Okay. It's a little weird, but it works like a hot damn:

Sit on the incline bench BACKWARD, with one foot on the floor and one leg UP the ramp.

Lean/pull gently toward your leg.

Switch legs.

Unlike every other hamstring stretch I've ever tried, this one actually hits the belly of the hamstring muscle, not just the insertions. I discovered it by accident last year when my hammies were knackered.

you know I have not tried it...I may have to as my hammies right now are in a perpetual state of pain.

Do the stretches, GENTLY. You'll see - they'll just RELEASE over the days and weeks that follow.

Stretching is important after lifting because you stretch out the fascia and give the muscle room to grow.

I used to stretch before, but I have come to understand that this can actually cause damage because the muscle isn't warm. I always stretch AFTER now.

no I don't think glutamine would help right now. It is just the workouts...there are alot of sets and very heavy weights..I think I have a few more weeks of this, and I am told volume is increasing one more time...then it will drop off and I can recover a bit. It is all good though cause I am growing and that is what I wanted. thanks for the support.

I take pictures every few weeks. I have one that is posted here taken in May, and then I took one last week and I have put on 3-4 lbs, but I have definitely increased in size. I will email them to you tomorrow and you can see what I am talking about. Do you have someone who can take pics for you. Also, you can take measurements, for instance if measurements go down but weight stays the same or goes up, it usually indicates you are gaining muscle and losing fat. Truthfully it is a very hard process, the average natty builder can only put on 5-7lbs a year, and some gets lost when dieting down. It is very hard to put on muscle in a caloric deficit and some weight must be gained to increase size. Now if hardening muscles and bringing out definition of what you already have is a goal then that can be done in a caloric deficit like what you are doing right now. So for me I am not worried right now about gaining weight, because I know when I start cutting I will have new muscle underneath...this is not something most women are comfortable with.

well I started cutting and then 6 weeks into it realized that I was not going to lose any weight because of my fibroids and the high dosages of hormones I am taking to keep them under control...so a few weeks ago I switched to bulking and I will stay on this probablly through January. I plan to have surgery in October, and take that whole month off and I do not want to cut over the holidays, so I will build until then and cut fro spring next year. Usually cutting and bulking cycles run 12-16 weeks.

8/4

Ok here is the plan for today.

Diet-1950 cals 175 prot, 200 carbs, 50 fat

cardio-none

Training-volume has increased :spin: :daze:

A1 Incline Bench Press 301 tempo 60s rest

65 x 3 reps x 2 sets
70 x 3 reps x 8 sets...woo hoo last week I could barely get 1 set done
superset with

A2 Barbell Rows 211 tempo 60s rest
90 x 3 reps x 10 sets

B1 Standing DB Press 301 tempo 30s rest

12.5 x 10 x 4
superset with

B2 Lat Pull Downs 301 tempo 45s rest

90 x 10 x 4

C Lying Tri Ext 301 tempo 60s rest

triple drop sets 6/6/6
30/24.5/20 x 3 sets

that was tough one...but bench went up 5lbs ...last week I coudl barely do 1 set at 70 and this week no problem for 8 sets !!!! Triceps are fried by the end of this workout.