joelk

Had a workout with my brother this evening, just did some stuff that gets missed at the powerliftng club.

Trained back, delts, arms and calves.

Pullups (with towel hanging off chinup bar - hard to describe) - 6 x 3 sets

Bentover rows - 80kg x 6 x 3 sets

High pulls - 70kg x 3 x 3 sets

Bentover lateral raise - 15kg x 8 x 3 sets

Barbell curls - 35kg x 6 x 3 sets

Skullcrushers - 45kg x 6 x 3 sets

Dumbell curls - 15kg x 6 x 3 sets

Overhead dumbell extension - 15kg x 10 x 3 sets

Meal 1 - Vega shake

Meal 2 - Tempeh, spinach, avocado

Meal 3 - Lentil burger, spinach, chia seeds

Meal 4 - Pre workout drink, carnitine, spirulina, yerba mate

Meal 5 - Sunwarrior shake, creatine, spirulina

Meal 6 - 2 lentil burgers, mixed salad, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds

Krzysztof Soszynski - because of my Polish heritage and because he just seems like a bad arse

Fedor - Not much to say except unbelievable

Clay Guida - entertaining to watch, one tough dude

Mac Danzig

I think I started at about 60kg when I was about 14-15, I have my old journal at home somewhere and I ended getting to about 80kg but lost motivation after a few months because soccer was my sport of choice back then

From what I've been learning at the powerlifting club it is best to try and drop into the squat, not to slow down at the bottom. Almost like bouncing. It feels very strange and unnerving at the start but it gets easier and increases the weight a fair bit.

Good numbers anyway mate

Back at the powerlifting club last night.

Kind of spewing I trained the day earlier because I've been put a program called the bench press intensity program - which as the name suggests is focussing on the bench press.

Felt a little flat going into the session, especially as I had trained chest the day before (don't know what I was thinking).

Anyway, the program will go for about 6 weeks and I'm hoping to get my numbers up on the bench, as it has become my weakest lift. I used to be a lot stronger on the bench, although my form has got a lot stricter and I don't bounce the weight up like I used to.

The program is high volume, low repetition, the stuff I like.

Bench press - 60kg x 8

90kg x 5

112.5kg x 3

122.5kg x 3 x 4 sets

120kg x 3

120kg x 2 - failed on third rep

Board press - 110kg x 4 x 3 sets - was meant to do 5 but failed on the fifth rep of each set.

Dumbell press - Thought the coach meant incline dumbell press so did the first set with a low incline but then was told it is basically a shoulder press - bodybuilding terminology is very different!

Did 2 more sets of 6 @ 35kg

Deadlifts - 60kg x 10 x 3 sets

Squats - 60kg x 10

95kg x 10 x 3 sets

Finished off the squats ok, just need to bring up my benching as this session proved.

Diet

Meal 1 - Vega shake

Meal 2 - Lentil burger, spinach, avocado

Meal 3 - Same as meal 2

Meal 4 - Preworkout drink, spirulina, carnitine, BCAA's

Meal 5 - Sunwarrior shake, creatine, superfood Probar

Meal 6 - Tempeh, spinach, wild rice, oilve oil

The heart rate monitor sounds like a good idea. Maybe you will be able to schedule more rest days based on your resting heart rate, just so you don't overdo it.

Glad you feel better after dropping the creatine - it's prbably not the most useful supplement for the type of training you do anyway, Carnosine or just Beta Alanine would suit you better because you do more endurance type stuff

How are you liking the vega? I love it!

The Vega is awesome, it will be a regular supplement for me now. I'm glad I can support Robert and Lean and Green by buying it off them, they do a great job.

Awesome Bro, still a great looking workout!!!! Keep on inspiring me!!!

Thanks mate!!

Had a quick workout yesterday, was a busy weekend so not a lot of time to fit in a session.

Just did a little bit of everything, all the stuff that I want to do that I can't do at the club.

Bench press with bands - bar x 15

40kg x 3

65kg + 3 mini bands x 3 x 6 sets

Phone book press - 90kg x 3 x 3 sets

Supine grip chinups - 6 x 3 sets

Squats - 60kg + 2 minibands x 3 x 6 sets

Leg raises - 10 x 3 sets

Meal 1 - Lentil burger, bowl of steamed spinach with raw brown rice ( I like to just chew the rice, it's great for digestion) macadamia oil

Meal 2 - Vega shake with chia seeds

Meal 3 - Mixed beans, chia seeds, spinach and brown rice (the portion size is tiny, about one mouthful but is takes about 10 minutes to chew it properly - my dad got me to start doing it as a child and I've been doing it ever since)

Meal 4 - Pre workout NO drink, Carnitine, BCAA's

Meal 5 - Sunwarrior shake, 3g creatine, spirulina

Meal 6 - Wrap with lentils, hummus and spinach. Vegan cherry ripe from Noah - I saved it from the powerlifting club the other day to eat yesterday. It was great!

