vegan_rossco

I know I've not been too active recently but wanted to pop by and say ...

happy birthday Chris!!!

Hope you have an awesome day bro

Non of the moderators even use the site now... i might message Robert cheeke and see if he'll appoint a couple of people

Is that the Australian guy?? He's an absolute (C word) I hate him. Worst thing to happen to the vegan movement

Interesting you say that (and use worse language than the aussie C-word ever did) because I just made a video, saying he's the "BEST" thing that's happened for the movement. Here's my reasoning:

 

 

(why can't this YT problem be fixed?)

 

 

Name someone who's given more visibility to veganism. How many thousands have you reached?

Lol

Wow. So my weekend binge at home took a pretty dramatic turn,

My dad and step mum had tickets to the bestival (big 3 day festival here on the island) but they had enough by Saturday night so gave their wristbands to me and a friend, I got to watch my fiancé backing dancing for really big Djs in front of tens of thousands of people.. Just breathtaking, it was such a proud moment!

Spent all of Saturday night totally hammered.. Got home at 4am with a big portion of chips from a dodgy takeaway place. Spend half of Sunday throwing up.. And the other half drunk and eating terrible food.

Barely ate anything the whole time though tbh.. Had work all day today and have no energy so I treated myself to plenty of food and I'm resting up for now.

Will likely train tomorrow once I've recovered ahah

Just finished training and I'm about to go carb crazy!

Deadlifts (sumo)

60Kg x 20 reps

90Kg x 10 reps

110Kg x 8 reps

110Kg x 8 reps

110Kg x 7 reps

110Kg x 7 reps

Having a bit of trouble with back rounding, I filmed all the sets and was shocked at my form... :/

Finished off with a bunch of pull ups, didn't have much in me to be honest and called it off here.

Yeah I think I will Chris there's a second hand one for only 30 quid that I've seen in a charity shop so money won't be the problem.

Yeah I reckon she'll like it once shes used it, and worst case scenario il store it in the shed when it's not in use

My best mates birthday today so off for pizza and ciders in an hour or so! Will post a pic of the rower when I get it

The Mrs is performing at 'Bestival' here on the Isle of Wight, she's dancing on the port stage with the likes of 'skrillex' and some other artists I hate haha, which means I have the house to myself for the weekend!!! I'm gonna go look at a rowing machine I saw recently, I figure once I've bought it there's nothing she can do about it right??? I'll start planning my funeral immediately after..

Haven't really trained since Tuesday but I've been very very active At work.. My dreams have been super weird and vivid, I was told it was something to do with my CNS not being fully recovered... I'm planning to do some deadlifts shortly but won't go too heavy because of that.

Also I'm planning to go on a bit of a bender this weekend.. I think the rowing machine will help shed some unwanted calories obtained from the alcohol and bad eating, I don't want to set myself back too much.

Anyways weighed in at 79Kg this morning am gonna try carb back loading on days that I'm able to, I'm stoked!

Shit man!!! How's penny now?? That sucks

Also sucks you have to do the 5k... How did it go??

I know what you mean about being protective of your spare time, quite often I develop this strange social anxiety if I have to do something that I wouldn't normally do or is something that interferes with my normal schedule, but after I've done it i feel better for it, I'm the absolute worst at cancelling last minute though, such a flake haha

Absolutely loved training! Wasn't as strong as I suspected but I'm not used to doing high reps with high volume!

Back to my usual training regiment until October!

Shortcut to size day 1 (trial run)

Chest and triceps

Barbell bench press

50Kg x 15 reps

50Kg x 13 reps

50Kg x 13 reps

50Kg x 15 reps

Rest pause + 6 more reps

Barbell incline bench press

35Kg x 15 reps

35Kg x 15 reps

35Kg x 12 reps

Rest pause + 5 more reps

Dumbbell flys

10kg x 15 reps

10Kg x 15 reps

10Kg x 15 reps

Rest pause + 8 more reps

Triceps extensions (overhead)

17.5Kg x 15 reps

17.5Lg x 15 reps

17.5Kg x 14 reps

Rest pause + 6 more reps

Skull crushers

17.5Kg x 15 reps

17.5 Kg x 15 reps

17.5 Kg x 15 reps

Rest pause + 5 more reps

Calf raises

4 sets of 30 reps with 2x10Kg plates

Rest pause on last set + 15 reps

Really enjoyed it, am looking forward to October!

