vegansludge Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 01.21.12Arm and Chest Hypertrophy Woke up in a bad mood, lounged around the house not really feeling like doing much even though I knew I should have been more productive on my day off. After checking out the new powerlifting class standards, having a toaster pop covered in PB2 as a pre-workout meal, I decided that since the only thing I was really looking forward to was the gym, I should probably actually get there and start working my ass off to reach my goals. I also figured if I was going to be a baby with my unnecessarily foul mood, I might as well do something that could possible cause it like, you know, crunches.All joking aside, it did feel good to bust out some leg raises and side bends. Since I’ve seriously been considering adding a day of treadmill pushes, farmer’s walks, and cleans, I could probably also make that “core” day as well. Of course, I haven’t committed to adding this in since I’m unsure as to if it would completely go against my promise to not fuck with the PHAT outline.What I do need to fuck with is my macros and my calories. I weighed in at a hydrated 121.5lbs in jeans, a t-shirt, and socks today after having eaten a pre-work out meal about 30 minutes beforehand.Despite the disappointing weight-in, my mood’s improved a little bit, mostly because I came home and decided to start making chili. Everyone in my family has their own “secret” recipe and we all argue about which is the best so it’s like the ultimate comfort food for me. Well, besides pizza but I … may or may not have picked up a Tofurky pizza to have later this week because it was $4.00 off at my work. Don’t worry, I got the cheese-only one so no going back on my anti-gluten words.I also found out that unfrosted Pop-Tarts are vegan. http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS8F-KrQylCyboYRlNtKiS1GOA7SBraASWhtK9_krEzuJGtQQUUZhM7Shxo Though, today I did have an Amy's toaster pop for breakfast. See food n00dz. OutworkBarbell Bench Press8x456x3x65Notes: So, only about mid-way through these did I realize I didn’t adhere to PHAT exactly but I also was killing these in terms of speed and form so I finished them out with higher weight than I should have. Adapative training is still my jam. Which is why these were super-setted with the following. Incline dumbbell bench press5x207x15Notes: Wasn’t planning on these at all today but I had a pretty good pump from the speed sets and figured why not. Strict curls with EZ-bar10x3010x406x5010x50Notes: The new class standards for powerlifting were released a few weeks ago and I finally got around to looking at them. Strict curls are now classified (though they do not count toward your total) so I wanted to try them out for the first time. I was disappointed with the 6x50 so I gave myself a little longer rest period and was happy with the results. Hammer curls8x202x15x20Notes: I dropped weight on these after the first set because of what I talked about in the intro. I think a lot of it had to do with doing the strict curls first but we’ll see as the weeks pass. Tricep pushdown with rope attachment12x7012x802x10x90Notes: No mercy for my tris on hypertrophy day. None. Cable flyes12x3010x3012x20Notes: My joints thank me for doing these instead of with dumbbells but I can’t help but feel, for some reason, like I’m cheating not using free weights. Cable high curls8x2010x20Notes: Someone at the gym should me these and I wanted to try them out. I can dig on them when I’m feeling exceptionally bro-y. Machine chest press2x10x4010x50Notes: Machine or not, I always feel these the next day. Plus, I decided I was going to do push-ups today anyway. Might start doing flat bench, though. Dips10x90 assisted10x100 assisted Chin up10x100 assistedPull ups10x90 assisted10x100 assistedNotes: Pathetic as always. I might switch these to earlier into the routine/onto power days, too. Hanging leg raises2x101x7 Crunches50 Dumbbell side bends10x2010x25 Push-ups50 kneelingNotes: I can actually do “real” push-ups but I got through like 15 and my arms didn’t want them. I stuck with these even though they look kind of wimpy. Hell, it wasn’t until recently that I’ve been able to do the real deal so no care. Macros: 25/151/224 Expect more things like this with the PT find. Also a friend asked me how I was spending my Saturday; I responded with this photo:http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly6mz3k15M1r3mlz8.png And the words "Getting swole, NBD." She didn't respond for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xChrisZx Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Getting shredded! Your delts are killing it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewybaws Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I hate your guys pictures of food. I'm always sitting eating something shitty when I stumble across these pictures haha. I wish I could make stuff like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 01.22.12Shoulder and back hypertrophy day Con: I woke up later than I wanted.Pro: I slept for almost eight hours. Con: I didn’t make coffee this morning.Pro: I made my new favorite pre-work out snack: a peanut butter sandwich with mini-waffles for bread. Con: The new bros at my gym do all the bro things that I once believed were internet jokes. Pro: I now have quality entertainment during my quality