@joelk - I am going to back away from the creatine for a bit and see how i do as you suggested, part of the problem might be the inflammation I still have from my sinus surgery. That could last for about six months i believe so maybe now isn't the best time to take this.

Good idea...

Best to let yourself heal properly before trying anything new like that

Session last night at the powerlifting club.

Close grip bench - 40kg x 10

60kg x 10 x 3 sets

Trunk twists - 10 x 3 sets with medicine ball

Deadlifts - 60kg x 10

90kg x 10

110kg x 10 x 3 sets

Pullups - 10 x 3 sets

Glute/ham raises - 10 x 3 sets

Squats - 50kg x 10 x 3 sets

Decline situps - 10 x 3 sets

I really hate doing sets of 10, it hurts too much and I have to train lighter than I like. I'll try and persevere for a bit longer...

Diet

Meal 1 - 2 wraps with lentil burger, hummus, spinach leaves

Meal 2 - Vega shake

Meal 3 - Tempeh with wild rice, chia seeds and spinach

Meal 4 - Pre workout shake, BCAA's, Carnitine

Meal 5 - Sunwarrior shake, creatine

Meal 6 - Brown rice, lentil burger, macadamia oil

What about if you take it every second day or two days on, two days off?

You might want to try half a serve each time you take it. Some people are sensitive and can get headaches from creatine because it can build up pressure in the skull due to the larger fluid volume in the smooth muscle cells surrounding the eyes and temple etc.

See how you go on a lower dosage and if it still gives you problems you might want to stop using it.

Yeah at times I do but that is part of dieting hard anyway.

I don't train with nearly the same intensity as you do so I seem to get through my workouts without getting too beat up

Sounds like it could be related. What is the type of creatine you're using anyway?

When is your contest?

 

Do you cut out carbs at all? I was playing around with lower carbs (not THAT low, but mostly carbs from fruits) and higher fats a little while ago and it seemed to be more filling.

I have a bodybuilding comp on September 27th and a powerlifting comp a week before (will be a struggle). There are also a couple of other bodybuilding shows early in October which I would like to do.

I do cut my carbohydrates right down as I get closer to the show. I get some carbohydrates from the tempeh I eat and the fibrous vegetables and I cut out most of the fruit in my diet and also any grains and so forth, there are still carbs in the diet but I have tested myself before my last comp and have managed to get into ketosis, even though it is not a regular ketogenic style diet.

I do the same thing with fats that you mentioned Lobster, I just increase them by a lot to give myself a fuel source as my carbs are lower than normal. It got to a point last comp where I was eating around 60% of my calories from fat - I don't think I will go that high this time, each comp is a little different and our way of thinking adapts like our bodies, so I change the diet up slightly.

I kind of felt the opposite to you with the fats, they didn't really keep me much fuller - or not that I noticed. I did however have less cravings than in previous diets, maybe because of the ketogenic state I was in.

This comp I plan on lowering the fats slightly and keeping my protein a little higher, with a weekly carbohydrate refeed to help keep my metabolism going.

Noah sent me through a link with a blog article about the MVS boys at the powerlifting comp written a guy on the PETA2 website. There should have been a pic of Noah deadlifting the 230kg - that was massive..

http://blog.peta2.com/2009/06/vegans_win_weightlifting_compe.html

Yeah I agree..

I think the hardest thing is trying to strike that balance between training and rest. I'm the same as you Lobster, if I have a complete rest it seems to make me less motivated to go back the next couple of days (maybe I still needed more rest) and if I still do a little bit of light cardio on my rest days I feel like I haven't had a rest day.

Maybe I'm just crazy though...

Hope your shoulder is feeling better MaryStella

Haha! Thanks mate.. I'm just doing what I do and am glad you find some interest in it

Great stuff - I always find your log so inspiring, you always seem so on top of things!

Thank you lobster!! I try to keep on top of it all... a lot easier to say than do though

Had a small workout last night with my brother. Am still feeling pretty sore from Monday's session at the powerlifting club so just took it pretty easy.

Just did a bit of chest, shoulders, calves and abs.

Speed bench press - Bar x 10

40kg x 6

55kg + 2 x 5kg chains and 2 mini bands x 3 x 8 sets

Band pushups with 2 minibands (they are the second smallest ones now) - 6 x 3 sets

Lateral raises with chains - 5kg chain (weighs more than that but some of it doesn't leave the floor when I lift it) 12 x 3 sets

Military press - 65kg x 6 x 3 sets

One leg calf raises - 10kg plate x 12 x 3 sets

Leg raises - 12 x 3 sets

Decline crunches - 12 x 3 sets

It's good training at home, it's a different atmosphere to how my gym was and atleast now I can visit my family who I seem to forget about sometimes because of everyone's busy lives.

