Ms_Mac: The Saga Continues

[ms_mac]

Woops.....a wee bit behind in here...

Mon was hamms day:

RDL
4*3,2,2,2 - 165lbs

Good Mornings
3*12 - 65lbs

Leg Curl
3*8,6,6 - 50lbs

Glute Bridge
2*30 - 45lbs

DB Calf Raise
3*20 - 50lbs

Decline Leg Raise
3*20

Russian Twist
3*10 - 10lbs plate

Yesterday - Chest and Bi's:

Bench
10*2 - 120lbs

Incline Bench
3*8,6,6 - 95lbs

DB Decline Bench
3*12,10,8 - 40lbs

Incline Fly
2*25,20 - 20lbs

CB Curl
2*5,4 - 35lbs

BB Curl
2*12,10 - 55lbs

Hammers
1*20 - 20lbs

Today was supposed to be HIIT but I bagged it and swapped for a nice easy 5K run outside with hubby!

Thats it.

[ms_mac]

Back and shoulders today:

Neutral grip pullups
3*4

Rack deads
4*4,4,3,3 - 185lbs

BB Row
3*10,7,7 - 85lbs

Narrow Grip pulldowns
3*8,8,6 - 70lbs

Wide grip pulldowns
2*40

Bradford press
4*5,5,4,4- 55lbs

DB Press
1*6 - 35lbs
2*8 - 30lbs

Side lateral
3*8 - 20lbs

Upright row
1*30 - 25lbs

Eats for today:

M1
oats and whites

M2
2 whole eggs and 4 whites

M3
BLT, egg and cheddar on a weight watchers bun
peas and carrots

M4
cottage cheese, almonds, cocoa and strawberries

M5
sludge bowl consisting of pp, blueberries, pb and choc cheerios

Cals = 1872
fat = 57
carbs = 151
pro - 198

[kimm4]

A nice run with hubby instead of HIIT...I like it!

Nice to see you're still going strong, good stuff!

[ms_mac]

A nice run with hubby instead of HIIT...I like it!

Nice to see you're still going strong, good stuff!

Hey! Thanks for dropping in....not as strong as you, my friend


So here is my weekly progress report:

Started at 131.8 on Feb 4th

Feb 10th - 127.2
Feb 17th - 125.8
Feb 24th - 125.6
March 2nd - 125.2
March 9th - 124.4
March 16th - 122.4
March 23rd - 125.2 - WTF??? Damn Scale

So I increased by 25 carbs last week because of a 2lb weight drop the week before and this is my reward?? A freakin' 3 lb gain?? Whatever! Still 6lbs down at the end of week 7 so I'm okay with it. Will keep on keepin' on. Next week is the half way mark for the OBF and this cut so I will post updated pics then.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

[gobbles23]

Great progress! Stupid water fluctuations!

Can't wait for progress piccies! Woot!

[dreahere]

Great progress! Stupid water fluctuations!

Can't wait for progress piccies!

^^^Same!

[ms_mac]

Great progress! Stupid water fluctuations!

Can't wait for progress piccies! Woot!

+

^^^Same!

I feel like I haven't made any progress with my bulk....I just feel "small" Hopefully when I post pics it will be a different story..

Today was quads and tri's:

BB Squat
4*5,5,4,4 - 175lbs -form sucked on the last set, so I am going to hang at this weight for a while.

Front Squat
3*8 - 95lbs

BBS
3*12,9,9 - 45lbs

DB Squat
2*30 - 20lbs

CGBP
2*5,4 - 115lbs

Skulls
2*11,9 - 45lbs

Tri Pressdown
1*20

Eats

M1
carrot cake oats - oats and whites wiht grated carrot, cinnamon, nutmeg and topped with lite cream cheese and sweetener

M2
Starbucks Venti Skinny Caramel Machiato

M3 - CHEAT at an Italian restaurant
Shared an order of garlic cheese bread with hubby
chicken souvlaki pita and caesar salad
blackout chocolate torte - DID NOT SHARE WITH HUBBY
a glass of red wine

Totals - estimated..

