Derek

So I missed logging this whole month of training! Oh well, I'm back. My plan after the last deload was to switch back to an Arnold split (Chest/Back,Shoulder/Arms,Legs) training 5 days per week, swap the main lifts I was doing and go for PRs, specifically on bench, high rep squats, and power cleans. Here's this week for an idea: Monday: Shoulders/Arms (5am!) Handstand pushups: 6 - had to stop bc I got a severe nose bleed! Power Cleans: 155x10, 175x8, 8, 205x8 DB Shoulder Press: 60s x 12, 70s x 12, 70s x 12 drop 50x8 drop 30x10 (L shoulder felt pinchy so I cut my sets short) Prone incline Y/T/A's: 20x8/8/8, 20x8/8/8, 20x8/8/8 Incline DB curls, loaded 30 sec stretch between sets: 25x10, 10, 10 DB Overhead Extensions, loaded 30 sec stretch between sets: 40x10, 10, 10 (my right elbow has been really touchy since breaking my hand last year, so I'm trying to stretch everything out with lighter weights here) BFR EZ Bar Curls: 35x30, 15, 15, 15 SS BFR Skull Crushers: 35x30, 15, 15, 15 Tuesday: Legs (Miles was home sick so had to keep this short for his sake) Ab wheel rollouts: 12, 12, 12 Hip Thrust: 105x15, 15, 15 (I keep these light bc my glutes are too big already!) Squat: 135x10, 185x10, 225x20, 20, 20 (2020 rep PR!) Leg Press: 270x20, 20, 20 Calf Press, 30 sec loaded stretch between sets: 270x15, 15, 15 - horrible burn! RDL: 155x10, 10, 10 SS Leg Extensions: 75x20, 20, 20 - no knee pain Wednesday: Chest/Back (both kids were home sick and at the gym with me so a short, distracted workout. Got pretty sore though) Pulls ups: 24 Bench Press: 135x12, 185x10, 205x8, 225x6, 235x8 (2020 rep PR!), 205x10 SS Barbell Row: 155x12, 205x12, 225x12, 245x10, 10 DB Incline Press: 70x12, 12, 12 SS Close grip lat pulldown: 140x12, 10, 12 Gravity boot inverted sit ups: 10, 10 crisscross, 10 Thursday: Capoeira Training/Shoulders Caporiea drills for 30 min Handstand push ups: 15, 15, 15 Power Cleans: 65x10, 155x8, 205x8, 205x8 Lying side/rear laterals: 17x10/10, 10/10, 10/10 Barbell rockbacks (abs): 65x10, 10 Friday: Arms (5am!) 10 min Capoeira drills Reverse grip close grip bench press: 135x10, 155x10, 175x10, 10 SS Barbell Curl: 85x10, 105x10, 115x10, 10 Incline DB curls, loaded 30 sec stretch between sets: 30x8, 8, 8 DB Overhead Extensions, loaded 30 sec stretch between sets: 50x8, 8, 8 (my right elbow has been really touchy since breaking my hand last year, so I'm trying to stretch everything out with lighter weights here) BFR Cable Curls: 65x30, 15, 15, 15 SS BFR Cable pushdowns: 65x30, 15, 15, 15 I've got one more Leg workout before I deload next week, then change up my main lifts for March. I'm going to try for a squat PR at 16 reps. Next month I'll bring deadlifts back in and go for some PRs there, and I need to put in a designated arm day because otherwise I always neglect them!

Friday last week everything was starting to feel tweaky, especially in left knee and shoulder. I shortened my workout to: Back/Shoulders: Pull ups: 22 Barbell Row: 155x15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15 SS DB Lateral Raise: 20x15, 30x12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 Then did some ab work. Felt about right Taking a Deload this week, so three light total body lifts: Monday: Calisthenics 3 sets of 10 per muscle group Wednesday: Barbells 3 sets of 10 per muscle group Friday (planned): BFR set for each muscle group My weight has been averaging between 195-198 so I'm pretty happy. Next week it's back to the grind!

