Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

3.22.2012 bodyweight: 237
bench press - 45x20 65x20 75x20 85x20
cable pushdown - 150x15x5
chest supported t bar row - 90x8 145x10x4 9
face pull - 160x15x5
reverse hyper - BWx25x3 scapula rotation - 10x12x3 neck curl - 10kgx15 15 12 standing calf raise - 180x12x3 giant set

Shoulder felt a little better today. So many things I do at work on a regular basis irritate it. I know I should go on a leave of absence to let it heal, but I can't afford to go on disability. Just gonna take it slow with the rehab.

3.23.2012 bodyweight: 237
dynamic box squat - 20kgx5 50x3 70x3 90x2x10
glute ham raise - BWx12x5
hanging leg raise - BWx15x3 13x2
scapula rotation - 10x12x3 reverse hyper - BWx25x3 standing calf raise - 180x15x3 tri set

Box squats were done to parallel, with a one second pause at the bottom and about 30-45 seconds of rest between sets. They weren't hard at all, just not as fast as I would have liked. I'm slow out of the hole, so I need to work on that. Everything else felt pretty good. I started adding in standing calf raises at the end of my work outs because my left ankle is preventing me from running, so I am trying to strengthen that area.

3.26.2012 bodyweight: 237
bench press - 45x20 85x15x3
lock out - 95x5 135x3 185x3 225x2 275x2 315x2 325x1 335x1 345x1
incline dumbbell press - 25x10 40x10x3
pull up - BWx8 8 8 6 5

Shoulder feels like it's getting better. I found that turning my wrists so my palms are facing in at the bottom of the dumbbell presses relieved some tension from my shoulder. Lock outs felt really easy. I'm pretty sure I could have handled 365 no problem, so that's encouraging. Pull ups were a real grind for some reason.

3.27.2012 bodyweight: 235
deadlift from blocks - 20kgx5* 50x5* 70x3* 100x3 120x3 150x2 170x2 200x1 220x1 240x1 260x1 275x1
front squat - 50kgx3 70x3 90x3 100x2 110x2 120x1 125x1 130x1 142x1
good morning - 50kgx10 80x10x5
standing cable crunch - 180x15x3 14 12
shoulder, back and ankle rehab-prehab

*denotes from the floor
Blocks set to just below knee height. Deadlifts felt really heavy warming up. I was having an issue with my grip on my left hand. My left thumb is pretty mangled and it was bleeding all over the place. There's a really deep crack on the palm side of the knuckle that split open pretty bad, and the pad is pretty much one giant dried blood spot under several layers of skin. However, once I got that sorted out, 275 felt pretty easy. I feel like I could have pulled 280-285 for sure.

3.29.2012 bodyweight: 236
bench press - 45x15 95x15x3
cable pushdown - 160x15x3 12 11
dumbbell row - 50x10 (per arm) 80x10x5
seated dumbbell rear lateral raise - 10x12x5
reverse hyper - BWx20x3 scapula rotation - 10x12x3 standing calf raise - 180x15x3

3.30.2012 bodyweight: 237
parallel box squat - 20kgx5x2* 50x3* 70x3 95x2x10
glute ham raise - BWx13x5
hanging leg raise - BWx15x5
scapula rotation - 10x12x3 reverse hyper - BWx15 20 15 standing calf raise - 90x20x3

4.3.2012 bodyweight: 236.5
bench press - 45x15 105x15x3
lock out - 95x4 135x3 185x3 225x2 275x2 315x1 325x1 345x1 365x1
incline dumbbell press - 25x10 45x10x5
pull up - BWx8 8 6

Energy was pretty low today. I had a few days off from work and was really lazy pretty much the whole time.

4.4.2012 bodyweight: 236
deficit deadlift - 50kgx3 70x3 100x3 120x3 150x2 170x2 200x1 220x1 235x1
front squat - 50kgx3 70x3 90x2 100x2 110x2 120x1 130x1 135x1 145x1
good morning - 50kgx10 85x10 10 9 8
plate chopper - 35x10 (per side) 25x10x4
scapula rotation - 5x12x2 reverse hyper - BWx12x2 standing calf raise - 90x15x2 tri set

Deadlifts were done standing on 4" of blocks. This basically left the bar resting on the top of my feet in the bottom position. This was my first time ever doing deficit deadlifts, and I'm definitely a fan. I'm hoping to pull 250 kilos from this deficit over the next few weeks.

4.5.2012 bodyweight: 237
bench press - 45x10 95x10 115x15x3
cable triceps pushdown - 160x15x3 14 12 dumbbell hammer curl - 30x10x5 super set
dumbbell row row - 50x10 (per arm) 100x14 (5)
seated dumbbell rear lateral raise - 10x15x5
reverse hyper - BWx15x2 scapula rotation - 5x12x2 standing calf raise - 90x15x2 tri set

I decided to super set some curls in with my triceps work because I never give my biceps and direct work, and I'm fairly certain what really caused my shoulder to separate in that position was the lack of support from the muscles surrounding it. Until recently I never did any direct work for my biceps, triceps, side or rear deltoids, so now I'm really trying to get them up to par. Nothing heavy, I just wanna pump a bunch of blood into the area. Dumbbell rows were done in Kroc fashion. I did one set to failure with the heaviest dumbbell we have in the gym, dropped it and did the other side, then went back and did each arm again immediately. Felt pretty good.

