Egull1's Journal, 19 June 2021

Alrighty!! That has to feel good! 

Thank you, LIS! It does feel good, and it is such a trip at the same time. This is a whole different kind of transformation. And, not one readily talked about on this site, especially when it comes to how muscle gains actually impact the female body. Let me tell ya, it's a completely different landscape to navigate. I carried excess weight for the major part of my life (try like 13 years of age). If there is one thing a person gets used too when they've carried a 100 or more pounds of fat on their bodies is how and where it lays, what it feels like, where it protrudes and where it hides. But, when the increases are muscular it's a COMPLETELY different ball game. There's no rolls, everything's tighter. One feels thicker and leaner at the same time. Clothes fit different. They become tighter in some places, but loose in others but there's not wiggle to the jiggle. To date, this is the first time in my whole life when I don't actually have to wear a bra because nothing moves!!! And, thank goodness for the one article I read about "female gains" where the author discusses how a females chest area will become more expanded and depending on chest size, the muscle will pretty much just "keep them in place". That dude was right on the money and it was so helpful, because when it happened, you would not have met a girl more shocked than me! LOL. I'm learning so much now about how increases in muscle mass actually work on a female form. The increase in waist size and hip size is to be expected, especially if one does a lot of oblique and core work in addition to glute work. And, I do. Did you know that some females in the Body building world actually opt not to work their core or obliques so they can keep their waists smaller while filling out the muscle up top or bottom? Especially, if they compete and depending on what the category they're competing in. Oh, and I've also been reading some info on the rate at which females can increase muscle mass and it's a whole faster than is often reported. As one male body builder put it, females can actually put on muscle mass pretty quickly, especially if we're starting off lean or "skinny", but the rate is often perceived as quicker for men because in general they have more muscle mass than women to start with and are more willing to start off with heavier weights. Whereas females tend to stick with "softer" weights and higher volume and basic strength training, but don't every transition into heavier weights. Did you also know that estrogen actually plays a crucial role in muscle development and can actually increase the rate in which muscle mass is gained? It's why some male body builders use HRT to build muscle. Yeah, there's a whole bunch of new stuff I'm learning :-) But, it's been so helpful and cathartic.  

awesome!!  

Wow you are a bucket full of information. This was sooo interesting. I had been wondering as I up my activity and sports levels.. and I do some irregular moderate weight training to try and build stamina for those, whether the fact my weight jumps around so much has anything to do with muscle gain. To keep myself sane, I take measure of the vital statistics once a week just to see are things going in the right direction. And funnily enough, despite the yo yo on the scale, I have lost 2.5 inches across the bust, 3 inches across the waist, 4 inches across the belly, 2.5 inches across the hips and 1 inch across the thighs (I was always a big walker so I'm guessing that's why there has been so little difference here). For sanity too, I try on certain clothes I know I get into a certain times previously and at the moment, I'm happy that the skirt I bought in January size 6 and had no hope of getting close to fastening, is now zipped up fastened and ready to wear. However, at my best I was really between a 2-4, and that's my bulls eye... everything looks good at that size. I would never want to get to 0 that for a woman over 5' 10'' is just harsh on your face, and even with muscle that looks quite rakish. 

I keep checking what you're doing, as I would really love to do what you have talked about here, and that is really narrow down the waist and bulk out my butt!! Its funny, as a teenager, everyone myself included was so worried about having a big butt (Which we didn't cause we were kids, and running ragged all round the place so that was impossible) but you would get a new pair of jeans aged 16 or something and you would be scrutinising in the mirror whether your ass looked bigger than it was in those jeans!!!! And like I was probably tiny at the time, gosh when you think of the nonsense we put ourselves through.>>. probably nobody was even looking at my ass lol.. 

Egull, it is amazing to learn the many, many layers of weight loss/ body building and healthful living. You opened up a whole new understanding for me as it relates to weight training and training specific to females! Thanks so much and keep it coming! All the best!