2FATCATS, that jackknife is not too bad once u get the hang of it. I bought a ball and practiced at home before trying it at the gym, which is a good thing, takes lots of balance.

Do you guys workout outside of the program? I run intervals sometimes every other weekend when we are at my in laws, since they have a treadmill. This weekend we aren't going over there but I feel super antsy and like I need to do something today. I might just play some Just Dance to burn some energy and maybe a few extra calories. I just don't want to sabatoge my efforts by pushing myself too far.

For a while I was doing some cardio everyday, I feel better when I do but here lately, my energy level is pretty low but I need to start doing cardio everyday again. If you feel like your pushing yourself then try backing off a little but if you feel good about what your doing then I say "DO IT". You body will let you know what it needs.

I completely agree with Strlsgrl! Your body will let you know.
for the first week I did light, light cardio on off days just to get some blood flow through my muscles and help with soreness. Now that I am getting into the swing of things - I just workout on T/Th/Sa. I need the recovery time! The program is working so I figure why mess with it!
Hopefully when it gets more weight intensive, say in hypertrophy & beyond the weather will be warm enough (April ish) and I will start walking my dogs 3+ miles a day. It's a whopping 16 degrees but 'feels like' 1 degree out there right now. Brrr. So that will sorta count as light cardio...lots of hills and we walk fast!
I'm learning to let my body tell me how it feels.

Strlsgrl: have you noticed any weight difference, clothes fit different or body fat changes after you finished phase I?

Keep it up, ladies!

not really, When I did NRLW, I measured every month, I think I need to start doing that again. I have lost 8.5 pounds in january but I am on a 1500 calorie diet too and have been struggling to stick to it. Like I said before, it is very important to measure and weigh because you might be getting smaller and not losing

Can you do this program when you are really overweight? I am 5'6 and weighs 244 :/
What are your suggestions for nutrition?

stlrsgrl43, that's how I've been. I just feel like I need to do something on Saturdays! I have a lot of energy since I've gotten back into the groove of lifting. How did you choose 1500 calories a day? I aim for 1630. The great part about lifting is you can eat more while losing. I aim for 5 ish lbs a month in the hope that I retain muscle mass as I lose the fat.

2FatCats, I'm thinking the one day a week won't hurt, especially if I'm itching to get moving.

I woke up sick yesterday, thought I felt better today, had a killer workout, then started feeling the cold again. I'm going to take advantage of my rest day tomorrow and just relax and do some cleaning.

I'm very proud to say that I increased the weight in a few lifts

I think you can! Anyone can lift weights. I use this thread to calculate my calorie and macro needs and right now I eat about 1630 a day and aim for 122 ish grams of protein: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703921

Floprieto:

As long as your doc agrees, of course you can! Look at those folks on Biggest Loser- they are robust and lifting with the best of them!

As for nutrition - I use the bodybuilding.com guides, too. And make sure I don't go below my BMR (about 1450) so that equates to roughly about 1500-1550 calories. I could eat more (I'm tall) but I'm not normally hungry at this level. Sometimes I actually fiind myself eating when I'm not really hungry just to make the 1500 for the day!! All good things come to an end, though---Now I have started getting hungry the day AFTER I lifted. So I have started adding a more calories and cycling my carb/protein by eating a few more healthy carbs on workout days - and trading those carbs for protein on recovery days. I plan them all the day prior and weigh my food, too. Tedious at first but now I can eyeball pretty much anything down to the gram! I quiz my hubby and he always over-estimates. Sigh. If only....
My numero uno rule: I will not feel physically hungry. I just can't do the headaches, weakness, thinking constantlyabout when my next meal is coming and (according to EVERYBODY) the extreme crankiness!

Hi ladies! I thought I would stop in by and check out what's going on here. It's nice to know I'm not alone out there lifting. I wish I was going in tandem with you guys on Supercharged because you have obviously been great support for each other. I'll just use you all as my consultants when I finish NROLW and get into Supercharged. I am currently eating about 1300 calories per day and not getting the recommended amount of protein, which for me would be about 105 g per day. I've heard mixed information as to how critical this is. I notice you gals are eating way more than me. Any words of wisdom, scoldings, etc? Also, I will be doing Supercharged at home when I get there. What equipment will I need? I already bought a lot of stuff for NROLW, but am curious if I will own a complete home gym when all is said and done. At any rate, keep up the great work!

