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Hi everyone,

 

I've been training non-stop since I made my return to lifting in November. I did a great job of keeping my journal updated for about 2 months and then I just didn't make it a priority to do so recently as I was swamped with other projects, including shipping out all the New You for the New Year prize packages.

 

Even though I haven't kept my online journal updated, I have been keeping a paper journal and have been training 4, 5, or 6 times a week since November, without exception.

 

I thought I'd be able to "go back and type up the past 3 or 4 weeks worth of journal entries" but I just don't know if it is worth the time. Maybe I'll do it later on down the road, but for now, I'm starting a new journal so I can keep up!

 

Oh, and I still haven't touched a machine or cable since December, 2011. All barbells and dumbbells for me this entire year and I'm up 14 pounds since I returned to lifting in November

 

March 17, 2012

 

Today I hammered out my Deadlift and Bent-Over Row workout.

 

It went like this:

 

Warm-up = I've been using the stair stepper for the past few months but now I'm switching to push-ups and sit-ups and some form of jump or leg exercise in order to focus a bit more on my chest and core. Those were the two muscle groups I injured in 2011 and haven't been training much since. This allows me to get a little bit of work in for them as they adapt to being under stress again.

 

Push-ups

20

20

20

 

Bodyweight squats

30

30

30

 

Mountain Climbers

100

100

100

 

Invisible Jump rope

200 jumps

200 jumps

200 jumps

 

Deadlifts

115lbs x 20

135lbs x 12

185lbs x 8

205lbs x 5

225lbs x 5

245lbs x 2

265lbs x 1 (new PB since I made my return to lifting)

185lbs x 5

 

Bent-Over Rows

135lbs x 8

135lbs x 8

135lbs x 10

135lbs x 8

135lbs x 10

135lbs x 10

 

Solid workout today. Got a lot of work done online today too.

 

230AM now. Better get to bed, RC!

 

Night!

 

Photo from 6 weeks ago. Tempted to say, "I'm back!" (at least still injury free, and working hard.):

 

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/422807_10150741632955030_563435029_12002978_1773412924_n.jpg

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I'm so proud of you, JAM! You inspire me every day. And you look great, too! Even though that's not entirely what it's about, since you inspire so many by your words and actions, too. But, you do look really great! I'm actually really excited to work out with you again soon! (See how much you've inspired me?!? )

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March 18, 2012

 

Thank you all for your kind words. I am dedicated to excellence and improvement and I'm having a lot of fun with my return to bodybuilding.

 

I just got approved from an apartment in Austin, TX so I'm officially a Texas resident for the next year. I'm looking forward to living in Texas focusing on my writing, training, and continued self improvement in many areas of life.

 

Today I met up with the largest vegan I've ever seen. I met Big Bald Mike who weighs 538 pounds, can deadlift 900 pounds, shrug well over 1,000 pounds, do bicep curls with a 120-140 pound dumbbell and he's also one of the nicest people I've met in a while. He's been vegan for about 3 years, is a Texas native with true Texas hospitality, and I truly enjoyed hanging out at his house for hours today. He has his own gym in his garage and I met with him to help inspire him to drop some weight. He used to weigh around 385 and in the low 400s but recently got up to nearly 600 pounds. Currently in the 530's I'm looking to help him get under 500 soon. He might be at my booth at the Texas VegFest in two weeks. I'm pumped!

 

I was at Mike's house all day but planned to train with another forum member bartronx7 at night, so I took off and Bart and I didn't get to the gym until 10PM. We blasted a really solid back and shoulder workout.

 

It went like this:

 

Warm-up:

 

Push-ups

20

20

20

20

 

Mountain Climbers

100

100

100

100

 

Dumbbell Lateral Raises

12s x 10

12s x 12

12s x 12

12s x 12

 

End of warm-up.

 

Working Sets:

 

Wide-grip pull-ups

16

14

12

 

Narrow-grip pull-ups

18

14

16

 

Standing Straightbar Overhead Press

70lbs x 10

70lbs x 12

80lbs x 6

80lbs x 8

 

Super Set with Barbell Shrugs

225lbs x 10

205lbs x 12

205lbs x 10

205lbs x 10

 

Upright Rows

80lbs x 12

90lbs x 6

90lbs x 8

90lbs x 8

 

Last night I went to bed after 3AM from a late night of working and tonight it is getting close to 130AM and I'm just winding down from workout, late dinner and shower.

 

Hope to be in bed soon. I fly to Seattle in 36 hours. Lots to do before I go.

 

Have an outstanding week everyone!

