colliemommie | In which I lift heavy things, then put them down again. Repeatedly.

I know I mentioned somewhere that I'm lifting again. I'm using the protocol from New Rules of Lifting for Abs, because it meets my main criteria for a lifting program:

1. The words "for Women" are nowhere in the title and I'm not expected to use Barbie weights.
2. No one-muscle-group exercises (bicep curls, kickbacks, etc.) or crunches. Ain't nobody with two kids got time for that.
3. Includes all the major types of lift: squat, deadlift, horizontal pull, horizontal push, vertical pull, vertical push
4. Every lift has a big ab/stability component, which I desperately need.
5. Ab-specific exercises come after the warm-up but before lifting, which makes so much sense I can't even believe most people don't do it this way.
6. Multi-phasic (three phases) and repeatable. There's no reason not to finish phase three and go right back to phase 1 again with (presumably) heavier weight than the previous time through. Each phase is six to eight weeks long and alternates between two different workouts, which for me is a good balance between having enough routine that I know my form is where it needs to be, and not getting bored doing the same thing every time. (Except for deadlifts. I could deadlift every single day.)

So far I've been very happy with the program. I'm doing phase one through the end of the month. Each phase has two workouts, A and B, which one alternates, lifting three times a week.

I'm still finding my weight for a few exercises, most notable the Romanian deadlift. I'm increasing by ten pounds each time; I started with just the bar (45lbs.) and am up to 85lbs as of Friday. Wednesday I'll go for 95. I think the limiting factor on this will be my grip or my right shoulder, not my legs.

I don't feel like there's any point to recording weights until I've worked up to my best on every exercise, but I plan on posting my ending weights for this phase when I move on to the next.