Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

January 3.2012

Bench Press 40kgx14 50x2 60x2
Dips -33kgx9 -33x6 -26x3
Lat Pulldown with reverse grip 49kgx12 56x3 49x6
Machine Row 35kgx11 30x11 25x11
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 14kgx11 16kgx5 14kgx7
Frontheben 6kgx12 7x10 8x7

(i do not know the english word for the last exercise :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7X5O39nAQE)

this was my first workout in 2012. i tried do find out with how much weigth to train in the next future. i am actually unsecure doing low or high rep sets.

January 5.

because of terrible muscle ache i will train tomorrow again. workout for today is a two hour drum session

Hi Max!

Great to see that you started a journal. I'll be keeping an eye on it and seeing where I can give some good feedback or suggestions. How did that drum session go? I'm not capable of playing any musical instrument of any level of quality, so I'll leave that for you.

Hope you're getting a lot of fresh whole foods in your diet, some good rest and when the muscle aches subside, another great training session in.

Catch up soon. All the best!

-Robert

_________________

Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1

drum session was great. the workout today too!

assisted chin ups: -40kgx14 -33x7 -33x5

lat pulldown with reverse grip 49kgx6 42x11 42x9

smith incline bench press 50kgx10 50x8 40x9

dumbbell shoulder press 14x9 12x9 10x10

side dumbbell raises 6x9 5x10 5x10

post workout meal:

whole-grain bread with margarine and sugar beet syrup
yellow lentil soup
mache
apple puree with cinnamon and a little bit almond puree

Nice workout.

You getting a lot of fruits and vegetables in on a regular basis as well? I like to eat as much fruit as possible, including before a workout.

Keep after it! Nice to see some free weights in there, the best kind of weights to lift (barbells and dumbbells).

Have a great week ahead!

-Robert

_________________

Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1

i do get a lot of vegetables but in winter i have only little desire for fruits that´s why i do not eat that much (mostly oranges and bananas). in contrast to that i use to eat a lot of fruits in spring and summer.

free weigths are also my personal preference. sadly i am actually not able to do my favorite exercises: heavy barbell rows and squats. but i like lat pulldowns as well.

best wishes!

max

for the next 4-6 weeks i am going to do these two workouts alternating with one or two days rest in between.
three sets per exercise with the first set doing 5-8 reps and the second and third 8-12 reps each.
i felt quite satisfied and exhausted after these two workouts so i think they are not that bad since i am currently not able to do barbell rows, squats and deadlifts due to my injury.


workout A

bench press
dips
lat pulldown with reverse grip
machine row
dumbbell shoulder press
front dumbbell raises

workout B

assisted chin ups
lat pulldown with reverse grip
smith-/dumbbell incline bench press
dumbbell shoulder press
side dumbbell raises


what dou you think of that robert? any exercises you would ad or replace?
how does the so called afterburn effect work and how to generate it?

Hi Max,

Great stuff. You know what, even during the winter, I'm still very attracted to fruit. In fact just a few days ago I was eating fruit which hasn't been in season since the summer, including cherries and mangoes and today I almost purchased some blueberries I just love fruit, love how it makes me feel, love the energy it gives me and the overall nutrition it provides.

Nice workout schedule. I know you're getting that hamstring to recover right now. What's the time table for the recovery process?

As far as suggestions, let's see:

I really like the 5-8 rep range with the 8-12 tossed in there too. I'm also very much an 8-rep kind of person. Lately I've been a little more on the 10-12 rep side for some exercises but others around 6-8. It's a nice range for strength, muscle and mass building, based on the effort required and the actual time it takes to complete a set.

It looks like you have dumbbell shoulder press in both workouts. Perhaps you could do some barbell or dumbbell shrugs or some upright rows? Would those work within your injury? It seems like both with be fine as they isolate the shoulders pretty well.

I like the reverse grip pull-ups and pull-downs to target biceps, as well as machine rows an the dips to hit the triceps but I'm wondering if you could squeeze in a biceps curl or one more triceps exercise with barbell or dumbbells to ensure they get their full work too.

Overall, I like it, but I'd take out one of the shoulder presses and put in some shrugs and upright rows and if there is room, toss in some narrow grip presses or french presses for triceps one day and some good ol barbell biceps curls the other day (arm biceps of course!)

Hope you recover well and keep on eating that good food and getting that upper body strong.

Not sure what you're referring to for the after burn. The pump? Or drop sets? Or doing cardio after weights? Or replenishing nutrients right after exercise? Let me know a few more details.

All the best.

_________________

Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1

first of all thanks for your request!

the recovery process should be finished in 4-8 weeks.

alright i will follow your suggestions.
shrugs or upright rows could both work, i will just try which one works better.
i will ad barbell biceps curls to workout A and narrow grip presses to workout B. maybe i also ad dumbbell french presses to workout B but first i will do it like this:


workout A

bench press
dips
lat pulldown with reverse grip
machine row
dumbbell shoulder press
front dumbbell raises
barbell biceps curls

workout B

assisted chin ups
lat pulldown with reverse grip
smith incline bench press
narrow grip presses
dumbell shrugs/upright rows
side dumbbell raise


with the afterburn i am referring to cause calorie burning also hours after the workout. has to do with Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen
Comsumption. i read about that here: http://afterburneffect.net/
what is your opinion to that?

concerning cardio after weights i will do 20-40min medium intensity runs after my workouts when my injury has healed.

best wishes from germany

max

Great stuff, Max!

I'll look into that link. It sounds very interesting.

Glad to see you'll add some of those arm exercises in and the new shoulder ones too. I think it can balance things out a bit more for you while adding in more variety as well, also possibly giving other areas a bit more time to recover as you hit more muscles more directly.

You could even devise a workout C if you wanted and do an A, B, and C rotation. Maybe later down the road.

Have a great weekend!

-Robert

_________________

Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1

pre workout meal: banana

bench press 50kgx7 40x12 40x8
assisted dips -26x8 -33x8 -40x10
machine row 40x8 35x11 30x11
lat pulldown with reverse grip 49x4 42x8 35x12
dumbbell shoulder press 14x13 14x7 12x7
front dumbbell raises 8x7 6x12 6x10
barbell biceps curls 20x12 20x10 20x7

post workout meal:

bananas

soy steaks
quinoa with kidney beans, corn, onion, garlic, pepper, salt,
fresh salad with hemp- and pumpkin seeds

not exactly the planned reps today but i was quite exhausted. so what?
50kg bench press with 7 reps outlines a good process for me. i am quite satisfied with that. shortly after starting strength training i was able to do 80kg squat, 100kg deadlift but only about 35kg bench press. i am moving forward

Awesome work!

Keep moving forward!

Cheers! Have a great weekend!

_________________

Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1

monday 1/16

lat pulldown with reverse grip 56kgx8 49x8 42x12

assisted chin ups -33x6 -40x7 -47x8

smith incline bench press 55x7 50x8 45x8

narrow grip presses 40x4 35x8 30x9

dumbell shrugs 20kgx12 20x12 18x20

side dumbbell raise 8x8 6x11 6x9

I'm enjoying seeing a lot of free weight exercises here. Nice!

How was your weekend?

Everything coming along well nutritionally and training-wise?

All the best!

_________________

Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1

Hi Max,

How are things coming along?

Hope all is well. Let me know how training and meal planning are both going.

All the best!

_________________

Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1