Stage 1
Replies
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2A completed this morning, Sunday mornings at the gym are lovely and quiet. Much prefer my B days...... Changed to using the bar for my squats only had about 10lbs on it, gonna try and work on my form for a while before bumping up
I have to sink SO LOW to get my upper thighs parallel to the floor (full squat). I dropped weights entirely from my lunges for the first couple of weeks so that I could really get down to the floor as well, and I'm still doing them with light weights. It is much better to have form than weight!
I raise my heels a lot too, gotta break myself of that! I've walked on my tip toes since I was little, it's comfy 0 -
Did 5B tonight. Not exhilarated. Just tired. *snooze*0
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Okay I have another question for you ladies! I have been doing the deadlift with a curl bar....anyone know how much the bar weighs on it's own??
And holy crap do my legs hurt today...on A4 I bumped up my squatting weight from 65 lbs. last time to 75 lbs. It was HARD! I love this program SO much!
The curl bar weighs, according to my husband, 15 pounds. That's what I've been using too.
Thanks! I thought it was around there! 0 -
Finished stage 1 last Wednesday.
Dead lift (roman) 65 >95
Shoulder press 10 > 20
Lat pull down 50 > 70
Lunge 15 > 25
Swiss ball crunch > Swiss ball with 12 lb kettle ball overhead
Squat 40 > 85
Push up > all done on floor.
Seated row 60 > 80
Step up 10. W/ 18" step > 25 w/ 12" step. I am only 5'3 and with the higher step my knee was going over 90 degrees. Decided to lower the step and increase weight. With the (2) 25# db it was challenging without straining my knees... P.S. I love these!
Prone jackknife . Done. These were challenging but effective.
I did not weigh during the entire stage . Mostly because I was scared and did not want the scale to impact and possibly defeat my efforts. I weighed the same as when I started on April 30th. No more no less. Not sure what to think of this.?!
I was eating at a 200 calorie deficit which put me at 1500 nwo days and 1700 wo days. I am going to study the book again and reevaluate calories. With HIIT being added in stage 2 I will probably omit the 200 calorie deficit. Increasing calories has been a challenge! I was one of those people. That hardly ever went over 1100-1200/day.
Measurements
Bust 34.5 > 35.0
Bicep 11.0 < 10.5
Forearm 9.0
Waist 29.5 < 28
Hips 38.5 < 38.25
Thigh 22 < 21.5
Stomach 34 < 33.5
3.25" lost overall. Body fat down 2.0%. Not extreme results but I am happy with what I achieved in 5 weeks. Looking forward to stage 2!0 -
Finished stage 1 last Wednesday.
Dead lift (roman) 65 >95
Shoulder press 10 > 20
Lat pull down 50 > 70
Lunge 15 > 25
Swiss ball crunch > Swiss ball with 12 lb kettle ball overhead
Squat 40 > 85
Push up > all done on floor.
Seated row 60 > 80
Step up 10. W/ 18" step > 25 w/ 12" step. I am only 5'3 and with the higher step my knee was going over 90 degrees. Decided to lower the step and increase weight. With the (2) 25# db it was challenging without straining my knees... P.S. I love these!
Prone jackknife . Done. These were challenging but effective.
I did not weigh during the entire stage . Mostly because I was scared and did not want the scale to impact and possibly defeat my efforts. I weighed the same as when I started on April 30th. No more no less. Not sure what to think of this.?!
I was eating at a 200 calorie deficit which put me at 1500 nwo days and 1700 wo days. I am going to study the book again and reevaluate calories. With HIIT being added in stage 2 I will probably omit the 200 calorie deficit. Increasing calories has been a challenge! I was one of those people. That hardly ever went over 1100-1200/day.
Measurements
Bust 34.5 > 35.0
Bicep 11.0 < 10.5
Forearm 9.0
Waist 29.5 < 28
Hips 38.5 < 38.25
Thigh 22 < 21.5
Stomach 34 < 33.5
3.25" lost overall. Body fat down 2.0%. Not extreme results but I am happy with what I achieved in 5 weeks. Looking forward to stage 2!
I think you did wonderful!!!
2% body fat gone = AWESOME!!!0 -
Ok, at the risk of sounding stupid, what does PSOAS stand for? It might be an 'across the water' difference in language thing - or just me lol. I love your attitude by the way! :laugh:
Hehe, it's just one of those little talked about muscles- I think only physical therapists and people who want box splits talk about it, so if you haven't heard of it you can probably assume you have a nice, balanced psoas. I guess it's a stability muscle.. but.. sure did feel like it was doing more than stabilizing!0 -
Finished stage 1 last Wednesday.
