Stage 6 Questions (optional stage)
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Ugh, that's awful! Seems like this year has been full of nasty viruses and crap. I hope you're feeling better.
A3 yesterday. I didn't use the machine for the negs(the grip width wasn't right?)but they were much better. It was a 2 second controlled fall instead instead of dropping like a rock. I was able to up my weights on the split squats and upped it for a few sets on the pull downs. Those pull downs are brutal. I just want to do them quickly- letting it back slooooowly is hard!0 -
Daggum head/ear still wont drain, but Im tired of letting precious time slip through my fingers. My chest is 95% clear and Ive regained most of my everyday strength so off to the gym I went! I finished 6B3 and it was a stronger workout than I anticipated. I was able to up every single one of my weights. Im curious to see how I will fair with 6A4 on Wednesday. I feel like A is a much tougher workout than B in stage 6.
Cowgirl, 2 seconds of control is progress! Congrats! Next time I bet you get at least 4 seconds of control. And congrats on upping the weights on your split squats! Those pulldowns are brutal indeed. Not looking forward to the 15 sec rest period between them on 6A4. Ah well, what doesnt kill us shall make us stronger, right?0 -
I have 6A4 next! I was planning to do it tonight... but after drinking a bit too much on a night out on Saturday, and feeling less than human, I decided my body could use an extra day off to rest.
I feel like I'm progressing on everything except for the neg chin ups. i'm not at a gym, so i just don't have access to a machine to do the assisted dips and am going it entirely alone. i think part of my problem is that i've psyched myself out!0 -
I have 6A4 next! I was planning to do it tonight... but after drinking a bit too much on a night out on Saturday, and feeling less than human, I decided my body could use an extra day off to rest.
I feel like I'm progressing on everything except for the neg chin ups. i'm not at a gym, so i just don't have access to a machine to do the assisted dips and am going it entirely alone. i think part of my problem is that i've psyched myself out!
At the risk of sounding like a huge jerk, Id say psyching yourself out is probably the biggest part of your issue. Make this neg. chin your *****! Im not using a machine either, frankly Im not sure a machine is the brightest idea. If it were, dont you think they would have mentioned it in NROLFW? Im not super lean, Im carrying plenty of extra baggage (FAT) too. Does it mean we have to work a little harder, sure, but it doesnt mean this is impossible. Look at everything you've mastered in this program up until now. Im sure you've made some huge accomplishments. Im sure there was something else you felt stuck on that you eventually overcame. Dont let this particular exercise be any different than any other exercise you've mastered. At the beginning, its tough and it sucks and it feels like you are spinning your wheels getting nowhere. Keep at it. Keep being persistent. Keep trying. It WILL pay off, just like everything else has...get out of your own head. YOU own the neg chin, the neg chin does NOT own you!!!!
^^^Meant to be a pep talk and said with love, please dont take it any other way, Alli!:flowerforyou:0 -
I have 6A4 next! I was planning to do it tonight... but after drinking a bit too much on a night out on Saturday, and feeling less than human, I decided my body could use an extra day off to rest.
I feel like I'm progressing on everything except for the neg chin ups. i'm not at a gym, so i just don't have access to a machine to do the assisted dips and am going it entirely alone. i think part of my problem is that i've psyched myself out!
At the risk of sounding like a huge jerk, Id say psyching yourself out is probably the biggest part of your issue. Make this neg. chin your *****! Im not using a machine either, frankly Im not sure a machine is the brightest idea. If it were, dont you think they would have mentioned it in NROLFW? Im not super lean, Im carrying plenty of extra baggage (FAT) too. Does it mean we have to work a little harder, sure, but it doesnt mean this is impossible. Look at everything you've mastered in this program up until now. Im sure you've made some huge accomplishments. Im sure there was something else you felt stuck on that you eventually overcame. Dont let this particular exercise be any different than any other exercise you've mastered. At the beginning, its tough and it sucks and it feels like you are spinning your wheels getting nowhere. Keep at it. Keep being persistent. Keep trying. It WILL pay off, just like everything else has...get out of your own head. YOU own the neg chin, the neg chin does NOT own you!!!!
^^^Meant to be a pep talk and said with love, please dont take it any other way, Alli!:flowerforyou:
Thanks for the kick in the pants! I needed it! I'll report back tonight after the gym...0 -
Thanks for the kick in the pants! I needed it! I'll report back tonight after the gym...
