Happy belated birthday (sorry, I’ve been busy with the course).
And hot pink is one of my favourite toenail colours. You’re never too old to wear that. And too muscular? Phooey. Nice pulls, be proud of 'em.
Dang, I don’t get the “too muscular” thing at all, but maybe our perceptions just differ. I am always looking to build my ass and legs and get better back development for the taper effect. I think the more muscle the better because it really enhances the shoulders-waist-hip contrast and gives an hourglass effect thats off the chain. I guess I have sometimes been bothered by the depth of my erectors but then I realize they are only pumped because I deadlifted earlier that day or something. Anyway, you lookin sexay like supergirl, not burly!! If you’re still worried though, I’m sure your vigorous in season training will help your reach catabolism if you don’t super compensate with the calories.
Pics of said “to muscular side.” Let the people decide.
conquistadorable! nice!
they’re right. we need pics. lots and lots of pics.
^^ Agreed on the pics of this purportedly “too muscular” body. I would love to give feedback.
Hey Cal! Thanks! Hot pink is ageless. I like that.
Owlie, I’m so glad you say that b/c you have a wonderful physique! And the fact that you celebrate your athletic build is a good reminder for me to also celebrate mine. That said, I feel a tad to robust, which while great for lifting isn’t so good for soccer. So i’d like to be a bit leaner and more lithe. I think lifting has made me much, much stronger, and now I want to transfer some of that into “explosive power”.
Lol! No pics! But how about a vid?
Today was Squat day - I was going for my maxes. I wanted 190. It was a bit craptastic. I got 175 (you be the judge), but not 185. I didn’t hit parallel. I knew it too when I went down that I stopped short. I was skittish. I included it in the vid b/c I just can’t let it go. Why?! WHY?!
Squat
Bar x 10
75 x 10
105 x 5
135 x 3
145
155
165
175
185 < not parallel
190 < no go
185 < no go
I happen to think watching fails are more fun than watching successful lifts. Its neat to see the strain and then how it just falls to shit. lol!
Anywho. I’ve also been leg pressing which I think has put some size on my quads - oops. I’ve been pressing 4x12 x 170-220 and with my friend Julio found my max which was around about 380. HA! Who knows how much that really is, but it was fun.
Add: It looks like i’m about to fall backwards! HAH! Interesting…
You did awesome. That shit is a lot of weight, much more impressive when you do it though considering you weigh a lot less than me.
Plus you’re so cute with fixing the hair in the mirror, so you have that on your side.
<3
To be honest, that 185 looked pretty good to me. Plus if you cut out the 175 set beforehand and you were a little fresher, it should be cake. And you also have very nice hammies and glutes!
Take more pics! I’m serious. You don’t have to post them but get some of your back, relaxed and flexed and doing poses and relaxed and you’ll see that what muscles you have there are lovely and curvy and sexy and they look quite different from the camera’s perspective than the mirror.
I used to get worried about my back because in my bathroom mirror if I flex my traps and erectors look so big from a 3/4 angle with side lighting but I take a pic and it’s totally different and I look small.
I start to think I’m getting too muscley, then I take some flexing pics and then I think I look like I have very little muscle and I go back and forth. The pics keep me mostly grounded in reality though (as long as I don’t worry about the artsy ones where I have side lighting adding depth)
More and more I want the muscles however so the ‘reality’ check is more disappointing than a relief now.
austin is also totally right about the nice hammies and glutes!
WOW!
Glad I check in on ya.
you are working hard, and that’s what counts the most.
Only thing that comes to mind after watching that vid is “Damn, you gotta sweet ass.” Hope that helps in some small way in the pursuit of your goals.
Masch-
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Your body looks awesome, you’re solid and round in the right places. Too big? No way. My wife struggled with carrying muscle for a long time. Her fam/friends told her she was too big. Her a-hole dad called her tree-trunk thighs. Before the 3 kids she was 5’6", 140 + squatted 165 x 20 in the hole. Some of the guys would ask her to warn them when she’d train legs 'cause she put them to shame.
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Don’t kick yourself too much for lack of depth. Had you a spotter, the little bit of confidence that comes with it will add inches to your depth and lbs to the bar. Always has for me. Could always cut some weight from the bar and practice depth then slowly add back over time, 2.5-5 lbs/week. But I’m sure you already know all of this or else you wouldn’t be where you are.
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Listen to Deb. Look at her, she knows of what she speaks.
Keep up the good work.
Keep working on the depth. Like Zinck (whose avi makes me really dizzy) said, I’d back off the weight and get that depth if it matters to you.
You look fab. Can’t understand why you don’t see that.
[quote]print wrote:
Only thing that comes to mind after watching that vid is “Damn, you gotta sweet ass.” Hope that helps in some small way in the pursuit of your goals.[/quote]
- barefoot in the gym…check
- yoga pants…check
- strong, shapely legs in yoga pants…check
- sweet, firm ass in yoga pants…big check
- lifting solid poundages…check
- hair flip…hell yeah
- cutie-pie face…check
The survey doesn’t lie. It’s official…you’re hot.
I want a piece of it! Just perfect is my verdict. I’ll tatoo my “I love Maschy” on my butt to convince you, if I have to…
xx
Ok, firstly (as you should by now know), I agree with everyone so far who has said you’re damn hot, with a rocking body, that does not in any way, shape, or form, look “too big” or “too muscley”. Take a step back, look at yourself in the mirror, or better yet (as suggested by Deb), take some pics, imagine it’s someone other than you you’re looking at, and ask yourself: Does she look too big? Does she look strong, and fit, and gorgeous? Masch, you’re always quick to recognize beautiful, athletic, and sexy bodies in others, so why can’t you recognize it in yourself??
