Bulking Log (cmeirun)
Replies
-
Looking great! Those arms are fab! I'd say keep going.
Merry Christmas!0 -
My resolve to keep bulking through January is wavering. I'm feeling like a fatty fat fat.:grumble:
This may have something to do with my unbounded eating of All The Christmas Goodies in the past week tho. And I haven't lifted since Thursday - I decided to start my next cycle on Jan 6 when I can access a gym, rather than start and then re-start.
Talk me down.0 -
I sincerely doubt that one week of eating yummies will have suddenly transformed you into a fatty fat fat! Chances are you have actually indulged a lot less than you think you have. Looking at your diary should tell you, and I would be surprised if you have gone much over target if at all.0
-
I'm kind off in the same situation. Have eaten all the goodies and have found the return of the belly roll :sad: That said, TOM isn't helping. I'm thinking of letting everything settle for 1 or 2 weeks before weighing. I'm now about 3 months and halfway in this bulk, but pic's will have to wait a bit until I don't feel as fat anymore. It will pass I trust and so it probably will for you
0 -
Seriously don't give up. There are bad weeks and theses feelings are normal but bulking was never meant to be easy. Somedays my stomach downright depresses me but if I want to obtain the muscle I desire, I have to deal with the good, bad and ugly. I push those feelings aside and focus on the positive. One week did not destroy you, just rest up and get back to the gym and change your focus.0
-
My resolve to keep bulking through January is wavering. I'm feeling like a fatty fat fat.:grumble:
I'm totally here with you. I want to get through one more 4-week cycle before starting my cut, but I'm second guessing my willingness to look at the stomach roll. I know some of it is bloat from extra carbs, which I'm sure it is for you as well. So once we start to cut, that part comes off quick. That's what I keep telling myself anyway.
Come on, let's hang in there till the end of Jan. We can both do it and we'll be glad we stuck it out when all that beautiful muslce starts to surface
.
In?!?0 -
In?!?
:laugh:
Oh, dammit, alright. In. :flowerforyou: One more lifting cycle.
Thanks you guys (all of you) you're the best! :flowerforyou: I did a lightish lifting session today and feel better for it - good and wobbly-armed :bigsmile:.
I might dial back my intake a little wee bit just to balance out the over-eating I've done (like, just by 100 cal or so) for a week or two.
Monday is going to be a day of big Firsts. 1) I'm going to be starting lecturing - officially lecturing for an entire term, not subbing or TAing - for the first time, and 2) I'm going to hit my sure-to-be-overflowing school gym and get under a bar for the first time. :bigsmile: I got a copy of Starting Strength (which is fantastic so far) and hope I can manage ok on my own because our gym is very small and has no trainers. I hope there are some nice people there to help a bit though...I don't even know how to put plates on a bar Anyways, it should be an exciting day! Happy New Year everybody!0 -
That is so cool! Both the lecturing and the gym workout
Keep us posted!0 -
Got under a bar today!!! :bigsmile:
LOVED IT.
I was the only woman in the free weight section, but I was not self-conscious so that was nice
Squat - ohmygod. In some ways easier than with dbs, but man did I ever feel that in my quads!!! So awesome. OHP is a whole new (very hard) experience (I don't think I've been doing full range of motion with the dbs). DL was AWESOME. I pulled bw for 2x8 clean reps and it felt great! So temped to increase that load right away but with this program it'll creep up quickly enough. It was fun to pull big plates off the rack for those! :bigsmile:
The only thing I'm going to have to figure out is etiquette in terms of asking to do a set or two when other people are using the cage. There's only one cage in my gym, and two guys took turns doing at least 5 sets each of squats. Is it cool to ask people to let you cut in or better to wait until they're done an exercise? If they'd looked like they were moving on to another lift I'd have asked to butt in. The gym wasn't very busy today but I suspect there will be more people next week when school is fully back in session.0 -
Regarding the squat rack: if they're actually doing squats I usually just ask how many sets are left and either bide my time or adapt my exercise order.
If they're using the rack for curls or upright rows it's usually enough to ask if they are actually going to use the squat rack for squats :laugh:0 -
Glad you got back in there!
I will be honest and say either politely ask how many sets they have left or just wait. No offense but sometimes people work under different conditions as far as rest sets, volume training etc. I move quickly and don't take longer than 1-2 mins rest between sets depending on my weight max that day but some days I throw in GVT and do 10x10 with only 30s rest. Working someone in can throw the tempo off. If I know them and know we work in easily adjusted weight, no problem. Also I use the rack for rack pulls and if someone doesn't think that's ok, I will politely let them know they can rework their order just like I've had to before. I'm not moving.????0 -
Ok folks, I'm packing it in. :bigsmile: I MADE IT to the planned end of my bulk (+ an extra week) :drinker: I'm so glad I stuck it out this last month because I think switching up to barbell training these last 5 weeks have really made a difference in strength and also in gain.
