Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

2/12/10
Squats: 95kg 3x5
Bench Press: 63.5kg 3x5
Hang Cleans: 30kg 4x3

Squats: I was trying hard to talk myself into going home and coming back tomorrow, but I said fuck it and attempted a work set and it wasn't that bad. Took a while all told so I ended up not getting as much work in today, but it was a success imo.
Bench Press: This older guy next to me was giving me some pointers, including suggesting I put something under my feet so my legs were higher. Turned out to help a lot and this weight was much easier than last time I tried it. Might even find that elusive leg drive this way.
Hang Cleans: Decided I should prioritize these more and I think I had a bit of an epiphany today, form-wise. Still have a lot of work to do but hopefully I'm on the right track.
Also, I weighed myself at 168.5 before I left home and came in at 170.75 at the gym (midday clothed weight), so I think my scale really is 2 lbs low (that son of a bitch).

3/15/10
BW: 166.6lbs*
Squats: 97.5kg 3x5
(OH)Press: 45kg 5,4,4
Deadlift: 116kg 1x5
Pullups: 4,3,3,2

Squats: I was sooo tired coming in today, but somehow I didn't feel any weaker for it. I think these were easier than last time I did 97.5kg (here's to getting 100k next time).
Press: Damn, same as last time. The final rep I tried so hard I failed with it above my head, which is unusual. Not sure I'm ready to deload, will see how I feel Friday.
Deadlift: Went lighter and had a buddy at the gym watch me. I think I've got some things to work on now form-wise before I start getting crazy with the weight again. That's good though, next time I hit 125, I should be able to handle it. Also glad to say a rounded back isn't one of them.
Pullups: Just couldn't lock out that 5th rep in the first set. Did the second as a set of singles but that actually seemed harder.
*I'm going to use the +2lb adjusted weight from here, unless I find out my scale actually isn't retarded (I think the proper definition works here so I'm not making a slur :P).

3/17/10
Squats: 100kg 3x5 PR
Bench: 66kg 5,4,4
Hang Cleans: 30kg 5x3

Squats: First set was pretty easy, next two were hard I think cause I was having trouble with my grip/bar placement. But I still got it.
Bench Press: Tried using that box under my feet again today but it was giving me a tendency to lift my ass. Took it out for the last set and it felt better.
Hang Cleans: I think I'm getting the jump and I'm getting the shrug, I just need to learn to put them together.
Had to go to the gym early (like right after waking and eating early) cause SXSW starts today, but I felt pretty good in spite of it. Now I'm just going to have to manage to eat enough while I'm out.

3/22/10
BW: 165.4lbs
Squats: 100kg 1x4 / 95kg 1x3,1x5
OHPress: 40kg 3,5,5
Deadlift: 84kg 1x5


Failed miserably. Drank a lot of free beer and went for long periods without eating much. I lost 2 lbs after 4 days of doing this but gained one back yesterday, which I'm ok with. I'm glad I don't just wither away if I don't get 4k calories. And I got to see these bands for free, hang out with friends from out of town, and just have a lot of fun. This behavior hopefully explains why today at the gym was so shitty. Deadlift was especially weak and my shoulder started hurting again out of nowhere :(

3/24/10
Squats: 100kg 3x5
Bench Press: 66kg 4,4,3
Hang Cleans: 30kg 5x3

Squats: I was having trouble getting centered under the bar again, but I got it right on my third set and kicked its ass. Two plates next time.
Bench Press: Even worse than last time, don't know what's up. Need to get back on eating and sleeping enough regularly.
Hang Cleans: Had someone check out my form, wasn't sure what I was doing wrong before but I think I'm getting close now.
Got kickball after work on Friday so I probably won't be back in till Saturday. Think I'll switch to Sa M W.

3/27/10
BW: 163.6
Squats: 102kg 4,3,3
OHPress: 40kg 3x5
Deadlift: 102kg 1x5
Chinups: 5,3,3,3

Squats: Felt pretty good, now past the mental barrier of two plates I think.
Press: 15 solid reps. Form felt pretty dialed in today.
Deadlift: Still pretty light but gave me some trouble. No shoulder pain though.
Chinups: Been neglecting these and my numbers have suffered.
I need to start eating right again. As you can see from my weight, I've been slacking lately and I think it's def. affecting my workouts.

