Clever Name

Starberryriddick, THANK YOU for the detailed reply!!! VERY much appreciated...all knowledge is good knowledge.

On the Vitamin Shoppe website, NutriBiotic rice protein powder is often on sale for like $23 for 3 lb. Only the vanilla flavor. Very mild tasting, much more so than the RiceOTein, which I find too sickly sweet, and I have to add salt to balance it out. I smash it up w/a banana and cinnamon and eat it like a pudding post workout. Yum! Also, the stores will match any website sales, so I stock up at the sale times. Since I already eat lots of beans, I figure it gives a good amino acid balance. Good luck!

What's a good vegan muscle builder/volumizer supplement? I train hard and eat clean but have a lot of trouble packing it on in my upper body, proportionally to my lower. Want to do a figure competition and need to even it out.

I think just the pride of having won should be fine. I don't need a prize, just some accountability.

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. The good news is that (I hope I'm not jinxing myself by writing this), my shoulder is feeling better. Not all the way better, but better than before. The true test will come when it's time to reach up and then down again...for example, using a measuring cup to get beans out of an almost-empty bin that is on a counter at hip height...especially if I reach behind me to do it. That's the worst! The bad news is that with my feet hurting over the past two weeks (knee has gotten better), I haven't done any cardio or lower body work except for one day when my feet and knee said, "You know, there's a reason you've avoided plyo for the past two years, and it's NOT because you're just lazy." I spent the rest of that week limping. I can now walk normally, but each step is uncomfortable...there are pains going through my feet right above my heel and behind my ankle. However, the pain has lessened over the past few days, and I don't think it will prevent me from doing cardio (of course, I won't be running...but then again, I never do). The good news again is that I've come to be okay with having taken nearly a 2 week rest. I came down with a minor cold over the past week. I plan to start cardio and lower body work again on Monday, and I'm hoping that the rest has done my body good. I see my PCP again on the 25th, and if the pain is still there, he'll order an MRI (the Xrays were all normal). Sad to see my arms getting soft, but happy that I may be the only one to notice it...got a compliment on them from a coworker the other day and from my DH last night. And even in Phoenix, it's long sleeve season (time to go shopping for new winter clothes, 'cause my old ones are too big). So even if I'm out of commission until 2008, I've got time to build my arms again. And a sort-of bonus is that with the depression and anxiety over the injury came a decrease in appetite, lowering me to my lowest weight since the fall of '92 (yes, I have a bizarre memory for numbers). Now, I know there's muscle and water in that loss, but for me, it feels better psychologically to think, "Time to recoup lost muscle from when I was sick/injured" than "Time to lose gained fat from when I ate too much and didn't make it to the gym."

I've taken a long break from posting. I've been struggling with depression over my shoulder injury. Here's what I posted in the "general bodybuilding" section: So I noticed a few weeks back my shoulders weren't feeling so good during my chest workouts, which involved pushups on a medicine ball, barbell bench press, barbell incline press, and barbell decline press. I made the brilliant decision to think, "Ah, probably nothing. No need to change any exercises!" The pain would go away after the workout...and then a couple of days later...and then, it didn't. [Kicking self for not switching exercises at the first hint of discomfort ] I took two weeks off lifting, noticed my shoulder felt mostly better, then did very light weight, full-body workouts emphasizing plyometrics--upper body stuff was different styles of pushups and light dumbbell presses while doing traveling lunges. Shoulders felt fine during the whole week, but on the weekend, the pain was worse again. I saw the doctor on Monday, and he said I've got shoulder impingement syndrome. I'm now doing rotator cuff exercises with 16-oz cans 5x/day and have stopped upper body workouts. I was going to do extra cardio and lower-body work while my shoulder heals, but now my knee and foot are hurting. The high-impact plyo stuff just has never felt good to my feet and joints. It just feels like my whole body wants a rest. I've lost my appetite (VERY unusual for me) and have been struggling with depression. For years, I've looked to my workouts as giving my life a sense of mastery, the part of my life where I'm always learning and seeing improvements, even if I'm struggling with everything else. I want to be patient and accept that my body needs time to heal, and I want to identify other areas of my life where I can create meaning and a purpose, but I want even more to be lifting hard and heavy again. I keep thinking of my body going soft and losing all the muscle I've worked so hard to build. I feel anxious that my injuries won't heal properly and I'll never be able to lift again. I am having trouble accepting things as they are now. So I've got two questions for the group: 1) Anyone ever deal with shoulder impingement before? How did recovery go for you? 2) Any thoughts on dealing with the psychological aspect of being injured? I suspect the powers of the universe are encouraging me to find other sources of self-esteem outside the gym. Stupid universe with its life lessons! I'm not so concerned any more with calories, though I'm tracking them for my challenge with "Joe." However, they've been much lower than before, and my weight's dropped to its lowest in 15 years. Weird. But I'm hungry now, so I'm going to enjoy some food. I'm trying to honor my body's desire to just rest and heal. But the pain is a real downer.

