LOL! Not me this time on the cardio. I swore this time that I would be more faithful to my goal of bulking and stop all the silly cardio and so far I am doing that. It is amazing how much easier it is to gain. Duuuuhhhhhh! BTW: Since you have done a bulk please add to this thread your learnings!
I am so amazed at my good health today.... It is nearly 100% no pain now... Today I am walking down the hall at work with gratitude for my health contemplating if this is worth it. Then I remembered what I said yesterday.
Yesterday as I am lying on the examination table the very young Dr asks me if there are any accidents that she should be aware of. I suggested that perhaps the ankle injury was one since the bolts are still there and visable even to the nakid eye. She asked how that was done and I told her in a moto-cross accident. She said I had probably suffered from whip lash too during that one. My reply to her was, "Honey if that is the kind of information you need to know then let me tell you about the many, many times I have come off horses, four-wheelers, crashed cars, played tackle football, fallen from obstacle courses, etc. I have logged 3 medically diagnosed concussions and 2 suspected ones in my athletic life and too many hospital visits to remember. I think you will see that this old body is worn and torn." There was a silence as she contemplated what to say next... So I continued, "You see when I die, I want to fall into my grave with cuts, bruises, broken bones, a steak in one hand, beer in the other all the while exclaiming "Wow what a ride!!!!"...."
She cracked up and did not ask for any more information after that. Just fixed all the places that were out.....
Eats today are good and I am really starting to like this macro blend in fact. I am begining to fear that I will have to give it up now. I had another big juicy steak at work today... Ummmm....
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
I cannot offer you a ton of advice given I do not know you but I can offer you the lessons I learned from doing bulk 1 and now bulk 2. Alan has been SOOOOO helpful for me in bulk 2 and this one is going so much better. The devil of bulking is really in your mind and on the scale. You question yourself and everything you are doing as you watch in horror 'cause the scale is going up. You start to see rolls of fat on your frame. With Alan, I am relaxed knowing that my diet is optimized for my goal. All the myths that exist about fats, carbs, protein, he just cuts through them. Recently some of my bber girl friends informed me that I should not eat fats post workout and Alan pointed me to one of his articles that debunked that myth. The cool thing about his articles are they are backed by numberous independent science based studies. That pice of mind has been priceless for me.
Here are the main lessons I learned from my own personal experience
1. bf% measuring is mostly stupid/useless. (new learning) The Bio-impedence fat measuring devices are useless even for trending. Throw away all the fat machines and use the mirror and how your clothing fits to tell you whatz up. Get your diet correct and relax already knowing that you are doing the right thing.
2. Cardio is not necesarry either in the bulk or the cut. It really can really all be done with diet and lifting.
3. Cardio in the bulk is actually somewhat defeating. Let go of it already will ya???!! Walking is a great form of cardio IF you must.
4. You need to set a bulk time of a minimum of 3 months. I think that longer is better. Reason is that the first two months you are just starting to get into your strength from the extra food and just starting to get used to the eating thing. Turning it around so soon would not give you enough time to really build LBM.
5. The first two months you will gain weight really fast. Get over it already and pull out the bulky sweaters. Your body will fill up with water/glycogen and if you have been sick lean, your body will need to get up to a more normal bf%. It's all good.
6. Lift really, really heavy and hard. Take advantage of your new body and strength and get into a program that challenges you to keep pushing new boundaries. The program Alan has me on is ideal or NROL strength, hypertrophy or something similar. Remember this is about putting on muscle. Do it!!!!
7. SURPRISE you are still on a diet! One of the most suprising things to me when I went on the bulk was that it wasn't easier in any way than a cut. In fact it was even harder. On the cut you can cut back on the meals and relax a bit more on eating and run around like crazy if you want. On the bulk you have to eat consistantly and you still have to fit the right calories and macros in. Damn, looks like I will forever be on a diet. Get over it. It is a good thing.
Thank you very much well for the detailed response! I've pasted it to a Word document so I can refer to it often!
Karla, you made my day! LOLOLOL on your adventurous accidents and your future ride to the grave. May it be postponed for a long time.
Nice isn't it to up fats? As long as it is functional and works.. it's all good.
It's true for every phase: maintaining is pretending to be on a cut, but add more freebies.
Bulking is (for someone who overeats too easily) pretending to be on a cut, but eat a LOT more food.
Seeing my bulk was not as true as it should have been as I trained for a 1/2 marathon during some of it. I guess the only real thing I can add to the bulk discussion is this.
