Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

01.27.12 Outwork Day
Lower-body hypertrophy

Even though I managed to get quite a few things accomplished today that I wanted, there is still a substantial amount left on my plate. To illustrate …

Things I did:

Lifted/shot videos of speed squats, SLDL, and leg press.
Shot the introduction video for my “Quake vs. Crunch” experiment.
Picked up my “supplies” for the first half of the experiment.
Went out to dinner with my girlfriend and got some tasty Thai food.
Watched a movie with my girlfriend.
Ate a homemade banana split.

Things I still need to do:

Edit the introduction video for my “Quake vs. Crunch” experiment so it can go “live” on Monday.
Upload my lifting videos.
Write out my lifting schedule for the upcoming week/decide what to do about rows and incorporating a non-traditional cardio day.

However, as I work sixteen hours this weekend, I’m going to cut this entry short so I can get some sleep.

EDITED TO ADD: Something really awesome happened at the gym today - somebody else did deadlifts. A relatively stacked young man walked in, stretched, walked to the rack, performed a warm-up set of deads with just the bar (+1 for not being afraid to look "weak" like some, i.e. the rest, of the people who go to my gym), proceeded to load it with two plates and one 25'er on each side, and went on to not only be fast as faurk off the floor but have the tightest lock-out. Ended up complimenting on his form and he said he say me doing my seated calf raises and was impressed. Little things like this are awesome.

Outwork

Leg extensions
10x40
10x50
Notes: As per Mini Forklift’s suggestion, I decided to use these as a warm-up for squats with extremely light weight. Definitely not knee pains like previous tries with these and I like the idea of using them as a warm-up for heavy squats on power days.

Barbell squats
8x45
6x3x110
Notes: Speed work at 70% of my 5-rep max. Focused more so on the “speed” aspect than depth – something that’s pretty clear on the video I shot on these. However, I hit parallel on every rep so I’ll take them even though I’d prefer to go deeper.

Barbell front squats
8x70
10x80
10x85 (5 rep increase)
Notes: I messed up my outline in my notebook so the weight wasn’t as heavy as it should have been (should have been 2x8-12x85, which I thought was the case when I was lifting but didn’t want to chance it. Form was spot-on, though, – no wrist soreness from improper weight distribution and my elbows stayed up the whole time.

Incline leg press
7x90
8x270 (2 rep increase)
8x230
10x180
Notes: I wanted 12x270 and 12x300 so badly on these today and I probably could have gotten 10 on the 270 but I wanted to leave some reps in the can so that I could do more sets.

Stiff-legged deadlifts
10x90
2x12x110
Notes: After shooting a video of the first set of 110s, it looked like I was going to far down with the bar, forcing my back to bend and my legs to angle backward (if that makes sense). Fixed it on the second set and felt so much better.

Seated leg curls
12x80
11x80
Notes: These are always so hit-or-miss but I definitely got full ROM for these which I don’t think I was when I was cranking out the 90s and 100s – largely because I didn’t realize I could adjust the seat more to fit my extremely short stature (being 5’3” sucks). Still disappointed with the low weight even doing them before calf raises, though.

Seated calf raises
12x175
12x177.5
Notes: 3 second holds on each rep = calves on fire. Felt awesome.

Cable glute kickbacks
10x20
10x30
10x40
Notes: First time trying these out and I can get behind them. My glutes need a lot of work and some guy was using the DBs I needed for lunges.

Calf raises on leg press
5x130
7x130
8x130
Notes: Threw these into the mix to follow PHAT even more closely. Should have done higher reps with lower weight but the second set led me to believe I could have gotten at least 12 out of the last. No dice.

Leg extensions (cool down/burn sets … oxymoron?)

10x50
10x40
10x30
5x20
Notes: No rest between sets and, by the end of it, I definitely couldn’t move my legs at all. Pretty satisfying way to an otherwise lackluster session.