So I noticed a few weeks back my shoulders weren't feeling so good during my chest workouts, which involved pushups on a medicine ball, barbell bench press, barbell incline press, and barbell decline press. I made the brilliant decision to think, "Ah, probably nothing. No need to change any exercises!" The pain would go away after the workout...and then a couple of days later...and then, it didn't. [Kicking self for not switching exercises at the first hint of discomfort ] I took two weeks off lifting, noticed my shoulder felt mostly better, then did very light weight, full-body workouts emphasizing plyometrics--upper body stuff was different styles of pushups and light dumbbell presses while doing traveling lunges. Shoulders felt fine during the whole week, but on the weekend, the pain was worse again. I saw the doctor on Monday, and he said I've got shoulder impingement syndrome. I'm now doing rotator cuff exercises with 16-oz cans 5x/day and have stopped upper body workouts. I was going to do extra cardio and lower-body work while my shoulder heals, but now my knee and foot are hurting. The high-impact plyo stuff just has never felt good to my feet and joints. It just feels like my whole body wants a rest. I've lost my appetite (VERY unusual for me) and have been struggling with depression. For years, I've looked to my workouts as giving my life a sense of mastery, the part of my life where I'm always learning and seeing improvements, even if I'm struggling with everything else. I want to be patient and accept that my body needs time to heal, and I want to identify other areas of my life where I can create meaning and a purpose, but I want even more to be lifting hard and heavy again. I keep thinking of my body going soft and losing all the muscle I've worked so hard to build. I feel anxious that my injuries won't heal properly and I'll never be able to lift again. I am having trouble accepting things as they are now. So I've got two questions for the group: 1) Anyone ever deal with shoulder impingement before? How did recovery go for you? 2) Any thoughts on dealing with the psychological aspect of being injured? I suspect the powers of the universe are encouraging me to find other sources of self-esteem outside the gym. Stupid universe with its life lessons!

Animal Lib is the most influential book I've ever read...picked it up 16 years ago after I decided to go veg b/c of not wanting to contribute to killing animals, but it made me first decide to go VEGAN b/c of not wanting to contribute to SUFFERING! And the reason I quoted you on both these books is that even after 16 years, I still haven't been able to bear reading Animal Lib for long enough to finish the book, the expose is so appalling! I acquired Dominion in the fall of 2005 and made little dents in it here and there...for the same reason, wasn't able to read the whole thing. I'm going to have to get this one! I always rolled my eyes when I saw Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul and said to myself, "Why don't they just write one for the vegetarian soul and perfect the irony?" Finally! My 2nd most influential book (really can't cite Dominion, as I haven't yet read enough) is a tie between The Women's Room by Marilyn French (a feminist novel), and Feeding the Hungry Heart, by Geneen Roth (a compilation of writings by women who suffer or used to suffer from binge eating).

