Stage 4
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I finished stage 4 yesterday (yay) but wanted to jump on here about the reverse lunge from box with forward reach. The picture shows her reaching basically to her ankles but that just confused me since it was pretty much worthless. I changed it to the reach part going perpendicular to the floor and it felt much better. Anyone else do it like that?0
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cpa, The option of doing 2 or 3 sets will depend on how much time you have. I'm doing 3 sets and I'm in the gym for at least 90 minutes, usually longer. I always do a general warm-up, the exercise specific warm-ups and a proper cool-down/stretch session.
karen, the amount of weight you use will depend on if you're doing 2 or 3 sets of 8 reps. If you're only doing 2 sets then you should be able to lift MORE weight than you did in stage 2 which consisted of 2 sets of 10 reps. If you're doing 3 sets you should be able to lift the same amount of weight, or more, than you did in stage 2 because you're doing fewer reps per set; plus your strength should be increasing.
jnh, when doing the reverse lunge from box with forward reach, you should be reaching for your toes, not ankle. Read the first bullet under the "descend" section. I found this exercise to be one of the most challenging. I'm using 25 lb. dumbbells and I can really feel my shoulders and core working hard to bring the weights to the very front of my toes and lifting them back up to the starting position.0 -
cpa, The option of doing 2 or 3 sets will depend on how much time you have. I'm doing 3 sets and I'm in the gym for at least 90 minutes, usually longer. I always do a general warm-up, the exercise specific warm-ups and a proper cool-down/stretch session.
karen, the amount of weight you use will depend on if you're doing 2 or 3 sets of 8 reps. If you're only doing 2 sets then you should be able to lift MORE weight than you did in stage 2 which consisted of 2 sets of 10 reps. If you're doing 3 sets you should be able to lift the same amount of weight, or more, than you did in stage 2 because you're doing fewer reps per set; plus your strength should be increasing.
jnh, when doing the reverse lunge from box with forward reach, you should be reaching for your toes, not ankle. Read the first bullet under the "descend" section. I found this exercise to be one of the most challenging. I'm using 25 lb. dumbbells and I can really feel my shoulders and core working hard to bring the weights to the very front of my toes and lifting them back up to the starting position.
I never felt it until I lifted perpendicular -- but I think we're getting to the same place either way.
And just an update once I was done with this stage, my last workout I could only physically do 2 sets (I did 3 on the deadlifts only that last workout) so I FINALLY understood what he meant!0 -
Did my last stage 4 workout today! I'm going to take a few days off before going back in for stage 5. My quads have been super sore through this stage for some reason, much more than I've felt during any of the other stages, so I want to give them some time off before going back in. I tried really hard to focus on my form more than increasing my weights during this stage so I didn't make many gains except in the upper body moves. I'm glad to be past the halfway point and on the downhill stretch now!0
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Had deep muscle tissue massage Friday evening.... I am still sore today. Apparently I was super tight... which I suspected, but not THAT tight. He really did a number on my neck, which (according to him) was the source of my soreness and tightness in my upper back and shoulders. He spent most of my session just in my neck area. I didn't realize there were so many neck muscles--- he would start working on a spot and I could feel it all the way down my shoulder. It was weird.:noway: :grumble:
Anyway, I am still sore today. I was planning on starting Stage 4 today, but may give my body another day to recover from that massage. :sad:
Oh, he also said he would "win" after the massage.... he admitted defeat at the end....:laugh: I'll probably schedule another session in a couple of weeks. But he did something---at least now when I tilt my head side to side, I actually feel a stretch right away. Before I had to "manipulate" my head to a certain spot to feel anything.
Lesson: STRETCH MORE!0 -
Starting Stage 4 this week after 10 days off (vacation). I am READY (more than ready) to get back to lifting. I have always been slightly scared of the deadlift. This time I am going to have a friend meet me at the gym and make sure I have proper form
and as much as I did not want to wear gloves I am given in and getting gloves. I actually don't mind the callouses on my hands but feel I might get a better grip and lift heavier with gloves on. 0 -
Wowza, Stage 4 Workout A1 kicked my *kitten* today! I tried splitting the FSPP into back squats & overhead DB presses, which was OK, but after 2 sets, I decided to go back to FSPP, and managed 7 reps with the 45 lb. bar, but couldn't get an 8th. I really dislike the positioning on front-squat though. I'll try to stick with it.
