As I think I mentioned before I had some fear of moving up in weight with the dumbbells.  After 30 lbs they go up in increments of 5 lbs which is a big jump for a female newbie doing anything overhead with one arm.  I purchased a pair of (2 lbs each) wristbands.  Don’t get me started on why they didn’t just make them 2.5 lbs.  Regardless, I like them!

I enjoyed the movements in this stage and surprised myself when I tried doing a pistol squat instead of the partial single leg squat.  I require just a touch of assistance getting out of the hole (the bottom position) but that’s it!  I am going to continue practicing them at home ’cause I think they are impressive!  I do them on a bench.  On the floor is more impressive.  Again, I FREAKIN’ HATE THE 2min PLANKS!  But I did them  : )  Two minute rest periods are a challenge!  Have you noticed  I NEVER, maybe once, talk about the body matrix

One of my fave movements in the NROL4W program is the one arm dumbbell snatch.  After 30 lbs the dumbbells in my gym, like most gyms (duh!), go up in increments of 5 lbs.  It is not recommended to increase weight by more than 10% in a single week.  Plus, as I mentioned in a previous post, the thought of doing so by 5 lbs for a single weak girly arm like mine was scary when imagining a db snatch gone wrong and the db flying through the air.  Ditto for the incline db bench press I was doing with two 30’s  I could not get two 35’s even into position to start and if I did get them up my arms would likely have failed and the db’s would’ve been “caught” by my face.  So I bought wrist weights to bridge the gap!  The ones I bought are by ALL PRO. They were not cheap ($30) but I think they are worth it. I do think it is dumb that they are 2 lbs each. Common sense would have been to make them 2 1/2 lbs in my opinion. They are VERY comfortable.  Cushy soft in fact!  I had them on for a 45 minute session and there was no discomfort whatsoever. I’m happy with my purchase. : )

A DIFFERENT KIND OF GRIPPER
I love the GripPro Trainer! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more comfortable than any other gripper out there.  It looks like a doggy chew toy and is probably where they got the idea!

It comes in 30 lbs, 40 lbs and 50 lbs and only cost me $6.95  This is the 50 lb one.

Front Squat / Push Press
Transitioning hand position from the front squat to push press was murder for my wrists. Hated it, much pain, will work on wrist strength and flexibility before doing that again. The pain made it impossible for me to increase the weight at all

Wide Grip Deadlift on Box

No change in the weight but my grip improved greatly!  Last time (Stage II) I’d be praying to make it through all the reps without dropping the barbell.  Maybe my grip didn’t improve and it just seemed better ’cause it was only 8 reps rather than the 10 it was in Stage II.  BUT it was 3 sets so I dunno….

Did I mention how much holding a plank for 2 minutes sucks!  Not a big fan of the split squat, static lunge or reverse lunge from box either.   Partly my own fault ’cause I choose to do them with 40 to 50 lbs of extra weights.  Despite hating them I still did 3 sets of everything.  This stage gives you the option of doing 2 or 3 sets.

Now on to Stage V!  It’s odd having things change every 2 1/2 weeks.  Just when you get used to the moves and could maybe up the weight it’s over.  Oh well.

Next time I’m going to do spinach instead of green onions.  These are half whole eggs/half egg whites.  If I was not using cheese I would use all whole eggs.  Can also make it with regular bacon or turkey bacon or get real fancy and use Prosciutto.  The cups are approximately 100 calories each.  I eat 2.  If I was a guy I think I would not bother making cups.  They can eat more so I would just use a lasagna type pan and layer the bottom with the bacon then spinach, eggs, cheese, etc.  Or you could just chop the bacon up mix it in.

You can only fit one egg per cup of a standard muffin tin.  My batch was of 12. This is what they looked like just before I took them out of the oven.  The do flatten a little bit when the cool.

6 Large Whole Eggs (420 calories, 30g fat, 0g carb, 36g protein)

12 Egg Whites (1 1/2 cups of liquid egg whites) (180 calories, 0g fat, 0g carb, 42g protein)

12 slices Canadian Back Bacon (440 calories, 12g fat, 4g carb, 72g protein)

3 oz Ages White Cheddar Cheese (360 calories, 30g fat, 0g carb, 21g protein)

TOTALS: 1,400 calories, 72g fat, 4g carb, 171g protein

PER SERVING ~ 2 CUPS: 233 calories, 12g fat, .66g carb, 28.5g protein

Bake at 375 F for 15 to 18 minutes.

