Female Bulking Advice Needed

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Replies

  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
    Bumping so I can follow :flowerforyou:
  • __freckles__
    __freckles__ Posts: 1,238 Member
    I wish you luck my friend...
  • branflakes1980
    branflakes1980 Posts: 2,516 Member
    So much awesomeness!! You look absolutely amazing!
  • CactusF1ower
    CactusF1ower Posts: 174 Member
    Bumping for updates...you look amazing!
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    12/26/13 Update

    December was a pretty rough month. I tried not tracking for a while and resumed taking creatine. About 12/15, I decided to do a mini-cut so I could do some six month lifting comparison photos (see below). I reduced my calorie intake to 1800-1900 calories and added back in 3-4 30-40 minute cardio sessions those two weeks. My body fat has remained in the 19-20% range, and I'm happy to announce that I'm up to 117.5 pounds. That's an increase of five pounds in three months and I'm happy with that.

    I'll continue trying to gain muscle mass through at least March of next year. It's been a slow process, but a rewarding one.

    Starting Point before lifting 112.5 pounds
    8vF25Tc.jpg

    12/26/13 Current weight- 117.5 pounds
    lTccTxl.jpgRfOSM5y.jpg3JCdDLs.jpg

    August (left) and 12/26/13 (right) I weigh five pounds more
    6nCcgl2.jpg

    Much happier booty
    C2GNDjO.jpg
  • MickeS
    MickeS Posts: 108 Member
    In for the read. Seriously. Hardly noticed the good looking pictures. Good work btw!
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    By the way, my goal is to gain another 4-5 pounds. I didn't set a goal weight when I began because I had no idea how much muscle I could carry on my relatively small frame. I'm going to shoot for an ending weight of 121-122 pounds. If it looks like I need more muscle at that weight, I'll keep going. :drinker: :flowerforyou:
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member

    Holy crow, I want to be you ! You are very inspiring :flowerforyou:

    Thank you. I'm very glad, but also humbled, that I could inspire other ladies my age. I'll get my December update posted soon. :flowerforyou:

    I like the way you looked in those Sept 1 photos. I'd be curious to see the update now. But I didn't see a need for any change, more maintenance of a terrific physique.

    Thank you, but I felt my body needed more muscle definition. In those September 1 photos, I managed to reduce my body fat while maintaining my weight at 112.5 lbs. most people would consider that underweight for my height. I had been lifting for just over two months and had great results. I decided to embark on this journey of adding muscle partly because I've never done it before, and partly because I wanted to see what it looked like and if I really could do it.

    Gaining muscle mass is tough for a woman, especially one my age. We start losing muscle mass as we age so I'm not only fighting the loss but I'm trying to add it. Then I'm naturally slender, I fall halfway between an ectomorph and a mesomorph, so I have a high metabolism also making gaining difficult. I'm happier with my body now, and I'm definitely a lot stronger, and less under weight. :flowerforyou:
  • rosellen7
    rosellen7 Posts: 1
    You do look fantastic! I'm a 48 year old mother of 2. I don't have any advice for you but would like to ask you about your weight lifting routine you are currently using. Right now i run for exercise but would like to add weights but am not sure where to start.
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    You do look fantastic! I'm a 48 year old mother of 2. I don't have any advice for you but would like to ask you about your weight lifting routine you are currently using. Right now i run for exercise but would like to add weights but am not sure where to start.

    Hello Rose. Currently I do a four day split routine, which I started at the beginning of October. Compound lifts, arms/shoulders, legs, and chest/back. I do minimal cardio. When I started lifting in mid to late June though, I worked with a personal trainer for four weeks. We met twice a week and I lifted at home one other day. By July 22nd, I was flying solo and I started with Mark Rippetoe's Starting Strength program. Even if you don't follow his lifting program the book is excellent and I highly recommend it. After about 5 weeks I switched to Bret Contreras' Strong Curves program modified to ensure I was doing barbell squats, deadlifts, and bench press or overhead press (the main compound lifts from Starting Strength) ,at least 2-3 times a week. Strong Curves is an excellent beginning/intermediate program for women. I can't say enough positive things about it.