Movingforward, WELCOME, I did NRLW. I am going to assume you have the bands already if you are doing this at home. Supercharged calls for valslides as well which I found some slides at walmart for 10$. I don't always get alot of protien either but i do try. How far into NRLW are you?

Moving:
I work out in my finished attic- about 1000 sq ft - entry section of the floor that is hardwood and the rest I covered in interlocking gym mats. For Christmas/my birthday we bought a power rack/ cage and olympic bar with weight plate set. We already had dumbbellls up to 25lb(need more). We don't have any kettlebells - just found I had to sub in an exercise or use weight plate - no biggie. There is a lot of cable machine work, too - I just use bands with d ring handles and position them on the power rack. I didn't buy valslides - I improvised with a washcloth on the wooded entry floor. And I didn't need them for long. A stability ball if you don't already have one. Oh and a weight bench that you can adjust with different inclines. I also have a treadmill, 2 spin bikes and an elliptical - well - sorta. I broke it a couple of weeks ago. I took it apart and it needs a new belt - wore out the old one. Not sure if I will replace it, though. Those suckers get expensive and take up a ton of real estate. Now I just do the ever-so-fun cariocas for intervals! Not sure if you have this store but play-it-again-sports has great deals on new and 'gently' used equipment. OH - and good weight lifting gloves! I am a HUGE fan of versa-gripps because I have had 2 wrist surgeries and have trigger finger/tendonitis in my right hand.
As for calories - I can eat a lot. I mean alot. I ate over 1600 yesterday and still lost weight today - down to 159 @ 5'9". I'm actually going to up them to 1700 next week. I'm going to add 100 calories a day for a week or so, then another 100, then 100, etc. Until I get up to (gulp) 2000. My DRI is between 2200-2500 depending upon activity level. I really only have 9 lbs to lose. And, honestly, if I didn't lose another scale pound - if it all just became muscle - that would be dandy.
And don't worry - by the time you finish NRoLW you can jump right into Super and probably skip a phase or two in Basic (Lou's suggestion) depending upon your level. We'll still be here - it's a very thorough program!

Moving Forward, I think with heavy lifting you can get away with eating more. And I think protein is important. I eat fairly low carb so the rest is protein and fat for me. Why not try increasing your calories by about 100 a day for a week, try to make most of it protein, and see how you feel?

As for the equipment, it's about the same as NROL4W.


I finished my 6th workout, halfway through Basic Training I! I'm still sick but I didn't wan to miss a workout. I made it through the warm up and all the lifts but just couldn't push myself to do the intervals so I gave myself a break for good effort. My weight has started dropping again after my initial water gain. I feel like I can see the muscles in my arm more and more, which is awesome considering I'm still about 20 lbs overweight.

I think upping calories if you are doing a heavy lifting program is ok. Honestly, for the past few years I have eaten between 50-100g/protein per day and have gained a lot of muscle during that time as well. Protein is recommended for many reasons including satiety but as a heavy lifter, you don't necessarily need a ton. I've read the supercharged reasoning and it makes sense but if you aren't hitting your goals every single day, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

My husband and I are doing convict conditioning right now although I've been contemplating mixing in some supercharged as well but probably not the best idea, maybe when I stall out on CC. Due to my weight, I know I can only go so far while my husband I expect can hit all the goals eventually.

Still here, still working happily along in Phase II. It seems to take me longer than Phase I, though. I think it is all the weight plate changing and such. And I am really concentrating on my form to ensure that my spine is neutral during the entire movement. I have a bad habit of looking way down during the deadlifts. My hubby likes to look up. We are finally learning to stand and load properly before we lift and it makes everything SO much easier. Starting from a good position is so much better than trying to find one (impossible) once I've already started a lift. Duh!

Keep up the good work, gals!