Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

End of strength training week 32

Body: 187 lbs.

Current lifts
Squat:
280 lbs - 4,2,3
Bench:
180 - 5,5,4
Row:
180 - 5,5,4
OHP:
130 - 3x5
Deadlift
335 - 5

Been struggling with the squats at 280 lbs. I'll try again on Monday and then deload if I don't make it. I should still be able to hit my target of 300 lbs by mid-December. Hopefully I don't hit another deload, although I might just switch to 1x5 at that point to keep on track with my target. I finally made the 3x5 on OHP today, been struggling with that one as well. I'm psyched to be putting two 45 lbs plates on the bar for OHP next week! Form started to fail on the 4th and 5th rep of deadlift at 335, could feel myself pulling with my back, probably rounded it a little as I felt soreness in my mid-lower back after the lift. Didn't last very long though. Felt good though, that I'm progressing well on deadlifts. Still could use a bit more leg drive though... If I hit my 400 lbs target and I'm still having leg drive issues, I might deload and go back to doing heavy squats 3 days a week since now I'm doing lighter squats on deadlift days.

Still lifting!

End of training week # 35

Body: not sure, but I'm willing to bet it's between 187 and 190, as it has been for the past 6 months.

Food hasn't changed outside of slightly more protein and slightly less carbs. From the look of me compared to various pictorial sources online, I'd say I'm between 15-20% body-fat, since I don't have the calipers to measure and in the end I don't really care about the exact number as long as I'm fit. What the body-fat says to me though is that I can spare to lose about 10 lbs of it and replace it with muscle, so if I don't gain weight but still get stronger then I should be dropping some fat (somewhere?).

Current lifts
Squats: 5,3,3 @ 290 lbs
Bench: 3x5 @ 185
BB Rows: 3x5 @ 185
OHP: 5,3,3 @ 135 (switching to 1x5 next week) !! Made my goal of 135 by end of this year !! going for more now!
Deadlift: 4 @ 355

The last rep on that deadlift set sucked ass. I had a hell of a time getting lockout, got mad and started jerking the weight. I'm not an idiot so I know that's a recipe for disaster, but in the heat of the moment I forgot all my common sense. Not sure I'm going to hit my 400 lbs deadlift goal by end of year, but it will be close.

Tried to go deep on my last squat workout, since I've been barely making parallel. I think I finally figured it out though - I am shifting the weight too far forward past the balls of my feet to keep myself in what I feel is a stable position. This pushes my chest down and keeps me from sinking deep with the work weight. When I start to gas and feel my chest dropping too low, I find myself subconsciously letting the bar roll down my back a little lower to change the leverage and allow me to still stand back up. After the last set at 290 lbs, I put 135 on the bar and just sat back on my heels with my ass on my calves for about 5 seconds and then pushed it up. I did 5 reps of this, controlling my decent and pausing at the bottom each time. It's amazing how light 135 feels after 3 sets of 290! I'm going to start doing this with heavier weights during my warmups to get used to it. Hopefully that will eventually fix my form.

I've addressed my form on the bench as well, planting my upper back tightly on the bench with shoulders back, arching my back and planting my feet firmly. I think it's definitely helped me on the lifts.

Progress towards goals:
Squats: 290/300
Bench: 185/200
Row: 185/200
OHP: 135/135
Deadlift: 355/400

End of week 36

Body: still haven't weighed myself. Willing to bet it still hasn't changed much.

Current lifts
Squats:
2,5,5 @ 290 lbs
Bench:
4,4,4 @ 195 lbs
Row:
3,3,3 @ 195 lbs
OHP:
3 @ 140 lbs
Deadlift:
5 @ 355 lbs

Did all my warmup squats dropping all the way down, ATG. Last two warmups were tough to get up out of the hole. Screwed up my balance on the first set, dumped the bar. Was able to hit the other two sets, but my depth sucked - was above parallel for all save the first 2 reps. I mistakenly thought my bench and row targets were 195 (they were scheduled at 190 lbs each) - I'm amazed I did so well on the bench with the higher weight. Not a great workout regardless - didn't want to lift today. I'm going to drop the bench and row targets back to 190 for next time.

