Naomi
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Are there example links with each exercise? When I click on the exercise it isn’t doing anything like it has with other challenges.
The Gym workouts have video demo links for each exercise and the At-Home has follow-along workouts for each workout. There are no demo exercises for the cardio portion.
Planning for the week and I anticipate difficulties with making time to eat. I work a full time job, like most, and am thinking I will have 2 meals during my shift to spread out my meals and not set me too close to my workout time or bedtime. I can already tell, I may not have eaten enough (of the right) foods in my previous attempts at weight loss. I have prepped all my meals today and am thankful as this will be helpful to stick with the meal plan. But if you have any tips on how best to manage my time for eating as they will take more time than a sandwich or protein bar. Thank you for your help. Excited for the challenge!
You can double up on a meal or two if necessary for time-management. As long as your total calories and macros add up by the end of the day, if you end up eating 3 larger meals instead of 5 smaller meals, do what works best for your schedule.
I joined VIP for the first time, I haven’t received a welcome email, but I was able to download the program. I don’t know how to access the VIP information.
For technical issues like this, you’ll need to reach out to [email protected] so they can help you there with instructions.
I am following the 5’4”-5’6” meal plan. I know meal 5 it is supposed to be taken as a meal 5 on non training days or 30-45 minutes after workout. My question is. If I workout first thing in the morning. Do I eat that first and then the rest of my meals?
Correct, it should be your post workout meal regardless of what time you work out, so it could be your first meal of tequila day, in which case meal 1 on the meal plan would then turn into meal 2.
Naomi, when I click your link it still doesn’t work. I had tried searching the site. The exercise has the NW logo on it but when I click that it takes me back to page trying to get me to be a member. I was still signed into the Ebook I know to make sure of that. I’m wondering if the people it’s working for are also Members? I currently am not.
The videos in the challenge are available to all challenge participants, you don’t need a membership. If it still isn’t working for you, please email [email protected] and someone with more tech knowledge can help you with the tech issues you’re having.
I have a question regarding the abs portion for day 1 – I am following mostly the gym workouts for the most part at home, but need to sub some of them out with the at home portion due to me not having a smith machine, etc. So I am doing more of a combo of the gym and at home workouts- hope that is okay- I am just trying to match the exercises together.
I noticed that on the abs portion at the end, the gym workouts call for only 2 sets of the each of the ab workouts while the at home workouts call for 3 sets. Is this correct?
Thank you!Let me double check on this for you and get back to you.
I’m logged in. When I go to play the Smith Machine Shoulder Press video it takes me to a page where it tries to sell me the membership.
Could you please let us know Inc ethos is fixed? Thanks
Hey there-
I just clicked on the link and it worked fine for me. Try this: https://nicolewilkins.com/exercise-database-smith-machine-shoulder-press/ (it’s the same link as in the ebook)
Understand. I’m just trying to troubleshoot why I haven’t lost as much in 6 weeks as I did in 4 and I’m so much more hungry. I’m thinking we did more cardio at end of few days for the shred, and I thought the extra protein may have helped my hunger.
You can always subtract 1/2 protein from another meal and use it for post-workout to add 1/2 scoop of protein if you feel like that will help!
The other challenge I did was the Summer Shred. Its meal 5 was 1.5 scoops of protein. With this challenge being more on building muscle I’m curious why only 1 scoop this time?
Nicole creates all the challenges differently. Nutrition can be slightly (and I mean SLIGHLTY, you are talking about 1/2 scoop of protein which is 12g of protein) difference based on a number factors throughout the entire overall programming, including cardio frequency, intensity and duration, workout structure and protein throughout the entire meal plan.
Look at your overall protein for the day, as well as other macronutrient ratios, overall programing with cardio, weightlifting, rest days, etc. It all comes in to play when looking at adding in or taking out 12g of protein post-workout 😉
I’ve noticed recent challenges the last couple years don’t include HIIT cardio anymore and it’s generally moderate intensity. I’m just curious about the thought process/science behind the shift (definitely not complaining)? What are the thoughts on throwing in a HIIT cardio session once in a while? Is HIIT not as beneficial as it once was stated to be?
