NROL - Fat Loss II

I started this program today and I love it.  Well, there are a couple of exercises that I hate in the "hurts so good" mode, where does Cosgrove come up with some of this stuff?  Only two of the exercises are really familiar - front squats and seated row, although the rows use a wide grip which definitely hits everything differently.

There are two ball exercises that are, as usual, way harder than they look.  There's a hip extension with leg curl that instantly hit the old hamstrings - I already know I'm going to be sore tomorrow.  And the upper body Russian twist - I almost fell off the ball a couple of times and then I started laughing and that just made it worse.  I'm sure everyone thought I was a basket case.  I was happy that I hadn't regressed on the front squats from the last time I'd done them and no wrist pain either, yay.

I kept the weights a little lower for this first workout because I wanted to get a good gauge of things, I'll ramp it up next time.

At least this one doesn't have those effin' step ups.

edit:spelling

Original Post by laura42:

Yogagirl, you look awesome.  There are many 16 yr olds who would give their eye teeth for your bod.  Keep up the good work though.  I think the lifting lifestyle is very healthy.

 Oh - thanks Laura!  That makes me feel nice!   My sister just drives me nuts.  No matter what anyone does - she knows everything.  She had the nerve to tell me on the phone yesterday that her son went to a body building show and he thought the women were "gross".  I told her - I would LOVE to look like that... it's just not that easy.    She then says the women on the muscle mags are not using steroids.  They look like men! Obviously - I don't want to look like a man, just a muscly female!  Thanks for the encouragement!

Yogagirl - you're rockin' the pool ready look! You look fantastic!

Thanks KMK - I'd love to gain more muscle on my arms & lose the fat on my arms and love handles, but I have enjoyed NROLFW and what it has done for my muscles.  It is a good program.  I've just heard that to create solid and hard muscles requires a year of building a good base first.  So 6 more months to go!!  whoo hoo.  It feels like it has been longer than 6 months!

OK - I am now half way thru FL II.  I have one more of the 10 rep workouts for each A & B and then the 8 rep workouts. Well I guess that is still 6 more workouts and it should take 2 more weeks at best.  I will be happy to be getting more rest between sets... Probably moving to hypertrophyI after that, but not sure.

I finished Fatloss II today. I wasn't able to maintain a deficit this past week.  THe kids were home on spring break.  We took a short road trip in the middle of the week and the Easter Bunny brought way too much chocolate.  Sooooo, I did lots of damage.  I can't really complain.  I look fine.  But I would like to step it up and get really lean and ripped.  To do that, it comes down to nutrition, and I just can't seem to find the dicipline long term to accomplish that.  Well, I guess I will keep trying.  For Strength one, I plan on maintaining a deficit on non lifting days, but eating maintenance on lifting days.  I think I will need the energy to lift hard.  WIsh me luck.

Laura - congrats on finishing FLII...  I just finished my B workout - first of 8 reps.   I have 1 more workout each to go, so I will probably finish by Saturday or Sunday!!   I have to say I am liking the lower reps much better than the earlier 12 reps!  It's like you can live thru any "torture" as long as it is short lived - the 12 reps are just way too much torture for me! 

I am in the same boat regarding the discipline to get really lean and ripped, although that is also my goal.  I really blew it last weekend, not that I have been so good anyway, but last weekend was horrid.  We went out to Mexican Saturday and I cannot believe how much I ate.... alot of deep fried concoctions and probably 3-4k calories for sure!  Then for easter, we had ham(not so bad), but I also made homemade gnocci and way overdid it on the gnocci.  Then dessert at my sisters - ouch!  I gained 2-3 pounds just over the weekend.  I was hoping this morning it would be gone, but nope.  It is still there!

Gnocci!!!  I love gnocci.  Are you Italian?  I made homemade lasagna.  Even the noodles were homemade - My mom and kids make the pasta the day before.  I have to put gnocci on my list for the near future. 

I've seen your pictures.  You have very little body fat so any additional body fat loss or muscle gain will be hard won.  I am in a similar boat, although I am carrying more body fat than you. To make positive changes, nutrition has to be spot on.  That's where I fall down.  I just LOVE to eat.  

Yeah - I LOVE food too.  I am Italian and have always enjoyed yummy foods.  I am not so much into sweets as I am food!  I went to Rome in October of 2007 and oh my - the food was so good and so fresh tasting.  When I came back is when I learned to make home-made gnocchi and other goodies.  I also bought a homemade pasta machine and have made pasta and ravioli. 