Wednesday: Chest and Arms Gravity boot sit ups: 10, 10, 10 Incline Bench to low chest: 135x10, 155x10, 185x8, 185x10, 185x9 drop 135x6 (shoulder felt pinchy so took slowly) KB Chest Fly: 35x10, 10, 10 Decline Pullover: 85x12, 12, 12, 12 BFR EZ bar curls: 45x30, 15, 15, 15 SS BFR Skull Crushers: 45x30, 15, 15, 15 Thursday: Legs (did the exact same workout because it didn't bother knee or hip last time) Single Leg Extension (L only): 25x20, 20, 20 SS Nordic Ham Curls: 10, 10, 10 SS Hip Thrust: 105x15, 15, 15 Squat: 135x10, 225x12, 12, 12, 12 SS Single Leg Calf Raise: 15, 15, 15, 15, 15 BFR Leg Press: 140x30, 15, 15, 15 (lightened the weight to force myself to get it all in - burnnnnn!) Workouts are going really well for the last two weeks, but I'm noticing a few more pinchy feelings so I'm taking a deload in another week or two. I've been plagued by minor injuries enough that I think I'll deload every few weeks whenever I'm into hard training.

Felt better going into Friday and totally well by Saturday. Here's what I got in: Friday: Light Chest and Arms Incline Bench to low chest: 135x12, 155x10, 10, 12 Close Grip Bench: 155x10, 10, 10 SS Incline Cable Curls: 50x12, 60x12, 12 BFR Cable Curls: 60x30, 15, 15, 15 BFR Rope Pushdown: 60x30,15, 15, 15 Ab wheel roll outs: 12, 12, 12 side crunches: 20, 20 Monday: Legs (skipped R leg extensions and Bulgarian Split squats bc knee and hip pain last week, and no issues!) Hanging Leg Raise: 12, 12, 12 Hip Thrust: 105x15, 15, 15, 15 SS Nordic Ham Curls: 10, 10, 10, 10 SS Single Leg Extension: 25x20, 20, 20, 20 Squat: 135x15, 225x12, 12, 12, 12 (felt good and minimal L knee pain) SS Single leg calf raise: 15, 15, 15, 15 BFR Leg Press: 180x30, 15, 15 (ran out of time for the last set, plus I was dying) Tuesday: Shoulders and Back Walking on hands: 30 yds, longest stretch was 15 steps Pull ups:22, 50x9, 10, 10, 11 SS Handstand Pushups: 15, 15, 15, 15 Sumo Deadlift: 155x12, 245x8, 335x4, 385x4, 425x4, 4, 335x10 (Probably a DECADE PR here! Definitely a post hamstring strain PR, which is 4+ years - pumped!) SS Cable 1-arm laterals: 40x12, 12, 12 (caused L shoulder pinch so switched to dbs) DB Laterals: 20x12, 30x10, 10, 10 Wanted to get rows and some rear delts in too, but ran out of time! I'm on a roll so I'm not complaining.

Trying to keep up with this so quickly here's yesterday/today: Wednesday: Abs, Legs (L knee felt iffy so was careful) Barbell Rockbacks: 65x10, 10, 10 SS Lying Side Hip Raise: 10, 10, 10 Single Leg Extension: 25x15, 15, 15 SS Single prone leg curl:25x10, 10, 10 Bulgarian Split Squat: 15, 35sx10, 10, 10, 10 Bodyweight Calf Raise FST7: 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15 BFR Leg Press: 180x30, 15, 15, 15 R hip flexor felt strainy the next day, so I'm guessing either the split squats or leg extensions got it fired up again. I'll skip them next time. I was feeling a cold coming on so I took it pretty light/easy, but still logged some back and shoulders. Thursday: Foam rolled thighs/hip flexors Walking on Hands: Wanted 30 yards, but made it about 5 and runny nose/headache stopped it. Next week! Overhead Press: 115x10, 135x8, 8, 8 SS Close grip lat pull down: 100x12, 120x12, 12, 12 DB High lateral raise: 20x12, 12, 12, 12 Seated Cable Row: 120x12, 12, 12, 12 Was feeling worn out so called it there. Tomorrow!

