SwoleNSexified

Great nutritional profile and a good price, but good god, 500 mcg of B-12??! (that's 8333% of the RDA). This is a bit of a concern to me, as I don't want to overdose on the stuff! I know that people who workout all the time need a lot of B-12 since working out burns a lot of it but this seems like overkill. I mean, with such a great nutritional profile I'd like to take more than one serving of stuff like this per day but idk if that would work out with that b-12 content. Here's a link to the nutrition facts. http://www.vitacost.com/Pure-Advantage-Vegan-Complete-Meal-Replacement-with-Multi-GuarD#IngredientFacts Man, if they just put less b-12 in it this would be damn near perfect. I might just give Veganique a go after I save up some $$ (I don't want to unload my wallet on Vega)

I don't even expect them not to eat fish, I was just hoping they'd have enough common sense to see that killing sea lions will do nothing to restore the number of salmon (I believe according to an article that was posted here a while back the sea lions were only responsible for eating 2-4% of the salmon that was being consumed in the area). These people, however, are killing off the sea lions for doing exactly what sea lions are supposed to do, people are interfering with the natural process of evolution and anyone who knows even the very basics of yin and yang knows that you do not oppose nature without severe consequences (which makes it really scary to think about the fact that we're working on how to deflect hurricanes back out to sea). This is a terrible waste of innocent creatures and the word is waste since it will not solve the problem. In fact, I see it only making things worse in the long run. The karmic repercussions are going to add on to what is already perhaps a doomed society unless serious changes are made.

Keep some things in mind here. The evolutionary purpose of the legs is to propell us forward by applying energy from our feet directly into the ground, all the while stabilizing the load of our weight. So the exericises of choice? Squats, lunges, straight leg deadlifts all with free weights. The evolutionary purpose of the triceps is to thrust or apply pressure directly outward, thus close grip bench and dips are top tier triceps exercises. The evolutionary purpose of the abdominals is to stabilize for the entire body. When squatting, the rectus abdominis is an important stabilizer (in addition to over 200 other muscles in the body, many of which are in the abdominal region) and it comes into play throughout the entire range of motion. Same with the deadlift and other heavy compounds. Standing military presses have this effect as well. This is not to say that adding a lil direct ab work will hurt you - I do some myself, but if I had the choice to nix either squats or leg raises and all I cared about were abs, I'd still stick with the squats.

Best abdominal exercises are as follows: Barbell Squat, Barbell Front Squat, Barbell Lunge, Deadlift, Power Clean, Snatch, Overhead Squat. Situps, Crunches, and leg raises aren't even top 10 (or if they are top 10 they're at the bottom of the list)

Thanx 4 the props LnG! Yeah, westside is where I got the parameters for the speed work I run it a little differently but it's working very well! Personally, I think any routine be it a bodybuilding, powerlifting, or athletic routine, is missing something if it doesn't have some kind of speed work. Not only is it helping tremendously with my lifts (and as a byproduct, helping a lot with my physique), it's greatly improving my speed for sports (most notably in boxing, as all 4 of the speed lifts that I do help with the explosiveness in your punching). Anyway, here is the result of today Tue Mar 11 Speed Bench: 8x3 @ 135 Incline DB Bench: 95x5 Pullups: 60x5 Military Press: 155x4 Barbell Curl: 115x6 Close Grip Bench: 210x4 All in all another great day wtih improvements in DB bench, BB curl, and Pullups! Unfortunately, this is my third straight week without improve on Military Presses and Close Grip Bench, which leads me on to believe that it's about time to nix them. Perhaps replacing BB military with DB military and Close Grip Bench with Upright Dips. All in all though nothing to complain about and stalls on certain lifts are a part of natural bodybuilding (or powerlifting or whatever). Besides, improving on 3 out of 5 lifts isn't anything to scoff at by any means.

Mon, Mar 10 Speed Deadlift: 225x2 Front Squat: 235x4 Rom Deads: 365x5 LP Toe Press: 500x8 Wgt. Decline Situps: 3x8 @ 45 Another kickass day with everything improving! (except speed sets and abs - I'm being conservative about increasing on speed work and the situps I've been struggling with but I got 8 reps on 3 sets without reaching total absolute failure so perhaps after another week or 2 it will be time to try for 3x9). Front squat went from 225x5 last week to 235x4 this week, not sure if you call that much of an increase but I look at it like this, I increased my front squat 10 lbs in 2 weeks which is a very significant improvement. Romanian deadlift went up yet again, I'll be reppin out 4 plates in no time! This has been a fantastic run so far and I'm lookin forward to kicking some more ass tomorrow on upper day!

