Day 1 - Thoughts and Questions
agbaeb
Posts: 179 Member
Day one took place this morning, as I had a day off from my cardioholic running. 
Yes, I'm a cardio-aholic, and this lifting thing is scaring me like crazy. I changed my MFP settings so that I'm "maintaining" at 1920 cal/day (which is still a cut from my TDEE of 2327).
My workout schedule as I begin this program looks as follows:
S M T W T F S
Rest Run 3.1 (am) Run 4.5 Lift Run 4.5 Lift Long Run (10)
Lift (pm)
That sounds intense but it's really only adding a lift day on Mon and Friday and run on Monday.... I have been running 4 days a week. I have some races coming up that I want to do well for, so I'm going to give this a try, and worst-comes-to-worst, I'll have to cut a run out (Monday, probably) in order to help my body recover. Let me know what you think.
Regarding the workout itself, I feel like the book makes the system a whole lot more complicated than it needs to be. I'm actually really thankful for the 60 seconds of rest between activities, because it helped me figure out what I was doing next and why in the world there are colums for 4-5 sets when I'm only told to do 2. (I never figured that out, so if you know, let me know too. )
I have to be honest that warming up for a lifting workout is so foreign to me. What do you guys use for a warm up? I'm tempted to go run a little bit and stretch, because I don't really know how to warm up adequately without doing body weight squats and maybe more pushups?
The workout only lasted about 20 minutes, and I feel it all over my upper body already. I have a really strong lower body, so I think seeing those results will be less obvious and probably less overall. However, I do really like squats. I'm beginning to be really thankful for the 2 huge mirrors I've detested in the living room/dining room. They're great for working out!
Okay, day 1 is complete. My upper body is tired, and my lower body feels nothing.
What was your first NROL4W week like?
Yes, I'm a cardio-aholic, and this lifting thing is scaring me like crazy. I changed my MFP settings so that I'm "maintaining" at 1920 cal/day (which is still a cut from my TDEE of 2327).
My workout schedule as I begin this program looks as follows:
S M T W T F S
Rest Run 3.1 (am) Run 4.5 Lift Run 4.5 Lift Long Run (10)
Lift (pm)
That sounds intense but it's really only adding a lift day on Mon and Friday and run on Monday.... I have been running 4 days a week. I have some races coming up that I want to do well for, so I'm going to give this a try, and worst-comes-to-worst, I'll have to cut a run out (Monday, probably) in order to help my body recover. Let me know what you think.
Regarding the workout itself, I feel like the book makes the system a whole lot more complicated than it needs to be. I'm actually really thankful for the 60 seconds of rest between activities, because it helped me figure out what I was doing next and why in the world there are colums for 4-5 sets when I'm only told to do 2. (I never figured that out, so if you know, let me know too.
)I have to be honest that warming up for a lifting workout is so foreign to me. What do you guys use for a warm up? I'm tempted to go run a little bit and stretch, because I don't really know how to warm up adequately without doing body weight squats and maybe more pushups?
The workout only lasted about 20 minutes, and I feel it all over my upper body already. I have a really strong lower body, so I think seeing those results will be less obvious and probably less overall. However, I do really like squats.
I'm beginning to be really thankful for the 2 huge mirrors I've detested in the living room/dining room. They're great for working out!Okay, day 1 is complete. My upper body is tired, and my lower body feels nothing.
What was your first NROL4W week like?
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BUMP0
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I haven't started yet, because I am still finishing up the book. I am 75% through with it. I also have the same questions as you, like why all the columns for sets and why it seems so complicated but it really isn't. I thought it was because I was reading it on my kindle rather than the real book. Needless to say I ordered the book and am waiting for it to arrive. I am dreading that first day when I hit the gym to get that first workout in. Do you recall how long stage 1 is? I wasn't sure if it was 6 weeks or 8 weeks. Hopefully someone will answer your questions, I feel like I am in a fog with all of the info the book provides.
Chrissy0 -
I couldn't move. BUT... it had been decades since I'd weight lifted and nearly 10 years since I'd done any steady workout. I was sore for days!!! Congrats on starting. Join the Stage 1 and Daily Chat thread. Some awesome women gather in both places to talk about NROL4W and all sorts of stuff!0 -
I was actually not very sore, but completely exhausted the next day. But then I came down with a sore throat/ earache- back to school and my kids are bringing home every virus- so maybe that's why. i haven't worked out since sunday- and I haven't missed 2 days in a row for a VERY long time. My body feels strange- very light and loose. Trying to muster enough energy to do the second workout tonight.
