Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I usually get up around 45 mins prior to my gym sessions so not a lot of time to eat anything big and digest it in time , i have a glass of luke warm water , a cup of tea and Apple/Banana whichever is home . Shall i switch up something ??

Not much plans for the weekend got some exams coming up so studying up for them , maybe some FIFA 13 over friends place in evening , what about you ?

Ah makes sense if you are training first thing in the morning. If you can afford protein powder, having a shake with a scoop of oats in it is a great, easily digestable pre-workout meal you could try. Nice balance of carbs and protein in it.
Yeah having a good weekend too, just chilling with my daughters and making the most of a light training week haha.

Well before i start my tomorrow's workout and start 2nd month of Stronglifts i'd just gve my views on first 4 weeks .
The progress has been as planned , out of the 12 workouts i had to miss 1 because of work so i did my 11 workouts .

Bench Press and Rows I am very comfortable with the increments as i have lifted heavier earlier
Squats are getting heavy as i am nearing my previous max but i think there is still time before i stall .
Overhead Press is definitely something i am little worried about as i never lifted heavy on it and it may be the first exercise i stall on .
Deadlifts are going okay although i am not very sure of my form and am thinking of getting someone to make a video of me .

My weight has gone up from 78.3 kgs to 82.5 kgs if my weighing scale is accurate enough in last one and a half month of which 1 month of stronglifts .
Looking at my Diet last 4 weeks i am eating around 85-100gms of Protein which is little more than 1gm/kg of bodweight , Over 250-300gms Carb and around 75-95 gms of Fat .

I have got a Jar of BSN TRUE MASS 5 lbs as a gift from a cousin and i am wondering if i shall use it and add it to my diet or not . ( Any Tips on This one ?? )

That's the summary of Month 1 . Week 5 , month 2 starts tomorrow and i hope it goes as smooth as the first one .

Thank you for all the support till now for everyone who has commented and even viewed the thread i hope it stays as strong ahead , because the road's just about to get rocky !

good luck on your journey! bin the true mass and just eat more!

What's the sugar content in the Mass product?

Serving Size3 Scoops(145g) ††
Servings Per Container 18

Calories 630
Calories From Fat 150
Total Fat 17g 26%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholestero 120mg 40%
Total Carb 70g 23%
Dietary Fiber 6g 24%
Sugars 14g
Protein 50g 100%

@ MiniForklift - At your suggestion got up 15 mins early than usual and ate a small bowl of oatmeal with coffee pre workout , still no protein but i guess better than an apple eh

Surprisingly oats still has a reasonable amount of protein. I add flavour to mine by throwing some protein powder into it, plus the oat, rice, almond or whatever milk you use will have some protein in it as well.

How did you feel through your training, any more energy than you usually would have?

@ MiniForklift - Well it was okay the effect are being felt post workout as in after last time i worked out i felt really sleepy which i guess could be due to poor pre workout nutrition but today its good , i feel okay . Will slowly develop my habit of a better pre workout meal thanks for the tip
What about that True Mass what do you say looking at the breakdown ?

WEEK 5
Workout B Day 12

SQUATS
37.5 KG 5X5

OVERHEAD BARBELL PRESS
20 KG (5,5,5,4,5)
Couldn't complete the last rep on my 4th set , really drained me out this one . Shall i increase the weight next time or stick to same for another workout ?

DEADLIFT
Warm Up - 30Kg 1x5
Main - 45KG 1X5

Decline Crunches
3x10 ( 2.5kg Plate on chest )

Finally Managed to get a Vid in here , Squats and Deadlift from today's workout .
Form check please

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9GFBao-c5w

Its a shame you can't do free weight squats but smiths are certainly better than nothing liked the vid matey, although I'm no expert but i bend my knees more on deadlifts to get down a bit lower, sort of like ass to grass. You should check with the other guys on here though before taking my advice :p miniforklift is a personal trainer and a total beast so he'll be able to help you out better than me.
You should post videos more often mate! I should have one up either tonight or tomorrow of tonights deadlifts

Yes i know due the nature of my job i have to be travelling everywhere and getting a squat rack is a big problem hardly any gyms have it but smith machine i find in every single one that is why i decided to stick to them so atleast i can do stronglifts with regular squats .
For Deadlift i saw this video by Mark Rippetoe and that guy insisted on a higher hip position so that's what i was trying to incorporate , looking forward to Miniforklifts review of it as well .

On deadlifts you should start with a reasonably high hip position. I'd take Rippetoe's advice on technique over most anyone else. The caveat is that everyone has different body proportions so you need to find the position that feels right to you.

From looking at your video, my opinion is to try to get your hips a little lower so that your back has a slightly higher angle. Try it on one of your sets and video it. If you see your hips coming up before the bar lifts off the floor, then your hips are too low. If your hips start off too high, then you are doing more of a straight-leg deadlift, which works the muscles a little differently and you won't be able to lift as much weight as with a standard deadlift.

Other than getting your hips down a bit lower, like Asparagus said, I think you looked pretty solid. Your lower back was in a pretty neutral position the whole time and your shoulders were pulled back. Excellent job!

Yeah, overall your form looks pretty good. With regards to DL's I would say to have a play and feel out what seems to be best for you. I've been told many times to try and get more leg drive by lowering my hips ~ I have managed to lower them a little but biomechanically I seem to be suited to a slightly higher hip position (helps that I have a very strong lower back and erectors).

The benefit of being able to get your hips down is that you can recruit more leg drive and you take a little of the lower back out of the workload. Works well for a lot of people as the legs are naturally going to be stronger, but there's still some people that can pull huge weights with a high hip position (check out the pic below of Richard Hawthorn for one prime example).



He has pulled over 600lb at a bodyweight in the low 130's, proof that biomechanics is the deciding factor at the end of the day. I also like to have my hips a little higher than what a lot of coaches would say is optimal, it's all about finding out what is best for you and that's why I suggested you have a play around with a few positionings mate.

Finally you should be making sure you do back and front squats (front squats done Oly style rather than cross handed). These are two exercises that will have the greatest carry over for pulls. You want to hit the movements which will improve your posterior chain (calves, hams, glutes, and lower back) so I'd be looking at movements such as RDL's, SLDL, lunges, glute ham raise, back and front squat, behind the back pulls (old school hacks), step ups, good mornings etc etc.

Overall your lifts looked pretty good, well done!

Another thing I have found really useful is rather than thinking of the DL as a pull, imagine it as a pressing movement.
Next time you deadlift, imagine trying to push/drive your feet down into the floor. Once the bar is off the floor you'll be surprised at how much extra power this gives you.