Stage 7 Questions (the final countdown)

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  • heatheralia
    heatheralia Posts: 79 Member
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    Jennie - Congrats on making it through the program!!! I have been putting off my last 4 workouts, and already know I won't do a repeat to make it to 12 workouts for stage 7. I am anxious to start NROL4 abs.
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
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    Heather & Jennie - thanks for the advice on the barbell bench.

    Jennie - congrats on finishing!!! :)

    Heather - I'm going to try all 6 before I decide whether to repeat them. Why are you putting off the last 4 - do you not like them?
  • heatheralia
    heatheralia Posts: 79 Member
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    Karen - After my workout 2 I must have strained a muscle in my neck. It was hard to turn it and I was concerned that I might hurt it more if I worked out. After it started feeling better, it just seems like life got even busier than usual. I really am looking forward to powering through the last 4 workouts so I can start NROL4abs. I guess my 4 kids have been extra active in their extracurricular activities, plus getting ready for Halloween fun! Things should start to slow down for me later this week.
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
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    Ouch! I hope your neck feels better soon!
  • heatheralia
    heatheralia Posts: 79 Member
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    Thanks Karen! It does feel better. I finally got to workout 3 last night. I feel like stage 7 is soooo much harder than any other stage has been! I dropped my weights back to 20 lb dumbbells for the lunge with rear foot elevated, but I think I only did 10 in each set. I was determined to stick with the 30 second rests and not go longer, and I was determined to get all 4 sets done. I was totally exhausted at the end, and discouraged in myself for not getting to 15 reps with everything. I hope everyone else is rocking this stage better than I am! :ohwell:
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
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    Well, WO1 kicked my *kitten*. Big time! I had to use less weight than I expected on most of it, and those 30-second rests are killer! Some of them I may have taken 45-60 just to be able to breathe & finish. I also had to take 5-second mental breaks mid-set to get myself through at least 15 reps. I went into it planning to do max reps on everything, but before I was even done with the first circuit I realized that wasn't going to happen. LOL.

    Squat: 2x8 - 75 lb.

    Elevated Static Lunge: 30 lb. (15 lb./hand) x15/leg -- started with 17.5/hand, but yeah, couldn't even do 15 reps on both legs with that.

    Pushups: Smith 5th peg x15 (had to raise it to the 6th peg to get 15 reps on the 4th circuit)

    RDL: 65 lb. x15 (maybe x20 on some sets - I lost count a few times counting by fives, so when I wasn't sure if I'd done 10 or 15, I did 5 more to make sure I did at least 15).

    DB bent-over rows: 50 lb. (25 lb./hand) -- tried 30 lb./hand because I finished stage 6 with 45-50 lb. for the 1-hand dumbbell rows, but after about 6 reps knew 30's were too much & dropped. Finishing 15 reps with 25's was still a *****.

    I thankfully did not feel like I was going to vomit, but I do feel like I'm going to be sore from head to toe tomorrow! :o
  • jenniet04
    jenniet04 Posts: 1,054 Member
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    Great job ladies!

    Karen - I'm betting you will be sore! :)
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
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    Yes, definitely sore on Saturday (mainly in hamstrings & chest). Less yesterday, and only a little sore in my hamstrings still today for 7.2:

    Bench: 1x8x45, 1x8x55
    Row: 2x8x100
    Heel-plate squat: 1x15x50, 3x15x45
    Shoulder press: 1x15x40, 1x15x35, 2x15x30
    Step-up: 4x30x40 (15 on each leg)
    UH Lat Pull: 1x15x85, 1x15x80, 2x15x75*

    Total weight (sets x reps x weight): 800 + 3000 + 1425 + 2025 + 4800 + 4725 = 16,775 lb. moved. :happy:

    *Underhand lat pulls were especially humbling, since I was working with 120 lb. on them in stage 6. I'll be happy if I can work my way back to 100 for such high reps. :o

    Oh, and I definitely had to take some rests longer than 30 seconds. I tried to only take longer between circuits, but ended up taking a little longer before some of the step-ups too. And for the last 2 circuits, I rested 10-15 seconds between legs on the step-ups too.
  • heatheralia
    heatheralia Posts: 79 Member
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    Awesome Karen! I love the way you do the total weight. It makes it sound sooo much more impressive that way! I got in my 7.4 yesterday morning but gave up after the third set :grumble: My arms had already turned to jello and I lost control of one of my dumbbells on the shoulder press and whopped my shoulder a good one with it on the way down :sad:
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
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    Heather - that happened to me on a push press in Stage 6, where my arm started rotating backward & I just had to drop the weight on the floor & switch to a lighter one. Luckily, I wasn't hurt doing it, but after that, I switched back from push presses to straight old shoulder presses.

    7.3 today:

    Deadlift: 2x8 with 95 lb.
    Elevated static lunge: 3x40 (20/leg), 1x30 (15/leg), all with 30 lb. (15/hand)
    Pushup: 2x20, 2x15 all 5th peg on Smith
    BB RDL: 2x20, 2x15 all with 65 lb.
    DB bent row: 2x20, 2x15 all with 50 lb. (25/hand).

    Plus #plankaday 1:00 (soooooo much harder after I lift - on a rest day yesterday, I held 2:20!).

    Not counting any weight for pushups, I moved 14,070 lb. of iron today, and I was thrilled to use mostly the same weights as 7.1, but increase to 20 reps on my first 2 circuits. :happy:
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
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    7.4 today. Same circuit as 7.2, but I was able to increase from 15 to 20 reps on all moves using the same weights as in 7.2. Increased the weight on my squats from 7.1 too. :)

    Squats: 1x8x75 lb., 1x8x85 lb.

    heel-plate squats: 4x20x45 lb.
    shoulder press: 4x20x30 lb. (15 lb./hand)
    step-up: 4x40x40 lb. (20 lb./hand, 20 reps/leg)
    UH lat pulldown: 4x20x75 lb.

