Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

The parallels in our stories are pretty uncanny. What you said about looking "unhealthy" when you were doing all the cardio and overtraining definitely rings true for me. I recently came across the photo I attached from my family reunion last September and was pretty surprised with how bad I looked even though I thought I was finally starting to look "fit."

Comparing that photo to the most recent photo I've posted ... I'm glad I've finally gotten my shit together, to say the least.

I do have to also say I'm infinitely grateful that you've been so supportive and helpful with everything. You definitely put things into perspective and lit a fire under me to put my money where my mouth is. So, thanks, mate.

Now, off to test my bench 1RM before coming home to a big pot of chili and some peanut butter sandwiches.

That's pretty uncanny, even through the shirt you can see the progress compared to the "converge" pic haha you're more than welcome in regards to the advice, anytime.

Good luck again tesing bench!

I got serious hunger rage from working last night & deadlifting today

Bench and squat testing went really well, putting up those sessions in a couple of hours. Working on re-formatting how I log to reflect the change in my training and my attitude towards it (yes, I'm one of those people) while also working on reformatting my main blog, too.

Yesterday/today brought about the most intense hunger post-work out, even though both times as soon as I was finished, I slammed a protein shake. Within the next 45 minutes, I was ravenous. Felt pretty awesome.

03.03.12/03.04.12

03.05. 12
5/3/1: Week Zero, Day One

NUTRITION
58/172/191

PROLOGUE
Nail biting, jimmy legging, knuckle cracking – at one point or another I did them all. When I got older, I trained myself to, first, stop being so anxious and, second, stop fidgeting so damn much. As it would happen, I simply traded old habits in for new ones, creating certain routines, patterns, rituals to perform when particular tasks must be undertaken. Some people might find this superstitious, maybe even obsessive compulsive, but, at the time, I found them comforting. They insured a sense of control over situations that appeared dependent upon factors outside myself.
Over time, I realized how inane these practice were – things like wearing a particular shirt for “good luck” during presentation or listening to a specific album on my way to a job interview wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference if I didn’t deliver the goods. And while “free will” is a muddy subject and, after years of arguing with my very Catholic (but also very understanding) mother about it, I’ve long abandoned its debate, I will say this: once I began believing (if not proving) I was the only thing controlling my life, I didn’t need the routines, the rituals, the patterns. And I became more successful. And the only thing I could attribute my successes to was myself. Not my shirt or my choice in music.
What does this have to do with yesterday’s session? Well, for the first time in a long time, I was equally, if not more, nervous about training as I was anxious to hit the iron. While this says a bit about how my focus shifted while running PHAT, I think it speaks volumes about how 5/3/1 is already shaping up to be a game changing program. More on that in a bit, though.* The real reason for the tangent is that, when I woke up yesterday, I found myself slipping into nervous, ritualistic tendencies.
I woke up and, after second guessing my already outlined session goals, proceeded to map my day out for “optimum” results from overanalyzing what I was going to eat for breakfast and pre-work out as well as when would be the best time to hit the gym, taking into account crowd and psychological factors. As I stood in my kitchen, peering into the cabinet that holds both my Cap’n Crunch and my rice cakes (…), it hit me. My target numbers were set. I just needed to fucking do the damn thing and do it right.
So, I put my big kid (sweat)pants on, slammed two peanut butter sandwiches, took my vitamins, went to the bank to deposit my check, and descended upon an empty gym.

TRAINING
Warm-up: Five minute treadmill walking with 4% incline and hill sprints at 7.5% incline.

Squat
55x5
85x5
115x5
125x5
135x12 (+3 above parallel)
Testing went well as the 189lb 1RM is pretty ideal since it gives me a nice margin for error going into 5/3/1 – I’d rather underestimate my max and build a legitimate foundation for progress than overestimate it only to become unstable in later cycles. Each rep felt great and I paid careful attention to breathing technique and elbow placement, two areas I used to neglect despite their importance. The only negative thing about these sets is that I’ve come to find depth to be extremely inconsistent, largely because of discomfort in my hip joints – some sets/reps I’ll have no problem going ATG, others with the same weight have me struggling to even hit parallel. Started doing hip flexor stretches in between sets, looking into getting a foam roller, will probably starting doing goblet squats occasionally.

Hanging bent leg raises
10x5

Good mornings
45x15

Back raises
2x10x10
2x10x25
My first attempt at good mornings was pretty fruitless. I took a video of them and realized my back was rounding a bit too much and I’d like be able to go a bit further with them to get more bang for my buck. Switched to back raises to start building toward GMs.