Thanks 4 the props VE! The Push/Pull ones sound intrigueing but I'd rather do all 3 lifts, my squat and bench are less impressive than my deadlift but I'm young and fresh so I have a lot of time to improve and it's not like I've been neglecting those lifts, I got 255x6 on elevated lunges which indicates to me that my squat is going up (I personally believe that emphasizing front squats and elevated lunges will improve your squat very efficiently) As for bench it's got to be getting up there as well, it was lagging way behind for awhile but I'm finally catching up with my pressing. Anyway here's what went down today Friday, Mar 07 Push Press: 8x3 @ 105 Wide Grip Angled Dips: 90x5 V-Bar Pulldown: 255x6 Skulls: 110x6 Reverse Curl: 95x5 Behind Neck Press down to mid-ear: 135x5 Another kickass day in the gym! Every lift went up today, in fact the skulls went up by 2 reps from last week! I'm excited to see what I get on the CG bench next tuesday, as I've stalled on that lift for a couple of weeks. If it hasn't improved by next week, I'll replace it with upright dips (I replace an exercise if I don't improve on it in 3-4 weeks). It's very empowering to be improving at this rate. Anyone reading this blog and wanting to improve their strength and physique should consider this routine, it's done wonders for me in those areas so far and additionally, I am feeling more and more confident in my all around athletic ability.

Thur, Mar 06 Box Squat: 8x3 @ 145 Elevated Lunges: 255x6 Smith Machine Calf Raise: 385x8 Weighted Hypers: 2x8 @ 70 Power Shrug: 285x8 Weighted Leg Raise: 3x9 @ 25 Today was a totally kickass lower body workout! Went to 255x6 on elevated lunges from 255x4 last week, 375x9 to 385x8 on calf raise, improved from 3x8 @ 25 on leg raise to 3x9 @ 25 and didn't even hit failure on any of the 3 sets, I think next week I will attempt to get 3x10, then perhaps I'll contemplate going up to a 30 lb db The only downside is that, while I went up to 285x8 (from 275x8) on power shrugs, a couple of those reps were pretty sloppy, I did some ego lifting here so I won't be going up in weight next week. I couldn't be happier about the improvements I'm seeing in the lower body. I wouldn't mind my lower body outgunning my upper body, I personally think that it's by far more important to make the lower body strong than the upper body, especially at the hip (which is why I emphasize deadlifting so much) I'm considering entrance into a powerlifting competition. I'm certain that I can romanian deadlift 400 or more which means I can hopefully deadlift 450 or more, that would be my strongest lift. There's no doubt in my mind that I could make a good showing at the local shows so it's a possibility for the future

My Dimensions as of the end of February: Ht = 5 ft 11 in, Wgt = 163 lbs. BF = not certain but around 7-8%. My Goals: To become stronger and faster for sports and general challenges of life. Possibly bulk up for bodybuilding down the road but I'm not quite as concerned about my physique at this point (still building it tho) My routine is an upper lower split that I do 4 days per week. Mon: Speed Deadlift 8x2 Front Squat 5x5 Romanian Deadlift 4x5 Leg Sled Toe Press 4x8 Weighted Decline Situps 3x8-12 Tue: Speed Bench 8x3 Low Incline DB Bench 4x5 Wide Grip Pullups 5x5 Military Press 4x5 Barbell Curl 4x5 Close Grip Bench 4x5 Thur: Box Squat 8x2 Elevated Lunges 4x5 Weighted Hypers 2x8-15 (done at 90% of 8-15RM) Power Shrug 4x8 Smith machine Calf Raise 4x8 Weighted Leg Raise 3x8-12 Fri: Push Press 8x3 Wide Grip Angle Dips 5x5 Close Grip Lat Pulldown 5x5 Behind Neck Press from the mid-ear 4x5 Reverse BB Curl 4x5 Close Grip Bench 4x5 the speed sets at the beginning of each workout are done exactly as the speed sets of Westside training. the 4x5, 5x5, and 4x8 sets are all ramped in a similar fashion as Bill Starr's "Big Three" and "5x5" programs. On my final set I go to positive failure (the point where I question whether or not I can do another rep with clean form). The Ab work is str8 setted and done to near failure. As I write this, I have already done this weeks monday and tuesday workouts, which I'll post here (just the top set of coure): Mon, Mar 3rd 08 Speed Deadlift: 8x2 @ 225 lbs Front Squat: 225x5 Romanian Deadlift: 355x5 Leg Sled Toe Press: 470x10 Wgt. Decline Situps: 3x8 w/45 lb plate in front of face Tue, Mar 4th 08 Speed Bench 8x3 @ 135 Low Incline DB Bench: 95x4 Wide Grip Pullups: 55x5 Military Press: 155x4 Barbell Curl: 115x5 CG Bench: 210x4 Well, it's been a decent week so far. I improved by 1 rep on pullups since last week and will probably try for 60 lbs next week Arm work didn't budge but calf work went up significantly (450x8 last week on the LP toe press). Everything is flowing smoothly and I am ready to kill it tomorrow! I'm ready to see if I've improved from last week's top set of 255x4 on the elevated lunges.

