[Maureen]

Jessica Hanna wrote:

Any advice?

Hi there,
The only day you omit the post workout is on non strength training days (that are structured on this plan). The pre workout meal should be part of your meals every day regardless. It only becomes a pre workout meal if it happens to fall before you train. If it’s not a training day from this plan, I would omit the post workout meal. Hope that helps.

[Maureen]

Kaleigh wrote:

I noticed the same.
For Crazy 8s is it 8 rounds then the 4 mins @ 3mph? then 8 rounds followed by 5mins @ 3mph?
Uphill Battle- I’m totally confused- unless theres an extra round that shouldn’t be there?
THANKS!

For uphill battle…..the 30 second rest part wasn’t counted in the total. So technically you are working hard for 35 min…but with the jumps off of the treadmill it will be closer to 50 min. Sorry for the confusion. You can always cut the rounds to 5 instead of 10 to cut the time to 35 with everything. HOpe that helps

[Maureen]

cmayer00 wrote:

I am wondering if my workouts are done before 3 hours do I have to wait to eat

Ie, eating meal 1 at 730am, cardio 8-830. 2 hours after cardio is a long time to wait to eat. Can I have meal 2 after cardio if its under the 3 hour window?

Hi there,
I don’t see why not. Its important to get that post strength meal in under an hour after training. Cardio not as much emphasis on that. Do what you gotta do.

[Maureen]

pwassegijig wrote:

Yes I usually drink 1.34 gallons a day.

I wouldn’t worry too much if it was an isolated incident. If it happens again…….we can investigate a bit more. Like food, timing of eating, if it’s fasted when did you eat last etc. Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

[Maureen]

laura1 wrote:

Can you please explain how to do the drop set on day 1 back/bis. There’s three sets of 10 but then it says drop set? Thanks!

3 sets of 10/10/10 ( you are starting heavy do 10, drop the weight do 10, drop it again do 10. There is not rest between those 3 drops.)
Do 2 more of those types of sets. Make sense?

[Maureen]

mariapappasmassage wrote:

So should we try our first set to be heaviest that we can do for 8 reps then 2nd set a little lighter for 10 reps and 3rd set lighter for 10-12 reps! All the while still being a challenge weight! Or all sets heaviest you can do for as many as ya can between 8-10/12 reps?

Hi there,
I took this directly from the instructions in phase 1:
For example, if the rep range calls for 4 sets of 8-15 reps, you will start your first set using a weight you can do for around 15 repetitions – struggling on the last two or three. On your second set, you’ll increase the weight and shoot for around 12 reps (again, struggling on the last 2-3); on your third, you’ll increase the weight again and shoot for around 10. On your final set, you should be struggling to get around 8.

Please keep in mind, the number of reps is just a guideline here. I would rather you fall a rep or two short (while using proper form) than be able to perform more reps than what is called for. If you can perform 12 reps without struggling when you should be performing 8 (and 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]

pwassegijig wrote:

I started on stair master for my HIIT workout half way thru I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. I tried to bare but couldn’t went the bathroom and nothing. What is going on ? Also do I finish where I started off ?

Are you drinking enough water?

[Maureen]

cmayer00 wrote:

If I am opting to do my cardio after my 1st meal in the morning, do I wait the full 3 hours from the first meal or can I eat right after cardio?

Which meal are you looking to eat? How long is there between your first meal and your workout? And then when you plan on having the next one?

[Maureen]

Kaleigh wrote:

I noticed the same.
For Crazy 8s is it 8 rounds then the 4 mins @ 3mph? then 8 rounds followed by 5mins @ 3mph?
Uphill Battle- I’m totally confused- unless theres an extra round that shouldn’t be there?
THANKS!

Hi there, For crazy eights:
warm up 5min
perform the 30/30 for 8 rounds then 1 round of the 4min
Same with the one below followed by the 5 min.
It adds to 30 min ( I am sure the 4 min in the yellow confused you a bit)

I am checking on the uphill battle. stay tuned.

