[Maureen]

Danielle Maidrand wrote:

Hi,
Since it’s summer I’ve been doing a lot of swimming and hiking. Is it ok to do this in addition to the HIIT workouts?

Hi there,
I wouldn’t add anything extra that’s not in the plan. The plan is designed to be followed to get you some good results. Don’t worry about adding extras that aren’t there. You got this!

[Maureen]

pam.beaver wrote:

Good Morning All!

Happy Saturday!

I am performing the pyramid as instructed but on my last set I am able to get about 5 reps in then I have to rest for a few seconds to get the last 3 reps completed (my form is off). Should I drop back down to the lighter weight to finish the set or stop at failure?

Please advise

Hi there,
I would drop the weight down a bit so you can get them all in one sweep. You are almost doing a rest pause by resting and then finishing. But even before that, if your form is off, then you definitely need to drop the weight. Form over everything! Nice work, keep working hard and great questions.

[Maureen]

dayna913 wrote:

My hollow hold isn’t too hollow right now. What can I do to modify it and progress to better form strength and endurance ?

Hi there,
You might be able to go more into a boat pose with knees bent. Try that out and see how that feels for you.

[Maureen]

dressageaxc wrote:

Does anyone have any good chicken recipes?

I made grilled chicken last week but it was so dry that I had a really hard time eating it which resulted in me being under my calories and macros a couple of the days last week.

I definitely want to follow this plan as closely as possible but I’m having a rough time with the food options. Chicken and sweet potatoes are my worst nightmare and I can’t imagine eating turkey for 4 weeks straight.

Thanks ladies!

Hi there,
Do any of the other meal options work for you? I would assume most people are going to be following the meal plans so that them macros are what they should be. If you can find another meal that works for you, I would recommend doing that instead of changing up the entire meal. I hope you can get it to work.

[Maureen]

kemaouga599 wrote:

BEEN TRYING TO WORK OUT ABS FOR THE LONGEST AND JUST CANT HAVE DEFINITION, ONE DAY NOTICED A SMALL SPACE JUST ABOVE BELLY BUTTON , WHICH I THINK I HAVE DIASTASIS RECTI, ANY EXERCISES FOR POSSIBLE DIGITALIS RECTI?

Hi there, I would ask your doctor about it just to make sure. If in fact it is a yes, Your doctor can probably point you in the right direction of someone that can help you with that. If your doctor doesn’t, there are alot of good articles out there with exercises and things to consider when dealing with it.

[Maureen]

kemaouga599 wrote:

just wanted to confirm amount of rice in meal plan 2 option 1 , it says 150grans of brown rice is this correct , iam asking because its alot ,dont mind eating it lol

150g looks right. Eat up my friend 🙂

[Maureen]

Krystal wrote:

Thanks, yes cut out caffeine because I’m use to drinking it with creamer. Diet wasn’t overly sugary but for sure cookies ect were in it. Thanks

I believe it’s probably the coffee….the headaches from that can be brutal. It might be advisable to go half/caff to ease the symptoms. Just a thought. HOpe you feel better.

[Maureen]

Alisha Stubbs wrote:

Hi Nicole,
What if that weakness is because of an injury/impingement of the shoulder? My left shoulder/triceps is a bit weaker by one or two reps usually. And, it often burns/causes numbing and feels like FST training response in early sets (so say finishing 2nd set it starts to feel that way.) It’s not a huge difference in strength, but I can see the differences in my shoulder cap, I just don’t have the same definition, even though its normally only about the last two reps of maybe last to sets that I cant complete on the Left.
When it’s not just a weaker side, but the shoulder complex itself, should I still do the extra sets? Or would that just worsen the situation? It is not an injury that recently happened. It’s just an old irritation in that shoulder I have had for decades. BTW, I do see my chiropractor at least 1x a week for it.

I would consult your chiro and tell him you would like to try and balance it out….is this possible at the stage you are at with your shoulder or should you wait a little longer.

