Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Ok, this is my first training journal. I will start by posting my workout today:

Warm up: 10 minutes of cardio at 6mph

Superset:
Front Squat :: 95lbs 3x7
Romanian Deadlift :: 95lbs 3x7
Weighted Single Leg Calf Raise :: 45lbs (done with a 45lb plate) 3x12

Superset:
Bent Over Barbell Row :: 80lbs 3x7
Leg Lifts :: 3x12

Cool down: 5 minute walk

I follow this up with a protein smoothie with almond milk, pea protein, acai, maca, cinnamon, nutmeg, tumeric, coconut oil, and vitamineral earth.

Soundtrack today: Rise & Fall - Faith (first time I listened to it... killer!)

In general I work out 4 days a week. 3 of those days are focused on lifting and the other is a longer cardio day (usually 30 min).

My goal is to get a little bigger (I'm about 155lbs and lean), much more toned, and to be as healthy and energetic as possible! I appreciate any feedback.

Posting before and after pics.

So I called out of work today. Yesterday I had nothing to do and I couldn't handle another day of sitting at a desk for 8 hours surfing the internet.

Hit the gym at 10am (usually do 7:30am on the weekdays). Starting with the last time I lifted (my first post) I have been paying a lot more attention to my form. Because of this I have had to either step down in weight on a couple exercises or hold at the weight I was already at. I can tell though that with the proper form I am getting a lot more out of each exercise (I am still feeling sore from my squats and DLs on Sunday).

So today was:

Warm up - 10 minutes on the treadmill - 101cal

Superset:
Push press - 95lbs 3x7
Front Barbell Raise - 40lbs 3x7
Pull ups - 3x4 (really struggle with these, I only recently stopped doing assisted pull ups)

Superset:
Bench Press - 105lbs 3x7
Bench Dips - 3x14
Planks - 3x45sec

I skipped the cool down cardio cause my legs are feeling really beat. Not sure if that was a good move or not.

Right now I am sipping a postWO smoothie of:
1 Banana, 1 packet Acai, 2 scoops pea protein, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 tablespoon vitamineral green (this stuff is gross but makes me feel great), 1 teaspoon maca, 8 ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

I'm still not totally keeping track of everything I eat/macros though I am working toward it. I have been doing this a pretty short time and there has been a lot of information to take in.

Definitely glad I took the day off work. I have a lot errands and some freelance work I have been falling behind on. The gym was a great way to kick things off.

almost forgot.... my soundtrack today was Rise and Fall's Faith (again) and some Ruins of Beverast (feels epic for that heavy lifting!)

Yup, sometimes sitting at a computer is torture. Good move calling in and then hitting the gym. I will check out those bands you mentioned. I'm always down to check out new music.

-Dylan

So last night I only got about 4 hours sleep because I went with my girlfriend to see a couple of friends DJ and was out late. Didn't get in my usual morning session so I had to hit the gym after work and it was PACKED. Wasn't able to superset most of my exercises unfortunately do to lack of open equipment.

Did 10 minutes on the treadmill: 101 calories

Front Squats: 3x95lbs, 5x100, 5x100, 5x100
Romanian DL: same as squats

this was a record for me as far as weight, felt good but I kept it to a low rep range to make sure I didn't overdue it. Still, it felt pretty easy.

Bent over barbell row: 7x80lbs, 5x90, 5x90
not sure my form was so great on these. The gym was too crowded to watch my form in the mirror..

Leg lifts held steady at 3 sets of 12 reps. Need to move up on this one next time.

Weighted Single Leg Calf Raise: 3 sets of 14 at 45lbs

Incline Back Extensions: 3x15 holding a 10lb weight

all in all not a bad work out but the lack of sleep and the overcrowding at the gym kept me from getting in that good headspace. Still glad I went though.

Soundtrack: Lustmord

Had a simple protein shake after (oat milk, pea protein, banana, coconut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, tumeric) and then made myself a sauteed okra, brown rice, and black bean burrito that was actually pretty awesome.

Got up at 7am to get to the gym by 7:30 and I felt almost hungover (I had a couple drinks the last night and didn't eat nearly enough yesterday, a mistake). It was a struggle to get myself there but I am glad I did. Here is the workout:

Push Press:
5x95lbs
5x100lbs
5x100lbs
broke a record for myself on this one!

