Derek

Welcome from Richmond VA!

Awesome work man, you are nailing it and making some solid progress!

Had a little core trouble lately, so I've decided to implement my first REAL offseason program! 3-4 days per week, total body. I love total bod programs for gaining mass, but now I have to do it without over taxing my core, so it'll take a little creativity! I hope to get to my former size/strength of last summer in the next few months, so lets see how this goes!

P.S. My client Todd is competing in his first bodybuilding show ever in two weeks - as a vegan! He started with me 9 months ago and has gone from average guy to ripped VEGAN bodybuilder! I can't wait to write a story on him!

Welcome! You've come to the right place! Good luck with everything!

Thanks guys! It was a blast!

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all the support! I'm back to heavy training and heavy eating now so hopefully I'll be able to post some good gains shortly. The judge score card listed my areas to improve as arms, calves and thighs, so I'll be blasting them for the next few months to bring them up!

Thanks Robert, I couldn't have done it without you!

I'm back on the ball after a little recoup time post-contest. The show was a blast! I placed 3rd of 7 in a tough group, there were some big guys in there so I'm really happy with how it went! Check out the pics on our FB page album: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.141531162602642.37491.110820642340361

Now back to the grinder! Goals are:

1.) Gain size everywhere

2.) Bring my arms and calves up to be in proportion with my chest/back/shoulders/thighs

3.) Get me abs and legs back to where they were pre injury last year

4.) Win a show!

Let's do this!

http://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/untitled-228-e1313375453646.jpg

New pics are in from the NANBF Washington State Championship! Got 3rd of 7 in a tough class at a big show, so I'm stoked! It was a great time hanging out and competeing alongside Ed Bauer!

Official photos from prejudging: http://www.cdp-web.net/2011_Events/Seattle/Prejudge/AM_BB_Mens_Open_Medium.html

Contest photos courtesy of Josh Avery: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.141531162602642.37491.110820642340361

Studio photos courtesy of Josh Avery: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.141537975935294.37494.110820642340361

Gym photos with Ed Bauer courtesy of Rebecca Bolte: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.141541839268241.37495.110820642340361

Looking really good Derek!

 

You're going to do great! Back is epic, abs are on fire and legs are coming in. Chest and arms and shoulders have always been solid.

 

Enjoy the experience!

thanks!! I plan on giving it my all and having fun in 24 HOURS!! Legs are definitely at the top of my list after this show! Damn injuries! Thanks to everyone for all the support, it means a ton!!

holy shit

Looking great Derek! We will try to make it out to Seattle next Saturday to support you and Ed. :-

Awesome!!! I'm getting excited man!

Man, it gets harder to keep up with this the more cardio I add to my day! But I love having a record so here I am . Starting 3 weeks out (last week) I have begun to randomize my routines to emphasize definition and detail more than size. I've been increasing the pace of my workouts, adding more/different exercises, reducing the weight and increasing reps, and doing more supersets dop sets etc to really hit every angle and bring out every fiber! On top of that I've added 20 minutes of stepmill at the end of each workday instead of a short run. I used pinchfold calipers yesterday and my bodyfat came out at 4%! Stoked!

7/11: Shoulders! - Started the day with a 45min trail run!

Cable Shoulder Fly: 25x15, 15, 15

DB Shoulder Press: 40x15, 65x15,15

Arnold Press: 65x9 drop 50x7 drop 40x5 drop 25x11 - burnt!

Smith Military Press SS Smith Upright Row: 85x15 SS 85x10 for 2 supersets

Rear delt rope row SS Barbell Back shrugs: 40x20 SS 135x15 for 3 supersets

Tripleset Lying side laterals/lying rear laterals/front raises: 12x20 SS 12x15 SS 15x12 for three triple sets

Machine Laterals: 70x12 drop 50x9 drop 30x9

7/12: Legs! Awesome workout, but too much after the trail run and my old knee injury has flared up

DB Lunges: 50x12, 70x12, 12, 12

1 Leg Legpress SS Sissy squats: 230x15 SS 35x10, 360x15 SS 35x10, 360x15 SS 35x10, 360x15 + both feet 360x25 SS 35x10

Squat SS Leg extension: 225x20 SS 150x15, 225x20 SS 150x15, 225x20 SS 150x15

7/14: Back!