I made grain free granola the other day, big bag of mixed nuts, a small bag of pumpkin seeds and maple syrup/ honey (if you eat it)

Smash up or blend the nuts and seeds a little whilst you Heat the syrup in a saucepan, add the syrup to the bowl of nuts and seeds and mix, then stick it in the oven for 20 mins or so, once its cool it should stick together and a small serving will give you roughly 300/400 calories, depends what you use obviously, but that's a real easy snack/cereal for getting in your calories

Hahaha I know man, but a pizza/couple of ciders or wine on a Saturday night is not something I'm willing to drop, especially if I'm feeling miserable, it's gotta be done

Well I tried HIT before but didn't like the amount of rest in between workouts so a conventional programme suits me better, im going to do Jim Stoppanis shortcut to size programme with a friend of mine but with a few variations,

For example his programme prescribes no pull ups on back day just last pull downs :s and no dips on chest day!... I'm not saying I know better than him but jeez man what the hell..

Training very shortly, gonna give day 1 of shortcut to size a trial run and see how it feels

Fridays training

Squats 5x5 @90kg (198lbs)

Bench press 5x5 @ 72.5kg (159.5lbs)

Finished with tri extensions and kettle bell swings

Spent yesterday on a big hike with friends, we were looking for caves along the coast for most of it, not sure how long we were walking for but it took a good 4 hours.. also did a huge hill sprint at the end.. definitely earned my Saturday night pizza! Currently suffering with a bad stomach becasue of the pizza...

Hopefully training again tomorrow with friends

@eiji totally spot on!

All I would add is that if you're doing calisthenics then bodyweight squats aren't enough to build a great lower body, you should try sprints and box jumps too also butt ups are a good alternative to sit ups!

All the best

Ross

 

Everything about this rower just keeps getting better. Form is better, time improved, and I think I can see some fat melting. Going to work more on doing a longer rowing day on my non-weight training day, but keep thinks more steady-state than HIIT style. Have been able to keep the machine at about 40 strokes per minute, which is about 8-10 meters per stroke, I think. Either way, this thing was a superb purchase.

So jealous.. Haha, looks like I might be getting one for my birthday though bit late for cutting I know but it'll be nice on back and bis day for warming up /for cardio.

Where are you off to this weekend dude? Hope you have a good'en!

170Kg /374lbs deadlift for 2 reps

Had a killer workout yesterday with a buddy of mine!! Didn't train squats as intended...

Deadlifts

60Kg (132lbs). x 20 reps

100Kg (220lbs) x 5 reps

130Kg (286lbs) x 5 reps

150Kg (330lbs) x 3 reps

170Kg (374lbs) x 2 reps

130Kg x 5 reps

130Kg x 5 reps

Lots and lots of Aussie pull ups... Not sure just how many haha

Finished up with some arms

I've already started looking at bodybuilding programmes to follow in October! Just one more painful month of cutting, I can see the light!!!!

Hey Chris! The rain here has been torrential, just too much to train in unfortunately :/ managed to catch a break today though

No luck with the rower.. I saw one in a charity shop yesterday for only £30 but it was huge and the Mrs was having none of it haha, il keep on though because I would love one!

How are things your end?? I haven't been on here much lately so haven't had s chance to catch up on your training log, will pop by shortly!

I spoke to an old friend recently about my weight loss (he's an experienced bodybuilder) he was shocked at how much I've lost in such a short amount of time and suggested that I either up the calories a little or add in more cheat meals or just refeed more frequently.. So I went for that latter haha, did a weekend long refeed and still stepped on the scales this morning at 81.5Kg! I did have a small spell of nausea and a general feeling of weakness last Thursday (which prompted me to ask my buddy about it) but things are real good at the moment, even managed to eat grains during the refeed and have had no bloating issues.

Anyways. I'm babbling..

Bench press!

After warming up..

70Kg (154lbs) x 5 reps

70Kg x 5 reps

70Kg x 5 reps

70Kg x 5 reps

70Kg x 5 reps

50Kg (110lbs) x 20 reps

50Kg x 20 reps

Biceps curls...

Because.... Your mum that's why.

20Kg (44lbs) 1 set of 25 reps

Finished off with 5 sets of kettle bell swings, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off with a 10Kg plate

Lunges are quite a good alternative, try different variations, reverse, side, or even front lunges with an incline (on to a step or bench).