(Btw, I struggle with this myself, so believe me, I understand!!)
Secondly, on to the squats: Way to max out!! Honestly, the depth on the 185 didn’t look bad at all, maybe a smidge above parallel, but your form otherwise looks great. You’ll get that 185 with great depth in no time.
[quote]RBlue wrote:
Ok, firstly (as you should by now know), I agree with everyone so far who has said you’re damn hot, with a rocking body, that does not in any way, shape, or form, look “too big” or “too muscley”. Take a step back, look at yourself in the mirror, or better yet (as suggested by Deb), take some pics, imagine it’s someone other than you you’re looking at, and ask yourself: Does she look too big? Does she look strong, and fit, and gorgeous? Masch, you’re always quick to recognize beautiful, athletic, and sexy bodies in others, so why can’t you recognize it in yourself??
(Btw, I struggle with this myself, so believe me, I understand!!)
Secondly, on to the squats: Way to max out!! Honestly, the depth on the 185 didn’t look bad at all, maybe a smidge above parallel, but your form otherwise looks great. You’ll get that 185 with great depth in no time. :)[/quote]
The only thing to add to this is… Maschy, I’d bang
Nikki - Thanks girl! You don’t weigh THAT much more than me btw. And I was fixing my headphones! ha! FWW, i’d let you defile me.
Austin-bicep - Well, hello! Thanks re: the 185. Its so close…
Deb, you’re a total inspiration to me and it means a lot that your share similar sentiments. So thanks for helping me keep things in check
MiM - Hi! Quitw right!
Print - Thank you!! If the goal is to drop my panties for you, then victory is close.
Zink - Hello! Glad to hear I’m not the only one who’s had to deal with looking muscular. Unfortunately, all the negative commentary comes from my soccer team mates who always remind me how ‘jacked’ I am. lol! You’d think they’d celebrate my muscles, but they just think its weird…which makes me think they’re weird.
Snap - Yay! I’m glad you chimed in. You’re approval means everything to me. I couldn’t agree more about working on depth. And like I said, I knew I wasn’t going to hit depth when I tried for maxes. I will indeed continue to work on this, especially since my new program is going to be geared towards higher sets/reps and lower weight (like Zinks rec). I think this will do wonders for my form and depth when it comes time to going heavy again.
Git - Victory! panties are officially coming off now…
Blue - Thank you woman! I know that you’ve shared the same feelings re: being muscley. Thanks for helping me keep things in perspective.
Last night was the last in the Maxing-out series. Bench…
Due to my shitty attitude towards bench, this was another craptastic endeavor. I said that my goal was 1x115, and with the help of my spotter Julio, we pretty much shot for that. So it was basically 115 or nothing.
Bench
5xbar
5x65
95
2x1x115 (assisted)
1x3x125 (assisted)
1x115 (assisted)
I say assisted b/c Julio had to help me on 115 each time. Therefore I can officially state that 115 is NOT my max, and I’m going to say 105 is (which I’ve repped for 2 or 3 in the past). I’ve included vid for posterity - see? I really do bench press! (altho not legitimately).
Anyways, here’s where I stand with my maxes:
DL - 225
Squat - 175
Chins - 7
Neutral g p/ups - 5
Pronated g p/ups - 4
Bench - 105
To recap, my 2010 goals were:
DL - 2BW, 260
Squat - 1.5BW, 195
Bench - BW, 130
pullups (all 3 variations) - 10
The good news is I’ve improved on all my lifts - yay! The bad news is I’m taking a break from my modified 5x5 program and switching gears completely.
Like I mentioned, I’m going to be doing the ws4sb “in-season” training protocol. So there’s no heavy lifting. Just 2 days a week of moderately heavy lifting. The idea is to maintain strength while I concentrate on playing soccer. I’m looking forward to this b/c it will help me concentrate on working on squat form and my pullups (which you all know I lurv), plus I get to try new things like box squats. The bad thing is I don’t get to DL and this makes me sad. But I will be doing a lot of RDLs and unilateral work, so i think I’ll get my fix somehow.
My weeks will look like this:
Monday - Day 1 of ws4sb
Tuesday - Conditioning
Weds - Soccer practice
Thrs - Day 2 of ws4sb
Friday - Soccer (men’s league)
Sunday - Soccer (game day)
That said, I probably won’t be updating my log that much, since I don’t really have anything to log…But should anything exciting occur, i’ll be sure to let y’all know.
Season ends late November, in which case I’ll be back in December to battle the iron again
And I just want to take a second to thank everyone for helping me along on this journey - you’ve all be an inspiration to me and have helped me immensely! I’d be nowhere without PW!
[quote]Mascherano wrote:
Git - Victory! panties are officially coming off now…
[/quote]
Hot diggidy! Whoever is lucky enough to see that for realz better appreciate the awesomeness.
Oh yeah, almost forgot…pics required for your many fans, kthx.
edit: OK, after looking at the bench vid above, which for me is the first time your face was clearly seen, I take back my previous “cutie-pie face” comment. And, I mean this with utmost sincerity…holy fuck woman you are beautiful! The cheekbones, the smile, the dark eyes.
Combine that with the body you have built, no wonder your teammates are catty.
Ok, I’ll ease up…I’m starting to emBAREASS myself…see, I can’t stop, I need Maschy therapy.