Wermwood

A little bit of hemp oil is usually good for me personally. You can also try mixing some tahini with raw apple cider vinegar for a cheap, easy dressing.

5/25 Still jumping around with exercises and weight. Still fine tuning the whole process but I think I'm starting to find a groove. I'm ALREADY plowing through some weight that I've been struggling with; especially on the clean and press. Actually, the more I think about it, I feel comfortable going up on everything I did. Felt great leaving gym! Also, newest member of the 200 club. About 7 pounds on and it's showing. -Clean and press: 125x5x5 -Deadlift: 295x5x2 (too much, had to go down), 275x5, 225x5x2 -Bent over row: 165x5x5 -Dumbbell bench press: 65x5x5 5/26 -Dips: 25x5x5 (plateaued still! getting frustrated!) -Barbell curls: 105x5x5 -Calve raises: 175x5x5 -Weighted leg lifts: 15x10x5 -Kickbakcs: 35x5x5 -1 arm curls: 55x5x5 -Weighted side crunches: 55x10x3, 50x10

I'm totally going to try some of these. I've always thought my grip strength was lacking as well.

5/24 "Off day" -Approx 30 minutes of pretty intense cardio Totals down to maintenance levels

5/23 Bi's, Tri's, abs, and calves (still experimenting with weight) -1 arm curls: 50x5x2, 55x5x3 -Kickbacks: 25x5, 30x5, 35x5x2 -Weighted leg lifts: -x5, 10x10x4 -Calve squat things: 110x5, 140x5, 160x5x3 -Barbell curls: 55x5, 60x5, 70x5x3 -No-attachment pulldowns: 6x5x5 -Side crunches: 50x10x5 Estimated totals: Lost my list. Similar to above

So I got some powdered maca last week and have been experimenting with when to take it. Last week I tried taking a teaspoon with my pre-workout smoothie and I felt like I could rip someones head off Sub-Zero style at the gym about a half hour later. This week I'm trying it post-workout, and about 2 grams. I felt like I bounced back and got my energy back a lot quicker. Anyone else trying this? Any tips or suggestions?

5/22 Full body (switch up! Experimenting with sometime I read on here that Derek wrote up on.) Lot's of experimentation today, trying to figure out which weights worked for which sets and shit. Trying steady weight at 5x4 -Squats: 140x5, 150x5x2, 160x5 -Upright row: 120x4x5 -Dumb bell shrugs: 70x5, 75x5x2, 80x5 -Dumb bell press: 120x5, 65x5x3 Workout felt VERY short and not as exhilarating as I had hoped. Trying it at 5x5 next time and more intense Estimated totals: 6300 cal, 735 carbs, 245 f, 318 pro Those numbers scare me. Hope this all works out and I don't just get fat as hell instead of building muscle.

5/20 cardio Easy day: Only 3 miles at moderate pace. Still recovering from some nasty shin splints. Should be back up to 100% here soon, though. Estimated totals (maintenance): Approx. 2900 cal, 400 carb, 200 pro, 77 fat. Trying to do this kind of calorie rotation: http://veganbodybuilding.com/?page=article_caloriecycling Logic seems solid to me.

5/19 Back and Biceps -Pull ups (5 different grips): -x5x5 -Plank Row: 45x5, 85x5, 90x5, 85x5, 45x5 -Barbell curl (on ball): 95x5, 115x5, 125x5 (crappy), 115x5, 95x5 -Bent over row: 135x5, 175x5, 185x5, 175x5, 135x5 -1 arm curls (on ball): 50x5, 50x5, 60x5, 50x5, 40x5 -Reverse push up: -x5, 45x5x3 (blah), -x5 -1 arm cable rows: 8x5, 12x5, 14x5, 12x5, 8x5 Estimated totals: umm...a lot. Lost track. Mental note to keep better records Already noticing increases in weight and intensity. Certain workout (namely the pull ups) were noticeably easier

5/18 Abs/shoulders -Hanging leg raises: -x20x5 -Clean and press: 95x5, 105x5, 135x5 (personal best at 5 full reps), 105x5, 95x5 -Side crunches w/ 45lb weight: 20x3 -Military press: 95x5, 105x5, 125x5 (shitty though), 105x5, 95x5 -Leg raises (on dip bench thing) w/ 10lb weight: 20x3 -Front & lateral shoulder raises: 25x5, 30x5, 35x5, 30x5, 25x5 -Hanging leg raises: -x20x3 -Rotator cuff extensions (4 different ones on cable cross): 3 1/2x4x5 Estimated totals: 3900 cal, 580 carb, 260 pro, 100 fat Eating like a crazy person. Feel disgustingly full all the time. Kinda like it.