Dead lift (roman) 65 >95
Shoulder press 10 > 20
Lat pull down 50 > 70
Lunge 15 > 25
Swiss ball crunch > Swiss ball with 12 lb kettle ball overhead
Squat 40 > 85
Push up > all done on floor.
Seated row 60 > 80
Step up 10. W/ 18" step > 25 w/ 12" step. I am only 5'3 and with the higher step my knee was going over 90 degrees. Decided to lower the step and increase weight. With the (2) 25# db it was challenging without straining my knees... P.S. I love these!
Prone jackknife . Done. These were challenging but effective.
I did not weigh during the entire stage . Mostly because I was scared and did not want the scale to impact and possibly defeat my efforts. I weighed the same as when I started on April 30th. No more no less. Not sure what to think of this.?!
I was eating at a 200 calorie deficit which put me at 1500 nwo days and 1700 wo days. I am going to study the book again and reevaluate calories. With HIIT being added in stage 2 I will probably omit the 200 calorie deficit. Increasing calories has been a challenge! I was one of those people. That hardly ever went over 1100-1200/day.
Measurements
Bust 34.5 > 35.0
Bicep 11.0 < 10.5
Forearm 9.0
Waist 29.5 < 28
Hips 38.5 < 38.25
Thigh 22 < 21.5
Stomach 34 < 33.5
3.25" lost overall. Body fat down 2.0%. Not extreme results but I am happy with what I achieved in 5 weeks. Looking forward to stage 2!
Those are pretty amazing results! Nice one!0 -
Ok, at the risk of sounding stupid, what does PSOAS stand for? It might be an 'across the water' difference in language thing - or just me lol. I love your attitude by the way! :laugh:
Hehe, it's just one of those little talked about muscles- I think only physical therapists and people who want box splits talk about it, so if you haven't heard of it you can probably assume you have a nice, balanced psoas. I guess it's a stability muscle.. but.. sure did feel like it was doing more than stabilizing!
PSOAS is actually a very important muscle and it's rare that anyone has a healthy one! lol:) Healthy meaning not tight in some way. I'm a massage therapist, and PSOAS is one of the least stretched and least worked (as in, when you're getting a massage) but most used muscles in your body! It attaches to the front of your lumbar spine and goes down and attaches to the top of your inner thigh. It's responsible for hip flexion (lifting your leg at the hip) and lumber stabilization. Most people with low back problems have a tight one:) All that being said, I didn't read through everything, so I don't know who was talking about it and why, but I wanted to share what it is:)0 -
Finished stage 1 last Wednesday.
Dead lift (roman) 65 >95
Shoulder press 10 > 20
Lat pull down 50 > 70
Lunge 15 > 25
Swiss ball crunch > Swiss ball with 12 lb kettle ball overhead
Squat 40 > 85
Push up > all done on floor.
Seated row 60 > 80
Step up 10. W/ 18" step > 25 w/ 12" step. I am only 5'3 and with the higher step my knee was going over 90 degrees. Decided to lower the step and increase weight. With the (2) 25# db it was challenging without straining my knees... P.S. I love these!
Prone jackknife . Done. These were challenging but effective.
I did not weigh during the entire stage . Mostly because I was scared and did not want the scale to impact and possibly defeat my efforts. I weighed the same as when I started on April 30th. No more no less. Not sure what to think of this.?!
I was eating at a 200 calorie deficit which put me at 1500 nwo days and 1700 wo days. I am going to study the book again and reevaluate calories. With HIIT being added in stage 2 I will probably omit the 200 calorie deficit. Increasing calories has been a challenge! I was one of those people. That hardly ever went over 1100-1200/day.
Measurements
Bust 34.5 > 35.0
Bicep 11.0 < 10.5
Forearm 9.0
Waist 29.5 < 28
Hips 38.5 < 38.25
Thigh 22 < 21.5
Stomach 34 < 33.5
3.25" lost overall. Body fat down 2.0%. Not extreme results but I am happy with what I achieved in 5 weeks. Looking forward to stage 2!
Great work! I'm jealous of your floor pushups, I can do like 3 lol:) Good for you, can't wait for Stage 2!0 -
@Kmsnomaha Great results!! lost inches and 2%BF in 5 weeks thats great!!!
Hope you are taking pictures as you go!!
