Ms_Mac's Bulking Experiment

[ms_mac]

Treadmill run today:

7 miles
1 hour
6.5-8mph

And just for fun - today's eats:

Meal 1
40 grams oats
1\2 c egg whites
1\2 c pumpkin
100 gram container of Source yogurt

Meal 2
1 c jasmine rice
7 pcs of salmon bites
7 extra large black tiger shrimp
carrots, broc, cauliflower, arugula, cukes and tomatoes

Meal 3
Quest bar - chocolate chip cookie dough

Meal 4 - will be:
Sludge bowl:
protein powder, cottage cheese, strawberries, pb, Kashi Go Lean Crisp
70% dark chocolate square

Totals:
cals = 1716
fat = 56grams
carbs = 180grams (51grams of fiber)
pro=146

[DieselsMom]

Yum looks like a good day. I think the 200 cal less is more of a mental thing that true physical hunger as I am the same way and just think about food which makes it worse.

You make your runs sound so simple but man, I am trying to work back up and my pace is soooooo slow. 4km in 25-28min...

[ms_mac]

Yum looks like a good day. I think the 200 cal less is more of a mental thing that true physical hunger as I am the same way and just think about food which makes it worse.

You make your runs sound so simple but man, I am trying to work back up and my pace is soooooo slow. 4km in 25-28min...

You are right - it is just a mental thing. This week has been good as far as hunger goes. Nothing wrong that running pace. You have a pre existing injury, right? Best to start slow and don't push it.

Pull Day - Back, Traps and Bi's:

Pullups Assisted
4*5,4,4,4 - 30lbs assist

Pullups Unassisted - Neutral Grip
4*2,3,3,2

BB Row
4*8 - 100lbs

Low Row Machine
4*8 - 110lbs

Back Ext
4*15

Upright Row
4*8,6,6,6 - 90lbs

DB Shrugs
1*12 - 40lbs
3*8 - 50lbs

BB Curl
2*4,3 - 60lbs
1*7 - 50lbs
1*12 - 40lbs

Hammers
4*8 - 25lbs

[DieselsMom]

I do but was never a fast runner, best time was a 10k in 1:04. That be life I guess, I don't like running enough to work on learning how to increase me pace

Great work as always.

[ms_mac]

I do but was never a fast runner, best time was a 10k in 1:04. That be life I guess, I don't like running enough to work on learning how to increase me pace

Great work as always.

My fastest 10K was 58 min.....thats not too great either. But I don't care.

Speaking of running - speed intervals today:

2 - 1\4 mile repeats@9mph
2 - 1\4 mile repeats@9.5mph
2 - 200 meter repeats@10mph
1 - 1\4 mile repeat@9mph

4 miles total in 35 min. I was ready to puke after those 10mph stints.

[ms_mac]

Legs today:

Starting from scratch on my squats. Trying to figure out where my form starts to break down.

Bar - 12
65lbs - 10
95 - 8
115 - 5
135 - 6
135 -4 - so at about this weight my form goes to **** and can get to barely parallel. No way can I get ATG.
115 - 6
115 - 6

So I "think" there are a couple of things at play here. A - my lower back is weak and B - my legs are too long. I think its more of a lower back issue. Not sure how to combat this. Suggestions anyone?

Leg Press
4*8,8,7,7 - 330lbs

Calf Press
4*20- 330lbs

Lunges
2*8 - 25lbs
2*8 - 30lbs

Sumo Deads
4*6,5,6,3 - 135lbs

Lying Leg Curl
4*8,8,8,6 - 55lbs

Good Mornings - thinking these may help strengthen lower back as well as hamms?
4*6 - 65lbs - crappy weight...

DB Calf Raise
4*15 - 65lbs

Decline Situps
3*25,25,20

Oblique Crunch
3*12 - 30lbs

Saved some calories for a couple of glasses of wine tonight.

[tahinilove]

I'm so with you on the restarting squats - I think I personally try to increase the weight too soon and then I have to start over. I'm trying to persevere at a lower weight until my form is amazing, and then increase slowly. I always lose it at ~120lbs. The west-side style workout I'm doing has A LOT of lower back work so I'm hoping that will help!