Cals = 2027
Fat = 81
carb = 193
pro = 94

[ms_mac]

HIIT cardio today:

5 intervals at 10 mph - 45 sec
5 intervals at 9 mph - 1 min
1 min walk, 1 min jog in between. Total time - 31 min.

Eats:

M1
oat bran and egg whites

M2
Sludge bowl

M3
salmon, broccoli, spinach salad

M4
cottage cheese
blueberries
cacao nibs

M5
Big sludge bowl:
pp
blueberries
pb
cacao nibs
cheerios
greek yogurt

Macros:
cals = 1877
fat = 59
carb = 160
pro = 206

[ms_mac]

Hams, calves and abs today:

RDL
4*3,3,3,2 - 165lbs

DBDL
3*12,10,8 - 40lbs
3*12,10,10 - 30lbs

Lying leg curl
2*40,30

Standing calf raise
6*30

Hanging leg raise - legs touching the top of the power rack these were HARD!
3*6,5,4

Obliques
3*12 - 30lbs

Eats:

M1
oat bran, whites, blueberries

M2
eggs and whites

M3
chicken topped with pizza sauce and goat cheese
spaghetti squash
broccoli

M4
protein shake

M5
my reg nightly sludge bowl

Cals = 1847
fat = 60
carb = 149
pro = 205

[newbeginning828]

Hi Ms.Mac!!! Looks like you've been kicking butt in here! As always I love your foods yuuum! Can't wait to see your piccies!

[ms_mac]

Hi Ms.Mac!!! Looks like you've been kicking butt in here! As always I love your foods yuuum! Can't wait to see your piccies!

Thanks - hoping pics show some muscle growth ...

Tues was Chest and Bi's:

Bench
4*2 - 120lbs
1*1 - 120lbs

Incline DB Press
3*12,12,10 - 35lbs

Decline Bench
3*10,8,8

Bench
2*30,25

BB Curl
2*3 - 75lbs

CB Curl
2*10,8 - 25lbs

Cable curl
1*30

Macros - cals = 1899, fat = 57, carb = 163, pro = 195

Wed - cardio only - 40 min LISS random program on the treadmill

Macros - cals = 1891, fat= 67, carbs = 156, pro = 195

Today - Back and Shoulders

Neutral Grip Pullups
4*5,4,3,3

BB Row
4*5,4,4,3 - 110lbs

Wide Grip pulldowns
3*8,7,7 = 60lbs

Reverse Grip Narrow pulldowns
3*8,6,6 - 70lbs

BNP
4*6,5,5,4 - 65lbs

Arnolds
3*12 - 20lbs

Front\side raise - double arms
3*12,12,8 - 10lbs

BB Shrug
2*40,30 - 45lbs

[ms_mac]

So weekly update for me:

131.6 Starting weight


Feb 10 2012 127.2 week 1
feb 17 2012 125.8 week 2
Feb 24 2012 125.6 week 3
March 2 2012 125.2 week 4
March 9 2012 124.4 week 5
March 16 2012 122.4 week 6
March 23 2012 125.2 week 7
March 30 2012 123.6 week 8

So 8 lbs in 8 weeks - 8 weeks to go until the end of OBF. Here are some progress pics:









My lower half still needs work. Cals are going back to 1800 and I am adding an extra 30 min cardio session to hopefully get some butt fat off!

[dreahere]

Oh, your delts and quads especially look awesome! You are doing so well.

[newbeginning828]

^ I completely agree with drea!!! You look awesome.. your Bi's are amazing too!!! You're doing a great job

[WariorGoddess]

Congrats...looking good I started PMB a couple of weeks ago and am going at it hard-core...today I can barely move lol I keep an eye on your program as I use it as a guideline and motivation of course. How often should I change up my exercises? I like to be able to use the same ones as long as possible without compromising progression.

