NROL for Women vs Drop2Sizes vs P90X3 vs STS

[Tugger31]

I say do only STS Meso 2 and 3 since Meso 1 is pushup heavy and more endurance than strength. Then use the money you would have used to buy Meso 1 and use that toward your purchase of heavier weights you can use at home.

[MelissaR]

If you decide to do NWOL for Women, PM me if you want the log sheets I created

[Vee]

Originally Posted by MelissaR

If you decide to do NWOL for Women, PM me if you want the log sheets I created

Thank you so much for offering. I never log anything, though. Feels too much like work. I just use my judgment on what weight to pick to get close to failure by the end of the specified reps. It has worked well enough for me over the years that I don't feel compelled to change my lazy ways.

In one of Cosgrove's books he or his cowriter Lou Schuler say that the reason 1 rep max testing is a good idea is because men tend to pick too high a weight and women too low a weight if they rely on judgment. Given a sample size of me, I had to agree. I want to complete all reps with good form and without cheating, so I tended to be conservative. Since reading that I adjusted my weight upwards and found I could cope. There is the occasional set on which I fail before the prescribed number of reps, but overall I found myself getting stronger.

[Vee]

Thanks so much for the ideas.

I have decided to start with NROL for W, and then progress to STS. I am not sure about workouts that will take longer than an hour. I may drop out by the time I get to that phase of the program....let me see how I do.

Or I should say "we do" as I am making this decision for 2 more people who work out with me. We stock weights at my home, so if I pick STS, we will all need to buy more weights or handwrite the workouts and go to the gym (which is just lift ride away in my own condo!).

The idea to go straight to STS 2 is a great one (thank you) but there is plenty of time before I get to that decision. Perhaps there will be a new system by then.

[LindaL]

Originally Posted by Vee

Thanks so much for the ideas.

I have decided to start with NROL for W, and then progress to STS. I am not sure about workouts that will take longer than an hour. I may drop out by the time I get to that phase of the program....let me see how I do.

Or I should say "we do" as I am making this decision for 2 more people who work out with me. We stock weights at my home, so if I pick STS, we will all need to buy more weights or handwrite the workouts and go to the gym (which is just lift ride away in my own condo!).

The idea to go straight to STS 2 is a great one (thank you) but there is plenty of time before I get to that decision. Perhaps there will be a new system by then.

Vee - like you I love straight forward, heavy lifting but also like total body KB work. What I've been doing lately is working my way through Meso 2, but I do the exercises circuit style by body part. For example, for Disc 13 - Chest, Shoulders, and Tris - my workout looked like this:

Set A - All 3 sets with a 1 minute break in between
A1 - Flat Bench Chest Press
A2 - Flat Bench Flye

Set B
B1 - Incline Bench Press
B2 - Incline Flye

Set C - Giant Set
C1 - Shoulder Press
C2 - Side Lateral
C3 - Rear Flye

Set D - Giant Set
D1 - Flat Bench Tricep Extension
D2 - Overheads
D3 - Kickbacks

I start with Cathe and then either skip around or pause, do the next exercise, then hit play for the rest period. It doesn't take a lot of work to do this and I can finish in about 1/2 the time. Then I add on my KB finisher or functional ab work. BJ Gaddour has a ton of great stuff for this. When I finished the above workout last week, I added on BJ's Kettlebell Weightloss Wheel Workout A which is a 10 minute finisher I love that incorporates swings for 30 seconds with basic kb moves for the other 30 seconds for 10 minutes. Those 2 workouts, plus a stretch and I was done in about an hour. In the evenings, I try to do at least 20 minutes of yoga. Because I haven't already worked out for an hour plus in the morning, this doesn't seem overwhelming to me. Good luck!

[Vee]

thank you Linda

Wow. This looks really good.

[jenn38]

What about Cathes Xtrain series? Burn sets should allow you to lift heavier. And it also isn't as long as STS. I like Xtrain better then STS. STS creates a dread factor for me for some reason. Probably the length and all the equipment changes.

[Vee]

Originally Posted by jenn38

What about Cathes Xtrain series? Burn sets should allow you to lift heavier. And it also isn't as long as STS. I like Xtrain better then STS. STS creates a dread factor for me for some reason. Probably the length and all the equipment changes.

Hmm..the description of the burn sets DVD sounds good! I could combine burn sets with a heavy leg workout for a 3 day split for a few weeks. I wouldn't want the whole set though. I just want to lift 3 times a week in full body or split sessions.

Choices!

[dela]

Originally Posted by LindaL

Vee - like you I love straight forward, heavy lifting but also like total body KB work. What I've been doing lately is working my way through Meso 2, but I do the exercises circuit style by body part. For example, for Disc 13 - Chest, Shoulders, and Tris - my workout looked like this:

Set A - All 3 sets with a 1 minute break in between
A1 - Flat Bench Chest Press
A2 - Flat Bench Flye

Set B
B1 - Incline Bench Press
B2 - Incline Flye

Set C - Giant Set
C1 - Shoulder Press
C2 - Side Lateral
C3 - Rear Flye

Set D - Giant Set
D1 - Flat Bench Tricep Extension
D2 - Overheads
D3 - Kickbacks

Linda, this looks great, and really creative!

[jenn38]

Originally Posted by Vee

Hmm..the description of the burn sets DVD sounds good! I could combine burn sets with a heavy leg workout for a 3 day split for a few weeks. I wouldn't want the whole set though. I just want to lift 3 times a week in full body or split sessions.

Choices!

I think you can buy the dvds or downloads seperate so you do not have to invest in the whole Xtrain Set.