Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I finally broke down and figured I'd start one of these journals. I'm telling myself you guys are awesome and can help me bust through plateaus I've hit in the past.

Oh, vitals. 32-years-old, 6'2", about 185 to 190 right now, usually around 10% to 12% body fat, but maybe a bit higher at the moment. 1 rep maxes:

• Bench - 200
• Squat - 335
• Deadlift - 350

My chest and tris are my weak points for sure. I'd like to get up to 300/400/500 eventually.

Starting a brand new routine next week, a combination of speed days and max effort days, pull/push split, 4 sessions per week. The goal is to spread out the heavier stuff and vary the exercises more, which should allow for better recovery. Here's what I have so far:

Monday - Rest
Tuesday - Max Effort - Push

• Front Squat 3x8
• Overhead Press 3x6-8
• Pull-Overs 3x12
• Twisting Crunches 3x25

Wednesday - Speed - Pull

• Deadlift 10x2 @ 60%
• Bent-Over Rows 8x3 @ 60%
• Hammer Curls 3x15
• Bicycle Crunches 3x25

Thursday - Jog ~3-4mi
Friday - Speed - Push

• Squat 10x2 @ 60%
• Flat Bench 8x3 @ 60%
• Dips 3x??
• Sit-ups 3x25

Saturday - Max Effort - Pull

• Good Morning 3x6-8
• Pull-Ups 3x8
• Dumbbell Curls 3x8
• Reverse Crunches 3x25

Sunday - Jog ~3-4mi

I think I could use some more volume on the max effort days, but not sure what to add. I'd love suggestions.

Thanks!

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Bruce

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. Glad people are still starting, no need to not just because you started later than some. New members are starting them every day. Its really inspirational for me to check out what everyone else is doing. It helps push me. I'm 31 and your height but waaaaay lighter and trying hard to put on some pounds.

-Dylan

Those are some decent numbers. I reckon you'll hit those goals easy enough if you just stick to it, I'll be watching you.

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My Log

Thanks! Having done both, putting on pounds is way more fun than trying to lose them, so you're in a good position.

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Bruce

I appreciate it! Always looking for tips and advice. I expect the bench goal is going to be toughest.

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Bruce

You're tall and have a good deadlift, can I assume you have long arms? That makes benching really tough to train.

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My Log

Yeah, I have pretty long arms. I have to buy shirts in tall sizes just for the sleeve-length. It definitely makes it tough to train tris and chest sometimes.

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Bruce

Ok, started in earnest yesterday.
Front Squat 3x8 @ 155
Overhead Press 3x6-8 @ 85
Pull-Overs 3x12 @ 30
Twisting Crunches 3x25

It was a day mostly for finding starting weights, as most of the rest of the week will be as well. Haven't done front squats in a while, so my wrist flexibility is crap. As they loosen up, that weight should increase pretty quickly. Hopefully around 185 in two weeks, then 225 a month after that.

Still having some shoulder pain, so tried to keep the overhead at a weight that I can move slowly without irritating the joints. My overhead has always sucked anyway, so I'm happy with 85 to start.

Pull-overs were good, felt great with the shoulders and will probably help by hitting the front delts.

Since I had to keep some of the weight low, I hit the treadmill for a couple of miles at a 10-minute pace.

Ended the day around 2200 calories, which I'll increase as I move past the starting weights.

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Bruce

Yesterday was a speed day. Fast doubles for deadlifts and triples for bent-over rows.
Deadlift 10x2 @ 225
Bent-Over Rows 8x3 @ 105
Hammer Curls 3x15 @ 30
Bicycle Crunches 3x25

It's hard to gauge what the appropriate weight should be. There should be a sweet spot where I'm not in danger of hurling the weight up too far, but I also don't feel slowed by it. I think 225 is about right, but we'll see.

Speed rows are even tougher. Too light and you're pulling the weight into your chest pretty hard or spending a lot of energy stopping the bar at the top. It's gonna take some getting used to.

I still don't feel like I'm doing that much work with these. Hopefully they'll get more strenuous as I go or the power will translate into better lifts on the heavy days.

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Bruce

Yesterday, Tuesday, I decided to start rehabbing my shoulder a bit, since it's still painful to lift my arms too high. That threw overhead presses right out. Instead, I added volume to the lower body.

Front Squat 3x8 @ 165
Alternate Lunge 3x12 @ 135
Shoulder Protraction 3x15 @ 25
Shoulder Rolls 3x15 @ BW

The squats were finally at just the right weight, so I'll try 175 next week and see if I can hit the 8. Haven't done lunges in forever, so those were a balance struggle (and painful glutes today).

Hopefully the light shoulder work and stretching will fix me up in a couple of weeks.

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Bruce

Nice lifting numbers. Well done. Gives me something to shoot toward.

Cool to see you doing a lot of compound free weight exercises. That is what I've been doing exclusively for almost 2 months and it has been awesome.

All the best. Glad you've got a journal up and running. I'll be checking it out.

-Robert

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