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confused about progress, or lack of
I attempted my first bulk last winter, followed by a small cut, and have just been continuing to lift and eat at about maintenance since March. Planning to try another bulk in the fall… The other day, I finished up the notebook I use to keep track of my lifts. I started flipping back through it just out of curiosity and…
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I'm back…with a question
Hi lovely ladies! I attempted my first bulk last winter, followed by a small cut, and have just been continuing to lift and eat at about maintenance since March. Planning to try another bulk in the fall… The other day, I finished up the notebook I use to keep track of my lifts. I started flipping back through it just out…
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Confused about progress, or lack of
I attempted my first bulk last winter, followed by a small cut, and have just been continuing to lift and eat at about maintenance since March. Planning to try another bulk in the fall… The other day, I finished up the notebook I use to keep track of my lifts. I started flipping back through it just out of curiosity and…
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maruby95's bulking log
Ok. Here goes nothing. Going to try to post a few starting pictures as well as the first 2 weeks of stats. This is my fist bulk, so I'm learning as I go. Input welcome!! Starting weight: 105 (about 19% BF) ht: 5'3.5" Maintenance cals: 1700 Bulking cals: 1800 for now, will increase as necessary. Current goals 113P/ 60F/…
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De-fluffing
Ok. I can't take it anymore :0. I decided at the beginning of the week to try to de-fluff a bit, see where I am, and possibly go back for more bulk. Started out aiming for maintenance, but ended up under by several hundred every day, so pretty much my cut number. Anyway, the irony is that after working so hard to try and…
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Can you look at my training for a bulk
Hi guys. I need some input on my training. I'm currently about 1o weeks into my first bulk. I've gained about 5 lbs total after a 2 week stall. Eating 1900-2300 cals a day, 5'3", currently 110 lbs, maybe 22% BF. I am just finishing up my second cycle of 5/3/1. My question is about volume and rep range. My primary goal at…
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Are you doing direct abs work?
Last year I did a bunch of direct abs work (planks, sit ups, weighted side pulls etc) but I felt like my mid-section got thicker from them. Actually, it did by measurement. I added about 1-2 inches to my waist, which as a 'banana' does me no favors :0. I'm always fighting the "no waist" problem. But I'd love to have…
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I'm getting frustrated!
Yesterday was super frustrating. First I stepped on the scale and, despite feeling like I'm constantly eating, had lost .5 lb (not much, but the wrong direction!). For the past 2 weeks I have remained exactly the same (within .2 lbs) even though I increased cals. Over those 2 weeks I've averaged about 1900 calls, which…
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Small NSV
I've had 2 separate people say to me this week, "You've lost weight." I hadn't seen either one since I started bulking a couple months ago, so I told them, "No, actually, I've gained 5 lbs." Neither believed me :) . Don't know what that's about, as my measurements are pretty much the same. I had heard this might happen-…
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2 Questions about 5/3/1
I'm going into the de-load week of my first cycle of Wendler's 5/3/1. Should I pull back on my calories a bit for the week (I've been eating about 100-200 over TDEE per day), maybe just eat TDEE or is that unnecessary? Second, about accessory lifts: should I be keeping the weight and reps the same for accessory lifts…
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Finding the right balance
Please bear with me- this is my first bulk so I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out :) . The way I decided on my calorie goal was by taking my average burn (per FitBit over the past year) and simply adding 100 cals (for a total of 1800) a day to it as a starting place. I figure I can bump them up until I finding…
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Enough volume for a slow bulk?
I'm wondering if someone can take a look at my workout and tell me if this is enough volume to see any LBM gains. My goal is a slow bulk- eating just 150-200 over maintenance. I'm not sure I can mentally handle a full on bulk, but I do want to increase my LBM, and I'm willing to go slow. But I don't want to kid myself if…
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Maintaining LBM w/o lifting?
Ok- I will probably sound like a wimp when I say this, but here is goes. It is just too %&^*$ hot here to continue to lift like I have been. Seriously. I live in the Med. and the average temp is 104 and there is NO A/C. We have a few fans running if we're lucky. Even at 8am when the gym opens, the heat just saps my energy…
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Maintenance?
Over the past few months, I've been trying to find my real TDEE/ maintenance calories. I weigh in daily and use the Hacker's Diet website to watch for trends. I like it because it keeps me from freaking out about daily fluctuations in weight. I really just look at the trends over time. This works well when I've been losing…
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100 lb weaking :(.