Missed a couple weeks again, but I want a record so here's this week so far: Monday: Shoulders/Back Gravity Boot sit ups: 10, 10, 10 Pull ups: 20, 35x10, 35x10, 50x8, 50x10 SS Handstand Push Ups: 15, 15, 15, 10, 8 Arnold Press: 45x10, 65x10, 75x8, 75x8 (stopped due to shoulder pinch) SS Sumo deadlift: 155x10, 245x8, 335x8, 385x8, 385x8 TRX Reverse Fly: 10, 10, 10 SS DB Row: 90x12, 12, 12 Various shoulder hangs for rehab Tuesday: Chest and Arms Incline Bench, bringing bar to low chest: 135x10, 185x10, 10, 10, 8 KB Fly: 35x10, 10, 10 Decline Pullovers: 65x12, 85x10, 10 BFR EZ bar curls: 35x30, 15, 15, 15 SS BFR Skull Crushers: 35x30, 15, 15, 15 I've tentatively decided on the Jay Cutler Classic on August 8th as my next show, so here's to hitting the grinding stone!

Hey RC! I completely agree. I know we've talked about it, but I still think athlete injuries/aches and pains are completely swept under the rug by people in most cases. I had no clue there wasn't something wrong with me when lots of things started hurting on a regular basis. Just a built-in cost of the process! Come visit sometime! Have you been to our gym since we renovated in 2017? I didn't log the rest of last week, but it went well. I'm currently on a 5-day 'bro' split of Chest, Legs, shoulders, Back, and Arms in addition to training Capoeira once or twice a week for fun and extra cardio/mobility work. This week so far: Monday (Chest): Bench Press: 135x15, 185x10, 205x5, 225x5, 245x5, 5, 5 Incline Bench Press, to lower chest: 135x12, 155x10, 10, 10 Push ups: 70, 50, 30 Barbell Hip Thrust: 155x15, 15, 15, 15 Gravity Boot inverted Sit ups: 10, 10 Tuesday (Legs): Lots or rehabby stuf, but got a decent burn! Squat: 135x8. Tried more but L knee hurt so I stopped Romanian Deadlift: 65x10, 10, 10 kept it light to test hamstring strain Spanish Squat: 15, 15, 15 Standing Adductor sliders: 10/leg, 10/leg Side Lying Hip Raise: 15, 15 Nordic Leg Extensions: 8, 8 Single Leg Calf Raise: 15, 15, 15, 15 Leg Press, Blood Flow Restricted: 180x 30, 15, 15, 15 Ab Wheel Roll Outs: 15, 15 Wednesday (Shoulders): Walking on hands: 30 yds. Best streak was 15 steps (PR!) Handstand pushups: 19, 15, 16, 15 Bent Over Laterals: 20x 12, 12, 12 Laterals: 20;x12, 12, 12 Arnold Press: 50x12, 60x10, 40x10, 20x10 Shoulder Horn External Rotations: 2.5x20 It's not anything impressive in a while, but I was squatting heavy again before this knee flare up so I'm optimistic I'll be back at it soon! In the meantime, doing what I can and staying accountable. I hope to compete this Summer, I missed the last two years from injuries and I'm ready to go!

Ok quick post to record. I've had setback after setback for it feels like years now, but most recently I was getting back into heavy squats and deadlifts after a serious 3+ year hamstring strain, then I strained my hip flexor so I backed off that again for a bit. I've been making some progress on bench press as well after recovery from breaking my hand last spring. My recent best there is 260lbs x 5, and I've been consistently hitting 245lbs x 5. I'm keeping the reps low and focusing on barbell work for the most part because I'm also doing 100-200 push ups 3-4 days a week so I figure that's plenty of volume work. Today's lift was: Bench press: 135 x 12 185 x 10 205 x 5 225 x 5 235 x 5 235 x 5 235 x 5 Incline Bench to lower chest: 135 x 10 135 x 10 155 x 10 incline DB Fly: 30 x 12, 12, 12 Push ups: 50, 30, 20 Barbell rock backs (ab exercise): 65 x 10, 10 wasn't feeling too strong, but I got it done!

