What's Next?
sunshinelively
Posts: 249 Member
In the middle of stage 4 and may skip stage 6, so getting close to the end of NROL4W. Thinking about either for abs, supercharged, or for life, not sure which way to go.
I'm 50, lower back has been sore and at times strained with 4 women. 4 women also weak in the area of core. I have not seen huge changes so far but have also not been diligent with my diet. Positive changes: stronger, smoother. No real inches or lbs though. I do all the workouts diligently usually the max sets, sweating like a pig, trying for max weight.
Protein was not that hard to do in 4 women. overall weight training itself took all the discipline I have to give.
Not sure where to direct my energies next - looking for advice. Even if I could take off 10 lb I'd be happy with that, since I'm not really all that unhappy with how I look and feel. An additional 10 lb loss would bring me well into a healthy BMI.
Thoughts from the masters?
I'm 50, lower back has been sore and at times strained with 4 women. 4 women also weak in the area of core. I have not seen huge changes so far but have also not been diligent with my diet. Positive changes: stronger, smoother. No real inches or lbs though. I do all the workouts diligently usually the max sets, sweating like a pig, trying for max weight.
Protein was not that hard to do in 4 women. overall weight training itself took all the discipline I have to give.
Not sure where to direct my energies next - looking for advice. Even if I could take off 10 lb I'd be happy with that, since I'm not really all that unhappy with how I look and feel. An additional 10 lb loss would bring me well into a healthy BMI.
Thoughts from the masters?
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I could have written your post exactly, everything you said, except that I turn 34 this Thursday. I am on another board and some women there are doing the NR for Abs and are raving about that so I think I'll do that. My stomach is definitely in most need of work after two csections and not the best diet.0
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How has your eating been? I'm testimony to the fact that you can't out exercise a "bad" diet. And by bad, I'm not talking about junk food. I'm talking about not consistently being in a calorie deficit.
I've been doing Supercharged for 12 weeks now. That equals 3 phases. For the first 2 phases I barely lost anything and even gained in a few places. For the third phase I decided to get serious about my diet. For the first time in a long time I stopped making excuses and stuck to my diet. And whaddaya know? Lost 3 lbs in as many weeks and quite a bit of inches. Even my stubborn belly pouch shrank a bit.
I said all that to say, it doesn't matter what you decide on. According to Lyle McDonald, any half-assed exercise program will work as long as your diet is on point.
But of course, I'm partial to Supercharged :blushing: :laugh: :bigsmile:0 -
Yes, diet is key. I have to keep reminding myself, lol.
As far as the core exercises go, almost every strength exercise is a core exercise. Squats, DLs, lunges, single leg DLs, shoulder press- you should be activating your core for stabilization during all of these in order to do them effectively. You probably already know this. It took me months of lifting to realize that my core *should* be working during the nearly entire workout.
Supercharged is great- I lost 20+ lbs doing it and eating at a bit of a deficit. I like Abs, but it's not quite as thorough as Supercharged, IMO. I love Strong Curves as well- it's very much catered to women. All of those books are worth reading, in my opinion!0 -
Hardly a master here but I am reading and will start 4LIFE as soon as I see the doc about my shoulder. I like that the focus of this program is for life! He speaks as an older person who wants to continue his lifting regime, continue building strength but not necessarily getting PRs every other day. It's a similar layout to Supercharged, we get to pick and choose exercises and there are sample sets.
Frankly, I think it's harder as a woman in her 60s to lift bigger weights and make big gains. I am regretting that I didn't start all of this earlier and stick with it. I think one of the reasons my shoulder is hurt now is because I overtrained it trying to get back that muscle that I've lost.0 -
Thanks guys for all the replies. Pudding I'm right there w you on the core stuff! Although.....the top of the fat island on my stomach melted a little, leaving the bottom half looking like it's sticking out more. LOL
Jamaican you are right ill be on point w my diet for 4-5 days then go off, destroying any gains, thereby keeping myself at maintenance level with weight. I don't know why but it's just so hard to do it all! When I lost the first 20 lb, it was rather easy, just 1200 a day plus eating back the light exercise I was doing - mostly walking running and very light weight training. New rules is much more demanding and there's just something about being sore every minute that makes ^me say don't I deserve a little reward for all this? Dysfunctional thinking, I know, but just keeping it real.
Sue legal - im in a similar boat with my age. I used to lift with my now ex husband in my 20s and 30s, but then came 2 pregnancies and the chaos of working full time raising two kids, and ultimately getting divorced. In my 40s I'd gain weight, then lose it. X4. Through cardio/cals reduction. Not good lost muscle. Bam menopause hits and overnight I'm looking like I'm headed toward the grave. So I feel you I'm trying to get it back and maybe I'm expecting more than is quite realistic. But For Life could be the right thing since my back feels like it's always hurting and needs babying (ice, lidocaine, rolling, etc). I guess you've taken some time off behind that shoulder - have you been able to try out For Life? Do they talk about how to protect your back?