Milochka, I can relate to much of what you're describing. I also struggle with disordered eating and used to struggle with cravings for omni desserts. It's a lot better since there's so much vegan junk out there, but of course, that takes care of the vegan part, not the binge part. I will speak only for myself in terms of what seems to be working for me now: I'm tracking my calories every day. I have a food plan I follow during the week, for convenience as well as to ensure I'm getting the right balance of nutrition for my body. On the weekends, nothing is off-limits, but in contrast to before, when I took a "head in the sand" approach and figured that as long as I'm "off plan," might as well binge, I research the cals to the best of my ability, understanding that it may be somewhat inaccurate, but knowing it's better than saying, "What the hell, I'll just eat until it hurts." My body doesn't care (much!) whether an order of vegan chili cheese fries is 600 or 800 calories, but it DOES know the difference between ending the meal after the fries and going on to have 6 vegan cookies, a pint of vegan ice cream, and a bag of kettle korn. Does that make sense? This has been made much easier by having this calorie tracking as part of a partnership with a close friend of mine. We're both doing it and checking in once a week about what our eating and exercising behaviors have been. I'm thrilled to say I haven't binged in over a month and a half. I can't remember the last month and a half I went without bingeing. I may have been 14. I'm 31. This is only what's worked for me; you may not find this helpful. I can say that trying the approach recommended by the Asocial Ape did NOT help me transition to veganism. I carry around so much guilt about so many things, and I've yet to make a meaningful life change as a result of guilt. When I was trying to transition to veganism and I thought guilty/shame-based thoughts to try not to eat what I craved, I ended up thinking (eventually, if not immediately), "If feeling guilty all the time is what it means to be vegan, I want no part of it! I deserve to be happy, too...gimme!!!" It was remarkably similar to trying to picture high-calorie foods transforming into ugly fat on my body: both thought processes ended with wanting to rebel and resenting restricting myself around food. Trying to think about how "bad" I was being toward the animals transformed into resentment toward people who wanted me to think about that. This was prompted more by the lifestyle than the dietary aspect...for example, being on Rx meds that were of course animal tested during the development phase, not being able (at the time...it's gotten much better!) to find synthetic material athletic shoes that fit my special-needs feet, not protesting KFC, etc. I felt constantly "less than" other vegans. And I ended up eating omni foods as an f-you to, for example, the person who was quoted in The Vegan Sourcebook as saying (in reference to people who eat vegan but haven't "veganized" all the other areas of their lives), "Eating a vegan diet and calling yourself a vegan is like eating a kosher diet and calling yourself Jewish." Fine, then, bitch, since I'm not a vegan, I won't eat like one. Go to hell. Again, though that's been MY experience. And at that time, there weren't as many tasty vegan treats...or I simply wasn't aware of them. When guilt was taken out of the equation and I was patient with myself, "keeping vegan" became immeasurably easier. It comes from the joy of living my truth, not from the guilt of not doing well enough. Asocial Ape, I'm not trying to say your way is ineffective...only that it didn't help ME. And Milochka, I'll keep you in my thoughts. May you find peace with your eating day by day, and may you find the path that helps YOU on your own unique journey.

Did affirmations as scheduled. Did NOT, however, work out today as planned. Why? I woke up with my shoulder STILL slightly sore, AND my lower body achy from yesterday's hike. Decided, "OK, 2 more days of serious R & R, then on Monday, full throttle training with my new, shoulder-safe program will commence!" This is not at all like me. I have not taken days off training except when physically incapable of moving in several years. Part of me is slightly concerned that I'm not working hard enough...but most of me knows myself well enough that if it were wise to be training today, I'd be doing it. Matter of fact, I'm much more likely to train when it's not wise to do so than NOT to train when it IS wise. So today and tomorrow are devoted to resting and healing. Monday, the intensity begins! I'm so excited! And it'll be a good opportunity to see if and how my shoulder responds to different training. The high reps and body weight work may encourage circulation and help any remaining soreness. The soreness is mostly when I have to twist my shoulder with my elbow bent...for example, when pouring out of a pitcher into a glass that's on a high surface, or when reaching into a bin that is high up (say close to shoulder height) to get something out of the bottom of the bin (below elbow height). I never have to do this during a workout, so I figure I'm OK to start the light weight, high rep, interval style training. And I've got the OK from a trainer, and I've gotten the modifications that will make the workouts easier on my shoulder. I'M GOING TO BEAT THIS THING!!! Yesterday's foods (1856 cals): boca burger, slice FF multigrain bread, 2T flaxseeds 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans Binged on salad (ate until stuffed...not great, will try to watch this): 1 lb leafy greens, probably the better part of an extra large onion, 2 apples, 1 tangelo, 1.5 c Hi-Lo, 12 almonds. So stayed up a couple hours later to give my body time to digest before going to sleep. The broccoli just can't be part of my food plan any more, at least not in such large quantities. Thursday night after I ate it, literally within minutes (even though I took the beano before and the Gas-X after), my belly started to swell. My pants, which fit with a bit of extra room pre-broccoli, ended up having love handles hanging over them and cut uncomfortably into my belly. I closed the door to my office, thanked God it was late and most everyone had left, and farted and farted and farted! I could hear the gurgling and squeaking in my gut. When I got home and changed into my jammies, I looked pregnant. Seriously, I looked pregnant. When I woke up that morning, I had looked ripped. So the rest of the broccoli is going to the doggies. It's not worth the diarrhea and constant discomfort. I think I may be allergic. So some tweaking to my food plan is in order. I had incorporated the broccoli because I could eat it easily at work, whereas eating salads takes me a long time and I need to do it at home...but was trying to cut out the late-night (within 2-3 hours before bed) eating and the high-sodium salad dressing right before bed. I could eat my salad before going in to work, but that's when I usually check email and take care of my personal business. Of course, I could do that after work instead...I'll figure something out. Blather, blather, blather! Hope everyone's having a fantastic weekend so far!