1. Being a former fat person and fighting my weight for the past 20 some odd years, trust your program and yourself. It was really difficult for me to see the scale go up and not completely freak the heck out. Sure I gained some fat, but if your doing a bulk after losing weight, believe in yourself that you will take off the fat.
2. You can not lift heavy stuff on a deficit for any length of time. Sure for the first week or so when I stopped eating so much my strength was the same. It did not last. I got weaker as it went on.
3. You will probably look much more fit and maybe even "skinner" to those around you with more muscle. Everyone kept asking me if I was loosing weight during my bulk. UM no I gained 10 pounds. My clothes still fit the same, but my body was better proportioned then before.
Have fun with it. If your working your butt off in the gym, you will find the reward on your plate and then in the mirror.
Karla, thanks for sharing the info about the bulk. I hope to do this someday in the future. For now, its fat loss. I am starting to come to terms with less cardio is better. I still find myself rationalizing more then 30 minutes, but have been able to cut back more and more. And surprise! I am losing.
Did visit number 2 at the chiro today. Again I feel a bunch better and can nearly move my neck 100% ROM now. My back is sore as hell however. It is muscle related. She thinks I actually potentially did some sort of tear on my left romboid. Whoever heard of that? Sigh.....
Friday, November 07, 2008
x
125.9
NA
2620
236
237
90.8
Saturday, November 08, 2008
R
125.80
NA
2323
234
138
100.9
Sunday, November 09, 2008
R
126.40
NA
2344
254
127
95
Monday, November 10, 2008
x
126.60
NA
2535
233
237
85.4
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
R
125.80
NA
2081
236
96
90.4
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
R
125.60
NA
2380
234
175
89.4
Thursday, November 13, 2008
x
126.60
NA
2617
252
213
92.6
Workout was interesting. I started with static lunges and bb but found that I could not keep the 45lb bar on my back without the muscles screaming back there. Perhaps it was because I just left from the chiro's office and they did not want to work. I even still had the menthol balm on. LOL! Interestingly my shoulders also ached when I reached back and up to grab the bb. I felt so weak. So I gave up and did dumbells instead. I decided then to do 5 sets of everything at 80% and to slow the tempo in order to reach some level of intensity and to remain somewhat relaxed and safe. I know this is a variation but I am just too broken to throw down like I did the first week of this program. My heart was beating quickly and I was was working even though the weights are not very high. I am dissappointed in my health right now but am trying to remain positive and safe as I realize this is worse than I originally thought. I am taking tomorrow off as another rest day and then on Saturday I am meeting up with the trainer that rehabed my hamstring. He said he wanted to help me ease back into upper body workout and make sure that we are isolating muscles that I can workout and not hitting the injured muscles. Again it is a compromise but if it keeps me safe all is good. I have no fucking clue how I did all of this. I hate that about me. I wish I felt pain as it was happening instead of after the damage is done.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Rest=60 sec and tempo = 2x2
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Weight
Notes
Quads 1 - Hack Squat
4
9-12
each leg
1x12x45
1x12x50
1x12x60
2x10x60
started with bb but had to switch to db due to back pain
Ham 1 - prone ham machine
4
9-12
1x12x20
4x12x30
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Quads 2 - Leg Press
4
9-12
1x12x90lb
3x12x160lb
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Ham 2 - Swiss ham curl
4
9-12
5x12xbw
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Low Back 1 - extensions
4
9-12
NA
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Abs 1 - hanging leg raise obliques
3
15
3x12 each side
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Low Back 2 - NA
4
9-12
NA
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Abs 2 - bench crunch and reach
3
15
3x15
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Calves 1 - standing calf raise
4
9-12
1x12x180
4x12x360
warm up sets as specified in notes below
NOTES:
1st exerces 2 warmup sets one light, one mod and 2 sets to failure
2nd exercise 1 warmup mod and 3 sets to failure
Did have one highlight in this workout. When I got to put 8 plates on the leg press for my calf raises. LOL! Don't know why that was a highlight. It just was. My calf and lower leg muscles are looking amazing right now.
I am too tired now to do anything but fall asleep. This chiro/injury thing is taking a lot out of me. Good night all!
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
I have no fucking clue how I did all of this. I hate that about me. I wish I felt pain as it was happening instead of after the damage is done.
I can sure relate to that! It's so frustrating to be injured without knowing how you did it. I'm glad your workout had a bright spot in spite of the health problems.
__________________
"Time and patience are the 2 elements that most people don't include in their plans."