I'm not going to make my deadlift goal at my current rate, but I'll be close. I should still hit my other targets though. My form on bench is getting really good. Probably why I was able to lift 5 lbs higher than the target for this week.

Thinking about dropping all my lifts to 1 set of 5...

I noticed that my spreadsheet week count was off by a couple weeks, so I've adjusted it to be accurate from the start of my lifts. I've now been lifting on a Stronglifts-sort-of plan for 41 weeks, although I've missed enough workouts to equal 14 weeks (for multiple reasons). I say Stronglifts-sort-of, because I dropped to 3x5 before I was failing on the 5x5 because the workouts were too long, including warmup, foam rolling, and stretching. I only have a 1 hour lunch break during which I lift, so the workout has to fit in that window.

End of Week 41

Body: -

Current lifts
Squat:
3,3,4 @ 295 lbs
Bench:
4,4,4 @ 195
Rows:
5,4,3 @ 190
OHP:
4 @ 145
Deadlift:
5 @ 365

Getting close to my goals! Should be able to hit all of them save the Deadlift by December 21st (last day before Holiday break and my gym/work being closed). On the last deadlift day before the break I'll try for 405 anyway, just to see if I can lock it out. I'll probably be closing out 385 on that day, so maybe go for a couple at 385 and then see what I can do with 405.

Strength training week 44


Body:
around 188 lbs.

As of today I've hit all my goals (sort-of, will explain)
Goals by December 21st:
Squat - 300 lbs
Bench - 200 lbs
Row - 200 lbs
OHP - 135 lbs -> 150 lbs
Deadlift - 405 lbs

Current lifts:
Squat - 5 @ 300 lbs
Bench - 5 @ 200 lbs
Row - 5 @ 200 lbs
OHP - 3 @ 150 lbs
Deadlift - 1 @ 405 lbs

This afternoon I was scheduled to pull 375 for the third time to close out 5 reps, but since this was my last deadlift workout before the break (last day in gym for me before holidays is 12/21/2011) I wanted to go for it. I pulled 1 at 385 lbs, felt solid. Pulled 1 at 395 lbs, pretty tough but manageable. Pulled 1 at 405, super tough, extremely hard to lock-out, but hit it. Once the bar got below my knees on the way down I pretty much just dropped the bar, no strength left. Feeling great - what a rush!

Got back to the gym yesterday for the first time since my last post a month ago. Went on vacation to see family for a couple weeks and had no gym access. The last couple weeks were really busy at work and I've been super tired most of the time. The first week back from vacation my son was jet-lagged and not sleeping well, and he's teething on top of it. That means I get woken up every 30-60 minutes all night long. This past week has been no better.

Current BW: ~186 lbs (lost a little)

Took it easy on my first day back in the gym, felt good to move some weight around.
Squats: 10x45 lbs, 5x125, 5x175, 5x225
Bench: 10x45, 5x85, 5x125, 5x175
BB Row: 10x40, 5x80, 5x 125, 5x175
Wide-grip pullups: 7.5 (20 second hold at half pullup)
Dips: 10

Going to take it easy on Friday again with OHP and deadlift. I plan on working back up to my heavy lifts quickly, adding 10 lbs per lift on squats and deadlift, 5 lbs per lift on the rest. I'll probably do multiple sets at each weight, although yesterday's workout was nice and quick, which I could get used to! I might start on a madcow schedule, either immediately while I am getting back up to weight, or after I'm close enough to my max lifts from December. I'll decide next week.

Workout on Friday, 1/20/11

Still working back up to my pre-holiday break lifts.

Squats: 5x75, 5x125, 5x175, 5x235
OHP: 10x45, 5x75, 5x115, 3x135 (+2 push press)
Deadlift: 5x165, 5x215, 5x265, 5x315

Tried to power through these as quick as I could. Didn't really take much of a break between sets except before the last one of each exercise. Just enough time to add more weight to the bar.