I feel like I took a big step backward on planks after my rest week too. At the end of stage 3, I was holding all three planks for 100 seconds, so I was hoping to go to 110 today, even if I couldn't make 120, but the longest I got was 90 today. I did 90, then 85, then for the 3rd one, I split it into 60 + 60.
I tried step-ups on the bench too, and the padding made it feel SO unstable, I went back to my sturdy platform to do them, but I did make the step higher.0 -
Great start, Karen!
I'm hoping to start today. I had a last minute job interview last night and that just threw everything off. I can't wait for the Olympics to end... it's messing with my sleep!
Good idea on splitting the FSPP... I actually hurt my shoulder with that move during Stage 2... it set me back 3 weeks!0 -
cpa - how did the interview go?
Well, did first workout of B today & just thought I would share...
Changing my grip from both overhand to one overhand / one underhand made such a difference. I was struggling with 132lb widegrip deadlift, mainly because my grip kept failing, changed the grip on my left hand to underhand and did two sets at 145lb. It was so much easier!!0 -
Not so sure about the interview.... from what I hear, they are at the final phase and they picked two candidates for the final round and we have completely different backgrounds... so hard to tell which way they will go.
I managed to eek out 2 sets each of Workout A last night. I couldn't stop yawning---even the warm-up on the elliptical was hard for me. So I decided to drop all my weights... FSPP (Bar only), 2x20 dbs on the rest... I managed one set of 120 planks... that wiped me out... I could only manage 70 on the 2nd set... and "9" on the horizontal woodchop. I did all my pushups on the floor, but I can't get my chest low enough. Hubby says he'll watch me next time so he can critique my form.
Busy weekend... hoping to squeeze in a B workout Saturday morning before it gets crazy 0 -
Not so sure about the interview.... from what I hear, they are at the final phase and they picked two candidates for the final round and we have completely different backgrounds... so hard to tell which way they will go.
I managed to eek out 2 sets each of Workout A last night. I couldn't stop yawning---even the warm-up on the elliptical was hard for me. So I decided to drop all my weights... FSPP (Bar only), 2x20 dbs on the rest... I managed one set of 120 planks... that wiped me out... I could only manage 70 on the 2nd set... and "9" on the horizontal woodchop. I did all my pushups on the floor, but I can't get my chest low enough. Hubby says he'll watch me next time so he can critique my form.
Busy weekend... hoping to squeeze in a B workout Saturday morning before it gets crazy
You are my planking superhero!0 -
You are my planking superhero!
LOL... I can assure you I didn't look or feel like one....0 -
Started stage 4 yesterday. I was so glad to get past stage 3. Definitely not my favorite. I was able to complete 3 sets and go up in weight on most exercises. And boy! I am feeling it today! So sore. Glad i have til Monday to recover. Not doing anything over the weekend except playing in the water.0
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Started stage 4 yesterday. I was so glad to get past stage 3. Definitely not my favorite. I was able to complete 3 sets and go up in weight on most exercises. And boy! I am feeling it today! So sore. Glad i have til Monday to recover. Not doing anything over the weekend except playing in the water.
Boy, am I feeling stage 4 too. After w/o A, it was mostly triceps & chest, but my obliques too, but after w/o B Thursday, The DOMS in my quads masks everything else. They felt ok Friday for intervals (+ extra time on the elliptical), but I'm definitely going to wait until Monday for workout A2.
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Stage 4 is turning out to be WAY more challenging than I thought. Having done stage 2 without a lot of trouble, I thought Stage 4 would be just more of the same, but even though I'm making progress on some moves, I feel stalled on others.
Like FSPP is still a ***** for me with just the 45 lb. bar. So today I did my 1st set as FSPP, but then split the moves and did 2nd & 3rd sets with 65 lb. back squats & 45 lb. DB shoulder presses, and I was still struggling through those shoulder presses (I ended stage 1 with 40 lb. shoulder presses).