-Alan Aragon
"The scale simply tells you how much the earth loves you on a particular day."
-Ogedei (Keith)
I usually know HOW I did it (or at least when?) - it's just that I hurt myself in ridiculous stupid ways... like I once threw my neck out while brushing my hair. Nothing obvious - I was just standing there doing what I do every morning and I felt the "snap" in my neck and that was it - no movement at all for a week. Also did that once (put out my neck) rolling over at 3am... sigh...
Karla, I'm just getting caught up on your log (I've been sidetracked by the Twilight series and haven't had many non-work related human conversations in a week ) and have to comment on your propensity for out-of-nowhere injuries. Just last week, I was walking around feeling like a million bucks-- season ended on a high, I'm making huge gains in the bench press (a very short-term goal, but gets me some good looks in the gym) and chin ups, and I feel so good. And then, as I was warming up doing some kettlebell clean and presses, something happened in my shoulder, and seconds later I couldn't extend my arm. What the hell? In any case, I iced and Advil-ed, and the pain was largely gone in a few days. But I've learned to appreciate these little injuries as reminders that I'm doing everything I want to do, and doing it well. And I'm really, really lucky. I hope things feel better for you, soon. I am a huge fan of my chiropractor!
I'm walking 60 miles for a breast cancer cure, September 11-13, 2009! Please support my walk and help me raise funds for cancer research by donating to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/...nal&fr_id=1300
Hey Karla - sorry to hear about the pain issues. I have to say that the few times I've ended up with pulled muscles I can never truly pin it down to 'I did this and it hurt'. It's usually the next day when I know that something isn't right. Of course I also end up with big freakin' bruises at time too (that I can't identify why), so maybe I'm just odd that way.
Take care, and hope you're back to full strength soon. Although, your 80% is pretty impressive as well you know.
Yesterday as I am lying on the examination table the very young Dr asks me if there are any accidents that she should be aware of. I suggested that perhaps the ankle injury was one since the bolts are still there and visable even to the nakid eye. She asked how that was done and I told her in a moto-cross accident. She said I had probably suffered from whip lash too during that one. My reply to her was, "Honey if that is the kind of information you need to know then let me tell you about the many, many times I have come off horses, four-wheelers, crashed cars, played tackle football, fallen from obstacle courses, etc. I have logged 3 medically diagnosed concussions and 2 suspected ones in my athletic life and too many hospital visits to remember. I think you will see that this old body is worn and torn." There was a silence as she contemplated what to say next... So I continued, "You see when I die, I want to fall into my grave with cuts, bruises, broken bones, a steak in one hand, beer in the other all the while exclaiming "Wow what a ride!!!!"...."
She cracked up and did not ask for any more information after that. Just fixed all the places that were out.....
This totally cracked me up!!! Good for you Karla ... so many of these doctors want us to sit on the sidelines so we don't get anything out of whack!!
__________________
Life's a Journey ... Enjoy the Ride!
I can sure relate to that! It's so frustrating to be injured without knowing how you did it. I'm glad your workout had a bright spot in spite of the health problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
I usually know HOW I did it (or at least when?) - it's just that I hurt myself in ridiculous stupid ways... like I once threw my neck out while brushing my hair. Nothing obvious - I was just standing there doing what I do every morning and I felt the "snap" in my neck and that was it - no movement at all for a week. Also did that once (put out my neck) rolling over at 3am... sigh...
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcoy777
Keep you head up. You will bounce back soon enough and stronger then ever.
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodfromafar
Hope the back sorts itself out soon, Karla. You are wise to rest it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by realcdn
Hey Karla - sorry to hear about the pain issues. I have to say that the few times I've ended up with pulled muscles I can never truly pin it down to 'I did this and it hurt'. It's usually the next day when I know that something isn't right. Of course I also end up with big freakin' bruises at time too (that I can't identify why), so maybe I'm just odd that way.
Take care, and hope you're back to full strength soon. Although, your 80% is pretty impressive as well you know.
You guys all did it!!! Your well wishes helped me. Or maybe it was the nearly whole 5th of vodka that I consumed on Sat night. Seriously I got so drunk that when I woke up after a good 7 hours of sleep I was still quite drunk. It was really weird though cause I woke up with no pain anywhere. The nearest we can figure is that I released all the tension I was holding in my back in my drunken and relaxed stupor. How cool is that?!!! So now you know what to do if you get injured. Vodka and orange juice.
