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Anything but legs! I did not lift heavy yesterday as we were mostly working on squat form. However, my quads are SORE today. I won't be able to ride my bike to work.

 

I'll see some of you at the market if you're up early!

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We returned from 3 days in Cannon Beach today. Other than a 2 hour hike and a few walks on the beach, it was a low energy trip. I fit in a shoulder workout the morning we left, so I won't miss anything this week. I've gained 3 lbs since June and continue to get a bit stronger - without any protein isolates. I'm sure some of the weight gain was fat since we've been doing a lot of entertaining this summer and I've had some ridiculously high calorie nights. I have 2 weeks of relative quiet starting on Sunday, so I'll trim back my calories then.

 

Chest

 

Hammer Strength Iso Press

90 x 12 (total weight)

110 x 8

120 x 7

125 x 6

 

Incline Barbell Press

65 x 12

85 x 9

95 x 6

 

DB Flat Flys

22 x 12

25 x 10

27 x 8

27 x 8

 

DB Pullovers

30 x 12

30 x 12

30 x 12

30 x 12

 

Cable Flys supersetted with Pushups - 3 sets

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Sorry we slept in! Will be in touch soon.....hope to train later on today.......our group is looking forward to it. We've had a lot of late nights which has slowed us down in the morning but the team can't wait to train with you!

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Thanks Hilary! Strength is as much of a goal as muscle hypertrophy for me and it's soooo rewarding to up the weights!!!

 

Robert - let those people sleep at night! You missed out on 4-5 hours of sunshine today alone. You know this only happens a few times a year (the sunshine part, not the late night part).

 

Medman, those 2.5 lb increments are extremely important, IMO. I don't believe I could have upped my weights as quickly and consistently without them.

 

I worked legs yesterday. Still working on my squat form and did a max of 85 lbs (with barbell). Got up to 6 reps of 145 lbs with straight-legged dead lifts. My hamstrings are feeling it today!

 

I'm off to the gym for a back workout.

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Thanks Hsorlando! It was great working out with you, Robert, Thendanisays and Spike (?) at that old school gym. I'm still chuckling about the machine in the women's locker room!

 

 

So, I have a new trainer. Life as I know it has ended. I think that I just entered a type of boot camp. He's a judge for the NPC and has been a natural bodybuilder since the 70s. He says that he won't train me for anything but 1st place - or he won't train me at all. And I have to enter a contest in one year, not 2010 like I intended. This is going to be an interesting year.

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Thanks Hsorlando! It was great working out with you, Robert, Thendanisays and Spike (?) at that old school gym.

 

Heh. Close!

 

Great working out with you, too. "Old school" is definitely an apt description.

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Gaia, I thought of you after I met him! He's willing to work with my "diet" but is convinced that it will be close to impossible to put mass on my legs without eating meat and fish - but he's willing. It looks like I'll be back up to 140-160(+) gms of protein per day but he's okay with whole foods.

 

Hsorlando, he's much more than my match!

 

Spine, I'm glad you came along! It was old school but it was still Portland - did you notice the guy with flip flops and sparkly pink toenail polish?

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Make him a believer! Show him that it can be done! It will be a good experience for him, and he can broaden his perspective on what diet really means. Though I do not envy you if you are going for a contest. Cutting is not my favorite thing to do. I just look forward to the results! All my online girl bbers are done with their contests and are back to eating and lifting heavy again. They are being smart though. They are increasing their bodyfat very slowly (7% for the show, to around 12% now), which is what I will try to do this time around. They are gearing up for the NPC Nationals next year already! Go Girls!

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Yes, I will make him a believer - I just wish that I could put on muscle like you do!! My legs have always been my weak point because I valued thin legs for most of my life and never worked them. They are coming along s-l-o-w-l-y. I won't mind cutting as much if I have enough muscle to lose some in the process. I also think keeping relatively low BF in the off-season is a good idea as you don't have to cut for so long.

 

When do you compete next?

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You will blow his mind by building some leg mass for sure! How does he think adding leg mass is different from other mass? I don't really see what would be different in your protein sources and ratios besides adding more overall calories and protein since they are such large muscles.

