Maureen
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Maureen, the problems are not the reps, it is the set of 5. How to make the example of a 3-set pyramid working for 5 sets. And I am not the only one being confused.I will do the first two sets as a warm up and then the pyramid. And honestly, I will not ask any other questions.
Hey there,
for 5 sets we want to land in the 10-12 reps. So first set you are trying to choose a weight you can do 12 reps….next set if you feel like you can challenge more you can bump it up a bit and you only get 11, GREAT! Next set, you are still feeling like a champ and you bump it a bit more…wow, you get 10 reps (barely). Last 2 sets you are able to stay at this weight and squeeze out 10 more reps each and feel awesome. Does that help?I came on looking for advice with the same question. Normally I have just replaced them with a single-leg squat because it was simple. But, with the drop set I wondered if there were a better suggestion since all the suggested alt were still extensions. Being that we are already doing a hack squat on that day, would you suggest the regular hack squat as written PLUS a drop set of hack squats then?
Thanks! Alisha StubbsSounds like you are pretty limited. Step ups aren’t on the plan….so try those if you can’t do any of the exercises in the plan….you can always go for the at home exercises for that day if they will work better for you.
Should I sacrifice reps in the last set or last 2 sets for heavier weights in phase 1 or do you aim for 10-12 reps with lower weight? Example, if I start at x lbs 10 reps set 1 and by the time I am in the 4th set I can’t handle more than 7 bc my arms shake and if I do one more the barbell may fall on my head (not really).
I would do your best to try and keep those reps within the range. The reps will go down in weeks to come. Don’t drop any on your head. lol
I cannot do HIIT cardio on days I work out because I work out at lunch and only have a little over and hour at most. I have a toddler and daycare is only open during my business hours, so before and after work is usually not feasible. Can I do it on the weekends only and maybe try to do it one time during the week?
Hi there,
Sounds like you have your hands full. Do what works for your schedule. But try and have 2 full days off if you can. I hope that helps.Please excuse my dumb question, when do you wrist grips? For chest/ bi’s? I am assuming not necessary for leg workouts.
If you are referring to the versa gripps…I would say back day…or any exercise where “grip” becomes an issue.
Do you have guidelines for the level of tension to set the rower (similar to guidelines for stepmill/treadmill)? Also, what constitutes “rest” – e.g., slow pace, reduced tension, completely stopping? Thanks!
I would just put the tension of the rower at a 5. The dial would be in the middle. I would have a slower pace where you are doing an active recovery. Then ramp up for the max speed again. Hope that helps.
So this was my “HIIT” last night…i ended up following the “git-r-run” suggested treadmill workouts almost exactly except my max speed was 8 mph. But i did 30 sec on/30 off. My HR never gets below 170ish in my low phases. In order to get a true HIIT, should i just follow my heart rate vs a plan? Also, do i really need to get my HR down to 120 in the low phase? Bc that would take over a 1 min for me, if not longer. Please advise 🙂
If your heart rate doesn’t ever go below 170 even on the “low” or recovery part, you aren’t truly recovering. Your recovery period could be longer than what’s on the plan. I would allow your heart rate to come back down in order to get that recovery. It may not be 120 but if your high is 170 I would advise you come down to where you feel like you can catch your breath. Then hit the high intensity again. Hope that helps.
If my gym does not have a barbell heavy enough to do push presses (they only go up to 60# barbells 🙄) can I do military presses with the smith machine as an alternative?? Or can I do push presses on the smith machine??
Hi there,
You can use DB’s
Stand holding a pair of dumbbells just outside your shoulders, with your arms bent and palms facing each other.Dip your knees, and then explosively push up with your legs as you press the weights straight over your shoulders. Lower the dumbbells back to the starting position. That’s 1 rep.
Hope that helps.I can’t do either of these…although it’s a goal. What are alternatives that will help me move towards doing chin ups and pull ups?
You can do what Jenean recommended. Pull ups are hard. Do you have access to a pull up bar at all?
Hi there,
doing a pyramid is just a way to work up to heavier weight. The rep range for this week for some exercises is 10-12 reps. So you wouldn’t be doing 8 or 6 or 4 reps. I hope that makes sense. Pyramiding is just a way to kind of “warm up” to the heavy weights but you still want to land in the rep range for that day. I hope that makes sense. It’s alot to learn. You got this!Hi all! I did the HIIT cardio this morning fasted… but I found that it made me feel super sick when I was done. I could only get down the oatmeal out of the oatmeal/egg option for meal 1 (managed to eat the eggs an hour later).
