Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

4/29/12

Trained good ol abs today.

Warm-up

15 minutes on the Spin Bike

Hanging Knee Raises
40
50
40
50
50
40

Lying Leg Raises
25
25
25

Bicycle Crunches
100
100
100

Plank
60 seconds
60 seconds
80 seconds
90 seconds
75 seconds
75 seconds

The workout actually took about an hour to complete. I did some stretching between sets.

Got my potatoes in front of me, greens coming up next. Already had brown rice and entire can of refried beans.

Gotta get that mass back on. Lots of fruit throughout the day and a protein drink, a couple of bowls of cereal and some water throughout.

_________________

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

4/30/12

Today's workout was a bit of a toss up. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I got there. Either legs to give them a few days rest before doing some deadlifts later this week, or biceps.

I opted for a long session on the bike and the 10 sets of squats. I admittedly wimped out on the dumbbell walking lunges. I always pair them with squats but just wasn't feeling it today. Felt pretty bloated when I was at the gym (likely from 2 huge salads before the workout and greens take a while to digest) but I just flat wimped out and went with squats only.

I figured if I was only going to do squats, I may as well go a bit heavier than usual and do more sets to make up for the lack of lunges.

It went like this:

Warm-up

20 minutes on the Spin Bike

15 minutes on the stationary bike

Squats
45lbs x 20
45lbs x 20
135lbs x 10
135lbs x 10
135lbs x 10
155lbs x 10
175lbs x 10
195lbs x 5
165lbs x 10
135lbs x 10

My lower back is still so-so, and I don't feel comfortable going real heavy. I usually don't go above 155lbs. And believe it or not, that weight feels heavy for me. Not only do I not trust my lower back, I'm just not that strong with squats.

I want to get my numbers up to help my deadlifts. I think I need stronger legs to help me in that lift.

I'll be starting regular massage therapy for my back and other muscle groups within about 2 weeks and I look forward to that helping my lifting in general.

Well, I better eat a bit more and get to bed.

-Robert

_________________

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

Plenty of volume there, so you're still getting the work in on squats...

There's always 5/3/1 if you fancied building up more strength

_________________
"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

Thanks man.

I just don't trust my lower back to put heavy weight on it, so I just do what I can and go deep and try to get some sort of result from it

Once I do some massage therapy for my back on a regular basis, I'll likely change it up. I am doing a lot of low rep stuff for deadlifts. Based on the angle and stress on my back, I can still do them pretty well.

This was from a few workouts ago:

Deadlifts
133lbs x 12
177lbs x 12
243lbs x 5
294lbs x Failed twice
263lbs x 4
274lbs x 3
299lbs x 1
308lbs x 1

Volume is still high, but I got the low reps in there. I do the same for overhead press and bent-over rows, etc.

I'm really enjoying lifting some heavier weights and I'll likely drop rep ranges on a few other lifts too.

Thanks for the suggestion. I really do appreciate it.

It was Derek who re-inspired me to start focusing on compound lifts and I have touched a machine or cable this entire year! Now, I'm just trying to manage injuries and areas of limitations to get those reps closer to 5, and get that weight up!

Took a day of rest to work on school work the entire day.

Time to eat now. Not going to grow unless I make this happen!

_________________

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

5/1/12

Took a rest day from the gym.

I did play basketball for almost an hour. With my wrist brace on my shooting hand I shot free throws as a warm-up. I made 4 in a row and thought I was doing pretty well so I decided to see how many I'd make out of ten. I made 4 of 10. haha! I missed the next 6.

So, I went for it again.

My free throw shooting wasn't all that impressive today:

Makes/Total shots
4/10
4/10
5/10
6/10

I used to be an 80% shooter

I like the reality check. So often we think we're doing something we're not really doing. I could have easily made my first 4 shots and not paid attention to how many I missed and then gone on about how many I made in a row. I realize people do this all the time, in all areas of life.

So I allowed myself this honest reality check

My 3-point shooting was likely only 20% or so....at most.

I spent a lot of time on school work today, including now, but I'll be back in the gym again tomorrow.

Go Nuggets!