Happy to help. Looking forward to your report this evening!
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Hi everyone,
I'm half way through stage 6 and I love the changes in my body! Especially my back!!! Super excited to finish and get to stage 7. I hope to put up my stats for stage 6 very soon.
I also got the new NROL Supercharged and I'm currently reading through it. I'm planning to start this program after the summer is over because I have signed up to run my very first half marathon with Team in Training!! Super excited! I hope the fundraising goes well.
I know that if you want to build muscle it isn't ideal to mix marathon training with a muscle building plan. I'm going to try to see how this works. I REALLY HOPE! I DON'T LOSE ALL THE MUSCLE I GAINED WITH THIS PROGRAM! I will CRY!!!
But anywho...To all those in this stage! good luck you are so close to being done!
You will totally NOT lose all the muscle you built while training for a half-marathon. I'm ramping up my weekly running mileage as I prepare to start training for my 7th full marathon. When I started running marathons I only ran and nothing else. With each marathon I have run I have cut slightly back on the running (total mileage and/or days per week running) and increased the amount of weight lifting I've done in conjunction with my training and my marathon times keep getting faster and faster. My slowest time was 4:48 and this past spring I ran my fastest ever at 3:50. Keep lifting those weights while you go through your training program. Ideally I do 2x a week during most of my training but I admit when the weekly mileage gets high I drop back to 1x per week lifting and I also cut back to 1x (or none at all) during the week or two before my race.0 -
Allikat, I hope you got your workout in. The chin-up machine is impossible for me to use and have the correct grip/form and it does not work those core muscle you use to stabilize your body. You're not missing anything by not having access to one. Don't let YOU get in the way of doing your best
I did B3 yesterday and totally just blew through it. When the kids are with me I don't focus on really maxing out on the weights and I feel stuck on most of these exercises. Reverse lunge is stuck at 25 lbs, row is stuck at 35 lbs, and I should have gone up a lot on the press yesterday, but was so focused on getting it done and didn't increase it. Tomorrow I hope to do A4 and see some progress.
Are you better, Nthn?0 -
Did A4 tonight.... I was able to hold the neg chin up for 6 seconds.... which after the past few workouts, I'm pleased.
The big victory is that I didn't FALL right away.
As far as the rest of the workout - I have to admit, I'm really pleased with my push up progress.
Keep up the good work, ladies, and thanks for the inspiration!0 -
Did A4 tonight.... I was able to hold the neg chin up for 6 seconds.... which after the past few workouts, I'm pleased.
The big victory is that I didn't FALL right away.
As far as the rest of the workout - I have to admit, I'm really pleased with my push up progress.
Keep up the good work, ladies, and thanks for the inspiration!
Great progress. Keep at it....you will get there!0 -
Did my A3 workout this morning and felt good. Upped my time on the negative chin ups to 30 seconds for the first set, 25 for the 2nd and about 20 for the 3rd. Also upped my weights on the barbell split squat to 95lbs and I *totally* could have done more. Going to break 100lbs for that one on the next workout. I'm glad I decided to do this stage since it's very arm-intense and the workouts are so short that I'm able to deal with my increased running mileage. Today I hopped on the treadmill after my lifting and ran 5 miles worth of intervals. I'm in beast mode today!0
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Alli, that's awesome! Keep it up!
Ebaymommy, you're killin' it! You are beyond inspiring to me.
A4 for me this morning too. I was able to hold the negs for closer to 4 secs this time. I am shocked i am actually able to control them. I really didn't think I'd even get to that.0 -
Alli - You did it!!! A whole 6 seconds is freaking awesome!! Congrats!!
Cowgirl - 4 seconds of pure control...good for you! Im feeling better. Still cant shake this crap out of my head/hear well out of my right ear, but at least my energy and appetite (for the most part) have returned. I can deal with the rest. Thank you for asking.
Ebay - Do you plan on adding weight to your body for your neg. chins instead of upping your time (which is fantastic btw!)? Im curious how awkward it would be jumping off the chair and UP to that bar with a plate strapped to me. Could be a heck of a show!
