In July, I changed my Why for working out. While my main motivation post-partum was to exercise in order to keep up with my son, I was excited about the prospect of getting back into shape for martial arts.
I found a dojo that offers early morning classes that would fit into my schedule. However, they're not structured classes at that time of day. I’m definitely still at the stage where I need a healthy amount of structure, and the evening classes are during my son’s bedtime routine.
So, I switched gears again.
Increasing my fitness to prepare for martial arts was reinvigorating. I went from my mini weight lifting workouts at home to full-length workouts at the gym. It made me realize how much I miss weight training in order to build muscle and get stronger.
I’m pumped (get it?) to be starting my first bulking phase since 2020.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with bodybuilder lingo, bulking refers to a period of training that’s dedicated to building muscle. Although bodybuilders often go through bulking phases to achieve a specific physique, I’ll be working on building muscle to get stronger and to see progress in the gym.
In order to achieve my goal, I’m going to need to be diligent with my diet and exercise. For weight training, I’m doing four workouts a week. I’ve been hitting the gym for three of them, and doing one at home so that I have some flexibility. I'll share my current workout plan in an upcoming post.
For my diet, I’ve increased both my daily protein and total calories. For the next six months, I want to gain weight every week – hopefully about half a pound a week on average. Although I’m trying to gain muscle, I’ve accepted that some of that weight will be fat.
(For anyone out there who needs to hear this, you don’t need to be small. In fact, you don’t need to look a certain way at all if you don’t want to. Do what’s right for YOU.)
I’m looking forward to sharing a bit more about this bulking phase in the coming months. And if you’re interested in bulking, especially as a female, I highly recommend this article from Girls Gone Strong.
Stay well friends,
Dr. Kuhnow
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