The Canadian Bacon I used this time is a larger but thinner slice than the kind I usually buy. My fave Canadian Bacon is Schneiders Extra Lean which is a smaller but thicker slice. If using it I would use 2 slices per cup.  50 calories, 1g fat, 1g carb, 10g protein (64g)  That’s 23 fewer calories 1g less fat 2g less protein than the kind I used this time.  Not much of a difference.

As you can see I made four cuts in the slices to make it a million times easier to get the meat in the cups.  Yes this allowed some of the egg to leak down below the meat.  Don’t care.  : )

Below are pics of the steps.  Addition of the eggs, then green onions and finally the cheese.  That last pic is of a cup without cheese on the left and with cheese on the right.  As always clicking on the picture will get you a bigger version.

Quit Smoking December 2006 after having smoked for 27 years from the age of 13 to 40.

Quit watching TV June 2007.  As a side note, apart from the obvious couch potatoeness of it I found the biggest benefit of not watching tv was huge self control!  Control your environment by removing all temptation.  When trying to eat healthy watching tv is not helpful.  Food commercials every few minutes.  In fact some say just seeing, smelling or thinking of food can cause a response in the body.  It certainly, in the past, started me craving the crap.  So yah, I found not watching tv to be just as important to my success as not having crap food in the house.

Quit eating crap processed fake food (carb addiction) on daily basis July 2007.  Started eating real whole food, lean protein, vegetables and fruit, 4 to 5 times per day.

Quit sitting on my ass (stillness addiction) pretty much non stop August 2007.  Started walking and resitance training.

I have 2 last addictions to conquer which I have been trying to do since the beginning of the year.  They are connected and have been an issue for as long as I can remember…… sugar and caffeine!  In the beginning it was Coke.  Then around 20 I started drinking coffee with sugar.  I have had one or the other or both every day, all day long for more almost 3 decades!  This is the last monkey on my back and I’m determined to get it off!  For the last week I’ve been drinking one (large 16oz) black coffee in the morning and one with cream and sugar in the evening.  This week it will be one black in the morning and that’s it for the day.  Green tea after that.  Yes there is caffeine in that but it is a tiny little fraction of the amound in drip coffee.  I’m not saying that I will never ingest caffeine again.  I just want to break the sugar/caffeine habit.  Quit drinking sugar and greatly reduce caffeine.  I will add an update to the post next week.  Feel free to pray for me, send me strength, or say some affirmations for me.  I can use the help!  Please and thank you.  : )

I’m giving this all my attention which is why I have not provided a weight and measurements update.  Will do it next weekend (1 week late).

Update:  September 17, 2008

FINALLY!!!!!!  Sept. 1st was day one of not drinking my usual coffee with cream and sugar.  For the first couple of weeks I drank 1 cup of black coffee in the morning to prevent caffeine withdrawal hell.  Can’t believe I finally did it.   Yay!

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Stage III was short and sweet like Stage II. Two workouts, each done 4 times for a total of 8. Train 3 times a week and you are done Stage III in just 2 1/2 weeks!

I really enjoyed this stage even though I am GREATLY missing the Deadlifts and Squats from Stage I. My two faves from this stage were YTWL (more about it below) and the Dumbbell Single Leg Romanian Deadlift because I felt them the most. I talked about Quad Dominance in my Stage II wrap up. This is the Stage where I really, finally!!!, felt things in my glutes and hammies (posterior chain). I am really looking forward to doing Deadlifts and Squats again, though it’s 8 weeks away in Stage 7, to see if I will now feel them in my entire lower body and not just my quads. I might have to sneak some in before that.

The funnest was the One-Armed Dumbbell Snatch. I so wanted to try heavier weight but kept imagining the horror of a more than 30lb dumbbell flying through the air should I fail! Somehow failure with a barbell does scare me as much?!

R E S T P E R I O D S

These long rest periods were a challenge. Not because the workout wasn’t hard. The recovery was needed and the rests were generally spent feeling the sweat bead up on my head and then run downwards. It’s just hard to wait almost 2 whole minutes. Knowing why helps AND I just keep reminding myself that if I want top notch results I will follow the program written by the top notch coach as closely as I possibly can!

These longer rest periods mean the goal is strength improvement and they allow for fuller recovery of the central nervous system (among other things). In other words, the longer rest period allows more recovery which then allows you to go heavier each time and therefore gain more strength.