You've been looking fit RC! Excited to see your log. If I could just get a stretch longer than a week without some setback I'd be going hard. Planning on competing next summer though!

It's all still here! Stoked to see it back up!

Wow, thanks man!

A Little behind on posting, as usual. Had a great lifting week last week and hit some good numbers. Don't remember all the workouts, but here's some favorites: Legs: Squat: 135x15, 225x10, 3 sets of 7/4/7s: 315/365/315, 335/385/335 (stoked!), 315/365/315. These were brutal but I rocked them! Leg Extension: 100x15, 125x15, 15, 15 Leg Press: FST7: 440x15, 7 sets 30sec rests Shoulders: Don't remember the whole workout, but I hit Smith behind the head press with double discs for 6 reps! Chest: Bench Press: 135x15, 15, 185x10, 10, 10 - best I've done lately with no shoulder pain. This week for the burnout workouts I decided to skip chest and shoulders to hopefully let me shoulder recover a bit, so I hit: 1/7 Back: Triple set: (killed lats!) Pull Ups: 20, 18, 20 Straight Arm Pulldown: 50x15, 15, 15 DB Pullover: 60x15, 15, 15 Superset: (killed mid-traps/rhomboids!) Close-grip overhand Yates Row: 135x18, 20 Supported DB Row: 40x12, 12 Rack Pulls: 315x25 1/9 Arms: This circuit always gives a wicked pump for like 2 hours Circuit: Preacher Curl: 75x20, 20, 20 Cable Push Down: 65x20, 85x20, 20 Cable Curl: 45x20, 20, 20 DB Extension: 50x20, 20, 25 DB Hammer Curls: 25x20, 20, 20 DB Kickbacks: 15x20, 20x20, 20 1/10/13 Legs: (felt off this morning, first time having caffeine in a week and I think it messed with me, got good numbers though!) Romanian Deadlift: 45x50, 185x50, 185x40 Leg Extension: 50x15, 125x10 drop 100x10 drop 75x10 raise 125x10, 150x10 drop 125x10 drop 100x10 raise 150x10, 150x10 drop 125x10 drop 100x10 raise 150x10 (these down/up sets are always horrible) Leg Press: 440x50, 50 (had to rest pause every 5 reps or so after 25, but wasn't toooo terrible) Squat: 135x30 Hitting cardio and abs tomorrow, then deep tissue massage on Sunday and back to the heavy work on Monday!

Thanks! And I didn't make the cut, but we had a great campaign, thanks!

