Feb 2011 Rock Bottom Rotation

[nckfitheart2009]

Feb 2011 Rock Bottom Rotation aka "The walnut craker Rotation"

Hi Everyone,

I have few questions regarding Rotation mentioned above.

*First question is about the BBW add on segment consisting of this:

Bonus Butt Workout (abbreviated as BBW):

1) One minute of squats with a challenging barbell weight chased by 20 seconds squat jumps.

2) One minutes of walking lunges with a 10 pound weighted vest (or with 8 pound hand weights per hand) chased by 20 seconds of deep controlled power scissors.

3) One minute of Plie squats with a challenging barbell weight chased by 20 seconds ice breakers.

4) Two minutes of firewalkers with a medium tension band (4 to 6 steps each direction until two minutes are up)…chased by your favorite choice of words for me, wink!

5) Barbell Deadlift...2 slow sets of 15 reps

My question is for number 5 Barbell deadlift with slow count. Is 4x4 counts challenging enough to meet the purpose of the slow counting? I mean holding barbell counting down 4 time and 4 time up. 4 counts down and 4 ups counting one rep.

* Second question is about Body max2, I presume cathe meant to do the complete 93 minutes of the main program. I have not tried Body max2 yet! still in my try out list. I am inclined to sub with the original Body max which I enjoy doing. I have mastered the step portion and would rather do this than discovering BM2 and getting frustrated in the middle of the rotation because I am new to the choreography

* Week 1 Fri: Shock Cardio Athletic Step plus BBW
Is low impact challenge from LIS a fair substitution to shock cardio athletic step? I do not own this one as yet

*Week 4, Because of busy schedule I would like to do one Upper body of pyramid or Upper body premix of X-TRAIN. instead of split BI& TRI/CHEST BACK and work the upper on a single session. Please let me know your thoughts on this.

* 400/300 Walking lunges. I prefer opting for 200/150 walking lunges and 200/150 Back lunge alternating right and left leg. Point being to hit muscles two ways. Has anyone done this?

My understanding of this Rotation is upper body get hit once per week and I just want to make sure i work the best possible!

Can not wait to hear your thoughts on this

Kind Regards,

 

[mini-natty]

Nathalie,

I have not done this rotation, but I have been doing the BBW lately . For the deadlifts (I do the RDL), I think a 4 count down is ok, as long as you feel the nice stretch in your hammies & lower back. However, from what I've read on Nia Shank's website (2 thumbs-up, btw!), she recommends "exploding" back up during deadlifts & squats. You might not be able to come up fast, but it is the *intention* to do so that matters: Best Dang Exercises to Build a Better Body - Deadlifts, Quads, Hamstrings & Glutes *you can check out her form in the 2nd video*

-Yes, you can do BM1 instead of 2 . And yes, she means the entire 90min of it .

-Yes, you can sub Low Impact Challenge for Athletic Step. They are both steady-state cardio. Although for me, I find AT a *tad bit* harder because there are some high impact moves.

-Yes, if you want to do a full UB split like PUB, then DO IT! I personally like to split up my UB into 2 days because I feel as though I can hit my UB muscles more effectively that way (and I prefer this method to train). But hey, to each his own .

-Do whatever lunges you want and like! The most important part is that you are doing them . Some lunges are better than no lunges, right?

Good luck with the rotation! It looks BRUTAL

Take care my fit & fab friend

 

[bonjonbart]

Your substitutions are fine. This workout rotation IS brutal.
As Cathe says:
"If at any time the rotation gets to be too aggressive 1) modify whenever needed and/or 2) put a rest day in place of a high intensity cardio day and/or 3) do only one workout on Saturday."
I found that I needed to put a couple of rest days into the schedule and extend the rotation a week. The results are amazing and worth the pain.

 

[Justinef]

Hi Nathalie - your substitutions sound fine to me. I'm having to make a LOT, simply because I don't own many of the dvds. I'm using kettlebell workouts as well (replacing step). I'm only 1 week in, but found I was missing Upper Body, so I added a timesaver premix from Xtrain on the first Thursday. I lifted my best yet!!! Weird.
I agree with mini-natty about the tempo of the dead lifts - I love to feel my hammies stretch on the way down, then use my glutes to thrust forward to standing. It's my favourite excercise. At last, my big bum is useful for something
The only other thing i'd advise is to make some time for really good stretching - yoga or similar. This rotation REALLY tightens the lower body muscles.
Good luck, I know you'll nail it!
Justine

 

[nckfitheart2009]

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts

Nathalie,

I have not done this rotation, but I have been doing the BBW lately . For the deadlifts (I do the RDL), I think a 4 count down is ok, as long as you feel the nice stretch in your hammies & lower back. However, from what I've read on Nia Shank's website (2 thumbs-up, btw!), she recommends "exploding" back up during deadlifts & squats. You might not be able to come up fast, but it is the *intention* to do so that matters: Best Dang Exercises to Build a Better Body - Deadlifts, Quads, Hamstrings & Glutes *you can check out her form in the 2nd video*

-Yes, you can do BM1 instead of 2 . And yes, she means the entire 90min of it .

-Yes, you can sub Low Impact Challenge for Athletic Step. They are both steady-state cardio. Although for me, I find AT a *tad bit* harder because there are some high impact moves.

-Yes, if you want to do a full UB split like PUB, then DO IT! I personally like to split up my UB into 2 days because I feel as though I can hit my UB muscles more effectively that way (and I prefer this method to train). But hey, to each his own .

-Do whatever lunges you want and like! The most important part is that you are doing them . Some lunges are better than no lunges, right?

Good luck with the rotation! It looks BRUTAL

Take care my fit & fab friend

Thanks Justine, Bonnie and Natasha,

Oh Natasha you have read my mind for the stretch element while doing deadlift on 4 counts. I am happy to explode back up in a neutral position. What I could possibly do is 4 counts down and 3 up. skipping a count would enable me to explode. 4 down 2 up is also an option ;-). I love discussing techniques

Thanks for sharing Nia shanks video and blog. Good stuff

As to Athletic step, I will be adding it in future, especially knowing it's harder

 

[nckfitheart2009]

To Justine,


I will definitely take your stretching recommendations on board. My hamstring s have been really tight :-/

 

[Justinef]

Oh - just a thought - the new dvds are going to have quite a lot of lower body work. A Walnut Cracker rotation incorporating these and Xtrain would be amazing........