Did affirmations as scheduled. Yesterday's food (1766 cals): boca burger, slice FF multigrain bread, 2T flaxseeds CLIF builder's bar 2 tangelos, 1 carrot, 12 almonds 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans 1 lb. broccoli 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans Gave my shoulder another rest day today, but went on a 40 minute hike. I even ran down the mountain! My flat foot is hurting badly now, but it felt OK at the time. Shoulder pain is so almost gone. Glad to be changing my workout routine. If it feels all better tomorrow, I'll run through a "dress rehearsal" of my new circuits, just doing 1-2 reps to make sure I get the feel for how to do each exercise. If it DOESN'T feel better, I'll just run through the lower-body moves.

Affirmations completed as scheduled. Today's workout: All supersets are 3 sets. SS1 1-leg wall sit (30 sec, 25 sec, 30 sec) decline crunches to fatigue SS2 leg press, 20 reps decline leg lifts to fatigue SS3 butt blaster, 20 reps leg ext, 20 reps leg curl, 20 reps 20 min moderate SS stairmaster 45 min foam roll/stretch I slept poorly last night after a late night awakening to go pee, which turned into another hour awake worrying about my oldest dog, who had just had a seizure and then (for the first time after a seizure--she's had them for a while) had difficulty walking or doing anything but just lying there. We helped her get to the bedroom, and after about an hour on the bed, she started grooming herself and shifting positions. Then, I was able to sleep. This AM she's OK. Poor old lady has had some health issues intensify recently, and it's breaking my heart. That's all I'm going to write, because I'm not about to start crying 30 min before going to work. All this to say I'm friggin' TIRED today, I'm operating from a sleep deficit that started the last week of August (also dog-related), and so my workout today wasn't as intense as it used to be. Met w/trainer today, and she said go ahead and lay off the upper body heavy weights. I brought in a magazine article that features a 2-day whole body split--basically mostly body weight work, like decline pushups, planks, lunges, jumping over the bench...plyo drills. It's been for-friggin-ever since I did this type of workout, and it's time for a change, esp given my recent injuries. So for the next 8 weeks, instead of doing my bodybuilding style routine with machines and free weights, I'm going to a plyo circuit that's designed to take 30-40 mins followed by 20 min cardio (as opposed to an hour plus of weights followed by 20-25 cardio). This will save me time, give my joints a break from the heavy lifting, and help me drop some fat, which I want to be my focus for now. I am scared of losing hard-earned muscles, but my body needs a change...and I've been spinning my wheels lately waffling between fat loss and muscle gain, with little of either happening (until recently...I think lately, I've been dropping some fat, as evidenced by my dropping weight, losing inches, and clothes being looser). So might as well go with it. Per my trainer, if my shoulder still isn't feeling 100% by Monday, when I'll start this circuit, still OK to do most of the exercises, but some will need to be modified, and she showed me which ones. I'm feeling about 96% healed (better than yesterday, but not up to 99%--scientifically measured, of course)! I'm going to continue to ice 20 mins morning and evening through Sunday night, then switch to heat on Monday. Per trainer, icing too long can cause the muscles to stiffen and problems to worsen. I have some epsom salts, which I can put on a hot towel for the PM heat therapy. Yesterday's food (1496 cals): boca burger, slice FF multigrain bread, 2T flaxseeds 1 lb. broccoli, 1 med apple, 1 tangelo, 1 carrot, 12 almonds 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans Folks, let's just say my digestive system has been making itself known since starting the broccoli. I boil it for a couple of minutes (raw broccoli would have caused sufficient digestive distress that our house would have burned down while I slept, I'm sure), but still my body is protesting. I may lay off the broccoli or I may wait it out to see if my system adjusts. Dunno yet! Meanwhile, sorry to say I'm taking non-vegan Gas-X and, when I remember before eating the offending meal, non-vegan Beano. (Didn't even think about the vegan implications when I bought the Beano...the Gas-X I settled on figuring big picture wise, I'm doing the best I can). Next time, I'll hit Sprouts or While Foods and look for some digestive enzymes.

