NROL4W Stage 1

[daedala]

We're on the third week of the first stage of New Rules of Lifting for Women. My sister has dropped out for a bit due to a car accident (she's ok, and she'll start up again when her doctor gives the ok), but my partner and I are still doing it. It's really helpful to have him working out with me -- I haven't put the workout off a day or anything yet.

The first stage of workouts for the book is set up so that the reps decrease: 15 reps in the first week down to 8 reps in the eighth week. This makes it a good way to ease in -- starting with body weight wasn't completely ridiculous, with fifteen reps -- and it's really nice to be able to increase the weight faster because the reps are going down. I've decided that this is very clever psychology on their part. :)

The most important realization I've come to is that I'm not a personal trainer and I don't want to be a personal trainer, even for myself. I like doing the program, getting it done, and knowing it will work. I'd had a fairly regular practice going until I was injured (not lifting) in 2007, and then could never get very far when I tried to restart, and I think it's because it basically wasn't fun to figure it out myself. The whole geek "I can figure it out myself!" is definitely a part of my identity, so it's been weird to let that go. On the other hand, Practical Programming is worth a fair bit used on Amazon, so that's a win!

So far, this workout is fun.

Comments

[daedala]

Posting here is cool! :)

Working out when one is sore is one of the ways to deal with soreness. If you're sore again, doing bodyweight squats on off-days may help, depending on the kind of soreness. It's unlikely to hurt, anyway. Oh, and with the DLs -- if you have range-of-motion problems, it's totally ok to put the ends of the bar on a platform to raise it, since there aren't weights on the end to do that for you.

With the lunges, yeah, jumping isn't right. I'm not doing particularly well with this exercise, either, because my feet sometimes cramp when I do them (it might be related to my crazy-high arches?). One way to do them is to actually go all the way down, putting your weight on the knee, and then standing up. I might try that if my feet start bothering me again.

The workouts get longer in week 5 -- three sets of everything. I'm kind of happy to ease in like this.

[lyorn]

Do you know of a vid of the lunges? I kind of fall forwards into the lunge and then have my center of gravity in a place where I need to either shuffle or push off real hard (which ends up becoming a jump) to get back to standing. It's not that there is not enough work done (my muscles are telling me) but it looks as if I am practising modern dance. With dumbbells *g*.

[daedala]

You know, I can't find the article with the really interesting suggestion for kneeling on one knee between each lunge. Just googling should find it. Exrx is always a good source: http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/DBLunge.html

Maybe you are taking too long of a step?

I don't know; of all the exercises, I feel like lunges are my least competent, because I have to be thinking so much of my feet.

[lyorn]

Yepp, too long steps. Got better today.

Do you read the lunges as "two set of fifteen *per leg*" (i.e., 60 total) or "two sets of fiften with alternating legs" (i.e., 30)?

Sixty is hard even at bodyweight, thirty feels more in line with the endurance requirement of the rest of the workout.

[daedala]

Woot, glad that helped.

Um, hm. We're doing it like this:

Step forward with right leg, drop, step back
Step forward with left leg, drop, step back
x 15

[other exercise]
Step forward with right leg, drop, step back
Step forward with left leg, drop, step back
x 15

So that's 30 each leg, 60 total. Does that make sense?

[lyorn]

Yes, makes sense. Ouch, sixty :-S

I did Stage 2, workout 2B today. Slowly I'm getting the weights to where I want them -- I did what was recommended and started really light.

At the moment I really want to make use of the fact that I have free time every evening but Wednesday, so I go to the gym three times a week. As soon as everyone has recovered from their colds, I'll be down to Thu, Sat and Sun again.

[daedala]

Well, you now, I could totally be wrong. :) I'm not sure how the other way would work, though!

I've got the weights at a good level now, too. I had to rest more than I was "supposed" to this time. I'm also at about the point where I can't hold them by my shoulders for a squat (20lb dumbbells = ok, 25lb dumbbells = not so much). I'm going to try a goblet squat, I think.

May I ask why both Saturday and Sunday? Everyone I've read/talked to/etc. suggests a day between workouts, though morning Saturday and evening Sunday are probably close enough to that.

[lyorn]

May I ask why both Saturday and Sunday?

I expressed that badly -- Thu, Sat and Sun will be the days where I *can* go to the gym. So because of the "not two days in a row" (I *couldn't* do two days in a row at the moment!) I'll manage only two times a week, not three. Which is a little annoying because I had been getting into a nice rhythm and I feel that I'm seeing progress.

About dumbbells at shoulder level: I tried that and got back to the barbell. The issue was less grip strength (having the palm of my hand under the dumbbells helped), but I didn't get the balance right and had to pay too much attention to what my arms were doing.