Diet - I'm getting into the pre contest diet now.. nothing really different yet to what I was doing but slowly it will evolve into a painful, bland diet... it will work though so that is why I choose to do it.

Meal 1 - Lentil burger with spinach and hummus

Meal 2 - Vega shake, chia seeds

Meal 3 - Tempeh, broccoli and chia seeds

Meal 4 - Sunwarrior/Nitrofusion mixed shake, creatine ( I forgot to add that to my supps list - still using it pre contest), GPL carnitine, yerba mate

Meal 5 - 10g BCAA's, 10g spirulina, 3g creatine

Meal 6 - Small bowl of oats with sultanas and almonds, 100g tempeh with hummus and mixed greens.

I'm guessing 40% of the calories would come from protein but there is a lot of water in the sprouts too, so you would need to eat a lot of it to get a decent amount of protein. I love sprouts though, I think they're great to add to so many different dishes

I love the tat. The position is cool too

Deep, heavy squats. That's my advice.

I see you've been reading up on some of Tom Platz's philosphies

Looking good mate, keep working hard

Thanks guys!

Started taking the Kre-Alkalyn powder that LnG was nice enough to set me up with. I only took it in the morning yesterday with my vega shake. I had a headache the rest of the day. Not sure if it was related or not. I'll see as I continue on with it.

There is a chance it may be linked to the creatine, some people seem to react like that to creatine on the rare occasion. I've had the same problem with some creatine products in the past, although for me it is more linked to caffeine I think. Just make sure you're hydrated.

It is nice to see you have a rest day... You are one of the hardest trainers on this forum but we're all human so it's a smart move to let yourself recover somewhat and then get back to hard training.

Haha! True indeed!

First session back at the powerlifting club last night... feeling pretty sore today...

The program I have is basically starting off with lower volume, higher repetitions - kind of like a textbook bodybuilding program, minus all the pointless isolation exercises. Over the coming weeks it will revert back to more volume, lower repetitions, which I will be thankful for because as hard a time I have sticking to someone elses' programs, it is worse when it is actually a program I don't like. I'm a bit rebellious like that, I tend to go off and do my own thing most of the time.

The workout was a lighter bench, squat and deadlift session with a little bit for arms.

Bench press - 40kg x 6 - wasn't meant to do that set, miscounted the weight for some reason

60kg x 6

85kg x 5

100kg x 3

107.5kg x 6 x 3 sets - Didn't realise I was supposed to wait for the coach before i did my 'heavy' sets and did two before he pulled me up before the third. Didn't matter so much, he said my form wasn't so terrible this time..

Dumbell bench press - 33kg x 10 x 3 sets - Was painful doing 10 reps, I'm really not used to it

Dumbell curls - 15kg x 10 x 3 sets

Skullcrushers - 33.5kg x 10 x 3 sets

Deadlifts - 60kg x 10

95kg x 10 x 3 sets

Squats - 60kg x 10

80kg x 10 x 3 sets - Was pretty painful towards the end, kind of reminded me why I stopped bodybuilding style training... I seem to grow better without having to go through the lactic acid induced pain.

Was supposed to do situps but had already trained abs the day before and will train them again tonight.

Diet

Meal 1 - Vega shake

Meal 2 - Lentil burger wrap with hummus and spinach leaves

Meal 3 - 130g Tempeh, broccoli, chia seeds

Meal 4 - Ribose, GPL-Carnitine, Yerba mate, 10g BCAA's, pre workout Arginine/NADH drink

Meal 5 - Sunwarrior shake (2 scoops) with maca powder and 15g spirulina

Meal 6 - 2 lentil burgers, hummus, chia seeds and mixed salad

Supplements - I never really write down the supplements I use but seeing as though I have ordered a few things in from the U.S. that I've wanted to try I figured I would get my supplements more in order.

Currently I'm taking Vega, Sunwarrior, Ribose powder, GPL-Carnitine, BCAA's, stimulant free Arginine/NADH based pre workout drink, Vegan DHA/alpha GPC supplement. There are a few other things I have at home that I'm just finishing off but the ones I listed are going to be the main ones I use while I'm dieting

I'll have to try using the bands for more plyometric type stuff, so many things to try now, so little time.

Had a workout with a mate today - a bodybuilding workout, with machines... As good a pump as I got, I don't think I will be using any machines again - or do so many exercises for one bodypart like a bodybuilder.

Just trained back and abs...

Three different types of vertical pulling movements and three horizontal pulling movements - so much wasted energy doing repetitive exercises.

Looking forward to going back to my own style of training!

Diet has been ok this weekend, trying to plan out my supplementation for the upcoming competitions and will post up exactly what I will be taking when I've got it figured out