4.6.2012 bodyweight: 237
box squat - 20kgx5 50x3 70x2x10
glute ham raise - BWx14 BW+10kgx10x4
decline leg raise with hip lift - BWx10 10 9 8 7

Hips felt kinda tight today, and my whole posterior chain is still tight as hell from Wednesday. Box squats were done explosively to about 2" below parallel with a one count pause on the box. I have plenty of speed in the top half of my squat, but I'm really slow out of the hole, so I really want to focus on that bottom position. The first two sets of glute ham raises with the weight added were done with the weight plate held over my head, and the last two were done holding it to my chest.

4.16.2012 clothed weight: 236
bench press - 45x12 95x20x3
rack lockout - 135x3 185x3 225x2 275x2 315x1 345x1 365x1 385x1
incline dumbbell press - 50x10x3
pull up - BWx7x4 6
shoulder/lower back/ankle rehab/prehab

Took last week off. I was just really drained and I had so much stuff I had to take care of, it just made sense. Decided to drop the weight back down and bump the reps back up on bench. I was definitely feeling it in my shoulder. Broke up a brawl between two guys I've never seen in the gym while I was warming up. Definitely got my adrenaline going.

4.18.2012 clothed weight: 237
deficit deadlift - 50kgx3 70x3 100x3 120x2 150x2 170x2 200x1 220x1 240 miss 230x1
front squat - 50kgx3 70x3 90x2 100x2 110x2 120x1 130x1 140x1 150 miss
good morning - 50kgx15x4
standing cable crunch - 180x15x5

Missing two big lifts put me in a really bad mood on this day. After deadlifts and front squats my lower back was really taxed, so I decided to keep it really light on the good mornings.

4.19.2012 clothed weight: 237.5
bench press - 45x12 100x20x3
cable pushdown (on a lat pulldown station) - 80x15x3 14 12 superset w/ dumbbell hammer curl - 30x12x5
dumbbell row - 50x10 100x12 3
seated rear dumbbell flye - 10x16 16 15 15 15

Dumbbell rows were done in a sort of rest/pause set. I did one set, dropped the weight, did the other arm, then immediately went back to the original arm and did another set for each. I was feeling wiped out that day and wanted to get in and out as quickly as possible.

4.23.2012 clothed weight: 238
bench press - 45x10 65x10 95x20 105x20 115x20
rack lockout - 135x3 185x3 225x2 275x2 315x1 335x1 355x1 375x1
pull up - BWx7x5

4.24.2012 clothed weight: 237
deficit deadlift - 50kgx3 70x3 100x3 120x2 150x2 170x2 200x1 220x1 240 miss 230x1
leg press - 270x12x5
hyperextension - 45x10x5
standing cable crunch - 190x15 15 14 13 12

Haven't gone above 230 kilos on deficit deadlifts since I first did them 4.4 and hit 235, so that's disappointing. Hyperextensions were done with a standard 45 lb bar across my neck.

Last Friday, the 20th I got X-rays and an MRI of my shoulder. I got the results on Monday. I have a tear in my rotator cuff. It doesn't go all the way through, so it shouldn't require surgery, just physical therapy, if that's the only problem. However, I went to an orthopedist on Thursday, and he examined me. He agreed with what he saw in the MRI, but he said from a clinical standpoint, based on which positions cause me pain and where I feel it, he's concerned I have a torn labrum, which would absolutely require surgery. He said that wouldn't show up in an MRI unless they injected my shoulder with a special dye. So for the next four weeks I'll be going to PT 3 times/week. After that he's going to examine me again, and determine what we need to do.

4.27.2012 clothed weight: 238
box squat - 20kgx5 50x3 80x2x10
glute ham raise - BWx12 25x10 BWx12x3
hanging leg raise - BWx15x5

box squats were done explosively and with minimal rest between sets; usually no more than 30 seconds.

take care and get better...

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Thank you. I start physical therapy tomorrow.

5.1.2012 clothed weight: 236
deficit deadlift - 50kgx5 70x3 100x3 120x2 150x2 170x2 200x1 220x1 240x1 (finally!)
leg press - 290x12x5
hyperextension - 45x13x2 BWx18x3
standing cable crunch - 190x15x4 12

Felt really beat from the go, but once I pulled 200 and felt how easy it was, I knew I had 240.

Still killing it man. Keep it up and you'll be back in no time.

Any word on the physical therapy/surgery for your shoulder? Hope you're doing alright...

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