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    Female Bulking Advice Needed

    123457

    Replies

    • Posts: 1,046 Member
      Bumping so I can follow :flowerforyou:
    • Posts: 1,238 Member
      I wish you luck my friend...
    • Posts: 2,516 Member
      So much awesomeness!! You look absolutely amazing!
    • Posts: 174 Member
      Bumping for updates...you look amazing!
    • 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
    • Posts: 108 Member
      In for the read. Seriously. Hardly noticed the good looking pictures. Good work btw!
    • 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:
    • Posts: 544 Member
      show previous quotes

      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:
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Posts: 88 Member
      You look amazing! Congrats on your progress!
    • 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 :-)
    • Posts: 575 Member
      I'm back in to say........:love:
    • Posts: 544 Member
      I'm back in to say........:love:

      Thank you Sara! :flowerforyou: :smooched: :heart:
    • Posts: 305 Member
      Wow amazing results! Looks like you really took a good approach to this!
    • 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
    • Posts: 76 Member
      Wow Lady! Woooooooow.
    • 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
    • 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:
    • 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:
    • 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:
    • 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!!
    • Posts: 582 Member
      bump to follow
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • Posts: 178 Member
      Me too! Bump this.
    • Posts: 185 Member
      Amazing!!
    • Posts: 820 Member
      Why do you want to add bulk? You look incredible!
    • 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. :)
    • 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?
    This discussion has been closed.

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