January Start

AlexJourneyHall

Hi,

I'm new to the whole weight lifting thing and I can't wait to start this regimen. I'll be starting in January and my book won't get here til later this week.

I was wondering, does anyone have any before and after measurements. Also, will it be necessary for me to have someone to workout with?

Other than that, I am pumped and I can't wait to start in January!

deninevi

Hey and welcome!
I didn't take measurements before, but my clothes are getting looser-I'm in the middle of stage 3. I work out by myself and so far haven't needed anybody to work out with me.

AlexJourneyHall

Great, I still will have workout buddy though, but thanks

BundangKiwiGal

Hi there!

I've just finished reading the book and looking to start it next week with the beginning of the New Year.
I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to this weight lifting business, but really keen to give it a go and concentrate more on losing body fat rather than get caught up with actual weight loss (although I know that it goes hand in hand).

Would love to be your cyber buddy doing this with you, if you're up for it!

Cheers

Beeps2011

I started a bit early, but not much. I will be at Workout4B, Stage 1, on Monday, January 2, 2012. I did take measurements on December 24, 2011. And, I think I will do tape measure every 2 weeks, but do the scale only every month.

I have been reading that the "muscle soreness" does get better as the program goes on, and I REALLY hope that is true! Although I have been strength-training for about 8 weeks, I'm SHOCKED at how SORE my muscles are on this program. It's a "shock" that I'm resigned to accept, though.

VinVenture

I'm starting it on wednesday jan 3rd, myself. I've been lifting a while, but aiming at following the program to the dot (as well as I can, anywho). By my calculations I'll be done by june 7th.

Also, DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) gets less painfull after a while, because you can't continuously break down your muscles the way you do in the beginning. For the beginning though, I suggest stock up on milk and bananas. They're great for rebuilding muscles and keep away muscle cramps.

kelseyhere

Low-fat chocolate milk is great for that and a nice treat after a hard Nrol4W workout

Oh, and I haven't really been measuring but I've only been on this program for two weeks and I can already fit into a pair of pants that I couldn't even get up over my hips at the beginning of December. So I'd say it's working!

Beeps2011

Ugh @ bananas...I like the FLAVOUR, but hate the TEXTURE!! So, I'll try this, but I won't LIKE it, lol!

And, I don't drink milk....lactose intolerant. So, bananas it is!

VinVenture

Then rice or almond milk with added calcium should help, unless you opt for lactose-reduced milk.

If you want to improve banana context, cut them in half, stick either chopsticks, popsicle sticks or whatever wooden utensils you can use, in the flat end. Dip in dark chocolate and stick them in the freezer. The chocolate will stiffen, the banana freeze, and you get a lovely little dessert, the context will be more like a thick sorbet rather than gooey banana. Just a suggestion, though.

BetterWithAge

I just finished reading the book and looking forward to starting on Tuesday.

Jennifer0878

Hi Everyone!

This is actually my first post with MFP, althoughI have been using it for a while. I just finished reading NROLFW and am VERY excited to start in January. I've worked with personal trainers and lifted some in the past, but I really love the layout of this program and am anxious to shed some excess body fat. Hopefully, we can all encourage each other!

Beeps2011

futureSkinny - GREAT ideas on the bananas!! Thank you.

Jennifer0878, I am excited for you! I hope to see you over on the "Stage 1" board once you've begun!

I have set my goal at losing 4% bodyfat by February 29, 2012. Will re-evaluate at that time. For all you other "January start" persons, what is your goal?

Shyloh1

Hi!

I have been reading the NROL4W for a bit now and I'm planning to start the program at home. I know,I am going to have to make some modifications since I don't have the equipment. So,Jan.1st it will be for my first workout.

Some questions...did you girls go by calorie recommendations for your height,weight and age in the book?Or did you figure out your TDEE from another site and go by that? Or should I say which works for you better? One calorie limit or 2 different calorie limits,as listed in the book? Or are you going by what MFP gives you for Maintenance?

It's going to be tough for me to switch my way of thinking...focusing on body composition rather than the number on the scale!

I also wanted to add,that I'm lifting weights 3X a week now,so I'm not a total newbie! lol!

Beeps2011

For calories, I'm just using "maintenance" here on mfp. At least for the first month....will see what that does (in terms of making sure I am lowering my BF%). Also, a little birdie told me about "JP Forums" - and they are starting a "January - March, 2012" challenge. I'm going to enter it, because that will help me stay on track. JP Forums has EXCELLENT video resources on how to do the "moves" in NROL4W. Lou Schuler has posted on that site!

I'm NOT a total "newbie" at lifting, either....but, I've also decided I REALLY need to focus on getting my FORM 100% correct. So, my weights ARE lower (than I had anticipated) and I'll just trust that I'll get the form down and then can move up my weights in a hurry.

Welcome, Shyloh....it will be a GREAT 2012!!!