Hi Stephanie-
I didn’t create the cardio for this program so I can’t directly answer your question, but here is the answer Nicole gave to another challenger in another forum question about HIIT:
“Regarding HIIT: While HIIT is effective in short bursts, overdoing it, especially in later decades or in a calorie deficit, can lead to burnout or muscle loss. I’ve found that moderate, consistent intensity is often more sustainable for long-term results and recovery, especially for women balancing stress, sleep, and hormones.”
I hope this helps! If you want further explanation regarding the “why’s” behind the creation of the challenge program, you can email your question to: [email protected]
~ Naomi
Hello,
Just wondering what % of our max weight on the sumo deadlifts we should be using for these 3 second negatives. I’m thinking I went too heavy the other day. I have never experienced this much muscle soreness in my lower back. I’m thinking my form wasn’t correct with trying to lower the weight so slowly?Hey there- if you are feeling what you described then I would definitely go about 15-20% lighter than the weight you used and see how that feels.
Hi Naomi,
Yes, I checked because I wanted to try out the vegan meal and, since I normally eat the omnivore meals, I’m use to seeing only one portion of protein per meal.
Thanks for your help.
MartizaI understand but am just wondering what food journaling app you used and what foods/brands you plugged in to get your calculations. Can you upload a screenshot of the food journaling entry where you came up with those totals? That will help me better address your question and pinpoint where the totals might be inaccurate.
Oh, I see, so it’s probably an app issue. I attached a screenshot from My Fitness Pal.
Can you let me know what the macro totals are that you are coming up with in MFP for that meal? Not just the calories. The macros per meal should be about:
26g carbs
25g protein
11g fatI can’t see from the screen shot where you are going over on your macros. Also, it won’t be exact, so if you are a little over by 5-8g on all of the macros, then that could account for the additional 50 calories. But let me know how many grams of carbs, proteins and fats you’re getting for that meal total.
Hi Naomi,
Yes, I checked because I wanted to try out the vegan meal and, since I normally eat the omnivore meals, I’m use to seeing only one portion of protein per meal.
Thanks for your help.
MartizaI understand but am just wondering what food journaling app you used and what foods/brands you plugged in to get your calculations. Can you upload a screenshot of the food journaling entry where you came up with those totals? That will help me better address your question and pinpoint where the totals might be inaccurate.
Hello,
I was wondering if the Vegan Woman’s Meal Plan 1, meal 2 is correct.
• (P) 6 oz extra firm tofu
• (¾ SC) 3 oz sweet potato
• (V) 100g zucchini
• (½ F) 5 ml olive oil
• (P) 15g nutritional yeastWhen I add it up I’m getting around 350 cals, 29 protein, 32.5 carbs, and 16 fat.
Thanks for your time!
Hi Martiza-
I can double check on that for you to confirm, but how are you adding up the calculations? Are you using a food journaling app?
Hi Loving this Challenge just having an issue with fitting in the cardio somedays the workouts take me longer especially if Im lifting heavier weights and I need a lil more rest… please can anyone give me some advice as to how you fit it in. I am doing the Mount Sweatmore on the treadmill thanks 🤗
Hey there- YOU ARE DOING GREAT prioritizing your lifting! How people fit in cardio will really depend on everyone’s individual work, life and sleep schedule. I typically recommend you try to do cardio right after your weightlifting. If you have a hard time fitting cardio in after weight lifting ,is there another time you can get in cardio? What time do you do your weight lifting, and what time do you wake up, work and go to sleep? All of these factors play in to when/where you can fit in your cardio during the day.
For rhe treadmill cardio sprintageddon, is lateral shuffle and side shuffle two different movements?
They are the same thing, side/lateral is interchangeable 🙂
On Monday’s workout we did dumbbell glute kickbacks and Saturdays workout says donkey kicks. Should we add a dumbbell to Saturday’s donkey kicks?
No, I would do the exercises as instructed and shown in the video demo.
I have a set of adjustable weights. I LOVE THEM!! But they are shaped like a brick, so they don’t work with this. On Monday, I used a resistance band. (hooked on one heel and secured the other part under the opposite knee.) Can you think of any other alternative? Thank you.
You can do resistance band donkey kicks as an alternative, that is the most effective alternative, in my opinion: https://youtu.be/JXfcNbH8nxA?si=Y2PXF3hH_h9XS-n4
I found that at the end of each set, my lower back hurt. I’m assuming my form isn’t correct. Can you give me some tips to keep in mind as I do the exercise?
