Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

So Im 12 weeks out from my first show. Im so excited to finally be doing this since I started bodybuilding and working out 8 1/2 years ago. The competition will be with Lean&Green and Robert Cheeke(that I know of). I would love for us to score the top three in everything we enter as a Vegan Competition Group. Anyway this week's workout is as follows:

Sunday the 25th- Bi's Tri's & 25min cardio
Monday- Heavy Legs and Abs
Tuesday- 2 workouts both Chest and Traps(a.m. workout was mostly chest presses/shrugs, 2nd workout was flyes upright rows etc.)
Wednesday- Total Back (back got super swole) and some biceps
Thursday- Quads and Tri's
Friday- 6:15am ran 3 miles on treadmill
Saturday- bi's- not enough food for full workout
Sunday-off

Im taking Nutiva Hemp(berry/pom flavor) and Vega chocolate protein powder right now with BCAA's(3 horse pills), zinc, a little calcium carbonate and creatine wafers(10g-12.5g a day when lifting).

Diet is very clean right now and will get even cleaner the closer I get to April. My bodyfat is at 6.4% and I am going to try to maintain it as I get closer to the show then drop it even more while trying to retain clean muscle mass.

Im on my own path in a way of training and eating and want it to be so. I always here the same ol' same ol' when it comes to competing and I want to change the "rules" a bit. I will NOT raise my bodyfat within these twelve weeks as I feel it will be just that much harder to lose it the closer I get to show time. This is of course an experiment with my body to see how it changes and transforms with the way Im lifting and my eating habits.

Feel free to ask any questions or make suggestions.

Right on Jimi! I remember when Iused to take those damn horse pil bcaa's. They were HUGE. I think i used to use the 'universal' brand and perhaps in addition 'animal packs' or something like that. No clue if they were vegan or not; obviously the ones you take now are!

Hey man, do what works for you; I am psyched about being on stage together. This is going to be, as arnold would say, FANTASTIC. Me and RC watched Pumping Iron last night to get pumped up, then I went for my 2nd workout of the day.

I like that you're going very heavy on legs day; that's going to pay off. I need to do something about my upper body and but quick; it's just so hard to train with a heavy weightload cuz of my shoulder. Anyhow, keep this journal going dude; I look forward to checking up on it on the regular.

Bf electrode scales are innacurate man. Hopefully i'ts a semi-decent indicator as the days progress.

eg. yest it said i was 178.6 @ 8.6% bf
this morning.... 179 @ 7.4% bf

no clue; it's all good; train harder!

Looking CONCRETE!

You are looking awesome! You look like you only have a couple of weeks to go with your bodyfat so low already!

From looking at your training log, you are a prime example of confusion of the body. One day you eat alot, the next you don't. One day you workout like a mad man, and the next you can't make it because of work. And it works for you!

Now, advise on the posing. First off, SMILE!!!! Your grimace reminds me of how I am dieting down again, and how much I hate it!!!!

So on the front pose, the legs and abs are awesome. Now if you could try to flare the lats to get them to flare out a little bit more. Maybe move the elbows up a little, and then pretend to do a lat pulldown. I think if you tweak your elbows up you could get a more peak look to the awesome biceps!
More info: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/frontbiceps.htm

The side shot is good too, but you might be leaning a little too far forward. Do not pull the shoulders back, but instead push your sternum forward and put the shoulder blades flatter on your back (in yoga we say present your heart forward with the shoulder blades supporting your heart).
More info: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sidechest.htm

And the back pose is good (nice groove on the spine). See if you pull the elbows in just a slight more to get the lats to pop a little bit more.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/backbiceps.htm

Also, you could try to move your legs a little off to the side if you can show more definition of the quads and hams. Though that could also be a women thing to do legs off to the side (shows the glutes and satorius off really well).

Thank you Gaia Im def looking into that. I just raised my elbows and pretended to do a lat pull down and I really felt my lats contract(and then cramp. lol). As I post pictures or video please dont hesitate to comment(that goes for everybody).

What's your weight Octo?

Uber swolness

Oops, guess I should have stated that as well.

Im 179lbs at 5'11"

I look forward to competing with you!

My internet is having issues right now so I can't write much but catch up soon. Train Hard and Eat Plenty!

It's going to be awesome!!!!!!!!!!!

Felt like a champ today(Monday)!!

I ate my oats with a pint of blueberries this morning went to work from 6-1 and went home to eat:
1 block of extra firm water packed tofu
1 bag of Smart chili
and 1 avacado.

Went to the gym trained chest, calves, and about 5 sets of leg curls for hamstrings. Blowed up(southern talk) and just felt great!! Had someone ask me bout my VBB sleeveless and he was like "I cant do that blah blah blah. Where do you get your protein from whey?" I had to immediately correct him. He said "well youre getting your protein from somewhere!" as he was staring at my delts and pumped chest. Anyway, I was there almost 2 full hours and had my Nutiva shake afterwards.

Good work man!

Keep after it.....we're almost there!

Your txt about how you're now supplementing with some quality spirulina/algae MADE MY DAY! Show em' how it's done

I now know that I must eat some oats every morning that I lift. I only had a Vega shake and 3 larabars before lunch then for lunch I had an avacado, smart chili, and some organic blue chips. Its not much, but I needed something quick. Post-workout I had my Matrix spirulina bound multi-vit, BCAA's, and a Nutiva shake in BoltHouseFarms chai tea with a tsp of spirulina.

Workout today was Back Attack. I got through a heavy hour but did not have the energy to do more. Here is a pik I just took 2 hours after my workout. I feel like im improving

Sweet definition man!

Hey, I'm sending you some things tomorrow Powders, bars, etc.

Keep it up.....this is a fun process.

I'm going to start doing cardio immediately. My bodyfat is higher than yours and probably about the same as Lean and Green....I just really want to be ripped with veins all throughout my body so I'm starting cardio very soon. I'm going to do things like cycling so I can build my quads and calves up even more while doing cardio.

Stair-stepper, cycling and basketball will likely be my forms of cardio....as well as a bit of stationary bike, hiking in the forest and things like that. I try to keep it fun. I usually do a bit of jogging and sprinting too.

Have fun and I'll be in touch. I'm keeping very busy as usual but still training, eating and all that too.

First off, get rid of the tank top! Want to see the erector spinae! Like how low is the valley now?

Arm placement is awesome! You can see your lats, front-middle-rear delts, and bicep/forearm (try tucking your thumb in and see if it peaks your bicep a little bit more).

Did they recommend you get your tan dark enough to match your tattoos? I know for girls, the judges usually do not like to see the tattoos as it distracts from the showing of their muscles. But I remember this one girl, Marissa, who had a dagger tattoo on her thigh, and it did not stop her from winning the show that night! In fact, it "pointed" to her quad striations very well.

I don't think the tattoos will be much an issue. I know in a lot of contests I've been in or seen there are tons of guys with tattoos, including really big tattoos, in fact it seems like "most" competitors have at least one. Some top pros have had quite a few too (Chris Cormier, Johnnie Jackson, Lee Priest, others) but they don't seem to distract too much.

Yeah, we'll all be pretty dark with pro tan and dream tan on top of it, so it should be all good.

But in some cases, yeah, tattoos could cover something, but we'll all be well covered with dark tan and chiseled and ripped so we should be cool

Octo....stay warm, I read on CNN it is cold in your area:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/02/0 ... index.html