I feel you on the low GM's weight - harder than they look! Definitely feel it on the hams too!

You are always so good with fibre. I'm barely scrimping 25g-30 these days - not wonder I overeat ha!

P.s your pumpkin oats sound amazing!

[DieselsMom]

Squat form is hard to say as I am not even sure if I have the best form either - take a vid and post for critique and see what the "experts" say. I think sometimes we want to keep moving forward at the sake of losing form and performing at a higher weight too fast. Also flexibility may be an issue?

[ms_mac]

I'm so with you on the restarting squats - I think I personally try to increase the weight too soon and then I have to start over. I'm trying to persevere at a lower weight until my form is amazing, and then increase slowly. I always lose it at ~120lbs. The west-side style workout I'm doing has A LOT of lower back work so I'm hoping that will help!

I feel you on the low GM's weight - harder than they look! Definitely feel it on the hams too!

You are always so good with fibre. I'm barely scrimping 25g-30 these days - not wonder I overeat ha!

P.s your pumpkin oats sound amazing!

Its so frustrating - those damn squats. I almost always - every single leg day - have to talk myself into even doing them. If I could substitute for something equally effective I would be so over that....but nothing beats the good ole squat for leg development and strength.

Squat form is hard to say as I am not even sure if I have the best form either - take a vid and post for critique and see what the "experts" say. I think sometimes we want to keep moving forward at the sake of losing form and performing at a higher weight too fast. Also flexibility may be an issue?

Vids - nada! I hate posting pics...vids ain't gonna happen. I am going to keep weight low for a while - til I am positive form is good even at high reps...then take it from there.

So a few days behind but here we go:

Mon - Chest, Shoulders and Tri's (home gym)

Bench
4*8,7,6,5 - 100lbs

Incline DB
4*8,7,6,6 - 40lbs

Decline BB
4*8 - 90lbs

DB Bench
4*6,5,4,4 - 40lbs

OHP
4*8,8,8,6 - 50lbs

T's
4*12,12,10,10 - 15lbs

Dips
4*8,6,6,5

Tri Press
4*8,8,7,7

Tues - Back, Traps, Bi's (home gym)

Pullups - Neutral Grip
4*6,4,3,2

Pullups - Wide Grip
4*1

BB Row
4*8 - 105lbs

Seated Row
4*8 - 65lbs plus cable resistance

Upright Row
4*8 - 25lbs plus cable resistance

Shrugs
4*8,8,8,7 - 50lbs

BB Curl
4*8,7,7,7 - 50lbs

Hammers
4*8 - 25lbs

Today - Trail run - 8 miles - 1:15..

[ms_mac]

Cardio on the treadmill today - Incline work.

Speed set at a constant 4mph. Incline ladders from 1% up to 15% and then back down to 5%. 50 min total, 3.25 miles.

Eats for the day:

M1
oats, whites, banana, yogurt, fat free sugar free coffee cream in my coffee

M2
cauliflower pizza topped with ham, mozza and pineapple

M3
Quest chocolate chip cookie dough

M4
sludge bowl - pp, greek yogurt, pb, peanut butter cheerios, dark chocolate

And 1 6 oz glass of wine

Total cals - 1783
Total fat - 47 grams
Total carbs - 180 grams ( 42 grams fibre)
Total protein - 150 grams
Total alcohol - 19 grams

[ms_mac]

So weigh in today - 119.8 3 weeks in - started July 4th with a weight of 123.8. I do NOT want to go any lower, so now to find maintenance from now til Vegas....I am going to add in 50-100 cals this week and see what happens.

