Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I think to anybody here on the forum, who has yet to start BB (or just started) and are looking for initial help to get started...
Please do yourself a favor and buy a copy of Robert Cheekes book. Honestly, if your a beginner like me, you will gain a ton of info from his book... And does it work???????????????

Heck yeah it works!! I just emailed my sib and said I have gained 1" on my quads, 7/8" on my biceps and starting to get that rocking V-chest thing going. It's only been a few months, but wow-wow-wow... It works!

All this despite the fact I have been told all my life "you don't have a bodybuilders physique. And you won't get one no matter how hard you try". Damn-Here I am in 40's and actually growing muscle!! (OK-Yes, the waist needs some attention for sure. But I am cutting back on calories and bumping up my protein intake from 200 to 250 or so)

Below are a few pics from today... I still a little dumbfounded that this system is really doing it's thing. But here I am living proof.
Of course I am "flexing" as best i can. And my waist is bigger than what I show. In the middle pic you see my spare tire. I really want to get rid of it! But in my quest to have enough fuel, I probably ate too much in the form of calories.
Well more info soon.

Today was back and shoulders:
Super Wide pull ups... Can do 3 on the negative side (my best so far) and 10-12 reps assisted. 4 sets
T-bar rows on machine
bent over rows
deadlifts with dumbells. (I'm too weak to do real ones with a bar still)
Cable rows with dropdown sets towards the end
Cable pull downs front and behind the head.
Most sets done with drop downs to muscle failure.
Hanging leg raises.

Wow! Thanks so much for the kind words!

I'm following my own book advice right now and I'm kicking butt! Making tons of great progress because of the passion, consistency, accountability and sheer hard work I'm putting into it. The food, the compound lifts, all the stuff I write about...I'm living it and loving it!

Thank you again. YOU rock!

I appreciate you.

I also wish you all the best!

Pumped to see your journal on here!

-Robert

Heck yeah man... And the consistency part is Crucial for sure. I keep upping my weights and slowly getting there. (ex: I started 4-5 months ago doing 35lb bench presses with dumbbells. Now I am up to 50's! My soft goal of 80lb BP's by June 1st is in reach. Even if I get close by then, I will be excited for sure)

See??? Like I said-It works. Easy to follow somebody’s advice when they practice what they preach. Thanks a ton.

Going thru my food journals, I have been eating about 2500 calories a day. (and 175 to 200 proteins)
I STILL have that gut waist issue so not sure where I am goofing up. It is slowly going away though.

Today (Thursday) was Tri's and Shoulder day.
DB lateral raises (22.5 down to 15 and 10 as my dropdown sets)
Seated military presses. (50-40 and 20lb dropdowns-I am still pretty weak on any lifting above my head)
Overhead DB presses (25-20)
Power set of front cable rows (85-70-55) and rope tricep pulldowns (70-55 with both movements with dropdown sets!)
Dips (still fighting to complete a good one-but getting there)
DB kick backs (10-5)
Skull crushers

Tomorrow (Friday) is leg day. Can't wait!

growinglarger I absolutely LOVE your energy! Cannot wait to see your continued progress, get SWOLE buddy

Appreciate the words Lean. Many thanks!

Today was leg day at the gym. Followed by a 90 minute aggesive walk and hills at the beach today with my dog. Yeah-I'm wiped out for the day.

I also added a change up to start hitting the quads with 3 new "Outer Quad Sweep" movements.

One 5 sets (8 to 12 reps) on the leg press
One 5 sets (6 to 12 reps) squats with a 45lb bar behind the lower neck and heels elevated
And a few Zercher squats with the bar in front. (Hope I have these terms right)
Leg extentions
Hack squat
Regular leg press (up to 180lbs then dropdown sets)
Sitting hamstring curl. (easier on my knees than the lying machine)
25 minutes on the Precour machine.
Did about 75% towards the end as my right knee was acting up a bit. I landed funny on the stairs one night and still recouping from that.
Now 2 days off. Except for cardio!
Have a great weekend all.

Today was chest and bicep monday.

Really hammered the chest today with several drop down sets starting with a DB chest press.
Hit a record for me today, graduated to the 50lb DB's. Very excited about that for sure.
I did a warmup set of around 2 minutes of 10lb dumbells...
Then 12 reps of the 45's
followed by 8 tuff reps of the 50's plus 2 partial reps
then 45's for 9 reps
45's for 7 reps
then 35's to failure then 20's to failure
one more 35 to 20 set.

Man I probably was a pitiful site trying to grunt and groan the 20's up there!
But hey I think it really works, besides I don't have a spotter so my best option.
Anyway-Happy with todays workout for sure. Followed by a Vega and Hemp shake then on to my potatos-2 veggie burgers and vegtables for my "pre" dinner. Here's the rest of the workout:

Chest DB presses (see above)
Decline bench press. (6 sets including 2 drop down sets)
Incline bench press (5 sets incl. 2 drop downs)
Cable crossovers 30-30-25-25 then 2 drop downs)
BB ez curl bicep curls 5 sets (with dropdowns)
alternating hammer curls (I was blown out by this set!)
Concentration curls inside leg (burnt out at this point)
30 minutes Precor machine

Tuesday is back and abs day.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks VeganEssentials! It's tuff... But I am hanging in there.

Today was Back and abs day...

Pull ups. (wide grip-ahhhggg... those are tuff even after months of trying) 4 sets-12 down to 6 reps
T-bar rows 6 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Dead lifts. W/ dumbells only. (bad lower back)
Upright cable rows, 6 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Bent over rows with DB. 3 sets
abs
hanging leg raises.
Front cable pulldowns (as a superset w/ below) 6 sets
behind the neck pulldowns 6 sets
3 sets of different ab crunches.

