Stage 3 & 5

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AlsDonkBoxSquat
AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
For posting history on stage 3 please see the following thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/673453-stage-3

For posting history on stage 5 please see the following thread:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/401311-stage-5-questions

We are combining these in an effort to decrease "stickies" so that more of the recetly created posts are available on the home page
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  • eatrunstretch
    eatrunstretch Posts: 233 Member
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    Starting S3 on Monday and I am so excited! Going to go check out the posting history for Stage 3 now to see what you lovely ladies thought of it :)
  • marinesweetheart
    marinesweetheart Posts: 25 Member
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    Starting S3 on Monday and I am so excited! Going to go check out the posting history for Stage 3 now to see what you lovely ladies thought of it :)

    I start on Monday too! Yey!
  • eatrunstretch
    eatrunstretch Posts: 233 Member
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    @marinesweetheart, that's cool! Let me know how you find it.

    Just back from completing 3A1. The BWM... OMG! I had so much lactic acid going on that it was a struggle to finish it. The first round I did in 3:31 and the second in 3:09. I was a bit 'cocky' and thought I could do it in about 2:30, well wasn't I wrong! I will be working on getting my time down. Other than that, I enjoyed everything except the 90 second planks! I was shaking and breathing hard and the guy closest to me kept looking over as if I was going to die lol! I did feel like my midsection was going to break in two but I stuck it out and got those babies done.

    Looking forwards to hearing about other's experiences and getting acquainted with 3B1 on Wednesday.

    Happy lifting x

    ETA: correcting spelling mistakes!
  • courtniemarie
    courtniemarie Posts: 172 Member
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    @KatiaR - awesome job!! the BWM doesn't get easier, lol! and i'm working on the 120sec planks now and i totally understand where you're coming from with the breathing hard. I make a lot of noise for the last 20 secs haha
  • eatrunstretch
    eatrunstretch Posts: 233 Member
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    @courtniemarie, wow, 120 second planks! Is that part of S5? I thought I was being a badass by doing just the 90 second planks! Haven't really had a good look at S4 and S5, are there new workouts or are they pretty much harder versions of things we've already seen?

    My gym decided to shut from Tuesday to Thursday this week due to the heat wave. Its a military gym and there is no air conditioning (apart from opening the windows!). Also, sadly, a couple of army lads died on some crazy SAS training in the Brecon Beacons due to heat stroke so they were playing it safe.

    I am seriously considering paying for a gym membership because this gym, although it is free, is very inconsistent with its opening times (which are already severely short) and the equipement isn't the best.

    Anyhoo, just to say that I had to miss 3B1 on Wednesday and do it today instead. It was alright, not too sure of the YTWLs, but the best part is that I was able to nail those Prone Jack-knifes to perfection!

    How is everyone else finding it? You gals are very quiet, would love to hear about someone else's experiences.

    Happy weekend :)
  • mdcoug
    mdcoug Posts: 397 Member
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    Anyhoo, just to say that I had to miss 3B1 on Wednesday and do it today instead. It was alright, not too sure of the YTWLs, but the best part is that I was able to nail those Prone Jack-knifes to perfection!

    This is a great video to watch on those YTWLs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nm0rKHAXzU.

    I just finished up my last Stage 4 workout this morning, so it's on to Stage 5 on Sunday (had a 5-day rest over last weekend). Not looking forward to the return of the BWM, but happy to be done with Step-Ups.

    I'm also starting to think about what to do after I've finished this program. The sessions are taking a little longer than I'd like, so I think I want to find something that takes under an hour to do.
  • kathleennf
    kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
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    I'm also starting to think about what to do after I've finished this program. The sessions are taking a little longer than I'd like, so I think I want to find something that takes under an hour to do.
    [/quote]

    I was thinking this also this morning at the gym. I just have 2 more workouts of Stage 5, then move on to 6. What kills me really is the 2 minute rest period. I am thinking of doing this program over again, but modifying it a bit and making the rest periods a bit shorter in the later workouts. Not sure. Would be interested to know if others have tried this.
  • kathleennf
    kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
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    Hmmm. It skipped marking my quote again :noway:

    I tried to quote you mdcoug!
  • mmoister79
    mmoister79 Posts: 20
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    I don't follow the rest periods as they are stated in the book because I can't be doing a workout for 90 mins. I am on Stage 3 and I normally do 45-60 rest after each set (except for the BWM, when I need 2 mins. to catch my breath and allow my legs to stop burning). My workouts last approximately 65-70 mins with the BWM or HIIT. It seems to work just fine for me. I know recovery is as important as the exercise itself, but 2 mins is just too long!
  • kathleennf
    kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
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    I don't follow the rest periods as they are stated in the book because I can't be doing a workout for 90 mins. I am on Stage 3 and I normally do 45-60 rest after each set (except for the BWM, when I need 2 mins. to catch my breath and allow my legs to stop burning). My workouts last approximately 65-70 mins with the BWM or HIIT. It seems to work just fine for me. I know recovery is as important as the exercise itself, but 2 mins is just too long!