For warm up I did 12 min cardio (elliptical), then all of the warm up exercises recommended in the book (squat-type things, side & front lunges, no weights, and inchworm thing). Good luck!0 -
Your workout plan looks quite a bit like mine :-) I just finished Stage 3 today and never stopped running for the lifting program.
To be honest, I don't do much of a warmup. And by "much" I mean, not really at all... However, I always do the first exercise at a full set of lower reps before diving in - the book recommends doing that anyways, so if Deadlifts are first and I normally put 60 on the bar, I'll do a set of with 30 or 40lbs to warm up. So far, that has been sufficient for me - no issues or injuries (knock on wood).
Anyways, I really wanted to jump into your thread and throw some encouragement your way :-) Make sure to listen to your body and allow yourself those rest days. Running and NROL is great!0 -
Yay for your first day! I am doing Stage 1 Workout 3A tomorrow. So only four weeks in but I am LOVING this program. I feel so much stronger already. The first workout was not too tough for me, because I kinda of underestimated where I needed to be with the starting weights. But I definitely felt it the next day. I ramped up a bit for 1B and that was a crazy good workout. As for the extra columns on the lifting logs, I think (but could definitely be wrong) it's because there are not always just 2 sets of each exercise? I haven't reviewed the upcoming exercises enough to know for sure if that's true.
I really don't do anything for a warm-up, really, which is probably bad. I do 5-10 minutes on the bike just to get my heart rate flowing and then a couple body weight squats or going through the motion of the deadlift (depending on what workout I'm doing), but that's it. I should probably be doing more, but I feel OK and I don't think my boyfriend (who does the workouts with me) would have the patience for the warm-ups. :laugh:
I'm doing fairly intense workouts on my "off" days, too - I do cardio kickboxing for an hour 3 times a week (about a 700-800 calorie burn). Then just two days of weight lifting. My schedule lately has been making it too hard to guarantee a workout on the weekends and I kind of feel like I need the extra day off to rest my body (though we still end up doing something fairly active on the weekends usually). Good for you for keeping up with the running! As you get further in, I'm sure your body will tell you if you're doing too much. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your experience with the program!0 -
I found this on nrol4w web site. You have to join to be able to read peoples post. Its free to join.
You alternate workout A-B . So day 1 will be workout A, day 2 workout B day 3 workout A. That is your first week.
Week two you start with workout B, then A, last workout for week two will be B.
In the columes you have workout1, workout 1 will take you through two weeks. Workout 2 will take you though another two weeks. It keeps going until you complete 8 weeks.
This is what workout A looks like:
Squat- 1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Squat-1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Pushups- 1 set of 15
Rest 60 seconds
Seated Row- 1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Pushups- 1 set of 15
Rest 60 seconds
Seated Row- 1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Stepups- 1 set of 15
Rest 60 seconds
Prone Jacknife 1- set of 8 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Stepups- 1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Prone Jacknife- 1 set of 8
She says, " If you don't feel like jello after that then you aren't using heavy enough weights or you are waiting too long between sets".0 -
Oooh...I was thinking you do A AND B together. I start today. I really want to do both! I'm so fired up, I feel like I could! It doesn't seem to difficult, at least in Stage I, after completing P90X.
What do you guys think?0 -
This is soooo great...I've been trying to fully understand it for so long. Thanks for posting this.I found this on nrol4w web site. You have to join to be able to read peoples post. Its free to join.
You alternate workout A-B . So day 1 will be workout A, day 2 workout B day 3 workout A. That is your first week.
Week two you start with workout B, then A, last workout for week two will be B.
In the columes you have workout1, workout 1 will take you through two weeks. Workout 2 will take you though another two weeks. It keeps going until you complete 8 weeks.
This is what workout A looks like:
Squat- 1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Squat-1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Pushups- 1 set of 15
Rest 60 seconds
Seated Row- 1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Pushups- 1 set of 15
Rest 60 seconds
Seated Row- 1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Stepups- 1 set of 15
Rest 60 seconds
Prone Jacknife 1- set of 8 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Stepups- 1 set of 15 reps
Rest 60 seconds
Prone Jacknife- 1 set of 8
She says, " If you don't feel like jello after that then you aren't using heavy enough weights or you are waiting too long between sets".0 -
Congrats on your first day! And my hat is off to you for that ambitious schedule. If you can do it, awesome. I know there are some suggestions in the book on how to fit in cardio. I personally scaled back on cardio big time - like pretty much didn't do any except for some high-intensity interval training, walking, and the occasional spin class. This was a whole new concept to me because I always thought I had to do serious cardio to lose weight. Had to do a bit of reprogramming.