It is really hard to say since I don’t know how you are doing them, so I don’t know how to instruct you to correct them. You can film a video of you doing the exercise and post it in the community page (form checks for exercises in the challenge are allowed to be posted in the community page), and we will give you pointers, tips and cues with form corrections based on what we see in your video.
Hello there, I’m ordering online for this week and I cannot seem to find fat free cream cheese. Does this exist? I’m looking at my local publix and walmart. Hmmm… Any thoughts?
Hey Cindy!
Kroger should have Fat Free Cream Cheese: https://www.kroger.com/p/kroger-fat-free-original-cream-cheese/0001111059935
If they don’t have any in stock, I would recommend choosing an alternate meal, there isn’t really a replacement for fat free cream cheese as an ingredient in this recipe.
The link to the “Plate Sumo Squat-Front Raise Combo” on the ‘Gym-Phase 1-Saturday Total Body’ just takes you to the “join now” page.
I would re-try, this sounds like a glitch with your internet browser. Let me know if you continue having issues with it!
Hello! I’m struggling to Fit my workouts into the 45-50 min time slots suggested. So I’m wondering which the best choice would be.
1) I could decrease sets or go lighter in weight (less rest between sets) to finish in the time I can commit to lifting
2) I could do half the workout before my kids get up and then break for 30 mins til I get them on the bus and then finish the 2nd half. This wouldn’t work on cardio days, though 🙁
3) I could switch to just dumbbells to decrease set up time between exercises?I think option 3 would be the best option 😉 Next best would be option 2 – I wouldn’t even consider option 1 an option, you would not be getting as much of the benefits by decreasing sets or lightening the weights.
On the women’s meal plan 1, meal 4, option 2 it just says a can of tuna. I was using the small can & asked my husband to get more. He brought home one of the bigger cans. I forgot there were different sizes. Which size should we use?
What meal plan are you following?
I’m wondering if we can food prep like the meal prep video. In the video meats, veg I’d, & carbs are all cooked in bulk then separated as needed. How do we do that and still get the proper portion of fat from the olive oil? Do we have to prep every meal separately for best results or is the difference not enough to worry about?
I would recommend prepping your proteins and carbs in bulk, then adding your fats as you portion everything out according to your meals. You can cook in bulk, but then weigh and measure out your portion sizes specific to your meals, does that make sense? You definitely need to weigh and measure out everything separate;ly for best results but you don’t need to cook every individual meal “to order,” and can prep most foods ahead of time 🙂
After over 5 years of doing these challenges I’ve never mastered the nutrition prep. I’ll crush the workout though 💪I buy all the ingredients and give up before getting started a lot of the time because it feels so overwhelming. I’ve got breakfast prep down and then I usually just aim to hit macros by the end of the day with smoothies, bars, simple egg white or tofu wraps. I am vegetarian so I waver between both meal plans. I thought I would start here before leaning on the Facebook page. I was hoping someone could guide me on the best sequence to prep meals for all day for the week… or how to prep for the prep better? Maybe that’s the problem 🤣 Yes, I’ve watched Nicole’s videos.
I would keep everything as simple as possible and follow these steps:
1. choose the simplest, most basic meals (not complicated, time-consuming recipes, at least for right now to stat with).
2. calculate all of the foods you need to buy from the grocery store you will need for the meals in the meal plan – all the very basic ones (veg proteins, rice, potatoes, frozen veggies, etc., super simple) – and write out your grocery list.
3. go to the grocery store with your list and only buy the foods on your list for meal prep for the week ahead.
4. cook all of your starchy carbs, cook all of your proteins, cool all of your veggies and other foods
5. portion them out via food scale in grams based on the meals and portion sizes in your meal plan and put them in storage containersYou are done! I would recommend separating the above steps out by about 3 days, for example:
Friday: steps 1 & 2
Saturday: step 3
Sunday: step 4 & 5I hope this helps! 🙂 As you get the hang of the simple foods and feel like you have it down pat (may take longer than you realize, might take a few challenges of keeping everything basic),
Also, the meal plans are not interchangeable between plant-based and regular meal plans. In other words, you should eat all your meals for the day from either one of the meal plans, but not having meal 1 from the non plant-based and meal 2 from plant-based.