[Maureen]

mariapappasmassage wrote:

So after you do your last set with lower reps and heavy weight, next time you do the same exercise, do you do same again (pyramid) or do all sets with that heaviest weight at the 8 rep range you finished with last time!
Example
Week 1
Dumbbell row
4sets 8-12
Set one 55lbs 12 reps
Set two 60lbs 10 reps
Set three 65 lbs 8 reps
————-
Week 2 (same exercises )
Set one 65 lbs 8 reps
Set two 65 lbs 8 reps
Set three 65 lbs 8 reps

Not you will prob end up performing it the same as week one. THe pyramiding allows you to warm up to the heavier weight and hit it really hard as you get lower in reps and higher in weight. You should find you can get a little stronger with each workout.

Taken from the info on the challenge:
Here is an example. If the rep range calls for 3 sets of 8-12 reps, you will start your first set using a weight you can do for 12 repetitions – struggling on the last two or three. On your second set, you’ll increase the weight and shoot for around 10 reps (again, struggling on the last 2-3); on your third, you’ll increase the weight again and shoot for 8.

Throughout this Challenge, I want you to use the number of repetitions as a guideline. If the rep range calls for 8-12, you should be shooting for 8 reps – not 12 – on your final set.

I would rather you fall a rep or two short of 8 – with good form – than be able to perform 12 reps on your final set. If you can do 12 reps without struggling when you should be doing 8 (struggling on the last 2-3), then you aren’t lifting heavy enough and you need to increase the amount of weight you are using.

[Maureen]

MICHELLE COPPOLA wrote:

Two things:

1. I am really having a hard time eating all these meals. I find it to be a chore to eat this much. If i wanted to cut one down or out – would that be recommended?

2. I typically have events I need to be at on Fridays; could I change my off day (thursday) to Friday – or can I split friday training to some on thursday and some on Friday so its not so long?

HI there,
It would not be recommended to cut down on the meals. As the program progresses…the meals are going to get cut down anyways…(this is a cutting program). I would do the best you can.
You can move the training around to fit your schedule. Make it work for you.

[Maureen]

Sounds like you ladies are just getting it done anyways! Way to work hard this week!

[Maureen]

Krystal wrote:

Hi Nicole and team, i think my body is going through food with drawls lol, I’m feeling awlful, just threw up and have headaches. Is this normal when you change up your diet completely?
Thanks

I’m not sure. I have never had that reaction. I guess it depends on how bad your diet was…..Did you cut your caffeine intake? That could lead to headaches…or you could feel that if you are used to a higher sugar diet. That would be my thought if your diet has taken a completely different turn with this challenge. I hope you feel better soon.

[Maureen]

Pamela wrote:

Do we need to eat the bell pepper to get the full macros? Of just use it as the cooking bowl?

Yes, the pepper is meant to be eaten 🙂

[Maureen]

Alisha Stubbs wrote:

How would you suggest that someone who does Intermittent Fasting handle the timing of the eating of the food for the challenge and get all the calories in? Will it matter if I am mixing meals to try to fit it in my feeding window as long as I have only ate on-plan foods but the spacing is just weird? Since it’s only on-plan meals at the end of the day my calories and macros are going to be the same, but the amount of each macro will be higher in the meals since I’d have to combine two to fit them in.
My feeding window is from 2 pm until 9. I go to work at 6- get off at 2.
When I get off work I break my fast and then go to the gym immediately. I eat my post workout meal after (around 5) but then about an hour later have “dinner” and then try to fit one more meal in before 9. These are all much bigger than I’d normally try to fit in though. Confused at how to do this, or if IF is possible with this high of calories.

I am sure you can do that. If you are already on some sort of fasting schedule…I would just work those meals into the windows that you are used to. If you don’t find its working for you, then maybe just put it on hold for the challenge. Good luck

[Maureen]

Jodie wrote:

Hi, I have been using small amounts of soy sauce, vinegar, and mustard. I know they are pretty low cal but I just wanted to see if this is ok? It really helps me enjoy some of the meals. I do not use things like BBQ sauce, mayo, etc as I realize they will add significant calories to the meal.