    Although I don't follow the Strong Curves program currently, I still work glute bridges and hip thrusts into my compound and leg lifting days.
  • Sugarhiccup03
    Sugarhiccup03 Posts: 88 Member
    You look amazing! Congrats on your progress!
  • hofi2010
    hofi2010 Posts: 15
    Hi, you seem to know a lot about nutrition already, which is great. The key to gain muscle mass in our age is of course to eat correctly and do the right exercise. Both of which you are already doing.

    First you have to calculate your optimal calorie intake based on your lean muscle mass, (body mass - fat mass)*42kcal. This should be your daily intake. Usually you would eat 15-20% fat kcal, 50% carbs kcal and 30-35% protein kcal. spends a bit on your cardio workout. It is important to eat the protein throughout the day and a good portion straight after your workout. 6 meals are recommended with the least amount of kcal in the evenings. So the opposite what we usually do.

    From an exercise perspective, maximum weight exercises are the most effective to create muscle mass and group strength training classes are more for definition and general strength. you need to mix both types up during the week 2-4 sessions. Don't forget to stretch a lot.

    You already look great, so take it easy :-)
  • ssaraj43
    ssaraj43 Posts: 575 Member
    I'm back in to say........:love:
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    I'm back in to say........:love:

    Thank you Sara! :flowerforyou: :smooched: :heart:
  • mwalle09
    mwalle09 Posts: 305 Member
    Wow amazing results! Looks like you really took a good approach to this!
  • LuMax132
    LuMax132 Posts: 12 Member
    You look amazing, not sure why you want to bulk but I hope you reach your goal. Your a prime example of hard work and dedication for all woman who are trying to look better. Thumbs up
  • ILoveBreakfast671
    ILoveBreakfast671 Posts: 76 Member
    Wow Lady! Woooooooow.
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    You look amazing, not sure why you want to bulk but I hope you reach your goal. Your a prime example of hard work and dedication for all woman who are trying to look better. Thumbs up

    Maybe you missed the difference. Let me show you what adding five pounds did to my body. :flowerforyou:

    112.5 pounds

    u1uRKIn.jpg

    117.5 pounds

    7RztZAE.jpgjz6wz0P.jpg
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
    bump for tips for myself! Oh, and OP< if I can look as good as you when I'm 46 with three kids, I can die a happy woman. :wink:
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    bump for tips for myself! Oh, and OP< if I can look as good as you when I'm 46 with three kids, I can die a happy woman. :wink:

    Thank you Molly. You are gorgeous! :love: :flowerforyou:
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated this. I'll try to catch this thread up. I've started cutting now and decided to enter a NPC competition in a May. I'll be 47 when I step on stage. It's an absolutely crazy thing for me to do at this stage in my life, but one by one, I'm knocking down fears. Being in a bikini has been a source of anxiety for me my entire life. :laugh: :drinker:
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated this. I'll try to catch this thread up. I've started cutting now and decided to enter a NPC competition in a May. I'll be 47 when I step on stage. It's an absolutely crazy thing for me to do at this stage in my life, but one by one, I'm knocking down fears. Being in a bikini has been a source of anxiety for me my entire life. :laugh: :drinker:

    Awesome!!
  • sixpacklady
    sixpacklady Posts: 582 Member
    bump to follow
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    edited October 2014
    Starting the bulking process again this winter. I'm currently 16.3% body fat by DEXA scan done earlier this month.
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    edited October 2014
    I was down to about 12% body fat back in May when these pictures were taken. My goal over the next six months will be to put on 4-5 pounds of lean mass. I'll be repeating the DEXA scan in April to see how I did toward that goal.
  • BetterKimmer
    BetterKimmer Posts: 178 Member
    Me too! Bump this.
  • gemmamummy
    gemmamummy Posts: 185 Member
    Amazing!!
  • roanokejoe49
    roanokejoe49 Posts: 820 Member
    Why do you want to add bulk? You look incredible!
  • Barbellgirl
    Barbellgirl Posts: 544 Member
    Joe, I want to add muscle because despite being in the 1st percentile for body fat for both my age and 25 year old women which is really good, I am only in the 25th percentile for lean body mass, which is not good.

    I need more muscle on my frame, so that's the goal. :)
  • FromHereOnOut
    FromHereOnOut Posts: 3,237 Member
    Congrats! You look amazing. So happy for you.
    Thanks for the great thread to follow too. :)

    May I ask your weight in the recent pics and in the May pics?
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