I did A4 today. I chose not to add weight to my neg chin. This was my first A workout after being gone a week sick, I wasnt sure what to expect. I was quite shocked when I jumped for the bar the first time and managed to pull myself up part of the way. Sure wasnt a full chin up, but hell if I didnt feel light as a feather...which is a VERY odd feeling for an exercise that makes me feel like a heifer. Anywho, neg chin was 21 sec, followed by 16 sec and 9 sec. Those 15 second rests between UGLP nearly killed me. I think Im going to be hurting something fierce tomorrow. My big news though...I did push ups on my own!!!!!! The first push up of each set was boobs to floor in proper form with NO assistance. Of course the remaining 3 I used the bands, but still less assistance than last go. Im down to about 32lbs of assistance from 52lbs at the start of Stage 6. Baby steps...baby steps! Like Ebay, I decided I didnt have enough fun (although my arms were noodles by this point) and threw in some good ole fashion back squats for the hell of it. 115x4x4, couldnt get past 115lbs though. I think I toasted my legs on the split squat. Ah well, was still fun!0 -
That 15 second rest WAS insane for the UGLP! I had to drop my weight down a bit (5 lbs) after 6 sets in order to keep good form and timing.
In general, though, I feel like I'm cruising through stage 6 at a pretty good pace. I LOVE these shorter workout times.0 -
Nthn, so glad you were able to get back at it! And YAY for the push-ups! That's great progress!
Alli, I love these shorter workouts too. One of my MFP friends is doing Stronglifts and she posts 25 and 30 mins as her workout times. Makes me jealous.
I was looking ahead to Stage 7 and it makes me nervous. So many different exercises and such short rests. I really hope I get the "rapid fat loss" that he talks about!0 -
Ebay - Do you plan on adding weight to your body for your neg. chins instead of upping your time (which is fantastic btw!)? Im curious how awkward it would be jumping off the chair and UP to that bar with a plate strapped to me. Could be a heck of a show!
I think I would only add weight if I was able to keep all 3 sets of neg chins held for the same amount of time. So far for my workouts (I've done the A workout 3 times so I have 2 left) I can hold it pretty good for the first 2 but by the 3rd one I'm dying. Or if I did add weight it would maybe only be for the first one and then the 2nd and 3rd I'd just try to keep the same time w/o added weight.
My arms are KILLING me today. I think those longer neg chins plus the fact that I did the push ups with a 4 second pause in the "down" position are what did it. Seriously...it hurts to steer my car, wipe my countertops and sweep the floor. I didn't even shower today because I thought it would hurt too much to wash my hair. Plus I didn't have anywhere to go today so the cat doesn't care if I smell bad at home. 0 -
Cowgirl - I'm afraid of stage 7 also -- from what I've read it's a real butt kicker. And yes - I'd love the rapid fat loss!
Ebaymommy - I've been surprised that I've had DOMS for each of these A workouts. With the other stages, I'd typically only have some soreness after the first A and B workout for each, and then not much past that. Hahah, I can relate to not wanting to take a shower - I'm pretty sure I had that same experience at some point! "It sounds too painful!" Slap on some deoderant and no one will know ;-)0 -
LOL! There are days when I don't shower for that reason too. I've had DOMS almost every workout as well- very odd.
4B today. I was really not "feeling" it, but I upped my weights anyway. I must've tweaked my left shoulder on Wednesday because today it was somewhat painful to do the reverse lunges and hold the DB in that position. Hoping that if I wait til Monday to lift it won't be sore anymore.0 -
One more workout for me left!
My final A workout was just ok - I didn't make any more improvements on my neg chin up, but I'm giving myself a pass on that one... I'd just spent that day and the previous moving. I was exhausted, so the fact that I could do it at all was a victory for me.0 -
Yeah for you Alli!!! I think Id be alright with my times too if Id just moved. You'll have to look for the rest of us when we join you over on the Stage 7 thread.
Ebay - Sounds like a good plan with the neg chin and the weights.
I will probably not finish Stage 6 until next week even though I only have one each of A and B left. Unfortunately I am on my 4th round of antibiotics and dealing with an asthma flare. I dont feel to crummy, it just seems to be a "smoldering sinus infection" that doesnt want to go away at this point, but the asthma is really bugging me. Normally I only carry a rescue inhaler and the only time I need it is when I push just a little to hard at the gym. Lately Ive been using my resuce twice a day or better. So Im back on a daily inhaler and it will take several days for my lungs to calm back down. Until then, its probably not wise to get myself all wound up. Im scared my azz is starting to take on the shape of my couch! :laugh:0