 

-RC

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March 19, 2012

 

Oops. I made a mistake today. I tried to adjust my position on the bench while doing skull crushers and as I sat up to re-seat myself, something snapped in my wrist. I've been icing it off and on for the past couple of hours.

 

I'm still going to consider myself injury-free and take tomorrow off which was my intention before I had the issue in the gym, and I should recover soon and continue on with progress as planned.

 

It is quite sore at the moment, so we'll see. Perhaps it is worse than it seems, but I'm optimistic.

 

On with the workout.

 

Today I warmed up by doing a power walk outside for 20 minutes. Sounds silly, you're thinking. Sure, it could appear that way, but it was 80 degrees at 6PM. What would you do? You'd power walk alongside me.

 

Warm-up:

 

20 minutes of power walking in the sun

 

Push-ups

20

20

20

20

 

Mountain Climbers

100

100

100

100

 

Skull Crushers

70lbs x 12

70lbs x 10

75lbs x 8

80lbs x 6 (this is where something snapped in my wrist causing pain. I was doing super sets as well, which will be listed below, so I was 6 sets into the workout when I had my little issue.) I thought about stopping but I tested the wrist out and it could keep going, so I just finished up. Maybe it would have been smarter to stop right there, but I didn't feel like I was doing additional harm by continuing. I was able to do exercises at angles that didn't bother the outside of my wrist. But perhaps, I should have just called it a day. Either way, I went for a bit longer.

80lbs x 6

 

Narrow grip chest press (which were super sets after each set of skull crushers)

70lbs x 12

70lbs x 10

75lbs x 8

80lbs x 10

80lbs x 10

 

Two arm overhead triceps extensions

70lbs x 15

80lbs x 13

90lbs x 10

(thought about going up to 100 since I was doing such high reps but wanted to change the exercise to give my wrist a break)

 

Dumbbell Triceps Kickbacks

25s x 12

30s x 10

30s x 10

 

Called it a day and headed to the grocery store to get some frozen raspberries and blueberries to put on my wrist. Been doing that off and on for going on 3 hours now.

 

I'm sure I'll be fine in a day or two.

 

I'm on planes all day tomorrow and it was a scheduled rest day and then legs are due up soon so that gives me plenty of time to rest the wrist. Luckily I can still give a thumbs up!

 

As far as I'm concerned, I'm still injury-free. Just one little slip today.

 

RC

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March 20, 2012

 

Today was a scheduled rest day, not just because I snapped something in my wrist yesterday, but because I spent all day flying from Austin to Oakland to Portland.

 

I'm still not ready to admit that I am "injured" but I sure am having a hard time using my hand. No idea what happened when my wrist snapped in the middle of exercising but it is quite sore.

 

I'll still train legs and abs and will not let this little issue slow me down. As far as I'm concerned I'm still injury-free and moving along, full speed ahead!

 

PS, left 80 degree sun in Austin for 30-something degree and 7 inches of snow in Oregon. Driving to Seattle tomorrow, assuming I can move my car in the morning.

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March 21, 2012

 

Today I was scheduled to meet up with Champion Vegan Bodybuilder Ed Bauer for a workout at 10AM. I'm borrowing my sister's car which hasn't been driven in months and needed a jumpstart so I was late. Ed and I just hung out and I planned to train later in the day. Then I got a phone call saying the weather was pretty crazy down in Corvallis where I needed to go and that I better come sooner than later because of all the snow falling. So I headed to Corvallis, did what I needed to do there and opted to go to an OSU basketball game tonight. Some of you recall I went to a bunch of home games while I was here over the winter. As it turns out the Beavers were in the semi-finals of an NCAA tournament and I went with my uncle to cheer them on. The lost and their season is over. Bummer.

 

I didn't get a gym workout in today, but I did carry firewood on the farm for an hour. It was a pretty good workout, I built up a sweat even in 35 degrees and inches of snow falling, and my wrist held up pretty well too.

 

It wasn't a gym workout, but exercise none-the-less.

 

Lately I've been thinking of taking a week off, just to recover in general, since I've been doing exclusively compound barbell and dumbbell exercises since the beginning of the year, and haven't taken a break from training in general since November. Now with my wrist a bit mangled (not sure what is wrong with it), and a busy travel week, heading up to Seattle all weekend, then back down to Corvallis, then Portland, then back to Austin, I think I'll take this week off to rest, recover and heal up. I may do some abs exercises and maybe run some stairs at a hotel, but after 5 months of solid training, a week off could do some good. That is what I meant to do last year just before hurting my chest. I had trained 7 months without taking more than 2 days off in a week and eventually hurt myself. Time to rest up, recover, and continue to eat big.

