[timarie]

Here are the photos as I said I would post (mentioned in previous post), to further demonstrate what I can look like as a result of my EXERCISE. These photos were taken (in order): February 2012, March 2012, December 2012. These can be grouped along with the photos posted in post #39.

[timarie]

.....So, it's time for an update! I am well overdue.

My current body measurements are:
My Measurement Update
Underbust/Bust: 29"/35"
Waist: 25"
Hip/Butt: 39.25"

Towards the very end of my break, I was 39" and even sometimes fluctuated under that by a quarter of an inch. Now I am fluctuating over 39" by a quarter of an inch to a half inch (I measured 39.5" two weeks ago).

Diet Update
I have now been working my lower body for 5 weeks, and have been eating pretty LEAN (meaning, I am not packing on the calories) and eating CLEAN (meaning I am avoiding refined grains and extra unsaturated fats and added sugars). I wanted to see how far I could get while on this diet (as opposed to last time, when I was eating moderately clean and definitely NOT lean, lol). But now I have discovered that there IS a way to pack on the calories (which helps muscles along with protein--as you may have seen in my earlier posts, muscles thrive off of calories too so max building comes from both protein AND calories) without packing on the extra fat, necessarily. I am planning on going on a high-calorie, low glycemic index diet. There is nothing like getting fast mass on your derriere with a high-calorie diet and then, when attempting to trim down a bit on the stomach with a temporary "lean out" later, losing all this mass off of your butt! It makes me feel like I am regressing, so I think I am going to go on a high-calorie, low glycemic index diet and have hopefully faster butt results from the higher calories, while continuing to always keep my stomach flat by keeping a low glycemic index diet. The specifics of my diet are posted in the next post.

Upper-Body Workout Update
So, I have been working out my upper body now for 2 months and 1 week. Since it takes a lot for me to gain fat on my upper body, and I gain muscle easily, my arms have always been tone. The point of my upper-body workout is to further tone them so that they will be more defined and have a nice shape to them. Just after two months, I DO already notice increased muscle definition! Another reason for doing these upper-body workouts is to strengthen my back so that I will not injure myself while lifting heavy weight for my lower body routine. And NO, strengthening a muscle DOES NOT require making it bigger! Although it can become more tone, as my upper body is becoming. So, my upper body is getting stronger and more defined, NOT bigger. It is all about HOW you workout. I make sure to lift light weights (heavy enough where I feel resistance, but light enough where I can do probably up to 30 reps at a time if I wanted to). I also do less sets, and more reps (typically, 3 sets and 12 reps). I have a "back & biceps" day, a "shoulders & lower back" day, and a "chest and triceps" day. I do chest & tris only once a week, and at most I will do back & bis and shoulders & lower back twice a week unless my schedule gets crammed or I am super tired that week. So I will spend either 3 days a week on upper body or 5 days, depending on what works for me. Obviously, if I do any of these routines twice a week, I make sure to have two days of rest for that body part before running that routine for the second time for the week. The specifics of my upper-body workout routine is posted in the next post.

Lower-Body Workout Update
What you must know ladies is that I planned to take only a month and a half (6 weeks) off, but then LIFE happened at the same time *gasp* and my break was then 9 weeks long. I worked out my lower body for two weeks and then came down with a really bad cold that just wouldn't go away, so I stopped my lower body again for about a month. Now I have started up again and have been working out my lower body for 5 weeks now, but with a much better approach than last time, as my new lower body routine is better tailored to avoid muscle memory. (Note: As many of you may already know, muscles quickly learn your routine and, with that, ADAPT to the routine-- which means that they will not respond to it nearly as much as they would to something they are not used to.) My new routine has a basic skeletal structure to it, but I will mix up the exercises I use after just 6 weeks of certain exercises (except for two main exercises which I superset--more on this later). This should avoid muscle memory from interfering with my gains. I also have reduced my workout to only once a week because, the idea is that I will give my muscles more time to recover and grow by giving them the whole week, AND with only working out once a week, I will be able to really give it my all and really tear down those muscle fibers (which, I will add, is what we are SUPPOSED to do when weight lifting for building muscle... it's just that on Wednesdays I used to be so fried after work and volunteer work after work, that I would just go through the motions in my workout routine to keep from getting too overwhelmed). Now that I only workout once a week, I can really focus on making that one REALLY count! I REALLY kick it. The specifics of my lower-body workout routine is posted in the next post.