Home in time for a strong Vega+Hemp shake and 2 dinners .
Wednesday off day except for 30 minutes Percour.

Today was Shoulder and tricep day.
About 65 minutes in the gym and also included my ab routine which is a real back and gut buster for sure.

DB lateral raises 6 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Seated barbell military press 5 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Overhead DB presses 6 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
and a superset below:
Front cable raises 6 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Rope tricep pulldowns 5 sets (incl. 1 drop down set)
Skull crushers 4 sets
Behind the head DB lateral extentions 4 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Dips 3 sets (did not do too good on these. I was burnt out.

Friday Leg Day and maybe another beach outing with the dog afterwards.

whats the abs set?

Hello MaryStella-the 3 ab sets I do after each workout are:
1 minute of elbow to knee crunches-with heels tapping floor/60 second rest
1 minute of legs straight up and touching toes with the each hand/30 second rest
45 seconds or so of elbow to opposite knee crunches-feet not touching floor. (more if I can that day)
Then "try" to do a minute of plank position. (anywhere from 20 to 45 seconds if I can)

I do this routine 4-5 times per week. I have been slowly but steadily increasing my times. I have had lower back issues so I am progressing bits at a time.


5 sets (8 to 12 reps) on the leg press (outer quad sweep)
5 sets (6 to 12 reps) squats with a 40lb bar
Regular leg press
5x Leg extensions w/dropdowns
3x Zercher squats
4x Hack squat
5x Sitting hamstring curl w/ dropdowns
4x Machine leg press dropdowns
20 minutes on the Precour machine.

Maybe some hiking this weekend if the weather holds.
Really glad to see Robert’s book kicking butt on Amazon-we need more vegans in the ranks! (animals will second that I’m sure)

Chest and Bicep Monday.
Hit a different gym today and not many people around. Went thru my workouts without having to wait for a bench!


DB bench presses 5 sets 45(12reps) 50(8) 45(10) 35w/dropdowns 35w/DD's
Decline bench press. (5 sets including 2 drop down sets)
Incline bench press (4 sets incl. 2 drop downs)
Cable crossovers 3-35-25-25 then 2 drop downs from 20)
BB ez curl bicep curls 5 sets (with dropdowns) 60-50-50-40w/DD-44w/DD
alternating hammer curls 25-25-20-20-20 w/DD-17w/DD
Concentration curls on machine
30 minutes Precor machine

Tuesday was Back and abs day...

Pull ups. (wide grip-4 sets. My best on those so far. Did 8 slow negatives!!)
T-bar rows 6 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Dead lifts. W/ dumbells only. 35 for just 3 sets
Upright cable rows, 5 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Bent over rows with DB. 3 sets
Machine T-bar rows 4 dropdown sets

abs
hanging leg raises. (not too good today on those-3 sets and just 15 reps per)
Front cable pulldowns (as a superset w/ below) 6 sets
behind the neck pulldowns 6 sets
3 sets of different ab crunches. 60 sec./35 sec./50 sec.

Wednesday is rest day except for wrestling a new waterheater. (I just barely won)
I was wasted after this. but felt good too.

DB lateral raises 5 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)25-22.5-17
DB front raises (done as a superset w/ above)
Seated barbell military press 5 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)Pretty weak on this for some reason.
Overhead DB presses 4 sets (incl. 1 drop down set)
Behind the head DB lateral extentions 4 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets) 35>30
and a superset below:
Front cable raises 6 sets (incl. 2 drop down sets)
Rope tricep pulldowns 5 sets (incl. 1 drop down set) These feel really good to do.
Dips 3 sets (all assisted by foot so I could alter the resistance with each dip)

Ab routine. 60 sec./40 sec/30 sec. (not too good on those tonight)

Overall energy was off but I was major busy all day working that included a bunch of stairs and moving gear. So perhaps why. Happy with mass adding to body but NOT happy with mass going to my middle. Not enogh to notice, but in comp someday down the road, forget it!!

BLOOD TESTS
One thing I got to say too is I just got back my blood test results as I am trying to maintain checking 2x a year with my (I mean Roberts) new plan.

All in all, the Doc say's; "whatever your doing, keep at it-It seems to be working". Can't tell you how glad I was to hear that. I certainly recommend to anyone here that is wondering about their health, effects of diet etc... To go get your blood work done. Go over it in detail with a Doctor and get a COPY TO TAKE HOME WITH YOU. Keep it in your workout file and it's so easy to track what your body is telling you. Also-Since most doctors are NOT nutritionalists, you will have something to go over if needed with a plant based diet friendly person who knows how to read the results.

I learned that my Protein levels were right in the middle of the desired level. (good-I know now that my intake was probably a little low for working out levels so I am going to raise that up 25g to 50g/day)
Good and Bad cholesterol were insanely good.
Iron-sugar-B or B12 levels-all fine.

The only hiccup was my vitamin D level was a little low. (500 to a 1000 icu's) No big deal, a little more sun and fresh air and that is all.

These test's (2 so far and a 3rd a year before I started the new system) really help to put my mind at ease and to those nay-sayers; (“no meat? then how do you get your protein? oh that's a myth you can get enough nutrients from a plant based diet. You’ll die if you don’t eat eggs and meat!!!!”)
I can tell them “plant based diets rock! I got proof! Blood tests and lot’s more happy animals. Can’t argue with that right??