Have you tried a hack squat machine? That might be easier on your lower back but yeah leg press would be okay, make sure you're doing them with a full range of motion, so many people do half reps and then brag that they can lift the whole stack haha

I went off the rails with the diet a little bit today... Was stuck indoors most of the morning and had a bowl of cereal... Hasn't affected me too much so it's all good haha, still under my calorie goal

I didn't want to tell too many people because I don't want to get my hopes up but I'm so excited at the prospect I have to say something!...

I applied for a job working as an emergency call assessor for the NHS, two of my best friends work in the hub and I went there today for an informal visit and to meet the manager which went very well.

The pay is just over double what I'm earning currently in my shitty supermarket job and it'll be challenging meaning il actually get to use my brain!

Anyways.. Training went well!

1 hour walk (in the rain..)

Circuit style training for a couple of rounds,

-Kettle bell swings

-pull ups

-crunches

-push ups

-shadow boxing with 1.25Kg plates in each hand

Was fun but I needed to get the bar out!

Sumo deadlifts!! Very slow, very controlled, best form as possible.

60Kg x 10 reps

100Kg (220lbs) x 5 reps

130Kg (286lbs) x 3 reps

150Kg (330lbs) x 1 rep

150Kg x 1 rep

150Kg x 1 rep

100Kg x 10 reps

Had enough...

I ran out of broccoli and button sprouts :,(

So as my dinner veg I fried up two whole red onions, some garlic cloves, a few handfuls of frozen mixed peppers and half a red chilli! Beaut!

I don't really have a problem with steroids to be honest.. Especially after watching 'bigger stronger faster' cigarettes and alcohol are certainly worse for your body aha, that being said I wouldn't use them, mostly because they're illegal but also because Ive had gyno since I was 12 (not that noticeably) and I don't want that getting worse.

Also because of all of the stigma attached to them..

Yeah it didn't take long after removing grains to realise how bad they were for me haha, same with beans, especially soy.

I get all my eggs and a large amount of my fruit/veg locally here on the Isle of Wight, feels more natural that way, also just picked up 18 eggs for £1.40 . I still don't identify with the word 'paleo' I find the concept and community a little annoying but I would say my diet was very close to it.

I forgot to include how much regular tea I drink lol, it's s British thing I think, can't get enough of it haha

Beautiful story mate, really touching sucks what your wife has had to go through but wow she's a fighter! You two seem very happy and it's inspiring as hell!

Been with my fiancé for 7 years, got engaged in May and hopefully married summer 2017

Hey Rossco,

 

I saw that you are doing basically a Paleo approach to your diet, with not eating grains and what not? I know omnivore's have little issue with that but how does a vegan do when a solid portion of a textbook vegan diet is grain and bean? Can you maybe post what a typical day of eating looks like for you?

Hey dude, well despite being vegan for 5 years I'm just vegetarian these days so I eat eggs and a little bit of dairy (cheese only)

I don't think it would be easy to the whole paleo thing as a full vegan

Here's what I eat on a typical day (I'm cutting at the mo)

Meal 1: 3 or 4 eggs scrambled in sunflower spread with an avocado

Meal 2: Brazil nuts, frozen cherries/raspberries, protein shake with almond milk, coffee/green tea

Meal 3: some form of meat free product (usually quorn) with a salad of cucumber, avocado, spinach, French Mayo, beetroot/whatever veg is in the fridge.

Meal 4: either eggs or some form of meat free dish like quorn sausages/burgers, with ALOT of broccoli or button sprouts and Red Leicester cheese.

Meal 5: pistachio nuts, green tea/peppermint tea, a few greengage plums.

Meal 6: cashews, protein shake with water.

I supplement an omega 3,6 capsule and a multivitamin.

This all depends on if the Mrs is teaching in the evenings or not as we like to have dinner together, sometimes she'll make a bolognese that I have without pasta, I chuck in as much veg as I can, including chillies

I don't normally snack but if I'm feeling really hungry il have a hot drink (green tea, chai tea, coffee) and a bit of fruit or some nuts to keep me going, calories are currently at 2,050 but when I bulk that goes up to about 3,300

Sucks about the injuries bud :/ what caused it?

Lol! No that's misleading sorry, thats just the total for each exercise at the end of the workout,

It was like 8 dips, 10 knee raises, 6 pull ups, etc..

Won't be doing it again any time soon, much prefer to be under a heavy barbell!

Got rained off from my outdoor training today... Weather is horrendous in the U.K at the moment so I did this Madbarz routine! Totally kicked my ass