Keeping the journal up to date! Last week: Saturday: Shoulders/Arms - whole workout got me really sore Lying rear laterals + side laterals: 15x12 each, 20x10, 10, 10 - these were brutal! Behind the head rack press: 95x10, 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 165x4, 155x5 drop to bar x20 BB Shrugs FST7: 225x12, 7 sets 30 set rests EZ bar curls w/ band (21 style): 65x21, 65x21, 65x21 - brutal! SS Cable pressdown: 70x12, 12, 12, 12 Seated DB curl: 40x10, 10, 10 SS DB Extension: 60x10, 10, 10, 10 Sunday: Cardio and abs Monday: Legs Calf Press: 440x40, 40, 40 SS Donkey Calf Raise: 190x25, 25, 25 Leg Curls: 50x20, 60x15, 15, 15 SS Front Squat: 135x15, 185x15, 15, 15 Romanian deadlift: 185x20 SS DB Lunges: 60x15 - rough set! would have done 3 but ran out of time (xmas!) Tuesday: Chest/Back (shoulder still hurting on chest work) Pull Ups: 25, 20, 15, 15 Underhand Pulldown: 90x15, 140x15, 160x12, 10 SS Push ups: 25, 25, 25, 25 Barbell Row: 135x12, 12, 12, 12 DB Pullover FST7: 50x12, 7 sets 30 sec rests Wimpy workout, but shoulder's feeling better so should be getting hardcore soon! Wednesday: Cardio/abs Thursday: Shoulders Arms - still able to go hard if I avoid my front delts Bent DB Laterals: 20x12, 12, 12, 12 SS Seated Laterals: 20x12, 12, 12, 15 Behind the head press w/ band: 95x12, 135x10, 155x10, 9, 135x10 drop 95x10 BB Kelso Shrugs (leaning forward): 225x12, 12, 12 + 20 normal EZ bar 21 curls w/ band: 65x21, 21, 21 - just as brutal as last time! SS Cable Pushdowns: 70x12, 15, 15, 15 DB Hammer Curls: 40x10, 12 SS DB Skull crushers: 40x12, 10 - out of time! Friday: Legs Box Jumps: 36'' box, 5x5 Squat: 135x10, 225x10, 315x10, 365x5 (failed - got pissed), 365x8 drop 315x8 drop 225x10 drop 135x10 - felt redeemed for failing after that set! Leg Press: 540x15, 15, 15, 15 - strict 1min rests so was rough leg extension: 120x12, 150x12, 190x12, 230(full stack)x10, 10, 10 - needed rest pauses, these hurt! Saturday: 'Gentle' chest/back with bro in law Pull ups: 20, 20lbsx10, 50x8, 90x5 drop 0x10 SS Push Ups: 25, 25, 25, 25, 25 Barbell Row: 135x12, 12, 20, 185x12 SS Bench Press: 135x20, 20, 15, 185x10 - light weights for me, but shoulder felt solid! Rack Deadlifts: 315x15, 375x12 - felt easy SS DB Bench Press: 40x15, 50x20 - easy, no pain OUT OF Time... sigh One more week of 2x, then a burnout week!

@MF No worries buddy! I feel old when everything's hurting, but that's only because my policy towards aches and pains for a long time was to beat them into 'submission', though they generally win in that battle of wills so I've learned to back off... Workouts this week! Started doing the three day split this week and everything but my chest workout has gone great! Still going very easy on chest due to the shoulder pain, but it's getting better slowly. Here's where I'm at: Monday: Chest/Back Weighted Pullups: 0x10, 40x10, 60x10, 90x12, 90x10 drop to 0x10 SS Incline DB Press: 40x20, had to skip the rest Underhand Pulldown: 90x12, 140x10, 10, 10 DB Pullovers: 60x12, 12, 12 SS Barbell Row (underhand): 135x15, 16, 16 Tuesday: Shoulders/Arms (had to stay away from front delts due to shoulder) Bent Laterals: 20x12, 30x10, 10, 10 Behind the head press w/ band, rack press (no spotter): 95x15, 115x12, 10, 10 Seated DB laterals FST7: 20x12, 7 sets 30 seconds rest EZ Bar Curls, 21s w/ band: 65x21, 21, 21 SS Cable Pushdown: 50x15, 70x12, 12, 15 Seated DB Curls: 40x10, 10, 10 SS DB Extension: 60x12, 12, 12 Wednesday: Legs (quad focus) Squat: 135x15, 225x10, 315x10, 365x10 (awesome!), 375x4 (failed) drop 315x8 drop 225x10 drop 135x10 - dead! Leg Press: 440x15, 490x15, 490x15 Leg Extension FST7: 100x12, 7 sets 30 sec rests Thursday: Abs/Cardio - staying lean w/ 2 cardios a week, and trying to work abs in gently! Bar Twists: 1x100 Twist Crunches: 3x15 Crunches: 3x15 Ceiling kicks: 3x15 Plank: 1x1min 20min fast paced run with hills Friday: Chest/Back, shoulder still hurts so mostly back Pull ups: 0x10, 45x10, 90x6, 90x9, 45x10, 0x10 Rack Deadlifts: 225x10, 315x10, 405x10, 10 - stoked! Underhand pulldowns: 180x8, 8, 8 SS DB Pullovers (focusing on chest contraction): 65x10, 10, 10 Cable Cross: 25x20, 25x20, 30x15 SS Underhand Barbell Row: 135x12, 12, 10 Stoked on the squat and deadlift numbers this week! Shoulders and arms in the morning, woot!