[Maureen]

cassie.edler wrote:

Just wondering if there’s a alternative exercises for the superset for incline rope pull down and straight arm cable pull down. Perhaps with dumb bells. My gym can get super busy so jumping back and forth for the behind the head pull down and straight arm is unlikely, but I really wanna get that set in. Any ideas I’m open to!

Hey there….they are both using the rope, you just have to either scoot the bench over or swivel the pulley over to get the straight arm pulldowns. The video show a bar….but she specified rope in the written part. You should be ok.

[Maureen]

Sarah Cripps wrote:

Could I use the Jacobs ladder? I have a stair master, but it’s not the same as the stair mill. But I feel that Jacobs ladder is challenging like stair mill…

Sure! Give it a go. Jacob’s ladder is challenging! Let us know how it goes.

[Maureen]

snicoled wrote:

I was wondering if I can incorporate a second workout with this program. Normally 3-4 days a week, I’ll go to a 30 HIIT kickboxing session. I didn’t know if it be beneficial or just stick strictly to this program only.

Advice is appreciated.

Stephanie

Hi Stephanie,
I would just stick to the program. The program was designed a certain way so you can see results. Just trust the program and work hard. I am sure you won’t be disappointed 🙂

[Maureen]

Isabel collins wrote:

Hello team npower, I have followed each meal to a tea. I am very familiar with macros and my fitness pal. However, I am under the daily calories and therefore not meeting my protein or carb macros. Please help, what I am doing wrong? Naomi, help!!!!!! Thank you

Take some screen shots of your MFP…sometimes its just the different brands etc. Remember if you are 5g over or under, thats ok.

[Maureen]

Charlene wrote:

Hey, I am exactly 5’4. Which meal plan do I follow? 1 or 2? Thanks

Meal Plan 1 would be the one for you to follow. Good luck!

[Maureen]

Susan Waddell wrote:

With cooking the Salmon and chicken, can I use any seasonings- pink salt, chipotle etc?

YOu can use seasonings that don’t add extra calories. If you aren’t sensitive to salt you don’t have to go salt free all of the time. Good luck!

[Maureen]

sshannon744 wrote:

Hey guys!
Is anyone else feeling like this is a lot of food? I’m having trouble finishing everything recommended under meal plan for my height. Any suggestions?
Thanks!

You will adjust, trust me. The food will decrease as the shred continues on. Eat up my friend 🙂

[Maureen]

Maria wrote:

Hi,

I have been using creatine for a few months. Will it be ok to continue use it during this challenge?
Thanks.

Hi there,
It’s not on the recommended list of supplements on the site. I don’t necessarily see a problem with it but maybe for this challenge you can take a break, see how you feel.

[Maureen]

mpetersen1205 wrote:

Just wondering how to prepare? Is everyone putting it all together and baking it…or??

I have seen combining it all together…or cooking the potato with the oil and cooking eggs etc together 🙂 Be creative.

[Maureen]

elsiegalaza wrote:

200g cucumber? Seems a little much on the salad. Is that a typo?

My guess is no….it’s a big salad:)

[Maureen]

athenagallotte wrote:

How many oz of chicken should be in each packet?

Hi there,
You are buying about a pound of chicken to divide into 3 packets. You will lose some ounces when you cook as well. Good luck with the challenge!

[Maureen]

lljacobson2 wrote:

Ok so all the (12) meal options are the same for the whole 40 days? It just showed Nutrition phase 1 2 and 3 so I was assuming that would be different for each phase but it’s all the same meal options under each tab. Hopefully that makes sense. Plus I thought Nicole mentioned she was going to change it up after the first couple weeks and so on. But maybe I miss understood. Just making sure I wasn’t missing something.

Hi there,
No problem. I believe I understand your question….this excerpt from the plan:

Based on feedback from some of you on the Nicole Wilkins Fitness Community Facebook Page, I decided to do something a little different with the nutrition plans for this challenge. Because so many of you felt like changing the nutrition plans every few weeks made it difficult to follow after getting “in the groove”, the foods in this plan stay consistent for all 40 days – meaning you won’t have to adjust to an entirely new set of meals at the start of each phase.