So here's the final stats:
Start (Sept 2 2013)
Weight: 128 lbs
BF%: ~19%
LBM: ~ 103.6 lbs
Waist: 28.5"
Belly: 31.5"
Chest: 33"
R Biceps: 11"
R Thigh: 18.75"
Finish (February 9 2014) = 23 weeks
Weight: 142 lbs = +14 lbs, at an average rate of 0.6 lbs/week
BF%: ~ 23%
LBM: ~ 109.4 = + 5.8 lbs!
Waist: 29.25" (+0.75)
Belly: 34.5" (+3)
Chest: 35" (+2)
R Biceps: 12" (+1)
R Thigh: 19.75" (+1)
REALLY quite pleased with my estimate of LBM gain! It means I only have about 6 lbs to lose, and I'm hoping to get this done in two months, max, so I can get back to maintenance asap and cruise there for the summer, hopefully doing some slow recomp. So overall the "size" gains aren't too bad...I'm happy with the biceps gain because I don't feel like I've put a lot of fat back on my upper body (with the exception of the boobs, ugh). Definitely fat accumulation on the tum/butt/lower back, but nothing frightening. It's hard to quantify actual MUSCLE size gains, but dammit, I feel like a beefcake :glasses: I'm REALLY happy with the way my upper body looks (bis, pecs, lats especially). My quads look better, my hammies seem larger/more rounded. My waist is still really tight, not a lot of fat gain and possibly even a bit broader, which would be awesome. I still have no *kitten*.
I seem to be doomed to forever have my father's pancake butt. Oh well. I don't look much different than my last progress pics but I'll take some next week just as a firm reference point.
I seriously can't wait to see how things look as I start to cut the fluff!
Strength: Start (DBs) - > Present (BB) (Switch to BB lifts in January)
Squat: 84 -> 100 lbs (deloaded from 95 to 80 in November, worked back up since)
Bench: 60 -> 80 lbs
Row: 52 -> 80 lbs
Press: 52 -> 50 lbs (I switched from DB press to OHP with bar - totally different move, had to start from scratch basically)
Deadlift 100 ->160 lbs :bigsmile: SO HAPPY with this. A year ago I was only pulling 50 lbs. This is a big improvement
Curls: 48 -> 50 lbs (switching to bar made these harder for some reason?)
Calf raise (single leg): 40 lbs -> 65
This whole experience has been awesome. As someone who has has a s_itty relationship with food, body image and weight basically since being a pre-teen, feeling like I have some control over things (in a healthy, moderate, non-restrictive way) and loving the way my body looks (I just really, really like looking muscular) and performs (rawr) is so wonderfully foreign and amazing and fantastic and I can't wait to keep challenging myself.
Thanks for all your support and encouragement, I probably wouldn't have made it this far without you!
And now *insert dramatic music here*....
The Cut begins :sad:0 -
Wonderful job!!!!! Was great to follow you along on this; how are you planning your cut?0
-
I'm dropping right down to 2000/day, keeping my protein and fat pretty much where they are now (150g, 70g) and will try to add at least 2 short cardio sessions in after my lifting. I'll see how that goes for the first couple of weeks and adjust as needed. I'm hoping to get the cut done in 2 months or less, just to get it over with and get right back on maintenance asap for hopefully a slow recomp until next fall, for bulk #2 0
-
2000 a day sounds very sad indeed! But hopefully you will get it over with quickly!0
-
Cutting at 2000? In would love to! My maintenance is about that number.... :huh:I'm dropping right down to 2000/day, keeping my protein and fat pretty much where they are now (150g, 70g) and will try to add at least 2 short cardio sessions in after my lifting. I'll see how that goes for the first couple of weeks and adjust as needed. I'm hoping to get the cut done in 2 months or less, just to get it over with and get right back on maintenance asap for hopefully a slow recomp until next fall, for bulk #20 -
I was losing pretty steadily on that amount last spring...but I was also doing more cardio. I'll see how it goes 0
-
Hi!
So I've been failing at cutting this summer, but I have maintained at between 138-140 since February, so that's not a bad thing,and I have seen great gains in my lifts (up to 135lb squat, 185lb deadlift, 95lb bench, 75lb OHP) since then too. I'm hoping that this means I've been doing a bit of recomp all this time!
I took a photo last night and did a side-by-side with a photo from the same time last year. In the photo on the left (yesterday), I'm 140 lbs. In the photo on the right I'm about 130. I'm pleased to see almost the same level of definition despite the extra weight, and I'm pretty sure there are noticeable gains, especially in the lats - what do you guys think?
My plan is to try (TRY) to drop a couple of pounds before the end of September, because I'd like to do another bulk cycle. I'm workout out at a fantastic new strength gym and want to take full advantage!0 -
Holy cow! THAT is amazing progress!
I see more lats, deltas, traps, etc. You also look more "even". In the before photo, there seems to be a slight imbalance between your right and left side (could be the lighting) that is no longer there.
You look incredible!0
