Drop 2 sizes - When will the results come!

[Emily B]

I will keep on pushing through! I have to say, though, that I have never done the foam roll. I just do not have the time. I'm already getting up at 5:30 because it's literally the only time I have in my day between four kids, work, and everything else! I'm barely able to fit in the RAMP and the workouts themselves. Hope that doesn't make much of a difference. I do like the way I feel, and I definitely feel less flabby, so hopefully the leaning out will come. I never stick to rotations, so I am determined to make it through this one.

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Emily, I find the foam roll is a nice thing to do in the evening in front of the TV! The only time I do it before the workout is on the weekends when my husband is home to deal with the kids.

[Sue B]

Originally Posted by Sophie

I get why diet would be helpful, but why do think RAMP made a difference? I'm doing the similar-but-different NROL right now, and am wondering if her RAMP is pretty close.

The phase 3 RAMP is nearly identical to the NROL for Life RAMP. For me, it greases my joints, gets my heartrate up (almost like a mini-cardio segment) and gets me ready to lift. I have a cranky right knee, and since I've been doing RAMP it's almost never "gone out on me" in the middle of a workout.

YMMV...when I was younger, I didn't have to spend as much time warming up. That was then!

Originally Posted by slysam

Those are impressive results so quickly! Congrats!

Thanks!

[Emily B]

Today I started week 2 of phase 2, and I did strength 2. This afternoon I put on my jeans from last fall for the first time and they are so tight in the legs. My thighs feel massive. I'm wondering if I should just go back to the barre :-(

[Genevieve M]

This swelling thing is intriguing to me...maybe I haven't pushed myself enough recently to experience this.

At any rate, i found this link that might give insight:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/75...after-workout/

Key information:

Duration
Muscles begin to swell about two hours after exercise. Swelling peaks on the fourth day, then gradually subsides, returning to normal seven to eleven days after a workout. Researchers at the Department of Physiology at Monash University in Australia found that swelling was not only greater after eccentric contractions than concentric training, but it also took longer to subside.

Treatment
Some athletes use anti-inflammatory drugs, massage or active recovery to relieve post-exercise muscle swelling and soreness. Anti-inflammatories may reduce swelling, but a Canadian study found that ibuprofen didn’t reduce post-exercise soreness. An Australian study published in the Journal of Athletic Training found that post-exercise massage reduced swelling and soreness. However, a similar study from the University of Virginia published in the same journal found no such reduction in swelling after a massage. Although many athletes insist that active recovery, or light exercise a few days after a workout, increases blood flow and reduces swelling, studies have yet to confirm it.

So it sounds as though your muscles are behaving just as they should!
Hope this helps.

[lotusgirl]

Originally Posted by Genevieve M

This swelling thing is intriguing to me...maybe I haven't pushed myself enough recently to experience this.

At any rate, i found this link that might give insight:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/75...after-workout/

Key information:

Duration
Muscles begin to swell about two hours after exercise. Swelling peaks on the fourth day, then gradually subsides, returning to normal seven to eleven days after a workout. Researchers at the Department of Physiology at Monash University in Australia found that swelling was not only greater after eccentric contractions than concentric training, but it also took longer to subside.

Treatment
Some athletes use anti-inflammatory drugs, massage or active recovery to relieve post-exercise muscle swelling and soreness. Anti-inflammatories may reduce swelling, but a Canadian study found that ibuprofen didn’t reduce post-exercise soreness. An Australian study published in the Journal of Athletic Training found that post-exercise massage reduced swelling and soreness. However, a similar study from the University of Virginia published in the same journal found no such reduction in swelling after a massage. Although many athletes insist that active recovery, or light exercise a few days after a workout, increases blood flow and reduces swelling, studies have yet to confirm it.

So it sounds as though your muscles are behaving just as they should!
Hope this helps.

Very interesting! Thank you for posting!

[Jane P.]

I think the system works best if you also follow the diet that's in the book, but then any system will work better if you follow some kind of diet.

[Cecelia]

Originally Posted by Emily B

Today I started week 2 of phase 2, and I did strength 2. This afternoon I put on my jeans from last fall for the first time and they are so tight in the legs. My thighs feel massive. I'm wondering if I should just go back to the barre :-(

It was week 7 for me before I started getting some visible results. I was puffy too, and decided maybe I wasn't drinking enough fluids, so I tried to watch that. I also agree that it helps to be watching what you eat, although I never owned the book, so I can't speak for that particular diet.

[yahoo205]

I haven't had great results either but because of my schedule I've had to do too many back to back and take long breaks and my diet could have been alot better.

I'm stronger, but would have been even stronger if I could have been more consistent.

Still, I'm actually going to keep up with it after I'm done. I'm currently on Phase 3 week 3. I actually love this way of weight training because it's nearest to what I did at my gym. When I finish Phase 3 I'm going to focus alot more on yoga, barre, tracy anderson but still try to do a Drop 2 Sizes workout 1-2x a week. I have a feeling it will be more like 1x/week. But, I will do 4 sets instead of the 3 sets done in the DVD. Supposedly in the book you can do 2-4 sets.

It is really, really hard to eat clean and lift heavy weights. A recovery shake helps fend off the overwhelming hunger.

Hope you wind up getting good results!

[Sue B]

Originally Posted by Jane P.

I think the system works best if you also follow the diet that's in the book, but then any system will work better if you follow some kind of diet.

I thought the book's diet, for me, did a really good job of fueling the workouts. It didn't cause the ravenous post-workout hunger that I often got before. I did have to remember to drink lots of water.