Shoulder Raise:
5x50lbs
5x50lbs
5x50lbs
these were hard today and my form was really lacking. maybe I should have gone down in weight

pull up:
3 sets of 4
still struggling with pull ups but I am getting the hang of it

Bench Press:
5x105lbs
5x110lbs
7x110lbs
felt good about getting the extra couple reps in there on the last set

Bench Dip:
3 sets of 15

Plank:
3 sets of 45sec

The routines I have been doing so far are just ones that I made up based on my limited knowledge. I'm not totally sure if I am grouping exercises together well or not. Because of this I am going to start doing 5/3/1 starting next week and hopefully keep much better track of my daily calorie intake and macros.

Worked out this morning at 7am so I'm feeling a little distanced from my session now. I'm gonna try to reach back into my brain and get back in that headspace for this entry.

10 minutes on the treadmill - 101 calories

Front Squat:
3x85lbs
6x100
6x100
6x100

Romanian DL:
same as squat

I feel like I am going too light on both of these exercises but need the light weight since I have been super setting them and do a sort of clean to transfer between the exercises. Once I switch to 5/3/1 this wont be an issue.

Calf Raise:
3 sets of 15 at 45lbs
also mixed these into the above super set.

Barbell Row:
3x80
6x90
6x90
6x90

Leg lift:
5 sets of 10

back extensions:
3 sets of 12 with 10lb weight
held the weight behind my head this time instead of in front of my chest. this made things much harder and I felt like I was doing it "right"


The best part about today's work out was that by the time I got to work I was full of energy. Also got a little more serious about keeping track of my food today. I've actually been struggling to eat as many calories as I should. Having a desk job definitely makes breakfast and snacking hard but I was able to get in 2,187 calories which hits pretty close to my 2,250 goal. However my macros are not on track at all. Need much more carbs and protein and a little less fat. But being aware of it already feels like a step in the right direction.

I'm really excited to start 5/3/1 - I feel like I need a new routine. I'm going to spend sunday trying to find my 1RM for each of the exercises and then jump into it on tuesday morning. Alright... time to make some tea and get ready for a good nights sleep.

first day of 5/3/1! I'm embarrassed to admit this but I was so excited/anxious to start my new routine today that I could barely sleep last night. Woke up super early and did some research and foam rolling then off to the gym.

10 minute warm up on treadmill - 100 calories

Military press:
5x45lbs
5x45lbs
3x50lbs (warm up)
5x55lbs
5x65lbs
7x70lbs

Pull ups:
5 sets of 4 (these still kill me)

Dips:
5x10
5x10
5x8
5x8
5x8

I jumped rope between every set then finished the whole thing off with 8 hill sprints using the tabata method.

I can already tell that I am going to be sore! Can't wait to get into the other days.

ahhh! Ok it's been 3 workouts since I have posted anything. My schedule has been hectic and it's been more important to do my workouts than to write about them. Anyway, first week of 5/3/1 is going very well! The last day of the first week kicked my ass (squats). So I am going to do 3 posts.... one for each work out.

5/3/1 - Week 1 - Day 3 - 03/30/2012

Bench Press:
5x55
5x65
5x80
5x85
5x100
10x115
(don't remember a lot about this session but obviously I killed it on the reps of the last set!)

Pull ups:
5 sets of 4

Push ups:
15
15
15
10
12

between every set I jumped rope.

Finished with hill sprints.

5/3/1 - Week 1 - Day 4 - 04/01/12

Squats:
5x50
5x65
5x80
5x85
5x100
6x110

Lunges - alternating legs with 12.5lbs in each hand
5 sets of 20

Sit Ups:
20
15
15
15
15

Jump rope between each set

Hill sprints

So I had trouble sleeping last night and woke up this morning feeling SORE in my ass from the squat day. I still pulled together the will to get out of bed and get started with my 2nd week of 5/3/1.

Warm up: treadmill for 10 minutes - 102 calories

Military press:
5x45
5x45
3x50
3x65
3x70
4x80

pull ups:
4
4
3
4
4

Dips:
10
10
10
8
8

Jump rope between each set.

Once I finished my body weight exercises I felt way too depleted to do any conditioning so I made my way home and prepared myself for being insanely tired all day at work. It was not pretty.

I read on Wendler's blog to do conditioning 3 days a week and I have been doing 4 with the hill sprints and I think I overdid it a little. I am going to Lay off on my squat days from now on as I think that is just way too much leg work for a beginner like me to handle in one day (boy do those sprints feel good though!).

Can't remember specifically what I have been listening to each session but I have been blasting Meshuggah, Inquisition, Damages, †††, and The Melvins quite a bit at the gym.