 

Have a great one!

 

Off to Seattle now.

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Hi Robert, i received my NYNY package today and i'm really happy about it! all the way to Belgium yeah!! Just to let you know that you're a great inspiration and a good frontliner of the vegan sports lifestyle in general.

 

one week rest won't knock your progress back that much. If i was you with all the travelling and stuff i would take one week off. afterwards it feels always better to train again, you'll have more hunger

 

greetz man!

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  • 2 weeks later...

April 2, 2012

 

I'm back!

 

It has been a full 2 weeks since I trained. I'm still not ready to admit that "I'm injured" with my wrist that is bothering me, but I took some time off to rest up. The wrist issue really hasn't improved over the past couple of weeks so I picked up a Level 3, medical grade wrist brace today and I wore it to the gym. Some exercises hurt a bit, but for the most part, I had it on as tight as I could (nearly cutting off blood circulation, but not quite, of course) and it seemed to provide a level of support enabling me to train again.

 

Lots to catch up on!

 

Ben, thanks for the note. I don't have insurance and haven't had my wrist looked at yet. Same story for my previous back injuries, and others I've sustained. I just haven't had a "regular" job that provided insurance, nor have I created the budget to fund my own insurance, so I just manage the best I can.

 

Michael, glad your package arrived! Thank you so much for your support and involvement in our program! All the very best to you!

 

Over the past two weeks I did an incredible amount of traveling! I saw a whole bunch of members of our website, recruited more members, and signed a bunch of books and sold a lot of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness clothing. I spent two weekends at Vegetarian Festivals and then did additional traveling in between. I worked at the Seattle VegFest and the Texas VegFest. Both were outstanding, two of the best I've been to in my seven years on the road at these kinds of festivals. I met up with a bunch of long time forum members, including some I hadn't seen in years. I also saw my family, spent a couple of nights in the Olympic National Forest, and met up with a number of role models including Brendan Brazier, Rip Esselstyn, Dr. Esselstyn, and others. Oh, and officially moved into my own place in Austin, TX and it is amazing! I just love it here! I've only spent three nights here but it just rocks so much!

 

Good times.

 

Anyway, on to today's workout. My apartment complex has an 11,000 sq. ft gym so I trained here tonight.

 

With my wrist in a brace, I tackled my first weights in 2 weeks. I did spend 3 days flexing at VegFests and a few days moving, carrying heavy boxes and luggage, so I had some physical exercise, but this was my first night back at it with barbells and dumbbells.

 

Warm-up:

 

I ran for about 4 minutes from my apartment to the gym.

 

Stair stepper for 12 minutes, 63 floors climbed.

 

Bodyweight squats

30

30

30

 

Arm circles and stretching

 

Workout:

 

Dumbbell lateral raises

10s x 15

12.5s x 12

12.5s x 12

 

Dumbbell front raises

10s x 15

12.5s x 12

12.5s x 12

 

Wide-grip pull-ups

12

14

12

 

Dumbbell shrugs

80s x 20

80s x 20 (I stopped here because it was hard on my wrist to re-rack the weights)

 

Barbell shrugs

185lbs x 10

185lbs x 10

135lbs x 15

 

Narrow-grip pull-ups

24

18

16

 

That was about an hour and I called it good and walked back to my apartment.

 

It's in the mid-80's out here and I'll be doing a lot of training outside along the trails, pull-up bars, pools, etc.

 

So pumped to be living in Texas!

 

Glad to be back on the forum after crazy travel and time-zone changes, and late nights and long days too!

 

-RC

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4/3/12

 

Back in business. I was in the gym for a 2nd day in a row with my wrist brace on and back in the iron game!

 

It feels good to be back in the gym after a full 2 weeks off!

 

Today I trained biceps. I quickly learned the only position I could have my wrist in was a neutral (hammer grip) position, so that is what I did.

 

The workout went like this:

 

Warm-up:

 

4 minute jog to the gym

 

Mountain Climbers

100

100

100

 

Arm Circles Forward

50

50

 

Arm Circles Backward

50

50

 

Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls

20s x 12

25s x 12

30s x 10

30s x 10

 

Dumbbell Concentration Curls

20 x 12

25 x 12

25 x 12

 

Seated (slight incline) two-arm Dumbbell Hammer Curls

25s x 12

25s x 12

30s x 8

25s x 12

 

Standing two-arm Dumbbell Hammer Curls

25s x 10

30s x 10

30s x 12

25s x 12

 

That was it. I couldn't lift real heavy and my range of motion was so-so, but I had that wrist brace on real tight and I was happy to be back in the gym!

