Nicole
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Since we aren’t doing traditional cardio, your heart rate will vary quite a bit throughout the workout. I would recommend using the RPE scale instead. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being sitting down and 10 being cannot go any harder, you want to be somewhere between the 7/8 range for majority of the workout- maybe upwards of a 9 at some parts of the workout.
Regarding the weight used, I am always a fan of going a little heavier and doing a few less reps. I would start with the 8lbs for 12, and up it for the next set and do 10 for 10, then maybe even 12 for 8 🙂I walk every morning and don’t count it toward dedicated cardio or eat back the calories. If this is a consistent part of your day, just monitor your progress first before changing anything. Yes it is normal to be hungry in a fat loss phase. If you are having a hard time focusing, sleeping, recovering, etc over a period of time, you may not be eating enough. If it is just one night it could be your body adjusting to the new program. Try giving it a couple days to see if you feel better, if not make sure you chose the correct plan for your ht and wt. If you did, then you may need to either 1) go back to phase 1 – especailly if you were seeing progress or 2) go up a meal plan and follow phase 2.
I hope this helps!
Hey ladies!
The meal plan is correct but the macros for the recipe aren’t (although the recipe is correct). It should be:
Per serving: 247 calories, 14g fat, 6g carbs, 23g protein
We will get that adjusted asap!Hi Holly, A drop set is 10 reps with a heavier weight, then a 5 to 10% drop in weight followed by another 10 reps without resting. So each set consist of a total of 20 reps.
For ex on narrow squats, you would do 10 reps holding onto 30 pound dumbbells, drop the weight to 25 pound dumbbells immediately and do 10 more reps. Rest for 60 seconds and then repeat the same thing again.
I hope this helps 😊
There is also a demo of how to do a dropset in the Bonus Training Videos on the Challenge homepage here:I can’t find the same one but we have this one now and I love it:
https://a.co/d/cFuyXPO6 servings, 6 tortillas, 6 burritos total.
Just eyeball and evenly divide. If you want to weigh it all and divide by 6 you can absolutely do thatYou are going to do as many rounds of the three movements as you can fit in during the time block regardless of the plan you choose (gym, at home etc).
So complete each exercise in the triset, rest 45sec to 1 min, repeat. Continue until the time block is up.
That is what I would do too. Keep in mind that in phase 2, calories drop. If your goal is to gain muscle, stick with MP 3.
To access all of the recipes on the website, you need to be a member. This is a separate $10/mo fee for access to weekly workouts, videos, hundreds of recipes, etc.
Often times it takes a week or two to get used to the new set up too. Give it time and try to stay as consistent as possible. It will get better 🙂
Yes you can change the order of the meals. Please make sure you watch the ‘How to use the food exchange list’ video here to understand how to use the entire meal plan:
You’ve got this! You have an awesome opportunity to grow, learn and use this as motivation to improve your health and fitness. Don’t let it get you down too long- and use it as your ‘why’ when you start to revert back to old habits. One day at a time ladies! Keep going!
NicoleHi Dynagirl2011,
Make sure when you measure the rice it is measured when cooked. I typically recommend jasmine or basmati that you get raw in a bag. I would not get the precooked ones you pop into the microwave due to the additional oils added.
There may be slight variances, but typically 100g (1/2 cup) of cooked rice will be around 25-30g of carbs.
Regarding the salmon, if the one you chose is nearly 20g of fat, I would decrease the portion to 4oz instead of 5.
Hope that helps!
NicoleHi Andrew,
The meal is
Meal 2
Option 1
(1 ½ LP) 12 oz plain nonfat Greek yogurt
(1/2 LP) ½ scoop nPower Nutrition Vanilla Cupcake Whey Protein Isolate
(SC) 30g low fat granola
(2 F) 32g almond butterSo it is a total of 2 LP 🙂
Hi Laura,
During a deficit, the goal is to maintain muscle mass. There may be some growth if you are more of a newbie in the gym but if you have been lifting for a while, the goal is to sustain and keep the muscle you have grown while losing bodyfat.
Personally what I chose would depend on my recovery. If my legs felt really fatigued still, I would do the cardio. If I was feeling pretty rested, not really sore and had the extra energy, I would do the leg workout. The difference in terms of bodyfat loss in response to changing one workout would be negligible.
I hope that helps!Hi. I have a couple of questions regarding the cardio protocols.
First – I understand that if one is doing real HIIT (as opposed to interval HIIT)– in other words, hitting maximum intensity on the intervals, then it is neither beneficial nor, in some cases, even possible, to do HIIT two days in a row. It is taxing on the CNS and can, I believe, eat into recovery from weight workout (particularly legs). (FWIW, I once worked with a trainer who programmed HIIT only on leg days specifically to give the legs a day off after.) …
I raise this question because Phase 2 of the program has us doing 3x HIIT in addition to intervals. That is a lot of higher intensity training. I am skeptical that this is idea given the need for recovery, which might also be somewhat compromised by the higher volume of training in Phase 2 and lower calories.
I, for one, am already suffering from joint tenderness due to the heavy load on the legs in phase 2 (HIIT tends to be leg-dominant).
Yes, I know Nicole Wilkins is pro, but I would appreciate it if you could give more insight on this programming structure. Also, I wonder if we can sub low-intensity SS for one of the HIIT days (just longer duration).
Finally, I want to ask why the 2nd leg day in the push-pull-legs set up is optional. Why would one choose to do it, and why not? What are the pros and cons of the 2nd day.
P.S. Just a note to suggest that the programs do NOT use HR as a guide when prescribing HIIT intensity. My Max HR (as measured in a lab) is 155… though classic calculations assume it should be 20 bpm higher. So, I think RPE would be a better guide — also because HR varies by age, and the programs do not account for a range of ages.
Thanks in advance!
If someone is performing true HIIT and doing 3x per week or even two days in a row is too intense and their body is not recovering properly, you have a few options.
In the ebook we mention that cardio can be performed on any day you choose- feel free to space out the HIIT days more evenly throughout the week.
I would also recommend changing up the type – stairs one day, sprints one day etc. This will help reduce risk of overuse injuries.
In my experience, most people do not do true HIIT training and increasing intensity at all is very uncomfortable. So if I can encourage someone to kick up the speed, up the level, and push harder than they typically do by encouraging a change in type, I will. You sound more advanced and understand your body better than anyone, so if 3 days is too much, please modify as needed.
I personally feel doing HIIT on a leg day is incredibly difficult if your legs are fatigued, but again, you can choose to do your HIIT on leg days if that is what you prefer.The second leg day is optional primarily due to the fact that many people cannot fit 6 days of lifting in during the week. If your goal is to improve your lower body, hitting those muscle groups twice per week can be beneficial for muscle growth-
I am happy to add in RPE instructions to the ebook in the future. Maximal heart rate changes as your endurance improves and as we age so we mainly use it as a guide- many programs still mention HR so I personally don’t feel there is anything wrong with including it. If you have been tracking heart rate for a while and understand what your numbers are, obviously work off of those.
I appreciate your input and feedback 🙂 I hope my reply addresses any concerns you have.
Hey there! Sorry for the delay.
The reason there is a slight difference is because of the residual fat in the triscuits in the crab meal. If you were to swap out the fat in that meal I would want it to be half of a serving to make up for that. The total macros and calories for both meals are within 5g of the goal.There are a few meals that I kept the same for the reason that they are still within 5g above or below the goal macros for that meal. If I were to up any portion of the meal it would throw the calories too high/low or it would be way too awkward to measure.
I hope that clears up my thought process! Let me know if you have any other questions.