I'm 25, an started lifting seriously when I was 12. I've only been lifting as a bodybuilder (individual bodypart workouts, multiple sets to failure, etc) for about 5 or 6 years though, and while I've always had bad shoulders, in that time I've added a meniscus tear, a partial pec tear, and a bad/chronic ab and psoas strain to the list. Before that my weight training was geared towards athletics and martial arts. A quick rundown of this weeks workouts, since each one (except for chest - my shoulder is flaring up so no pressing) made me sore for 3-5 days which felt awesome. Monday: Shoulders Seated DB Laterals: 3x60, pyramiding the weight up then back down in sub-sets of 12 reps, went up to 30s for heaviest 12 Seated DB shoulder Press: 3x15-20, using 50s Bent laterals on incline bench: 3x40, 20 out at 90 degrees then 20 back at 45 degrees, using 20lbs Overhead DB fly: 3x15 SS 1 arm laterals 3x10 Tuesday: Quads Squat: 135x15, 185x10, 225x8, 275x8, 315x8, 365x5, 405x2, 355x10, 135x10 (decided to go heavy here) Leg Extension: 3x40, double drop set to 30 reps, then full weight for last 10 Leg Press: 2x50, 440lbs Thursday: Back Pull ups to fail: 25, 20, 15 St Arm Pulldowns SS Decline DB Pullover: 3x15 each w/ 50lbs Yates Barbell Row: 3x15 Wide Grip lat Pulldown SS Underhand Pulldown: 3x15 @ each grip, 110lbs Rack deadlifts: 2x20 @ 315 In the evening: Biceps 1-arm DB Preacher Curl: 20x10, 30x10, 40x10, 40x10, 40x10 Barbell Curl w/ slow negatives: 85x10, 10, 10, 10 Incline Zottman Hammer Curls: 20x10, 30x10, 30x10 Friday: Chest, went light due to shoulder pain Pec Deck: 4x30 light Cable Cross: 4x25 light Smith bench Press: 4x30 light Saturday: Calves, Hams Bodyweight calf raise: 3x100 (20 at each angle + on each leg) Donkey calf raise: 3x30 (training partner is about 190lbs right now) Leg Curl 3x30, 25, 25 @ 60lbs SS Romanian deadlift 3x30 @ 135lns Front Squat 3x15 @ 135lbs SS DB Lunges 3x15 on each leg @ 60s Everything has been super sore, and right shoulder + psoas were really achy this week, but got my deep tissue today and feeling great as I write this! Tomorrow morning: Chest/Back!