I was a bit weirded out about this the next morning because I remember about the daily report ins with Alan. I wasn't sure what his response might be to this evening of immaturity. He was great about it and laughed and was happy for me that the pain was gone so magically. I sent in my numbers for the day and night and near as I can tell I consumed some 900 cals in alchohol and 460 in Orange juice. That said I tried to plan around that during the day and get good foods in too. The next day I could not eat very much so it sort of made up for all the extra calories. Of course all those calories were empty. In any case Alan's response to the numbers was that it really wasn't too bad considering.... Whoopsie....
Quote:
Originally Posted by UConnJulie
This totally cracked me up!!! Good for you Karla ... so many of these doctors want us to sit on the sidelines so we don't get anything out of whack!!
He he he.... I am a Drs worst nightmare.
Tonight I got a workout in and it was pretty awesome too. I think this girl is BACK!!! It was funny I worked out in the gym at Intel instead of my Hardcore gym. Just imagine all the geeks in that weight room. It was pretty funny. As I was doing my db presses I asked this one guy to spot on the initial lift. He did and his comment was that it was pretty impressive and that I was putting the boys to shame.
I am noticably bigger this year than last year so I am getting excited. Yes, there is fat on my body too but I am going to not worry about that since I know I can cut pretty well. My quads and arms/chest are freaking amazing. I can't wait to see what this looks like in the summer when I strip the fat away.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Rest=90 sec
Exercise
Sets
Reps
Weight
Notes
Chest 1 - DB Bench Press
5
5-8
1x8x25lb e
1x8x35lb e
1x8x45lb e
2x7x50lb e
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Back 1 - lat pull downs
5
5-8
1x8x60b
1x8x90lb
1x4x110lb
1x8x90lb
1x4 x100lb
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Chest 2 - butterfly press machine
4
5-8
1x8 (30lb)
1x8 (60lb)
1x7 (70lb)
2x6 (70lb)
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Back 2 - low row
4
5-8
1x8x40
1x8x50
1x8x60
2x8x80
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Traps 1 -upright cable row
5
5-8
1x8x30
1x8x60
1x7x70
2x6x70
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Tris 1 - dips
5
5-8
1x12 (bw)
1x11
1x9
2x7
No way to add weight so I did more reps (bw)
Trap 2 - shrugs
4
5-8
1x8x45 e
3x6x65 e
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Tris 2 - cable pull down
4
5-8
1x8x30
1x8x50
2x8x60
1x6x70
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Bis 1 -db curl
5
5-8
1x8x10 e
1x8x15 e
1x7x20 e
1x4x20 e
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Delt 1 -overhead press
5
5-8
2x8x25 e
1x5x25 e
1x3x30 e
1x8x20 e
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Bis 2 - cable curl
4
5-8
1x8x10
1x7x20
1x4x20
1x10x10
Sitting preacher curl, not standing
Delt 2 - Machine overhead press
4
5-8
1x8x20
1x7x40
1x6x40
warm up sets as specified in notes below
Forearms - bb extensor and flexor
5
5-8
NA
warm up sets as specified in notes below
NOTES:
1st exerces 2 warmup sets one light, one mod and 3 sets to failure
2nd exercise 1 warmup mod and 3 sets to failure
And finally here are my eats.
Goals on workout day: 2696, 233P, 234C, 92F
Goals on RES day: 2385, 227P, 169C, 89F
Date
Workout
Weight
Waist
Total Cals
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Friday, October 24, 2008
R
124.00
NA
2387.1
230
169
87.9
Friday, October 31, 2008
R
123.80
NA
2716.5
229
242
92.5
Friday, November 07, 2008
x
125.9
NA
2709.2
236
237
90.8
Friday, November 14, 2008
R
125.60
NA
2450.6
232
175
91.4
Saturday, November 15, 2008
x
NA
NA
3337
211
262
57
Sunday, November 16, 2008
x
NA
NA
1735
142
102
82.7
Monday, November 17, 2008
x
125.60
NA
2584
229
210
92
Average for past week
NA
NA
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Holy Crap that is some volume on that workout. It must take you well over an hour to finish it. Glad your feeling better. Sometimes we need to just blow off some steam so I think the Vodka night was probably the best thing for you!!
So the vodka was entirely therapeutical in that aspect.. glad you got such good results out of it and are feeling so good again... keep going to that woman, she's worth her weight in gold.
High volume workouts really are fun when well-fed. Makes all the difference...