Those seem fine to me. As long as you aren’t overdoing it. The soy sauce carries alot of sodium but if you don’t have any restrictions with you intake or retain a lot of water from it, you should be fine. 🙂

[Maureen]

Glenda Chapman wrote:

In the post workout meal, is this cereal cooked first or just dumped in the blender bottle, dry, with the protein powder, then all shaken together?

You could do it a couple different ways…..Just slam the protein and then eat the rice cereal cooked after OR You could mix a little bit of the protein powder into the cereal after it’s cooled down a bit and mix it in. I have done that with oatmeal a lot.

[Maureen]

Charlene wrote:

I have 2 questions about L-Caritine.

1. Powder or capsules?

2. Is there a preferred brand?

I understand that the liquid has sugar so, Nicole advises against it.

Thanks!

I would think capsules would be easiest for when you would want to take it. We don’t endorse any specific brand but i am sure if you give a vitamin store the parameters you are looking for they could hook you up with some good options. 🙂

[Maureen]

jbradtke79 wrote:

Due to hip pain I can’t do high impact cardio, such as running. Any alternative suggestions for using an elliptical?

Hi there,
Most of the cardio workouts can be used on any piece of equipment…where you can change levels etc.

[Maureen]

gbarth wrote:

If at gym with no barbell because of having smith machines, what can you do in place of the t-bar row?

You don’t have any free barbells? If you had a landmine you can put the barbell in there and do something similar. You might also be able to use an incline bench and some DB’s to mimic the movement. Hope that helps.

[Maureen]

kemaouga599 wrote:

So was consuming 1900 calories before this challenge ( was doing MU challenge) and iam 5’5 ! Now that iam consuming 2000 iam leaning out ! How is that posible ? Iam worried that all my muscle will go aways
in phase 3 after dropping some calories ! Any advise ? I dont wantto look skinny and fat want to look lean with muscles . I notice when i get in deficit get so skinny but when i eat about 2000 loom little bulky want to be in the middle

Hi there,
It could be that your body is just really loving that extra food and it might level out. If you are super worried about it, you can make the call to bump into the next plan….but it is a 300 cal bump…not a ton. The upside is that as the phases progress the calories will decrease…so you won’t be at that 300 calorie surplus for long. It’s hard for me to tell you one way or another because I don’t have a history with you and how your body works.

[Maureen]

Jodie wrote:

This is one of my favorite recipes I will keep and use forever. They are so good!

Awesome! It has a ton of flavor 🙂

[Maureen]

tracygrieves wrote:

Is it ok to use McCormick seasonings for chicken breast meals Or should we stick with Mrs. Dash? I don’t find nutritional info on any of my seasoning bottles.

Hi there,
Most of those seasonings won’t add extra calories, just sodium. If you don’t have a problem with sodium than it’s probably fine. If you want to just stick to salt to and use Mrs Dash….that would work too. Depends on the person. I need salt so that would be ok with my body.

[Maureen]

cstilwill wrote:

I know it’s cooked but I don’t know how to plug this in my nutrition app (if my scale only does ounce grams or ml … )I don’t know how to convert the 175 g cooked to cups that would equal… if that makes sense

On MFP you can usually change the measurement you want to change it to by clicking on the part where it says “cup” sometimes it will give you other options. If it’s not giving you that options…somtimes I will put on the top white rice in grams….and it will come up. Just double check your work to make sure that it’s correct. Hope that helps.

[Maureen]

ascharr05 wrote:

I am looking for the number of ounces to equal a serving? This is specific to the oat parfait and the banana bread. I apologize in advance if I have missed it!

Hi there,
That isn’t specified on the plan. I would weigh the parfait and dish it out that way. (2 servings i believe) I would then do your best to cut the banana bread in equal slices. Don’t stress out that one too much.

[Maureen]

spencehatfield wrote:

Day 2: I am not used to eating so much food in one day…what is the best advice to get all meals in?

I would just make sure you are spacing the meals out like NIcole has outlined for you. Trust me when I tell you…..it won’t seem like a lot once you get in the groove. Your stomach will be asking you to eat LOL 🙂

[Author]

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