Did affirmations as scheduled last night and this AM. Today was a rest day (12 hour work day). Yesterday's food (1496 cals): boca burger, slice FF multigrain bread, 2T flaxseeds 1 lb. broccoli, 1 med grapefruit, 1 tangelo, 1 carrot, 12 almonds 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans Looks like today should shape up to be the same, food-wise. Interesting: when I'm working out 4-5 days a week like usual, I'm just as hungry on rest days as on active days. But since taking time off to let my shoulder heal, my overall appetite is lower. Well, that actually only kicked in this past weekend. Still, it's kinda nice, because I'm learning all over the place that I can trust my body. That being said, my shoulder is feeling 95% better, but then again, I'm taking ibuprofen to really get any inflammation DOWN. Tomorrow, I meet w/a trainer at the gym to talk about next steps in switching up my routine. I'll ask her when it's safe to resume upper body workouts. I want to restart that, like, yesterday. But I thought of a corny slogan to try to remember when I'm tempted to work out when I perhaps shouldn't: slow today, grow tomorrow. I don't want to undermine my long term fitness goals by pushing too hard and putting myself out of commission for even longer. Patience, patience, patience. And a willingness to let go of black-and-white thinking. These are the things I shall try my utmost to master in this journey through injury and recovery.

Sunday's food (1696 cals): 1 c Cocoa dyno-bites, 1/2 c soy milk 1 serving (1/8 recipe) cajun beans w/TVP, 1 roma tomato, 1 tofutti cutie 1 lb leafy greens, 1/2 jumbo onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 c hi-lo, 20 almonds, 2 tangelos, 1/4 c raisins, 2 tofutti cuties Yesterday's food (1776 cals): boca burger, slice FF multigrain bread, 2T flaxseeds CLIF builder's bar 1 lb. broccoli, 1 med grapefruit, 1 tangelo, 1 carrot, 12 almonds 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans 1/3 lb edamame, 2 oz pinto beans Yesterday's workout: SS1 walking lunges (3x20 per leg/40 total) leg curls on exercise ball (3 to fatigue, working up to 3x20) SS2 db step-ups (3x20 per leg/40 total) Romanian deadlifts (3x20) SS3 (WUx15, 3x9) db rear delt fly seated calf raise standing calf raise 20 min SS stairmaster Did PT exercises for rotator cuff last night, took some ibuprofen, iced 20 mins. After I sign off here, will ice 20 mins--plan to ice AM and PM. Have been doing affirmations. Skipped gym this AM...was planning to go and do upper body workout even though shoulders are still a bit cranky...but I was so anxious last night about work stuff that instead of falling asleep at 10 as planned, I tossed and turned until 1! Slept fitfully until 5:55. 6 is time to get up for the gym. My heart was racing, and I felt terribly alert and hypervigilant, but on less than 5 hours sleep, I though it's not wise to further stress my body by doing a workout. Could I have gone and just done cardio, improving circulation to my shoulder? Yes. Should I have? Maybe. But I was feeling so OFF! I set the alarms for 8 and didn't sleep, just lay in bed tossing and turning again for 2 hours, heart pounding, feeling hot and then cold. No fever...98.3, but my temp usually runs low, like around 97-97.5. My face still feels flushed, and I'm still feeling OFF. Work is a major source of stress for me right now. That, combined with stress about other areas of my life, including the when-the-hell-is-my-body-going-to-stop-getting-injuries area, gives me plenty of stuff to work on in terms of learning to lower my anxiety and remain serene in the face of crappiness. My shoulder is feeling ever so slightly better. I hope this continues. Tomorrow, I won't be working out, but I will on Thursday and Friday, and I plan to do so again Saturday to make up for today. Sunday will be a rest day. Another plus: my eating has remained stable. Granted, on the weekends I've eaten more than I NEEDED, but to a FAR lesser degree than in the past. And my weight is at its lowest in about a year, I think. All that being said, though, I intend to focus my efforts as I transition into my next training cycle primarily on fat loss as opposed to muscle gain, given the iffiness of my joints lately...and given that when I looked at myself in the mirror and thought again about posting photos for feedback, I thought, "Man, I look soft." If I'm embarrassed by my fat, maybe that's a clue. Once I'm ultra-lean, and once my body remains pain-free for at least a month or two, maybe then it's time to try a bulking phase.

