ball to 15 lb medicine ball
Reverse crunch: 10 reps-20 reps per set
Lateral flexion (did the one on the ball for 2-4): 10 reps to 20 reps per set
Prone cobra: 60 seconds to 90 seconds
I only did the intervals for two of the workouts--otherwise, I just did some cardio on "rest" days
I started out hating this stage, and never saw big weight increases--found FSPP and Cuben snatch really hard the whole time. But my butt and thighs have been sore for a month, thanks to the lunges and squats, no doubt. So I'll be curious to see how I've done when I weigh/measure/take pictures--probably at the end of next week, after the horror of TOM has faded. I don't feel like I've lost any weight though...
Starting Stage 3 tomorrow. See you all there!
Oh, for the person who asked about resting only from one am workout to a pm workout the next day--no, I don't really think that's enough rest. The recovery is as important as the work, so don't short yourself on resting between workouts.
Keep up the great work, all!0 -
Hi all,
I finished Stage 2 last Thurs, but haven't had a time to post my stats...so here goes:
Workout A
FSPP: Bar (45 lbs) to 50 lbs. Not a big increase at all, but it was so hard for me!!
Step up: 26.4 lbs (never increased weights, but did use an extra-high step at the end)
Dumbell 1 pt. row: 15 lbs to 20 lbs
Static lunge: 26.4 lbs (never increased)
Push-up: all reps on the floor, form improved but didn't change anything else
Plank: 60 seconds to 85 seconds
Cable horizontal wood chop: 30 lbs to 50 lbs
Workout B
Wide-grip deadlift: 95 lbs to 110 lbs
Bulgarian split squat: 25 lb plate to 30 lb medicine ball
Underhand grip lat pulldown: 70 lbs to 82.5 lbs
Reverse lunge: 10 lbs to 15 lbs (each hand)
Cuban snatch: 5 lbs to 10 lbs (but that last one was done standing because all the benches were taken--much easier!!)
Swiss ball crunch: 12 lb medicine ball to 15 lb medicine ball
Reverse crunch: 10 reps-20 reps per set
Lateral flexion (did the one on the ball for 2-4): 10 reps to 20 reps per set
Prone cobra: 60 seconds to 90 seconds
I only did the intervals for two of the workouts--otherwise, I just did some cardio on "rest" days
I started out hating this stage, and never saw big weight increases--found FSPP and Cuben snatch really hard the whole time. But my butt and thighs have been sore for a month, thanks to the lunges and squats, no doubt. So I'll be curious to see how I've done when I weigh/measure/take pictures--probably at the end of next week, after the horror of TOM has faded. I don't feel like I've lost any weight though...
Starting Stage 3 tomorrow. See you all there!
Oh, for the person who asked about resting only from one am workout to a pm workout the next day--no, I don't really think that's enough rest. The recovery is as important as the work, so don't short yourself on resting between workouts.
Keep up the great work, all!
How long (approximately) did each of the workouts take (when you include intervals)? I am 2 weeks away (counting a rest week) from doing stage 2, and looking @ the book it seems that workout B would be much longer than workout A because it has extra workouts plus intervals. Although I guess the crunch exercises wouldn't take very long.
Also, did you take a rest week between 1 & 2?
Thanks in advance! Congrats on completing stage 2!0 -
Hi all,
I finished Stage 2 last Thurs, but haven't had a time to post my stats...so here goes:
Workout A
FSPP: Bar (45 lbs) to 50 lbs. Not a big increase at all, but it was so hard for me!!
Step up: 26.4 lbs (never increased weights, but did use an extra-high step at the end)
Dumbell 1 pt. row: 15 lbs to 20 lbs
Static lunge: 26.4 lbs (never increased)
Push-up: all reps on the floor, form improved but didn't change anything else
Plank: 60 seconds to 85 seconds
Cable horizontal wood chop: 30 lbs to 50 lbs
Workout B
Wide-grip deadlift: 95 lbs to 110 lbs
Bulgarian split squat: 25 lb plate to 30 lb medicine ball
Underhand grip lat pulldown: 70 lbs to 82.5 lbs
Reverse lunge: 10 lbs to 15 lbs (each hand)
Cuban snatch: 5 lbs to 10 lbs (but that last one was done standing because all the benches were taken--much easier!!)
Swiss ball crunch: 12 lb medicine ball to 15 lb medicine ball
Reverse crunch: 10 reps-20 reps per set
Lateral flexion (did the one on the ball for 2-4): 10 reps to 20 reps per set
Prone cobra: 60 seconds to 90 seconds
I only did the intervals for two of the workouts--otherwise, I just did some cardio on "rest" days
I started out hating this stage, and never saw big weight increases--found FSPP and Cuben snatch really hard the whole time. But my butt and thighs have been sore for a month, thanks to the lunges and squats, no doubt. So I'll be curious to see how I've done when I weigh/measure/take pictures--probably at the end of next week, after the horror of TOM has faded. I don't feel like I've lost any weight though...
Starting Stage 3 tomorrow. See you all there!
Oh, for the person who asked about resting only from one am workout to a pm workout the next day--no, I don't really think that's enough rest. The recovery is as important as the work, so don't short yourself on resting between workouts.
Keep up the great work, all!
How long (approximately) did each of the workouts take (when you include intervals)? I am 2 weeks away (counting a rest week) from doing stage 2, and looking @ the book it seems that workout B would be much longer than workout A because it has extra workouts plus intervals. Although I guess the crunch exercises wouldn't take very long.
Also, did you take a rest week between 1 & 2?
Thanks in advance! Congrats on completing stage 2!
I did 2 of the Stage 2 workouts last week because I'm on vacation this week (yay!) and needed THIS week to be my rest week. The B workout (the one with intervals) took me about an hour and ten-fifteen minutes.0 -
Off to the Y to start Stage 2 today. Super excited to attempt those front squat push presses! In Stage 1 I went up in weight for the stepups so this time I'm going to increase my step height. I was already doing the static lunges since the lunges in Stage 1 were bothering my right knee so I'm not sure if I'll adjust those. Excited to be here!
Tawnya0 -
Okay, quick question. What the heck is the difference in a Bulgarian split squat and a static lunge with rear foot elevated besides holding the weight at the chest in one and in two hands in the other?
I think it's the height of your resting foot. If you notice in the Bulgarian squat the foot is higher and a deeper squat. You WILL feel the difference :happy: It's a deeper stretch.
I noticed you hold the weight differently too - down by your sides for the lunges, and in front of your chest for the BSS. Not sure what difference that makes, since I just started Stage 2 today, but thought I'd throw it out there.0 -
...My biggest triumph last night was that I did 2 sets of 10 pushups on the ground! When I started Stage 1, I couldn’t even do 1 real pushup!
I don’t post much, but I do check in here from time to time, so once again—thank you all for posting here!
Congratulations WhiskeySister!!! That's an awesome accomplishment!
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Hi everyone---
I'm about to start Stage 2 and I had a question about rest days. I know the author says to rest for a "full day" --- which means 24 hrs.... so it should be okay to workout on Sunday at around 2p... then again on Monday around 7p. It meets the 24 hour requirement, but not sure if that's what he really meant.
My gym has changed around their classes for the summer and looks like I can only get in 2 NR workouts per week if I can't do the above....
Thoughts?
I think 24 hours is too little rest too. I think by a full rest day, he meant to skip a full calendar day in between lifting workouts, which is more like 36-48 hours rest, at least. In your shoes, I'd just go for NROLFW 2x/week if that's all that fits with enough rest in between.0 -
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. 0 -
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
