[Naomi]

Hi Wendy- you can do about 5-10 on any cardio equipment, such as the treadmill or elliptical. And you can also do some arms circles and stretches before working chest, back & shoulders to loosen the shoulder joints 🙂

[Naomi]

Hey Jessica- yes, 170 is plenty high for HIIT. 190 is just the higher range but 170 is definitely intense enough to be in the HIIT category 😉

There is no particular preference for they type of cardio you do as long as you get your HR up.

Great job, keep it up!

[Naomi]

Hi Donna! Great question ☺ I would recommend the 45 degree angle, heavier weight, and struggling to meet the reps ?

Good luck, keep up the great work!! ??

[Naomi]

Hi Kristi- the strength-training workouts should take about an hour. Some may take 10-15 min less, and some may take 10-15 min longer.

I hope this helps! Maybe some other participants will give feedback based on their experience as well.

Good luck! ☺

[Naomi]

Awesome, Jessica, that is great to hear!! Keep it up! ??

[Naomi]

I agree with what Donna said 🙂

[Naomi]

Hey there-

I for the overhead shoulder press, you can do upright rows with dumbbells but be careful of your range of motion. If you bring your elbows up too high, you may get into your neck area so keep the range of motion a little lower than fully upright.

For the overhead triceps extensions, you can just do more sets of triceps presses (cable push down presses, not overhead) and use a different cable attachment (rope, metal triangle, bar, etc.)

I hope this helps. Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hey there- everyone’s body is different, so as you should be gaining a little muscle and losing a little body fat (in Phase 1) you may see a few pounds go up on the scale, or you may see a few pounds go down on the scale, or you may not see any actual weight on the scale change, but you are gaining muscle and losing fat.

For example, if you gain 3lbs of muscle, but lose 3lbs of fat then you won’t see any changes on the scale at all, but you will see a huge difference in the way your body looks. It is very unique to everyone depending on where your body is at when you start this challenge, there really is no should or shouldn’t except for that you should just be following all your workouts and nutrition on the plan laid out for your height/weight.

You should drink about 1 gallon or 4 liters of water per day.

I would highly recommend not worrying so much and trust the process. Just follow everything as it is laid out in the program and try to enjoy this program. Working out and eating healthy shouldn’t add stress to your life and worrying about if you should be getting leaner or gaining weight on the scale or being over on calories is just going to drive you crazy.

Take a few deep breaths, trust this program and do your best 😉

[Naomi]

Hi there- all natural almond butter and all natural peanut butter generally have the same amount of fat. I would try using 1% cottage cheese and just plain classic hummus and see if that helps. You want to try to stay within about 5g above or below the target goal 😉

[Naomi]

Awesome, that is great to hear!!! Ingredients make a big difference 😉

[Naomi]

Hi Abbagale- that depends on if your iron levels are low and your doctor has recommended that you take an iron supplement.

[Naomi]

Yes, correct, you got it! Now go get it!! 😀

[Naomi]

No problem, Sandra! 😉

[Naomi]

Hi Monique- Can you email your technical issues to: [email protected] and someone will try to trouble shoot what the problem might be?

Thanks! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Jolanda- I would try to aim for 1% low-fat if you are able to pick it up from somewhere else.

Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi there- I would stick with basic stir-fry type mixed vegetables: bell peppers, onions, broccoli, zucchini.

It might be easier for me to tell you what to stay away from: any kind of corn, pease or carrots. They are all starchy and higher on the glycemic index level due to higher sugar content.

If you have any more questions about a specific vegetable I didn’t mention, please ask! 🙂

I hope this helps!

[Naomi]

Awesome, glad it was helpful! Great job with week 1!! 😀

[Naomi]

Hi Sandra- correct, since the other limb is resting while the other is working you will simply switch back and forth without the 1 min total rest between sets 🙂

[Naomi]

Correct- a straight set is one exercise back-to-back; a superset is switching between 2 exercises for the indicated number of reps/sets; and a tri-set is three exercises, switching between all three exercises for indicated number of reps/sets. A giant set or mega set is anything more than three exercises in a row.

I hope this helps!

[Naomi]

Lol! I hear ya! I am in the same boat, and I’m sure just about everyone else is too! My lats are still sore from Day 2 and I am sure trying to work chest/biceps is going to be pretty entertaining, lol!

Good luck, and have a great workout! Great job pushing hard!! 😀

[Naomi]

Hi Leanne- my advice to you would be to just follow the meal plan as closely as possible as it is written out, weighing and measuring everything as diligently as you have been.

Stressing about if it matches up exactly in MFP is only driving you crazy and it seems to be taking some enjoyment out of your experience with this challenge. Although this is hard work, we do want you to have fun and enjoy the process too, and not stress out over getting everything perfect.

I hope this helps! Good luck, and have fun!! 😀

[Naomi]

Hi Kelly- every thing is the same in phase 1 (workouts, cardio & nutrition). In Phase 2, the workouts, cardio & nutrition change and you stay with the same workouts, cardio & nutrition for Phase 2.

Make sure you read all of the info in the Program Overview here so that you don’t miss anything important! 😉

Good luck and have fun 😀

[Naomi]

Susan- your blood sugars might have been low, which could have contributed to the feeling of nausea. I would suggest trying two things:

1. eat your meal about 30-45 min before working out so that your blood sugar levels aren’t too low when you workout. You could even have half of your apple about 30 min before you workout to have some good fast-acting carbs in your system (and an apple is light, not too heavy on your stomach) then eat the other half post-workout with your shake.
2. try backing off the intensity just a little bit. I love that you are giving it all you have, I totally encourage that! But we do have 54 more days left to go and you don’t want to run out of steam (or throw up or pass out, lol!) … you did get your HR pretty high so you do have a little wiggle room to back off the intensity just a tad 😉

Try these two things and see if it helps! Good luck, and please keep us posted!

[Naomi]

Hi there- any classic hummus will do fine, such as Sabra or even a store brand ‘classic’ hummus. Just make sure it’s not a flavored hummus with added oils or other things such as pine nuts, parmesan, etc.

I hope this helps! Good luck 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Susan- what time of day did you do your HIIT, how many meals did you have prior to doing HIIT, and how much time passed between your meal prior to your cardio session?

[Author]

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