Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I figured I would start my own training and diet journal, it should keep me motivated preparing for my shows later in the year- I tend to lose track of things when I'm not dieting.
My goals are to get stronger and hope to thicken up my chest and back which are my weakest bodyparts and now that I'm training with MVS I want to bring my powerlifting numbers up, which have been all over the place recently.
I'm aiming for a 160kg bench, 200kg squat and 200kg deadlift by the middle of the year, my numbers over the last couple of months have been about 15-20 kg below my pb's from late last year, I need to rectify that now that I'm training with some really strong guys.
Yesterdays workout was chest and back.
Bench press - bar x 15
60kg x 6
75kg + 15kg of chains per side x 5 x 5
The chains have helped in the past get past my sticking point in the bench so I have started using them again.
Pullups - Bodyweight 6 x 6
Floor press - 85kg 3 x 3 sets
One arm rows - 45kg 3 x 10 sets
Incline dumbell press - 54kg 4 x 2 sets
Incline dumbell rows - 30kg 10 x 3 sets - hurt my back squatting at MVS so needed back support.
Meal 1 - Sunwarrior protein shake, small bowl of taro
Meal 2 - (pre workout) 3g creatine, BCAA, espresso coffee
Meal 3 - Post workout 3g creatine, Sunwarrior protein, glass of juice (pineapple, orange, apple, ginger, celery)
Meal 4 - Lentil burger, dark rye bread, mixed salad
Meal 5 - 130g Tempeh, mung bean sprouts, salad
Meal 6 - Fava bean stew with vegetables, some baked chickpea patties
Meal 7 - BCAA shake with blueberries

Awesome stuff Joe

I was waiting for you to post a log.. I'm looking forward to reading about your results.

Thank you!

this is going to be one of the must-read-logs on this forum! siked!

HECK YEA xTWO!!!!!!!

So 'siked' about this blog.

I love the goals in nums even if i did conversions in my head roughly; i should get better at it in my head. Anyone s/b able to post their logs in kg's and not succumb to u.s. dumb standards.

Anyhow, I love the meal plan, hardcore. Mung Beans sprouts are the way to go eh? Everyone's on em! YEAH BUDDAY!

Chains rock! I never actually did them but i had every intention on it just ended my powerlifting spurt before i invested in them. Was going to buy massive ones at a boathouse but never got around to it. I'd like to hear more about your training with them. I know it works. www.westside-barbell.com where i get alot of solid powerlifting info from. #1 powerlifting gym in the world imo and many others.

Back my weakest point. Chest is ok for me it could be alot bigger but it has good shape so i get away with smaller pecs. I still would like to build em up more. I have done an exorbitant amt in the past and now muscle memory keeps it together now that i'm training again.

k dude, i'm out. I want to see more posts from ya. This rocks

Lean and green, you are not 'siked' you are SIKED. And I am too!
Do you feel you get a lot of benefits from taking BCAA during the day? I've been thinking about doing it for a while, that or EAA, but I don't really want insluin spiking through the roof.
I'm def gonna follow this log, looking forward to it.

Joel,

Thanks for posting this journal. I am sure it is going to help a lot of us meet our training goals.

I read your profile and understand what you eat when preparing for a show. What type of diet (amount of protein, carbs, fat, supplements, calories) do you follow when you are trying to gain muscle? Do you bulk/cut, zig zag calories, or...?

Thank you,

Veg

Last night was delts and arms. Normally I would train legs the day after chest and back but my back is still giving me a bit of trouble.
I went back to evening training, I prefer it as there is more of an atmosphere at my gym.
The workout was
Lateral raises 12kg x 20
20kg x 5 x 5
Standing military press 60 x 12
85kg x 3 x 6 sets
Incline bench rear delt flyes 18kg x 12 x 3 sets
Standing barbell curls 35kg x 6 x 5 sets - I went a little lighter than usual, I think it works a bit better, normally I heave up 50kg or so but think I may staywith the lighter weight for curls for now.
Dumbell skullcrushers 22kg x 8 x 5 sets - I throw them a bit like darts, similar kind of movement, quite explosive
Standing ez bar curls 35kg x 8 x 3 sets - again a little lighter but felt it work better and my arms pumped up a lot more.
Skullcrusher/closegrip superset 45kg x 8 x 3 sets - 8 reps for skullcrushers, 6-8 reps straight after for closegrips
Finished off with some leg raises 5 sets of 12
Diet for yesterday was a little better than previous day
Meal 1- Sunwarrior and blueberry shake - the chocolate flavoured protein goes really well with the blueberries. Added 10g of flax sprouts.
Meal 2- Lentil burger, beetroot chips (I just slice them thin and bake) alfalfa sprouts, 1/4 avocado
Meal 3- Raw food bar, the active greens flavour
Meal 4- Vege schnitzel, mixed salad, some dulse flakes and macadamia oil - strange mix but nice
Meal 5- Pre workout 15g BCAA, Biotest Superfood powder, 15g spirulina, 3g creatine, espresso
Meal 6- Post workout Vega packet (Thanks RC and Lean & Green) then juiced up some pineapple, orange and celery when I got home. Just got my new juicer so I've been making plenty of different combinations.
Meal 7- Lentil burger, small amount of taro- made it into chips so only had a few pieces, mung bean sprouts.
Before bed I snacked on some dulse leaves.
That was it for the day.