Holy Crap that is some volume on that workout. It must take you well over an hour to finish it. Glad your feeling better. Sometimes we need to just blow off some steam so I think the Vodka night was probably the best thing for you!!
It takes me 1:50 min almost to finish this workout. It is ridiculous. And the DOMs I got from this one is hard to describe. If anyone even touched my Pec I think I would have to hit them except I can't raise my arms too well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Espi
So the vodka was entirely therapeutical in that aspect.. glad you got such good results out of it and are feeling so good again... keep going to that woman, she's worth her weight in gold.
High volume workouts really are fun when well-fed. Makes all the difference...
I got another appt with the chiro on Friday. I can't believe that just last week I could not even move my head. She is definately a good one and I am grateful to have found her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Celestialmom
Karla, you don't do anything by half, do you?! I get told that a lot but you've got me beat hands down lol!
BTW, I would have guessed you'd have an arabian! Or maybe a thoroughbred!
I had both a TB and Arabian. I recently had to put the TB down though due to bad feet. He and the Arab and I did some small eventing sort of stuff when I rode. Now the Arab just hangs out in the field with the rest of his buddies and gets scratches from me. I haven't ridden really since I picked up the classical guitar. If only there were another 8 hours in the day....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bytsi
Nice lifting Karla. I'm ROTFL at the vodka "incident" - I don't think I would wake up at all if I drank a 5th of Vodka!!!
I am surprised about this myself. In fact I suffered very little considering all that I drank. The hangover was very mild. Mostly I felt still drunk the next day with really bad motor reflexes. I did not trust myself to drive until nearly 5:00PM in fact. Alan asked if we could conclude that the best cure for a hurt back was a good solid night of drunkeness. I told him he could use that in his research papers.
On a completely different note.... Sorry to hear about your job situation but I am also not so sorry. I know that everytime a door closes like this on us that another opens and it is often much better. I am excited to see where you end up.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
NOTES:
1st exerces 2 warmup sets one light, one mod and 3 sets to failure
2nd exercise 1 warmup mod and 3 sets to failure
I so kicked ass tonight!!! Look at the deads!!! I think I did that weight 1 RM last year and is was for crap form. Tonight I did the first set cleanly. It wasn't so clean after that said though.... This workout more than once left me just shaking all over. I could not even remove my weight belt after the deads for about 3 min because my hands were shaking so badly. I felt like a monster out there on the floor. Three different people made comments to me. One on the deads (said it was nice form and also impressive), then on the back hyper extensions (chick just said that was impressive) Finally on the calf raises as I was loading all the plates. Good Gawd it is quite the task just to load up the machine for that exercise. LOL! I still think I am doing it wrong because I feel as if I can go heavier. I tried it lower weight though and got the same ROM so don't know... How can I be pushing that much weight? The Math doesn't work for me.
I am getting bigger. Two people made comments on that this week. My quads are noticeably bigger and my arms too. I can also feel it in my shoulders and lats and it is hard to keep my arms by my side. There is definately change happening. I see some fat being added and that is killing me but I am definately growing elsewhere more and am much more relaxed this time about the fat knowing that Alan is watching this with me. I am having a love/hate relationship with this program. It is really, really tough for me on a lot of levels but it is also shaking things up and showing results. The time it takes for me to finish one workout is ridiculous and the pain that I have (DOMs) afterwards is sometimes ridiculous too.
My back is definately not 100% but still much better than last week. It hurts when I breath deeply. Sharp pain on left side just under the scapula towards the front a bit. I would say the rib is out again. Fortunately I go to Chiro again on Friday.
Okay and food is spot on again today. I am having to force feed again (roll eyes) but it isn't too bad. Mostly I am feeling pretty satisfied....
Date
Workout
Weight
Waist
Total Cals
Protein
Carbs
Fat
Friday, October 24, 2008
R
124.00
NA
2387.1
230
169
87.9
Friday, October 31, 2008
R
123.80
NA
2716.5
229
242
92.5
Friday, November 07, 2008
x
125.9
NA
2709.2
236
237
90.8
Friday, November 14, 2008
R
125.60
NA
2450.6
232
175
91.4
Saturday, November 15, 2008
x
NA
NA
3337
211
262
57
Sunday, November 16, 2008
x
NA
NA
1735
142
102
82.7
Monday, November 17, 2008
x
125.60
NA
2584
229
210
92
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
x
126.20
NA
2695
248
I haven't logged it yet but this morning I weighed in at 128!!! Scale is definately moving upwards.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Nice deads Karla! I made it one rep at 175 last week... no way I could do SIX (or 2 sets!!!).