Hey @Mini Forklift, no pics, but there's a video of the prejudging on my site veganmuscleandfitness.com. And seitan is a mock meat made from wheat gluten. Easy way to add pure protein to your diet, which helps with carb depleting. So... I was extremely pumped about the chance of getting into the finals for the 2013 Bodyspace Spokesmodel Search, but I didn't make the cut. Thank you all a ton for supporting me and voting for me, I think we did about all we could and I have to be happy with that. I still feel a little cheated though (I am very suspicious that 20 people got more votes than I did) so I'm all fired up for my training and the next event on the horizon - which may be a contest next summer with multiple vegan athletes! We'll be hearing more on that as time passes I'm sure, but I'd be super excited to compete alongside some of VBB.com's best! I'm getting back on tracking my workouts for future reference, as well as motivation. As I've written many times in the past, I make by far the fastest gains in size and strength hitting everything about twice per week, but as I've accumulated injuries in the past few years my body doesn't seem to be able to take it without things flaring up. I'm testing a new split starting this week, and hopefully if all goes well i won't be reporting some major injury next month! My plan is the train 5 days per week, with a three day split - thereby working all but one workout twice per week, and the odd training day out would bump everything back the following week. This means in a 3 week span I should be able to train every muscle group 5 times - which would be awesome. In addition to the extra rest day I plan to take every 4th week as a Y3T Muscle Annihilation Week - hitting everything once instead of twice, and using lighter weight and super high reps to kill the muscles but let the joints recover. I'm hoping these two modifications will allow me to train a lot more frequently without getting hurt - this past week I started off with the burnout week, so we'll see what next week and beyond brings! Here's my basic plan: Day 1: Chest/Back Day 2: Shoulders/Arms Day 3: Calves/Hams/Quads Train Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Off Wed, Sun And every fourth week for burnout work: Day 1: Shoulders Day 2: Legs Day 3: Chest Day 4: Back Day 5: Arms I'm also adjusting my training to be more proactive about safety. Through numerous repeated injuries, I've found that any heavy exercise requiring me to flex my hips more than 90 degrees with bent knees is guaranteed to badly aggravate my damaged abs and psoas, so no deadlifts from the ground, no squats to parallel, and no cleans or snatches. Writing that out kills me because those are all my favorites, but luckily I can still do rack deadlifts and can still squat a little past 90, so I'm getting some heavy work in! I've been getting deep tissue work done once a month too, which seems to be keeping my abs recovering nicely at my current level of training.

Wow, those banners are awesome! Thank you so much to everyone for all the support, i'm excited to see how far we can go this year - in it to win it!!!

Hey Guys! It is now the Thursday post-contest. I had a good time out there, but unfortunately I didn't place as well as I had hoped (4th of 5). It was an IFPA Pro Qualifier and there were a ton of jacked athletes there, so I'm glad to have mixed it up with that crow, and I think if I had tweaked my final week differently I could have done as well as second place. The guy in first had shredded glutes though so he was outa my league! Prep wise, I started out carrying a bit more bodyfat than usual, and in addition to that I tried a full blown carb deplete and reload for the last week to really try and fill out. Since I diet with pretty high carbs I normally don't try this, but to do it I just ate beans, tofu and seitan for 4 days to deplete then loaded up on Thursday and Friday. Well, this plan backfired and I ended up looking really lean and tight when I was depleted then puffy and soft on contest day. Not too happy about that, but I learned my lesson and won't try any next techniques at the 11th hour next time around! I spoke with the judges after the show and they all said I had great proportions but just wasn't lean enough, and after talking with several of the more ripped guys backstage I learned that most of them dieted 14-20 weeks! Looks like I need to step it up and not diet 8-10 weeks if I'm gonna have a chance with that crowd! I'm taking this week off and trying to plan my next split (as well as getting in plenty of cheat meals for being post-contest and celebrating my wife Marcella's birthday!), so once I have that hammered out it's back to the grinding stone and on to the next hurdle!

