I'm in love with step-ups too! I'm not perfect with them yet, but I'm so so so much better than before. I still feel myself push off a bit, especially as I fatigue but I've been doing get ups to try to improve that and I take stairs x2 and try no to push off there either.

I will say, this stage ain't no joke, but I'm absolutely lovin' it, 20 reps and all!

ARGH!! I finished workout 6 today! PR on my deadlifts - 125, and really did well on the step ups I thought. Not perfect but much better and in better control.

I'm going to repeat 7 before making a decision about what I'm doing next.

Rock on ladies!

First stage 7 workout today - whoa those lunges kicked my butt (or hip flexor to be precise!). Feels weird going lighter for more reps now..... good to be here though :-)

I had to drop my weights a little to get all the reps in, and even at that I could only do 15 reps. I'm trying to increase by 1 rep every workout so I should be at 20 by the end. Is anyone else planning on doing this stage twice (for 12 total workouts)? I'm hoping to because I want to figure out what I'm going to do next! I just ordered a copy of Supercharged so I'm looking forward to reading that.

Today was workout 3, did two sets of 8 x 50kg (110lbs) for my deadlift which I was quite happy with. My deadlift has increased so much quicker than my squat, I really have some work to do on that. I HATE lunges, so 4 sets of 16 today just made me want to puke. I was planning on doing 37.5kg for my romanian deadlift but forgot to put on the 5kg plates so at the end I realised I was only lifting 32.5kg... duh. I think that was a better number though as I was struggling towards the end.

This stage is definitely kicking my *kitten* but I'm loving every minute of it!

I'm considering Stronglifts as well, there's a lot of things about it that appeal to me. I like squats/deadlifts/rows and it looks like it would also take a little less than the 1.5 hours I sometimes need for a NROLFW workout! I'll see how Stage 7 goes and have a think about it.

First stage 7 workout today - whoa those lunges kicked my butt (or hip flexor to be precise!). Feels weird going lighter for more reps now..... good to be here though :-)

I'm with you on the hip flexor s. I try to really stretch them out but they are really sore today.

Ha, jo_marnes, I'm in a similar position! I felt so weedy with my 22.5kg bench. My dumb bell benches were also at 10kg each. I kept trying to do 12.5kg but could never get more than 3 reps or so, it was really annoying that there's no 'in between' weight I could use, from 10kg upwards the increments are in 2.5kg instead of just 1kg. It felt good to move on from that using the barbell. That sucks about your arm! Hopefully it'll be okay soon.

So today is a rest day and my next lifting day is Sunday, I'm actually super excited to get back in the gym. I miss weightlifting when I'm not doing it! I never thought I'd be the kind of person who'd look forward to going to the gym. That said, it's Workout 3, so I'll be doing both back squats AND 4 sets of dumbbell squats... my thighs are going to be burning for sure.

I'm trying to talk myself into lifting today. I'm SO sore. I don't think I've been this sore since stage 1! Ha! It's mostly my quats, rear and hammies so I could probably survive the second workout with only 2 leg moves....

Also, I'll def be doing two rounds before I move on to Supercharged!

Everyone seems to be doing good...soreness and all.

Between the 4th and this week, my lifting has been slacking. I'm on my 2nd round of stage 7 and next up is 7.3- was trying to get it into night but it seems like that probably isn't going to happen. Baby still isn't sleeping yet. It would be so much better if I could move my workouts to morning but I'm just not that motivated in the morning to get up that much earlier before work.

Received my Supercharged book- need to finish reading so I can start it soon.

I bet having a workout buddy does make it go faster )

Yep, 80 on each leg seems right. That's a hell of lot when you think about it!!! LoL

I didn't use the bar for bench, though I probably should. I guess this time through I'll bench downstairs in the cage. I can set i up so if I need to drop it I can.

Yesterday I knew I didn't have time to do a full workout so I just did my own thing - SLDLs at 135, a PR for me so I'm pretty happy! Today, spinning
Tomorrow, I think I will repeat #1 since I didn't get even 3 sets last Friday.

I too am looking at Supercharged Becky & Makin ( I say that as I type and smell BACON!) but I also was looking at Nita

Jo, you should check that injury out. Talk to a doc!

Oh how I wish I had a workout buddy!

FINALLY got to workout 2 today! Felt great but my arms feel like noodles now:) Really hoping in not as sore as I was after workout 1 but we'll see. Already excited for #3 on Thurs!

Jo and Feelgood....hope you ladies feel better.

Sue...did you use dumbbells for the bench press then??

I thought my leg felt okay this morning, but then it started hurting like crazy when I tried to do lunges so I skipped those today. Luckily the rest of the workout was pretty much upper body and arms and I then had some extra time to do some serious stretching at the end. Thanks for the advice makinitcount, I've never foam rolled before but I think I need to give it a try, there's a bunch of foam rollers around the gym I could use. And I'm making an appointment with a physical therapist today to see if there's anything I can do or should stop doing to help my leg, my right leg is always giving me trouble in various places!

Didn't up my weights today but increased my reps, the incline bench is difficult, it feels like I'm never going to get beyond 22.5kg.

Stage 6 was a love/ hate. But defo worth doing. I'd do it again

Great stuff Sue, a workout is a workout, 3 sets or 4!

I think my arm issue is actually my elbow. Had to drop certain weights today (on step ups etc) where I was just holding the weights by my side. It was ok until my first set of pulldowns. So I did 15 lighter reps on the pulldowns in an attempt to still get my shoulders involved!

Nothing exciting to report.... squats were 50kg but should have gone up. Was just aware people waiting to use the equipment so didn't wanna fuss around. Not sure how long to rest my elbow..... haven't looked at workout 5 yet - might be able to modify to reduce strain on that arm. Will leave it until at least Sunday anyway and decide in the meantime. Have a great weekend everybody!

Workout 6 done today... I'm going to repeat the 6 workouts so this is my halfway point! Added 2.5kg to my deadlift bringing it to 52.5kg, I'd love to see 55kg (or more!) before I finish this stage. Aside from that I ended up dropping my weights to 8kg for the squats and step ups to get the full 20 reps in... 9kg was just killing me. Lat pulldowns and shoulder presses are staying the same for now, but I'd like to increase those as well soon.

My motivation is just bad this week. Aside from my weight sessions I've done zero exercise. A friend of mine is going for a medical procedure today (nothing serious but not pleasant either) so I found it really difficult to focus all week and today was especially bad. I got about 4 hours of sleep last night and my stomach was so jumpy this morning. I actually was just about to leave the house when I tossed my gym bag down and contemplated going back to bed instead. I'm glad I did the workout though, even if it took forever and wasn't my best one. Hopefully I'll be back in the 'zone' soon when things are a bit more normal.

My copy of Supercharged arrived yesterday and I've been reading it... some interesting info in there, although I haven't gotten to the workouts yet. Still undecided on what to do next!