Coach Christian Thibaudeau has written a series of articles that are about understanding how to put together a program. Reps, frequency, rest periods, etc. are all covered. The one I’m linking to is the one that covers rest periods (on page 2).
TESTOSTERONE NATION - The Thib System: Training Frequency and Rest Periods

Y T W L

Thanks to another article on T-Nation by a guy name Chris Bartyl who got to train with Alwyn for a day, I learned a little more about YTWL than what was in the book. Below is a link to the article and here is what Alwyn said in the discussion afterwards about YTWL. The pictures in the article are not of YTWL which is done prone (face down) on an incline bench. If Alwyn gives a man 7.5 and 5 lb dumbbells for these then I feel pretty good that I could do 5lbs.

Alwyn Cosgrove said:

It’s a PRE-hab exercise. So you don’t need a lot of volume.

The line of thinking with this stuff is : “how many people do you know that have ever had a shoulder injury?”

Whenever I ask that at seminars, 90% of the room raise their hands. (The other 10% usually have shoulder injuries so bad that they can’t raise their hands )

So let’s start addressing that from the beginning by adding some of these exercises.

————————end quote

Pain & Pleasure: 1 Hour with Alwyn by Chris Bartl

Kudos to Courtney (from the article) for surviving (finishing) Alwyn’s EVIL LEG MATRIX!!!! In NROL4W you do it once. Rest for double the time it took you to complete it. Then do it again. He told Courtney she had 120 seconds to complete it and she did! He said the gym record was twice through in under 3 minutes.

Here is a link to Alwyn’s Blog which describes the Leg Matrix. It also links to a video a very determined man doing the Leg Matrix. Pretty much what I looked like the first time I tried it. Got half way through, did the first jump lunge and my legs turned to mush. Laughed and went home. : ) He kept going.

65 lbs have been lost

14″ lost from chest

15″ lost from waist

10″ lost from hips

Much muscle gained!

This is now the best part.  The muscles are there, and still growing, and with every lb lost I get to see more and more of them.  It’s like slowly unwrapping a gift.  Who knew it could be so much fun!

I think, though I won’t know ’til I get closer, I still have another 20 to 30 lbs of fat to lose.  Being more “mature” (I’ll be 42 in 2 months) my face will get pretty gaunt if I get too thin.  Plus I’d still like to gain more muscle.  Not bodybuilder big, more gymnast or power lifter sized.  I am interested in both power lifting and olympic lifting and am currently learning about both.  I scored the book:

The Weightlifting Encyclopedia

A Guide To World Class Performance

by Arthur Dreshsler

for all of $1 at a used book sale.

Thinking I might like to compete in power lifting.  Sadly there are no registered clubs or gyms in my area.  I’d have to find a private coach.

My goal a month ago was to lose the 20 or 30 lbs by my birthday and reach a double body weight deadlift.  You are not supposed to “chase two rabbits at once”.  i.e. weight loss and strength gains.  But I figure what the hell, can’t hurt to try.  Worst it’s gonna do is leave me frustrated.  I’m new to lifting so it is actually possible for me to do both.  Not easy but possible.

Ciao for now!

Stage II was much shorter than stage one. 2 workouts, each done 4 times for a total of 8. Train 3 times a week and you are done Stage II in just 2 1/2 weeks!

Widening the grip and increasing range of motion on the Deadlift of course meant having to reduce the weight. Could barely maintain my grip for the whole set the first time I did it. I refused to go down in weight anymore. Was already bummed that I was doing 20lbs less than with the conventional deadlift. Logically I knew it would be this way but my ego (I guess that’s what it is) didn’t like it!

The book discusses the fact that most women are quad dominant. This means that we will generally use the muscles in the front of our legs/thighs more than the back leg (hamstring) and butt (glutes) muscles. The movements in Alwyn’s program address this by focusing on and engaging the glutes and hammies more. This is very important otherwise we end up with even more muscle imbalance than when we started. Our bodies will naturally do whatever is easiest for it. It takes the path of least resistance so to speak. It will use the muscles that are already strongest. So weak muscles get weaker and strong muscles get stronger. This leads to muscle imbalance and injuries. But, like I said, this program addresses that. With each stage you feel it more and more in your glutes and hammies. In the first stage not once did I have any soreness or feel it in my glutes or hammies. This stage I started to feel it a little. It helps to be aware of the issue and really focus your attention on those muscles, trying to use them and feel them working. In Stage II you REALLY get to feel them! Hehehehe.

If you want to learn more about this google or go to t-nation and search for “quad dominance” and “posterior chain” (2 separate searches).