Yesterday's food (2029 cals): 1/2 c oatmeal, 2T raisins 3 CLIF builder's bars over the course of the afternoon 2 Tofutti Cuties Ginormous salad: 1 lb. leafy greens, 1 med bell pepper, 1/2 jumbo onion, 1c Hi-Lo, 20 almonds, 1 apple, 1 tangelo, 2T raisins I did my first run-through of a few PT exercises for my rotator cuff. Will try again this evening with light weight, probably 15-oz cans. None gave me trouble except for raising arms out to side (like emptying cans, palms down). Iced for 20 mins afterwards. Am going to see if I can find a shoulder specific ice pack at Walgreen's that will allow me to walk around while icing both shoulders. Will restart my upper body weight training this week, but no shoulder press and no exercises that involve going overhead. Also am cutting the medicine ball pushups and sticking with stable machine exercises--for chest, those featuring rotary motion. Doing 3 chest exercises and 4 back exercises per week, as I think my chest is stronger than my back, which I suspect may contribute to potential muscular imbalance and injury. Injuries suck! So I shall faithfully do PT every night and listen to my body as I re-enter the upper body workout domain!

Today's food (1783 cals): beans, 2 oz. edamame, 1/3 lb. grapefruit beans, 2 oz. edamame, 1/3 lb. CLIF builder's bar leafy greens, 1/2 lb. med red bell pepper onion, 1/2 medium 1 apple Hi-Lo, 1/2 c almonds, 12 Shoulder is still sore. Think it may be rotator cuff. Will start upper body work again on Tuesday, but will remove overhead exercises. Will also begin PT exercises for rotator cuff. If it's not a rotator cuff injury, it still can't hurt.

Said affirmations last PM, this AM. No workout today--checkup for a doggie. Yesterday's foods (1783 cals): FF multigrain bread, 1 slice boca burger flaxseeds, 2 T CLIF builder's bar beans, 2 oz. edamame, 1/3 lb. beans, 2 oz. edamame, 1/3 lb. grapefruit leafy greens, 1/2 lb. med red bell pepper onion, 1/2 medium 1 apple Hi-Lo, 1/2 c almonds, 12 Feeling PO'd at the world today...stressed and annoyed. I NEED TO LEARN AND PRACTICE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES! (Hmmm, what if I honored the quotation in my signature?)

WOW! Thanks, all, for the responses. They do all make sense. I think that at this point what I need to do is make a decision, and then a commitment, to focus on either bulking or cutting. I know from Daywalker's posts on the subject that the two approaches do not need to be as far apart as many BB folks believe...however, it sounds like I do need to make one a priority/primary focus, and THEN to decide on whether to try HST or HIT training (or something else entirely, like a plyo circuit, as my understanding is HST and HIT apply to bulking but not cutting). I'm toying with the idea of posting pics here to get the forum members' opinions on whether a fat-dropping focus or a bulking focus would be a better place to start. If I do this, I'll be sure to indicate my goals and timeline. Unfortunately, I don't have a gym partner, so the spotting can't reliably happen. However, my gym does have machines aplenty, which I know don't give the same results as free weights but would certainly allow me to go to failure on heavy sets of compound lifts without risking death and dismemberment. My other consideration is injury prevention--particularly for my knees, hips, and shoulders. I hope everyone has a fantastic day, and thanks again for all the help. I'll be looking for more guidance, I'm sure!

Did affirmations last night and this AM, but focused on "I am a fit athlete, whose body heals itself, which makes me happy." My shoulder is feeling 90% better! However, I've changed my mind about making up the workouts...here's where I was yesterday: In considering my husband's advice (the voice of reason for some things), I decided it's just not wise, even if my shoulder is feeling totally better, to double up on upper body workouts immediately after recovering from an injury. So I will simply let it go and accept that I didn't get 2 of however many upper body workouts done during this training cycle. The other option is to make them up during my week of rest, coming up, I believe, the first week of October. It is hard for me to be mentally flexible instead of all-or-nothing, to miss workouts without freaking out, but I need to take good care of my body. Yesterday's food (1783 cals): FF multigrain bread, 1 slice boca burger flaxseeds, 2 T CLIF builder's bar beans, 2 oz. edamame, 1/3 lb. beans, 2 oz. edamame, 1/3 lb. grapefruit leafy greens, 1/2 lb. med red bell pepper onion, 1/2 medium 1 apple Hi-Lo, 1/2 c almonds, 12 Today's workout SS1 1-leg wall sits (3 sets x25 sec.) decline crunches (3 sets to fatigue) SS2 leg press (3x20) decline leg raises (3 sets to fatigue) SS3 standing calf raise (WUx15, 4x9) leg ext (3x20) hamstring curl (3x20) SS cardio on treadmill 25 min roll/stretch I'm meeting next week with a trainer at the gym to get her take on whether I should focus primarily on building muscle or dropping fat...and the most effective way to achieve that goal during my next training cycle, which will take me through the end of the year. I may post some photos here to get other members' opinions on where to start (gulp)! I was a bit leaner in my avatar, I think...