Ditto. I remember hearing somewhere that, actually, the biggest factor in the "alcohol/weight gain" correlation is it keeps your liver from oxygenating fat for energy (vis-a-vi, detoxing your blood). But that was a while ago and I could be wrong.

5/16 Legs -Dead Lift: 135x5, 225x5, 305x5, 225x5, 135x5 -Lunges: 50x5, 90x5, 100x5, 90x5, 50x5 -Pistol Squats: -x5, 30x5, 50x5, 30x5, -x5 -Jump squats w/barbell: -x5, 40x5, 65x5, 40x5, -x5 -Goblet squats: -x5, 70x5, 60x5x2, -x5 -Romanian dead lift: 95x5, 105x5, 135x5, 105x5, 95x5 -Shin squats: 50x5, 70x5, 110x5x3 Estimated totals: 3650 cal, 450 carb, 230 pro, 90 fat

The title says it all. Time to take an uncompromising approach to my health, fitness, and ultimate goals. I feel like I've tried everything: Lots of cardio/little lifting, lots of lifting/little cardio, light weight/high reps, full body workouts, muscle group alternating, high carb, low carb and everything in between. Done with fads, stripping it down to the basics: Eat more and lift heavier. Oddly, something I've never tried before. Time to be accountable! Goals: - Get shredded - Run a marathon next year in August or September (can't remember which off the top of my head 5/15/11 Chest and Triceps -2 arm dumb bell press (on ball): 50x5, 55x5, 65x5, 55x5. 50x5 (thats per arm btw) -Dips: -x5, 25x5x3, -x5 (totally plateaued here) -Push ups with swiss ball: -x5, 45x5, 70x5x2, 45x5 -1 arm tricep pulldown: 4x5, 5x5, 6x5, 5x5, 4x5 -Push ups with medicine ball (alternating each arm): -x10x4 -Flys (on ball): 25x5, 30x5, 35x5x2, 30x5 - Tricep pulldown (underhand): 10x5, 12x5, 14x5, 12x5, 10x5 -Push ups with medicine ball: -x5x2 Estimated totals: 3300 cal, 400 carb, 220 pro, 85 fat

Swans. Over and over and over and over and over...

My job is sponsoring the premier here; I think I get cheap tickets or something. Watched the trailer...probably going to check it out now.

Is it at all possible to do calisthenics at home or jog to/from school?

Day seven: down five pounds. Suck it weight-cutting. "This" guy = winning. Maybe water weight but the mirror says different. Tebriel: Thanks for the comments, but I think you misunderstand me a little. I have no intention of just giving up on heath and fitness once this is done. To the contrary, I can't wait to get back on my (much healthier, in my opinion) maintenance diet/routine. But this is just a temporary deviation from that to work on something that has been bugging the hell out of me for literally as long as I can remember. I mean, what's the point of doing what we do if we can't enjoy the fruits of our labor at least a little bit? But you are 100% correct, the mentality of "sticking to a diet plan for a few months and then switching back to the shitty one once I'm done" has been the downfall of a number of people I know.

Wow, I like that blog devoted all to soy. I've had to switch to soy from rice (my preferred powder) temporarily due to budget concerns and was worried about the same thing. I'm gunna have to read over that sometime in the near future.

