Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Week 5 (2.0?) 10/22

I didn't skip a day, well I did, but not out of sloth. My hip was hurting after Wednesday's workout. I thought it could clear up by Friday, maybe just a little soreness, but it really didn't snap back. Had back surgery in June, so I figured I would err on the side of caution. It killed me to skip the workout as I was on the verge of being on Week 6. But, I guess being careful is better than being prostrate on the floor screaming in pain. I wasn't sure if I should continue the 5# increase after 4 days off or re-lift the weight from my last workout. Call it determination or call it ego, but I decided to continue with the increase.

Squat 5x5 @122 (due to my configuration of plates, I had to go up 7#) (Warm-up: 1x5 @45/ 1x5 @ 60 / 1x5 @ 98)
BP 5x5 @ 105 ((I lost count, I may have done 6x5) 1x5 @ 45/ 1x5 @ 55/ 1x5 @88)
Row 5x5 @ 100 (1x5 @45/ 1x5 @56/ 1x5 @89)

I can't say it was too much of a struggle. I was worried going in, but tried to clear my mind and just focus on the exercise, not the prospect of failing. Of course, the fact that my sciatica is flaring up was always in the back of my mind.

1226k 93C/134P/43F 29%C/41%P/30%F

Not making good on my 8-hours, yet. Really, I just work too much and need my awake downtime at night. Maybe I'll sleep in 2013.

Week 7 10/29

Wasn't slacking, my friggin' hard drive fried on my laptop. Still waiting for the replacement drive to come in, but I dragged out my old laptop when I finally found it in a box inside a box inside a box. Getting to Mars might've been easier. Anyway, it's intolerably slow, but I wanted to get this up before I forgot. I wont bore you all with the tedious review of my past exercises, just catch you up to date with what's going on. I'm still on track and enjoying it.

Squats 5X 133 (1x67/1x89/1x111)
OHP 5x 78 (1x45/1x56/1x67)
DL 1x160 (1x100/1x100/1x122)

My last go round with the OHP I struggled with my form. I completed the 5x78, but I wasn't happy with how I struggled on #4 & #5 later in the set, so I decided to do an ego check and stick with 78 for this go round. It was much smoother and was probably the best idea. Man, those squats are getting killer. By week 10 I'll be at bodyweight (180) unless there's a set back. It's funny how with all the other lifts they get harder as the sets go on, but with the squats it always seems like set 1 and 2 are the most difficult. The idea that I'm not going to make it always creeps into my mind. Then, the stiffness seems to shake out of me and they actually get easier. I'm still feeling some discomfort, but most after I re-rack the weight and get it off my shoulders.

The DL...oh boy. The grip is getting difficult at 160. I think I will go with 160 again on Friday, as on #5 I kinda stumbled (well, no "kinda," I did) backwards. With the form being lackluster, I shouldn't reward myself with a bump. I'll hold off on food since entering the data on this laptop is like trying to enter it with an abacus.

Week 7 in the books 11/2

Squat 5x5 @ 143
OHP 5x5 @83
DL 1x5 @ 160

My hard drive hasnt arrived in the mail, yet. So I'm still stuck on this slow ass old laptop. I'll eschew the warmups, as I have a date, but I promise all the commensurate ones were included. To catch you all up on Wednesday: I have now failed on 3 of the 5 lifts. The DL, as noted in last post, I failed on Monday. But I re-upped the 160 and passed with flying colors, though the grip is getting extremely hard to maintain. I failed on the OHP a few sessions ago, reset the 78, and today did 83, so that's back on track. Plus, I reviewed Mehdi's book the other day and read that that lift is normally the first to fail. My ego isn't as bruised as it was before. On Wednesday, I failed on the BR at 111. #5 on each of my last sets I failed to bring to my chest. I dunno if that is important, but that is how I have been doing all of them, so I want to keep the consistency.

143 on the squat! Crazy, to me at least. I never squatted anything other than bodyweight before this work out. I was convinced today was going to be the day, as #1 and #2 seemed dicey. But, as per usual, the squats grew easier as I went along. That fascinates me. I know I've belabored this point, but it's the only lift where I seem to get better as I go along. My diet was the worst today in a long time. A girl who came to my office hours brought me a vegan burrito from her work. Who am I to refuse a young lady bearing gifts of food? Sure it was vegan, but it was a flour tortilla and had white potatoes inside. I've felt guilty all day because of that. But, I also felt elated that an early twenty-something was plying me with food. No stories fellas--I kept it all above board--professional ethics and all. Sure they're only 13.5" biceps, but this workout must be showing improvements! Again, I'm skipping the macros and breakdown because entering the data in the calorie counter website is painfully tedious on this machine. Let's hope my hard drive comes tomorrow.