Keep up the good work

[ms_mac]

Oh, your delts and quads especially look awesome! You are doing so well.

+

^ I completely agree with drea!!! You look awesome.. your Bi's are amazing too!!! You're doing a great job

Thanks girls. My fear, though, is that I am still "small"...comparing to my last contest poc, it looks like by the end of this thing, I will still look the same - no muscle gain...wtf am I doing wrong? Been stuffing myself silly for over a year, lifting heavy, minimal cardio........just so frustrating....

Congrats...looking good I started PMB a couple of weeks ago and am going at it hard-core...today I can barely move lol I keep an eye on your program as I use it as a guideline and motivation of course. How often should I change up my exercises? I like to be able to use the same ones as long as possible without compromising progression.

Keep up the good work

Thanks! Do you like PMB? I change up about every 4 weeks or so. I have been keeping the power sets the same though and mixing the m and b sets every 4 weeks...that is just a personal preference though. If you are making gains without switching out, don't fix what ain't broke

So yesterday was leg day and my Sat CHEAT MEAL:

Squats:
4*5,5,5,4 - 175lbs

Calve raise
4*10 - 175lbs

Leg Ext
3*8,8,6 - 70lbs

Lunges
3*8 - 30lbs

Front squat
2*20 - 45lbs

Tri press
2*6,5

Dips
2*8,6

Skulls
1*20

Eats:

M1
ww toast with pp, pb and j

M2
my beloved Starbucks Caramel Macchiato

M3
footlong steak, egg white and cheese sub from Subway with all the fixings
triple choc chunk brownie

M4
my nightly sludge bowl

Totals:
cals = 2321, fat = 73, carbs = 264, pro = 166

Today - cardio
ran 4.25 miles in 40 min.

Eats:
M1
oat bran, egg whites and blueberries

M2
protein bar

M3
95% lean ground beef with cabbage and broccoli

M4
eggs and whites

M5
sludge bowl

Cals = 1770, fat = 57, carb = 135, pro = 193

[ms_mac]

Today should have been ham day but my lower back was achey - I think from yesterday's run. So I switched to chest and bi's instead and will do hams tomorrow:

Bench
6*2 - 120lbs

Incline DB Press
3*9,8,8 - 40lbs

Decline Bench
3*11,10,9 - 95lbs

DB Press
2*40,30 - 20lbs

BB Curl
2*4,3 - 75lbs

DB Curl
2*12,10 - 25lbs

Cable curl
1*35

I also tried another shot at IF today - mainly because I was going out to lunch with a couple of girl friends and didn't want to eat like a bird...what I had is from their healthy choice menu but it is alot of food. It is now 8:30 pm though and I still have 800 cals left ...and I am stuffed with 2 meals in me.

M1
chicken stir fry that is loaded with tons of veggies

M2
salad made of mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumber, radish, egg whites, goat cheese and a caesar yogurt dressing.

And with that I am full - macros so far:
Cals = 970, fat = 33, carb = 68, pro = 103.

Hopefully hunger will kick in before bed so I can get more cals in.

[ms_mac]

Did hammies today:

Racked the bar for rdl's - lifted off the ground and was not "feeling" these at all. Just did not have it in me to do these so I did 12 sets of sldl's using db's:

4*6 - 50lbs
2*8 - 45lbs
2*8 - 40lbs
2*8 - 35lbs
2*10 - 30lbs

Did not do the burn sets - hams were burning after this

Calf raise using db's:
2*20 - 50lbs
2*20 - 45lbs
2*20 - 40lbs

Obliques
4*10 - 35lbs

Decline leg raise
3*20

And once again here it is 9 pm and I only have 900 cals in with 900 to go. Looks like a couple of scoops of pp with a couple of tbls of pb again before bed. Just not hungry today...