Is it worth doing the cardio fasted? Should I just split the meal in half (oatmeal before, eggs after)? Any other suggestions?
Thanks so much! -AFasted is not for everyone and is not necessary. I wouldn’t recommend doing HIIT fasted….it’s a tough workout and requires energy…..and that’s where the food comes in.
Can I do my HIIT on my “off” days if I need to for my personal schedule? Or do you find it imperative that it be on the same days as weight training (or to preserve the off days)?
If you can follow the plan as written, I would do that. If you have a busy day and can’t fit in both, then make the adjustments.
Can I do one of the 3 hiit workouts on Saturday rather than taking two days off on the weekend?
If you need to adjust the schedule, you can. I would just not change the order of the strength workouts.
The time will vary from person to person…based on how familiar you are with the exercises. If you are in a busy gym etc.
Hello, My macros are not totaling the recommended targets for the pancake meal on Meal Plan 1.
I input the ingredients for the protein pancakes as per the recipe. (I realize there will be some discrepancies between the macros given and the actual ingredients used, which is how I created my recipe in MFP.) However, I am missing 5 grams of fat from the meal when I make it as written.
My totals in MFP for the meal are 26g P, 23g C, and 5g F. (see attached)
I noticed other plans have a nut butter. Should there be nut butter or another fat with this meal? I am wondering how I can make the macros balance…In Past challenges, Nicole has addressed that if the macros are 5g up or down to not worry about it. Every meal won’t match exactly….but they come pretty darn close. You guys are doing great. If you are preparing things as it’s written, you are doing what you should be doing 🙂
Hi! I was just wondering the rationale behind the macro and calorie counts? I just like to understand why I am doing something! Thank you!
I am not sure what you mean. I am going to stab at it. The macros and calories are based on height and weight and goal of the phase….ie more protein carbs etc. I would ask this on a Q and A and I am sure Nicole can answer that a bit more.
i eat at 6,9,12,3,and 6. if i workout at 1pm do i switch meal #4 with #5? and can it be a shake OR turkey and rice?
Yea, that looks like yo have the right idea. When you strength train, meal 5 just goes right after that. You can choose any of the meal 5 options.
So i added the 50g of blueberries to my batter which i divided into 191g batches (my total was about 510g) and 1.5 servings turned out 3 fairly large pancakes is this right Or did i do something wrong? Is the breakfast fairly large?
Hi there. It doesn’t matter how many you made…we are all making them differently. Take the total that you got and divide them equally into 4 servings. There you go!
On days you weight train, take it within 30-45 minutes after your workout and adjust all other meals accordingly. On non-weight training days, this will be your Meal 5.
What does it mean where it says ‘adjust all other meals accordingly’? Do i not just eat meal 5 on non weight training days? What do i adjust on the other meals? Also 210g of strawberries is alot in a shake is that correct? (Vegan post workout meal)Adjusting meals accordingly just means on weight training day your meal 5 is post workout. Whatever time that may be and the meal 4 would be your last meal of the day. You always have meal 5 just depends on when your workout is during the day. I am sure it’s correct. The carbs are a bit higher in this phase, we are in a building phase for this first phase.
Hi Guys,
How big is the scoop of N Power? I can’t get it here in Canada, and I want to be 100% sure I’m using the right amount of powder.
ThanksThe macros of one scoop are:
2g carb, 1g fat 20g protein. That should help.Ok.. so just curious if proteins that are given could be switched? Like let’s say I like egg whites instead of tuna with the meal that has Ezekiel bread with avacado? Is that ok? Or no? I didn’t think a change of protein would matter if it was on the meal plan but I wanted to ask! Thank you so much for answering our questions!
Tammy answered you correctly!
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but they came out very dry. Any suggestions??
I would recheck everything. Mine were pretty darn good!
Instead of cheddar cheese, can it be substituted for low fat string cheese? Thank you in advance😊
Hi there, We don’t recommend swapping items in and out of meals. If you can find a cheese that will have similar macros as the cheddar that would be ok. Good luck
I used to be a fan of fish. But every time I would eat it along of veggies and such, it would not satisfy me. At all. It would actually make me feel hungier and shrimp has too much sodium to me. What could I swap it for? Like would ground turkey be okay? Thank you in advance😊
Hi there, I would choose another meal with the items you like better. We don’t recommend swapping items in and out of meal plans. It will throw the macros off. You have 12 awesome meals to choose from 🙂
