Hey ladies, im starting stage 1 on monday and just have a quick question and im sorry if im repeating. I have tried to look for the answer on this thread but its a really really big thread! The book states that if you're a beginner with weights you can add an extra workout to stage 1 so that it has a total of 24 workouts as oppose to 16. How is this so??? Do i just do 12 each of workout A and workout B rather then 8 of each?

I'm doing that as I'm such a noobie.

it goes like this. The 16 workouts are divided into 4 different sections - one with 2 sets of 15 reps, one with 2 sets 12 reps, one with 3 sets of 10 reps and one with 3 sets of 8 reps.

so think workout A squats.

WO1 2 set 15 rep
WO2 2 set 15 rep
WO3 2 set 12 rep
WO4 2 set 12 rep
WO5 3 set 10 rep
WO6 3 set 10 rep
WO7 3 set 8 rep
WO8 3 set 8 rep

You repeat one extra workout from each group so it looks like this:

WO1 2 set 15 rep
WO2 2 set 15 rep
WO3 2 set 15 rep
WO4 2 set 12 rep
WO5 2 set 12 rep
WO6 2 set 12 rep
WO7 3 set 10 rep
WO8 3 set 10 rep
WO9 3 set 10 rep
WO10 3 set 8 rep
WO11 3 set 8 rep
WO12 3 set 8 rep.

At least this is how I'm doing it

Hope this makes sense :laugh:

@chocolate
I need to reread the book. I'm not sure. But I think if I'm going to drop to fewer reps I should increase the weight. Since I don't think I'm capable of increasing the weight yet I think I'm going to do one more workout at my current rep/weight so I feel more comfortable with an increase in weight.

sjw654 - is there a requirement to increase weight every time? I thought that it depended on progress, although I'd aim to increase weight for fewer reps. Then again - there's no harm in repeating a stage.

Hi all!

I just started the program earlier today. I am hoping I am doing it right. I started with workout 1, A1 and do you only do two sets of each exercise? I have been lifting for a year, doing sets of 20 for 3 reps so this doesn't seem like enough for me.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks!!

@braggsalot - yep 2 sets. When you get to the last 4 workouts of stage 1 it'll bump up to 3 sets, but fewer reps. The idea is you should be lifting at a weight that is kind of challenging so that 20 reps would be near impossible. If you found your first workout too easy, increase the weight.

@Tyger - you may have the bar too high... hard to know for sure without having actually seen your form. Check out this page for proper form http://stronglifts.com/how-to-squat-with-proper-technique-fix-common-problems/
It says "put the bar low, below the bone at the top of your shoulder-blades and on your back muscles - NOT on your spine."

@Tyger - you may have the bar too high... hard to know for sure without having actually seen your form. Check out this page for proper form http://stronglifts.com/how-to-squat-with-proper-technique-fix-common-problems/
It says "put the bar low, below the bone at the top of your shoulder-blades and on your back muscles - NOT on your spine."

Great video! I've only done one A exercise with the barbell squat so far, and I totally did it wrong! I even watched lots of videos ahead of time. I rested the bar right on that top part of my spine! Goodness, no wonder it hurt!

Woke up this morning with sore throat and generally feeling unwell but went to the gym and completed stage 1 B6. I managed to up my weights and completely kicked my *kitten* ...felt great. feeling so much better now and ready for a day at work!

A3 today, and still feel like I'm not doing enough. My form is not great for squatting with the bar, so I'm going back to BW squats. The rows are just shy of being too hard, but I'm able to finish them. My arms don't feel like they've done anything. My legs have already been getting stronger because I started Couch to 5K at the beginning of January. Is this really it? I'll lose weight from doing this workout?

For the step-ups, are we supposed to do one set with both legs, then the other exercise, then back to the second set with both legs? So 15 right leg, 15 left leg, then push-ups, then back to 15 right leg, 15 left leg? Last week, I did only one leg for 15, then push-ups, then the other leg for 15. But today I double-checked the book and it said to finish the set with one leg then immediately follow with the other leg.

Also, do any of you practice your squats outside of the workout, like on off days or on a B day? I really need to practice them but don't want to mess things up!

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd pop in here to say hello. I did a quick intro in the Introductions thread. Since I'm in stage 1, I thought this would be a good place to start.

I officially started stage 1 on Monday, and will hopefully be doing 1B1 tonight. I can't believe how sore I was after A1A, especially my quads. My form seemed iffy on the squat - using the empty bar was way harder than I expected (i could squat at home with 20# DBs no problem, but i know balancing the bar is part of the challenge). I'm convinced the bar must have weighed more than 45 pounds . I've practiced at home, and I think my form looks OK, so we shall see how the squat feels Friday when I do 1A2. For the previous two weeks, I did practice runs of the workouts twice, plus I'm doing the 8 week version, so I am really anxious to be done with the 2 set 15 rep portion. However, I thought this would be a good time to make sure I've nailed down my form on my squats and dead lifts with the Olympic bar.

Looking forward to getting to know you all!

Did workout B2 yesterday and I had shooting pain in my legs from the lunges (mostly my hamstrings I think), I tried to put the weights aside and just do BW, but even those were difficult. Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas on making it so this doesn't happen next time around?

Well to be honest, my legs (especially my upper legs) have been pretty sore since A1 and I try not to stretch too much because I am hyper-mobile and I've been told it's good for my muscles to get a little tight. The first 3 days I did the warm-ups and this last workout that hurt I forgot to do them (the ones laid out in the book btw, which include BW lunges) Maybe just more potassium and making sure I get those warmup exercises in will help?