CONGRATULATIONS! What was your last BF%? How long did it take you to achieve this?

Did affirmations last night and this AM. Yesterday's foods (1513 cals): FF multigrain bread, 1 slice boca burger flaxseeds, 2 T beans, 2 oz. edamame, 1/3 lb. beans, 2 oz. edamame, 1/3 lb. grapefruit leafy greens, 1/2 lb. med red bell pepper onion, 1/2 medium 1 apple Hi-Lo, 1/2 c almonds, 12 Today is a rest day (12 hour work day). Tomorrow, I'm going to work out lower body. Friday would be an upper body day, but oldest dog has vet appt. COULD work out after work if shoulder is feeling better. As of today, it's not yet. My plan, if I continue to rest my shoulder for the rest of the week, is to do 6 gym sessions next week instead of 4 (this week will have been 2 instead of 4) to make up for missed workouts.

Did affirmations last night and this AM. My right shoulder is STILL hurting, so I skipped the gym this AM, where I would have done a chest/bicep/shoulder workout. I could have gone, done cardio and foam rolling exercises, and called it a day, but I slept 2 more hours instead. I've been feeling tired lately, and maybe my body is needing a bit extra rest. This is messing with my head, though, because I hate to miss workouts. I'm feeling anxiety about when my shoulder will be back to normal and guilt about not going to the gym at all when cardio and foam rolling would have helped the rest of my body stay fit and healthy. So right now, I'm mired in anxiety and guilt. Not a great way to start my work week. I'm trying to tell myself that part of being healthy is knowing when to just rest a bit, and that this is good for me. But maybe it's not. I just don't know. Yesterday's foods (1955 cals): 1 slice FF multigrain bread boca burger 2T flaxseeds CLIF builder's bar CLIF builder's bar Chipotle: chips, 2 salsas 1 lb leafy greens 1 onion 2 apples 1 c Hi-Lo 20 almonds

Didn't do affirmations yesterday. Oh, well! I did, however, get the living room clean (kitchen was yesterday), chop all my fruits and veggies for the week, and get all my laundry squared away. So the rest of Labor Day is mine to enjoy! Yesterday's food (2152 cals): 1 package apple crisps 1/2 c Hi-Lo 1/4 c soy milk 2/3 c oatmeal 2T raisins CLIF builder's bar CLIF builder's bar 1/2 lb. leafy greens 1c Hi-Lo 1 red pepper 1/2 onion 1 apple 20 almonds 1 bag 94% FF Kettle Korn 2 extra small pcs FF multigrain bread (heel & head) boca burger 2T flaxseeds 2T raisins 10 almonds On future weekends, I'd like to start making recipes from Table for Two, Vegan Vittles, and Juliano's RAW: The Un-Cook book. On days I'm not "on plan," I find myself settling for food that's not completely delicious sometimes and thinking, "Some soup would be awesome, or chili, or some sort of tofu dish." I'll start looking at what gets in the way of me doing this now. Today's workout: SS1 walking lunges (3x20) leg curls w/exercise ball (to fatigue--working up to 3x20--these are harder than they look!) SS2 step-up w/glute squeeze Romanian DL SS3 rear delt fly machine, parallel grip seated calf raise standing calf raise 30 min SS cardio/treadmill hill (250 cals) 10 min stretch TOTAL: 2 HOURS If you have a moment, please visit and give feedback to a question I've posted in the general bodybuilding forum. I could really use some assistance! Thanks for reading, and have a fantastic day!