Pull ups: 0x25

Lat Pulldown: 100x12, 12, 12, 12

T Bar Row: 135x15, 180x15, 15, 15

Smith BB Row SS Plate Loaded 1 Arm Pulldown: 105x15 SS 90x10 for 3 supersets

Wide Cable Row SS Pullovers: 80x12 SS 45x10 for 4 supersets

7/15: Chest!

Incline Bench Press: 135x15, 155x15, 185x10, 9, 12, 135x15

DB Bench Press: 70x10, 10, 10, 12

DB Incline Fly (change angle each set): 30x15, 15, 15, 15

Decline Cable Cross: 45x12, 12, 12

Smith Incline Negatives (1sec up 6 down): 105x12

Hams, arms, and shoulders were no too out of the ordinary after these (especially hams with my knee injury) so...

7/19: Legs! - I skipped squats and preloaded and finished with an FST-7s here (wanted to keep it light on my knee) and they're still sore as I write this!

Machine Squats: 200x15 FST7

Leg Press SS 1-Leg Bench Squat: 450x15 SS 0x12, 500x15 SS 0x12, 540x15 SS 0x12, 540x15 SS 0x12

Leg Extension: 130x12 FST7

Finished with 10minutes of fast spin bike! Ouch!!

7/21: Back!

Pull Ups: 0x10, 40x10, 75x1, 100x12, 9, 0x15

Barbell Row: 135x15, 185x15

Lat Pulldown: 80x12, 120x12

DB Row: 65x15, 90x15

1 Arm Plate Loaded Lat Pulldown: 70x15, 90x15

Deadlift: 225x10, 315x10 - felt good!

All has been going well aside from the knee issues, which seem to be clearing up. I've even been doing some light abs twice a week with no pain! And I'm really happy I decided to skip the 'low carb' contest prep strategy and stick with a high carb whole food diet. It's much healthier, I'm as lean as I've ever been, and I feel great! Pics from the past week:

http://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7-18-11-075-e1311301681598.jpghttp://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7-18-11-070-e1311301633474.jpghttp://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7-15-11-e1311301585490.jpghttp://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7-18-11-076-e1311301531403.jpg

Thanks Robert, Ima keep on it!!

So Eric, you would say that it's OK to do a lot of running if you want to get big??

I am using running to reduce bodyfat. Even when I'm not in pre-contest mode, I'll still run or swim once or twice a week to keep from gaining too much fat, but if you are a big time runner (such as more than 30minutes on most days) it will hold back your gains. There's always a trade off!

Thanks so much! After seeing Ed's pics i wanted to come in as lean as possible without doing any king of unhealthy dieting - and I want to keep as much size as possible so I'm stoked to hear that! That's awesome about the photographer Robert! We should get some awesome pictures to represent! I'm getting really excited for this one, it's already got me planning on the gains i want to make before my next show - I've got 200+ lbs ripped on my horizon!

Been at it hard still! I'm now 3 WEEKS OUT and starting this week I'm backing off of the intensity and increasing volume by adding exercises, supersets, etc to bring out all the edges! I've also taken my calories down to about 3500 a day which is leaving me hungry! Last week I followed the exact same program I've been following, so you can see the exercises and rep ranges I've bee after, but I did these a little differently:

7/4: Shoulders!

I managed to get 4 sets of Arnold press in with the 80s at 6-8 reps - may have been a PR . Rest of the workout went well but that was the highlight.

7/5: Quads AM Arms PM

I hit squats hard and got a set of 315 for 18 reps, followed by a set of 365 for 6, dropped to 225x12 and then 135x12 - Killed me but then I was out of time so I only got two exercises in! Giving myself a lot more time this week.

In the afternoon I took barbell curls up to 115 for 12 reps (forced) and got 115 on skull crushers for 7 reps!

7/7: Back

Only had time for pull ups, deadlifts, and some cable work today so not too much to say, but I did take deads up to 365 for 8 - post injury best!

7/8: Chest

Did Bench Press, DB Incline Press, Cable Cross, and Peck Deck. On bench I did a power set at 265 and got 3 with help (another post injury best!) then went down to 225 for three sets of 8-10. Really happy with my progress here

7/9: Calves/Hams AM Arms PM

Same old workout here, it all went well and I got Romanian Deadlifts up to 3 sets of 225x15 - hurt!