_________________

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

My log is currently filled with me complaining of sciatica, I am however free to do squats, front squats ect & last week I hit 270lb for 5. But it's the position of deadlifting that is my issue, so I'm switching up to sumo deads to see if I get any benefit, have been talking to VeganEssentials about the back issue.

Pulling the 308lb is still impressive, even more so if your back is not 100% but it shouldn't hinder squats that much, my backs pretty awful atm & I can still make gains.

Here's a run down of Jim Wendlers 5/3/1 system, I think it would be great for you if you're focusing on OHP, bench,squats & deads (all the compounds) you can obviously start at even less than the 90%of your 1rm & also, if you felt it would benefit you more decrease the increments each month.

The guy had the  higher rate percentages listed for the weeks, the ones he's listed is higher. Week one is actually 65%-75%-85% & so on.

I'm currently using the boring but big template


http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workou ... ystem.html

Here's an extra template Wendler put up using 5/3/1 with bodybuilding

http://www.jimwendler.com/2011/09/531-and-bodybuilding/

If you wanted the ebook I'd be happy to mail it over. All the best 

Ps also I can a send the excel spreadsheet which will program the lifts for you

_________________
"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

Thanks man. I'll look into it. You can email the spreadsheet to robert@veganbodybuilding.com anytime.

On that same workout I pulled the 308, I actually pulled 321 off the ground for a set of shrugs. I spent that workout pulling all lifts from the floor, even shrugs in a deadlift until I got upright and then shrugged. So the exact weight I pulled was 321lbs which the heaviest I've pulled since 337lbs way back in 2003.

Today I shrugged 315lbs but I pulled it off the rack and barely got any reps, it was mostly like a hold. But once I get out to my friend's hardcore gym next week, and can yell and scream, use chalk and go for it as hard as I can, I'll likely pull 350lbs.

Squatting just isn't very comfortable on my lower back. It impacts me differently than deadlifts, so I'm focusing on deads now. I'm also doing overhead press, bent-over rows and a few other lifts. I haven't touched a machine all year. All free weights, all the time, and compound as much as possible. Today I did a set of 25 pull-ups and could have done more but it was my first set, so I saved bit for the next 5 sets.

Working my way back up. Getting that massage therapy started in 2 weeks too and I'll do that weekly or at least twice a month.

Have a great one! Thanks for the tips. I'll lower my reps a bit and pile the weight on.

_________________

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

5-2-12

Today was a back workout and it went quite nicely. It felt good and I moved some nice weight in shrugs and had one stand out set of pull-ups too.

It went like this:

Warm-up

15 minutes on the Spin Bike

Forward arm circles
50
50
50

Backward arm circles
50
50
50

Workout:

Wide grip pull-ups
25
15
12

Narrow grip pull-ups
15
15
15

Bent-over rows
135lbs x 5
135lbs x 5
115lbs x 10
115lbs x 10
115lbs x 8
125lbs x 6

Barbell Shrugs
225lbs x 10
245lbs x 7
275lbs x 8
305lbs x 3
315lbs x 2
315lbs x Hold (didn't get any reps)
225lbs x 10
225lbs x 10

I didn't lift very heavy in bent-over rows. I'm not sure why. I put up over 200lbs a couple of weeks ago, and often lift 135 or 155lbs for 10 reps. Today my wrist was hurting a bit and I just didn't get many. I've been wearing a brace on my wrist when I train for the past 2 months. It is still quite sore and some lifts I can't do and I can't do certain rotations with my wrist.

I still felt very good about the workout, especially getting 3 plates on each side of the bar. Even if reps were small, it was nice to start moving that weight.

I think I can deadlift as much as 350lbs when I'm fully rested, have chalk, and can do lots of yelling at my friend's garage gym next week! Bring it on!

_________________

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

Hey Robert, how do you do your barbell rows and pull ups? Do you keep tension for the pullups or do you do them from a dead hang? And for the rows, does the weight rest on the floor between each set or do you do it at a 45 degree angle and pull in to your stomach? I'm curious because you have nice back development. Thanks!

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Back if fun to train and is perhaps my favorite muscle group of all to train.