The results will show even when the scale doesnt.
I did 8B today
Dead lift (roman) 110lbs
Shoulder press 15's (the 20's were taken)
Lat pull down 90lbs
Lunge 15's (the 20's were taken)
Swiss ball crunch - with 25lb plate
only AMRAPS left!!0 -
FInished 2B today and sweat my butt off! Those deadlifts are hard work! And kind of awkward too. I took your advice, FunBun and did warm-up lifts with just the bar - MUCH better. I'm sure taking the weekend off to repair the damage done to my muscles helped a lot too.
Is there a reason to do Romanian deadlifts at this stage instead of the ones suggested in the book? It sounds like a lot of people are substituting. I feel like I load a lot more weight if I didn't have to squat down, but I didn't know if the squatting motion was essential for both workouts in this stage.0 -
I finish Stage 1 A8 today!!!!0
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Question on the lunges:
When you do these do you count doing each leg as 1 rep - so lunge with the right, then lunge with the left - rep 1 until all 15(really 30) are done? Or do you do one side first as 1 full set of reps, then the other?
Thanks0 -
Do 15 on each leg per set, so 30 total. That way you're not doing one leg more than the other when you increase to 3 sets later in stage 1.0
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Thank you0
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Ok, at the risk of sounding stupid, what does PSOAS stand for? It might be an 'across the water' difference in language thing - or just me lol. I love your attitude by the way! :laugh:
Hehe, it's just one of those little talked about muscles- I think only physical therapists and people who want box splits talk about it, so if you haven't heard of it you can probably assume you have a nice, balanced psoas. I guess it's a stability muscle.. but.. sure did feel like it was doing more than stabilizing!
Thanks for that! I've just googled it and will keep an eye on that one when training. Talking of box splits, you've just reminded me that when I was a young girl I used to be able to jump into side and box splits! I used to be super-flexible in my gymnastics years. I dread to think what damage I would do attempting that in my forties! Ouch! :blushing:0 -
Thank you! I look forward to hearing about your results... Getting my stuff together now to start Stage 2 hopefully on Wednesday. I did the roman deadlifts because the regular ones hurt my back. Maybe form was not correct but I did not want to take any chances!@Kmsnomaha Great results!! lost inches and 2%BF in 5 weeks thats great!!!
Hope you are taking pictures as you go!!
The results will show even when the scale doesnt.
I did 8B today
Dead lift (roman) 110lbs
Shoulder press 15's (the 20's were taken)
Lat pull down 90lbs
Lunge 15's (the 20's were taken)
Swiss ball crunch - with 25lb plate
only AMRAPS left!!0 -
Is there a reason to do Romanian deadlifts at this stage instead of the ones suggested in the book? It sounds like a lot of people are substituting. I feel like I load a lot more weight if I didn't have to squat down, but I didn't know if the squatting motion was essential for both workouts in this stage.
haha
sorry i just copied someone else's workout list from the thread (yeah Im lazy i don't want to type it out) and inputted my weights.. actually i do regular deadlift..0 -
Hi everyone!
I finally started today after having a week off work.
1A
Squats- (20kg Olympic bar) so ~44lbs
Push ups- 2x 15 reps done on a 30 degree incline
Dumbell bent over row ( no cabel station) - 5kg Dumbells ~11lbs
Step ups - 7.5kg Dumbells ~16.5lbs
Reverse crunch -2x15
There is only a 65cm exercise ball at the gym and I'm only 5ft5 so its too big, but I have one at home so managed to a few when I got back from the gym.
Prone jacknife- 3
Hoping to practise and improve this found it sp hard to stabilise.
If anyone has any advise please let me know. I think I can definitely up my bent over row weights for next time though.0 -
Hi everyone!
I finally started today after having a week off work.
1A
Squats- (20kg Olympic bar) so ~44lbs
Push ups- 2x 15 reps done on a 30 degree incline
Dumbell bent over row ( no cabel station) - 5kg Dumbells ~11lbs
Step ups - 7.5kg Dumbells ~16.5lbs
Reverse crunch -2x15
There is only a 65cm exercise ball at the gym and I'm only 5ft5 so its too big, but I have one at home so managed to a few when I got back from the gym.
Prone jacknife- 3
Hoping to practise and improve this found it sp hard to stabilise.
If anyone has any advise please let me know. I think I can definitely up my bent over row weights for next time though.