Yesterday and last Wednesday were off/cardio/light abs. Wednesday I did 15minutes of stepmill followed by 1000m swim and yesterday I crushed it with 5 sets of 25/50/75/100yd sprints followed by 1000m swim! That's in addition to the 15minutes of running I do before breakfast and dinner daily, and the 30minute walk after dinner before bed. Today I upped the morning run with a 45min trail run. Felt awesome! Here's one of my latest progress pics from yesterday:

http://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7-10-11-e1310397266232.jpg

holla! these ROCK

Thanks!! Hopefully I'll have some new good shots from my contest in three weeks!!

Thanks guys!! I'm planning on giving Ed Bauer a run for his money in 26 days so wish me luck! Squats in the morning so off to bed; happy 4th!

After that leg workout Tuesday my legs were sore for 4 days! That unilateral stuff, plus pre-exhausting, kiiiiillll! Week has been going really well with some new personal bests (ever!) and many recent bests. The one positive side of taking time off from injury is improving almost every workout when you come back! I've been sticking to the same program, which i just posted on our site http://veganmuscleandfitness.com, and I've cut my calories back a little more while adding slightly more cardio. Robert also just turned me on to Sun Warrior protein and I'm loving it!

6/30: Back!

Weighted Pull ups: 0x12, 35x10, 55x8, 75x2, 100x8, 100x7, 100x7 drop 35x7 drop 0x6 (3 sets of pull ups with 100 extra pounds! Woot!)

Db Row: 65x12, 90x12, 90x12, 90x12

Plate Loaded machine Pull Down: 180x12, 180x12, 180x12, 180x12

Wide Cable Row FST-7: 70x12 (This one got me nice and sore right through the mid-back the next day)

7/1: Chest! - Still sore two days later!

Incline Bench Press: 135x15, 185x10, 205x2, 225x7 (best in a while!), 195x12, 195x10, 195x11

DB Bench Press: 80x9, 80x8, 80x10, 80x11

DB Incline Fly: 35x12, 35x12, 35x12

Cable Cross: 30x12, 40x12, 40x15

7/2: Calves/Hams AM Arms PM - This was a great day!

Seated Calf Press FST-7: 135x20

Leg Press Calf Raise: 450x20, 450x20, 450x20, 450x20

Seated Leg Curl: 90x15, 130x15, 150x12, 150x10 drop 110x10 drop 70x15 - killed!

Prone 1-leg Curl: 30x15, 50x10, 40x12, 40x12 + both legs 70x10

Romanian Deadlift: 135x15, 185x10, 225x10, 245x15 - PR!

PM

Machine Curl FST-7: 70x12

Preacher Curl: 55x12, 75x12, 75x10, 75x12

DB Incline Curl: 35x10, 40x10, 40x10, 40x10

Hammer Curls: 30x12, 35x10, 35x10

Weighted Dips: 25x12, 50x10, 25x10 drop 0x10

DB Extension: 65x12, 105x8, 105x7 drop 75x8 - PR!

1 arm Underhand Pressdown SS Rope Straight Arm Pressdown: 30x12 SS 60x10 for 2 sets

7/3: 'Off' Cardio/ABS!

Today I hit cardio before breakfast with about 40 minutes of trail running at a decent pace. I have another cardio session this afternoon where I did sprint intervals on a football field (sprint 25yds, jog back, sprint 50yds, jog back, sprint 75yds, jog back, sprint 100yds, repeat). I wanted to do 5 sets but stopped after 3 because the 95 degree heat was killing me! I followed the sprints up by immediately jumping in the pool and swimming 1000m at a pretty slow pace. Felt wonderful!

I've also started training my abs again on off days as of last week. I couldn't train them over the last 9 months due to the abdominal strain, but they are feeling solid enough to test the waters now and so far so good! I'm only doing 3 exercises for 3 sets of 15, but my abs have always been a strong point so i'm hoping even this little bit will make them show ready by July 30th! Progress Pics below - check out the improvements this week alone! 4 WEEKS OUT!

http://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7-3-11-001-e1309748188644.jpghttp://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7-3-11-002-e1309748542585.jpghttp://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/7-3-11-003-e1309748672298.jpg

Awesome job, you are working hard and making fantastic progress! Love to see people being super-active soon after having a child. It sets a great precedent and you are being an awesome role model for your kids! Keep it up and you will be photo ready in no time!

