joelk

As long as you add 'mate' to the end of every sentence you'll sound just like an Aussie! Yeah my diet starts pretty soon, the show is in October and I like to give myself a few months to prepare. I'll post it all up as I go along. Keep it up mate, you're nearly there. You are probably right there, I will look for something else, like the Yerba Mate, to have instead of my pre workout coffees. The headaches are enough to stop me from training and I can't have that! I haven't trained since Friday as I have come down with the flu. The headache has gone but I'm just weak and keep coughing. Not really eating much, mainly just having toast with a bit of hummus and protein shakes, I don't have much of an appetite. Hopefully I will be able to get back into the gym in the next couple of days because it's frustrating not being able to train!

A good spotter will motivate, a bad one just stands around stating the obvious while you're clearly lifting with all you have. I like that sort of supportive commentary, at least they know you're trying and are being supportive! Ha ha, espresso's and BCAA's, best pre workout supplements ever!! Just Branch Warren style grunting ha!? lol Had a busy weekend so haven't updated my journal for a couple of days. Friday was a short workout as I had to finish up at the shop and fit in a workout before I started my shift at the gym. Just did some squats and a little bit for shoulders and abs. Seated dumbell press (no back support) - 15kg x 12 25kg x 6 33kg x 5 x 3 sets Squats - bar x 15 60kg x 10 100kg x 6 140kg x 4 165kg x 2 x 3 sets Standing calf raise - 160kg x 10 x 3 sets Rollouts - 6 x 3 sets Didn't keep track of exactly what I ate on the weekend but Friday night was a refeed meal, had a vegan pizza from a vegetarian pizza place not far from where I live. Wasn't able to really train over the weekend, had a migraine Saturday afternoon and into yesterday so I spent most of my time resting. Managed to eat a couple of meals of tempeh, black quinoa, spinach, cherry tomatoes and avocado and a couple of Nitrofusion shakes, didn't feel all that hungry though. I seem to get these headaches more than I would like, could be hereditary as they run in my family but I'll make sure I keep getting enough minerals and stuff in my diet.

I agree with you about the straps for strength completely, it makes sense to remove any weak links

Fingers crossed for you

Ha ha, it's like the spotters that shout "push" when you're bench pressing! It's like "I am pushing, what do you think I'm doing?" That's funny

Sorry, I meant 418lb, or whatever 190kg is in pounds!!

Thanks Johan, I'll go for it in the coming weeks. Got to get 195 first. Nah, more right handed mate, I am just trying to find the best hand positioning for the deadlift I think the t-shirt made me look bigger than what I am!! Let me know if you have anymore questions mate, now's the time to ask Agreed. Nice lift, Joel. From the video, it looks a little like you're trying to start the lift with your hips way too low - as you start to pull, your hips rise first (naturally), to the position where you're strongest and should be starting from anyways, and from there the bar flies right up. Might be worth trying some pulls with your hips starting at a higher position (where they're at when the bar leaves the ground in this video) It might help a bit, depending on how much effort you're expending with the hips lower down - some guys like to get real low then raise their hips up before beginning the pull, and that's fine. But if you're wasting energy trying to lift the bar with your hips low like that, you'll probably find it a bit easier starting with the hips higher. Thanks Ralst, I agree with you completely. I will work on it with the MVS guys, they've been giving me deadlift advice too as it is my weakest lift. I appreciate the tips mate, you're the man for lifting heavy weights

Here is my deadlift pb. Thanks to Noah from MVS for the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ3E9I6WZF0&fmt=18

I think you would need to chew a lot of creatine tablets to equal a teaspoon of plain powder. Too many fillers in my opinion

Had a workout with the guys at MVS last night. Did the usual bench, squat and deadlift's and I set another pb on my deadlift. I didn't really keep track of my warm ups, so I'll just post my working sets. Bench press - 120kg x 3 x 3 sets Deadlift - 190kg x 1 Squats - 160kg x 2 x 3 sets It was good to get back to training with MVS, trying to fit it in can sometimes be hard but they are motivating me to get stronger all the time. Diet for yesterday Meal 1 - Nitrofusion protein and a small bowl of oats with berries and chocolate coconut butter. Meal 2 - Dark rye bread with chickpeas, lentils, hummus, kale and broccoli Meal 3 - 120g tempeh, 2 cups broccoli, 1/2 avocado, 15g pumpkin seeds Meal 4 - Same as meal 3 Meal 5 - Sunwarrior protein shake Meal 6 - post workout - 120g tempeh, 50g chickpeas, beetroot, spinach leaves, 15ml macadamia oil Meal 7 - 120 chickpeas, mixed green salad, 10g BCAA's

Deadlift to 408 please

I still use straps for a few exercises, pullups, barbell rows, curls....... well not curls but I think straps help, especially if your goal is bodybuilding more so than weightlifting.

Good work mate, keep posting!

