Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hi Andi,

Yes mate, i get a check up done once or twice a year at my GP's, which includes a panel of blood work (due to the health issues i had/have), i just asked for the extra test which my doc was fine with. I would see no harm in asking your GP for to get your test levels checked:)

Nice, thanks

This mornings Leg workout...

1. Seated Leg Press
9 mini cluster sets of 5 reps

2. Leg Extension
3 mini cluster sets of 5 reps

3. Seated Leg Curl
4 mini cluster sets of 5 reps

4. Hip Belt Calf Raise
6 mini cluster sets of 5 reps

10 second rest pauses between cluster sets, went with lighter resistance and a faster piston like cadence, more contractions per unit etc. Helluva of a pump:)

Taking things up a notch....

Shifting more focus on to strength / progressive overload, so there's going to be some changes to my routine...

Instead of one main working to failure per movement, i'll be working up to a weight and staying there for 2-3 working sets, however NOT to failure. I want to avoid straining, so when i can no longer accelerate the resistance, the set will be terminated.

I'm be using more free weight work, however movements that are still congruent with my bodytype...

Still only going to train no more than twice per week, my body does not bounce back well from more than that, any more usually results in diminishing return.

Longer rest times between sets and exercises, so in this case yes, YES some cardiovascular will be added (speed rope skipping and heavy bag work 2 x 12-20 minutes per week).

Diet wise, i'm back intermittent fasting again, daily 8 hour feeding window / 16 hour fasts...

Today's workout was upper body...
1. Incline BB Bench Press
2. Flat D-B Bench Press
3. Underhand Chin
4. Rear Delt Flye Machine
5. D-B Lateral Raise
6. BB Curl
7. Rope Press-down


Today's food...
12.30pm
Large bowl of oatmeal, with crushed pineapple, flaked almonds and rice milk
2.45pm
Chilli Con Corne, made with quorn mince, kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, onions etc and Jasmine rice
workout 4.30pm
5.30pm
fruit smoothe
6.30pm
leek and potato soup and crusty bread
8.30pm
Whole grain cereal with rice milk

No eggs or dairy today:)

This afternoons workout (trained fasted, completed a 22 hour fast today, felt great:)

1. Seated Leg Press
2. Seated Calf Raise
3. Weighted Back Extension
4. Seated Leg Curl
5. Ab Machine

Broke my fast today at 6pm, had whole grain rice with chickpea's, vegetables and 3 scrambled eggs mixed in. Then at 9pm had i'd a baked potato with cheese and salad, and then Greek style Yogurt with honey. Feel good:)

more than 1 set........Rob.....WTF???? haha only joking mate looks interesting! 22 hr fast, theres no way i could do that, do you do IF to help lose weight? hope all is well.

Hey mate,

Yeah mate, building up to two 24 hour fasts per week again, did this last year, its actually not that bad, had boundless energy:) Fat loss is one reason why i do this, but the main reason is for the many other health benefits IF brings to the table.

All's good here buddy, though it'll soon be marching season here, that means more troubles, flag protests, road blockages etc, bores me. All good your end mate?

Keep up the good work, nice to see another person enjoying the benefits of fasting!

Have a great weekend MF.

Thanks mate,

I think the reason we don't hear more about IFing is because there's no money to be made from it, but the research into it is eye opening to say the least.

Anyho, have a great week mate
Rob

So of late I've not been training to failure, 1-2 reps shy of failure, for 2 working sets per exercise, i have however increased the frequency of my training till 3x per week, alternating between upper body / lower body & ab workouts.

Completed a 24 hour fast at 6pm today...

6pm
4 omega 3 enriched cage free eggs (cooked in grass fed cattle's butter)
1 slices of whole grain toast
2 tps of flaxseed millet sprinkled the eggs

7pm
Training (Legs & Abs)

8.30pm
200grams of wild Alaskan salmon fillets cooked in coconut oil
75grams of white long grain rice
Greens

Been going lower in carbs and higher in fat, imo for fat loss, its not just about creating a caloric deficit, but also getting in body into the proper hormonal state.

looks good Rob how are you enjoying the training?, i must admit it some times feels nice to not go all out 1set to the death some times dont mention salmon thats one thing i really miss smoked salmon on toast.

Hey buddy,

Id been mulling over a few things in my head with regards to training to failure this last few months, that is, we know intense training is a must for stimulating growth, we know progressive overload is another factor, but training to failure has never been a requirement. Now, don't get me wrong, i still fully believe that there's only one best way to train, ie intense, brief and reasonable infrequently, but i'm beginning to believe training to failure may have been retarding my progress. This Pete Sisco article is what got me thinking http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/sisco2.htm.
Am also now trying to avoid straining, once i can no longer accelerate the weight i terminate the set, i no longer want to reach the point were the weight comes to an almost grinding halt, its here blood pressure sky rockets.

Yes mate, decided to add in a bit of oily fish into my diet everyday, I've taken all the dairy out of my diet again (bar a very small amount of butter for to cook my eggs in), i could feel that shit clogging up my chest after only a few days.

All good with yourself mate:)

interesting stuff as usual Rob, does that mean static holds would be one of the most blood pressure increasing ways to train? i know i have had headaches from straining super hard in the past so i assumed it was the huge rise in blood pressure. maybe you just needed a new kind of stimulus rather than just harder contractions if you have been doing HIT for a good while!?

ill go read that article now, yeh all good here thanks pal

Hey mate,

All forms of intense physical stress will cause a blood pressure increase, isometric included. What ya don't want though, is to drive it up even further unnecessary by over straining, try to relax your face and neck as best you can, dont gripping handles too tightly and making sure to breath properly (avoiding the valsalva maneuver).
The main problem with static holds is your not getting the venous blood return back to the heart, not good for people like me with a history of stroke or those with heart problems. A safer way to preform static holds would be to perform rest pause statics, rather than one prolonged hold, perform 2-3 10 second holds, with 10 second rest pauses.

Yeah mate, just giving my CNS a wee break lol, as Lee Haney used to say "stimulate, not annihilate"

Take it easy
Rob

Had a great day today, it was me and my wife's 9th wedding anniversary and 17th year together, we went for a workout, then for a nice long walk around the marina of our home town, were we seen a wee otter swimming around the rocks as it was getting dark, it stopped what it was doing and came right up to us to have a noisy, then went off about its business, love it when a wild creature decides to spent a wee bit of time with ya:) We then went and had a nice meal together...good times:)

Today's workout was upper body

1. Incline Smith Machine Bench Press - 2 working sets of 6 reps @ 90kgs
2. Seated Chest Supported Row Machine - 2 working sets of 8 reps @ 87.5kgs
3. Dips - 2 working sets of 8 reps @ BW
4. EZ-Curl Bar Curls - 2 working sets of 8 reps @ 42.5kgs

Since am taking my time between sets, i followed the workout up with some HIIT on a cross-trainer for 18 minutes. No sets were to failure, am adding a little weight to the bar on every movement, every workout. Back to just two workouts per week, three workouts per week is proving to be of no additional benefit. Although, since upping my frequency by just one day extra per week, my left shoulder has began to fair up a bit, been managing the problem with an anti inflammatory gel, so am hoping the decreased frequency helps. Anyho, legs are up next on Wednesday or Thursday. Later's