Nice job John, working hard! How is all the unilateral training working for you? I integrate a lot of it when I'm working on definition.

Wow, awesome job! Those are some brutal routines! How did the instructor cert go?

Thanks!

Another week of workouts to list! Man, I need to post more often or work out less often.... post more often! I am really excited because my strength has still been increasing and I think I've (finally) hit on a workout schedule that will make my arms grow! My plan for arms is two workouts per week, once after quads and once after hamstrings so they get that major leg muscle workouts' hormone producing benefits. And I make one workout high intensity focused and the other volume focused. It's doing wonders so far! On all my other lifts, I'm really trying to go heavy and increase intensity with drop sets. Lovin' it!

6/23: Back!

Weighted Pull ups:0x12, 35x10, 55x8, 75x4, 100x7, 100x7 drop 55x8 drop 25x8 drop 0x8 - couldn't lift my arms after that last one!

Barbell Row: 135x12, 135x12, 185x10, 185x10 drop 135x10

1 Arm Nautilus Pulldown: 90 (each side)x 12, 90x12, 90x12

Deadlift: 135x10, 185x10, 225x10, 275x3, 315x9 - Stoked! Getting strong again!

6/24:Chest!

Bench Press: 135x15, 155x10, 185x10, 225x4, 245x8, 225x8 - Another big day!

DB Incline Bench press: 65x10, 80x8, 80x9 drop 55x8

Incline Cable Cross: 30x12, 30x10, 30x14

Pec Deck FST-7: 80x8

6/25: Calves/Hamstrings PM Arms

Seated Calf Press: 90x15, 135x15, 160x12, 135x15 drop 90x15

Leg Press Calf Raise FST-7: 450x12

Prone Leg Curl: 70x12, 90x12, 110x12, 110x10 drop 70x10 drop 50x10

Seated Leg Curl: 90x12, 110x12, 130x12

Romanian Deadlift: 135x10, 185x10, 235x10 drop 185x10 drop 135x10

PM

Machine Curl FST-7: 70x12

Preacher Curl: 75x7, 75x9, 74x12, 75x10

Incline DB Curl: 30x12, 40x10, 40x10

Hammer Curl: 30x10, 30x10, 30x10

Weighted Dips: 35x12, 35x10, 35x8 drop 0x8

DB Extension: 60x12, 90x10, 90x8

Underhand Pressdown SS St. Arm Pressdown: 30x12 SS 60x10 - for 3 sets

6/27: Shoulders! - Tried some undulating sets here and it was really tough!

DB Arnold Press: 40x15, 60x10, 90x6 (forced), 65x13, 80x6 drop 55x6 drop 40x5

Smith Behind the Head Press: 105x10, 155x10, 125x15, 175x5 (all forced) drop 105x6

Upright Row: 95x10, 95x10, 95x12

Machine Rear Delt Fly SS Machine Lateral: 110x12 SS 70x12, 130x12 SS 70x12 x4 more sets

6/28: Legs! PM Arms - Mixed it up today b/c the squat rack was taken for a long time. Turned out brutal!

Leg Extension FST-7: 140x12

DB Walking Lunges: 50x12, 75x10, 75x10

Single Leg Press: 180x12, 230x12, 230x12

Squat: 135x15, 225x20, 225x20 - Almost collapsed! Really killed after all the single leg work!

PM: HIT Arms!

Barbell Curl: 45x15, 65x10, 95x8, 115x9 (with forced reps and negatives)

DB Curls: 30x10, 50x10 (with rest pause and forced reps)

Concentration Curls: 30x10, 40x10 (forced reps)

Cable Press Down: 50x12, 70x15

Skull Crushers: 65x12, 115x5 SS Close grip press 115x9 - 12 sets of arms and done!

While I've been upping the weight and focusing on getting stronger, my main objective is to get really hard and tight for my next contest on July 30th with Ed Bauer! I've cut my daily calories from about 6k from when I was still bulking up, to about 4k-4.5k, and I've been upping my cardio as well. Feeling good! -Pics below are from today after my arm workout.

http://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/002-e1309306475769.jpg

http://www.veganmuscleandfitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/003-e1309306555482.jpg

awesome to see that your swimming. It is a great workout and i think aids in my recovery.

Yeah swimming is my favorite cardio by far! It's almost like meditation it's so relaxing, and I also feel like it helps loosen everything and speed recovery.