Leg press
180x15x2
90x15x2
I wanted a little extra pump and the plates were already loaded. I shouldn’t have been surprised that these felt about 100lbs heavier after testing my max.

Dumbbell side bends
40x10
45x10

Cool down: Cycling, 20 minutes, 4.4 miles
Added 20 minutes in post-work out to start conditioning myself to cycle back-and-forth to my new job work/the gym once the weather is consistently good as they’re across the street from one another and only 2.5 miles from my apartment. An easy way to get warmed-up and cool down and save on money and fossil fuel dependency.

AFTERWARD
All in all, I was pleased with how the session went and even more pleased with the fact that, ten minutes into cycling, and I was ravenously hungry. I practically chugged my shake as soon as I got off the bike and, by the time I was home and showered, I was hungrier than before so I made a pretty generous stir-fry of red cabbage, bok choy, onions, peppers, carrots, celery, and topped it with some of the best tofu I’ve fried to date. That went down the hatch pretty quickly and, about two hours later, I was hungry again – cue peanut butter and waffle sandwich and soy ice cream. I’ll attribute the increase in appetite to the re-introduction of cardio which only worries me slightly – increased appetite is a good thing for someone whose hunger “pains” are infrequent but, once I’m cycling almost six miles a day, I’ll have to make sure I’m still eating more than I’m burning, especially once summer rolls around. I guess I’ll just have to start eating more …

Is your new job a vegan place?

Is your new job a vegan place? Are you still gonna be a whole foods?

the legs rock, the food pic is to die for! I have shared I am OCD about being small and lean, but your motivation along w/ a few others here keeps me there...and like you its 365! (or I try) Keep it up! Thanks you!

How long after do you take in carbs once you have worked out? Really you should have some along with the shake like instant/oats you've blitzed up. I use maize starch but even a couple of banana are good. Something easily digestible.

I'm going to try the ice cream Idea post workout after my break

It's not a vegan place by any means but it's definitely extremely vegan friendly. I won't be at Whole Foods any more but it's a change I needed to make for a number of reasons.



Thank you for the kind words! The great thing about this forum is the encouragement, support, and inspiration that everyone gives each other and I'm extremely flattered that anyone sees this log as helpful since it's done so many great things for myself.



I usually shoot for carbs within the hour after working out. It's been easier to just mix my "shake" (protein + water) right at the gym, eat a meal that's pretty carb-hefty within the hour, wait a little bit till the hunger kicks in again, and then eat some more.

That's cool, I usually do 2 scoops protein 50g starch with supps then I also eat within the hr...

For some reason I'm not eating much pasta atm, I always go through Phases on not liking something. Though 2 cups of rice go through me rather fast now. Same as veggies not eating many but I'm loving loads of salads again. 

I still swear by eating a pizza; be it veggie/vegan once a week. It's handy for me coming off my last night shift as I sleep a few hrs but get up as to get back into sleeping during the night.

With the toppings or a side salad it's a good meal. I love making the base with seeds mixed in. It can be fat, carb heavy but it also gives me a huge energy boost coming off nights. As I'm finishing in the morning I'll go right to the gym & to bench, sleep a few hrs then get up. So it also allows me to grab some/catch up on calories.

I cook with tofu for the first time in ages recently, reminds instantly how crap it is & why I don't use it. Just a poor selection over here....

I definitely know what you mean about going through phases of wanting/not wanting to eat certain foods - I do it all the time. I wasn't really eating much tofu because I'm really particularly about the kind I buy and I couldn't find the brand I'm pretty loyal to (Twin Oaks - co-op/independently owned, greatest texture ever) but when I made it the other night, damn.

I eat a pizza every Friday or Saturday night - it's a ritual in my apartment, actually. We do the dough from scratch and change it up depending on how we feel (sometimes its whole wheat, sometimes we through some seeds in there, too), sometimes even the sauce, and load it up with whatever toppings we feel like. Great pre or post-work out food, most definitely.

I think the best part is how strong you feel in day-to-day life, as compared to before. Comparing myself as a fat, lazy vegetarian to a (less fat) exercising vegan, the strength difference is ridiculous.

You are making great progress. Keep eating those plates!