Melis25Fit

Reading through the book right now, nervous about starting. I've always been bad at figuring out cals I should be consuming, etc. Can someone help me with that? Starting the program Monday!
165 lbs, 5'6" and 27yrs old.


Kinda makes me nervous just doing it myself, what do you reccomend, writing up the workouts first? Any suggestions would be great!

Melissa

agthorn

I start stage 2 on Tuesday. I've been using the Jefit application/website to track my workouts. It's really handy; they have a free app that you can download onto your phone or ipod and put all the exercises in for the stage, and then log your reps and weights as you go (and it has a rest timer too). There's a paid version of the app as well but so far the free version has done everything I need to do.

As for calories, the book's calculations gave me 1957 for a non-workout day and 2201 for a workout day. I don't actually use these numbers in MFP but they seem pretty close to my total calories consumed when I use MFP's base+exercise version. My original net for maintaining weight was 1630 (set to 'sedentary' but I've read elsewhere that very few people are truly sedentary based on this site's numbers for sedentary); I upped to 1770 for "lightly active" and didn't gain any weight so I'm trying "very active" and 1890 for a while to see how it goes. My BMR calculated on other sites is higher than the BMR calculated here, and I've never been certain how many calories my yoga class burns so I just use MFP's number even though I'm fairly certain it's too low.

Definitely make sure you take progress photos, tape measurements, and body fat measurement if you've got one. The scale has not moved for me in 4 months other than random up/down fluctuations based on TOM and retaining fluids, etc. But I can still see progress in other places.

Beeps2011

I just finished my 3rd workout on NROL4W. I might as well be considered a "January Start", because I think I will repeat workouts 7 and 8 two times.

Turns out, my form is PRETTY BAD.



So, with a trainer today, we worked on "form" only. I can only do the squats with body weight - as soon as I put a barbell across my back, my shoulders hunch forward and I'm too far on my toes. Also, I cannot squat as low as is necessary. Whoosh - another BLOW TO EGO. But, fine. It is what it is.

Also, my step-ups. I'm using a 2 ft. bench. And, if I have dumb-bells in my hands, my shoulders push forward. So, I just did step-ups without DB, today.



Anyway, Stage 1 is about getting the form "down", so it is what it is. I'm going to read the book again....I'm just kind of shocked that my form is as bad as it is!! Anyhoooooo, I'll have to temper my enthusiasm, somewhat. I don't think I'll be NEARLY as strong (by end of April) as I thought I would be. Bummer.

Shyloh1

For calories, I'm just using "maintenance" here on mfp. At least for the first month....will see what that does (in terms of making sure I am lowering my BF%). Also, a little birdie told me about "JP Forums" - and they are starting a "January - March, 2012" challenge. I'm going to enter it, because that will help me stay on track. JP Forums has EXCELLENT video resources on how to do the "moves" in NROL4W. Lou Schuler has posted on that site!

I'm NOT a total "newbie" at lifting, either....but, I've also decided I REALLY need to focus on getting my FORM 100% correct. So, my weights ARE lower (than I had anticipated) and I'll just trust that I'll get the form down and then can move up my weights in a hurry.

Welcome, Shyloh....it will be a GREAT 2012!!!

Thanks for your reply...

Thanks for tip about the JP Forums...

Maybe I'll do the Maintenance calories and see how it goes....

deninevi

Reading through the book right now, nervous about starting. I've always been bad at figuring out cals I should be consuming, etc. Can someone help me with that? Starting the program Monday!
165 lbs, 5'6" and 27yrs old.


Kinda makes me nervous just doing it myself, what do you reccomend, writing up the workouts first? Any suggestions would be great!

Melissa

According to the formulas in the book, you should be at 2000.25 cals on no work out days and 2266.95 cals on work out day.Hope this helps! You should try and see what works for you.

M_lifts

i really want to do this, but im limited in terms of equipment

i have a set of adjustable dumbells, was thinking of improvising and using the coffee table for squatting as will be using my living room.

Has anyone got any other innovative idea of doing this with minimal equipement? Any help would be much appreciated as im starting to not like the skinny fat look that im developing

BetterWithAge

I just finished reading the book and looking forward to starting on Tuesday.

Starting on Monday instead. WOOHOO!!

ltki

Hi all, I'm new to this group and have recently finished reading the book after reading so many people rave about their success. My plan is to start tomorrow and try to lift at least 2 days per week. I do a lot of weight based circuit training already but nothing like a planned program. I'm looking forward to working through the stages and seeing progrress!!

BetterWithAge

I started this morning and I seriously thought that 2 sets of 15 squats idn't sound like much. Boy was I wrong. I used the 45 pound bar by itself and did the two sets as instructed. I had jelly legs when I was done, LOL. I guess that is a good sign. The jackknifes were pretty hard, but I liked the movement.

