Naomi
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Hi Agy- everyone’s body responds differently, so you need to go based on your experience and how your body is changing. I can’t advise or suggest any deviations from the meal plan as it is outlined since that gets more into individualized fitness programs (which we can certainly offer you after this challenge is over). Anything you change on your own will be your call based on how you think your body will respond to the changes.
Almost there, just two more weeks to go!
Hi Courtney- Jennifer is correct! Just get all the meals and workouts in however you are best able to given your schedule 😉
If you’ve been fine with things the way you’ve been doing them, and you are seeing progress, then I would just continue doing it the way you’ve been doing it. If it ain’t broke … 😉
Samantha- you can always add calf exercises in if you’d like, maybe on the abs/core day or one of the leg days 😉
Rebecca- if your knees want to cave in, the weight is too heavy 😉 Only go as heavy as you can lift with your leg muscles — without your knees wanting to cave in. If your knees start going either inward or outward, it’s an indicator that your leg muscles aren’t yet strong enough for the heavier weight.
Hi Theresa- slamming a protein shake before bed would be a good option, absolutely. With only 2.5 weeks left of the challenge, what have you been doing for your meals since May 1st?
Hi Sarah- the stairs is just one option for cardio, but you can choose whichever cardio you feel is best (you don’t have to do the stairs at all) and that will get your heartrate up for the duration indicated in the program.
Hi Aimee- with just 3 more weeks left of the challenge, I would recommend holding out on the polenta and couscous until the challenge is over. It will give you something to look forward to! 😀 Only 21 days to go girl, you can do it!! 😉
Hi Patricia- without me actually being able to see how you are conducting the exercises it’s really hard for me to give suggestions on how to correct. However, many of my clients are “trappy” which means they hold their tension and stress of the day in their traps. Be mindful of how you are sitting and standing throughout the day. Are your traps up by your ears most of the time or do they feel tense often? It is not unusual for trap muscles to be trained to activate or use to butting their little noses in everything if you hold your tension in your traps, which many people do.
You are on the right track with focusing on the muscle you’re targeting, but even still your traps may be so trained over the years to activate on a dime that it will take time — months, sometimes even longer — to retrain your body and train your traps to not activate everytime you look at a weight, lol 😉
The same can be true for your quads. If you are quad dominant, it will take time for you to retrain your body so that your quads aren’t always carrying the majority of the load. It’s a shift in body weight but this is a learned thing and it takes time to reprogram your body.
A few suggestions: see if you can have a trained eye watch your movements and give you suggestions. If there are knowledgeable trainers at your gym that you can access for a minute just to watch you, or if you are able to pay for one or two training sessions so a trainer can help you, that might be a good idea.
Regarding your traps, when you start feeling super tense in your traps, do about 10 shoulder rolls to the back (not the front) and exhale everytime your shoulders roll down in the movement. Think about relaxing your traps and calimng them down a bit.
I hope all this helps! There is nothing like having a trained eye watching your movements in person to be able to target why you are feeling it where you are and how to shift the focus in your body 😉
Hi Shirley- please do! If you are hurting in your tailbone from it pressing into the floor, definitely double up on the mats or fold the mat over so that it is more cushiony. See if that helps! As long as you are contracting your abs and feeling it in your abs really good, this shouldn’t affect working the targeted muscles 😉
Hey there- all the exercise videos have alternatives listed underneath the demo videos: Seated Hamstring Curl
Alternative Exercises: Exercise Ball Hamstring Curl
Hey! You will just keep the high carb days on Mon & Thurs to space out the high/low days 😉 Good luck!
Hey there- your nutrition and cardio should stay the same regardless of how you rearrange your strength-training workouts. Good luck :-)!
Hey there, this is how the workout should read for Phase 2, Day 2 (the PDF will be update ASAP):
Crazy 8s:
8 exercises performed in a row without stopping, 8 reps each, 8 sets total with 30sec rest between sets.
1- Bicycles (8 each side)2- Twisting Tuck Ups holding medicine ball (8 each side)
3- Tuck Ups holding medicine ball
4- Scissors (8 each leg)
5- Leg Raises
6- Butt Ups (reverse crunches)
7- Crunches with Legs Straight Up Trying to Touch Toes with Medicine Ball
8- Knee to Elbow (in Plank Position) (8 each leg)
Superset
Seated Barbell Press 3 10-15
Bent Over Rear Delt Fly 3 10-15Single Arm Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press 3 10-15 each arm
Machine Lateral Raise 3 15-20
Alternating Static Hold Dumbbell Front Raise 3 10-15 each arm
Reverse Pec Dec Flye 3 10-15
Superset
Barbell Upright Row 3 10-15
Barbell Good Morning 3 10-15Superset
Seated Hamstring Curl 3 10-15
Single Leg Glute Raise 3 25 (each leg)Hi Tricia- I would recommend that you stick to the program as is. Everyone’s body responds differently so if you know your body and feel comfortable deviating from the program in some way, then that is up to you. But I cannot make any individual recommendations that stray from the program guidelines, as that gets more into personalized fitness programs. Again, you know your body best so it is your call on how you think it would respond the way you’d like it to with any changes you might make. Good luck 🙂
Hi Lorena- all of the videos for phase 2 exercises should be uploaded (except 5 or 6 of them) which will be added this weekend ?
Hi ladies- as your bodies change composition (not just fat loss but gain muscle and lose body fat) your weight will constantly fluctuate up and down. Mine does all the time and has been throughout this challenge so far as well. I encourage you to focus on other things besides weight – are you getting stronger? Seeing more muscle definition/cuts? Are your clothes fitting better? Weight is just one very small factor – and pounds lost doesn’t always mean progress, just as pounds gained doesn’t always mean that you aren’t making progress. Does this make sense?
If you are bothered by not seeing numbers dropping on the scale, it might be best to wait until the end of the challnege to weigh. Just focus on getting all yor workouts in, and working as hard as you can EACH workout. Focus on getting all your meals in, meeting your macros, etc. That is your best! If you follow the program, you will see changes and progress at the end of the challenge — and transofrmations don’t only happen on the scale 😉
Hi Stephanie- you can find the lifting straps Nicole uses – Versa Grips – here in her holiday gift guide, #9 🙂
Hey there- I am still not sure what times of days/nights you are able to get your strength-training workouts in, and your cardio, and what times you are sleeping and what times you are able to get your meals in. I understand the long hours you’re working and on what days, but I don’t know from when to when you are working, sleeping, waking and eating and what times are best for you to try to get your workouts in and still get enough sleep.
Your situation sounds very individualized and personalized and I would need more specifics. The best advise I can give you is just to continue splitting the workouts up as you have been doing for the first two weeks. It may be that the way your work schedule is structured, you can only do what you can do to get all your strength training in, and your cardio sessions, and your meals and a decent amount of sleep for recovery and energy for work and workouts. I hope this is helpful! Keep doing the best you can with the schedule you have to work with 😉