My mom used to make some awesome easter bread every year.  She used to braid the dough and make "dolls" for us with a hard boiled egg as a face.  I am thinking of making that today too, although I will be tempted to eat alot of it and not sure I want that.  I have never made it - ever.  My oldest sister gave me a "recipe" though so I wanted to try it.   My mom has alzheimer's and she is done with all that stuff.

This year, also was the first year I participated in sausage making as an adult.  We used to always do this when I was a child.  We dried the sausage and it was soo good, but it is almost gone.

I even grew my own hot pepper in the yard, strung and dried it... and also jarred some in olive oil.  I guess I am getting back to my roots!

That's wonderful.  I am Italian too and I think it's great you are keeping all the old traditions alive.  I'm sorry about you mom.  Alzheimer's can be very difficult on a family.  Happy Easter.

Thanks Laura - Happy Easter to you too!  Yeah us Italians love our food! 

My mom was diagnosed a couple years ago... but she is doing well in an assisted living center just for people with the same problems & the medications are better now than they used to be, so she is pretty stable.  My dad died from the same disease a few years ago.  He went down hill quickly as the meds came out too late for him.  But - they both lived a very full and good life.

I thought I was starting Fat Loss I this week but it turns out Fat Loss 2 is on the agenda -- go figure!!  

There are step ups in the NROL- in the one for women I used the weight bench w/ not so much weight.  I too was having a hard time with upper body not wanting to hold on to as much weight as I could step us using the aerovbic steps so lowered weight upped step.  

I am looking foward to starting a new program.  It took me forever to get thru NROL4W - started end of January and just finished Friday- so 9 months.  

I really need to concentrate on food now.  I want to show those men in the gym how to really do weights and not sit there and do curls all day long.  I have yet to see men do anything for their lower body- its so sad.  So I figure the best way to show them is by being an example.

It's true, I see very few men doing lower body work.  And I've only seen two men doing step ups and thinking about it, it's pretty funny.  The first one was this huge linebacker type, the guy was massive.  He was doing step ups onto the smallest step with bodyweight.  Huffing and puffing.  The other guy was sort of average looking, in good shape though - he was going up on the bench with 45 pounds dumbbells.  90 lbs!  Whoa!  I admit I was impressed and just sorta kept watching him out of the corner of my eye.

First workout for Fat Loss 2 complete.  Oh the pain on those ball exercises.  both of them about killed me.  The one for the hamstrings was awesome.  It is so much better than the machine and with no weight I could only do 7 reps.  

I know my back side of the legs are going to be feeling this workout.  

I am sore from the top of my feet to my shoulders -- yes the top of my feet.  was it the squats on the bench on wednesday then the hip flextion leg curl yesterday - never have I had the top of my feet muscles "feel the burn"  

I'd have to say it was the bulgarian split squats with overhead press   Hardest exercise I ever did!

Ditto, that exercise was a killer.

Today was doing the killer bulgarian split squat shoulder press my heart rate got up to 169 -- for you "younguns" thats probably nothing,  but understand I'll be 50 next month!!!  

I am having a love hate relationship with this workout.  -- T push ups are not happening.  I am unable to do push ups off the floor so have to modify them off the smith machine.  My goal is to be able to do maybe one tpush up off the floor by the end of this routine.

I remember FL II.  It was great.  I am REALLY bored of Hyp II.  Maybe because I did it off and on all summer, then started over in the fall.  I still have 10 workouts to go with it!!!!  Maybe I will go back to FL II when I am done.

Hey, I'm not a youn'un either.  I'm 45, and doing squats and deadlifts I've gotten my HRM up to 181.  That's the highest I've ever seen it well, okay 225 one time, but I'm positive that was a false reading. 

Don't worry about when the HRM estimates say.  Your max heart rate, is your max heart rate.  So, maybe around 169 -- or maybe even higher. 

And yes, I think lots of us have to modifications.  I do lots, because I work out at home, and because my upper-body is still weak and girly.  But I'm working on it, and someday we'll be able to do big-boy push-ups and pull-ups! 

Okay, since I've gotten so few workouts in lately, I've decided to give up on Strength I for now, and get back to losing the pounds. 

Started Fat Loss II yesterday and it was a good workout.  I'm really feeling the squats today, lol.  I'm guessing that after my next workout I will cursing the BSS with OHP.  I'm looking forward to it...