I think you`re too hard on yourself... I see a big difference in your definition... I think if you continue doing what your doing eventually your back muscles will pop more...

You look great !!!

Oh there is a world of difference!

Please tell me your arm and shoulder routine! They are amazing! wow I am envious.

I see a difference but you need more than three months. I really noticed a difference in my back after about 6 months of doing chin-ups, that is when my lats began to pop. Also, low body fat helps with definition too...like around 20%. Just keep at it!

I'm coming at this from a different perspective than the other posters. You have beautiful arms/shoulders, and I can tell you've worked hard to get them, and worked right (at least at the time). I can also see you're very, very lean. I have a long history of weight training (20+ years). I hate to tell you but you have reached the stage where you won't be able to build muscle unless you're eating about 250 to 500 calories over maintenance. If you want to bulk (and that's what you want if you want to add muscle), you have to gain some weight, which must include fat.

From a purely physiological perspective, muscle is calorically wasteful tissue (one lb. of muscle actually burns more calories than one lb. of fat). If your body perceives itself as not having sufficient calories to spare you will not gain muscle and in fact -- especially with harder work and same intake -- you actually may start tearing down your muscle tissue if you're eating just at or slightly below maintenance.

There is a honeymoon period when a person starts lifting weights seriously, for most people it lasts somewhere between six months and one year, where you can actually lose weight and gain muscle. It's a one time only phenomenon. Thereafter you have to go through bulk/cut phases.

The general rule of thumb to bulk is macros (grams of protein/fat/carbs) in a 40/30/30 ratio, food super clean, and about 13 to 15 x bodyweight in calories. Basically, since you weigh 116 you'd start eating 1508 calories broken down as 150 grams of protein, 113 grams of carbs and 50 grams of fat ideally eaten in four or five small meals/snacks throughout the day. You'd monitor your progress through measurements, mirror and weigh ins, making sure you're slowly and steadily gaining weight and strength. If you're not gaining at least 1/2 to 1 lb a week, up your calories. If you're gaining more than 1.5 lb a week, especially if your strength isn't going up, either cut them or change up your macros. And also you might want to think about finding a dedicated weight training board for additional exercise and diet advice (there are a few out there that are serious and not loaded with steroid muscle heads, where you can find other chicks who lift and even compete).

Incidentally, you look fantastic. I just noticed where you started and where you are now. You should be extremely proud of yourself!

Thanks for the compliments, they are really appreciated!

Renew me - Wow - did you give me a lot to think about! First off, the "lean" comment just freaks me out, because I don't see myself as "lean" in the slightest!

After reading your post and re-reading it, and reading it again - LOL - I had to ask myself what my goals are - why do I want a better developed back and what am I willing to do for it?

So I asked myself:
Are you willing to gain some weight?
Are you willing to eat super clean?
Are you willing to count macros?

And the resounding answer to all 3 was NOPE!

So, I will continue what I've been doing and working on keeping the muscles I have and looking okay, but it will have to be good enough!

I appreciate the input, for real, everyone!

Jen

You look great, and I was about to chime in and agree with ReNew Me. Lots of women are afraid of "bulking up" if they lift heavy weights, but I think it's actually very hard to do for most women, especially if they are also reducing calories.

Cherry, yes, you are lean, accept it. You have very little fat laying under the skin, that is the definition of lean.

Frankly, if I were you and you really don't wish to eat more and/or gain weight/muscle I'd suggest you back off somewhat on your workouts. Anything more than three times a week of hard resistance training just becomes self defeating, especially if you include a few heavy compound moves. You'll just burn yourself out if you're going all out with training and not feeding it. I've seen it happen before. You can lose your gains. Remember what I said, you have to feed muscle.

BTW, I congratulate you on being able to be honest with yourself. A lot of people just don't have the insight to be realistic about what their goals truly are.

And you really have done a beautiful job, congratulations again

I really am only lifting heavy 3X's per week - 2 upper body days and 1 lower body day. I also do some ab and core work, but really wouldn't call that heavy resistance training. And of course, I run about 35 miles per week.

I am 11 months into maintenance and still trying to figure out what weight and what calorie intake is going to work for me long term. It's not as easy as I thought it would be!

I do eat a LOT of protein. And actually, I think a eat a lot in general!

So, I'm not completely closed minded, but at this point the benefits of getting a lovely sculpted back is not worth the effort for me. Gawd, do I sound completely lazy saying that?

Jen

You don't sound lazy at all. And I didn't know you were a runner. You'd really have a hard time building up much muscle mass considering what a serious runner you are, actually. The two sports just aren't really compatible.

As far as maintenance calories, work out your BMR from a reputable site (like WebMD, something like that) and use the Harris Benedict formula. You don't know what kind of calculators some websites use, but the Harris Benedict formula is medically devised and standard.

A little progress has been made I think. I find that when I work the back, I have to concentrate HARD on making sure I'm working the right muscles...

You have great shoulder and arm definition!! Keep up the great work!!

Wow, Jen- looking great!!! Keep it up!

Wow! Looking great and nice yard!

Contrary to what the FITSPO UNIVERSE seems to think sometimes, ain't nothing wrong with your goals/lifestyle habits being something other than "OPTIMUM MAXIMUM MUSCLE GAIN."

Speaking of backs I definitely recommend CANOEING as an endurance/strength exercise for your back and shoulders - just a few hours of it this weekend was almost a challenge!

5 more months - I can see a little lat pop?

Sorry, I can't see anything, your delts hit me in the face and gave me two black eyes!

Just curious - what are you overhead pressing these days?