With pull-ups I go at a pretty fast pace, some would say perhaps not a "full-range" of motion and not to a dead hang. I do use a pretty good range of motion and sometimes from a full dead hang, but I like to keep the pace a bit faster and therefore my reps are perhaps a little shorter than they could be.

With bent-over rows I pull the bar off the rack which is usually from a squat rack or bench press and I bend at the waist until my back is fairly flat like a table and I pull the weight to my navel. At the moment, with my wrist issue (snapped it two months ago and wear a brace when I train) I can't do them very well and my range of motion suffers and it causes pain. I also can't lift as heavy.

But in general, I like to hit it pretty hard with back with as much range as I can with the weight I am trying to pull. Deadlifts are my current favorite exercise because I'm able to do them for the first time in a long time and they are an incredible amount of fun.

I enjoy compound free weight lifts the most.

Thanks!

Robert

_________________

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

Robert, I'm probably gonna head down to Big Mike's on Saturday. You interested?

_________________
Bonebreaker Barbell Crew! - ALIEN BABY!
Twitter @IronCladBen | My Blog

Hey Ben,

I'd totally go, but I'll be in Chicago for another Vega event. I rarely travel but they've sent me out of town 2 of the past 3 weekends.

I get back on Monday and will be there the following weekend.

Go have fun! It is an awesome place to train! Big Mike rocks!

Bart is out of town until Sunday, but when we're all back, let's get a big group. Astrum wants to come as well.

High Fives!

Have fun this Saturday. Looking forward to hearing about it!

_________________

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

5/3/12

Shoulder day today! I focused on keeping those reps a little lower and getting that weight up. I had some pretty obnoxious dudes around me at the gym who clearly thought they were awesome, but clearly weren't, but I still managed. They could not finish a sentence without using the S or F words, and talked so loudly about their silly lives the entire gym could hear them. Shame a large weight didn't fall on them, perhaps next time.

Anyway, on with it.

Today's workout went like this:

Warm-up

Spin Bike for 15 minutes

Forward arm circles
50
50
50

Backward arm circles
50
50
50

Workout

Lateral raises
10s x 10
15s x 10
20s x 10
30s x 6

Front raises
10s x 10
15s x 10
20s x 10
30s x 6

Rear Delt raises
10s x 10
15s x 10
20s x 10
30s x 6

Dumbbell Overhead Press
50s x 10
60s x 5
65s x 4
65s x 3
65s x 5
70s x 2

Barbell Shrugs
225lbs x 10
275lbs x 6
315lbs x Hold
315lbs x Hold
275lbs x 4
275lbs x 10
225lbs x 12

That was it and then I went home to eat potatoes, rice, avocado and fruit.

I did a bunch of homework tonight, watched a lecture by Dr. Campbell and now it's time to head to bed. Flying to Chicago tomorrow for work for the weekend.

_________________

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

5/4/12

I hit a biceps workout this morning and I'm heading off to the airport soon. I was looking through my journal at the gym and realized I've trained 10 of the last 12 days, so I've been pretty consistent even with school and travel. That feels pretty good.

Today's workout was fairly brief, 40 minutes in total, counting the 10 min warm-up. I usually stick to compound movements but today was just a dumbbell biceps workout to give the larger muscle groups a rest. I'll likely take some full rest days in Chicago since I'll be working 12-14 hour days.

Warm-up

Spin bike for 10 minutes

Forward arm circles
50
50
50

Backward arm circles
50
50
50

Standing 2 arm dumbbell hammer curls
25s x 12
30s x 10
35s x 8
40s x 6

Seated alternating hammer curls
30s x 10
35s x 8
40s x 5
35s x 6

Concentration curls
30 x 10
35 x 10
40 x 6
40 x 8

That's it and off to Chicago. Will be a busy weekend.

Back home on Monday.

_________________

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

5/5/12

I took a rest day today and worked for 15 hours at the Green Festival in Chicago.

I'm short on sleep but feeling pretty good. I didn't even realize it is as late as it is. I have another long day tomorrow so I better wrap up and get going to bed soon.

_________________

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