Strength training, Monday 1/23/11

Decided I'm going to do at least another week of working back up before starting on Madcow.

Squats: 10x45, 5x95, 5x145, 5x195, 5x245
Bench: 10x45, 5x85, 5x125, 5x155, 5x180
BB Row: 10x40, 5x80, 5x125, 5x155, 5x180

Squats and row were much harder than I thought they should be. I guess I lost more strength during the month off than I thought. I was eating like crap though, so probably lost some muscle, even though by looking at myself I can't tell. Still tried to get through the workout as fast as possible, but took a bit more rest time towards the tops of my exercises.

Still going! Strength training, Monday 2/13/12

Have only been lifting sporadically due to various reasons, but still going at it trying to get up to my mid-December lifts.

Friday's lifts:
Squat: 5x65 lbs, 5x105, 5x145, 5x185, 5x225
OHP: 5x45, 5x75, 5x105, 3x140 +2 push press@140
Deadlift: 5x185, 5x225, 5x265, 5x305, 5x345
Pullups @ BW: 6@angled grip, 5@wide grip, 5@hammer grip

I'm a bit disappointed with the OHP - I thought I'd be able to build back up to 150 easier than the way it's going. Oh well, nothing to do about it but shut up and lift.

Today's lifts:
Squat: 5x115 lbs, 5x155, 5x195, 5x235, 5x270
Bench: 5x45, 5x75, 5x115, 5x155, 5x195
BBRow: 5x45, 5x75, 5x115, 5x155, 5x195
Dips @ BW+5lbs:10,10,7

I've been doing pullups after each Deadlift day and dips after each Bench day. The goal is to get to 3x10 on each and then start adding weight. Go for 3x10 again and then add more weight. Repeat. 3x10 might be a bit much to go for when adding weight, but I like the increased reps on these exercises.

Strength training, end of week 52

Wednesday's high lifts:
Squat: 5x225 lbs
OHP: 3x140 +2 push press
Deadlift: 4x355
Pullups @ BW: 6,4,6

Workout sucked. Didn't have the strength I was hoping for but I ate like shit on Tuesday and got crap sleep as well. Double whammy. Last time I was climbing up through the weight on Deadlifts the first time I missed 5 reps on a workout was pulling 345 lbs, so I guess I'm slightly better off this time around. I haven't been eating as well on my off days, which I'm sure has hurt muscular development.

Today's lifts:
Squat: 5x115, 5x155 lbs, 5x195, 5x235, 5x275
Bench: 5x45, 5x85, 5x125, 5x165, 4x200
BBRow: 5x45, 5x85, 5x125, 5x165, 4x200
Dips @ BW+5: 3x10

Squats were great again, no trouble really. I should have started at slightly higher weight on squats when I came back form the break. Bench and rows went as well as I expected. Didn't think I'd hit 5 reps on my first go at 200 lbs again. Last rep on rows was pretty weak, I could probably even drop it from my completion count. Try again next time. Finished the dips at +5 lbs, going to +10 next time.

Week 54, Strength!


Last Friday's final lifts:
Squat: 5x280 lbs
Bench: 4x200
BBRow: 4x200
Dips: 3x10x(BW+10)

Wasn't feeling the lifts, but did it anyway. Squats were harder than I wanted them to be. Disappointed with bench and rows, but low energy, so meh. Surprised that I was able to pull off the dips on the first go at +10lbs. I've not been performing as well on some of my lifts lately, and I wonder if it is just my generally low energy levels or if the assistance exercises is overworking those muscle groups. I like doing the pullups and dips though, would be a shame to drop them.