Great job!! I look forward to seeing your progress! I'm in my second week so feel free to add me as a friend if you need encouragement or have any questions!0 -
Great job!! I look forward to seeing your progress! I'm in my second week so feel free to add me as a friend if you need encouragement or have any questions!
Thank you I just sent a request! 0 -
Did 2B before work this morning, I love deadlifting SO much (I may well say this every B day! :laugh: ) Managed to up my weight a little, lowered it on the lunges (to 3kg each hand) and my form was a lot better, although my right leg nearly gave out which was fun!
Loads of older people in my gym in a morning which is ace to see, there was this younger couple just pootling along on the bikes and these dudes prob twice their age (at least) rocking out the weights! Loved it :laugh:0 -
Finished 7A today! upped my squat weight again and looking forward to upping deadlifts on friday.
I have decided not to do the as many reps as posssible workouts as I can already see the progress I have made and don't want to delay the next stage longer than necessary. Will finish stage 1 next Wednesday, then cram in as much cardio as possible before starting stage 2 the following week. :happy:0 -
6A done! I upped my row weights. I'm starting to hit my max hold on the squat weight (doing goblet squats) which is 17kg, so even though I could probably go a little heavier next time I do this workout I doubt I will. Still, we'll see! I also switched around my step ups - I had been doing them 13kg in one hand (so unbalanced) and this time I did 13kg evenly distributed - it sounds easier but it was actually harder! Maybe because I was used to overcompensating? Will be upping my weights a little on that next time too. Weirdly the jackknifes felt ridiculously easy.
@Pookylou: I hear ya on the deadlifting!0 -
Stage 1 - workout A - AMRAPS
Squats - 115 lbs - free squat (not on smith machine) - 16 reps before i started to lose form
Push ups - on bench - 16 reps will full range of motion
Seated Rows - 105lbs - 19 reps
Step ups - 55lbs - 21 doubles (eg. 1 rep = 1 left leg + 1 right leg)
Jackknife - 38 reps
Phew..0 -
I love deadlifts too, Pooky! Sometimes I even have deadlifting dreams now.
Juice- whoa! Those are your start weights? Or finish weights? I think they're your finish weights, but I'd probably be a creeper if I went back to check. SO MANY REPS of your finish weights! Like a boss!
I'm supposed to do 8B today, but I woke up and my knee is already PISSED, though it could be because I'm 2 days without celebrex and tram because my back had been feeling so good. I wonder if I'd been having knee pain throughout and only felt it when it was at it's worst thanks to the celebrex/ultram combo I take so often.
I'm thinking I may take my week off early- or just do everything but the lunges at the gym. My lunges are definitely going to be behind in stage 2. I've missed 3 workouts of them, and then 2 workouts I had to reduce to bodyweight even though I had been perfectly capable of doing them weight-weight-weighted.0 -
I love deadlifts too, Pooky! Sometimes I even have deadlifting dreams now.
Juice- whoa! Those are your start weights? Or finish weights? I think they're your finish weights, but I'd probably be a creeper if I went back to check. SO MANY REPS of your finish weights! Like a boss!
yes those are my finishing weights - what i did today in Amraps.
i'll do a total stage 1 wrap up once i finish AMRAP B0 -
I love deadlifts too, Pooky! Sometimes I even have deadlifting dreams now.
Juice- whoa! Those are your start weights? Or finish weights? I think they're your finish weights, but I'd probably be a creeper if I went back to check. SO MANY REPS of your finish weights! Like a boss!
yes those are my finishing weights - what i did today in Amraps.
i'll do a total stage 1 wrap up once i finish AMRAP B
Juice you are like, ninja strong! Skills!
I can't wait for the deadlifting dreams, I saw a video of a girl my height being awesome: http://www.reddit.com/r/weightroom/comments/uuivd/meet_report_100_raw_american_challenge_va_first/ I wanna do that!0 -
WOW!!. that's one deep squat shes got there... (in the video)
i have to work on my form more!!0 -
Two questions! Tomorrow I do workout 6B! yay!
So - I did the squat rack for the first time on Monday night. I went right up to a guy near it and was like "are you done"? He seemed surprised but said yes and I moved right in and did it! Woo hoo!
Anyway - using the bar on the rack - is that what you guys are referring to as a curl bar? Should I estimate 15 lbs for the bar on the rack? I wasn't sure how much to count it.
Also - thoughts on rest week.? How many of you are resting (well - cardioing up like I plan to do) and how many are moving right to Stage 2?
Thanks!
Sherry0