Macros: ~40/126/200 (approximate because I don’t know what dinner officially was)

_________________
"When in doubt, squat and run hills." - Jim Wendler

IRON MNTN // LOG

01.28.12
Chest and arm hypertrophy

So, I hadn’t actually planned on going to the gym today. In fact, today was supposed to be an extra rest day as I thought I would be grabbing some brews this evening and, while I don’t buy into the hoopla surrounding alcohol “destroying” your gains, I generally try not to drink on days that I lift. Regardless, my plans changed and I ended up banging out a moderately successful arm and chest day after one of the most frustrating days I’ve experienced in quite some time. And I came to home-made curry and just polished off my pre-bed snack (see food n00dz, sorry Meech and Matt!).
Needless to say, I’m drained and have to be at work at 7:35 a.m., i.e. in eight hours. Go-go gadget sleep once my first v-log uploads to YouTube (big update tomorrow).

Outwork
Barbell bench press (speed work)
8x45
6x3x70
Notes: Yeah, I know. Not in the 65-70% of my 5-rep max. but these felt great. It’s interesting how much happier I have been with my bench progress as of late than my other lifts.

Incline dumbbell bench press
2x6x20
2x7x15
Notes: These were super-setted with my speed work. Bad idea? Maybe.

Strict curls w/ EZ-bar
10x50
10x60
2x70
Notes: Rep. increases on all sets.

Tricep pushdowns with rope attachment
10x90
10x100
12x100
Notes: Still my favorite exercise on arm/chest hypertrophy day. Always blasts my tris.

Hammer curls
12x20
8x20
12x15
Notes: Did these strict-style with my back against the wall so I was only using my arms – killer, but in a good way.

Cable chest press
10x50
8x50
10x40
Notes: Burn all the muscle fibers in my weak-ass chest.

Cable flyes
7x40
12x30
11x30
Notes: Was shooting for 8-12x40 and 2x12x30 but these were a struggle after all the other sets and reps. Still feel pretty good as there are rep. increases.

High cable curls
10x30
12x20
15x20
Notes: Most certainly could have nailed 12x30 but I wanted to leave some reps in the tank to make sure I could get those other sets in – good call because the last set was rough.

Tricep pushdowns with v-attachment
10x70
6x60
10x50
16x40
12x30
Notes: Burn-sets to fail. Most intense shit of my life. Great way to end my work-out, probably not going to be so great tomorrow, though.


MACROS 44/150/230

food n00dz

_________________
"When in doubt, squat and run hills." - Jim Wendler

IRON MNTN // LOG

damn i can push much less down when i use the rope for tris as opposed to the v-bar or flat metal attachment, nicely done!

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

I just wail on the rope attachment because I've found it's definitely been increasing my grip strength. Each rep is a serious struggle but I think that's why I like them so much and why I push myself on them - two birds, one rope kind of deal. The v-attachment is a lot easier for me which is why I thought I'd try them out for burn-sets and they worked like a charm.

_________________
"When in doubt, squat and run hills." - Jim Wendler

IRON MNTN // LOG

01.29.12
Outwork Day
Back and shoulders hypertrophy

With uncharacteristically good judgment, at approximately 8:43 p.m. last night I agreed to switch my closer for an opener today, putting me on the floor at 7:35 a.m. While it did cramp my sleep-style a bit (I almost hit seven hours), it’s set me up good and nice to, one, be back at work at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow and, two, to get the required 7+ hours of sleep to start my Quake v. Crunch experiment (more on that in a minute).

Work was, well, work and I've gotten to the point where I just go on autopilot once I get there and usually turn my attention to getting pumped for the gym, things I've been reading, or seeing my girlfriend. Not the best way to go about it but I'm going to use from the time I get off tomorrow (4:00 p.m.) until the time I clock back in on Wednesday (at 2:30 p.m.) to really figure out what the next logical step is for me to be happy with my (whole) life again.

All the specifics of today's sessions are included in each lift's notes as not to bore anybody with repetition - I'm way too stoked about starting my v-log ...





Yeah, so, starting tomorrow, I'll be eating nothing but fast-digesting carbohydrates for my pre-work out. for 1.5-2 weeks First up on the chopping block is plain, old Cap'n Crunch. Already got it packed in my gym bag to be eaten after work in the parking lot. On video. Should be interesting.

