coroho

For those who missed it, here's google's cache of the VBB post: http://bit.ly/8Pvf7S That is a pretty sweet pic of you stuffing your face djshrew!

chewy - Yeah, they're a great movement, go for it. I wish I would've added 'em in sooner. 1/22/10 Squats: 81.6kg 5x5 Press: 41kg 5x5 Deadlift: 111kg 1x5 Chinups: 6,4,3 Squats: 80kg huzzah! My form got shaky in the 3rd set but I corrected and finished strong. Press: Matched my PR. My triceps were damn sore by the latter sets. Deadlift: Also matched my PR. Think I'm topped out all around, only up from here. Chinups: Almost wanted to skip these cause I was fucking hungry. Think I need to start eating more before the gym.

1/20/09 Squats: 79.4kg 5x5 Bench Press: 63.5kg 5,5,5,4,3 Barbell Rows: 45kg 5x5 Dips: 12,9,9 Squats were good. Bench was good, but I don't find BP to feel very natural imo. Barbell rows, I think I'll add another 5kg then start adding 2.5kg. Dips I made a +1 on the first set and total reps. So since I came back from being injured last month I've been gaining weight at the same rate but I think I've been putting on more fat than before. I thought about trying to eat at maintenance for a while, but I logged some of my recent diet and noticed protein is down (like under 1g/lb bw). I'm going to try to fix that variable by eating more protein and then I ordered some BCAAs. Basically instead of cutting I'm just going to try to raise the ratio of muscle to fat I'm putting on. Will be interesting to see what results I get.

What's wrong with the China Study (I just started reading it)? What are your recommendations for vegan nutrition books?

Also, Kashi makes some vegan ones and Clif bars are vegan too. http://shup.com/Shup/269141/squatsoats.jpg Looks like you're on the right track

1/18/10 BW: 157lbs Squats: 77kg 5x5 Press: 41kg 5,5,5,4,2 Deadlift: 109kg 1x5 Pullups: 3,2,2,2 Squats: Reps felt good & tight, but it seems I'm still making adjustments to my stance each time. Press: Started out good, got hard. Form completely broke down in the last set. Deadlift: This was really hard today. I barely got it & had to take like 10s between the last couple reps. Pullups: Poor showing today cause I was pretty drained by this point.

Thanks Stenno. I had to look that up on urban dictionary. Harsh 1/15/10 Squats: 77kg 5x5 Bench Press: 61kg 5x5 Barbell Rows: 40kg 5x5 Dips: 11,10,9 Squats: Was hard to maintain form at this weight again. I think I'll repeat it next time. Bench Press: Success! I think I did good on form too. Rows: 40kg was pretty light, I was practically slamming the bar into my chest in the latter sets lol. I wanted to get a feel for it before ramping up the weight tho. Dips: Increased. I think my numbers went down on these overall only cause I got heavier, but they feel more solid now. I was planning on doing some reverse crunches today too but after dips it'd already been about an hour and a half.

Good choice! Have you considered starting a log? I think you've got a good base to work with.

1/13/10 Squats: 75kg 5x5 Press: 40kg 5x5 Deadlift: 106.5kg 1x5 Pullups: 4,3,3,2,3 Today was an awesome workout. Everything felt really strong and tight. Recorded my squats and I'd say my back round is def. in the acceptable range (though they felt much tighter today than last time). I was even able to use double overhand grip for 4/5 reps on deadlift. Next B day I'll be back to where I left my PRs on OHP and deadlift.

http://stashbox.org/763265/avatontas.jpg

I don't know any carnivorous animals that are capable of drumming, but I don't see any reason why being a vegan would hold you back. This forum is full of people who are vegans and competing in various athletic activities. Do you feel you're progressing slower than you should be? Just make sure you're getting all your vitamins and minerals.

1/11/10 BW: 155.3lbs Squats: 72.5kg 5x5 Bench Press: 59kg 5x5 Chinups: 7,5,4 Dips: 10,8,8 Squats: Pretty straightforward set, but my back is kind of sore atm. Going to bring a camera next time and see how much my back's rounding. Bench Press: This was.. surprisingly easy. Didn't have much trouble on any set. Chinups: Glad my numbers on these are going up again. Dips: Did these with my shoulderblades retracted and they felt fine. Read a bit more on cleans but it didn't help any. I think I'm just going to go for barbell rows, at least for a while.