Thanks guys - I am now two weeks out from the show and registered up, so it's a go! I'm not as tight as I'd like to be, but I'm coming in with more muscle than ever and still pretty lean (6-7%ish) so I hope to make my best representation yet! I am weighing in around the upper 180's right now, or about 190 if I eat a salty meal, so I expect to compete at 184-ish once I shed some water. See Pics below! I also wanted to post a workout or two here, but before I do I forgot to mention in my last post that I hit an all time bench press max best of 315 this offseason! That has been a goal for many years and I wasn't sure I'd ever get to it, so very happy with it! A big contributor to the strength increase had to have been rack presses, when I worked in a lot of those I got stronger pretty fast! The downside is that shortly after hitting that max, my old pec tear (from 2007) flared up pretty badly and I had to skip chest for about a month - total let down! So I'm probably back where I've started, but now that I've gotten there I know I can again! For my workouts, I mentioned I have been doing a 4 week cycle, but I haven't been keeping a notebook handy so here is an example of the work I've been getting in. Week 1 Legs: Double Split Monday Donkey Calf Raises: 3x25 Squat: 5x 15, 15, 10, 10, 10 Leg Press: 4x15 Leg Extension: 3x10 Leg Curl: 4x15 Thursday Leg Press Calf Raise: 5x15 Leg Extension: 6x10 DB Lunges: 4x8 Hack Squat: 3x10 Romanian Deadlift: 4x12 Week 2 Legs: Heavy Squat: 4x6-8 Leg Press: 4x6-8 DB Lunges: 3x6-8 Romanian Deadlift: 3x6-8 Calf Press: 4x10 Week 3 Legs: Volume Leg Extension: 4x15 Squat: 5x 15, 15, 15, 12, 12 Prone Leg Curl: 3x12 Leg Press: 7x12 Calf Press: 7x12 Week 4 Legs: Burnout Donkey Calf raise SS Calf Press SS DB Calf Raise: 3x25 each Romanian Deadlift: 2x50 Leg Extension: 3x40 (tripple drop set) Leg Press: 2x50 Squat: 2x25 Pretty tough! But it's nice to work in variety and have something different to focus on every week. Plus if I'm not on a routine like this I'll just keep trying to do a double split with all heavy training and keep getting injured! For the final 3 weeks before the show I've gone back to an all double split, but I'm trying to only hit one exercise per workout heavy and the rest of the time focus on detail work with isolation moves and unilateral work. I plan on taking 3-4 days off before the show to make sure I'm 100% recovered. Here are some pics from last week: http://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/image-e1349835645872.jpeghttp://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/image-3-e1349835715333.jpeghttp://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/image-2-e1349835763960.jpeg

Alright,I'm picking this back up after abut 7 months away - I'm gonna be annoyed with myself at all the notes I don't have to look back on! To catch up: I competed in the OCB Bodysculpt Open on Feb 18th 2012 and got first in my novice class and second in my open class! I wrote the review here: http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=article_derek_ocb It wasn't my favorite venue so far, but it sure was fun posing down for an overall title! My wife Marcella was 8 months pregnant at the show, and on March 31st we had Miles Alexander Torres-Tresize! As if that weren't enough, not long after I left my management position at Gold's Gym and started working independently full-time at our new studio! Hence my long absence... I took about two months off from training then got back into it with my favorite set-up, a 6 day per week chest/back, shoulder/arms, legs, repeat routine to hit everything twice per week. I especially love doing that in two a day fashion because I just love to train and it also gives me really fast results.... BUT as with the last few times I've followed this split, my chronic abdominal strain simply can't keep up and I had to back off. I've since been working a twice per week program into my Y3T split, making it a four week breakdown of (1)Twice per week, (2)Heavy/low reps, (3)normal/volume based, (4)muscle endurance/burnouts . I should come up with a catchy acronym and market it... I'm still working out the kinks and it isn't perfected by any means, but on this split I hit my long time goal of 200lbs offseason! Really excited about that! I'll catch up on some actual workouts soon, but for now I'll end with saying I'm 90% sure I'm doing a contest in about 6 weeks. 've been prepping for it since 10 weeks out, but given my higher than ever weight/bodyfat at the outset I need to make sure I can get into contest condition in time - things are looking good, but the last thing I want to do is be a poor representation of veganism onstage by not being at my leanest! The contest is the OCB Battle for the Tidewater, so hopefully 6 weeks from now I'll be in the thick of it!

Looking solid there man, glad to see you're staying on it!

Hey man you are kicking a$$ in there! Great to hear you're back training legs, and it sounds like everything else is coming up as your weight goes down - best of both worlds, yeah buddy!

Nice job on the 45lb dips man! you'll catch me at this rate, I struggle with dips! Make sure you ice your knee/shoulder after even remotely working them - injuries suck! And training pictures?

Nice job! Looks like you're working hard!