I have the blahs. TOM anytime. I am sluggish, sleepy, exhausted, and still in my pjs.

I definitely need a pick me up.

ETA: TOM arrived. :ohwell:

*yawn* morning. Starting Saturdays at 5am is just wrong. Although I shouldn't be complaining because all I had to do was sit and crochet with a coffee - my girl was the one swimming laps at squad (she's slowly knocking time off her sprints, totally proud mumma )

hmmm... a sure-fire way to feel good... meeting with a friend for a coffee after dropping the kids off at school = bliss. I've got a permanent coffee date on Wednesdays LOL

I have a lot of reading to do LOL

I finally got back to the gym today after over a week off, a very busy week.
6B WO2:
One arm reverse lunge 25db
DB Push press 20 dbs
Two point row 30db
reverse incline crush LEvel 3
Back extension 45lb plate (How do I make this harder?)

So I ended up doing 4pm - 5am with my pregnant lady...... who eventually birthed two hours after I had to go home :-(

So I've had 4 hours sleep. And I am also suffering from heavy TOM. Bleurgghhh does not come close to how I feel. Hope everyone else has a better start to the weekend lol

I'm late posting for "Feel Good Friday", but go to is a pedicure and retail therapy if possible. Otherwise, a great workout always puts in a good mood!

Lifted yesterday morning and I will lift today later. My schedule got messed up this week due to kids dr appointments.

Manic, sorry about the hormonal issues. What a drag!

Pmag, way to go- impressive numbers indeed!

Jo, how disappointing to be there all night and not get to attend the actual birth. I feel for the lady too. All of my labors were at least 12 hours (from 4cm- birth). So exhausting.

Someone was asking about the calories in the book. Yes they are high. They are high pretty much on purpose. To build muscle you HAVE to eat at a surplus. If you are eating at maintenance or below you are burning the fat covering the muscle you already have, which is why I plateaued. If I truly want to build more muscle, and lift far heavier, I will need to eat at a surplus. Most women can't handle the scale going in the other direction. I eat at maintenance. I only complain about the five pounds I gained over winter because it was fat. I wasn't working out like I should. Now had it been five pounds of muscle and all my clothes still fit, I would be bragging and not complaining. "SHowing definition" or muscle is all about body fat percentage. I stepped on the scale at the doctor's office this week. My weight had not changed from one year ago at all, but I'm a size 6 instead of a size 10. Now comes the argument of "but I"m stronger" yes the fibers you have are indeed stronger, but that does not mean you developed additional fiber. YOu the break and rebuild the fibers every workout making them stronger, but you aren't adding new fibers to the mix. I've maxed out on weight I can lift at about body weight. TO go heavier I need more muscle. However, eating a surplus is tricky because it has to be the right food as to avoid rebuilding body fat. That's the tricky part sigh, not sure I can pull that off without becoming a complete carnivore though I have a vegan friend how is now lifiting competitively. time to pick his brain I think.

Jo are you doing a bulk or just eating more cals to improve performance.

Looks like I missed Feel Good Friday. I worked all day. Ran a few miles while DS was at baseball practice. Went to bed early.

I need to eat more but I'm scared :frown:

Pmag, I've read more than I care to admit on the topic of bulking. I'm convinced bulking is the easiest way to build muscle and strength. Every woman I read about who bulks says they wish they would've done it earlier. Eating at maintenance will result in some strength gains and maybe very, very slow muscle gain, but eating at surplus is the only sure way to build appreciable muscle(in women especially). The best aesthetic results I've seen have been women who bulk. Also women have to work much harder to even maintain muscle mass as we age, much less build it. The unfortunate part is that there's a body of research that indicates women who start a bulk at more than 22% BF are much more likely to gain fat instead of muscles (http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/initial-body-fat-and-body-composition-changes.html). So many women have to cut to a point that they feel really "skinny"(because most of us don't have the best muscle base to start with), before they can even start bulking. So you get skinny, then start eating more and gaining weight....most women want to stop because they feel bloated and fat and they hate seeing the scale go up.....then you start eating at a deficit again to reveal your gains....it's a huge mental roller coaster. There's also the nutrition component- getting plenty of protein and using the carbs as the main variable in your cut vs bulking diet.
I was hoping to get to a low enough BF% that I could bulk this Fall. I'm not sure I will get there by then, but eventually I will bulk. To achieve body and the strength goals I want, it will require me to bulk at some point. Recomping is just too slow.

Sam, I hope your week is better.

Jo, so your goal isn't to gain weight, but strength?

rildev, I hope you aren't giving up on lifting heavy. Losing inches is great! Daily cardio sounds like torture.....