Gymrat's bulking log - here I go...

[Deserve]

I watched it roll in from my office. It was wild.

80's on one side and then 40's on the other.

[TrainingGirl]

You all are making me cold..brrrrrr.

Great workout GR..gave it your all. I've had to decrease weights on occasion too..no biggie.

Thanks for trying to hide all those gains under that shirt...but I can still see them! [img]tongue.gif[/img] Soon I'll see those shirtless pics...45 days to be exact...let the countdown begin

(I just realized...are those single leg calf raises you are doing in that pic? )

[Terry Monk]

Originally posted by TrainingGirl:
(I just realized...are those single leg calf raises you are doing in that pic? )

Hmmm... just noticed that too. Odd. No. That's 300 lbs on there. I ain't that strong! ha! I think as Monica was snapping the pic I was re-racking and attempting to get one side up..... maybe, I don't know. ha!

Oh BTW, all the brothers and I are in about the same line N/S across the U.S. so guess what's heading your way out east? hehehehehehehe get that coat out.

[Deserve]

The good news is that on the backside of the front is awesome weather.

[Marykaa]

And I thought it was just up here that we get such Temperature changes!

[K-Court]

GR, great pics. You can tell you're really putting on some mass, and the beard looks good on you. I had one off and on for many years till the grey took over ... Now I stick with the short-trimmed goat.

I love the long-sleeved shirt comment. Way to keep TG guessing ... (frustrated?? )

Continued congrats on your progress. Your dedication to this is, quite simply, amazing.

PS Your daughter's a downright cutie! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Terry Monk]

Hey everyone. Didn't get a chance to workout last night, life happened. Oh well, it was only an abs/ forearms workout. I can make that up.

Tonight's workout: 3 sets 15 reps 120 sec rest, moderate weight.

swiss ball db press: 70's on all 3 sets, up 20lbs from last week.
front squat: 110; 120 on last two, up 10lbs

swball decline db flyes: 45's all 3 sets, up 15lbs
standing one leg curls: 35 lbs, up 10lbs

good mornings: 80lbs up 20lbs
rear delt raises on swball: 25's, up 15lbs

Felt really good after the workout. Although I did cuss that damn swiss ball! Every time I went to sit down with db's in hand the damn thing would roll away from me! My wife had a good laugh!

[TrainingGirl]

Be careful on that ball! No getting injured now! Great job on everything...those numbers keep going up!

[RacerBill]

Yeah, that Swiss ball is good for embarrassing oneself... Happens to me on a regular basis! Next thing you know, you'll be doing those front squats on the ball, too.

Great job, nice numbers! You just keep going strong.

[Terry Monk]

ugh! this morning I'm really feeling my extra weight in every freak'n thing I do. Coat is too small, I struggle to get into the car easily like I used to. I'm breathing heavier.
Damn. I'm glad this is just bulking weight and I can't wait til I can start cutting this fat I've accumulated off. whew.
huff, puff, huff, puff...... boy, typing that made me winded. LOL

[Bond007]

You crack me up, GR! But, I can understand where you're coming from. My own experience with bulking was pretty similar. I was glad it was over because of the reasons you stated above, but, boy did I ever miss all the FOOD!!! Sheesh!!

You'll get it all back in no time.

[Marykaa]

I'm not sure I quite understand this Bulking/Cutting thing.. It's fat-on/fat-off?

Is it :

1) You gain weight to gain muscle but fat comes with it.

2) You loose fat weight making sure you keep your muscles?

[Terry Monk]

Originally posted by Marykaa:
I'm not sure I quite understand this Bulking/Cutting thing.. It's fat-on/fat-off?

Is it :

1) You gain weight to gain muscle but fat comes with it.

2) You loose fat weight making sure you keep your muscles?