Speaking of interesting, I was doing my daily blog-check and saw this:



Needless to say, I felt pretty awesome afterward.

Outwork
Weight: A flat 122. Again.

Bent over barbell rows (speed work; 70% of 5RM)
10x45
6x3x65
5x65
Notes: I kept the weight light on these because of the lower-back pain I'd been talking about. These weight up no problem at all but, now that I'm home, my lower-back is really bugging me. My form was fucking perfect so I don't know what the deal is. Maybe these just aren't in the cards for me for a while - especially because I do not want to lose my squats or deads over rows.

Standing barbell overhead press (speed work)
5x45
6x3x50
Notes: These. Were. So. Easy. Boom.

Rack chins
3x12
Notes: First set with bar at chest height, second just at my waist, last set with the bar back at chest height. These could have also been considered speed-work given it took me like a minute and a half to do all three sets.

Seated dumbbell shoulder press
2x12x20
11x20
Notes: I almost killed myself trying to get what would have been the 12th rep in the last set. I call that a success.

Seated cable row
3x12x80
Notes: These might actually be why my back is all in a tizzy. Probably should have went with a lower weight but … the first two sets felt great, the last one, not so much.

Dumbbell side lateral raise
3x12x20
Notes: These feel better every time I do them.

Close-grip lateral pulldown
15x60
8x70
15x50
Notes: Was supposed to be 15x60; 15x70 but couldn’t hack it. Next time.

Upright cable row
2x15x80
Notes: My joints thank me for not using dumbbells for these any more.

One arm dumbbell row
15x20
15x25
Notes: I might just switch to these for rows for a while. Not back issues like with the barbell or pulls.

Cable shrugs
12x180
15x180
Notes: I still stand by these being harder than using the barbell solely because I set the bar where I immediately have to use my lats to pull it up whereas with the barbell, I definitely was overcompensating my poor-grip by using my arms to pull it. Will try and test this number out with dumbbells soon, though.

MACROS
41/131/178 (34)
Need. Moar. Food. Before. Bed.

Extras:
Um. Vascularity?

_________________
"When in doubt, squat and run hills." - Jim Wendler

IRON MNTN // LOG

Your videos will definately be an interesting little experiment !! I'll be following along for the ride...

_________________
1st Place Raw Champs 2011, 2012 (3 raw records)
Training for my first 100 mile running race

WEB: http://jimsty.wix.com/strength-vs-size
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mini-Forklift/161273440616736?ref=hl
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/user/kiwilifter?feature=mhee

omg i wnat to watfch theses eivodes but i have to go to work....later lol...

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

This is awesome. few questions..

so youre only eating crappy gas station food before workout right? because you cant get protein shakes there right??

Um can you eat some oreos for me? and skittles?

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

Basically just 24-40g of processed sugary foods for two weeks - Cap'n Crunch, Pop-Tarts, Monster Zero if I think I'll need an energy boost during a work-out. ANDOHMYGAWD. I forgot about Oreos and Skittles. Yes. Yes I will.

_________________
"When in doubt, squat and run hills." - Jim Wendler

IRON MNTN // LOG

I am expecting you to feel like shit at some point in your workout, your blood sugar drop could be quite dramatic.

Take care!

_________________
1st Place Raw Champs 2011, 2012 (3 raw records)
Training for my first 100 mile running race

WEB: http://jimsty.wix.com/strength-vs-size
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mini-Forklift/161273440616736?ref=hl
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/user/kiwilifter?feature=mhee

01.30.12 Outwork/Quake v. Crunch Day I
Lower-body Power

Three hours. From 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. That is how long I was down on my hands and knees, scrubbing every floorboard on the front end of my store with wool steel and a bucket of non-toxic cleaner, thinking about every single second, precisely, embodied exactly what it is about my life currently that is unsatisfying and counterproductive to my larger goals. After the first ten minutes, it took everything in me to not drop the washcloth in my hands down into the Mt. Dew-yellow bucket of liquid and walk out the door, never to return.