3/29/10
Squats: 102kg 5,4,5
Bench Press: 66kg 5,5,~2
Hang Cleans: 30kg 5x3

Squats: Only missed one rep. I think SS says to go on in this case, but I'm not sure. This strong dude at my gym complimented my progress before my third set (and after), think it might have given me the motivation to push through
Bench Press: Deload on a deload? WTF. The warmup sets were the easiest sets in the world, but once I got working weight it was a struggle. One disadvantage to depending on spotters is when one spots you by assisting every rep. Happened on my third set, but I don't think I would have got it anyway.
Hang Cleans: The advice I got last time helped a lot. It's starting to feel like it looks when people have good form, tho I'm sure it's nowhere near that yet. I'm also jumping naturally rather than deliberately.
Will I ever start doing assistance work again? Apparently my bench could use it.

3/31/10
Squats: 104kg 5,4,3
OHPress: 42.5kg 3x5
Deadlift: 106.5kg 1x5
Pullups: 3,3,4,1

I've been pretty good about my eating and sleep again lately, but I only got 5 hours last night. Think it fucked me on my squats, but I also think I can get it on Sat. judging from today. Press was hard.. barely got the last set, but back to attempting 45kg next time. Gonna slowly build back up on deadlift, I think. My form feels better but I might decide it needs more work.

4/05/10
BW: 166.1
Squats: 104kg 4,5,4
Bench Press: 59kg 3x5
Hang Cleans: 30kg 5x3
Dips: 10,10,6

Squats: 13/15 reps, time to move on again. Had some encouragement on the second set and barely missed the third. Pretty happy with these considering I missed a WO day.
Bench Press: Deloaded and it still wasn't easy, but oh well.
Hang Cleans: Felt about the same as last time. Gonna start adding weight and get someone to check my form again.
Dips: Added these back in, hopefully I can keep it up. My numbers didn't suffer too much considering I hadn't done them in a month.
Yeah, missed Saturday cause I had a friend in town and stuff. It's really pretty hard to get my motivation back after missing a day, but I feel awesome now.

4/7/10
Squats: 106.5kg 5,1
OHPress: 45kg 3,4,3
Deadlift: 111kg 1x5
Chinups: 6,4,3,3

Squats: I was thinking of taking it light today, I only went for it cause my warm up sets felt so strong. I just wasn't feeling it once I got done with that first set though. I tried to force a second but barely even got the first rep. Gonna rest up and try it for real on Saturday.
OHP: Worse than last time at this weight. I used american + kilo weights this time, probably go back to just using kilos next time (think it's like .2kg lighter lol).
Deadlift: Warmup sets were much easier than they have been. Working set was pretty hard but I was able to use double overhand.
Chinups: +2 improvement from last time.
Gonna run out of BCAAs soon, but I just ordered some protein powder rather than reup. I like them but I think it's more important that I get enough protein each day, which some days I haven't been and most days just barely. Thinking I'll go for creatine next (on top of the protein).

4/10/10
BW: 164.6
Squats: 195lbx5, 200x5, 205x5
Bench Press: 61kg 3x5
Hang Cleans: 32.5kg 5x3
Dips: 10,8,7

Squats: Got to 195 (88kg) in my warmup sets and it was just really heavy, so I was going to make that my working set. Then I decided I shouldn't be a total pussy and just added 5 lbs to the next couple sets.
Bench Press: Felt pretty good today.
Hang Cleans: Wasn't anybody around to critique my form, so I just went ahead with 'em.
Dips: -1 from last time, but I was using a different dipping station that I think felt better.
So I've been hovering around this weight for a while and I think I'm ok with it. My gut seems to be going down and I'm still getting bigger/stronger when I'm eating enough (I wasn't really the last two days). Need to just stay consistent with it and as long as my numbers are going up I'll be happy for now.

Nice figures!

What brand of BCAAs do you use?

Your squat compared to your bodyweight is impressive to me. My squat and bench seem to be totally backwards in comparison. Still not sure why that is

Keep up the strong work!

Thanks guys. I just realized my squat is approaching 1.5BW (would be 112kg), hadn't even been paying attention to that lately. Maybe I can get it in the next month or so. Rob, I was using True Protein's BCAAs but I found out later they were in fact not vegan. That's part of the reason I didn't reorder any, all the vegan brands are way expensive.

4/12/10
Squats: 106.5kg 3,2,0
Press: 45kg 5,3,3
Deadlift: 113.5kg 1x5
Pullups: 3,3,2

Damn, I don't know what happened to the me that was turning out squat PRs the last couple of weeks. I thought they felt weak today, but one of my gym buddies said he saw a set and they looked strong. Maybe I'm just underestimating myself/bitching out. OHP was better than last time but still not really close. Deadlift felt good. It was really heavy but I powered thru it nicely. Pullups were shit. Might have to start throwing in some negatives or something.