work-outs. Con: Not adding weight to my “big” lifts leaves me momentarily unsatisfied.Pro: Adding reps to sets, instead of weight to reps, makes concentrating on form, ROM, and explosiveness that much more important and satisfying. Con: Somehow Underoath ended up on my iPhone iTunes when I updated it.Pro: So did Taking Back Sunday's Tell All Your Friends album. Con: Because I woke up late, I didn’t have time to make myself lunch.Pro: I made it to work early and was able to throw together a spinach salad with Thai TVP to have waiting for me on my break. Con: New England won.Pro: The Giants are the NFC champs! Con: I worked the late shift.Con: Now, I’m wiped out and still have about 800 calories to fill and I’m not very hungry.Pro: Hopefully whatever I end up eating to fill in my macros.Work outStanding dumbbell shoulder press12x208x208x15Notes: Some guy was doing rows in the rack so I opted for these instead of speed on barbell overhead press. Closer to 65% of my max but with higher reps was my compromise to stick with PHAT. Bent over barbell rows8x456x3x65Notes: Didn’t add any weight to stick with PHAT but increased speed. Just set the bar down, took a breath, then went right into the next set. Seated dumbbell shoulder press2x12x15Notes: Rep increases. Side lateral raises2x15x15Notes: Rep increases. Will be re-upping the weight on the next round since I’m getting full ROM on these with 15s. Overhead front raises2x12x10Notes: Weight and rep increases on these. I’m not going to do regular front raises any more – I only want to be able to get them over my head and won’t be bumping weight on them until I can do them for 2x12. Upright cable rows2x12x70Notes: Like buttah but less gross and more vegan. Cable shrugs2x15x170Notes: Should have weight higher on weights. Lateral pulldowns12x5012x5512x60Notes: I wanted to do these with 70s but I’ll take the rep increases and bump the weight next time around. Long pulls2x12x70Notes: Hot. Damn. These burned today. Reverse cable flyes2x12x20Notes: I love flyes now. Seriously. Macros currently 18/109/137 but will edit them once I figure out what I want to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 01.23.12Rest Day As soon as I rolled (yes, literally, rolled) out of bed today, I knew I wasn’t going to be on my A-game – yesterday’s session, for whatever reason, sure did a number on my shoulders and I felt it all day long. The soreness was a welcomed feeling, though, as it’s relatively easy to tell the difference between a “good” soreness and a “bad” soreness from the previous day’s work out. This was definitely the “good” kind.Other than that, today was pretty average, even nutrition-wise. I went all (bro-)out today since I knew I was going to be having a couple of drinks after (what turned into a long, grueling day at) work. No real complaints, though, since I love me some spinach salad, rice cakes, and shakes. Macros are currently set to end up around 10/133/200 (drinks included) which I know is under my target goal but I’ll make up for it tomorrow. No sense in trying to cram food down with brews when it’ll be more useful around tomorrow’s heavy leg day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Nice journal! How are you performing your front squats just out of interest? If you are getting ATG it's probably worth learning how to squat Olympic style as opposed to the more popular 'crossed arms' version which most people seem to perform. It's not incorrect, but it's not the optimal way. When you cross your arms, you are more likely to let your back round when the weight gets heavy and therefore throw your form off and lose the weight in front of you. Rounding your upper back can also lead to injury b/c it's no lnger tight (arched back). Using the Olympic style is more efficient. It automatically puts you upright which will make it easier to keep your back arched and therefore allow you to lift more weight. Also, it's easier to keep your elbows up using the Olympic technique instead of crossing your arms, so you can purely focus on just lifting the weight. The weight should sit on your clavicles and your shoulders should keep them in place. Just my 2c of course, your food photos look amazing !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Also, I feel it's possibly worth me mentioning that I often notice the majority of people performing this movement incorrectly when it comes to foot position and ROM. Ideally you need to front squat with your feet at shoulder width or a bit closer, that's assuming that you are looking to work primarily your outer quads? Don't cut your ROM short either; it's hamstring to calves for the bottom position and not parallel, or above (which is even worse)! You'll find it easier to squat to that degree if you use a small block of wood or a small weight plate under your heels when performing the lift. This added height will help open up positions as well as helping to open your pelvis allowing your squat lower, and squat easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Nice journal! How are you performing your front squats just out of interest? If you are getting ATG it's probably worth learning how to squat Olympic style as opposed to the more popular 'crossed arms' version which most people seem to perform. It's not incorrect, but it's not the optimal way. When you cross your arms, you are more likely to let your back round