I've been lifitng for about a year and a half now, maybe even a bit longer if I count the bodyweight exercises I started with. But I've only been in a gym for about 6 months. Before that, I was at home with more limited equiptment. Now, I acknowledge, that I'm pretty small in general with less LBM than your average woman…
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Intuitive eating and body recomp
Are these mutually exclusive? I'm thinking I need to start moving away from counting everything down to the gram for mental health purposes. But I also want to stay on target with enough protein (specifically) to meet my fitness goals (gain muscle, lose some fat). Has anyone had any success in trusting yourself to make…
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I hate my TDEE
It just makes me mad. Due to a minor medical procedure earlier this week, I sat in the car or laid around most of the day. Of course, as always, I had my Fitbit. And I'm teling you I only burned 1400 calories in a 24 hr period. I mean, seriously? My BMR is 1200 or a little less. And even with lifting 3 times a week and…
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No I need to change my routine for bulking?
Hi guys, For the past month or so I've been doing a 3 day split routine using reverse pyramid progression. I've been lifting heavy for over a year so I'm not really new to this. I've change my workout routine many times along the way- sometimes full body 3 days a week, sometimes 4 day split, etc. I need to change things up…
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NSV-pull ups
OK, seriously....I have pretty much always been a hundred pound weakling. Literally. But for the past 1-2 years I've been working on lifting and strength gains. And while I've gained strength in all areas, pull ups remained the bane of my workout routine. Just couldn't get it done! So I've been setting my sights on full,…
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Bench press vs push ups
Lifting question here: It seems to me that the bench press and push ups target the same muscles. So are they interchangeable in a routine? The reason I ask is that my bench press is awful!! I mean, seriously! I never seems to make any progress on it, but I am able to do a decent amount of full body push-ups, even wih my…
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To cut or to bulk- that is the question
So about a year ago, I weighed 98-100 lbs (I'm 5'3") with about 19 % BF per calipers and tape measure. Waist was 26, hips 34, bicep 9.5, neck 12, forearm 7. Basically: skinny. I was just beginning to lift heavy and I had been running for quite a while. Eating VLCD (1200 or less) So after much input from more experienced…
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How is this possible??
So I'm totally confused. Ive been on a cut 15-20% under TDEE for about a month now. In the last 3 weeks, I have lost 4 pounds but my BF has gone up .9% (not that that is a big deal, just confusing). I lift heavy 3 days a week and do some HIIT, so I think my LBM should be protected. I am calculating my BF using an average…
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aaannnddd....cut!
OK. I have official finished 7 weeks of reset, eating at 1800. In that time, I have gained 3 pounds while keeping apporximately the same body fat and measurments. In fact, in the last week or 2, I have lost about 1/2 inch off my waist and hips. I've been lifting heavy and doing some cardio (for my mental health :) . I feel…
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Losing on reset?
Hi all. I'm 5 weeks into my reset and for the past 8 days, I have weighed exactly the same. To the tenth of a pound. That's a total of about 3 pounds gained on my reset. And clearly I found my true TDEE for my activity level. Cool. But this morning I woke up haing lost 2 pounds and .5 inch off my waist. Very awesome. Not…
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HELP! Reset question
Hi All, I'm 3 weeks into a reset, eating 1800. I'm 5'3" about 108 lbs, and about 19% BF. With moderate activity, Scooby gives me 1900 and with heavy activity 2100. But I also have a FitBit, and my average burn over the past month has been 1800, so I decided to use that as my TDEE. I have been lifting heavy 3 days a week,…
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Lifting/ DOMS question
I've been lifting heavy for about a year. I did slack off over the summer because we were traveling a lot and I just couldn't really get it done. But I've been back at it 3 times a week since beginning of Sept. When I first started lifting, I had serious DOMS, which I didn't really mind because it made me feel like it was…
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Just getting started- how does this look?
Hi All, I've been working up the courage to jump in here for a long time. But after a looonnnnggg time on VLCD I really need to be here. I want to get my metabolic rate cranking again and get out of the VLC trap. So, I've been playing with numbers and I think I've got it worked out. But it would help solo much if someone…
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Do my numbers look right?
Hi all. I am totally onboard with the concept of fueling the body adequately. And I keep running these numbers, hoping to see a bigger umber. But I guess being a small person just doesn't yield big numbers. Could someone please tell me if I've done thenumbers correctly? 40 yo female 5'3" 103 lbs 18% BF When I used the…