Waist-Tucking Workout Update
So, this is an update on my plans, as I have not started it yet. My stomach is already flat, so I just want to pull in the sides of my waist a bit more by tightening/toning my obliques. My goal is to get to 24" if possible, so that means I would like to lose an inch. This is rather experimental, so I'm going to give it a go! I ran into a bodybuilder/personal trainer who works out at the same time as I do at the gym, and he told me that these workouts are the best (and told me to toss the other ideas I had, so I will spare you all and not bother mentioning them). He said that with these workouts, he brought his waist down to 27"... which is pretty damn small for a guy!! And he does NOT have a small frame, he is built very well, eats very well (and, therefore, his issue was NOT having a belly! He lost inches off of the sides of his waist from tightening his obliques) and so when he said that, I was like "What the heck? Ok, I'm in!"). These workouts I will be doing for 3 days out of the week, since the workouts are going to be very light for the sake of toning. Additionally, all of the abdominal muscles are the fastest muscles in the body to recover from a workout, so there is no need for recovery time. You just don't want to do them any more than (I'd say) 4 days out of the week, to avoid over-training. Yes, that is possible. Maybe (I'm hoping) if this exercise regimen works well enough, it should be enough to keep my waist trim if I decide to get back into a high-calorie diet for mass muscle gains in my lower body... so I won't need to go on a lean diet ever again! Yey! Please see the next post for specifics on the waist-tucking workout routine.

[pom19]

Timarie, I am waiting for your post on new waist reduction. the one that the body builder with 27" waist told you about. Thanks, POM

[timarie]

Timarie, I am waiting for your post on new waist reduction. the one that the body builder with 27" waist told you about. Thanks, POM

Hey Pom! Sorry, I am on vacation and as I am trying to write out all of my routines, I am getting distracted! I was focused on my other program too and am composing a diet and workout program for someone at the same time-- and I am all over the place. I apologize.

I have the Waist-Tucking Routine made up (as it is simple) but am still typing the others out... and want to post them altogether (yeah I can be a little OCD with my organizing like that sometimes...), so it should be up later today or tomorrow if you can wait; if not, PM me and I will send you just the waist exercises!

I promise, I am not ignoring you and certainly have not forgotten.

[pom19]

Timarie, I am waiting for your post on new waist reduction. the one that the body builder with 27" waist told you about. Thanks, POM

Hey Pom! Sorry, I am on vacation and as I am trying to write out all of my routines, I am getting distracted! I was focused on my other program too and am composing a diet and workout program for someone at the same time-- and I am all over the place. I apologize.

I have the Waist-Tucking Routine made up (as it is simple) but am still typing the others out... and want to post them altogether (yeah I can be a little OCD with my organizing like that sometimes...), so it should be up later today or tomorrow if you can wait; if not, PM me and I will send you just the waist exercises!

I promise, I am not ignoring you and certainly have not forgotten.

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"Best comes to those who wait." Thanks...

[timarie]

Ok, so as mentioned in post #102 (above), below are the specifics of my workout routines. Extra information about these programs are in post #102.

