Congrats Fitmom! That is so awesome!

I'm hoping to start Stage 3 by the end of next week

Yay! That's awesome fitmom - any idea what you'll do once you're done? I've heard of some people doing P90x after? I know that the author also wrote another book called 'the new rules of lifting for abs', which might be interesting

smad11: I'm going to be training with kettlebells until Labor Day. Then NROL4Abs and then the newest book, NROL for Life next year.

LindsB: I'm so excited for you!! Don't the stages fly by once you get past stage one? What kind of progress have you made thus far - strength-wise, aesthetically, etc.?

NROL for Life is coming out in April too.

I have Rachel Cosgrove's "Female Body Breakthrough" that looks like a great program as well. The prose is terribly annoying, but the workouts and dynamic warm ups look great. (Cosgrove is married to the guy who does the workouts for the NROL series; they own a gym together.)

Yay fitmom! Countdown to the end! Congrats on making it so far, & all your progress.
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I had to take an unplanned week-long break while I finished an important project. But that was a good thing, since I've taken almost no time off since I began the program at the beginning of January. I was in the middle of stage 3, so I picked up where I left off today. Felt nice and refreshed. Matched or upped all the weights that I was using before, so I'm pretty satisfied-- although my planks still suck. Don't know why my progress on those is so much worse than everything else-- maybe I'm just burned out by the end of the workout?

sumire: My planks were pretty weak but now that my core is a lot stronger hence, planks are easier to perform. It takes time like everything else. You're doing great.

Dietvet: Yeah, Rachel is married to Alwyn - the brainchild behind the New Rules' workouts and their gym is located out in California. I already pre-ordered my "For Life" book on Amazon.com. Just call me the 'New Rules Girl', lol.

I have a question: I am only a couple weeks into the program and am not able to workout for a week or 2 and then possibly another week off in a month or so, Should I just pick up where I left off or should I start all over? I have kidney stones/infection and in a few weeks or a month I will have to have a procedure to break them up and right now my kidney is swollen and infected so I can't workout till it clears up.

I'm not a doctor but I would pick up where you left off if not that much time has elapsed. What does your doctor say?

he said I can start when the pain is gone and I feel up to it

I would err on the side of caution and ease back into it slowly, if it were me. Good luck and hope you feel better.

Yeah, I guess I have to acknowledge to myself that during all my strength training before NROLFW, I did much less ab/core work than anything else. So I came to NROLFW with a better strength base for the rest of my body, and I'm just playing catch-up... You're right, patience & time!

Ouch, what a terrible thing to deal with! I hope you feel better soon.

Sumire, fitmom, Thank You, I actually do feel a little better today, I am hoping to start back by wed, until then I am going to be doing the treadmill. I don't want to fall too far behind.

Well, I have completed the first six workouts of stage 7 - I could technically stop here and say I'm done but I'm going all the way - 12 workouts or bust!! Wish me luck as I head into the final six, lol. Estimated date of program completion in its entirety: by or before the end of next week. Woot.

Congrats Fitmom!! that's awesome, hopefully I'll be where you are one day.

I'm mid-way through the second week of stage one... I think I've been popping onto the scale a little to frequently and sometimes get a bit down about the fact that I'm not seeing any changes there... although I've read that most people don't start seeing results until they get to stage 2 and beyond... I'm sticking pretty well to the book so haven't been doing anything in addition to the workouts (other than walking the dog), and have been contemplating adding in some cardio... I think I need to keep better track of my calories too to know exactly where I'm at... I guess I just have to persevere

again congrats though - those workouts look super tough, and good on you for seeing it through to the end!!

Hello ladies!! I have read through all 15 pages of this thread specifically about if this could be done at home...I have seen fitmom answer 'yes' to each person...thanks!! but all I have are 5 pound, 8 pound, 15 and 25 pound dbs - are these enough? I have a foam step that is almost 5 inches high..and a padded coffee table that I guess I could lay down on..pathetic

*edit to add, also have 1, 2, and 3.3 pounders, but they seem kinda small compared to what is used here!