I am not a quitter, though. I don’t say this with pride. I believe that there are times when quitting is not only appropriate, but required. Quitting doesn’t always mean failing – there is a big difference between voluntarily ending a situation, job, relationship, habit, or pattern because you believe it is in your best interest. That is not the same as failing or giving up or dipping out. So, today, I did what was asked of me as I was on-the-clock and, therefore, supposed to be working. Almost twelve hours later, and now that I’ve had time to stew in it, stew in it I have. However, this is not the right forum to talk about the finer details of this mornings cleaning escapade so I’ll move onto the good stuff – Quake v. Crunch and today’s session.

Pre-Outwork

Motivation: Rock-solid.
Energy: Moderate.
Mentality:
Focused.Weight:
122.5lbs

Outwork
Leg extensions
10x30
10x40
Notes: Again, taking Mini Forklift’s advice to use these to warm-up for squats. Highly successful tactic today.

Barbell squats
5x135
5x150
5x160
5x165
5x170 (3 rep increase)
3x170 (set increase)
Notes: Took some video of the 150 and saw that I have been arching my back a bit too much as, when it comes time to “sit back,” there was no ‘back,’ just the sitting – if that makes sense. Lessened the arch on the sets after and they felt a hell of a lot better. I don’t think I broke parallel on many of the 170s but I hit it on every rep.

Barbell deadlifts
5x135
5x155
5x160
5x167.5 (weight increase)
5x170 (3 rep increase)
Notes: So, I talk about this in my next v-log but I was unsure about going through with these today because of the grief my lower-back has been giving me after rows. However, I told myself I would just take it easy and, if they felt wrong, I’d just do SLDLs and move these to my hypertrophy day. Well, they didn’t feel wrong and I focused on getting closer to the bar, keeping my head up, and getting faster off the floor – all of which helped me get those rep increases. I do believe, though, these will be moved to their own day because I know I could be pulling more. I tried to get some video but, in doing so, I also tried to avoid getting anyone else in my footage and this is what it ended up looking like …


Incline leg press
6x380
6x400
5x410
Notes: I wrote down that I wanted 6x380; 6x360; 6x320 and this is what I got. I felt like a fucking beast afterwards. Got some decent video of these that will be uploaded tomorrow whilst I start editing Episode II of Qv.C.


Seated calf raise
6x180
6x182.5
6x185
Notes: … but I literally blasted through these. I don’t know if it was because I had a lil Cap’n in me or the rush from hitting those leg press numbers. I’m inclined to believe it was the latter but I don’t want to jump the gun on my analysis of fast-digesting carbs just yet.

Calf press on the leg press
15x145
13x160
Notes: These were supposed to be 2x10x145 but I got distracted by eavesdropping on some bros conversation about why they don’t train legs and lost track of what I was doing. Maybe this should happen more often.

Seated leg curls
10x90
10x80
10x70
Notes: Rep increases on all of these, I think. Either way, they felt better than other sessions and there were no-half ass reps on any of them – definitely an improvement considering I’ve added the extra calf presses.

Leg extensions (cool down)
2x10x90
Notes: Was going to do burn sets but my legs felt like what I imagine jelly feels like after someone smashes it with a sledgehammer.

Post-WO Assessment

No “heavy” feeling in my stomach during the session like I anticipated but that could vary with different types of food (sugary or not); also no “crash” during the session but I did hit some really good numbers that definitely had a positive impact on my mentality. I will most certainly be interested to see if I do get hit with the “carb coma” on a hypertrophy day as lots of people have warned me that it’s going to happen.

Overall, though, day one was a success.

Nutrition
All specifics can now be found at my “official” MyFitnessPal diary but I will still directly post my macros on every log update as well.


Macros: ~51/144/229

_________________
"When in doubt, squat and run hills." - Jim Wendler

IRON MNTN // LOG

Intraworkout pop tarts? You have a toaster at the gym?

_________________
You say obsessed; I say dedicated.
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I don't even have a toaster at home! Shame, right?

_________________
"When in doubt, squat and run hills." - Jim Wendler

IRON MNTN // LOG

jeeze that pic of you on the leg press is ridulous. all of your muscles can really be seen!

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

Question: you're naturally thin...or don't gain easy? Agree, impressive pic on the leg press.