when the weight gets heavy and therefore throw your form off and lose the weight in front of you. Rounding your upper back can also lead to injury b/c it's no lnger tight (arched back). Using the Olympic style is more efficient. It automatically puts you upright which will make it easier to keep your back arched and therefore allow you to lift more weight. Also, it's easier to keep your elbows up using the Olympic technique instead of crossing your arms, so you can purely focus on just lifting the weight. The weight should sit on your clavicles and your shoulders should keep them in place. Just my 2c of course, your food photos look amazing !! First, thanks for the comments about the journal and food photos! I want to try and put as much of "myself" into the log as I can, though some days are better for that than others. About front squats - no crossed arms here. I've always known it was an option but, like you said, it's not optimal and ever since I've gotten it into my head that I want to compete, the thought of injury terrifies me so I've never even tried it out. I really do appreciate the advice, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Great to hear, refreshing to hear someone performing them the way they are meant to be done !! Keep up the good work MF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Great to hear, refreshing to hear someone performing them the way they are meant to be done !! Keep up the good work MF. Hell yeah! I don't cross my arms on front squats and it's only recently been brought to my attention that I've always done low-bar squats, which is good since I'm looking to eventually do powerlifting comps. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 01.24.12Lower-body POWER DayI talk a lot about “making progress” instead of setting goals. Anybody can say “that’s my goal” with ‘that’ being any number of ambitious and brave things. ‘That’ could be signing a record contract, being drafted into the NHL, publishing a novel, competing in the UFC; ‘that’ could be something as simple as reading 52 books in one year, saving half of every paycheck for the next six months, or collecting every Bruce Springsteen album on vinyl. I have no problem with wanting to do something. I do have a problem with setting goals, though.To me, goals are just words on a page or thoughts in your head – having a goal requires no action, just simply wanting to take action. Goals should never become “concrete;” they should be instantaneous – you should recognize your desire to do or obtain something and then, if this desire is strong enough, immediately, or soon after that recognition, starting taking action to actually do or obtain it. Until you do, that desire is simply that – a desire. Writing down your goals onto a piece of paper doesn’t get you any closer to them; it just means you wrote something down that you’d like to, maybe someday, accomplish.You accomplish these things by making progress. And you make progress by having the drive to turn a mere thought into a reality. By taking action.So, today, I went into my workout after working the opening shift at work on five hours of sleep after a night of drinking some brews and whiskey and I wanted to do one thing: pull one rep of 1.4xBW on deadlifts.I squatted 1.4xBW.I deadlifted 1.4xBW.I leg pressed 3xBW.I made progress. OutworkBarbell Squat8x455x1205x1405x1505x1555x1603x1652x170Notes: It was more like 2.5x170 but if it’s not parallel, I don’t want it. These felt fucking great. I’m hoping that means the plateau I felt coming on has decided to raise itself a bit so I can keep adding weight. We’ll see, though. Deadlifts5x1155x1455x1555x1603x1651x170Notes: I really wanted to rep the 170 but after squats, I just couldn’t make it happen. I actually pulled it twice but my back was far too rounded for me to think about counting it. I won’t be adding any more weight to these for a while either so I can make sure that form is perfect since it started slipping on the 165. Seated calf raise5x172.55x1755x177.5Notes: 5 second holds on each rep; could have went higher but I’ll save it for hypertrophy. Incline leg press5x2305x2705x3205x360Notes; I’m not going to lie. These made me feel like a fucking tank. I cannot believe I repped the 360. It was completely ass-to-ankle but it was damn close enough. Won’t bump weight until it is legit ATA and repped, though. Seated leg curls5x805x905x1005x1108x80Notes: These were supposed to be 100, 110, 120, and 130. However, after deads, squats, and leg presses, I was already pushing an hour and a half in the gym/had the kind of jelly legs that made me question my ability to drive home. Maybe that’s an excuse but I’d rather give them my all on hypertrophy day. Same thing with lunges – which is why I didn’t do them today. Macros are set to be 36/140/205 after I hit up Chipotle later (sorry, Meech) so I’ll update this with some food n00dz and the “final” macros tomorrow morning. For now, I have articles to read, note, and write. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Great work, be careful on overtraining though. DL's and squats are a tough double to put into one session with the effort you are putting in there ~ and you carried on to hit leg presses after that ?! Not knocking you at all, I just know I would be beat after all of that and your session was a long one. You making today a recovery day? I train singles, doubles and triples usually only once a month and I never train for longer than an hour. Keep blasting it though, I find it inspiring to read through what you do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Great work, be careful on overtraining though. DL's and squats are a tough double to put into one session with the effort you are putting in there ~ and you carried on to hit leg presses after that ?! Not knocking you at all, I just know I would be beat after all of that and your session was a long one. You making today a recovery day? I train singles, doubles and triples usually only once a month and I never train for longer than an hour. Keep blasting it though, I find it inspiring to read through what you do! I've been following Layne Norton's PHAT pretty closely with my major change being traditional deads instead of SLDL on Power Days and then doing SLDL on Hypertrophy days. For a while I was alternating the order of the lifts so that, if one week my deads suffered, I'd hit them first the next week, but have had a harder time doing that since my gym has become more crowded. So, with following PHAT, I don't have a recovery day until after I do my Upper-Body Power Day tomorrow. For the first two weeks, I'll be honest and say it was rough but now my body's gotten used to the ON/ON/OFF/ON/ON/ON/OFF split, especially since it's divided into upper/lower days. Today was also the first time I'd done singles and doubles in forever as I've made it a rule of thumb not to bump weights on any bench, deads, OHP, rows, and squats unless I can perform a set of five reps with that particular weight. Since I had don't singles/doubles in I can't remember how long and I've been feeling a plateau coming on, I wanted to give them a shot. Because of that, today was also the first work out in a long time that took longer than an hour which I definitely didn't enjoy. I was considering doing singles and doubles on my bench tomorrow but after today's session, I might hold off until the next cycle. I also wanted to say I seriously appreciate your input - I was reading over your blog and I'm really glad you've taken the time to read my log and give me some feedback since you're pretty well versed in powerlifting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Layne knows his stuff with regards to training. I don't agree with him about everything (he doesn't buy into the whole vegetarian/vegan thing) and only a few days ago he dismissed Dr. Campbells China study as rubbish, which surprised me. Oh well, that's another story... No worries about checking in on your log, always take anything I say as constructive rather than a criticism! Feel free to comment on my journal too, I'm a competitive powerlifter but I'm a small guy just working as I hard as I can. I'm probably nothing amazing by any stretch of the imagination, I just enjoy doing what I do whether that's running, triathlons or throwing weights around hehe. Training wise I'm running Wendler's 5/3/1 right now, before starting that I think I was maxing out on my big compound lifts more than I should have been and it was starting to slow down my progress. Will check in soon, until then keep hitting it hard. Your username makes me laugh btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 GOALSShort-termUnassisted pull-ups1.5xBW Squat1.5xBW Deadlift1xBW Bench Long-term600lb total12lb muscle gainPersonal trainer certifiedNatural powerlifting competitorTo be as strong as I can beGreat goals. Aim high (but realistic) and don't let your mind dictate what your body thinks it is capable of. Visualise and achieve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Layne knows his stuff with regards to training. I don't agree with him about everything (he doesn't buy into the whole vegetarian/vegan thing) and only a few days ago he dismissed Dr. Campbells China study as rubbish, which surprised me. Oh well, that's another story... No worries about checking in on your log, always take anything I say as constructive rather than a criticism! Feel free to comment on my journal too, I'm a competitive powerlifter but I'm a small guy just working as I hard as I can. I'm probably nothing amazing by any stretch of the imagination, I just enjoy doing what I do whether that's running, triathlons or throwing weights around hehe. Training wise I'm running Wendler's 5/3/1 right now, before starting that I think I was maxing out on my big compound lifts more than I should have been and it was starting to slow down my progress. Will check in soon, until then keep hitting it hard. Your username makes me laugh btw. I really respect and admire Layne but, like you said, I don't agree with him about everything. He,along with Alan Aragon, Lyle McDonald, and a few other guys, have been huge inspirations for me despite them not being vegan athletes. I did see him talking about the China Study and just shook my head - I lurk the bodybuilding.com boards a lot and there's always a lot of backlash when someone posts about a plant-based diet for bodybuilding, etc. Just makes me want to work that much harder to keep smashing down those stereotypes and be a strong, vegan, female powerlifter. I've been keeping up with your journal since I subscribed to it and thought I'd already commented on it. Looked today and realized I hadn't! I'll get right on that. Again, thanks. Your username makes me smile - plus, you really are a "mini" forklift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I just started following you on Twitter as well btw, I don't use it much but it's cool to see what's going and keep up with thing that interest me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 I just started following you on Twitter as well btw, I don't use it much but it's cool to see what's going and keep up with thing that interest me. I've recently caught the Twitter bug since a lot of the people who I think are doing good things in the fitness industry (i.e. dispelling myths about training and nutrition that industry itself has created) tweet about articles/research much more frequently than they update things personal blogs/websites. I'll warn you, though, my tweets are pretty obnoxious since I think, for the most part, Twitter's pretty silly and my life is relatively boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I just started following you on Twitter as well btw, I don't use it much but it's cool to see what's going and keep up with thing that interest me. I've recently caught the Twitter bug since a lot of the people who I think are doing good things in the fitness industry (i.e. dispelling myths about training and nutrition that industry itself has created) tweet about articles/research much more frequently than they update things personal blogs/websites. I'll warn you, though, my tweets are pretty obnoxious since I think, for the most part, Twitter's pretty silly and my life is relatively boring.X 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 01.25.12Upper-Body Power Day Not having a set work schedule is just not conducive to my extremely specific, and somewhat contradictory, pattern of living. For example, I generally am in a much better mood if I wake before 10:00 a.m. but I am also more productive later in the evening – some of my best lifting sessions have started at 8:00 a.m. and some of my best writing has taken place after 2:00 a.m. Conversely, I sometimes have phenomenal sessions after working the closer and the poem that won me that Academy of American Poets award from my alma mater was written after waking up 6:00 a.m.The reason I’m including these random facts about myself is that, this morning, I didn’t get out of bed until 11:00 a.m. and, while that meant I got in a solid eight and a half hours of sleep, it also put me in a horrid mood right up until I loaded the plates for my first set of bent over rows (which, in turn, did little to really alleviate my bad mood – it just simply turned it into concern for my lower back but more on that in a bit). I know I need to sleep big to get big but I also coined the axiom: the amount of hours in the day is directly proportional to the amount of peanut butter in my kitchen -- never enough. So, when I wake up two and half hours later than I planned, I get cranky.Pair that with the fact that when I walked into my gym, there was a line for the rack, meaning I’d be even further “behind” for the day, well, let’s just say I wasn’t a pleasant person to be around until about 2:00 p.m.However, while I was waiting, a simple conclusion came to me: since my work schedule comes out every Thursday, I’m going to sit down with my hours and map-out my week so that I can maximize my efforts on all fronts of my life – in the gym, on the page, and in my head. It sounds relatively silly but since I know the patterns of my gym’s “regulars” and I know what does or doesn’t make training optimal, I think this will help alleviate the rushed and unorganized feeling my life has come to embody recently. /tangent Now, onto the work out. First, the negative(s).01.) As I mentioned, rows felt decidedly wrong today, particularly in my lower back. After my session, I decided to look back over my log to confirm what I’d already known: this has been the case for quite some time and I’ve been somewhat ignoring it. No more. I didn’t add any weight, I dropped reps, and, probably foolishly, played with grip-widths to see if this had anything to do with it – definitely not the case. I’m going to take tomorrow’s rest day to really evaluate what I want to do about it (deload, sub, or cut the lift). 02.) I hate not having a spotter. Now, the positive(s).01.) Following PHAT even more closely and putting an emphasis on bodyweight exercises on upper-body power day was a great idea. I really have to push myself with dips and pull-ups because, like I’ve said many times, I’m extremely week in my upper-half and the feeling I get from these is great. And with the addition of rack chins, I definitely am understanding the hype surrounding these types of exercises.02.) My standing shoulder press. I know that five pound increase seems pretty insignificant but I cannot articulate how much stronger I felt on this lift today. My first three sets were not a struggle. At. All. I was even tempted to go for 60lbs after the first set of 55 but chose not to – if I keep following my program the way I am, I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be able to get 0.5xBW in the next couple of weeks.03.) I felt pretty smashed after today’s session even though I cut out a lot of assistance lifts (no long pulls, no dumbbell rows, no skull-crushers) and I think it’s because of the increase in both my bench and OHP. Verdict: Pleased with the session overall, now just to address the issue with rows and my weight – I’ve “stagnated” at 121.5 pounds precisely. OutworkAssisted dips2x10: 90lbsNotes: Started with these while waiting for the rack. Definitely not ideal for my big lifts or for these as I could have done them with 80, or maybe even 70, but I didn’t want to blow my compounds. Bent over barbell rows5x705x755x805x854x904x804x80Notes: Like I said in the intro, these most certainly felt off today. I don’t know if it’s from the heavy leg day yesterday (though I don’t think it is) or if my form is off but I’m either going to deload, sub these, or scrap them altogether for a while. Not sure yet. Barbell bench press6x553x605x705x753x803x80Notes: I stopped the set of 60s because I realized that’s what I should have started with and I didn’t want to blow my working sets any more than I already did by starting with dips. However, the 2x3x80 would have been 2x5x80 if I actually had a spotter. Standing barbell overhead press6x455x505x553x552x55Notes: These seriously felt incredible today. Well, incredible for me. No complaints whatsoever. Assisted pull-ups2x10: 90lbsNotes: Need to put serious work into these (and dips). Rack chins2x10Notes: Since this was my first time doing these, I took it easy to get a feel for them: did the first set with the bar set at shoulder height when standing upright, performed the second set with it at chest height when standing upright. Will be continuously lowering the bar as I feel comfortable with to work toward doing them weighted and with feet on a bench. Tricep pushdowns with rope attachment9x8010x906x100Notes: Now we’re talking. The 100s were killer and I won’t be bumping weight on them until I can 2x15 for those. Strict curls with EZ-bar6x406x506x601x70Notes: These are a lot harder than I gave them initial credit. The last rep was testing the waters for hypertrophy day. Seated dumbbell shoulder press7x208x206x20Notes: I could have easily gotten 10 reps on the first set but I left some in the tank so I could do all three sets. These went up extremely easily even after all my other lifts. It’s nice to actually feel my shoulders getting stronger.NutritionPre-WO: Nada. http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lydwamAFP81r3mlz8.jpgBerry protein shake and cinnamon, apple, and pomegranate oatmeal. (I don’t like pomegranate so I offered up the fruit on top in exchange for the coffeeshop letting me use their microwave. Barter and trade rules.) http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lydwecdjue1r3mlz8.jpg Snacks: Not pictured but I think they'll deserve their own post anyway. Total: 62/134/217 (37) ~1962Notes: Fat’s a little higher than normal but I’ve also been taking in sub 0.5g per pound of body weight on most days so I don’t mind the slight bump. I’m not worried about not hitting 2,000 today since my fucking food scale broke so there’s a chance I’m over on some things, under on others. Will be picking up a new one either tomorrow or by the weekend. More importantly, I’m not sure how I feel about my target macros anymore but I won’t be altering them for a while. Why? Because I just decided today that I’m going to do a pre-WO meal for the next two weeks - one week with fast-release carbs followed by one week with slow-release to do a comparison – and, if this really does affect my sessions positively, I’ll be less-inclined to decrease my CHO/re-up my protein and fat like I’ve been considering. If anybody's interested, I’m going to be documenting this slow vs. fast carb experiment in a series of video-logs which will largely consist of me sitting on my ass, eating, first, bowls of sugary cereals, pop-tarts, waffles, then a week later, oatmeal concoctions, rice cakes, and whole grain toast, while running my mouth about IIFYM, veganism, and the food industry (especially since I know I run the risk of getting some flack for actually buying products from companies I don’t necessarily want to support for the sake of trying to dispel some myths surrounding veganism and nutrition, both together and independently, while also seeing if the hype surrounding Pop-Tarts is deserved). I had planned on just posting them on my tumblr but, if people want, I could throw them up on here as well, especially since I plan on videoing all my power days from here on out, if not to post, at least for my own reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mini Forklift Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I gotta step up my journal. yours is so detailed and complete with amazing pictures of food that I'm afraid I might not be able to sleep tonight !! I just skim read it now (I don't lie), will re-read through all of it tonight when my attention span is a little better. I like your bartering skills, genius !! Oh, and I answered your leg press question in my journal earlier this arvo. Cheers ears, MF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Rest Day01.26.12 I made a serious mistake yesterday before work. I started watching the documentary If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front. Approximately a half an hour into the documentary, a man who worked in the logging industry, but also considers himself an environmentalist, states the following: “The industry tends to color environmentalist radical. The reality is that 95% of the standing native forest in the United States have been cut down. It’s not radical to try and save the last 5% - what’s