Today's lifts:
Squat: 5x65 lbs, 5x105, 5x145, 5x185, 5x225
OHP: 5x45, 5x75, 5x105, 5x120
Deadlift: 5x185, 5x235, 5x275, 5x315, 5x360
Pullups: 7 wide grip, 6 angled grip, 6 hammer grip

De-loaded on the OHP. Stalled out at 140 lbs so I'm going to work back up and hopefully get past it. Still using a lot of lower back on most of the Deadlift final set. I need to concentrate on pulling back with the shoulders at the start of the lift so that my back is a little more vertical on the upwards pull. I only increased 5 lbs over last time instead of the usual 10 lbs - I think it is probably a good idea from here on out so that I'm not repeating the same weight as often. My progress should still be about the same as it was previously.

Strength week 54


I just realized that I passed the one year mark (since I started lifting again) a couple weeks back.

Today's lifts:
Squat: 5x125 lbs, 5x165, 5x205, 5x245, 5x285
Bench: 5x45, 5x85, 5x125, 5x165, 5x200
BBRow: 5x45, 5x85, 5x125, 5x165, 5x200
Dips: 3x10x(BW+15)

Feeling great about hitting all my marks on this workout. The last rep on bench was extremely hard to get up - felt like it took me 5 seconds to get the bar all the way up. I'm pretty beat now. I'm again surprised that I was able to finish the dips on the first go at the increased weight. Perhaps becase I deloaded on OHP and my shoulders aren't as worked? Looking forward to the time when I can dip for sets of 10 with a 45 lbs plate.

Strength Week 55


Haven't weighed myself in a while, don't really care much. My bodyweight doesn't really appear to be changing much, at least that's what the mirror tells me.

Friday's final lifts:
Squat: 5x225 lbs
OHP: 5x125
Deadlift: 5x365
Pullups: 7,7,6

Today's work:
Squat: 5x135, 5x175, 5x215, 5x255, 5x290
Bench: 5x45, 5x75, 5x115, 5x165, 4x205
BBRow: 5x45, 5x85, 5x115, 5x165, 5(?)x205
Dips: 3x10x (BW+20)

Squats were fine, only went to parallel on the final set. Have been going ATG on all warmup sets for a while now. I was hoping for the last rep on bench but just couldn't get it up all the way. Had great energy but just wasn't meant to be. Got the 5th rep up to the lower pegs on the bench, so close! Not happy with the rows. I end up using a lot of momentum and pulling with my core/legs to get the bar up, so I don't feel I'm really doing enough with my upper back to warrant continuing at this weight. I don't feel that I'm doing them right at the final weight. I'm going to drop the weight back down to 170 lbs and go back to 3x5 to get some volume into the lift and try to be strict about my form. Still rocking the dips!

If any other strength lifters are reading this thread, how are your rows weight-wise compared to some of your other lifts? I'm wondering if it is unrealistic to think that the rows would keep pace with bench press.

You've made some serious progress man, I just read from page 1 to 3, and your numbers have improved greatly. Keep it up man, you're killing it.

Thanks, James!

yesterday's (Wednesday, 03/07/12) work:
Squat: 5x125 lbs, 5x175, 2x5x225
OHP: 5x45, 5x75, 5x105, 5x130
Deadlift: 5x205, 5x245, 5x285, 5x325, 5x370
Pullups: 3x7

Changed up my squats to get 2 sets in at 225 as opposed to another lighter warmup set. I'm not really seeing a point to doing a squat at 75 lbs. My warmups sets are always well controlled, as I use them to set my muscle memory for the heavier lifts. I figure the two sets at 225 ATG are still light warmup sets for my deadlift anyway. The deadlifts were hard, as expected. I rested for a second between the later reps in the set to catch my breath and reset my body position (I'm not letting the bar drop too forcefully but there is still a little bounce from the octagonal plates).

I started drinking coconut water and taking zinc and magnesium pills last week right after my workouts in addition to eating a banana and some dates to help with recovery. I've definitely noticed an improvement in my energy levels in the few hours after working out but by the time I get home from work at night (usually ~5 hours after my workout) I'm still damn worn out and ready to go right to bed, which I can't do