I also took advantage of Alwyn Cosgrove's FB page this morning to ask why the rest period (105 sec.) is so long in this stage, and his answer was:[/b]

that's less than 2 minutes. If that's too long, you're not going heavy enough. You need longer rests between heavy sets. It's not a cardio session.

Good info... thanks! I will definitely lift heavier next session (and change my lifting schedule to Fri and Sun only)... no way I can spend that much time in the gym during the work week.

I get the concept behind this, I really do. But say, for instance, the bent over row. I do 6 at 70lbs and I can NOT do a 7th rep. No way. No matter if I rest 70 seconds or 105 seconds, it's not changing the fact that 1. I can do 6 the next step and 2. I can NOT do 7 the next set. See what I mean?

Holy Batman my hamstrings are sore!!!!!

Me too!!! I was off for 2 rest weeks on vacation, but Workout A1 was KILLER on my hamstrings. I can barely walk today!

I also took advantage of Alwyn Cosgrove's FB page this morning to ask why the rest period (105 sec.) is so long in this stage, and his answer was:[/b]

that's less than 2 minutes. If that's too long, you're not going heavy enough. You need longer rests between heavy sets. It's not a cardio session.

Good info... thanks! I will definitely lift heavier next session (and change my lifting schedule to Fri and Sun only)... no way I can spend that much time in the gym during the work week.

I get the concept behind this, I really do. But say, for instance, the bent over row. I do 6 at 70lbs and I can NOT do a 7th rep. No way. No matter if I rest 70 seconds or 105 seconds, it's not changing the fact that 1. I can do 6 the next step and 2. I can NOT do 7 the next set. See what I mean?

Thanks for sharing, Karen! I agree, though, I am lifting as heavy as I can (in fact, I think I may have overdone it today) and I still don't feel like I needed 105 seconds in between sets. There is no way that i would be able to do more weight on almost all exercises even if I did the full rest time.

Stage 3 is IN THE BAG! Yay! Biggest gain was the YTWL where I went from doing 5lb's to 8lbs. I never thought a 3lb gain in weight would be such a big deal. Hahaha! Oh and my intervals were pretty easy today. A couple of weeks ago I looked up the next stage where he suggests making the intervals harder and I was like "Psh..yeah. We'll see about that." But I will actually be able to do it. Progress!

Did 3A today and holy hell my lower back hurts! I, too, have been having very sore hamstrings during this stage and I'm wondering if tight hamstrings are causing my low back pain. Anyone else in the same boat? I also thought it would be a good idea to do a 30 minute/3 mile HIIT run yesterday.....I should have rested instead because I was feeling REALLY tired today while lifting. I'm now going to google 'lower back stretches'.

Your hamstrings can absolutely give you lower back pain!! Most people that have lower back pain have tight hamstrings/glutes/backs of their legs. I'm a massage therapist, so I know how to avoid it thankfully (I stretch for at least 10mins after every workout) Do some hamstring and glute stretches, a lot! And if you can find a foam roller, foam roll away baby!

Stage 3 is IN THE BAG! Yay! Biggest gain was the YTWL where I went from doing 5lb's to 8lbs. I never thought a 3lb gain in weight would be such a big deal. Hahaha! Oh and my intervals were pretty easy today. A couple of weeks ago I looked up the next stage where he suggests making the intervals harder and I was like "Psh..yeah. We'll see about that." But I will actually be able to do it. Progress!

Congratulations!!! :drinker:

When are you starting Stage 4?

Monday! I can already tell you I'll be planking my life away during stage 4 because there is NO way I can do 120 seconds! With 3 sets, that will be 6 sets of 60 (until I can consistenly hold longer than that). Quick question, it says 2-3 sets of each lift. Um...that's a BIG difference. I'm planning on doing 3 sets because the A workout doesn't have anything "special" (HIIT, BWM) after it. Do most people do 3 sets? I'm sure this has been asked/answered a ton on the stage 4 thread....:P

My morning lift got preempted by family matters so I was wondering how I'd get to the gym.
HOWEVER I uncharacteristically went in to the gym in the evening. It was busy in there and I had to muscle my way in to use the machines.
Did 3B tonight so I'm still on track to finish Stage 3 on Sunday before I leave for a 10 day holiday!

Did 3A today and holy hell my lower back hurts! I, too, have been having very sore hamstrings during this stage and I'm wondering if tight hamstrings are causing my low back pain. Anyone else in the same boat? I also thought it would be a good idea to do a 30 minute/3 mile HIIT run yesterday.....I should have rested instead because I was feeling REALLY tired today while lifting. I'm now going to google 'lower back stretches'.

Your hamstrings can absolutely give you lower back pain!! Most people that have lower back pain have tight hamstrings/glutes/backs of their legs. I'm a massage therapist, so I know how to avoid it thankfully (I stretch for at least 10mins after every workout) Do some hamstring and glute stretches, a lot! And if you can find a foam roller, foam roll away baby!

Thanks! I appreciate your insights! I've been stretching all day, focusing on my hamstrings, glutes and psoas muscles.....I'm hoping it will be better tomorrow.

Lori - I did my first workout B today. I didn't love it. My hamstrings were still moderately sore from Tuesday's Workout A, so the deadlift/row was pretty tough @ 75 lb., even with less weight than I know I can deadlift (105 lb.), and less weight than I know I can row (85 lb. in Workout A on Monday). So it was frustrating.

I do love lat pulldowns though, so those felt good, but I thought the single-leg partial squats were weird too. They were hard, even without added weight, but I'm not sure *how* low we're supposed to go. Are we supposed to get as low as we can, THEN add weight, or add weight even if you're not getting to parallel or lower?

I think I liked back extensions OK too, but I did them just with bodyweight (arms crossed at my shoulders), and I think I'll need to add weight next time. YTWL was OK, but awkward as hell, especially the W. It was hard to remember to keep my elbows close on the starting position.

Abs & Prone Cobras just seemed to take FOREVER with 3 sets, and then HIIT put my total workout time (including a 3-min. stretch and 10-min. warmup before I lifted) to 1 hr., 45 minutes. Which is ridiculous. I think I'm going to start putting the BWM (Workout A) and HIIT (Workout on the days after I lift so I can be in & out of the gym in 90 minutes.

Okay finished workout A this morning. I LOVE IT!!! Though I think I might have went to light on some.

My snatch I did 15 but I think I can bump that up to 20.
Deadlifts 20lb dumbbells - might bump that up to 25
Row - 55 probably bump to 65
Dumbbell single arm 15 up to 20
Dumbbell Incline press 15 to 20

I forgot to time my first set of the Matrix and when I tried to time the second my phone went off. Oh well.

My legs are sore now, but I feel so energized!!!