Upper-Body Workout Routine
Chest and Triceps (1x per week)
• Wide Push Ups (Compound)—body weight full pushup, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...-positions
• Incline Chest Press (Compound)—30 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...bell-press
• Pectoral Flyes (Compound)—35 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...bell-flyes
• Decline Pectoral Flyes (Compound)—35 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...bell-flyes
• Bench Dips (Compound)—body weight, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...bench-dips
• Skull Crusher (Isolation)—20 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...ullcrusher
• Dumbell Tricep Extension (Isolation)—15 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...-extension
• Dumbell Tricep Kickbacks (Isolation)—10 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...l-kickback
• Cable Single-Arm Tricep Extension (Isolation)—10 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...-extension
Back and Biceps (1-2x per week)
• Hammer Strength Lat Pull (Compound)—50 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.ehow.com/video_2361463_hammer...-pull.html
• Wide Grip Lat Pulldown (Compound)—60 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...t-pulldown
• Seated Narrow Grip Cable Rows (Compound)—55 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...cable-rows
• T-Bar Rows (Compound)—35 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...ng-bar-row
• Barbell Curls (Isolation)—30 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...rbell-curl
• Incline Dumbell Curls (Isolation)—12.5 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...bbell-curl
• Alternate Hammer Curls (Isolation)—10 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...ammer-curl
Shoulders and Lower Back (1-2x per week)
• Seated Dumbell Press (Compound)—5 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...lder-press
• Rear Delt Cable Flyes (Isolation)—5 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...eral-raise
• Dumbell Front Raise (Isolation)—5 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...bell-raise
• Seated Arnold Press (Compound)—5 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...bell-press
• Dumbell Lateral Raise (Isolation)—5 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...eral-raise
• Seated Bent-Over Rear Delt Raise (Isolation)—5 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...delt-raise
• Lower Back Hyperextension (Isolation)—25 lbs, 3 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...extensions
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Lower-Body Workout Routine (1x per week)
• High-Intensity Interval Hill Sprints—10 sprints for about 30-45 seconds, 2-3 minute breaks walking down the hill (if I reach the bottom of the hill before my 2 minute break is up, I do lying hip abductions or crunches to keep my body in motion); entire process takes about 25 minutes
• Bulgarian Split Squats (Compound)—100lbs, 4 sets, 8 reps (per leg, so that's 16 squats altogether per set), 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...bell-squat
• Cable Kickbacks (Isolation)—42.5lbs, 4 sets, 8 reps (per leg, so that's 16 kickbacks altogether per set), 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...e-kickback
• Cable Abduction (Isolation)—20lbs, 4 sets, 8 reps (per leg, so that's 16 abductions altogether per set), 60 second breaks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvnR8CDb4BU
• Walking Barbell Lunges (Compound)—110lbs, 5 sets, 10 reps (per leg, so that's 20 lunges altogether per set), 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...king-lunge
----SUPER-SET 1st, 3rd, and 5th sets of Walking Lunges with...----
• V-Squats (Compound)—180lbs, 3 sets, 8 reps, 60 second breaks after V-Squat set and before Walking Lunge set http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpZVw5wA-qM
• Hip Thrust (Isolation)—100lbs, 4 sets, 8 reps (per leg, so that's 16 thrusts altogether per set), 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...hip-thrust
• Leg Press (Compound)—230lbs, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de.../leg-press
• Abductor Machine (Isolation)—170lbs, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...h-abductor
• Seated Calf Lift (Isolation)—10lbs, 5 sets, 12 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...calf-raise
• Leg Curl (Isolation)—90lbs, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...-leg-curls
• Standing Calf Lift (Isolation)—body weight, 3 sets, 12 reps (per leg, so that's 24 lifts altogether per set), 60 second breaks http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/de...alf-raises
• Stretch Those Glutes!!!

There is actually a method to all this madness. I warm-up my glutes with a High Intensity Interval Training in the form of Hill Sprints. HIIT allows you to elevate your heart rate without burning off your muscle for energy. Hill sprints are great for building glutes if done right. I do these sprints on a steep hill just down the street from where I live, and then I go home to eat another protein, a pre-workout shake, and then I'm off to the gym. I start off my glute figure-building at the gym with a compound, which gets the testosterone and growth hormones "pumping" or "flowing" as you would say. Then super-sets are meant to burn the muscles out a bit more than usual, and trick up the muscles a bit, so that is the next compound done in my routine. Super-sets are draining because you do them back-to-back without a break. So basically, I do a set of walking lunges followed immediately by a set of V-Squats, and then I take my minute break, to by followed by a set of lunges, minute break, then lunges, then V-Squats, then minute break... every other set of lunges I super-set with a V-Squat. Then I have my isolation exercises before it, so that I can strengthen those specific muscles targeted for isolation (gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and tensor fascia latae) so that during my superset, I will have a great mind-muscle connection and will use those muscles more during the compound exercises to follow. I noticed that this really DOES make a difference with what muscles I use!! After the super-set, I focus on getting more mind-muscle connection again through use of another glute isolation (hip thrust) and then finish up with one more testosterone-surging compound exercise (leg press). Then, I follow with all of my other isolation exercises to work on calves and hamstrings and the abductors.

Soon to be added to the lower-body workout routine: The following is not a part of my routine as of yet, but I have been wanting to make it a part of my routine since the beginning of my break. It is based on the principle theory of hyperplasia, which they have proven to work on animals but obviously (unless some athlete volunteered to let a scientist cut their muscle ligaments apart) have not been able to prove for humans, yet it seems very promising. But, since I made so many other changes to my routine upon my return from my break, I was just trying to get those other changes down-pat. Now that I feel comfortable with my new lower-body workout routine, I think I will finally be able to give this a go. See here: http://www.fitstep.com/Advanced/Secret-T...erload.htm . I plan to use the Hip Thrust as this is one of the most effective isolation exercises for the glutes, can work out both legs at the same time. I would do this in place of where you currently see my "normal" hypertrophy (which means to enlarge the muscle fibers you already have by using heavy weights and low reps) hip thrust exercise, just before my last compound exercise for the glutes (the leg press). Also, I miss doing down-sets! I have been told that, when you exercise a muscle to the point of failure, your body tires out of using the fast twitch muscle fibers (the ones responsible for giving muscle definition and tone) and begins to use the slow twitch muscle fibers which are the ones responsible for making your muscles BIGGER. This can be done by exercising to the point of failure, or by lifting VERY heavy weights at low reps (which I do, but I want a little bit of every method in my routine!). And I already do super-sets, and now all I need to do is add the hyperplasia exercise routine and down-sets again, then I will have a master lower-body workout routine!!!