A question...I'll be going out of town for T-giving and am not sure I will have access to weights that week (I'll be there for both Wednesday before and Friday after T-giving)...I will try my hardest to get a friend to get me a guest pass, but who knows. Ok, the question is, will missing two days kill my progress?

Week 8 Nov 5

Squat 5x5 @ 148
BP 5x5 @ 116
BR 5x5 @ 111

Ouch. Hip is flaring up something good. All the lifts went through without a hitch. Hopefully, the hip will chill out by Wednesday. Long day. Short post.

Haven't been slacking. I had to take the Wednesday and Friday off because my hip just couldn't take the weight on the squats. I actually tried to reinitiate the workout on Saturday, hoping I could get back on track.

I completed the warm-ups of the squats 1x45 just to get the kinks out. 1x100 and 1x120.

I did 3x155 with some discomfort, but on #2 of the 4th set, I was in real pain and I had to quit.

I waited a good hour and decided to at least get the OHP in, but I wasn't physically able to jerk the barbell from the bar---I just had no lower body strength.

Here I am on Wednesday, and I still have some tenderness when I get up out of a seated position. The problem with the hip is that it eliminates all the lifts in the routine except the bench. I did bench on Wednesday 5x5 @ 122 without incident.

I have a few questions that hopefully someone out there can help with:

Is there maybe some pre-routine stretching I need to initiate more vigorously (or post)? Honestly, I don't do either. Anyone have some ideas for some stretches that could loosen up the hip?

Obviously, I can still work most upper body muscles for the time being (curls, bench, dips, etc.) without hip pain. Should I focus on some of those iso exercises until things repair themselves?

Missing 3 workout days (and presumably a 4th today) is getting to me mentally. Or, should I try sticking with weight below my current schedule for the ones that seriously press my hips (I'm 155 on squat and 170 on DL)? Is going lighter on the squats better than nothing at all? Will the regression be severe? I doubt I can do 155 on the squat or 170 on the DL, but I am guessing I can do 120 or so for each. Or is just leaving the hip be the best idea? I'm stubborn when it comes to this stuff, so I will always try to push myself.

Blaine, how are things going lately? Did you figure out your dietary ratios that you were having troubles with before?

Hey Dylan, thanks for checking in.

Yeah, I'm all cool with my diet. I've actually been using the Thrive diet. It's time-consuming, so to streamline things a bit, I only make a few of the recipes and master those, but I feel great on that, even after only a few weeks.

The lifting, on the other hand, has been frustrating. I had back surgery back in June and though I was cleared to exercise, I really tweaked my hip when I hit 155 on the squat. Since I was doing Strong Lifts 5X5, it's basically taken me out of all the lifts. The only one I can do without discomfort is the bench press, as with my set up at home I have to clean the OHP, which hurts my hip. I've been kinda depressed about it since I was 8-weeks in and seeing awesome results.

I've been researching some dumbbell routines, as they are less demanding on my hip. I think I've found something that'll work for me. I'll continue with the squat and DL, but I'll have to drastically reduce the weight.

It's kind of a mix of the two routines. Here's what I had in mind

Day 1: Chest
Squat
Barbell Bench (I wanna stick with that)
Lying Fly
Incline BP
Decline BP (not sure if I wanna do DB or BB with these)

Day 2: Cardio

Day 3: Legs
Squat
Lunge
Calf raise
Weighted Crunch

Day 4: Shoulders
OHP
Rear Deltoid Row
Front Raise
Lateral Raise

Day 5: Cardio

Day 6: Arms
Hammer Curl
Dips
Skullcrushers
Alernating Curls
DB side bends

Day 7: Back
Bent over row
DL
Squat
Weighted Crunch

Any ideas?

Just happened upon your log and thought I'd offer some suggestions. I followed Stronglifts for about a year with great results, and there are a bunch of others on the forum here with similar experience. I'd definitely recommend checking out some of the longer running logs and ask questions of those that seem to have similar strength goals.

First off - on your hip issues: I'd definitely hold off on increasing the weights until you can get that pain taken care of. You should definitely do something to warm-up before lifting. The fact that the squats get easier after the second set might indicate that you need to warm up a bit more than just doing a couple lighter sets before your work weight. Try doing 5 minutes on a bike, or 5 minutes of jump rope, or some similar activity to get your blood flowing and heart rate up a bit. Also throw in some squat-to-stands stretching to work on hip mobility before every workout.

Stretching! Do it!