[newbeginning828]

Did hammies today:

Racked the bar for rdl's - lifted off the ground and was not "feeling" these at all. Just did not have it in me to do these so I did 12 sets of sldl's using db's:

4*6 - 50lbs
2*8 - 45lbs
2*8 - 40lbs
2*8 - 35lbs
2*10 - 30lbs

Did not do the burn sets - hams were burning after this

Calf raise using db's:
2*20 - 50lbs
2*20 - 45lbs
2*20 - 40lbs

Obliques
4*10 - 35lbs

Decline leg raise
3*20

And once again here it is 9 pm and I only have 900 cals in with 900 to go. Looks like a couple of scoops of pp with a couple of tbls of pb again before bed. Just not hungry today...

Wish I had that problem But srs... I hope you are doing ok and there's not some underlying issue (sick, stress, etc)

[gobbles23]

IF does that to me too! When I go out to eat I do the same thing- and then one huge meal stuffs me so much that I can barely force any more into me Nice work in here!!

[-H-]

AWESOME pics!! Such great progress!
I think it just takes different amounts of time for different people. Some people around here and other blogs etc might lift for two years and get huge, and others takes longer, despite all the necessary stuff being done. You look awesome!!

[ms_mac]

Wish I had that problem But srs... I hope you are doing ok and there's not some underlying issue (sick, stress, etc)

Nope, its all good. Just not hungry yesterday, but I'm back to normal today.

IF does that to me too! When I go out to eat I do the same thing- and then one huge meal stuffs me so much that I can barely force any more into me Nice work in here!!

Its funny, though, I could eat my whole days calories in one JUNK meal...but to eat big healthy meals...STUFFED!

AWESOME pics!! Such great progress!
I think it just takes different amounts of time for different people. Some people around here and other blogs etc might lift for two years and get huge, and others takes longer, despite all the necessary stuff being done. You look awesome!!

I have been lifting for about 10 years though....seems I should have a bit more muscle to show for it. I am starting to wonder if the amount of protein I eat during a bulk might have something to do with it. In doing some research about the whole topic I may be wasting protein and not getting the carbs necessary to build significant muscle mass. So when I go back to bulking I am going to lower my protein from 200 grams to about 125, and eats lottsa carbs

Today - cardio - ran a 10K - 1 hour and 1min.. My next bulk will also include a bit more cardio....my endurance sucks since I put running on the back burner to bulk...

[-H-]

In doing some research about the whole topic I may be wasting protein and not getting the carbs necessary to build significant muscle mass. So when I go back to bulking I am going to lower my protein from 200 grams to about 125, and eats lottsa carbs

This is interesting!!!
Stil, you look great and def have lotsa muscle.

[dreahere]

Do you have any good links to share about the protein/carb ratio and muscle building? I'd be really interested in reading more about this too.

[gobbles23]

I was reading this today:

Muscle Gain Mistakes:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...-mistakes.html

And Lyle pretty much says anything over 1.5g per lb is overkill and to shoot for 1-1.5g. And that even raising to 1.5g may have a small accumulative effect but nothing huge.

This is pretty interesting too:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...mass-gain.html

There are tons of articles on Lyles site about muscle gain. I'm going to read every one of them a billion times until they're embedded in my brain

[ms_mac]

This is interesting!!!
Stil, you look great and def have lotsa muscle.

Thanks for the vote of confidence

Do you have any good links to share about the protein/carb ratio and muscle building? I'd be really interested in reading more about this too.

Thought I bookmarked them, but of course when I need them asap, not ther I'll dig them up and post later.

I was reading this today:

Muscle Gain Mistakes:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...-mistakes.html

And Lyle pretty much says anything over 1.5g per lb is overkill and to shoot for 1-1.5g. And that even raising to 1.5g may have a small accumulative effect but nothing huge.