Cowgirl, engaging abs, I almost feel like I need a trainer or something. Except I can't afford it! Lol. I will try that though, through this second half of new rules. It's a balancing act trying to up the weight yet keep the form, and like you say engage the abs which I think I've only been doing consciously for lat exercises and target core exercises. What were your experiences with NR 4 women? What kind of results did you have? Am I going through a predictable phase in the process?
Thanks again everyone really appreciate you taking the time to help ^me think this through.....:))))0 -
I'm in the same boat. I'm half way through stage 4 and wondering what I will do next. although I am planning on doing stage 6 so I have a bit of time yet. I'm considering supercharged because a lot of people seem to like it and I like the idea of designing your own workouts so there would be none that I really dislike (like level 3 in 4 women). it is hard to choose though because there are so many good options out there.
I think I have started to see some progress since I changed my calories to 1750 per day regardless of exercise and that is even with going over on my calories regularly so I think I will keep doing what I am doing for a while longer and see how I get on.0 -
In to see all the good suggestions here, thanks. I'm only near the end of Stage 1, but like it a lot so far.
Sunchine - just wanted to say you look really lean and strong (and young!) in your profile pics, so I think what you've been doing is working. I understand about he hunger though, with the resistance training and am also struggling to maintain the deficit.0 -
Thanks DouMc and adk - trying hard and at the end of the day really enjoy food of all different kinds and my discipline, like I say is in limited supply unless sorely motivated. Just not feeling the omg yuck I need to do something about my body, more like, well I'm a size 6 and as long as my top is on the looser side the fat island is hidden....feeling pretty good, enjoying the workouts.....do I really have to skip this ice cream drumstick? I could look better but that would be sooooo much more work than what I'm already doing.....hmmmmmm.
LOL
DouMc so you are going to do stage 6?! I may join you, I learned how to use the weighted pull up and dip machine. It would be really cool to be able to do chin ups!!
Adk - your results have been phenomenal, you go! So glad you're enjoying the program.
So maybe supercharged is on deck next.....if it's too strenuous, I'll switch to For Life! And maybe a month long cardio shred in between, what with all these interval runs, could be good!0 -
yeah I figure I might as well do stage 6. I would love to be able to do chin ups but not sure that even that stage will get me there. I hope its a good stage though because before I get there I have to get through stage 5! I'm not looking forward to that, I didn't like stage 3 at all! Maybe ill just keep doing 4 forever...0
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Totally hear you on stage 3/50
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Cowgirl, engaging abs, I almost feel like I need a trainer or something. Except I can't afford it! Lol. I will try that though, through this second half of new rules. It's a balancing act trying to up the weight yet keep the form, and like you say engage the abs which I think I've only been doing consciously for lat exercises and target core exercises. What were your experiences with NR 4 women? What kind of results did you have? Am I going through a predictable phase in the process?
Thanks again everyone really appreciate you taking the time to help ^me think this through.....:))))
I lost 14lbs but so many inches with NROL4W. I really just felt like it was a great introduction to strength training. I still struggle with using my core the way I should. I think you are doing great. As I've mentioned before, heavy lifting is such a mental game. You will gain more confidence the longer you lift- you will learn to understand what exercises are best for your body and which ones aren't productive for you. So don't stress too much about the routine itself as long as you continue to challenge yourself, you're gaining strength, and you're watching your diet.0 -
Decided on the Next routine - it's gonna be supercharged, just placed my amazon order. At 13 bucks a worthy investment. Next decisions whether to do stage 6 or skip to 7!0
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I just came home from Chapters with a copy of Supercharged
We will be starting around the same time if you skip Stage 6 like I am :P 0 -
Pudding I may skip 6. Looking towards 7 for a shred! Then, supercharged. Will take a week off after 5 since I'll be on a work trip to Miami, try to do some circuits and maybe cardio while I'm gone, then gear up for 7. You'll probably be ahead of ^me, but then again I get the preview from you.) 0
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I don't know if I will be starting 7 tomorrow as planned: when I went to my new gym yesterday I didn't see the free weights or BBs moved in yet, so I may just need to make up my own weight routine until they get them in and then I can start 7.0
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I did supercharged after nrolw. I am also not losing much weight or inches. It is about the diet of course.
Your pictures do show a change in your body- and you look amazing.
I am wondering if you need to play with a longer recovery after lifting- some people post here that they need a longer recovery when they get older.0 -
I did supercharged after nrolw. I am also not losing much weight or inches. It is about the diet of course.
Your pictures do show a change in your body- and you look amazing.
I am wondering if you need to play with a longer recovery after lifting- some people post here that they need a longer recovery when they get older.
Thank you! Good to know it's paying off even if I can't look 25 anymore
Do you mean number of days to recover or recovery after each set or both? I have noticed I do better if I go 2 days between workouts every once in awhile.0 -
I haven't found the need for longer recovery periods but I did find that a deload week - a week of lifting at 75% of my 1RM was beneficial. After NROL4W I did several months of Wendler's 5/3/1 and really enjoyed it. I will probably go back to it at some point. What I like about NROL4W and NROL4L is that there is a lot of variety and it doesn't just focus on big lifts and big #s, rather it focuses on balance and stability too, which I find has deteriorated some as I am getting older. So I'm pretty sure that, once I'm healthy, I will next do NROL4L0