 

I ate a lot of food tonight and I think I'll just keep on bulking up and my wrist should be back to normal soon.

 

Have a great week everyone!

 

I'll be training legs and abs soon to give my upper body a break from handling the barbells and dumbbells.

 

-RC

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4/4/12

 

I took a rest day today. I've had a lot of late nights and was just feeling like taking a break today from a busy few weeks. This also gives my wrist another day of rest before training.

 

I plan to train abs tomorrow and then work my way back into deadlifts and then squats.

 

Gotta focus on eating big now. Still working on bulking up.

 

Heading to bed early tonight.

 

Peace!

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4/5/12

 

Today I trained abs, as planned. The workout was a full hour which feels pretty cool to hammer the abs for that long.

 

I went for a walk in the sun on my way to the gym and then did a few sets of Mountain Climbers and then got down to business with abs.

 

The Workout:

 

Mountain Climbers

100

100

100

 

Front Crunches

30

60

60

 

Right Side Crunches

30

60

60

 

Left Side Crunches

30

60

60

 

Bicycle Crunches

100

120

120

 

Lying Leg Raises

25

35

40

 

Hanging Knee Raises (hanging from straps, not my wrists)

30

40

50

 

Plank

75 seconds

90 seconds

100 seconds

 

Solid abdominal workout today.

 

Will hammer out another workout tomorrow and on Saturday.

 

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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4/6/12

 

Today was an awesome day for exercise! I spent nearly all day in the sun and loved it!

 

I started out this morning with a walk in the sun and then jog around the lake.

 

Later on in the evening I went back out to the lake and jogged a bit and then performed half of my workout on the exercise bars by the lake. Once I finished there, I went to the gym to use dumbbells for the rest of my workout. I opted not to try deadlifts just yet. I'm still getting my wrist back into the swing of things.

 

Warm-up: 5 minute jog in the sun

 

Forward arm circles

100

100

100

100

 

Backward arm circles

100

100

100

100

 

Workout:

 

Wide-grip pull-ups

12

12

15

13

 

Narrow-grip pull-ups

25

16

16

18

 

Dumbbell lateral raises

10s x 15

12.5s x 12

15s x 12

20s x 8

 

Dumbbell front raises

10s x 15

12.5s x 12

15s x 12

20s x 8

 

Standing dumbbell overhead press

10s x 15

20s x 15

30s x 12

40s x 8

 

Seated Dumbbell overhead press

50s x 8

55s x 5

50s x 9

50s x 5

 

Solid workout. Not real heavy, but I don't want to push my wrist too much. I wore my wrist brace and kept is as tight as possible during sets and made it loose while resting between sets.

 

Had a bunch of nice meals today, worked on my book a little, sold a whole bunch of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness clothing items, and had a great time.

 

I plan to spend more time on my book tomorrow, and of course, spend time out in the sun too!

 

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

 

 

I attempted to do some reverse grip chin ups but I couldn't even grip the bar with that angle with my wrist issue. My wrist is actually a bit sore right now, more-so than it has been in days and I'm not sure if it was from that attempt for from the next exercises I'm about to list. Oh well, it's not too bad, just a little tender.

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4/7/12

 

I met up with one of our New You for the New You coaches in Austin today, which was awesome! mjcollette and I ate at an all raw/organic vegan restaurant downtown which was really good. I'm usually not a fan of raw food places, but Beets Cafe is great! Really good stuff.

 

After that, I met up with another forum member, Bartronx7 and we had a great biceps workout. I am still limited on the range of motion I'm able to do and it is limited to just neutral grip (hammer grip) but I'm still able to push it pretty hard, even if the weights aren't real heavy.

 

Today's workout went like this:

 

Warm-up: 4 minute jog, 5-8 minutes on the Spin Bike

 

Arm Circles

50

50

 

Workout

 

Two Arm Dumbbell Hammer Curls

20s x 15

25s x 15

30s x 15

35s x 10

 

Seated Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls

30s x 10

30s x 10

35s x 8

35s x 7

 

Dumbbell Concentration Curls

25 x 12

25 x 12

30 x 8

30 x 8

 

Standing Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls

30s x 10

30s x 8

35s x 10

35s x 8

 

That's it.

 

Soon I'll get back into deadlifts and squats. Perhaps in just a day or two. At the moment I'm easing back into training with my wrist brace on, handling the exercises I'm able to do without too much trouble.

 

Hope you all have an outstanding weekend!

