This was the easiest run of my short running career. Funny how that works. Last week was 3.5 miles and it was grueling. This week, I got to 3.75 and jacked the speed up by 1/2 mph to finish it out. Love it.

That's awesome, man. Are you still doing all your running on the treadmill? If so, I highly recommend that you get out and hit the trails. That would be an awesome way to get the "break" you've been talking about wanting. Run outside for a week instead of in the gym. I know that Seattle has to have some kickass trails.

I really don't want a break. I was just told about a month ago that I should take one. I had no problems with motivation today, and I'm hoping it was just one of those weeks. The only reason I was really considering it was that I heard the lack of motivation came from the body telling you to take a break. I had enough people here say to just keep pushing that I'm going to do that.

I really like going to the gym, or running outdoors. This week was just tough to drag myself out for whatever reason. Hopefully I've pushed through it though because today I was excited to go and run.

I do run outdoors 2 days a week, but I do my long run of the week on the treadmill. The reason being that I actually run faster on the treadmill. I started running outdoors about 2 weeks ago to try and transition for a 5k I'm running in 3 weeks from tomorrow. Believe that my dork ass is going to keep the race number, t-shirt, etc. as souvenirs. :D

We have a fantastic interurban trail that stretches 20 miles up here. Goes around Lake Washington and all the way into Seattle. I'm thinking about hitting that for my 3 mile jaunt on Tuesday.

Such as?

You don't have to take time off if you don't want to. But if you find yourself showing any signs of overtraining, you should.

He recommends using some crazy amounts of supplements, most of which are not proven to work. His formula for muscle gain for small guys is pretty crazy. No 155 lbs guy has a BMR of over 1900 calories, and there is no WAY they need 3500 calories per day to build muscle.

Skipping lifting today. Still pissed about the loss last night, and my back is a little twinged, as is my ankle. Just going to rest up today and tomorrow, and hit it hard every day next week.

nothing crazy with that at all. Not on a bulk

Cool. I listen to you more than anyone. You've been with me the longest. :)

I slowed down this week. I'll play it by ear next week. The good news is, it was water weight that had the scale ****ing with me which I'm sure had to do with all the sodium in all the bullshit food I was eating. You know by now how much that ****s me up even though I do my best to pretend like it's no big deal.

That said, I've lost 8lbs in the last 5 days. Woot!

Bulking is stupid.

I like to grab my backpack, a lot of water, and some trail mix and hit up some nice, long walks with the dog on my week off. It's just so refreshing. No stress, just chillin'.

:spock: reasoning?

Because it's unnecessary. There is no scientific evidence that eating more calories than you burn is necessary to build muscle. What is scientifically proven is that you need a certain amount of protein to do so (but probably far less than most people and supplement companies would have you believe).

http://www.adoniseffect.com/how-many...ld-muscle.html

The first 4:30 is the informative part, and the last minute, he does a sales pitch for his system. I've checked out that system, and while I don't personally follow it, none of the meal plans are higher than 1800-1900 calories.

Bulking doesn't really even make logical sense. Like it says in the video, if you're taking in more calories than you need, you will store it as fat. Most people get fat on their bulk, which is why they need to then cut down. So that extra energy obviously isn't even being used.

Simply eating as much as you burn isn't really a "bulk," but is just as effective and it eliminates the need to cut down. The truth is that your workout program is a FAR bigger determinant of how your body will build and retain muscle than extra calories is.

http://bradpilon.com/healthy-ramblin...while-dieting/

That I could handle. I would still feel like I'm doing some things productive. I lead a very sedentary life outside of the gym. I work from a computer and a desk, my hobbies include playing video games, and music. I don't get a lot of movement. I'm trying to work on that, but that's a big reason why the gym is so damn important to me. Rockband drums is really the only active hobby I have. And trust me, you play it on expert on the nightmare level, and it's ****ing active. I sweat like a pig after half an hour of it. :D

so if your really skinny theres no reason to bulk? you will keep adding muscle a the same weight?