It seems I've managed to build some muscle mass.
And lose a modicum of body fat. Woo! Hoo!
My stats in January 2008 were as such:
Scale weight: 115 pounds
Body Fat: 23 percent (24 pounds of body fat and 91 pounds of lean mass)
This morning's stats:
Scale weight: 120 pounds (this has held steady for about a week now)
Body Fat: 20.9 percent (23 pounds of body fat and 97 pounds of lean mass)
That's a gain of 6 pounds of lean mass! Some may be glycogen and fluids but I'm betting a good percentage is solid muscle tissue. I also lost roughly 1 pound of body fat. Not a lot but I'll take it. (Measurements by an Omron bio-impedance meter I've used for about a decade so it's fairly accurate).
My bust, waist, hip, and thigh measurements have gone down about an inch or so each since January.
I had about 4 weeks in the middle of those 4 months when I did very little in the workout department due to a bout with the flu and a sinus infection. But the rest of the time I hit the weights and I hit them hard. And I've worked at eating as much protein as I could stand and getting at least 9 hours a night of quality sleep (this is when your body builds muscle).
For about six weeks my scale weight bounced around between 115 and 119, not a big fluxuation but not steady. For about two weeks now it's been 118 to 120. And now a solid week of 120 and I'm not pre-menstrual. It seems to be real mass.
I've noticed in the last several weeks that my muscles are harder (I'm not presently taking creatine as I cycle it). And they are visably bigger! Yesterday I was leaning on my left arm looking at my kittens when a momma cat came up beside me. I looked down and caught a glimpse of my flexed tricep and went, "Holy." I'm getting nice definition and triceps have long been a weak spot for me. But man, they're shaping up.
I did some research on how much muscle mass you can gain in that period of time. Of course, you get different answers from different sources. One guy swears he can't build more than 5 pounds of muscle mass in a YEAR so there's no way anyone can. (If this were true few of us would ever achieve enough muscle mass or definition to keep us motivated to keep going. We'd give up due to diminishing results).
Another swears with a well designed weight training program, a careful diet, proper rest, and stress management "know that beginner and intermediate trainers who train hard and train intelligently towards mass gain can and often do receive gains of 20 or 30 pounds over a 10-12 week period."
Common sense says we're all going to build mass at different rates depending on genetics, differences in the sexes due to hormone profiles, program design, workout intensity, diet, stress, and sleep habits. And frankly, the first guy probably doesn't train seriously, eat optimally, nor have a genetic propensity to build mass.
Luckily, I seem to have dialed into a weight training program and diet (cycling carbs and calories via The Cheat To Lose Diet) that are working for me (the body fat isn't exactly falling off, but at 20 percent body fat and a 6 pound gain in lean mass I won't whine too much). And though I'm short at 5 feet and 0.5 inches, I got my Dad's genetics. He was solid and stocky at 5' 10" and had a lot of muscle. (He never weight trained. He came by it through farm work in his youth and later being a furniture moving trucker).
Now pardon me, I have a chest and back workout to blast out before tonight - it's pizza night. Yeah!
Happy Training!
Links
Ten Quick Tips For Building Muscle
Building Muscle Mass
Excerpt:
"There is a lot of bad information out there on the subject building muscle and how to stay fit. We're being told over and over again about how difficult it is for women to gain some muscle mass due to our hormonal setup. Male trainers convince the majority of female trainers to go for the high reps method, thus burning fat and get "toned". Does that lead you to any results? Well, maybe, if you're totally new to training! Otherwise this will get you nowhere, but it will absolutely bore you out until you drop…
I tell you, and I know I'm right, that anyone can reach their fitness goals. That's it. The only things you need is Discipline, motivation, patience and perseverance and remember, practice makes perfect even regarding having these characteristics. Here I will go through some major things you need to know so you're reach your goals."
Intensity - The Most Important Factor In Bodybuilding