This is pretty interesting too:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/mus...mass-gain.html

There are tons of articles on Lyles site about muscle gain. I'm going to read every one of them a billion times until they're embedded in my brain

Thanks for these. BOOKMARKED so I can read later. Most "experts" do recommend 1-1.5 grams which would mean I would need no more than about 180 grams. Most days I am up t0 200+. So I am trying an experiment this week - swapping out 20 grams of protein for 20 grams of carbs.

So yesterday was back and shoulders:

Pullups
4*5,4,4,3

BB Row
4*5,4,4,4 - 115lbs

WG Pulldowns
3*8,7,7 - 60lbs

NG Pulldowns
3*9,8,8 - 60lbs

BNP
4*5,5,4,4 - 65lbs

Arnolds
3*9,8,7

Front\side raise
3*8

DB Shrug
1*40 - 20lbs

Today is a rest day and weigh in so here it is:

131.6 Starting weight

Feb 10 2012 127.2
feb 17 2012 125.8
Feb 24 2012 125.6
March 2 2012 125.2
March 9 2012 124.4
March 16 2012 122.4
March 23 2012 125.2
March 30 2012 123.6
April 6 2012 119.6WTF???

So yeah, 4lbs down this week, 3 lbs up a couple weeks ago - all over the place here. Not going to make any changes this week, I'll wait and see what next week brings...

[newbeginning828]

Woa.. crazy scale! Yea, I wouldn't change anything either yet... til things settle a bit. That way you can get a really clear picture of what is going on.

Great workout! My traps would be killing me!

[ms_mac]

Woa.. crazy scale! Yea, I wouldn't change anything either yet... til things settle a bit. That way you can get a really clear picture of what is going on.

Great workout! My traps would be killing me!

I know,eh? I have news......My husband accidently left the sink running in the bathroom the other day....MAJOR FLOOD.....ruined my scale...NOT REPLACING IT! At least I am going to do my best to not give in and get one....wish me luck...

Sat - Quads and Tris':

Squats
6*5,5,5,4,4,3 - 175lbs

Leg EXt
4*8 - 70lbs
2*10 - 60lbs

Tri Ext
3*6,5,4

Dips
3*8,8,6

Dropping the burn sets from this program. I HATE them.....anything over about 12 reps drives me CRAZY! I lasted longer with them this time around though than the last time I did PMB..

Eats for Sat:

M1
Starbucks Caramel Macchiato - skinny, venti

M2
FF Greek yogurt
pumpkin
ff cream cheese
walnuts and coconut

M3
Extra lean ground beef
Spaghetti squash
marinara
goat cheese

M4
BIG ASS Sludge bowl because I had about 900 cals left at 10 pm - went out to see a local bb show here and didn't bring any food.

Macros:
cals = 1712, fat = 52, carb= 163, pro = 157

Yesterday was cardio - 30 LISS on the treadmill

Eats - deplorable

M1
Skor Caramel Apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

M2
turkey
mashed potatoes
gravy
stuffing
cranberries
green beans
rolls
carrot cake
wine

M3
little bitty sludge bowl

Macros
DON'T KNOW.......DON'T CARE....

Back to normal today:

Chest and Bi's:

Bench
6*3 - 115lbs

Incline DB Press
4*10,8,8,6 - 40lbs

Decline Bench
4*12,10,8,8 - 95lbs

BB Curl
4*4,3,3,2 - 75lbs

DB Curl
3*12 - 25lbs

Only M1 in so far:

oats, whites and pumpkin.

Be back later tonight with the rest of the day's menu..

[dreahere]

I know,eh? I have news......My husband accidently left the sink running in the bathroom the other day....MAJOR FLOOD.....ruined my scale...NOT REPLACING IT! At least I am going to do my best to not give in and get one....wish me luck...

Good luck!

Macros
DON'T KNOW.......DON'T CARE....

Sounds like you had a lovely holiday!

[newbeginning828]

Yuuuum soo much good eats! Looks like you had a great Easter
Neeeh don't worry about that scale... what do you need that thing for anyway right