maruby95 Member

I am calling "leg curl" the one you sit in like a chair and extend the legs, working the quads. and I'm calling "ham curl" the one where you lie on your stomach and curl your legs towards your butt for hammier. Sorry for the confusion :0.

Ok- so when I do OHP as my main lift, I do DB bench for assistance and when I do bench as main lift I do DB OHP. Switch othe other accesory things for those days also, or just those? I assume that is so that I will OHP and bench twice in a week vs once. Thanks for the other guidelines.... 1) I've been trying to focus on…

Conventional DL

Looking great! Those arms are fab! I'd say keep going. Merry Christmas!

OK- and how will I know if I need additional volume? Lack of growth by measurements? weight gain? strength? Sorry to be so clueless!!!

Thanks Holly. Good article. So, if I stick with 5/3/1 for my primary lift each day and then do my accessories in the 6-12 or 10-15 range, that should cover all my bases, right? Thats' pretty much what Im doing now. Or should I try to find something more hypertrophy focused? From the article, if sound slike the current…

Week 10: Dec 16-22 Ave TDEE: 1718 Ave cals: 1976 (goal was 1900 min) Ave wt: 109.6 ( + .7 from last week, + about 5 lbs from start, +2 lbs from 1 month ago- Ave .5 lbs per week) Start wt: 110 End wt: 109 I'm pretty happy with the realization that overall, I'm on target with 5 lbs gain over 10 weeks/ 2 lbs in past month…

Sorry- to clarify- I don't mean that I would have defined abs or a small waist at the end of a bulk, but rather at the end of the cut that will follow. Even at 16% BF I couldn't see much definition...that's what I'm addressing here. And Holly, that's pretty much what I'm doing now: hanging leg raises once a week and…

Another vote for pix :).

Wow- What an up and down week. Thanks again to all who encouraged me duing my "whaaa I'm not gaining" post. And, very predictably, as soon as I upped the calories, I got a jump up in weight. I know that it is mostly, if not all, fluid and food weight until I get used to it. But when I initally panicked at the literally 2…

Thanks for this Holly (and everyone else!!). I will work on slowly increasing calories. I typically work out late am (it's when I have time), so I usually eat breakfast about 8:30 or 9 of 2 eggs, coffee with milk and sugar and some form of carb like a bowl of oatmeal, or whole wheat toast or maybe fruit. Generally total…

This sounds like a really solid plan! Proud of you for being willing to make so many changes! You are gonna rock this bulk and I can't wait to see your results.

Oh wow. This is interesting. And that's just about what I'm finding...I'm maintaining at 150-200 above what my FitBit says on average. Good to know. Thanks!

Thanks so much for being willing to look at the whole picture! I'll see if I can answer all your questions: I've been calculaing my TDEE via FitBit for about a year and a half at this point. And in general, it seems to have been pretty accurate- by which I mean, when I've eaten below what it tells me my TDEE lis I lose,…

Lifting- I get a de-load every 4 weeks on this program, which was 2 weeks ago. Next one scheduled for the week of Christmas. So I don't think that's it. I did increase my lifting days from 3 to 4 about 6 weks ago, but again, I certainly don't feel overtrained. I think I've been getting enough sleep. Certainly no less than…

I'm in the same boat. Actually, my thigh measurement went DOWN! Whaat?? All I can figure is I need to eat more. Your lifitng seems good, so it's got to be about the food. Just more, consistently. If anyone has other ideas, I would LOVE to hear them too. If I had know when cutting how much work it would take to actually…

Week 9: Dec 2-8 Ave TDEE: 1701 Ave cals: 1805 Ave wt: 107.9 (up .4 from last week, up 2 lbs from beginning) Start wt: 108 End wt: 108 Measurements: waist 25.5 navel 27 hips 34 thigh 19 (down .5) bicep 10 neck 12 BF %: 19.5 LBM: 87 lbs (This is up from start of 84.5) Everything is the same as from start except what I noted.…

I'm having a similar experience, too. I agree with Barbellgirl- I thnk we just need to be committed to a longer bulk to get where we want to go. Hang in there!

Week 8: Nov 25- Dec 1 Ave Burn: 1712 Ave cals: 1931 (!!!!) Ave wt: 107.5 (DOWN 1.5 from last week. UP 1.5 from start) start wt: 107.4 end wt: 108.2 Well, I certainly packed in the calories this week. I feel like my weight is all over the place. Measurements are staying the same. Strength is improving. Still really enjoying…

OK...this is like the third or fouth blog in a row in which TOM was today/ within the last couple of days. Ya know how they say that women who live or spend a lot of time together can get on the same cycle?? Just sayin'..... lol

Thanks all!!!

Since I never got around to updating this with numbers last week, I will put 2 weeks here. I'm finding this journey quite the roller coaster ride: frustrated when I wasn't gaining, a little stressed when I was gaining, and now this week I've lost a little from being sick :(. Ah, well. Part of the point of this for me is…

Feeling fatty mc'fatpants over here, too. Too tight pants have to be one of my least favorite things EVER. But, man it really helps to be in it together! And to be reminded of the end goal. Somewhere, deep under the fluff, some muscles are doing their best to grow, and I certainly want to help them out. And as a bonus, the…

ok- so I keep the accessory lifts the same throughout the cycle? Or increased each week? And do I de-load on those as well in week 4?

Oh my! Your 'befores' are my dream 'afters'!! You look fantastic! You obviously know what you're doing, so go for it. Enjoy!!

Week 5: Nov 4-10 Really enjoying the Wendler 5/3/1 so far. Feeling like I'm really working each muscle group more thoroughly, which I am hoping will improve my big lifts. So far, it hasn't been too hard to get to the gym 4 times. Intake goal: 1800 Actual intake ave: 1701- oops! This was unintentional and I'm little…

Check out www.youreatopia.com. This has really helped to motivate me to change and give me a better perspective on "normal" eating. Blessings on your recovery

Ok- here's the latest... Week 4: Oct 28-Nov 3 Changed to Wendler 5/3/1 Program this week. I've had tons of DOMS from the switch plus PMS symptoms so I'm not taking too much stock in this week's numbers. Feeling soft and squishy and yuck. lifting x 4, walking 4 days Ave TDEE: 1745 Cal Goal: 1800 Ave intake: 1812 (ave 67…

I really don't know anything- but I'm wondering if there is any possibility that you've done some unintential recomping? Meaning, is it possibile that you have gained a bit of muscle, but have lost some fat? Or..as you say..you're just a hard gainer and have to shovel in some more food :0. Sorry you are frustrated...