 

-Robert

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4/8/12

 

Today was an awesome day of fitness. I didn't go to the gym, but I spent the entire day out in the sun

 

I went for a run around the lake at my apartment complex in mid 80-degree weather. I saw all kinds of wildlife including turtles, fish, ducks, geese, butterflies, birds, etc. I ran for about 20 minutes in the sun and headed back home.

 

Then I headed to the basketball court and shot baskets, ran around, dunked a bunch on a 9-ft hoop, and enjoyed it for about an hour.

 

I went back home for food and then went back out again and played basketball for another 30 minutes.

 

Throughout the day I drank about a gallon of water, which is a lot for me. I wish it were the norm, and perhaps it will become the norm now that I'm living in Texas, but today's liquid consumption was something I am pleased with.

 

I also sat in the hot tub and by the pool and in a reclining chair in the sun at home.

 

Nice day outdoors.

 

Back in the gym tomorrow.

 

Hope you all had a great weekend.

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4/9/12

 

As much fun as I had yesterday playing outside, today I got myself back in the gym, and for the first time in about 3 weeks I did squats. After I hurt my wrist, I didn't want to do anything heavy or challenging that might further impact the wrist in a negative way. I took an entire 2 weeks off, and have been at it now with weights for a solid week.

 

It was nice to finally train legs again. My wrist was only slightly bothered when doing dumbbell lunges. Aside from that, it was all good. I didn't lift real heavy, but I'm climbing my way back.

 

While at the gym, I decided that I better just pick a competition and set my sights on something. I've been at it for 4 months with full of enthusiasm. This wrist thing set me back a bit mentally, and I want to be driven again. I could have easily trained legs after I hurt my wrist. Maybe not the first week, but surely 10-14 days later, but it took 21 days before I got back under the bar. I immediately looked online at www.inbf.net, an organization I've competed with in the past, and found two shows in my area. One July 20th, and one Sept 29th. One is in Austin, where I live and the other in San Antonio, just a 60-90 min drive away.

 

I'm kinda tired of the injuries that have been slowing me down the past year. I had the abdominal, chest, lower back, and now wrist, all keep me from reaching higher potential and even keeping me from personal fulfillment. Clearly there are ways I can overcome this, both mentally and physically. I'll look at those shows, and others within other organizations and get down to business. I'm actually in pretty good shape now. My abs seem better than usual, I have deep cuts in my legs, my back and arms are really lean, I'm just smaller and have less muscle than I would like. I still need to put on more mass before I'm real competitive. At the same time, I don't really care about being competitive. I want to get back into bodybuilding for my own interests, at my own pace, for my own reasons. I really don't care how I place or compare to others. I just want to do what I enjoy. We'll see if I can stay injury-free to get back on stage in the coming months.

 

Today's workout:

 

Warm-up:

 

5 minute jog

15 minutes on the spin bike

 

Squats

45lbs x 20

45lbs x 20

45lbs x 20

95lbs x 20

135lbs x 10

135lbs x 10

135lbs x 10

135lbs x 10

 

Walking Dumbbell Lunges

50's in each hand x 16 steps

50's in each hand x 16 steps

50's in each hand x 20 steps

50's in each hand x 22 steps

50's in each hand x 16 steps

 

After the workout I did some stretching in the sauna and then came home and made dinner using my new rice cooker

 

Had another solid day of selling Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness clothing. That was encouraging. We announced our Essay Contest winners and that was also fun.

 

Time for a bit more food, then watching Run Ricky Run, a documentary about the greatest running back to wear a University of Texas uniform (my new town), and then get to bed.

 

Have an awesome week!

 

-RC

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4/10/12

 

I shipped out clothing all day and didn't get to the gym until after dinner, around 9PM.

 

I went with a 1 hour shoulder workout today.

 

Warm-up: 3 minute jog and 10 minutes on the spin bike

 

Forward Arm Circles

50

50

50

50

 

Backward Arm Circles

50

50

50

50

 

Dumbbell Lateral Raises

10s x 15

15s x 12

20s x 8

20s x 8

 

Dumbbell Front Raises

10s x 15

15s x 12

20s x 8

20s x 8

 

Dumbbell Seated Overhead Press

40s x 15

50s x 10

55s x 5

55s x 8

 

Barbell Shrugs

135 x 20

175 x 12

175 x 10

175 x 10

 

Hanging Knee Raises

40

40

40

 

I had my wrist brace on and my wrist was a little sore during the shrugs so I finished with some abs, hanging from straps, not from my wrists.

 

Up too late again tonight.

 

Gotta get to bed.

 

I start the T. Colin Campbell Foundation Plant-Based Nutrition Course through eCornell tomorrow!

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