I don't always use them throughout the day, my meals at the moment aren't very structured so I just carry a few supplies in my bag and make things as I go.
At this point in time I'm not too worried about the insulin levels going up because I'm not dieting but at the same time I'm not really having anything with them, maybe just some berries and stuff, so I'm not having a calorie surplus when my insulin levels are spiked throughout the day. Good point though



Sorry mate, I started counting in kg again now that I'm training with MVS, previously I was counting in lb's. It all gets confusing sometimes.



That's where I got the idea from. My brother has used them in the past and got very strong from using them so I thought I'll give them a real go now.
Looking at your photos I think your chest is quite a strong bodypart for you.

To be honest, I don't count calories as much as i should in the offseason. I try to just eat more fresh foods, like juices, vegetables and beans, which I tend to omit during contest preparation.
Generally though, I still keeps my carbohydrates lower during the week and have a refeed on the weekend but I don't drop them so low that I'm bordering on ketosis.
Protein levels stay pretty consistent all year round, near enough to the 200g per day.
My fats are lower in the off season because my carbohydrates are higher and also because I'm less active in terms of aerobic exercise.
Like I wrote in my opening post, this log should help me become more regimented with my off season diet and keep more of a track of what I eat.
To answer whether I bulk/cut, my weight doesn't get too out of control in the offseason. I'm sitting at about 87-88kg at the moment and I aim to compete about 80kg

Great to see this Joel!! I keep you in mind everytime I explain to someone how Im gonna be eating only tofu the last week of show. Lol. How do you get 15g of BCAA's in one sitting? I have two different types, one is 2g and the toher is only 3.3g. There is no way I could handle 24 pills at once.

I use the powder. There are a few vegan powders, it is much easier to take big amounts that way, rather than using capsules.
Yeah, the tofu!
I never really eat it any other time apart from the closing stages of a diet.
Not long to go for you now mate, I wish all you guys competing a smooth preparation.

Love checking out your diet as well as workouts.

Thanks MaryStella, I've been reading your journal for a while too, you train hard!
Keep on posting


Last night I trained legs. I trained with another guy at the gym so my workout deviated from the normal a little.
The guy I trained with wants to build his legs up more, his upper body is competition ready, he's just very top heavy.
I couldn't back squat because my back is still giving me some trouble but the workout was very hard and I'm very sore today.
We started with front squats - bar x 12
40kg x 10
80kg x 6
120kg x 6 x 4 sets
Vertical leg press - 180kg x 10 x 3 sets - I don't normally do these now, I use the smith machine and lay on the floor and push the bar up with my feet. It's tricky and I need a spotter to stop the hooks from catching. It works well though.
Split squats - 65kg x 6 x 5 sets
Dumbell leg curls - 30kg x 8 x 4 sets - Again, another exercise that is better having a spotter for, I find it a lot more effective than leg curl machines.
Single leg calf raise - 15kg dumbell x 12 x 5 sets
Stretched a fair bit after the workout and finally caught my breath, the front squats took it out of me.
Yesterday's eating
Meal 1 - 2 slices of dark rye bread with chocolate coconut butter (coconut butter with cocoa added) Nitrofusion protein shake
Meal 2 - 120g tempeh, mung bean sprouts, beetroot
Meal 3 - 2 spinach and onion 'pastries' - my mother in law made them, they are like the spinach and cheese pies but she makes some without cheese so I can eat them.
Meal 4 - Lentil burger with salad, 1/2 avocado, 25g almonds
Meal 5 - Pre workout - Double espresso shot, 15g BCAA, 15g spirulina, no creatine (taking a couple of weeks off)
Meal 6 - Post workout - Nitrofusion protein shake, electrolyte tablet, blueberries.
Meal 7 - 3 chickpea patties (were very small), arame leaves, alfalfa sprouts, 50g brown rice.
Ate a little bit of dark chocolate after dinner.

Great to know about that the Chocolate Sun Warrior goes well with blueberries
thanks for posting your meals..

dude training with thses guys is going to get you brolic!

Although i found myself staring at your meal after meal and looking at key words to imagine what food food will be like after the comp. No use in dwelling, gotta stay focused

Your meal plan and frequency in meals is excellent. A real classic bber plan; the results tell the tale I always agree, stic to old skool and it will never let you down. Lots of meals, high protein, etc etc...

i love reading this journal. seems like it should win an award for the most well received new blog within first week of posts

you rock, thanks for taking the time to share. I know at times it can be a pain to spend 20min typing your blog but others appreciate it, including myself. Glad it's here mate...