Stephanielynn76's Blog

My coach/friend Dominique (http://www.dominiquedurand.com) and I did some candid pics during our training session on Friday. It was back-and-shoulders day. We had a blast!!! Check us out. Yes, she is much stronger... but I am making progress. :) She inspires me and gives me something to work towards. 

 SHOULDER PRESS

PULL-UPS

STIFF-LEGGED DEADLIFTS (BB/DB)

ROWS

Break time :)

If you missed it... 

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/780124-best-example-of-fat-vs-muscle-i-ve-seen

^^It was locked but I still wanted to address it.

First of all, I would like to thank FlashBang for starting the topic. I know it didn't exactly unfold as you had intended but that is not your fault. I appreciate the gesture and the intent behind it. You are too kind. ;)

Now, there were some pretty unfavorable comments made about me, my body, and my goals. The aftermath that followed was a mix of both hearty agreement and absolute disgust. I sat back and watched some internet strangers pick me apart like vultures while others jumped in like superheros to aid in my defense. It was... incredible! WOW! LOL

The last comment I left on the thread was this:

^^UPDATE: It looks like the topic I was referencing was deleted...  

I got this commend on my last blog post so I figured I'd address it...

On my last bulk I started at 1800 (around maintenance for me) and gradually increased to 2500-2600/day by the end. I was still doing some cardio here and there so that expenditure should be factored in. When I started my cut I dropped back down to 1800 and stayed there for quite a while. I eventually found I plateaued on that intake so I dropped down to 1600. The losses picked back up again. Towards the end (right before the show) I did increase cardio to get that last little bit of thigh fat off (yes we all hate that stuff) but I never went below 1600 calories. As for my macros... percentage-wise I kept them around 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat. I will go on record and say that I am NOT carb sensitive. Other friends/competitors I know have to cut their carb intake much lower to achieve a similar level of leanness. I cut carbs for 1 week and looked and felt horrible so I added them back in again. This is what I mean when I say that you have to tailor your diet to your own body chemistry. We are all different and finding out what works for you may require some experimentation of your own.

I hope that addresses the original question sufficiently.

As for my current intake... yes, I've been kinda lazy and not really tracking (sorry). I've been eating the same foods and meals for so very long that I don't even need to record it all to have a general idea of what my intake is. I have chicken and sweet potatoes for lunch most days. I eat at lot of ground turkey... both in the form of meat patties or ground meat on low-carb wraps. I eat brown rice and asparagus (or some other vegetable) as a side. I eat ground turkey chilli. I eat tilapia. I am eating the same foods as I ate while cutting... just adding a few little extra snacks in there daily and a couple of extra cheat meals per week. I eat ice cream every Sunday... because I like it. I did this even throughout my cut. My diet, with the exception of the cheat meals, is utterly borning. I will eventually get back to tracking when I reach a point where every calorie counts but I'm not ready to right now. For now I will just indulge in a little extra snacking here and there knowing come next spring I won't be able to do that! And on that note... I feel like a bowl of oatmeal.... 

So in my efforts to encourage people to BULK (especially women) I thought I'd share some comparison photos. Lean muscle makes all the difference in the look of a person's body. More of it will allow you to eat more and look good while carrying more weight... even more FAT.

First up... an 18-month comparison from the "fat" me to the stage (the figure show I did in June).

FRONT:

 

 

So back in my "fat" pictures I weighed about 140lbs. Well guess what... I'm bulking now and I'm about there again. Oy. Does it freak me out a little to once again see my "fat weight" on the scale???? ... uhm... yeah... just a little. But you know what, the scale doesn't really tell the whole truth. You can't get attached to a number. The lean mass I've gained has made HUGE improvements in my body. I haven't by any means met my goals for myself either, I've still got growing to do! If you want to grow... you've got to train and EAT! Otherwise you will spin your wheels and not see progress. The biggest obstacle when bulking is accepting the extra body fat that comes along with the gains. It sucks but you can't let it freak you out. Right now my thighs (my main problem area) are thickening up and the dimples I hate so much are now reappearing. :( Good thing the cooler weather is coming because I'm going to be opting for jeans (or at least burmuda shorts) from here on out. LOL

 

To put in perspective how different 140lbs looks on a body with less muscle/more fat (on the left) versus more muscle/less fat (on the right)... check this out:

 

 

^^Have I convinced you yet??? :D Winter is coming ladies. You'll be covered up anyway so why not make good use of your opportunity to add some muscle! Up your calories and train hard. Your strength will likely improve with the extra food... and if you are like me... you will be stoked to reach some of your own new personal records in the weight room. As for how to get in the extra calories... well, I've never had a problem doing that. I like to eat! For added fun, acquire a bulking buddy and splurge together! Then you can complain about your butt dimples over cookies! By the way, cookies give you super powers... true story!

Hey y'all! I just wanted to share what I've been doing lately. As I have mentioned before, I have loosely been following the PHAT training template with the exception of my leg days. I've continued with the same basic leg routine that I started back a year ago (when I started my first bulk) but with modifications along the way to change it up.

 I do two leg days per week. It looks something like this: (the weight amounts are from my first set pyramiding up to my last... 3-4 sets... usually dropping the number of reps as I get heavier)

Day 1

Leg press (270lbs-510lbs)

Stiff-legged deadlifts- barbell (135lbs-155lbs)

Plate-load squat machine (180lbs-270lbs)

Good mornings (50lbs-65lbs) Extensions (120lbs)

Glute-ham raises (holding 10lb plate)

Day 2

Box squats -below parallel with free weights (100lbs-133lbs)

Regular deadlifts -free weights (133lbs-188lbs)

Walking lunges -kettlebells (30-35lbs)

Glute bridges (105lbs-125lbs)

Calves (110-120lbs)

I've had a few questions about the box squats so I figured I'd answer them here. The box I use is the one on the right (image below). The one on the left is about parallel so you can see the one I use is quite low... especially for me because I've got long legs (I'm 5'7")! Going lower is much harder and therefore I don't use as much weight. However I find the depth targets the glutes more which is what I wanted. (I like big butts and I cannot lie... LOL)

 So, I try to separate the leg days so that I have a few days recovery between them. I often do them on Tuesdays and Fridays but make adjustments based on my work schedule/kid's school schedule. I am hoping to see strength improvements all around throughout this bulk but my main focus is on squats and deadlifts. I'd like to get my box squat up to my body weight for 10 reps and my deads to 200lbs for 10 reps. We shall see how it goes... I'll post about it when/if I do!

So... that's my current leg routine. I'm open for questions if you have any! I will come back and post some on upper body stuff on another day. If you have a request for a blog post/topic let me know!

So I got on the scale yesterday and oy.... 137.5!!! Holy crap! I ENDED my last bulk at 137lbs after 6 months of gaining. I've still got the rest of October through January to gain so I may end up 145-150lbs! It's all good though... because at 137lbs today I look better... leaner and more muscular than I did last time at this weight. It is progress! If you want to build muscle you can't be afraid to gain. It's part of the process. Getting "soft" (putting on some body fat) is also par for the course. You've got to mentally get passed that to make progress.

Here is a shot of me from this weekend... jeans shopping.