1/8/10 Squats: 70.3kg 5x5 Press: 38kg 5x5 Deadlift: 104.3kg 1x5 Chinups: 6* Squats: So I still didn't feel I had my form dialed in last time so I deloaded some more. This time was good so I'm going to build back up with strict form. Was @ bodyweight but pretty light this time. Press: Only the last couple sets were hard, but they were pretty hard. Deadlift: I've found I can get a stronger grip if I grip it lower in my palm, but I get callouses. I think it's not right though. Chinups: Ok so I meant to do pullups, I accidentally did these and got 6 and was like "nice!" Then when I couldn't get ANY more I realized I had actually done chinups the first set

1/6/10 Squats: 75kg 5x5 Bench Press: 59kg 5,5,5,5,3 Chinups: 5,4,3 Pushups: 15,15,10 Squats: Felt I was sacrificing form a little bit the last couple sessions so I backed off some to work on it before proceeding. Bench Press: I regret to inform myself that 60kg is still going to be a challenge. My form started breaking down in the latter sets, too. Chinups: I think I'm going to alternate chins/pullups on A/B days. Or something, need to figure it out. Pushups: Still need to make the commitment to power cleans or rows

Haha! I'm still cutting bodyfat - shows how much I put on in those first 10 weeks or so. I've been eating the same volume for a while now and still losing at least a pound a week (while still maintaining enough protein). I'm gonna keep going till I round off (shouldn't be long), then I'm gonna add food back on VERY slowly. I don't really wanna be bulking/cutting in the near future, I'd rather just add the weight on as just muscle, even if it is slower.Heh, I plan on bulking for some time. 200 or bust Definitely man, I've been hovering for a LONG time now. Does stronglifts tell you how much to deload by? Or d'you just drop however much you feel?There are soft deloads of 10% and hard deloads of 20%. I usually deload by 10% the first time and if I still don't get, I deload by 20%. Actually, I just looked and he recommends taking a week of 3x3 for a hard deload too. Never tried that But I'd still probably try doing a soft deload before a hard one.

I'll chime in here. Check out stronglifts.com. It's an in-depth, no-nonsense site with lots of information. It's all free too, though later I'd recommend investing in Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe. They both follow the same principles of strength/barbell training, but SS is more thorough as far as the lifts go. Take one of those programs, add a caloric surplus, and you will get bigger and stronger.

1/4/10 BW: 154.2lbs Squats: 79.4kg 5x5 (OH)Press: 36kg 5x5 Deadlift: 102kg 5x5 Pullups: 3,2,2,2,1 Squats: Really exhausting today, would def. call them heavy. Press: First set was hard, but the rest were fairly easy. I think I narrowed my grip a little and that helped. Deadlift: I'm not back to my previous working weight yet but these are still really heavy. Maybe it's cause I'm squatting first now. Pullups: I set out to do 10 reps regardless of how many sets it took. Will try to decrease # sets gradually (or maybe increase reps).

I weigh the same as you now chewy For bench, I think you should try following the Stronglifts protocol of stalling and deloading. Like go for 52.5 next time and even if you get 5,4,2,1,1 or something finish out the set of 5 and try next time. If you don't manage it after 3, deload. I feel like deloading gives me momentum when I build back up, sort of like a running start. At any rate, I think that ordered approach would be better than hovering between 50 and 55kg.

BrutalEdge, how many calories are you eating per day? If you don't know, chances are you're not eating as much as you think. I know I only thought I was eating a lot before I started tracking my calories. Gaining weight is in fact a pretty basic concept: train hard and eat a lot. If you're not gaining, eat more. It doesn't help to compare yourself to others too much. Different people respond to training differently, and at the end of the day you'll still be stuck in your body.

1/1/10 Squats: 77.1kg 5x5 Bench Press: 56.7kg 5x5 Pushups: 16,13,12 Squats: Weren't too hard but my form might've been a bit off. Bench Press: Not too hard and no pain either. Pushups: Some discomfort on dips so I did some more of these. Not that challenging though. Well, the core lifts are going well right now but I'm kind of up in the air as far as accessory exercises. I haven't had much interest in bodyweight exercises since my forced break, with the exception of dips and pullups, and I'm debating between trying to relearn power cleans or picking up barbell rows. We'll see..

Yeah, it wasn't overly hard or anything. I remember when I first did it took everything out of me. Now I feel like my form is a lot better and that helps, like the movement is more evenly distributed. It feels like a success every time I can up the weight and squat right

12/30/09 Squats: 75kg 5x5 Press: 40kg 5,4,4,3,3 Deadlift: 100kg 1x5 Pullups: 4,3,2 Squats: Matched my PR back from 9/28. Took a long time to get back up there but it feels good, man. Press: Gahh, time for deload. Deadlift: Felt easier than last time, could've been cause I took bigger jumps in weight when warming up. Pullups: I dunno about these, it's hard to get even one with good form this way.

they start smoking?

12/28/09 BW: 152.8lbs Squats: 72.6kg 5x5 Bench Press: 54.4kg 5x5 Pushups: 13,10,10 Squats: Started off kind of shaky but felt solid towards the end. Bench Press: Felt solid. That pain is still lurking but I avoid it when I do them like this (as per last time). Pushups: Tried a few dips and wasn't 100% certain, so I did some of these.

12/24/09 Squats: 70.3kg 5x5 (OH)Press: 40kg 5,5,5,3,1 Deadlift: 97.5kg 1x5 Chinups: 4,4,3 Squats: These actually felt easier than last time. Press: I really wanted to get this today and I think I spent all my energy on the first 3 sets. One more attempt at it next week. Deadlift: This was hard, had to switch to mixed grip. Chinups: I think I'm going to rotate full ROM chins/pullups till my numbers get up again. Man, going every other day for 6 workouts is tiring. This extra day off should be good, lookin' to come back strong