Yeah mate, I'd be happy to travel interstate to come and have a workout with you and Sosso. We could make another vegan brothers in iron mini video!

Ha ha, me too!

Keep posting guys, this is great reading. Kick arse for the rest of us here

I think it looks great!

Thanks Mary Stella!! Thanks mate. Max's are an Aussie supplement company, they mostly make whey proteins. I am friends with one of their reps and he gave me a few t-shirts and singlets, they're comfortable but I don't particularly like the brand. No training yesterday, had to leave work early with a migraine and spent a lot of time sleeping. All I ate for the day was one meal of tempeh, avocado and broccoli and a sandwich with chickpeas, a veggie pattie and salad. I managed to get a Nitrofusion shake in too but I didn't really feel up to eating. Feeling better today, training with the MVS guys tonight so am looking forward to that.

I managed to work out how to post pics, thanks Sosso. Here a few from yesterday. Obviously I'm not in shape at the moment! http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv3/Kirk1000/IMG_3979.jpg http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv3/Kirk1000/IMG_3984.jpg Oh, I don't use Max's by the way! Just got the singlet from a mate

29-3 Was a squat day and I threw in some delts and a little for arms. Clean and press - Bar x 10 60kg x 5 80kg x 3 x 3 sets Squats - 60kg x 5 100kg x 3 140kg x 3 160kg x 3 x 3 sets Lateral raises - 15kg x 8 x 3 sets Close grip floor press - 100kg x 5 x 3 sets Close grip chin ups - 6 x 6 - for biceps Rollouts - 6 x 3 sets 30-3 Today was chest and back day, I went for a deadlift pb Incline dumbell bench - 20kg x 15 36kg x 8 50kg x 6 x 3 sets Bench press - 100kg x 5 115kg x 3 x 3 sets Swiss ball dumbell bench press - 41kg x 4 x 3 sets Deadlifts - 100kg x 5 140kg x 3 160kg x 3 185kg x 1 - pb One arm rows - 55kg x 8 x 3 sets Bentover rows - 75kg x 10 x 3 sets

Deadlift to 407 please!

Did you mean supplemental sources? I would personally like to try hemp, pea and rice as a blend, even just adding hemp to the Nitrofusion or Sunwarrior or something. As far as how much protein to take, I think 1 gram per pound would be more than enough, coming from foods and protein powders combined

Keep it up mate, not long to go now

Deadlift to 395lb

I've been quite busy over the last few days hence I haven't been on the forums all that much. I've still been training and dieting properly so I'll post up what I've been doing. 24-3 Squat day Warm up - bar x 20 60kg x 20 100kg x 8 160kg x 2 x 6 sets Deadlifts - 100kg x 3 155kg x 3 x 3 Bench press - 100kg x 3 127.5kg x 2 x 2 Pullups - 6 x 6 Rollouts - 6 x 6 - Only on my knees though!! Meal 1 - Sunwarrior shake, 15g wheatgrass, handful of mixed berries Meal 2 - 120g Tempeh, 50g taro, blanched spinach, 15g flax meal Meal 3 - 50g lentils, 75g chickpeas, mixed salad (lettuce, beetroot, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes), 25g hummus Meal 4 - 120g Tempeh, broccoli (about 2 cups), 1/2 avocado Meal 5 - Espresso, ginseng resin (yuck), 15g BCAA's, 20g spirulina Meal 6 - 10g Rhodiola powder, 25g BCAA's, 10g spirulina Meal 7 - 75g lentils (cooked weight), 75g chickpeas, hummus, spinach leaves, wholemeal pita bread. Ate a few "Tart and round" peanut balls after dinner 26-3 Chest & back Incline bench - bar x 12 60kg x 6 100kg x 5 x 3 sets Dumbell bench - 45kg x 5 x 3 sets Safety bar bench - 110kg x 5 x 3 sets - gives a better stretch and more power out of the bottom part of the movement One arm rows - 30kg x 10 55kg x 8 x 3 sets T-bar row - 80kg x 10 120kg x 6 x 3 sets Bentover rows - 100kg x 6 x 3 sets - stood on a box and got a better range of motion Meal 1 - Nitrofusion shake with juice - pineapple, orange, apple, ginger Meal 2 - 120g chickpeas, mixed vegetable stew - I soak all my legumes for 10 days with some seaweed and just keep changing the water so they cook quickly and don't bloat. I find lentils and chickpeas are great for when I'm bulking. Meal 3 - Lentil burger, hummus, spinach leaves, pita bread wraps Meal 4 - 120g Tempeh, 2 cups broccoli, 1/2 avocado Meal 5 - 15g BCAA, 20g spirulina, Espresso, Ginseng resin Meal 6 - Sunwarrior shake, glass of pineapple juice Meal 7 - 3 spinach wholemeal pies, 25g BCAA's, 3 more peanut balls I'm trying to post some pics up so hopefully I will work it out soon.