Finished Stage 5 of NROL4W

I'm so thrilled with my progress in this program.  I was looking at the logs I've been keeping and it's amazing to see how far I have come.  

So I'm done with Stage 5 and I'm going to take a week off from lifting before I start Stage 6.  I'm excited about Stage 6 because I really get to focus on chin-ups and more than anything, I want to be able to do chin-ups.  To me, chin-ups (actually, any move that requires you to use your own body as weight) are the test of true strength and I am ready to be really strong.  

As an aside, I deadlifted 135 lbs. this past Friday.  I had finished my last set of Romanian deadlifts/barbell row combos and I just wanted to see if I could do it.  And I did it.  And you know what?  It wasn't nearly as hard as I had imagined.  Oh, those 45s on each end of the barbell were big and intimidating looking but I deadlifted that weight sure enough.  I had read on JP fitness that deadlifting with any weight smaller than that is actually deadlifting at a deficit and makes the exercise more difficult and there is more risk of injury.  Unfortunately, this was not emphasized in the book.  In fact, in later stages, you are supposed to deadlift from a box (at a deficit) which I did so I was deadlifting at a double deficit because in actuality, I had been deadlifting at a deficit from Stage One.  Now, I'm grateful I have the flexibility I do so I was able to do it with good form.  But I wonder had I started by elevating my bar, how much more than 135 lbs. I could deadlift by now.  

Anyway, these are the things you learn as a novice lifter.  You live, you learn.  And I'm very willing to learn.  

I'm already looking ahead to what I'm going to do after I complete NROL4W.  So far, I think Maximum Strength by M.A. Eric Cressey is looking like my next step.  There's also Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe and The New Rules of Lifting.  The options available are really endless.  

So far, so good

I'm enjoying Stage 2 of NROL4W even though it takes a bit more time to complete each workout than the workouts in Stage 1 did.  I really enjoy the variety although for the first time, I got the sense that I would like to do more somehow.  Be more serious with lifting.  NROL4W is a great introduction to serious gym-style lifting but I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for the next step.  

Currently, I'm in money-saving mode although I would like to purchase some fitness gear soon.  I'm in need of new cross-trainers and running shoe.  I've said before that I'm seriously considering buying a pair of Vibram Five-Fingers but I'm a little hesitant.  I wish there were a way I could test drive them first.  :)  The Five-Fingers would be great because I could lift while wearing them and then go for a run without having to change footwear--anything that saves time is wonderful.  But for indoor stuff at home, I'd either need another pair of Five-Fingers or a pair of cross-trainers (I don't wear outside shoes in the house).  

I would also like a foam roller because it's a great recuperative tool for athletes.  Someone on JP Fitness posted this:

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8caF1Keg2XU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Another thing I'd like to invest in are some Iron Woody bands.  Because I would like to be able to do a chin up by the end of the year, I know I have to do some focused work to get there.  I found this interesting way to do assisted chin-ups using the Iron Woody bands. (I would probably do this at home though because I wouldn't want folks looking at me like I was crazy in the gym.)   In the meanwhile, I do 2 sets of 10 inverted rows at the end of my workouts.  I could do negative chin-ups but I will have to do those later on in the NROL4W program and also, I do not feel like I have the time to hunt around the gym for the one and only bench high enough.  There's pull-up machine at the gym, yes, but everything I've read says that's a sub-par way to building up to pull-ups.  Kind of like how doing push-ups on your knees is not the best way to build up to a regular push-up (wall push-ups or push ups on a bar are considered superior).

Anyway, this week I haven't been to the gym because the hubby is away.  I'm looking forward to getting back there on Friday though.  I did get a chance to do a BodyRock TV workout (Fat Fighter Workout) yesterday and it was lots of fun as usual.  I totally love the idea of using nothing but your body to get a great workout.

I hate to be out of my rhythm but ce la vie sometimes.  

Moving on to Stage 2 of NROL4W

Technically speaking, I finished Stage 1 of the NROL4W on Wednesday.  There are some special exercises I could add on to the end of Stage 1 just to gauge my progress but these seem to be optional (at least many folks choose to skip them).  However, I'm not quite ready to move on to Stage 2.  

The fact of the matter is that I feel like I really have to sit down, read and do some research about how to properly perform the exercises in Stage 2.  However, I just feel like I have so much going on!  So, I'm hemming-and-hawing about doing the work and therefore about starting Stage 2. 

So what I've decided is to do workouts A and B once more (I did workout A this morning and I'll do workout B on Monday) and then I'll do Special Workout A on Wednesday and Special Workout B on Friday.  The following week, I'm going out of town so I will give myself a break from lifting and really exercise in general.  I definitely need the break and it'll also give me time to read about the exercises that I'll be doing in Stage 2.  I'll jump into Stage 2 on Monday, February 28.

I really wish I could recommend NROL4W flat out without reservations.  But I think if I were to tell anyone to this program, I would follow up with a recommendation that they also join JP Fitness Forums and read, read, read.  There's so much information on there that the beginner would just not know--not even from reading the book cover to cover.  I honestly feel like a lot was left out and you do have to do a lot of legwork to get the details.  I also don't think, and I'm speaking as a person with a degree in English, that it is a well-written book.  Every week or so, a newbie comes on the forums completely and utterly confused about the formats of the workouts.  The convoluted way in which the workouts are laid out is initially the reason why I hesitated to do the program.  I'm not new to lifting weights but I am new to the gym and so I felt doubly intimidated by the whole thing (no idea what I was doing in the gym and only a slight grasp on how to go about the workout).  I'm so grateful for the JP Fitness Forums but I kind of wish the book was more thorough and, basically, more plainly laid out.  It really should be very straightforward even if it adds a bit more thickness to the book.  

But I'm enjoying the program nonetheless.  Really liking it.  I feel like it's a great segue into serious weight lifting.    

I had a protein shake after today's lifting session.  [I will blog about what's in that in the near future (as well as my trepidation about protein shakes).]  I also took my iron supplement (Floradix Floravital Iron and Herbs) something that I often neglect to do.  I was feeling quite run down, sleepy and tired so I thought why not.  I'm always trying to remember to take it before a meal but I always forget.  So I just took it and it has made all the difference today.