I feel like my progress on lunges is really slow too. I was ready to use 17.5 lb. DB's for the static ones today, but my left quad has been tight since last Thursday's Workout B, so I even took extra rest and waited until today (instead of Saturday) to do A2, but those static lunges with the left leg in front were too tough with the sore quad, so I went back to 15's.
I'm also still struggling for balance on 1-point rows. My balance was better last week, so I went from 15 to 17.5 lb. DB's, but trying 20's today made me wobbly again. I don't think I got through more than 3 reps without putting my foot down & re-focusing.
And I'm convinced planks are going to be the death of me. I had been holding 90-100 seconds at the end of stage 3, and today I only did 2 sets, and broke both of them up into 60+60's. I don't know if it's physical or just a big mental head game, but I'm kicking myself now for not even trying a 3rd set of them this morning. I tried not looking at my watch and just counting slowly in my head too, but then when I felt shaky & looked down, it was usually before 30 seconds were even up. How do you fight through these? I feel like I'm copping out by splitting them, so Friday I think I'm just going to go for as long as I can and see what happens.
I was psyched to improve on pushups though. I moved from the 6th peg on the Smith (mid-thigh height) to the 5th (just above my knees), and 8, 4, and 6 reps there (on the 5th) and finished the 2nd & 3rd sets on the 6th. So Friday I'll try for all 3 full sets on the 5th, then maybe move to the 4th for AMRAP.
How are you ladies doing? What moves are making good progress for you? What are you struggling with?0 -
And I'm convinced planks are going to be the death of me. I had been holding 90-100 seconds at the end of stage 3, and today I only did 2 sets, and broke both of them up into 60+60's. I don't know if it's physical or just a big mental head game, but I'm kicking myself now for not even trying a 3rd set of them this morning. I tried not looking at my watch and just counting slowly in my head too, but then when I felt shaky & looked down, it was usually before 30 seconds were even up. How do you fight through these? I feel like I'm copping out by splitting them, so Friday I think I'm just going to go for as long as I can and see what happens.
Both myself and my workout partner are having a tough time with planks. She's started teaching again so her back is more tired than usual... so she just goes to her limit and then stops for each set.
Me... I imagined someone was holding a gun to my head once. Because you know how they say "I couldn't have finished if someone held a gun to my head!" :laugh: Hey it worked! I focus really hard, let it burn and keep breathing. I know from experience that it's not really gonna make me sore the next day no matter how hard I push (just for abs, not true for everything else!) so I can usually complete the sets properly.0 -
Me... I imagined someone was holding a gun to my head once. Because you know how they say "I couldn't have finished if someone held a gun to my head!" :laugh: Hey it worked! I focus really hard, let it burn and keep breathing. I know from experience that it's not really gonna make me sore the next day no matter how hard I push (just for abs, not true for everything else!) so I can usually complete the sets properly.
This. Is. Awesome. I love this idea, and I'm totally going to try it next time. Thank you!0 -
Did workout A yesterday and made sure I worked really hard. Especially with the lunges and stepups. I upped my dumbells by 4kg in total from the same workout in stage 2 and boy are my glutes and thighs killing me today! Makes me wonder if I was not pushing myself in the last stage because I didnt really feel any extreme soreness from that one. Or maybe I am just using muscles that haven't been used in the last stage.0
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I've been splitting up my B workouts (well the last one and I did half of it today and will finish this stage tomorrow). Mentally, I struggle. It probably takes me as much time to psych myself up as it does to actually lift the weights.0
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Did workout B1 today. I was pleased to go up in weight on everything but the underhand pull down. I'm at 75 lbs on that one and the next jump is 90 lbs. Once I get to where I can handle that easily, then I'll do 90 lbs AMRAP, even if it's only 2-3, then switch back to 75 lbs to finish the set.
How is everyone doing the reverse crunches? I used prone jack knives for stage 3, but they are pretty easy now, but I can't quite manage the pikes.0