Yes, exactly. You've hit the nail on the head.
I want to eventually end up at ~195 ~7-8% bf. I started at 175lbs. To gain the 20 lbs of muscle I need to hit 195, I must eat (and of course work out) to feed the hypertrophy stage I've put myself in. However, those excess calories to build muscle don't come without a price, in exchange I have to conceed to a larger gut and higher bodyfat%. Since I know that I'm getting fatter along with it, I know that I must shoot for a goal of well above and beyond my end target weight of 195 because I will need to shed that fat or "cut".
I hope I explained that ok Mk. If you're still confused about it, let me know because that's the third time I've tried explaining it today (2 other times to co-workers) and I have no idea if I'm getting my point across at all. Don't read that as I'm upset, I honestly want to know if it made sense.

[Marykaa]

well, since I had figured it out by myself.. I guess I don't count, but yes that part seems very clear..

/rambling ON

I guess I've been bulking for the past 30 years (off and on) and now I want to do the final cutting..

with the SBD I have finally broken my 136 barrier that I haven't been able to go under with my other diets since I turned 50. (sorry to speak about myself in YOUR log.. but just so you'll understand my question.)

I imagine that when we cut.. we still loose a little muscle.. my question is :

lets say we gain 5 lbs fat, 10 lbs muscle when we bulk.

and we loose 10 lbs fat, 5 lbs muscle ..

humm.. is that how it works? I think I just answered my own question that was "how come we don't just loose the fat and muscle that we gained?"

/rambling OFF

[K-Court]

Originally posted by gymrat:
ugh! this morning I'm really feeling my extra weight in every freak'n thing I do.

I feel your pain, bro. I think my jeans are painted on atm ....

[K-Court]

If you're still confused about it, let me know because that's the third time I've tried explaining it today (2 other times to co-workers) and I have no idea if I'm getting my point across at all.

GR, do you have difficulties explaining to people that being on a "diet" doesn't necessarily mean you want to "lose" weight. People always look at me strange when I say "I am actually trying to put ON weight!" The concept is lost. (Have I mentioned that I have a woman boss who is constantly trying to lose weight? It gets ugly ... LOL)

[Terry Monk]

Yes. I find myself explaining my actions at every turn. Sometimes to the same person on different days. I sometimes think about typing something up and when people ask, just handing it to them. lol.
I get that "look" all the time. People always comment how "I've got some weight you can have", yeah, no shit you do, but that's not the weight I want. No one outside of the lifting community understands it. People think exercising is all about losing weight.
Now, that all said, can you imagine the questions and teasing I get when everyone can clearly see that my gut is getting bigger? Well of course it is! I'm eating damn near 5000 calories a day! It can't all be muscle!!!!

Sorry, you got me going on the subject alright. Ugh! Vent over.

[Marykaa]

They'll understand when you'll have Cut and lost the fat but kept the muscles! Then they'll all look at you like WOW!!!!!

[RacerBill]

Originally posted by gymrat:
Now, that all said, can you imagine the questions and teasing I get when everyone can clearly see that my gut is getting bigger?

Hahaha! I can just hear them now: "Dude, you used to be in such good shape! You've really let yourself go!"

Hope you can face it with a sense of humor. Not too much longer and you'll impress the hell out of 'em.

Seems like everyone wants to be an authority on diet. I keep getting suggestions to eat Snackwells fat-free cookies or baked potato chips or all sorts of junk food that's marginally better than the "junk" junk food. Yeesh. At least we can vent here, right? [img]smile.gif[/img]

[jacque]

GR, i am really impressed by your progress. out of all the weight you've gained, how much do you think is fat, and how much muscle? i would say that most people are scared to put on the kind of weight that you have because they don't want to lose their precious abs. hats off to you!

[Terry Monk]

Make no mistake, the abs are definitely covered up now. That's ok, I try not to worry too much about it. I just hope there's some new found muscle under there when I get rid of it. ha! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[TrainingGirl]

Originally posted by gymrat:
Make no mistake, the abs are definitely covered up now. That's ok, I try not to worry too much about it. I just hope there's some new found muscle under there when I get rid of it. ha! [img]smile.gif[/img]

There will be, there will be. Can't wait for those pics

[Terry Monk]

Thanks Tracy! You know my motivation has been waning as of late.