To cut to the chase: my question is whether it's actually necessary to keep the total # of reps the same throughout a training cycle—i.e., when one is systematically varying the # of reps per set and the # of sets per exercise. I have tried to include as much info as necessary to give an informed answer to this question but not so much as to overwhelm. I'm currently in the middle of a 10-week training cycle (just finished week 5). My goals are to build muscle, especially in my upper body, calves, and butt, while also getting rid of a bit of extra body fat. I’m a 31 year old female, ~125-130 lbs, 5’5”. I keep my calories to an average of about 1875. I always follow lifting with cardio—currently, 25 minutes, with intervals on upper body days and steady state on lower body days. First week was high reps (3 sets of 17...more on why this bizarre number in a bit) Weeks 2-4 were a warm up set of 15, then 3x12 (for a total of 51 reps...same as 3x17! I’m kind of OCD about numbers of reps and keeping volume the same since I read about this concept in descriptions of HST, but perhaps I’m taking it too far.) Weeks 5-7 are warm up of 15, then 4x9 (again, 51 total) and weeks 8-10 are going to be warm upx15, then 6x6 (same total reps--51). The exceptions to this rule are lower body except for calves (my thighs are BIG with muscle and don't need any more bulk, so 3 sets of 20) and abs (which I train to failure for 3-4 sets). The 3x12, 4x9, and 6x6 workouts all add up to 36 reps per exercise (or 51 if you include the warm up of 15) , but the 4 and 6 set workouts take longer, owing to walking around between stations (I superset) and, if using barbells, adjusting weights between sets. I do 7 exercises per workout, 4 workouts per week. And I don’t want to spend more than about 90 minutes on the whole thing, but whenever I transition to lower reps and more sets, it takes longer. Which I guess brings me to another question: I've read that the total workout shouldn't take more than an hour. Could this be overdoing it? If it helps, here's my split. Monday butt, thighs, rear delts, calves Tuesday chest, biceps, abs Thursday butt, thighs, abs, calves Friday back, triceps, shoulders On Saturdays, I usually attend a yoga class that provides another opportunity for some light core and leg work. I give 4 exercises per week to my back and chest, 8 per week to my butt and thighs (spread over 2 workouts), 2 per week to my shoulders (divided between 2 workouts—1 for rear delts, 1 shoulder press—dealing with shoulder injuries, so trying not to overdo), 2 per week to biceps, 2 to triceps, 3 per week to calves (over 2 workouts), and 3 per week to abs (over 2 workouts). Any and all help appreciated! I don’t want to overtrain, especially since I am experiencing a “cranky” shoulder, knee, hip, and foot; I faithfully do my physical therapy stuff on the foam roller after cardio, but I want to be sure I’m staying injury free and being sensible. At the same time, I want vicious guns, a butt that looks like I’m trying to shoplift 2 personal watermelons, and calves that look like I’m wearing stripper shoes even when I’m in flip flops. (Not that I can wear either for long with my plantar fasciitis!) Oh, and I don’t want to spend crazy amounts of time in the gym. Again, to bottom line the question: total number of reps—must they remain constant throughout periodization cycles? And any other tips to streamline workouts?

Rest day today. Yesterday's Foods (2226 cals): 1 c hi-lo 1/2 c soy milk 10 almonds CLIF builder's bar 1/2 lb leafy greens med red pepper 1/2 onion 1c hi-lo 20 almonds med apple 2 small pcs (heel & head) FF multigrain bread 1 boca burger 7 pickle chips 1T reduced sugar ketchup few onion pieces 1.5 oz. salted cashews 2/3 c popcorn kernels, air-popped 2/3 personal watermelon (4.5 c) Did affirmations last night but not yet this morning. I think my shoulder pain may be related to the way we have the computer set up in the study and my mouse-reaching posture. Nevertheless, I am worried that I may not be able to do my upper body workout on Tuesday as planned. Some good news: I lose some inches in my 2nd monthly measurements! Lost 3.25" total...5/8" on waist, 1/4" on abdomen (at belly button), 5/8" hips, 1/4" right thigh, 1/2" left thigh, 1/4" each calf. Bit bummed about the calves, as I'm trying to build them up and they don't appear to have fat on them...also, my thighs were perfectly symmetrical last month, but now they're not...but only off by 1/4". Overall, I'm very happy with the progress I've made this month physically. And behaviorally, I don't remember the last month I was binge-free. Not to say the urge isn't still there...the thoughts of having a trough full of decadent goodies and just BURYING my face in it...but for the first time, I'm having reasonable portions of "off-plan" foods, foods which used to be synonymous with eating until I felt sick. NO FOODS ARE OFF LIMITS NOW, and it's so liberating! I'm eating chips and guac and losing inches! I'm having salty days and watching my weight fluctuate as a result...and I'm not freaking out. I'm listening to my body and giving it what it wants (not all the time, but definitely more than before)! I never have purchased cashews before, as they don't provide as many nutrients per calorie as almonds, but yesterday I wanted something salty and fatty, and my raw almonds just weren't it. So we went to a convenience store, and I got a single-serving package of Planter's...and it felt SO RIGHT! "Awww, yeah, that's the stuff!" said my stomach. (My stomach is extremely intelligent. It speaks in a Barry White voice.) Anyhoo, here's to success...mine and "Joe"'s! He lost 2 inches this month, and his waist to hip ratio is now in the healthy range! Life is good.