idk but I'm really bummed out about Shogun. I don't think most people fully appreciate how serious these injuries are.....Shogun is in for a nightmare when his elderly years approach. Injuries like that may cause severe repercussions later in life, even if they heal now. As for fighting against Chuck, maybe Hendo? Aside from Anderson Silva, there was nobody at 185 that Hendo wants to fight (or that I wanted to see him fight...possibly Rich Franklin but there are fights at 205 that I'd rather see, like Chuck, Forrest, Jardine, Thiago Silva, etc.) Houston Alexander would make for an exciting slugfest with Chuck, though Silva exposed him on the ground. Chuck isnt' a ground specialist but he could beat Silva's ass on the ground if he decided to take the fight there, but in the standup I think it's an even match.

Lookin forward to it but what I really want to see is George move down to LW with Danzig so that we can see the TUF 6 finale that never was. I think George could make the cut fairly easily, as he doesn't seem like a big WW at all.

http://mmadiehard.blogspot.com/ He had the potential to be the Fedor of the LHW division goddammit!! I can't believe this, it's Bo Jackson all over again (I don't consider that to be the slightest bit of an exaggeration). Poor Shogun, I was really looking forward to the Liddell fight, even if Shogun was only a shadow of his former self after his first ACL rupture (read the March 4 entry in the article and they elaborate on how serious his ACL injury was going into the Forrest Griffin fight). I hope he recovers well but even with the best of recovery he's still not going to be the same Shogun who gave us that legendary war against Lil Nog (Best MMA fight ever IMO, anyone who saw that fight live knows what I mean).

That's the key right there, most people have horrible squatting technique - they lean forward and round their back in order to move extra weight. If you have a habit of doing that and you allow it to happen on front squats, kiss that barbell (and possibly your biceps ) goodbye! That's what's great about front squats though, it issues people an ultimatum - either maintain form or your whole set goes right out the window! Oh and the whole keeping the bows up thingy is good advice too

wow, I guess I was wrong about this fight, good thing my Anderson Silva nuthugging friend was too broke to bet me on it hahaha I was ready to throw down some $$ on Hendo. I don't know who else is left to face Anderson, he totally owns that division now that he's gotten Hendo out of the way. Okami is the only realistic challenger left but I see Anderson knocking him out too. Maybe if GSP moves up in weight but I dont' see that happening, 170 really seems to be his niche. Wanderlei could do well by moving down to 185 but if he fights like he has been recently Anderson would walk right through him. Anderson vs. the old Wanderlei would be crazy tho!

Having a physique (as well as a level of strength and athleticism due to the way I train) that I can admire brightens the rest of my day. With all of my poetic aptitude, I could not find the words to tell you how empowering it is to be able to look at myself in the mirror every morning and say to myself "I truly love the reflection that resides before me, I cannot even begin to express the depths of my admiration for what I see here". Your body is the physical personification of your soul. To attain mastery over your body and the way it works (I define mastery as optimal strength, physique, conditioning, flexibility, speed, etc.) is to attain mastery over the most precious physical gift in existance. THAT is why being a bodybuilder (as well as an athlete and a vegan) provides me with such intense feelings of fulfillment. When you truly believe in something and you know that you are pursuing it with the utmost of conviction and that you are following your soul, you begin to see your world through different eyes, eyes that make your world bigger, brighter, more vibrant, and more plentiful than it could ever otherwise be.