What changes though, is the amount of food you are eating. So as the program goes on, your calories and macros will decrease with each phase. You can see more about the nutrition plans on the Phase 1 Nutrition, Phase 2 Nutrition and Phase 3 Nutrition pages.

Something you all will be excited about – you are getting one Refeed Meal during this Challenge! Check the Weekly Breakdown document to see when that day falls on the schedule (Hint: it’s on Day 21 ?). If you’re not familiar with Refeed Meals, I go into more detail about it on the Phase 2 Nutrition page.

Hope that makes sense…..she took the general consensus of what people wanted to do in order to create this plan.

[Maureen]

col.haskins05 wrote:

Hello,

A couple questions regarding Cardio:
1. Is there a target number of calories to burn (or as a minimum) for the HIIT or interval cardio workouts?
2. I’ve started going to a kickboxing exercise class with my family, and would like to continue going. Other than additional hunger (perhaps) will there be an issue of doing this in addition to what is prescribed for that day? E.g. Monday suggests HIIT, so if I do the HIIT, is it still okay to do the kickboxing class? (it’s a good workout, and last week, my HR watch calculated over 540 cals burned during that time).
3. I noticed in other posts some questions about not having access to certain equipment to do the prescribed training. My gym doesn’t have a stepmill but has steppers and ellipticals…. you indicated that as along as we followed the interval setup and time, we could utilize other pieces of equipment to complete the training? Just wanted to confirm that an elliptical or precor could also be used for this purpose.

Thank you,
sorry the length of this post. (Please advise if these questions should be posted via email rather than this blog/forum)

Have a great day!

Let’s do this!!!

Colleen

Hi Colleen,
As far as the calories burned for cardio…I would focus more on the heart rate goals:
Your target heart rate for each type of cardio should be:

• HIIT Cardio Range from 120-190 bpm
• Interval Cardio 140-150 bpm

The calories burned will be different for each person…..based on age, weight etc.

I wouldn’t do HIIT and kickboxing on the same day. You can use kickboxing on another cardio day but i wouldn’t double up on it.

You can use the eliptical/precor as well. Make use of what you do have and kick some butt!!!

Good luck on the challenge.

[Maureen]

lljacobson2 wrote:

Hello-

As I’m printing all the stuff out. The second parade for the nutrition plan is the same at the first? I’d that an error on my end or is it the same meals? I was thinking in the 3phases that the meal options were going to be different? I am doing Plan 2 but that’s the same in all the phases???

Thank you
Lindsay

Hi Lindsay,
The macros are different for each of the meal plans. Nicole designed the program with 12 meal options (each meal has the same macros) so if you wanted to eat the same meal for every meal you could. The post workout meal is the only one that is different. Try to shake it up on your own by using the different options that are available. When doing a shred type plan, it’s easiest to make adjustments to the plan when the meals stay fairy consistent. Good luck with the challenge.

[Maureen]

Sharon wrote:

Can you switch the russet potato out from meal 1 option 2 to the oatmeal serving recommended from option 1? I’m doing the women’s 151 lb and over version. So the 6 oz potato for 40g of either rolled oats or steel cut oatmeal?

Hi there,
When it comes to the meal plans, it would be more desirable to choose meal options that you eat the meal as Nicole has laid it out for you. She designed it this way so that the macros stay consistent and sometimes when we swap foods in and out, it doesn’t add up the way we would like it to. Hope that makes sense.

[Maureen]

Jody Bacso wrote:

Hi Nicole, Maureen, and Naomi!

My height/weight do not really fit into any of the women’s plans! I am 5’8 and weight 142lbs… would it be best for me to follow meal plan 2 or meal plan 3?

Thanks for your help
Jody

Hi Jody,
Go for the meal plan that matches your height. Good Luck 🙂

[Author]

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