So I'm trying to get back on this board more regularly. Spent the last few very stressful months moving from Cincinnati to Minneapolis. I've been making some great gains in the past 6 months and now that my life is in order I think it's finally time to lean-out now that I have the time, money, and ability to concentrate on something like that. FINALLY get rid of my beer, pizza and twinkies gut of my youth. So for someone like me (190lb-ish endomorph) I calculated a caloric intake (at a 500 cal/day deficit) at about 2350 cal, 65 fat, 205 carbs, and 235 pro at 25%, 35%, and 40% of my caloric totals, respectively. So I guess my questions are: Has anyone else had any success following a fat-burning program like this? My current workout set is three days lifting (rotating muscle groups), one day cardio, three days lifting, one day cardio, rest, repeat. Should I continue that? Should I jack up my cardio instead of lifting or simply incorporate it into my daily workout routine? If so, circuits? Distance? Steady pace? Time? I've been getting a lot of conflicting information on the subject so any help/questions/comments/concerns would be much appreciated. The brutality starts May 1st and will last 12 weeks.

I figure this is as good a place as any to get some feedback on what I normally eat. One thing I am definitely going to do in the near future is actually log how much calories/protein/fat/etc I'm taking. One thing I picked up here immediately was to do that so you at least have a good idea what you are taking in. Breakfast: - cup of rolled oat w/almonds, berries, flax meal, tbsp pro powder, banana, - cup of almond milk (to go with above) -20oz water -vitamins *workout* Morning snack -Protein shake -2-3 pieces of fruit, usually mixed in with shake -20oz water Lunch -Chickpea salad burrito w/ broccoli, onions, 1/2 an avocado, spinach, and a little bit of tahini -Plate of raw veggies (cauliflower, carrots, green beans, etc) w/ hummus -Banana -24oz water Afternoon snack - 1/3 cup almonds (or whatever nuts I have) - Protein bar or shake (depending if I'm at work or not) -20oz water Dinner -Veggie stir-fry served over spinach -A can of beans (either as-is, with the stir-fry, or with a separate salad; depends on what I have available) -Banana w/almond butter -24oz water After dinner snack -Protein shake -Small handful of almonds if I'm really hungry -20oz water Any thoughts? Hopefully I'll be able to be able to get more specific nutritional info within a week.

Ha! Nice. I figured if you got enough vegans together at least a few would be able to catch the Crass logo.

The basic green smoothie recipe is as follows: 1 part water 1 part greens 1 part fruit So it's really easy to experiment with what you have around the house until you've found recipes you like (warning: I've also made some nasty stuff this way). Romaine lettuce and spinach blend very well with spinach making everything thicker and romaine making it thinner, apples tend to make the smoothie foamy, and unless you have a really good blender (like a vitamix) everything should be at least roughly chopped, cored, and seeds ground up. I like freezing some bananas over the summer because they make the smoothies colder and even "smoothie-er". Collards and kale tend to be stringy (again, unless you have a killer blender) and are slightly more bitter than other greens so a little more fruit may be needed. As far as my experience serves, things like flax, protein powder, and vitimins can be added or subtracted as wanted. Here are some I like: 2 cups water 1 banana 1/2 inch or so fresh ginger 1/2-1 bosc pear whatever amount of spinach 2 cups water 1 apple 1 banana 1/2 piece of ginger Romaine or spinach 2 cups water 1 banana 1 cup blueberries (I prefer fresh) spinach Yeah, I like green smoothies.

Hello, thought it would be best to introduce myself. I've been a vegan for the better part of a decade now and have been hitting the gym casually since I was 17; earlier this year I decided it was time to "get serious" about it. At the moment I am more concerned with losing my gut I acquired during my "pizza-and-soda" adolescence than building mass and have, unfortunately, have had very little success. So obviously I am doing something wrong but I'm not sure what. Currently I am in the middle of reading more on the subject and experimenting with different workouts. So you can imagine how psyched I was to find this board/community where I can look and talk to like-minded people who have also gotten confused, blank stares when they tell a trainer they can't eat a dozen eggs or chicken breasts in one day, and are then told "Well...then there's nothing you can do". (Cincinnati isn't exactly known for it's vegan-friendly fitness programs, or any fitness programs for that matter). Hopefully I will be able to post my diet and workout routine on here sometime soon and get some feedback. See ya around!