03.06.12
5/3/1: Pre-Cycle, Week Zero, Day Two

QUOTE OF THE DAY
“No, milk, no. Milk is for babies. When you grow up, you have to drink beer.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pumping Iron

NUTRITION
52/142/225

PROLOGUE
“Productivity” is such a relative term. Some people measure it monetarily – “I completed x and will receive y for doing so.” Others see it more systematically – “Accomplishing x allows me to now do y which will let me down z eventually.” Me, I like to look at more philosophically – “I’m going to do whatever letter of the alphabet presents me with another alphabet to choose from.” With that said, yesterday was a fairly “productive” day. And I spent the first half of it in sweatpants.
Before one o’clock I was able to get the ball-rolling on “re-launching” my main blog, edit some writing, outline an article, clean up my apartment, and catch up on some article/study reading I’ve neglected for the past two weeks. Around two, I started making chili, an act I find to be one of the most satisfying, yet torturous, endeavors on the face of the planet.
Chili, as you may know, is often called a “simple” meal. I vehemently disagree. Yes, anyone can throw beans, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and spices into a pot, let it cook, and call it “chili.” It takes dedication, improvisation, and commitment to make chili. One does not “cook” chili, they create it – carefully choosing the “base” (will it be vegetable broth or tomato sauce?) tasting it as it simmers (is there enough heat? does it need some sweetness?), adjusting the spices accordingly (a dash of pepper here, a shake of cayenne there), and incorporating their own touch (insert “secret ingredient now). Making chili is a process and, when done right, an art-form.
So, after an hour in the kitchen, I was ready to let me canvas dry – i.e. let the chili simmer for a few hours – I sat down to have a pre-work out snack and check my email. I eventually got sidetracked and ended up compiling article links to read later in the evening. While doing so I came across the Simply Shredded perma-link to Pumping Iron and, needless to say, before I knew it, it was the dreaded “5:00-6:00 p.m. gym window.” Remember Monday’s overanalyzing of “optimum” testing circumstances, I said to hell with it and headed to the gym. All the gym-bros could come at me, just not the rack.

TRAINING
Warm-up: Two minute treadmill walking and sprints, 100 jump ropes
Damn DOMS from squatting Monday.

Bench press
45x6
50x5
60x5
65x10 (+2)
60x15
I’m not sure what happened here. On the third warm-up set of 60, I remember thinking how light the bar felt and, for a split-second, contemplated continuing to rep the weight and use it for testing. Retrospectively, this would have been the better plan but I decided, perhaps foolishly, that since 60 felt light, I could set a pretty nice PR with 65 while testing my max. This would have been the case had my ass not come off the bench for the last two reps. To be fair, it wasn’t much, maybe a quarter of an inch, but I refuse to cut corners with this program. The last set at 60 came out of nowhere. I was a little pissed off about the previous set and wanted to, at the very least, finish benching on a good note with 3 reps with perfect form. Once the bar started going up, though, it was like the first set after warming up – form was tight, the bar felt light. Probably the result of adrenaline/being pissed so I pretty much bunked this testing. Either way, the “average” estimated 1RM from the last two sets is 89lbs which sounds about right.

Assisted dips
70x10x2
80x10x2

Assisted pull-ups
90x10x2

Assisted wide-grip pull-ups
90x10x2
Even though I didn’t do this yesterday, I’ve recently started doing sets of pull-ups and dips in between benching and I’ve seen huge increases in strength as a result. Lots of rep increases here.

Incline dumbbell bench press
20x10
15x10
12x10
After all of the benching, pull-ups, and dips, these were a bitch despite light weight. I pushed through, though, because I’m planning on using them as an assistance lift and I wanted to test what weight I should be working with.

Face pulls
40x10
50x10
60x10
70x10
This was my first attempt at face pulls so I actually did a few reps with 30lbs but it seriously felt like I was pulling air. The next two sets felt the same. It wasn’t until 60lbs that it started to feel like I was doing something but neither that set nor the set of 70lbs was a problem. In fact, I could have went heavier but, again, no sense in rushing my progression and now I know where to start.

Tricep pushdowns with rope
80x9
70x10
60x10
50x10
I did these in between the face pull sets mostly because the set-up was perfect the go back and forth between the two. Pretty light weight but more difficult than usual because everything prior.

Wide-grip lat pulldowns
50x15
Just for the lat pump and to segway into cooling down.

Cool down: Cycling, 25 minutes, 4.94 miles

AFTERWARD
I can’t lie, during the drive home from the gym, I mentally berated myself for a good five minutes regarding my bench performance. How was it possible for me to have gone all out on 65 if I was able get 15 reps at 60lbs afterwards? Then I remembered two things. One, I don’t have a spotter and, because of this, I’ve always practiced restrain with the lift, often leading me to lift my ass from the bench when I get anxious about potentially dropping the weight onto my chest. Two, bench has always been a hit-or-miss lift with me and while I could have been smarter about testing it (i.e. going with my gut on the first set of 60), I shouldn’t be bummed about a low 1RM – it is means there is much needed work to be done. Challenge accepted.

What is on that bagel?