New rules of lifting for women

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  • cristenjo
    cristenjo Posts: 35 Member
    B
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member

    but NROL, also points out that if you choose a high enough weight that you can't complete all the reps in that set then that's fine. do the reps you can do and dont worry about the rest of the reps. for instance if you're at a weight where you can only do 4 reps, then do the 4. next time do more reps until you're doing them all.

    i did loads of strength training in the past (former competitive powerlifter and played a sport where i needed to train primarily to increase my bulk and explosive strength) and although this is a bit different than what i had been taught, it's still not the same as saying only choose a weight where you can do ALL reps.

    for the record, how i was taught (and what i've been doing with NROL) is that if i reach a weight where I can only do half the reps at that weight, i dont consider that the end of my set, i just drop it back down to the previous weight. the next time i do a few more reps at the higher weight until i'm doing all reps at that weight. once i can do all reps at that weight, then i increase the weight..

    these are small little cheats that strength trainer and powerlifters do and have been doing for years. i just wanted to make it clear that mehdi isnt the only one telling people to do this. :smile:

    You're right, yes, and some say Mehdi stole his entire schtick from Wendler. I'm just pointing out that NROL is still shooting for higher reps, whereas the entire mindset of 5x5 is different--it's the goal, not the backup plan. Regardless, NROL just has a dang lot of different split routines; that takes a lot of time.
    yep.. the biggest drawback is that everything after stage 1 takes so much time. stage 1 took me anywhere from 25-40 minutes as the weeks went on.. stage 2 about 45- 60 minutes, stage 3 is about the same. i started going to the gym twice a day because i like being able to do 30 minutes of cardio on days and spend some time in the whirlpool the days i lift and i just dont have the mental strength or patience to spend 2 hours a day in the gym at one time.

    besides that i generally like 90% of the exercises, but some of the moves i absolutely loathe (ie reverse lunge with forward reach, 1 pt DB row, 1 legged romanian deadlift). i'd rather work on my balance during yoga and use my lifting time for strength gains.

    ok hopefully i havent dissuaded anyone from trying it out with that :laugh:
  • Lambert310715
    Lambert310715 Posts: 3 Member
    I have just got this book...

    I really need help on the programme? i think i am being really dim and probably not looked at it long enough but i don't get the work out programme for stage 1 at all....

    Can anyone guide me..

    Thanks..
  • DerDude
    DerDude Posts: 170
    send you a mail ;)
  • Lambert310715
    Lambert310715 Posts: 3 Member
    Thanks!
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member

    yep.. the biggest drawback is that everything after stage 1 takes so much time. stage 1 took me anywhere from 25-40 minutes as the weeks went on.. stage 2 about 45- 60 minutes, stage 3 is about the same. i started going to the gym twice a day because i like being able to do 30 minutes of cardio on days and spend some time in the whirlpool the days i lift and i just dont have the mental strength or patience to spend 2 hours a day in the gym at one time.

    besides that i generally like 90% of the exercises, but some of the moves i absolutely loathe (ie reverse lunge with forward reach, 1 pt DB row, 1 legged romanian deadlift). i'd rather work on my balance during yoga and use my lifting time for strength gains.

    ok hopefully i havent dissuaded anyone from trying it out with that :laugh:

    Yes, since I workout with a partner, and our gym only has 1 power rack (it gets busy and sometimes you have to wait to get back over to the rack after you left to go use the pulley or do step-ups or whatever), by the end of Stage 1 we were in there well over an hour. Once you include the warm-up (we do 10 min on a spin bike and a few other exercises) and a 10-15 min stretch at the end), we were between 1:45 - 2:00.

    We are now amazed how fast we are in and out after our 2nd "official" SL workout (50 minutes including warmup/stretch), but DANG those pendlay rows! holy smokes! You grab the rack and complete everything there, BOOM! No walking to another part of the gym and coming back to find it occupied.

    Anyway, as I said originally I do greatly appreciate NROL4W for getting me started, and I definitely learned a lot from it. Obviously, it works and the results you can see in people's photos on here are impressive.

    Even prior to completing Stage 1 I had my own NSV at Target (in the dressing room trying on shirts--they have full length angled mirrors so you can see your back), and DANG! I HAVE MUSCLES!!!! :laugh:

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