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There is a show at the end of September that is NPC, and another show in October that is ABA (I have never been to one of those productions). I won't go on stage if I am not confident in my physique. I will try my hardest to get to that point though. I have committed to losing the weight and make decisions everyday with this focus. By November I will switch to bulking (though not let myself go this time, so I will not have to lose so much bodyfat like this time!).

 

It has been a long time since I competed and alot has changed! Suits are now very pricey! I have to get one that is plain for the prejudging ($55) and a really pretty one with crystals for the evening show (starting at $85). Luckily there is a website that has suits for rent! But those are still in the $100s! I won't complain because I saw the figure/fitness suits, and they were $500 up to $1000s for the most bedazzling crystals embellished on one piece suits! Very glamorou$!!

 

Legs are a genetics thing. I ran track in high school, and later on cross country. Just from running I got large legs. My brothers have large legs too. I passed the thigh gene on down to my kids! They are all complaining that there shorts don't fit their thighs, and are loose on their abs! Good thing athletic pants stretch and are baggy at the thigh area!

 

I use to play around with Leg training. I read somewhere in a magazine (probably Flex) that medium weights with high reps interspersed with heavy heavy lifting, can make quads and hamstrings grow. Muscle confusion probably. My legs grew with that routine for awhile.

 

Wait till you cut! If you are like me, I have to make meals for the family and it gets pretty hard to do sometimes. Today was one of those days. Though I have cut out fruit from my diet, I need to keep the frig stocked with fruit for the kids. I went to the store today, and the produce aisles were just bursting with organic fresh fruit! Strawberries, pineapple, melons, bananas, (drool at this point. . . . wah! ) and I went to the not fragnant greens section for my meals.

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Gaia, good luck if you decide to compete this year! Thanks for the long reply - lots of things for me to think about.

 

I'll probably start a new log in September, after my 2 upcoming vacations. My training is SO different now! I'm currently bulking, until I reach a goal of about 162-165 pounds. The plan is to then maintain my body fat percentage in the 14-15% range until my first contest. After that, my trainer wants to keep it at about 12-13% off-season so that cutting will become easier. As of last week, I was 150 lbs and 19% body fat. I have a lot of work ahead of me.

 

I'm currently eating 3,000 calories per day, about 160-200 grams of protein, 15-20% of calories from fat - no processed sugar, processed flours, alcohol (except the rare glass of wine). I could go lower on the protein intake but I'm having a hard enough time eating the sheer volume of food and most of the lower fat/higher calorie foods are also higher in protein (seitan, tofu, oats).

 

My workout routines change all the time and include some techniques that I haven't used before. An example would be: Leg extensions with legs extended for 50 seconds, followed by 50 reps - repeat for 5 sets. I've also been doing a LOT of posing. Sessions have been lasting for approximately 2 hours, 3 times per week (back/biceps or shoulders, chest/triceps, legs). I do either biceps or shoulders on my own and one leg day on my own. Abs are in there about 3x per week.

 

I cannot say enough good things about my trainer so I won't try. Except that he's the most experienced, knowledgeable, inspirational trainer I have ever worked with - and he looks awesome at age 55. I feel like the last year was spent wandering in the dark compared to this past week! When I consider the money I've spent on trainers in the past and their knowledge/experience compared to my new trainer - well, I've wasted a lot of time and money.

 

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Currently reading "Woman: An Intimate Geography" by Natalie Angier. Every woman (and man) should read this book. The chapters on aggression and muscle are very empowering and the chapters on estrogen and testosterone are eye-opening. I wish this book had been around when I was in my 20s. Most fascinating was her mention of a theory for human menopause as necessary for raising children. Forget about meat or agriculture being the reason we have big, complex brains - it's all the work our past grandmothers put into foraging for food and raising us while our mothers had a younger sibling nursing. I could go on and on about this book. Just read it!

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Really, it's my new trainer. He's the type of guy that you just cannot say "no" to. And the reps are done with light weight (around 50 lbs).

 

Today we trained Back, Biceps and Core at 6 am. I was there for 2.5 hours. I'm exhausted now and need to sleep.

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