    Yes it seems very long to me. Plus I am eating back my exercise calories which seems like cheating- adding in 90 minutes worth of strength-training calories with all those two minute breaks!! But I'm in weight-maintenance mode and have been maintaining, not gaining- so I left it alone. Oh well. Just finished stage 5 yesterday and I am on to stage 6 tomorrow. :wink:
  • kathleennf
    kathleennf Posts: 606 Member
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    Hi Ladies! I just have to put this here especially for those of you who are thinking of skipping stage 6. OK so I was really pretty nervous about the whole reverse chin up thing or whatever it is called and I read the instructions like 3 or 4 times and I am thinking ok right, grab the bar and hang there until I stop swinging? And I have never in my life had any upper body strength and the gym is full of all these people and I had NO IDEA what was going to happen, and I thought for sure I was NEVER going to be able to lower myself slowly, I was going to drop like a rock. But today I decided who cares? So I got the bench and put it under the bar and fiddled with it for a minute to make it straight and then I grabbed the bar and took a deep breath and jumped. And- well- I hung there. For a while. In good position. And then I lowered myself over about like 7 seconds. It felt GREAT

    So just sayin- try it, just once! That's my suggestion. Even if you're going to skip stage 6. It was fun! I can't wait until I get to do it again in 4 days. :laugh:
  • marinesweetheart
    marinesweetheart Posts: 25 Member
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    @katia I am currently on workout a 3 of 4 and so far, i am finding workout B rather breezy up until HIIT. I have been adhering to the proper rest time between intervals, but I'm thinking about cutting that short. BWM literally took it all out of me the first two times. It took me 3:25 to finish the first time and I couldn't even finish the second set because I got a huge pain in the back of my head that later turned into a massive headache. I read on the FB page for NROLFW that it might have been me holding me breath. I tried to watch my breath and was able to control it, but it still happened on the 2nd bwm workout. FINALLY, on workout 3, I was able to control my breathing a lot better (aka not holding my breath lol) and no more headache. I also got my bwm down to 2:45! Never thought I would get it below 3 mins.
    How is everyone else doing?
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
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    I just did my first workout of Stage 3. Oh my goodness! Those overhead squats are so uncomfortable. I had to lower the weight my raised arm held to 5lbs just so I could get some decent form. I HATE PLANKS!! I didn't even get to the BWM. I felt good though. I raised my weights as much as I could, where I could. I just wish the workouts weren't so long. I only have about an hour of wellness time at work and that means I usually can't fit in that extra end HIIT or in this case BWM.
  • tartsul
    tartsul Posts: 298 Member
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    i also just started stage 3 this week! wibutterflyma, i definitely agree with you - the overhead squats are uncomfortable/awkward. i feel like i am putting more weight to one side. i changed the way i hold the weight in my lower hand, and that helped somewhat. i'm sure part of it is just starting to use unused muscles!

    i feel ya on the length of the workouts - i get up at 5 AM to go to the gym in the morning before work, so i definitely have to keep it somewhat short and sweet. when i do a workout for the first time though, i go in the evening with my husband so he can help me with form and whatnot. i'm STILL sore from 3A on monday evening! hoping to go for 3B tonight.
  • chuckles9189
    chuckles9189 Posts: 343 Member
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    Starting stage 3 tomorrow! I'm excitedddddd!

    as for what's next-- does anyone know how long the super charged workouts are? I think I will look into that book next...
  • chuckles9189
    chuckles9189 Posts: 343 Member
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    AH! Just finished 3A1! OHHHH MANN!! I almost threw up after the body weight matrix. ALso, those dumbbell deadlifts. My hamstring on my right leg is crazy sore already. This is intense. I completely agree on the overhead squat business. That was really awkward and HARD!

    Stats:
    Snatch: 25#
    Barbell row: 75#
    Dbell deadlift: 30# each hand
    Overhead squat: 20#/10#
    Incline dbell bench press: 25#
    planks: 3x90
    Russian Twists: 3x40 (8medicine)
    BWM: Round 1: 3:34 Round 2: 3:16.
  • sclaibo
    sclaibo Posts: 136 Member
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    So excited to be starting stage 3 on Friday! looking forward to the body matrix!
  • runzalot81
    runzalot81 Posts: 782 Member
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    AH! Just finished 3A1! OHHHH MANN!! I almost threw up after the body weight matrix. ALso, those dumbbell deadlifts. My hamstring on my right leg is crazy sore already. This is intense. I completely agree on the overhead squat business. That was really awkward and HARD!

    Stats:
    Snatch: 25#
    Barbell row: 75#
    Dbell deadlift: 30# each hand
    Overhead squat: 20#/10#
    Incline dbell bench press: 25#
    planks: 3x90
    Russian Twists: 3x40 (8medicine)
    BWM: Round 1: 3:34 Round 2: 3:16.
    I did my first one today, as well! I only had time for one matrix. Looking at yours, I'm assuming that we do all the sets, rest, repeat? I finished in 3:45 :tongue:

    On the Romanian dbell deadlift, I read that the lower hand should be twice as heavy as the upper hand. Did you do that?
  • chuckles9189
    chuckles9189 Posts: 343 Member
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    hmmm. I guess I kept my hands level with the same weight and that the weight should be off set on the overhead squat. which totally sucks. but I'll check the book.

    I finished 3A2 today and 3B1 Monday. True confession--instead of the BWM I ran on a treadmill for 15 minutes post workout. THat was exhausting!
  • runzalot81
    runzalot81 Posts: 782 Member
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    hmmm. I guess I kept my hands level with the same weight and that the weight should be off set on the overhead squat. which totally sucks. but I'll check the book.

    I finished 3A2 today and 3B1 Monday. True confession--instead of the BWM I ran on a treadmill for 15 minutes post workout. THat was exhausting!

    Definitely doesn't "totally suck." You moved heavy stuff. It's all good!

    I'm a runner so I would definitely prefer that over the matrix :laugh: