VeganEssentials

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I'm not pleased now that I can't bury my head in the sand about pretending I'll just be able to work through the injury, but I needed a good dose of reality! I do my first session with the back specialist tomorrow, not sure exactly what we'll be doing (could be chiro, spinal decompression, physical therapy, massage or a combination of all of them), I'll know more soon. Got in for some upper back/shoulder work tonight, had a good time with it - Weighted pull-ups (narrow grip, hands about 14" apart) - 1x3 @ bodyweight 3x6 @ 45 lbs. added (total weight 290 lbs. fully clothed with added weight), reps done as singles with feet on floor and one deep breath between each one. Standing strict overhead press w/ axle - 1x10 @ empty axle (55 lbs.) 1x3 @ 145 lbs. 5x5 @ 190 3x10 @ 150, triceps getting fried at this point (they're fine with heavy low-rep work, once the reps go up, the triceps crap out on me quickly) New plate-loaded row machine came in last week, put it to the test - 1x12 @ 200 lbs. plus orange band (no added resistance at start, about 40 lbs. added at end of pull) 1x10 @ 230 + band 1x8 @ 250 + band Liked it, chest support keeps my lower back from feeling bad, and it's got 4 different grips to change things up Behind-the-neck wide grip overhead strict press - 2x15 @ 100 lbs. Just some light sets to round out the shoulder stuff Hammer Strength plate-loaded pulldown machine - 3x15 @ 180 lbs. plus green bands (set to add about 20 lbs. extra resistance at start, and about 70 lbs. at finish of the pulldown) Went back to the new plate-loaded row machine once at the end for some light work - 3x25, wide grip, pulling high to work on more scapular retraction to help keep bad shoulder from cocking out more over time That was it, nice session that ended at midnight, taking a walk tomorrow and should do some light hip belt squatting on Tuesday!

Some people do find that changing to a vegan diet does aid in their recovery and reduces soreness. This doesn't happen for everyone, but occasionally I do hear about such a thing happening, which may well be attributed to better post-workout recovery for some after going vegan. Soreness will also dissipate more over time as your body adapts to the training you're doing, not to mention, varying rep schemes tend to have a strong impact on overall soreness aka DOMS. When I trained low-rep with near maximal weights, I NEVER felt a "pump" and was rarely sore. I made my best progress this way, as soreness is NOT an indicator of progress gained in training. When I dropped down to do more moderate to high rep lifting in years past, I found that I was sore more often. When I train 5 reps or less, soreness just isn't a factor for me, but if I'm training well, the gains come quickly even if I feel fine the next day. Now that I train more with sets in th 8-20 rep range at this time, I'm more sore than I was in the past (but find that gains aren't coming as fast as when I train heavy for low reps). Some people do better with higher reps, for me, it primarily builds more muscular endurance and helps with fat loss, and is the only way that I get any real soreness after training. Could be other factors as well, but perhaps your recovery has improved with better nutrition on a vegan diet, or, you're just adapting to the training at a more rapid pace than in the past, allowing for faster recovery, too.

In order of what I feel is the best way to go for building a base on compound movements - Squat (barbell, front squats or plain 'ol back squats, always going to parallel or below), deadlift (regular or Romanian), barbell or dumbbel row, pull-ups/chin-ups, overhead barbell or dumbbell press, and barbell or dumbbell bench press. That range of 6 lifts covers all the major bases (I listed two options for upper back since it can be trained in two planes of movement), each lift a good base for a body part to focus your training around, other movements will be supplementary or complementary to those main lifts. A good place to start, no filler, all good, so consider adding some of those in your training regimen!

1. Nobody needs to really worry about isolation work when they're still trying to build their base. You don't need to worry about "getting better visible pec tie-ins" if you don't have a big chest to begin with or low enough body fat (which would clearly show a lack of need for isolation work if there isn't enough muscle to worry about trying to fine-tune), but countless people end up in the gym every day floundering away with sub-par movements when they'd be better off doing what pays off the best returns, and that would be by doing compound movements. 2. People tend to want the isolation work because there are still countless people who gauge their workouts by the pump or how sore they feel (a big mistake, but one that never seems to cease). I've said it here a million times as example - I could curl a soup can for an hour straight and my arm would be sore as hell from it, but it won't make my bicep larger and won't make me stronger. But, if I were after a "feel" that I thought was the indicator of a good workout, that soup can curling would seem to be the way to go, despite it being worthless. Some of my best gains were made training hard and heavy with low reps and near max weights, and rarely did I have any residual soreness after those sessions. I still left plenty of time for growth and recovery, though, as just because I wasn't limping for days after a leg workout didn't mean I wasn't gaining from it. 3. Doing isolation work removes stabilizer muscles from coming into play, and increases chances of injury. Not a lot of risk when trained along with quality compound freeweight lifts, but if all you did was machine work and isolation stuff thinking it's "safer", then you'd be quite wrong. Best bet is to always start building your base off compound lifts that will give the best overall returns on your invesment of time training, and worry about the small stuff when you're, say, 3/4 of the way to where you want to get. Focusing on the wrong thing from the start just means more hard lessons learned, so don't neglect those compound lifts!

Had a really rough week, put off training for a few days, then finally got to the back specialist I'd been meaning to visit for a very long time. In summary, I'm more of a wreck than originally thought. L2, L3 and L4 vertebrae are all starting to suffer big-time. Discs between each are pancaked down to about 1/4 the desired amount, and bone spurs are starting to form. After a few minutes of talking about where things started to go wrong, it is looking like my timeline of issues goes like this - Lower back strong as hell for years, trained beltless and could start a deadlift warm-up session with 405 lbs. and feel great (not that it was smart, just that my back felt like it was made of steel back then), never got hurt once until the day I hyperextended severely by trying to hold on to an overhead press much longer than I should have. After that, it didn't hurt much once I rested for a few weeks, kept training around it, kept getting stronger everywhere but had stopped deadlifting for a stretch and put my focus into squatting instead. Was good for a while, but that's when I kept popping my QL when squatting heavy and would end up in agonizing pain from it for days or weeks after each injury. That's when it most likely got a lot worse. After the recurring injuries from 3-4 years ago, I ended up unintentionally changing my posture with babying my injured spot, how I sat in a car or on a chair, how I lifted, and put additional unnecessary stresses on the vertebrae by trying to compensate and work around the injured QL. So, a handful of years of poor posture, worsening lifting technique, and sitting hunched over in poor positions has basically helped cause my lower back to turn to crap. It seems that training with a belt has helped me to work around what is normally otherwise painful, but it has only been masking the issue and hasn't prevented damage, rather, it just lets me work THROUGH the damage and is probably helping me to do more bad stuff over time. Add in a pair of fallen arches for some really flat feet, severly messed-up ankles from too many sprains and ligament tears, and my foundation is in shambles as well as my core. So, I go back to the specialist Monday for the full run-down on how we're going to tackle this so that I'm not broken and on pain meds in 5-10 years, like I've said here, getting healthy is priority #1. Even if I end up having to drop my weight back down to the lower 200s again and work more for general fitness this year while fixing the damage, it's better than the alternative. No idea yet where I'm going from here, but chances are I'm going to end up having to drastically change just about everything, so no time like the present to make sure I keep my diet clean, work on feeling better overall, and follow the advice of the specialist to see what we can do. He's got a great reputation for helping a LOT of people in the area go from agonizing pain to being pain-free, so we'll see how well he can do for someone who has mild pain to actually getting their ass strong again one day. So, there might not be a lot of posting for the future until I get settled on a plan of attack, but mark my words, I WILL feel better next year after I put in the time to fix what's wrong!

That right there would be a nice physique to have. Bill Pearl is the MAN.

Keep it up - things are looking good!

Yep, you heard correctly! Thanks for the posts, Sosso - saved me a good chunk of time from having to say it myself!

This is very true. I wouldn't be quick to believe anyone who looks competition-ready and says "I don't watch what I eat", regardless of whether they're clean or using performance-enhancing drugs. More often than not, it's just a cop-out way of saying two main things, likely being 1. "I don't feel like giving up the info on how much planning goes into my meals, I did the work, so you can figure it out", or 2. "My trainer/nutritionist/etc. comes up with all my diet plans, I just eat whatever they tell me to eat" Steroids don't magically reduce bodyfat or keep people continually lean - yes, they increase protein synthesis so you can get more out of your nutrition and they reduce muscle catabolism, but that's about it. If someone is maintaining a build to where they look fantastic all the time and infer they just eat whatever sounds good at the time, it's a quick way to call b.s. on just about all of them because unless you're at the top of the genetic freak ladder, we all have work to do when it comes to eating best for appearance's sake. Lots of guys/girls out there who are not clean due to use of performance enhancing drugs who look bloated or far from "ready to step on stage" condition, so I'd wager that her diet is something she pays a lot of attention to. Now bulking, that's the one time the excuse can actually be true

Thulpa - Yeah, I've learned that slow-and-steady is the way to come back now, all my attempts to rush things as soon as I felt my lifts were strong and starting to click again ended up with me being set back further than when I began. You'd certainly be welcome to come out and train sometime - we've got a 3000 sq. ft. facility with 24 hour access any time I need to go, but most of the time, my training starts no earlier than 9 PM or as late as 11 PM, so my odd hours don't always keep with the schedules most adhere to. But, I'm trying to get to where I'll start making the Saturday sessions that go on around 11 AM or noon (about a a half dozen pro and am strongmen get together to do event work, and a few of the powerlifters come in for their heavy equipped training), so this spring, I'll keep you posted for session times in case you're ever up for making the trek north! Missed a few days due to poor scheduling for training and being too worn out at night, but got in last night for the new approach of going light and beltless to rebuild the lower back, as well as to do a little chest work on top of it - Deadlifts - 1x5 @ 135 lbs. 5x10 @ 225 lbs., just starting very light and will be keeping it this way for a few months. No need to rush to lift heavy and risk getting hurt with my return, so it'll be light lower back work for quite a bit. Flat barbell bench w/ 2" diameter axle - 1x5 @ 145 lbs. 1x3 @ 195 1x2 @ 235 1x1 @ 265 Put on Slingshot, since using it last fall really helped me to get my bench in a better place for a bit - 3x8 @ 270 lbs. Was a fight on sets 2 and 3, not feeling strong right now but it'll happen in a few weeks with consistent benching. Romanian deadlifts - 3x20 @ 135 lbs. Again, sticking light, even if it feels like I'm practically using an empty bar Incline semi-close grip barbell bench (hands about 3" outside of torso width) - 3x5 @ 180 lbs., 1 second pause on chest each rep Hammer Strength plate-loaded shrug machine - 3x50 @ 275 lbs., nice and easy endurance shrugging Horizontal banded bench press setup (old plate-stack macine that now has band pegs to add resistance) - 3x20 w/ two purple and one orange band, felt like around 75 lbs. at start and around 150 lbs. at finish of press, all reps done for speed Nothing complicated, might just get back to lifting again tonight if I can get out of work for a bit!

Count in one has-been for doing some occasional event training! Well, everything for the most part except yoke carrying, the only thing that's ever given me knee problems. That's the one event I could certainly be happy never doing again.

Hey, xVeganDestroyerx! Believe me, some days I can barely get moving and motivated due to low energy when I get to the gym - I've had a handful of sessions this past year where I went in, warmed up, knew something was off, and waited until the next day. While it's nice to try and always be on plan, sometimes life throws a curve and waiting one more day or two is the best thing for a good workout. Don't worry too much about it, just hit it hard in the next day or two when energy levels are better, and it'll be good!

Damned fine deadlifting going on there!

Here's to feeling better this year, SeaSiren! If you ever are looking for contacts for training in your neck of the woods to help with strongman/woman training, take a stop by marunde-muscle.com - lots of people from Michigan on the board, most have regular training groups and love to get new people involved who are curious about the sport. You are right, comps can really vary greatly (not quite as much as they did during the 90s and early 2000s when there were some really strange events thrown in on occasion), so it's never easy to know what to expect. Most of the time, comps will have events listed months before they come around (allowing a bit more work to tailor your training toward that specific contest), but in general, it's always a good idea to keep the squatting, deadlifting, rowing and overhead lifting the regular non-event focus as those 4 things will have the best overall carryover. One thing that might prove to be good if you're interested in getting into the game is that, apparently there's a new movement for more entry-level strongman/woman contests in the works at a national level, and I hear it's going to be coming on pretty strong this year. So, while much of what has been done was tailored toward those who were experienced or had a big strength base built already, it's going to let a lot more people dabble in the sport with more moderate (but still challenging) weights to promote the sport better instead of it being a haven for washed-up and disenfranchised ex-powerlifters I think that the astounding commercial success of CrossFit has spurred the strongman community to want to get a slice of that pie as well for all the money and attention that's come about In any case, let me know if I can ever help out. I can usually help steer people toward finding local training groups, where to find equipment, or, for locating contests in your area, so just say the word if I can be of any assistance!

So many to reply to! SeaSiren - during the month I didn't get to our facility (I'll try and get some updated pics online soon, it's evolving rapidly!), my business partner Kirk came across a used Hammer Strength ultra-tall rack that has almost 9 feet of inside clearance, meaning it's one of those rare racks where I can press iniside it and not slam into the top supports. I'm definitely liking it so far, but of course, Kirk stuffed it into the corner with the water heater, so I'm expecting that one day a loose plate will come crashing down on it and I'll be calling the emergency plumber for a quick fix...we'll see if disaster strikes in time, but at least we now have 4 power racks, so even if we've got a good sized crew training, we've got enough equipment! Steve - Thanks for checking out the log! Always good to meet someone else who has a powerlifting background and loves throwing around heavy poundages. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that sooner or later, I'll be free of the injuries that have held me back for so long so that I can FINALLY work into competing again one day. For now, it's slow-and-steady, getting healthy and out of the rut of repeated injury is mission #1. Hope your training goes well, too! And, finally, JohnV - Thanks much, I'm looking forward to following your progress this year as well, here's to hoping that 2012 is the best one yet!

Looking good so far, xVeganDestroyerx! Here's to seeing you reach that 170 lb. mark soon enough!

Just sent you an email, Jesse - looking forward to helping you out as much as possible with getting healthier and feeling better than ever!

Glad to see you back as well, SS! Looks like we're in the same boat, making 2012 the "year of feeling healthy". Sorry to hear about the fibro diagnosis, hopefully it's something that will get under better control with some changes to diet. To ask, have you had vitamin D level testing in recent months? Just want to check, as I was diagnosed with a severe deficiency this summer (no energy, insane mood swings leading to deep depression, inexplicable aches and pains, felt like I was dying some days, etc.), and it came down to the fact that my rock-bottom D levels were a major factor. 3 months of treatment later and all the problems went away, strange that something so simple can be a big issue, but it can be! And, knowing that you moved to Michigan a while back most likely means less sunlight taken in (the Midwesterner's curse!), so just wanted to throw that out there if for any reason you haven't had your D levels tested in some time. After the hell I went through this year, I always preach the importance of making sure everyone gets their levels checked regularly if things seem to be out of whack with their health! Looking forward to following your training again!

onlybrad - if I'm eating 25-35% protein (I'm currently at about 30%), I keep the fat intake higer and don't usually let the carbs get out of hand. I tend to make sure I'm getting 20-25% of my calories from healthy fats via nuts or oils as I feel better with more fat than with less. When I'm trying to bulk, or, during periods where I'm lower on energy, I keep the carbs up around 40-50% just to ensure I'm getting enough calories (too hard for me to get enough with just protein and fats during those periods), but when I'm cutting down, I up the protein to closer to 35-40% and the carbs usually come down to about 30% on average for total calories taken in and fats make up the difference. Much easier during those times as I'll be taking in about 800 calories less per day, so I don't end up having to increase protein, I just usually end up decreasing the carbs and things balance themselves out!

Clean bulking favorites, lots of well-spiced tofu and seitan in massive quantities, usually mixed in with black eyed peas, spinach and/or collard greens, onions and brown rice (throw in some hot sauce and it's a winner!), not to mention lots of nuts/seeds and Vega protein powders. Also, lots of high protein/lower carb multi-grain breads (one I get locally has 6g protein per slice and only 7g carbs), put on some peanut butter or organic fruit spreads and it's good. When I get on a kick for my favorite fresh fruits like pears, bananas and grapes, I definitely put down plenty of those as well. Not-so-clean bulking favorites would include vegan candies and chips - give me a bag of the Sweet Chili Lime Doritos and a bag of licorice or hard candies and I'm good to go for stuffing myself with crap foods. And, of course, vegan pizzas, my downfall and cause of putting on about 8 lbs. in 7 weeks of not training and eating way too much over the holidays!

Glad to be back, Robert! Yeah, only a few days and already my journal was at the bottom of page 2, definitely the most activity I've seen in a long time! Upper back and shoulder work last night - Barbell rows in rowing rack setup - 1x5 @ 135 lbs. 1x5 @ 225 3x8 @ 265 Standing strict overhead press w/ 2" diameter axle - 1x10 @ 55 lbs. (empty axle) 1x5 @ 85 lbs. 1x3 @ 145 lbs. 10x3 @ 200 lbs., felt easier than expected, first 5 sets felt like I could have hit 5-6 reps on each. I guess I can always count on my shoulder strength keeping up even if it gets neglected for a month or two! Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral plate-loaded pulldown machine - 1x10 @ 100 lbs. plus green bands (about 120 lbs. at start, 200 lbs. at finish of each pull) 1x10 @ 150 " " (170/250) 1x10 @ 200 " " (220 / 300) Testing to see where I need to keep weight set with the bands attached for desired reps. First set, weight flew up like it was nothing, 2nd set just a bit of fight, 3rd set was just right, might have been able to get a few more, but reps were challenging enough! Standing 1/3 overhead presses in new power rack (about 8" ROM from start of press to lockout) with axle - 1x15 @ 220 lbs. 1x18 " " 1x20 " " Seemed to get into the groove better with each set, was able to add reps each time. Seated cable row with V handle - 3x15 @ 220 lbs. Seated cable pulldown "stretchers" with V-handle, pulling down to sternum - 3x25 @ 120 lbs. Originally was planning on doing some light deadlifts tonight, but that workout taxed the heck out of me since I'm still getting used to training again, so one day off today and should be hitting it tomorrow or Friday!

Since different people respond to diets differently, it would be pretty well impossible to prove that a higher protein diet is better than a high carb diet, especially once you factor in other conditions such as type of training done (strength training requires more protein for optimal results, endurance training requires more carbs for optimal results). Me, I do best with higher protein (25-35% of my calories), moderate fat and carbs, but that may not be the case for the next person. I'm much more carb-sensitive that some, so carbs are the knife in my back when it comes to fat loss, but are my friend for being able to take in enough calories when I'm training to get bigger/stronger. So, not only will individual details such as goals, training, etc. play into effect, but everyone also has to consider their individual differences of how they respond to certain macronutrient ratios as well. Basically, there's no "perfect" diet for every person with every goal - diets should be tailored best around one's goals at the current time!

NYE light leg day training along with some easy chest work - Flat BB bench - 1x5 @ 135 lbs. 1x3 @ 185 1x5 @ 220, 225, 230, 235, 240 Definitely not feeling back to speed with these after the first session, usually takes a month to get the groove back. Hip Belt squats with weight hanging from loading pin, done standing on two stacks of plates about 16" tall (with hanging weight on pin between two stacks for full ROM reps to parallel) 3x20 @ 135 lbs., very easy going light with the hip belt 1x20 @ 185 1x20 @ 225, just starting to take some effort at this weight with high reps Just learning how to use the hip belt squat setup, a bit tricky at times, but pain-free on the lower back and definitely gave the legs a bit of work, albeit light. Might try to set up with a barbell next time, just to see if it works a bit more easily than via loading pin. Close-grip flat BB bench - 3x25 @ 135 lbs. Glute/Ham raises - 3x25 @ bodyweight Short and simple for last night, was pretty tired but I'm committed to getting stuff back on track again, so no excuses not to make it. Good news as well, left knee that was giving me trouble this past fall barely hurt after the hip belt squats last night and is 99% pain-free today, so hopefully the time off really let things heal up for whatever it was that had been giving me trouble. If it does hurt again like it did before, though, it'll finally be time to get it checked out, fingers crossed that it was only a small issue that will work itself out with more time and careful training. I'm not going to keep doing the same old "I'm starting to get my strength back, so screw the injuries, let's keep going!" stuff - this is definitely the year to swallow ego and get healthy so I'm not wheelchair bound by the time I hit 40 in just over 2 years, so it will be light lower body work for months to come until I get the knee and lower back pain under full control. Once the injuries aren't haunting me, THEN it'll be time to push harder than ever, but for now, slow and steady!

Never really missed Oreos since there have been vegan alternatives (that I always thought tasted better) for over a decade since the day I changed my diet. Give me a box of Late July organic sandwich cremes any day of the week, might cost a bit more but the ingredients and flavor are WAY better in my opinion!

Tell me about it! Injuries suck, but the one good thing about getting older is that I'm finally wise enough to understand that I can't just keep training through everything that happens A lesson learned late, but better late than never!