Check out Joe Defranco's Agile 8 stretches for lower body:
The Agile 8

1. Foam roll your IT band — Start just below your hip and roll up and down to your (outer) mid-thigh ten to fifteen times, focusing on any tight spots. Then perform ten to fifteen "rolls" starting at your (outer) mid-thigh and rolling all the way down to the outside of your knee. Again, focus on the tight areas.

2. Foam roll your adductors — Start just below the crease of your hip and roll up and down your (inner) mid-thigh ten to fifteen times, focusing on any tight spots. Then perform ten to fifteen "rolls" starting at your (inner) mid-thigh and rolling down to the inside of your knee. Again, focus on the tight areas.

3. Glute/piriformis myofacsial release with a tennis ball — Take the tennis ball and sit on one your left butt cheek with a slight tilt. Cross your left leg. Roll for 30 seconds or so. Switch cheeks and repeat. Feel free to cry.

4. Rollovers into "V" sits — Perform ten reps.*

5. Fire hydrant circles — Perform ten forward circles and ten backward circles with each leg.*

6. Mountain climbers — 20 total reps.*

7. Groiners — Perform ten reps. Hold the last rep for ten seconds. Make sure to push your knees out with your upper arms while dropping your butt down.*

8. Static hip flexor stretch — Perform 3 sets of 10 seconds on each leg. Complete all three sets on one side before moving to the other.
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Stretch before and after every workout to increase your flexibility. The foam rolling and tennis-ball work can be very helpful.

As for eating, I think 40% protein is a bit much at this stage, but if it seems to be working for you then stick with it.

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My strength log

Thanks for the input. I have read your blog quite a bit. I will definitely review those stretches. I think they may offer a big improvement. Time is usually at a premimum for me, but my teaching load ends this week, so I'll be able to dedicate more time to the non-lifiting aspects of my workout. I'm thinking of switching to the 5/3/1 for the time being, considering that it still targets the main lifts, but with less frequency on the squat.

If you can get your hip issues settled, then I'd recommend a more vigorous starting program than 5/3/1. 5/3/1 is better for intermediate lifters as the progress is considerately slower than Stronglifts 5x5.

That being said, you could try doing the same split as given in 5/3/1 (Monday - OHP, Tuesday - Deadlift, Thursday - Bench, Friday - Squat), however increase the weight by 5 lbs each week and do 5x5 sets for the same weights you would be lifting under stronglifts. If you are doing 5x5 sets, your accessory work should be minimal. That would also give you a bit more time to incorporate a solid pre- and post-workout stretching routine. This is only an idea, I don't know if it would work for you or what your progress would be like. Keep in mind I am not a fitness expert or trainer or any such thing.

What level do you teach at? I work at a University as a Lab Manager and have just this past semester taught my first lab class.

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My strength log

That's perfect. I should've thought of that. I teach English and Humanities at a CC for the past 11-years. And, I've just learned to utilize the summers off for my health.

Yesterday:

DL:
5X5 @ 120

Rear Delt row:
2x10 @ 88
1x8 @ 99

DB Pullover:
2X10 @ 20
1x8 @ 25

Upright Shoulder External Rotation:
2x12 @ 15
1x8 @ 20

I threw some new things in there that I haven't done before. The DB Pullover was a complete disaster. My form was awful and no matter how many times I watched the videos, I was working my triceps more than my lats. I think I'm going to eject this one for next time. Otherwise, everything else went fine. I did some jump rope (lightly, as the high impact can jolt my hip) before hand and bicycles on the floor. Afterwards, I stretched out for about 15m. I think that helped.

Meal 1:
Banana Pear Ginger Cereal (Thrive recipe) 4.8f/34.1c/5.7p
Almond Milk 2.5f/1c/1p

Meal 2:
Blood Booster Smoothie (Thrive Recipe) 13.5f/27.6c/7.7p

Meal 3:
Spinach and chicken seitan (homemade) salad 5.5f/15.6c/30p

Meal 4:
Hemp Protein and Almond Milk 6f/5.5c/22p

Meal 5:
2 Naked Cutlets 5f/10c/22p

Totals: 46gf/141c/114p 28.9%f/31.8%c/39.3%p 1356K

I like the Thrive diet, as I feel energetic and regular while following it, but the amount of fat, regardless what is written about it, tends to scare me off. And, it doesn't seem to provide enough protein--sometimes as little as 40g/day which qwould be like .22g/lb of body weight @ 175lbs.

I think the Thrive diet might be more well suited to endurance athletes, given that they don't require as much protein as strength athletes do. The basic templates there are good but I would definitely add in some more high-protein foods such as tempeh, tofu, and beans, as you already seem to be doing.

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My strength log