Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I gained my first pound! 16 more to go (for now!). Maybe the two days off helped. Today's workout:

10 minute cardio warmup (a little over a mile on the treadmill)
Bench Press (Barbell, 110 lbs) 3 sets of 4-6
Squats (Barbell, 180 lbs) 3 sets of 6-8
Dead Lift (Barbell, 130 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Seated Shoulder Press (35 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 6-8
Lat pull down (110 lbs) 3 sets of 8-10
Tricep pull down (80 lbs) 3 sets of 10
Flyes (machine, 100 lbs) 3 sets of 6-8
Crunches on Bosu Ball (3 sets of 25)
Planks (2 for one minute each)

Ok, I'm starting to get a gut and am losing all ab definition. Will this level out/ go away? I'm working out really hard, eating well, etc. Here's what I did yesterday (today is a rest day):

10 minute cardio warmup on treadmill (a bit over a mile)
Decline bench press (Barbell) 1 set 110 lbs, 8 reps) 2 sets 120 lbs, 4 reps
Dumbell Curls (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 6
Lateral Raises (25 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8-10
Split Squats w/ Dumbells (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8
Upper Cable Crossover (110 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Lower Cable Crossover (95 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Close Grip Cable Row (110 lbs) 3 sets of 6-8
Leg Curls (90 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Cable Twists/ rotation (for obliques; 35 lbs) 6 sets (3 on each side) of 10

Good news! I went up 20 lbs in my leg press today, and felt like I could easily go up 20 more. Having trouble upping my reps with my bench press, any suggestions? Maybe If I go down in weight for a fourth set?

Here's what I did today:
10 minute cardio warmup (a little over a mile on the treadmill)
Incline Bench Press (Barbell) Warmup with bar, 10 reps (I always do this with all bench exercises but forgot to include it) 1 set 90 lbs, 8 reps) 2 sets 100 lbs, 4 reps
Leg Press (250 lbs - not including the weight of the machine) 3 sets of 8
Wide Grip Rows (110 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Front Raises (25 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8
Hammer Curls (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 6
Tricep Kickbacks (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 10
Calf Raises (160 lbs) 3 sets of 15
Reverse Flyes (70 lbs) 3 sets of 8
Pushups on Bosu Ball 3 sets of 18
Crunches on Bosu Ball 3 sets of 25

More good news! While I wasn't able to go up in weight in anything today, I was able to add a set to every exercise. I'm planning on being pretty damn sore tomorrow.

Bench Press (Barbell) warmup with bar, 10 reps. One set at 100 lbs, 6 reps. Two sets at 110 lbs, 4 reps. One set at 90 lbs, 8 reps.
Squats (Barbell, 180 lbs) 4 sets of 6-8
Dead Lift (Barbell, 130 lbs) 4 sets of 6 (could have done more but my sweaty hands couldn't hold the bar)
Seated Shoulder Press (35 lb dumbells) 4 sets of 6-8
Lat pull down (110 lbs) 4 sets of 8-10
Tricep pull down (80 lbs) 4 sets of 10
Flyes (machine) 2 sets at 90 lbs, 8 reps. 2 sets at 100 lbs, 6 reps.
Crunches on Bosu Ball (3 sets of 25)
Planks (2 for one minute each)

And even more good news... I gained three more pounds! Not bad for just a little over two weeks, right? So I did four sets of everything again today. It was tough! Wondering if I really need to do four sets of single joint exercises, or should I just add a set for multi joint exercises? Anybody?

10 minute cardio warmup on treadmill (a bit over a mile)
Decline bench press (Barbell) 1 set 110 lbs, 8 reps. 2 sets 120 lbs, 4 reps 1 set 110 lbs, 8 reps.
Dumbell Curls (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 6 (per arm), 1 set of 4
Lateral Raises (25 lb dumbells) 4 sets of 8
Split Squats w/ Dumbells (30 lb dumbells) 3 sets of 8 (per leg), 1 set of 6 (I think I can do 3 sets of 8 next time, these kind of hurt my bad knee though.)
Upper Cable Crossover (110 lbs) 3 sets of 8, 1 set of 8 at 95 lbs.
Lower Cable Crossover (95 lbs) 3 sets of 8, 1 set of 8 at 80 lbs.
Close Grip Cable Row (110 lbs) 3 sets of 6, 1 set of 8 at 100 lbs.
Leg Curls (90 lbs) 3 sets of 8, 1 set of 8 at 80 lbs.
Cable Twists/ rotation (for obliques; 35 lbs) 6 sets (3 on each side) of 10

Hey congrats on the gains!

Thanks! This adding an extra set of everything on top of all these extra calories has been working out great. I even added 20 more pounds to my leg press!