Looking forward to Wednesday

Beeps2011

maria, I think if you read through the "Stage 1" question board on the NROL4W group, you'll find quite a number of people are doing it from home.

I'm doing Workout 4B, Stage 1, today. Happy to have your support as I wander through this. My ONLY (fitness) goal in 2012 is to lose body fat %, so, I'm counting on this to work really well! Right now, I'm working on form, so my weight-bearing isn't very heavy (yet)....but, I'll get there. I'm watching other women "get there", so I figure it'll happen for me, too!

Jennifer0878

I know we are supposed to be sore, but HOW sore? I'm reeeeeeeally sore from doing Stage 1, Workout A1 yesterday. I plan on walking/light jogging on my treadmill this afternoon to see if that helps, but I don't want to do any more harm to my muscles. Suggestions?

BetterWithAge

I know we are supposed to be sore, but HOW sore? I'm reeeeeeeally sore from doing Stage 1, Workout A1 yesterday. I plan on walking/light jogging on my treadmill this afternoon to see if that helps, but I don't want to do any more harm to my muscles. Suggestions?

I am already sore and I did the first workout just this morning. I do not want to be idle tomorrow so I am either going to do the 20 minutes of intervals on the treadmill or the spin bike. If I am WAY too sore or that, then I will probably walk at 3mph for 20-30 minutes. I want my muscles to repair before my next workout on Wednesday.

grapenutSF

I'm having the opposite problem... no soreness at all. Does this mean I'm going waaaaay too light on the weights? I wish he gave us a ballpark of where to start. I've been doing Nike Training Club for a while, so I'm not sure if that has some bearing, ie, won't be as much shock to the system. Here's what I did, muscles seemed fatigued at the end of the set, but not torture. very open to feedback.

Workout A (Saturday);
squats: just bar so 45#, 2 sets, 15 reps ea
pushups: standard, 2 sets, 15 reps
cable seated row: "6", 2 sets, 15 reps
DB step ups: 15# (30 total), 2 sets, 15 reps
Ball pull-in: 2 sets of 15

Workout B (this morning):
barbell deadlift: 50#, 2 sets of 15
DB shoulder press: 17.5# (35 total), 2 sets of 15
lat pulldown: 60 x15
db lunges 20 (40 tot)x12
planks: 2 @ 60 sec each

grapenutSF

Just stumbled across this link.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

I wonder if this might be able to provide an idea of where to begin? If so, what percentage would make sense given that these weights refer to 1 rep only?

ruststar

Just stumbled across this link.

http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html

I wonder if this might be able to provide an idea of where to begin? If so, what percentage would make sense given that these weights refer to 1 rep only?

It's not terribly helpful for telling you where to start - the 1 rep max is what you could do just one tme and be completely spent from the effort.

You should be able to tell what you can handle,and everybody is different (hence, no guidelines on what weigt to start with). How do you feel at the end of the 15 reps? If you feel like you could do more, up the weight and do another set. If that's still too easy, up it again. I just finished stage 4 and during my last round of deadlifts I increased my weight from 125 to 145 pounds because I finised a set and felt like I could still do more. I ended up doing almost 5 sets (of 8 at this stage), but I walked away stunned that I pulled that much and relaized I hadn't been truly pushing myself.

BetterWithAge

I know we are supposed to be sore, but HOW sore? I'm reeeeeeeally sore from doing Stage 1, Workout A1 yesterday. I plan on walking/light jogging on my treadmill this afternoon to see if that helps, but I don't want to do any more harm to my muscles. Suggestions?

I am already sore and I did the first workout just this morning. I do not want to be idle tomorrow so I am either going to do the 20 minutes of intervals on the treadmill or the spin bike. If I am WAY too sore or that, then I will probably walk at 3mph for 20-30 minutes. I want my muscles to repair before my next workout on Wednesday.

It looks like I will be idle today and I am okay with that. I am too sore to walk 20 minutes, even the motion to sit in a chair hurts. I can't believe that two sets of 15 did this. I am excited and can't wait until tomorrow. I guess I will see how I feel on Thursday, maybe I will be able to do some HIIT.

Beeps2011

grapenut, yes, I think you need MORE weight.

As for soreness, last night was the FIRST night I have not woken up in the middle of the night because my legs ached so bad. (During the day-time, my legs are still aching pretty much all the time.)

I did Workout B yesterday, and it doesn't hurt (my legs) as much as Workout A. But, it's back to Workout A, tomorrow, and I'll still be stiff. I'm not expecting to "lose" this stiffness until around the end of Stage 1. Partly because I'm obviously stretching muscles that haven't been stretched (in that way) for some time. And then, partly because I want to increase the weights once I get the form down.

I'm supposed to be eating more bananas to combat the stiffness, but I haven't done that yet (I'm not a banana fan). But, I want to start. Groceries are today!