I hope this job stuff is a new door opening... I feel so in limbo, staying on after I've quit... it's weird, and while less stressful than before I quit, I still want to know where I'll end up. My stress is still higher than it should be...
I don't know about it being higher than it should. I mean your job is a BIG part of who we are. I know when I have been unexpectedly let go from a job that it really weirded me out. Big butterflies lived in my belly for a long while. On the other hand, when I quit or plan it, I have the best time of my life. There is no difference except my control in the siutation and my ability to plan for the change.
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Great job on the deadlifts. I bet you were feeling a little shaky after all that volume. His workouts seem even harder then NROL.
Yeah.... I thought at first he just nicked this from NROL but then I got to thinking that my friend who did NROL was not kicking it up like this every night. I wonder if CloveApple is doing something similar? I wonder if Alan knows/remembers that I am 45-years old and not an athlete anymore? In thinking about it I remember one of the other women on this board who used Alan's plans and she called him evil.... Hmmmmmmmm....
Quote:
Originally Posted by foodfromafar
OK, Karla, I almost passed out for you after reading that workout!
Pauline I know you are looking for a hypertrophy program. NROL (the man version) is really quite decent but Lisa was spot on that having one custom-made for your weaknesses is best. Are you looking for hypertrophy only (as in bbing) or also in strength and hypertrophy? I guess the difference would be if you care more about how you look as the end game or how functional you are. There is nothing wrong with doing a strength program in you bulk as opposed to hypertrophy.
The ACSM guidelines for the two (in case you want to make up your own) are
hypertrophy 6-12 sets (per muscle group) and 6-12 reps with a 30-90 second rest
Strength 2-6 sets (per muscle group) 2-8 reps with a 3-5 minute rest
Alan has me doing something that sort of hits both. One of my workouts is more about strength (without going all the way into the strength guidelines) and the other is about hypertrophy (but not as radical as some of the bbers do)
I knew that taking this cert would one day come in handy....
__________________
The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Wow, thanks for simplifying that for me, Karla! Leigh recommended I hit a couple of weak areas and some postural stuff for the next couple of months to even myself out a bit. My words not hers... Once I'm evened up I will return to functional strength probably. It certainly makes sense to me after doing what I've been doing for the past 4 weeks and seeing such a dramatic change.
It certainly won't hurt you to do that as your mind has to wrap around the "bulk" as well as your body. It might help your mind if you are seeing stregnth gains though so be careful to include good solid lifting no matter what program you chose. Gaining LBM (bulking) is about eating correctly just above maintanence and LIFTING HEAVY. Don't leave out part II. While less important than part I (eating correctly) it is the most fun part of the equation.
Also, just as an FYI, all the bbers I know use the basic functional lifts along with their split work. Squats, deads, pressing are all parts of their programs too. I think the difference between strength and hypertrophy really is in the reps and rests. So if you throw in some things to balance out your body you can still do both. Alan has me doing forearm exercises.... (talk about hitting specific muscles... Sheesh) Yet still I am doing strength and core functional work too.
Welcome to the bulk m'dear. I'll be watching for sure!
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
So the vodka was entirely therapeutical in that aspect.. glad you got such good results out of it and are feeling so good again... keep going to that woman, she's worth her weight in gold.
High volume workouts really are fun when well-fed. Makes all the difference...
BTW: A very late CONGRATULATIONS and it is about fucking time on your recent decision RE weight. You can do it I know and it will be a good thing!!! I am very happy to read about this in your log. Anyone that thinks about losing weight so much oughtta just go out and do it already!
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
) and have to comment on your propensity for out-of-nowhere injuries. Just last week, I was walking around feeling like a million bucks-- season ended on a high, I'm making huge gains in the bench press (a very short-term goal, but gets me some good looks in the gym) and chin ups, and I feel so good. And then, as I was warming up doing some kettlebell clean and presses, something happened in my shoulder, and seconds later I couldn't extend my arm. What the hell? In any case, I iced and Advil-ed, and the pain was largely gone in a few days. But I've learned to appreciate these little injuries as reminders that I'm doing everything I want to do, and doing it well. And I'm really, really lucky. I hope things feel better for you, soon. I am a huge fan of my chiropractor!
It was really weird though cause I woke up with no pain anywhere. The nearest we can figure is that I released all the tension I was holding in my back in my drunken and relaxed stupor. How cool is that?!!! So now you know what to do if you get injured. Vodka and orange juice. 
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