Today's workout: 2 sets x 18 reps 120 sec rest. Pretty light weight.


incline db bench: 60's both sets
deadlift : 160 both sets. Yeeikes! that was rough. 18 reps! Whew!!!!

chins: bodyweight both sets. I was proud of myself at this weight being able to do 18 reps straight through. 2nd set I got 12 before I had to "rest" for a couple seconds. Still, I'm proud.
lateral raises: 15's both sets. perfect weight for this # of reps. I love doing these and looking in the mirror I look very muscular.

seated db curls: 25's both sets. felt a big time burn when I was done with those after having done chins.
rope pressdown: 40 lbs. then 50 lbs. good pump.

[Terry Monk]

Oh, I almost forgot to post my measurements this week. I can't believe it's been two weeks already.

neck: 17 7/8" up 1/8"

chest: 45 5/8" up 11/16"

waist: 36 1/4" up 1 11/16" geez....

left upper arm: 16 3/4" up 1/4"
right: 16 3/4" up 1/4"

left forearm: 13 3/4" up 9/16"
right: 13 3/4" up 1/4"

left thigh: 25" up 3/4"
right: 25" up 11/16"

left calve: 14 5/8" up 1/4" FINALLY!
right: 14 5/8" up 1/4" I thought I noticed my calves looking a tad bigger.

shoulders: 53 1/16" up 7/16"

bf% well, here's the scary part. I measured a couple different times and got different results. 15.2% and 16.4% I'm sure it's around 16%. I guess I shouldn't worry too much. I'd just like to really stay under 18%, but I'll just have to see I guess.

weight: 205 Yeah, when I weighed this week I went down 1 lb. But I'm not too worried. I know why. My eating sucked a couple days right before the weigh in. I'm rebounding nicely though I think.

[Marykaa]

Great work on the thighs but I'm even happier for you for the calves!!

[K-Court]

Nice numbers, GR. I imagine your shirts aren't fitting any more. Jeez, you have almost an 18 inch neck, man!! 205 is sweet - you're still making progress, and your bf is pretty damned good all things considered. Your goal is getting closer by the day. Sweet.

[Terry Monk]

Thanks to you both for the kind words. I just feel so uncomfortable about the excess fat but I just have to remind myself it's all in the plan. But it's just not me. I feel like my gut is probably 3x bigger than it actually is.

Good news actually. I weighed myself this morning after 2 days eating right and A LOT and not skipping any meals and I weigh 208.6! wow! Now that's a lot of weight. That's less than 12 lbs from the goal.

I'll need all your motivation now. Heading into the "days off" season I've got to diligent about eating every single meal and not getting soft on what I eat. Of course a little straying will have to be tolerated, it is afterall the holidays, but for the most part (90%) I need to stay strong.

[Bond007]

GR, I'm thinkin' we're all gonna be in similar boats (gravy, that is -- sorry couldn't resist), so there's gonna be PLENTY of motivation requests out there. We all need to stay strong and try to remain as true to our diets as possible. Yeah, we will all faulter a little, we just can't allow ourselves to go overboard. Look at it this way, though. You are bulking during Thanksgiving. . . . .I'm still cutting. UGH!

Just be sure that you do hit the weights, monitor your food intake and make adjustments as the day goes along. You'll make it through! I believe in you!

[Marykaa]

Originally posted by Marykaa:
They'll understand when you'll have Cut and lost the fat but kept the muscles! Then they'll all look at you like WOW!!!!!

Well.. I can only repeat what I said 2 days ago.. and add.. the people (at work) are looking at a work in progress, of something they know nothing about. Think of how a half built house looks.. or a cake while it's being mixed up..

I think I know how you feel in the bulking stage.. I was often "over weight but with alot of muscles under all that" (but wasn't doing it on purpus). It definately doesn't feel good. But Cutting and loosing that fat WILL feel good! specially with what's undernieth!

Hang in there!

[K-Court]

Originally posted by gymrat:
I'll need all your motivation now. Heading into the "days off" season I've got to diligent about eating every single meal and not getting soft on what I eat. Of course a little straying will have to be tolerated, it is afterall the holidays, but for the most part (90%) I need to stay strong.

GR, just pretend you're Canadian this week. We had our Thanksgiving in October. There's no holidays now till Christmas!!