Legs today:

Squats
4*7,7,6,4 - 115lbs

Leg Press\Calf Press
4*8,8,7,6 and 3*25 - 330lbs

Rack Deads
4*8 - 135lbs

Good Mornings
4*6 - 65lbs

Seated Leg Curl
4*8- 60lbs

DB Calf Raise
3*12 - 70lbs in each hand

[ms_mac]

Push Day - Chest, Shoulders, Tri's and Abs:

Bench
4*8,7,6,7 - 105lbs

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

Decline BB
4*8,8,8,6 - 95lbs

DB Bench
4*6,8,7,5 - 40lbs

OHP
4*8,8,8,7 - 50lbs

Plate Raise
4*8 - 10K plate (22lbs)

CGBP
45lbs*8
55lbs*8
60lbs*8
65lbs*6

Cable Tri Pressdown
4*8,6,6,5 - 90lbs

OB Twist
3*12 - 5K plate

Hanging Leg Raise
3*20,15,15

Ab Machine
1*6 - 60lbs
2*12 - 50lbs

Eats for the day:

M1 (post w\o)
1 tbls Holy Crap cereal mixed with 175 grams greek yogurt and a banana

M2
6:1 Protein Bar - Cookies and Cream

M3 - Spaghetti and Garlic Bread, with Caesar salad
4 oz 93% lean ground beef
3\4 c marinara
1 bag of shirataki noodles
1 thick slice of Italian bread topped with 1 tsp roasted garlic olive oil and 15 grams mozza
2 oz lettuce, 1 tbls bacon bits, 2 tbls croutons, 1 tbls Boathouse Farms Caesar Parm Dressing

M4
1\2 c cottage cheese mixed with 1 individual container of strawberry yogurt

M5 - Sludge bowl
1 scoop pp, 1 tbls pb, 16 grams 70% dark chocolate, 40 grams peanut butter cheerios and 5 oz strawberries

Total Cals = 1853, Total Fat = 53, Total Carbs = 194 (28 fibre), Total Pro = 151

[DieselsMom]

Wow great work - your body must love you!!! I wish it was that easy....for me anyways.

How does your cauliflower crust turn out? Mine been crumbly and haven't been able to get it crisp but love my "pizza"

Nice bench

[tahinilove]

I agree with you - squats really are frustrating!!

Wow - well done! Your metabolism must be on fire. You must be SO lean right now!

I've been wondering about the cauliflower crust too! Does it taste good?

[ms_mac]

Wow great work - your body must love you!!! I wish it was that easy....for me anyways.

How does your cauliflower crust turn out? Mine been crumbly and haven't been able to get it crisp but love my "pizza"

Nice bench

I agree with you - squats really are frustrating!!

Wow - well done! Your metabolism must be on fire. You must be SO lean right now!

I've been wondering about the cauliflower crust too! Does it taste good?

Thanks ladies. I was thinking I would only loose maybe a 1\2 lb per week so I was really only looking for 3-4 lbs anyway, just enough to reduce the bit of lower belly fluff. But even after 4lbs ...its still somewhat there, but I don't care anymore. Even though I still have the belly fluff, I feel ....small.....and not in a good way. Bring on more food.

Cauliflower pizza crust is...well, not like pizza crust. Mine is never crispy either...but this time I used a new recipe and it was more bready, so I could pick it up and not have to use a knife and fork. But it does taste good....not YUMMMMM good, but decent.

Cardio today and the weather sucked - thunderstorms and heavy rain so I had to hit the treadmill. 7 miles in 65 min, speed from 4.5-7.5 mph.

Eats:

M1
2 eggs, 2 small slices Italian bread and a tomato

M2
oats, blueberries and greek yogurt

M3
Lobster roll - 225 grams of lobster, 2 tbls mayo and a bit of lettuce stuffed in a sprouted grain roll
arugula, yellow zucchini and tomato sauteed in a bit of olive oil

M4
Quest bar - double choc chunk

M5
High protein choc oatmeal bake topped with pb greek yogurt frosting and dark chocolate

Total cals = 1850
Total fat = 60
Total carbs = 201 (48 fibre)
Total pro = 153

[ms_mac]

Pull day - Back, Traps and Bi's:

Pullups
4*5,5,4,4 - neutral grip
4*2,2,1,0 - wide grip

BB Row
4*7,6,6,6 - 110lbs

Seated Row
4*8,8,8,7 - 70lbs plus cable resistance

Upright Row
4*8,8,7,7 - 30lbs plus cable resistance

BB Shrugs
4*8 - 110lbs

Incline Curls
4*8 - 20lbs

Con Curls
4*8 - 20lbs

Eats:

M1
2 tbls Holy Crap Cereal, mixed with 1\2 c unsweetened choc almond milk, 175 grams greek yogurt and 5 oz strawberries

M2
3 white cheddar rice cakes topped with 3 slices deli turkey, 3 tomato slices, 1 oz pineapple, 1 oz goat cheese and 1 oz fat free cheddar - broiled til the cheese melted.

