Program Adaptation? Discouraged by Time & Gym Limitations

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J_Dragonfly
J_Dragonfly Posts: 15 Member
Hi All,

I'm just about to complete Stage 1. I have been using my office complex gym during my 30 minute lunch breaks to knock out my workouts. I've been seeing good results and really love the program.

I am feeling a bit discouraged, though, as ladies ahead of me in the program have shared (on this forum) that the future Stages can take 60-90 minutes per workout. I would do that if I could... My objective starting out was to strictly adhere to the book. But, between my work schedule and childcare responsibilities for my 1 year old twins, I can't spend that much consecutive time in the gym. I also can only access my gym during the work week, and truly cannot afford to join a gym. Even if I tried to force it at the outset of Stage 2, I don't think it'd be sustainable in the longterm...

I've been thinking of trying to adapt the program, to continue spending 30 minutes per session, by breaking up the Stage 2 A workout between Mon/Tues and the B workout between Thurs/Fri, with Wednesday/Sat/Sun as rest days. Basically, Stage 2 would look something like this:

M
Warm Up
Front Squat/ Push Press (2 sets)
Alternating Sets (2) of
- Step-Up and
- Dumbbell One-Point Row

T
Warm Up
Alternating Sets (2) of
- Static Lunge with Elevated Rear Foot and
- Push-Ups
Alternating Sets (2) of
- Plank and
- Cable Horizontal Wood Chop

W
REST

Th
Warm Up
2 sets each - not Alternating, right? - of:
Wide-grip deadlift from box
Bulgarian Split Squat
Underhand-grip lat pulldown
Swiss Ball Crunch
Reverse Crunch

F
Warm Up
2 sets each - not Alternating, right? - of:
Reverse Lunge from Box with Forward Reach
Dumbbell Prone Cuban Snatch
Lateral Flexion
Prone Cobra
15 minutes Interval Training


Does this make sense? Could something like this be done for Stages 3-7 too? Is there any other, better adaptation of NROL4W that can accommodate my time and gym access limitations?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Replies

  • chuckles9189
    chuckles9189 Posts: 343 Member
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    I'm interested in the reply. That looks nice to me. I don't even have time limits and I might be interested in doing this.
  • courtniemarie
    courtniemarie Posts: 172 Member
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    I’m not a trainer so unfortunately I can’t comment on how effective this would be but I did want to mention that everything but the Wide-grip deadlift from box are alternating for workout 2B, I believe. At least, that’s how I completed stage 2, bummer if I had it wrong! I did the swiss ball crunch, reverse crunch and lateral flexion as a round of three alternating workouts.
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,003 Member
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    Someone once told me, "the best exercise is the one that you'll do..."

    So, if this is the BEST exercise routine, for you, I say "GO FOR IT!"

    Maybe you won't get the EXACT results, or more likely, it might take you LONGER to get the results you seek, who CARES???

    Just do what you can, KEEP HEAVY LIFTING, and we'll see you on the flip side!