radical is logging 95%” - he motions to an empty valley “this is radical.” I had to stop the documentary even though I had plenty of time before work to finish it. The atrocities of mankind are no longer shocking to me – I spent my years as an undergraduate as a fiery “radical” environmentalist, eating leftovers off people’s plates so they wouldn’t go to waste, jumping into to dumpsters to get my food for the summer, and recycling and repurposing everything in sight all while spouting my extreme philosophies at anyone who would listen (or pick up the school newspaper). Since then, I’ve become soft and while I could chalk it up to “growing up,” I feel like that’s a cop-out because know that’s not just it. It goes deeper than that. I didn’t just “grow up,” I “sold out.” I’ve settled, somewhat discontentedly of course, into my current routine of having a 40-hour work week (at a place I don’t necessarily believe aligns with my morals and ethics) because the pay is good and not really much else other than that, the gym, and my measly little online blogs. I’ve also settled into not being as passionate about certain things that mean quite a bit to me, namely environmentalism, which is something I didn’t admit to myself until yesterday morning. This was a solid punch to the jaw as my passion for environmentalism is what led me to becoming vegan – it was the area of social justice that moved me the most and now I do little, if anything, on a day-to-day basis about it. Of course, I’ve also made up excuses as to why I can’t do much about, ones made largely out of fear. Fear of losing my job, fear of my neighbors judging me, fear of … things I used to scoff at just months ago ... Unlike my other entries, this one doesn’t have some nice little closing statement – yesterday was pretty taxing mentally as I spent the majority of it inside my head, weighing my options, truly assessing my current position, and being completely honest with myself about how unhappy I’ve been about some things. I wouldn’t say that this is a bad thing, though, just that I don’t have anything extremely ‘final’ to say about it as it's gotten the wheels turning in my head quite rapidly. So, in "conclusion," I'm glad yesterday was a recovery day as I was able to work through things in my head somewhat and can focus on lower-body hypertrophy today and movie-date night with my lady tonight. I think we're getting take out from Melt and watching Thor at our apartment afterward so I am going to destroy my legs to get them ready for all the food I will be ingesting. Gains, anyone? Macros: 50/171/215 I made myself some serious comfort food for dinner last night - my version of chicken and waffles.Hickory and black-pepper grilled tofu, mini-waffles, raspberries and blueberries, with a side of PB2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Sidenote(s): I got videos of speed squats, front squats, and leg press today. I will probably be putting the first two up sometime tonight most likely when I actually update. Avatar is from the 150 deads from a few weeks ago - pissed I don't have the 170 on video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jungleinthefrunk Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I know how you feel about selling out. I have that battle in my head too.....i try to do the "least evil" in many aspects of my life. social work = the least evil profession (although the pay and benefits afford me a great deal of comfort, more than most of my clients have), veganism = less evil way of eating, although i know if i ate more locally it would be better for the environment, adopting all pets = less evil, but still feed them non-vegan cat food... i feel horrible when i look at the tags in my clothes...made in brazil, probably by children... starbucks...when it comes time to buy a new car, id like to go electric..but if the monthly payments are gonna be high, will i do it? probably not...status updates on facebook silly dom mazzetti quotes rather than anything profound that might spark thought in other people..transitioning some of my cosmetics to vegan but not all of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegansludge Posted January 28, 2012 Author Share Posted January 28, 2012 For the most part, I avoid all the companies and products I know that, even if they are vegan, are owned/produced by environmentally destructive parent corporations - from the "obvious" ones like Silk and Boca to even less obvious like Rice Dream (Hain Celestial is also owned by HJ Heinz) but ... occasionally I do slip up and, when I once would have never even not thought to double-check something out, when I do find out ... I've just been shrugging it off. A lot of it comes from being surrounded by people who don't care at all and I got into the mentality of, "well, I'm doing better than most people" - and while that's true, it's disheartening to realize how much I've compromised my principles, morals, and ethics slowly over time without really thinking about it until it all of a sudden smacked me in the face. Today was better than yesterday, though, as I got a lot of things done and I can see the positive in "doing better than most people" instead of the negative. I just want to go back to being more active and pro-active about my beliefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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