I will soon start training for a 1/2 marathon and I'm not sure how I'll do my schedule. I'm thinking (hoping) to run 3 days/week and lift 2 days. I'm just not sure how I will do it. I'm used to -- and like -- lifting 3 days/week, but will need to scale back. And I NEED my rest days. So I'm thinking: Monday - lift, Tuesday - run (short run), Wednesday - rest, Thursday - lift + run (tempo), Friday - rest, Sat - long run, Sunday rest. Don't know if that's enough running to train though... :-/ (Can you tell I like to rest?)
As for warmups before lifting, I usually do 10 minutes on the elliptical just to get my heartrate up a little. The Stage 1 workouts are pretty short, so the last couple of weeks I added in 15 min of HIIT. Also I agree with a PP -- if you aren't breathing hard, you are not pushing yourself enough and you can probably up your weights.0 -
Today was Day 1 for me, too. I'm not new to lifting because it was a twice-a-week thing for swim team in high school and I also did P90X. However, I did finally get a new-to-me squat rack from Craigslist, so now I'm really excited to get some challenging leg work in (P90X's leg stuff didn't always do it for me ...).
The prone jackknife thing: my Swiss ball slipped all over the place! I slammed my knees into the ground a few times trying to get it right -- yea for mats. I have wood floors and gym mats, and none of them held the ball in place. Anyone have tips for that?0 -
Oooh...I was thinking you do A AND B together. I start today. I really want to do both! I'm so fired up, I feel like I could! It doesn't seem to difficult, at least in Stage I, after completing P90X.
What do you guys think?
Do A and B seperately, but LIFT HEAVY. You want to go as heavy as you possibly can while maintaining proper form. If you are doing high volume and repeatedly hitting the same muscles (as you would doing A and B together) your lifts will probably suffer vs having the energy to bust out each exercise at your MAX. FYI, the volume gets higher later in the program too. So glad you're excited—it's a great program!0 -
Woah, that post was from like a month ago--well guess a lot of ladies have the same question!0
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The prone jackknife thing: my Swiss ball slipped all over the place! I slammed my knees into the ground a few times trying to get it right -- yea for mats. I have wood floors and gym mats, and none of them held the ball in place. Anyone have tips for that?
My dry run last week didn't go so well, however, my first day on Monday went okay. I watched this YouTube video which helped a bit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UySShFYfC14
Someone suggested to get the ball and lay on top of it on your stomach, and then slowly roll yourself over it so that your hands are on the floor, then scoot the ball out with yourlegs until your feet are on top of it. (I think NROL4W reads to walk your hands out instead).
Another person started parallel to a wall so they could use the wall for balance. I hope these suggestions help.0 -
I started Monday. Did workout B this morning. I'm working out at home, so I need to buy more weights. I thought starting out with the bar would be ok, because I haven't lifted in years, but I'm stronger than I thought.
I'm doing New Rules MWF, and C25K Tue, Thur, Sat.0 -
The prone jackknife thing: my Swiss ball slipped all over the place! I slammed my knees into the ground a few times trying to get it right -- yea for mats. I have wood floors and gym mats, and none of them held the ball in place. Anyone have tips for that?
My dry run last week didn't go so well, however, my first day on Monday went okay. I watched this YouTube video which helped a bit.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UySShFYfC14
Someone suggested to get the ball and lay on top of it on your stomach, and then slowly roll yourself over it so that your hands are on the floor, then scoot the ball out with yourlegs until your feet are on top of it. (I think NROL4W reads to walk your hands out instead).
Another person started parallel to a wall so they could use the wall for balance. I hope these suggestions help.
Thanks! I'll definitely try out these options for next time.0 -
She says, " If you don't feel like jello after that then you aren't using heavy enough weights or you are waiting too long between sets".
This was my first run through of NRL4W. I was definately way to light. Any suggestions on finding the right weight for these? I don't have a ton of weights & was thinking about adding a weighted vest for some of these. Can't get to a gym either :sad:
Did: Squats - 35 lb on the bar - don't have a squat rack, hence a weighted vest to go heavier.
Pushups - did full plank - will have to bump up to T-pushups with weights?
Bent over Row - again 35 lbs on the bar......a little heavier?
Step ups - used 20's but this was pretty easy.
Prone Jackknife - did 15 with good form fairly easily....there is nothing in the book to make this harder.
Thoughts??0