Here's what I did today:
10 minute cardio warmup (a little over a mile on the treadmill)
Incline Bench Press (Barbell) Warmup with bar, 10 reps. 2 set 90 lbs, 6 reps. 2 sets 100 lbs, 4 reps
Leg Press (not including the weight of the machine) 250 lbs, 1 set of 8. 270 lbs, 3 sets of 8.
Wide Grip Rows (new machine; the one with the pole sticking out of the middle to add plates) (70 lbs; not including starting weight) 4 sets of 8
Front Raises (25 lb dumbells) 4 sets of 8 (per arm)
Hammer Curls (30 lb dumbells) 4 sets of 6 (per arm)
Tricep Kickbacks (30 lb dumbells) 4 sets of 10 (per arm)
Calf Raises (160 lbs) 4 sets of 15
Reverse Flyes (70 lbs) 4 sets of 8
Pushups on Bosu Ball 3 sets of 18
Crunches on Bosu Ball 3 sets of 25

Stupid question, but should I be worried about getting stretch marks by adding weight so quickly?

Thanks!

I've got stretch marks from growth and they never go away but they do fade over time.

Bummer.

On a positive note, I gained another pound! 5 so far, 12 to go. Though now I'm aiming for 140 by the end of April. That way I can spend May doing more cardio and burning whatever fat I gain with this weight. New goal weight is 150. I think I can do it if I've put on 5 pounds so quickly. Today's workout is below. It went exceptionally well except for the bar sliding off my shoulders when I tried my first set of squats. I used this new pad that my gym got, and it was too slippery. Also, I don't think I can do four sets of deadlifts; my hands get too sweaty towards the third/ fourth sets and I can't hold the bar. Does anyone have tips for this? I refuse to use gloves. Maybe if I do 3 sets of 8 instead of 4 sets of 6? Suggestions would be much appreciated.

Bench Press (Barbell) warmup with bar, 10 reps. One set at 100 lbs, 7 reps. Two sets at 110 lbs, 4 reps. One set at 90 lbs, 8 reps.
Squats (Barbell, 180 lbs) 4 sets of 6
Dead Lift (Barbell, 130 lbs) 4 sets of 6
Seated Shoulder Press (35 lb dumbells) 4 sets of 6
Preacher curls (50 lbs) 4 sets of 6
Lat pull down (110 lbs) 4 sets of 8
Tricep pull down (90 lbs) 4 sets of 8
Flyes (machine) 2 sets at 90 lbs, 8 reps. 2 sets at 100 lbs, 6 reps.
Crunches on Bosu Ball (3 sets of 25)
Planks (2 for one minute each)

So my workouts have stayed the same now that I've added a set to everything, hence no posts. Does anyone feel like going over what I've been doing and maybe make some suggestions for changes? I think it's time to shock my body a bit.

I gained another pound after losing two, so now I'm at 124. The weight gain has been slowing down, though my workouts have been great. I've definitely added some body fat to my stomach which I'm not crazy about. Should I add some cardio? I'm guessing no. I work out really hard, lift pretty heavy weights for my size, not sure why I'm not progressing as quickly as I'd like. I don't think my body is where it should be based on the quality of my workouts/ diet. Maybe even more food? Right now I'm at 1 1/4 cup oatmeal for my pre workout breakfast with soy milk, blueberries, and walnuts, a slice of toast with peanut butter, coffee, and a banana. For lunch it's a peanut butter sandwich with a bowl of lentil soup and a piece of fruit. If I don't eat directly after working out I have a clif builder bar. Snack every two hours (fruit, nuts, clif builder bar, baked chips with salsa, whole grain crackers with hummus, etc), large dinner, etc.

Oh, I'm still currently working out 4X a week for about an hour or a little over that. Would adding a day help, or hinder? I know working out too frequently can in fact burn new muscle tissue instead of fat.

Thanks!

As there isn't much activity on this board, I ceased from posting for awhile. Here's my update/ current status:

I ended up gaining 10 lbs in total, which I guess isn't bad in only a few months. I recently switched my routine to a split, which has been very beneficial (I'll post it below).

Unfortunately, with this weight came some extra fat (mostly around my stomach) that I'm not pleased about since summer is right around the corner. I've added 20 minutes of cardio 3 times a week. I jog then sprint for about 2 miles, in addition to the mile that I jog before all of my workouts. I'm more than a little frustrated that I'll now end up losing about half of what I put on, and I'm worried that I might not ever be able to have a muscular body with low body fat. Am I feeling badly for myself or could I just have bad genes? I'm also reducing my caloric intake from 3500-4000 calories a day to about 2500. I've also started taking soy protein before and after working out.