M3
Salmon burger on a whole grain bun topped with a pickle, tomato, lettuce and onion, with roasted cauliflower and baby carrots and arugula.

M4
Quest Double Choc Chunk

M5 - Sludge bowl
1.5 scoops pp, pb, blueberries, pb cheerios, dark choc

Pre Bed
6 oz glass of white wine.

Total cals = 1990...woops- glass of wine put me over. Do I care?????
Fat = 64
carbs = 199 (50 fibre)
pro = 149
alcohol = 19

[tahinilove]

I'm sure the feeling fluffy is psychological - I look back at pictures when I thought I was fluffy; if only I knew what being fluffy actually feels like ha!

Shame about the cauliflower pizza. I'm not that into pizza though, thankfully. Bread however? I'm all over that

Great workouts! Love how you always splurge with your wine - lady has her needs!

[ms_mac]

I'm sure the feeling fluffy is psychological - I look back at pictures when I thought I was fluffy; if only I knew what being fluffy actually feels like ha!

Shame about the cauliflower pizza. I'm not that into pizza though, thankfully. Bread however? I'm all over that

Great workouts! Love how you always splurge with your wine - lady has her needs!

You are probably right. As long as I look decent in my bikini though...all that matters. I bought a new one for our trip but I took a pic in the dressing room and sent to hubby for opinions....I got the thumbs up....so its all good.

Today - sprints:

1 - 400 metres @ 9mph
3 - 400 metres @ 9.5mph
2 - 400 metres @ 10mph - did not quite make the last one..

4 miles total in 35 min.

There WILL be wine on the menu again tonight...

[DieselsMom]

You are probably right. As long as I look decent in my bikini though...all that matters. I bought a new one for our trip but I took a pic in the dressing room and sent to hubby for opinions....I got the thumbs up....so its all good.

Today - sprints:

1 - 400 metres @ 9mph
3 - 400 metres @ 9.5mph
2 - 400 metres @ 10mph - did not quite make the last one..

4 miles total in 35 min.

There WILL be wine on the menu again tonight...

I bet more than his thumb was up hehehe


Great work. Keep it up

[ms_mac]

Weigh in today - after increasing cals by just 50 - 121.....after last week's 119.8. How the hell is a woman supposed to find maintenance anyway??? I have calculated my maintenance - if using 120lbs to be about 1854 - using an average of 3 methods. Anybody got a better calculator? Maybe I'll just start bulking now.....grrrrr

Gonna stop weighing again I think, no matter what the number is it just pisses me off.

Off to do legs - will report back later..

[ms_mac]

I bet more than his thumb was up hehehe


Great work. Keep it up

Lol!!! Sorry, I missed this post earlier.

Legs today:

Squats
4*8 - 115lbs - happy with these today. All reps arse all the way down. Gonna add a bit of weight next week..

Machine Leg Press superset with Calf Press
3*10,10,12 and 3*25,20,20 - whole stack...no one seems to know how much weigh this is and the plates are only numbered from 1 to 20..

BB Lunge
3*8 - 75lbs
1*6 - 90lbs

Sumo Deads
4*4 - 155lbs

Lying Leg Curl
4*8 - 55lbs

Good Mornings
4*8,6,6,6 - 65lbs

DB Calf Raise
3*12,12, 8 - 75lbs - grip gave out before my calves did.

And done.

Edit - just registered to run a 10K race - TOMORROW! I have never run right after training legs so this should be..................interesting

[ms_mac]

Sat - Aug 2nd - ran a 10K race - 55:20......not too bad considering my legs were pretty much toast.

Sun - Rest

Today - Push Day: trained at home..

