I'm here, having a tough week with work and family stuff. Had already designated this as a deload week which has worked out well as have been exhausted and distracted. Mon/ Tues no workouts (but did 3 at the weekend), lifted yesterday which was a struggle. A walk and combat planned today though my ankle is giving me a bit of grief - will have to see how I go. Tomorrow is lifting and am away for the weekend with my eldest and his sporting stuff so missing my classes. Back to normal next week after a recharge I hope.

*waves hi* I like rainy days, then again gray is one of my favorite colors. And really? That person is lame and yeah, can stuff it. I hope your foot is better soon.

Yesterday's do nothing but computer stuff rest day, and cook/clean, ended up being a 6 hour cashier shift. Today, I went to the gym before work and after I toss stuff in slow cooker, will be going to work freight. Fun times. It was a little rough on the power day today with super heavy squats. I dropped down the weight on deadlift to do more than one set but 185 and above just feels super heavy. I could blame on low fuel past two days and period started yesterday, but 185 always feels heavy even though I've done more.

Day 6 - lower power

squat 3x5 @ 175 - barely made it up on the 5th rep of each set, was very close to a fail. I haven't left the bar on the safeties yet, so one of these days.
deadlift 1x3, 1x4, 1x3 @ 185 - dropped down since requires more reps but 185 is so heavy still.
leg press 3x8 @ 215 - slight increase, need to start setting up on lower safety spot soon instead of regular than using toes to push it up enough to undo the safety.
leg curl 3x8 @ 60 - okay, nothing unusual
rotary calf 4x10 @ 70 plus the little extra weight thing - meh, calves...

Now for work with bento in tow. Having dairy today so mmm and might make it above fat goal for once, I've been hitting a bit low lately.

5 mile jog. Tad tough today but yesterday was lower power and freight day, so my thighs and back were a tad sore before even got started. Glad I changed Saturday to a rest day.

7 - Upper Hyper

incline bench 4x10 @ 60 - doing okay so far
bench db fly 3x9 @ 12.5 - little more comfortable this time
seated row 3x10 @ 60 - dropped it down a little but still a challenge by rep 10
one db row 3x10 @ 22.5 - okay
db lat raise 3x8 @ 10 - little better than last time
seat db curl 3x10 @ 15 - eh, think I like seated less than standing for curls
cable tri extension 3x10 @ 50 - not bad

Now to finish a little writing, then get some sleep.

I'm here, sorry been quiet. Life is challenging at the moment. Still lifting, still getting my combat in. Today is DL day

Julie - good to see you. Hope the back feels better soon.
Jo - Nice to see your post as well. Profile picture is inspiring with that bicep.
Beeps - that is quite a bit of walking. You sure can zoom.

Gym tonight for me. Gone through each set of exercises twice now in PHUL and so far, liking it.

day 8 - lower hyper

front squat 4x10 @ 70 - managed okay, slight ache in wrists
bar lunges 3x8 @ 55 - tried in squat rack since not busy and wasn't too bad there
leg extension 3x10 @ 65 - okay, nothing special
leg curl 4x10 @ 40 - not special here either
seated (rotary) calf 3x10 @ 70 plus one of the little extra weights - eh
standing calf 2x8 @ 45 - tried this just for fun, might do the standing on power days as it's not that bad and i foresee getting bored of the seated calf if I have to do it every lower day

Tried to take picture at gym hoping my tiny definition would be visible in legs but I'm terrible at this picture thing. Oh well. Tomorrow is rest day from work and exercise, but that means I'll be on the computer all day. Goal is to do a big push on novel edit and query letters. I want to submit to a few agents before the month is over.

Okay. Here is the one I posted on the "halp, lifting made me supah bulky" thread. I found using tiny pic web site makes the images not take up the entire page, which makes it easier to post now. Though I could probably have used the setting that is a bit bigger than this one, but still, it works. Beginning of September 2014 compared to September 20th 2015. Stronglifts and NROLFW, calorie deficit and some cardio all were helpful.

Hi there.

I did not follow it at all. I mostly used the book for the workouts because I already had some familiarity with lifting, and had followed stronglifts for 12 weeks before starting up the program. I had already spent a few months eating in a deficit and just kept following that. Plus, I have dietary limitations due to minor allergies (dairy) and figure my meals partly around my changing work schedule. I drink protein shakes on occasion (non-whey protein powder) but not based around when I lift as I don't feel like a shake at midnight, which is when I'm done on two of the days a week. How you approach diet also depends on your goals and where you're at in the process. I was obese and working towards the overweight range when I started stage 1. The decision on diet would probably be different for someone who has a little less to lose.

Basically I'm more of an "if it fits" style with a focus on protein cause I struggle to get .8 per lean body mass a good part of the time. I still have candy a few days a week and eat whatever I enjoy, just try to follow serving guidelines more (one serving instead of the whole box of candy) and mostly keep within my calorie limits.

For the most part I didn't need the whole "women can lift" focus, but what it did do was push my out of my comfort zone. I never would have done some of the lifts before as I'd never heard of them. Some I liked, one arm dumbbell snatch and such. Others I hope to never do again, YTWL and prone cuban cause having my face up against the bench is not pleasant. It was interesting to say the very least.

Good luck. Lifting and nutrition are a big help. It seems super slow at times. I do recommend pictures, measurements and having some non-scale related goals to focus on. Having all of those can help when it seems like not much is happening. Plus, looking back after a few months gives a different picture than just seeing day to day or even week to week.