I will let everyone know when I officially add this to my routine. Today I did not, because I just got back from vacation and honestly had a difficult time dragging myself to the gym... dragged myself to the gym and, because I did not workout my back for a week, noticed the effects instantly! My lower back was killing me. I got to my cable hip abductions just before my Walking Lunges/V-Squat Super-set and thought it would be smart to stop my whole lower-body routine for the day, workout on my lower back instead, and do my lower body routine from start to finish tomorrow (hoping that the lower body workout from today would be enough to strengthen my back in preparation for my lower-body workout routine). I guess I'll find out tomorrow!
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Waist-Tucking Workout Routine (3x per week)
• Broomstick Twist—10 minutes without break (eventually will work up to 15 minutes); Please use this guide as a reference for proper form and execution: http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-a.../twist.htm
• Planks and Side Planks—will do side plank on one side for 45 seconds, normal plank for 45 seconds, then other side plank for 45 seconds for each set. Will do 3 sets, gradually working up to 5 sets with 60 second holds. 60 second breaks between each set. It is important to keep this a static exercise, since it involves your body weight!

"That's... it?!" you say? Well, yes... as mentioned in my post above, the simpler and less strenuous a workout is on any of your abdominals, the better. Less strenuous, and more frequently (hence the 3x per week). The goal of my Waist-Tucking Exercise Routine is to tone and tighten the obliques, NOT build. I will say again, if someone wants to flatten their stomach pooch in the front, they will need to: 1) change their diet and 2) do stomach vacuums. This routine listed above is not intended to help flatten the stomach (although as a result of planks, just might help a bit!). I will let everyone know when I start up on this routine! Hopefully this week, if I am not too overwhelmed with my other workouts, which I plan on doubling up on as a punishment for not doing ANY exercises for the week
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NOTE: If anyone is confused about anything I wrote and would like some clarification, PLEASE do not hesitate to respond to this. Sometimes I just have so many ideas and I throw them all down, I KNOW I am not explaining things thoroughly enough. My program page would be a novel if I did explain absolutely everything at the first moment of mention (if it isn't already... ) and then I would lose track of the original main point of my writing. Plus, sometimes I just forget what people know and what they don't know, because I surround myself at the gym with people who DO know this stuff all the time. So, I forget that most people don't know some of these things... PLEASE PLEASE ask me to explain anything that you do not know or don't understand. I would be more than happy to explain it to you and to everyone else who is reading who may also not understand.

[Outofstyle]

I don't feel quite as overwhelmed about my workout routine after seeing yours Timarie! Just curious, how long at the gym does it take for you to go through a full day's routine?

You look amazing in your pics btw!! They all look good but your last one in the red, you can really tell how toned you are. You look very capable - as in you could hop off a motorcycle and tackle some bad guy down at any moment kind of capable. The extreme kind

[pom19]

______________________________________________
I like your quote from Carl Jung.

[Missed Miss]

What I meant was that I was very strong, but not like one of those muscle heads with veins popping out and a set of six-packs. A friend of mine recently saw a video of one of our gigs from 20 years ago and she went nuts over how "pumped" my upper arms were!! In the meantime, the only semi-regular "weight lifting" I ever did back then was carrying my huge set around and playing drums about 8 hours hours a week...and the other stuff I mentioned.

Haha right! The steroid body builder ladies! Gotcha It definitely takes a unique body type to get "cut" arms from exercises other than lifting weights. I imagine you probably had very little fat on your upper body as well from all those hobbies you had, which made your arms more defined. Love it. Good luck with getting back to doing what you love!!!

Thanks!! I hope so, too!! I just MIGHT be getting a job as drummer in a new recording studio this weekend!! Cross your fingers!!!!
Yep, I was always pretty skinny until about 10 years ago, I gained almost 100 pounds since then and have been TRYING to drop it all!! Hopefully I can get a few pounds of it to go to my tits!!
I also collect records, so, there's a lot of lifting involved with that, sometimes, too. A full case of albums holds at least 150, a full case of 78's holds 100. I lift them by the case! And I have 51,000 records in my collection.

[Missed Miss]

Here are the photos as I said I would post (mentioned in previous post), to further demonstrate what I can look like as a result of my EXERCISE. These photos were taken (in order): February 2012, March 2012, December 2012. These can be grouped along with the photos posted in post #39.

Nice pictures!! I like the third one, best, but you have a GREAT lower half in all three!!!!