Bench
5*6,6,5,4,4 - 105

BB Incline
4*6,6,5,4 - 90

BB Decline
4*8,8,8,6 - 95

Weighted Pushups
4*3,4,2,2 - 52.5lbs kid. - yes, I weighed him..LOL!!

OHP
4*8,8,6,6 - 55

Plate Raise
4*10,10,10,8 - 25

Decline CGBP
4*10 - 65

OH ext
4*6,5,5,4 - 35

[ms_mac]

Tues - cardio sprint day:

1 sprint@9.5mph
4 sprints @10mph
1 sprint @9mph

5K total - 28 min.

Today - Pull Day - Back, Traps and Bi's:

Rack Deads
4*4,4,4,3 - 175lbs

BB Rows
4*8,8,6,5 - 110lba

Pulldowns
4*7,7,7,6 - 100lbs

One Arm Row
4*8 - 40lbs

Cable Row
4*8,7,6,5 - 90lbs

Bent Over Row
3*12 - 20lbs

BB Reverse Curl
1*10 - 60lbs
1*10 - 70lbs
2*8 - 80lbs

Incline Curl
3*12 - 20lbs

Thats it for weights for the week for me. Running a 5K fun run Fri night and a half marathon Sunday morning. I am purposely not training legs as I want to be fresh for the half..

[DieselsMom]

Wow lots of races this last little while, good for you. Hope the weather holds out and you get nice days to run!

[beefcake66]

so much running.. lol
half marathon eh?!? BRUTAL!!
good luck with it!

[ms_mac]

Wow lots of races this last little while, good for you. Hope the weather holds out and you get nice days to run!

The Fri night run was touch and go. I was supposed to leave my house at 8:15....at 8 there was a loud clap of thunder and then the downpour started! I almost didn't go, but thought I would just take a drive out and see if maybe it might stop raining. Got the the venue and it was a drizzle, so I did it. They had fireworks as well during this so it was kind of nice. However I am not sure I like running in the dark.

so much running.. lol
half marathon eh?!? BRUTAL!!
good luck with it!

In all honesty I did not run that much in preparation for the 1\2. I was only running 2 days a week, 1 long run and 1 interval sprint run. Most long runs were done on the treadmill and only a handful outside. My longest training run for this race was just an 8 miler. So i did not train for this as well as I should have but I got er done.

Fri 5K Into the Night Race - 29:30

Today Half Marathon - 1:59:34. Was pretty happy with this time considering I did not really train hard and this route was a BIATCH!! Hill after hill after hill after hilll........BRUTAL!

Imma drinking a whole bottle of wine today and eatin' a big ass piece of chocolate fudge cake too.

[dreahere]

Congrats on your races!

[beefcake66]

Imma drinking a whole bottle of wine today and eatin' a big ass piece of chocolate fudge cake too.

That's well deserved. I'd have a couple bottles and the whole cake after running a half marathon, personally........ lol

[DieselsMom]

Great work on your half - training smaining you did awesome.

Hope the wine and cake tasted delicious!

[ms_mac]

Congrats on your races!

Thanks Drea.

That's well deserved. I'd have a couple bottles and the whole cake after running a half marathon, personally........ lol

Well, I did have a whole bottle of wine, 2 bourbon and cinnamon schnapps shots, a donair with caesar salad and just 1 normal size piece of cake - I am sure it was well over the amount of calories I burned. LOL!!

Great work on your half - training smaining you did awesome.

Hope the wine and cake tasted delicious!

Thanks DM. I did enjoy but was slightly hung over Monday morning.

I did workout though, hung over and and all...

Mon - Chest, Shoulders, Tri and Abs:

Bench
4*2,3,3,2 - 105lbs.

DB Incline
4*8,8,8,7 - 40lbs

Decline BB
4*8 - 95lbs

DB Bench
4*8 - 35lbs

OHP
1*8 - 45lbs
3*5 - 55lbs

Plate Raise
4*6,6,5,5 - 15K plate

CGBP
4*8,8,6,6 - 65lbs

Tri Press
4*8,7,6,6

Ab Machine
1*15 - 50lbs
2*12,10 - 60lbs

HLR
3*15

Obliques
3*15 - 25lbs