    *so* close to 10 tons moved today.

    Squat (1280) + plate squat (3600) + SP (2400) + SU (6400) + UH lat pulls (6000) = 19,680 lb. moved
  • heatheralia
    heatheralia Posts: 79 Member
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    How awesome to be able to say you were close to 10 tons moved today, Karen!!!

    I completed stage 7 on Saturday and am jumping right into NROL4abs tonight. I didn't lose a pound, or an inch, but am happy with my arms, thighs, and the beginning signs of a 6-pack. Hopefully a bit of a calorie deficit and the switch up of moving to the abs workouts will continue to show strength gains and maybe get my measurements down a bit.
  • whiskeysister510
    whiskeysister510 Posts: 76 Member
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    Whoa, this stage means business!! I took 2 weeks off after Stage 6 to recover from a cold and a brutally busy stretch at work. I also treated myself to a 2-hr massage during my break too. Kinda wish I hadn’t done that because I almost died after workout 1!! I was red in the face, grunting, yelling, panting (luckily I work out at home, alone) and thought I was going to throw up! I could barely move the next day and was walking like a cowboy! But I finished it and it felt great just to know I could push myself through that! For workout 2, I got smart and dropped my weights down a little! Having these workouts falling right around Thanksgiving is really convenient for me! No chance of holiday weight gain when I’m busting my butt like that!

    So I’m almost done and excited to start the NROL (for men) ASAP!! Awesome stats everyone! Congrats on making it through! I’ll miss reading the posts on this page when I move on. There is a NROL forum on MFP, but it doesn’t see as much action as this one does!
  • natini
    natini Posts: 347 Member
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    Wholly cow I am sore! I took a week off between stages and did 7 yesterday. I think I need to lower some of my weights. I honestly did not think I was going to make it. My legs were killing me during the workout and are super sore today. What is everyone going to do next once it is over?
  • rcb1963
    rcb1963 Posts: 69 Member
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    I had hoped to start stage 7 Tuesday. I have been down and out with sinusitis since Saturday. I hope by this weekend I will be able to get started. After reading how sore you ladies are I am planning for my warm baths and aleve already. Have a great week. You are all an inspiration to me.
  • karensoxfan
    karensoxfan Posts: 902 Member
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    I just finished my 2nd round of Stage 7, and found a method I really liked for pushing the weights in this stage. Since it called for 15-20 reps on the circuits, I'd start with a weight you can do 15 times, and use that, then the next workout, try for the same weight but 20 reps. Then increase weight but go back to 15 reps, then same weight but 20 reps. This worked nicely for me, and here are my start/end weights after 2 rounds:

    Barbell Squat: 65 --> 95 lb.
    Barbell Bench: 45 --> 65 lb.
    Seated Row: 100 --> 120 lb.
    Deadlift: 95 --> 115 lb.

    Static Lunge: 30 lb. (x15) --> 35 lb. (x20)
    Pushup: Smith 5th peg --> Smith 4th peg (10 reps, then finished on 5th)*
    RDL: 65 (x15) --> 80 lb. (x20)
    DB Row: 50 (x15) --> 55 lb. (x20)**

    Plate Squat: 45 (x15) --> 50 lb. (x20)**
    Shoulder Press: 30 lb. (x15) --> 35 lb. (x20)**
    Step-Up: 40 (x15) --> 45 lb. (x20)**
    Underhand Lat Pulldown: 75 (x15) --> 85 lb. (x20)

    *From before Stage 7, I could do 1 full pushup on the floor, and at the end (independently, not in the circuits), I could do 10 on the floor! :)

    **For anything using 2 dumbbells, I'm listing the total weight, not the weight of each DB.

    I might do cardio the rest of this week, but after that, I think I'm going to repeat stage 6 and work on being able to do an unassisted chin-up. Then, I'll probably read NROL-Abs and/or NROL-Supercharged and might try one of those. Or I might just repeat Stage 1 before I decide what's next.
  • whiskeysister510
    whiskeysister510 Posts: 76 Member
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    Karen - Congrats!!! Twice??? Wow!!

    I just finished 1 round of Stage 7 on Monday and couldn't bring myself to do it twice!! After much debate and reading both books, I have decided to do NROL for Abs instead of the original NROL. I'll do it for 6 months and then buy NROL Supercharged when it's out in paperback (yes, I am that cheap!).

    Congrats to everyone for making it through to the end!! I am so glad I started this and finished it!! Overall, I'm down about 15-20 lbs and maybe 3 or 4 clothing sizes. I went from working with 10-25lb dumbbells, to an empty barbell, to benching 85lbs, squatting 135lb and deadlifting 165lb. I can now do 15-20 regular push-ups in a row and I can do weighted negative chin-ups for 20 seconds no problem. Crazy!!

    Anyone moving over to the NROL4A forum? There’s one on MFP, but it looks pretty lonely….
  • baxgilter
    baxgilter Posts: 246 Member
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    Anyone out there on Stage 7? Just started yesterday.
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
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    I'm doing my last Stage 6 today, and will probably take a break from weights for a week or so. I'll be Stage 7 next Thursday.
  • mmtraining
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    I am starting stage 7 tomorrow. I am so excited to start the last stage. I just finished stage 6 yesterday but was thinking about jumping right into stage 7 due to all the gluttony that the holidays brought.