Day 1: Chest/ Triceps (3 sets of 8-10 unless otherwise specified. I also recently switched from barbells to dumbbells, hence the lower weight. Now that I’m adjusting to the new motion, I’m adding weight almost weekly)
Dumbbell Bench press (45 lb dumbbells)
Incline Dumbbell bench press (40 lb dumbbells)
Flyes (machine, 90-100 lbs)
Incline dumbbell flyes (25 lb dumbbells)
Lower cable crossover (110 lbs)
Kickbacks (30 lb dumbbells)
Tricep pulldown (100 lbs)
Alternate between all of these (a different one every week):
Decline bench press (barbell, 120 lbs)
Upper cable crossover (110 lbs)
Decline dumbbell flyes (25 lb dumbbells)
Crunches on Bosu Ball

Day 2: Back/ Biceps/ Obliques
Lat Pulldowns (Machine, 105 lbs)
Wide Grip Rows (80 lbs, plus weight of machine)
Close Grip Rows (cable, 90 lbs)
Reverse Flyes (machine, 60 lbs)
Curls (25 lb dumbbells)
Hammer Curls (20 lb dumbbells)
Preacher Curls (25 lb dumbbells)
Cable Rotation (50 lbs)

Day 3: Shoulders
Seated shoulder press (40 lb dumbbells) (might switch to a machine or a barbell; I've been doing this for years and should be able to go much heavier)
Front raises (20 lb dumbbells)
Lateral raises (25 lb dumbbells)
Shrugs (55 lb dumbbells)
Reverse cable flyes (35 lbs)
Crunches on Swiss Ball

Day 4: Legs
Squats (1 set at 130 lbs, 2 at 150. Had to go down from 180 as I have a bad knee)
Deadlifts (130 lbs)
Leg press (1 set at 230 plus weight of machine, 2 sets at 270 plus weight of machine)
Leg extension (90-100 lbs. used to alternate weekly between split squats, lunges and reverse lunges, but these fuck up my bad knee)
Calf raises (180 lbs, 3 sets of 15)
Crunches on Bosu Ball
Planks

Any advice/ feedback is much appreciated. I was hoping to be 135 (and lean) by the summer, and that didn't happen. Maybe I'll try bulking again next fall. Or maybe there are some red flags as to what I might not be doing.

Thanks!

I think you might be focusing too much on isolation exercises for someone whose goal has been to gain mass. When I used to do isolation exercises, I never gained any significant amount of weight (which is why I gave up on weight training for a few years). Coming back to it with Stronglifts (all compound lifts), I have gained about 10 pounds in 2 months, with minimal change in body fat.

It also seems to me that you could have benefited more from increasing your weights more often. I see you're deadlifting 130 now, and you were deadlifting 130 on February 1st. Especially since you were able to squat 180 (sorry to hear about your knee), I don't see any reason you couldn't have worked your way up to over 200 lbs on deadlifts by now, and pulling big weights on your deadlift would add a lot of thickness to your back and your entire posterior chain. If you have that issue with your hands getting sweaty, you could use chalk or even straps (though at this weight it would be best to just work on grip strength and use chalk), though doing high weight, low rep deadlifts would in and of itself improve grip strength.

I'm just trying to piece this together from what information you've included in this journal, but I think a major culprit might have been that you weren't increasing the load frequently enough to progress well.

Thanks for the advice! I guess I should clarify. I switched to a split since I had plateaued with gains as per someone else's advice. It's hard getting conflicting information online.

As for body fat gain, I'm not so sure it's the isolation exercises or the pot I started smoking to increase my appetite. It lead to poor food choices usually late at night, such ad baked tortilla chips and sugary salsa.

I can go up in weight in deadlift now for sure. Someone suggested lower weight/ higher reps which I followed. I am happy that I can run again though, I really missed it.

I know what you mean about getting conflicting advice. The best thing in my experience is to try different peoples' recommendations (given that they know what they're talking about) and find the best fit for you. I had several weightlifting friends who brought me to the gym to "bulk me up" in undergrad. One of the pushed me so hard on chest/triceps one session that I pulled both triceps tendons. That was one of the things that scared me away for a long time. I've had far more success with stronglifts than with anything I ever tried before...it was just a matter of finding what worked for my body. High reps, low reps, compound, isolation...I think everyone's body "likes" certain things better, and it's a matter of finding what works for you personally.

I'd increase the deadlift for sure, I'm positive you could handle it. And consider trying stronglifts, my squat and deadlift have increased about 60% in two months compared to what I was doing when my bodybuilding friends were taking me to the gym to do their programs.