Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Ok, here we go! I've never made a training journal so I'll need as much help as I can get with this

I'm just getting back into training with a bit more intensity. I've been in and out of the gym over the past couple of years but not with enough solid, reliable frequency to get to where I want. No excuses on that front (apart from a small chunk of time in moving from New Zealand to California!).

The stats:
Age: 25
Height: 5'11" ish (close to 6")
Weight 167 lbs

My goals:
For me, I just want to be fit, strong and lean. I've found the best way to get people to think about a vegan lifestyle is to see an impressive example which is what I want to be. What are some good strength benchmarks? Should I work towards benching my own weight? Deadlift 2x bodyweight?


Current training:
I'm following Derek's full body muscle gain routine on Mon/Wed/Fri as best I can. I workout in the gym at my work which gets pretty busy at lunchtimes so sometimes I need to mix it up if the bar is being used. Anyway, I'll be tracking what I do each day to make sure I'm improving and staying on track. After each of these sessions I'm also running a light mile, usually in around 8:30-9:00. On Tues/Thurs I'm doing 30 mins of solid state cardio and trying to do another cardio session on the weekend. What changes should I make to this schedule? What kind of reps/sets should I be doing for strength/lean muscle gain keeping in mind that I need to keep rest periods pretty small?


Thanks for any help in advance!

My thread wasn't approved until today so here's what Monday entailed:

Thrusters:
12x70lbs
10x80lbs
8x90lbs (ouch! definitely getting towards failure)

Incline DB Press:
Not much rest between this and the thrusters so I stayed at 45 where I would usually go to 55...
12x45lbs x3

DB Row:
12x35lbs
10x40lbs
8x45lbs
15x30lbs

Shrugs:
12x60lbs
10x65lbs
8x70lbs

One Mile Run:
8:43


Today is a cardio day for me so I'll try and get a run or something in after work. Also, for dumbell exercises, should I be listing the weight of singular dumbells or the total of both?

Vegan power y'all!

Today I tried a bit of 5x5 with bigger compound 'stuff'.

Squats (Smith):
I have a love/hate relationship with squats. They remind me of much throwing up for rowing training at high school. Rrrrr.... But, I know they're a killer compound exercise so I'm going to put them in once a week.
5x70lbs
5x90lbs
5x110lbs
5x110lbs
5x110lbs

Pull ups
Going to try and get slower with more control. Still need to make sure I go all the way to hanging for every rep!
5x5

Incline Press:
5x70lbs (too light but good depth)
5x100lbs
5x100lbs (not getting much depth at this weight)
5x90lbs
5x90lbs

DB Shoulder Press:
5x30lbs (a little too easy)
5x35lbs
5x35lbs
5x35lbs
5x35lbs

Kettlebell Swings:
Had a few minutes left so I pushed through some of these. Could definitely feel fatigue from the squats still!


Definitely wasn't a great workout for me. I find it harder if the gym is completely empty... We'll see how sore I am tomorrow though!

Owwww! Legs are still sore from yesterday but decided to push through what I had planned and happy that I did. Ass = kicked.

Shoulders:
Decided to hit my quickly shoulders before my cardio today since they weren't too sore from yesterday. Saw Dwight Howard on some replays this morning... that man has crazzzzy shoulders.
For speeds sake, I did a round of lat raises>overhead press>standing row with dumbells.

10x15lbs
10x17.5lbs
10x20lbs

10x17.5lbs
10x20lbs
10x22.5lbs

10x20lbs
10x22.5lbs
10x25lbs

HIIT:
Stole this from mattsxvx's training journal (think it was him!). I aimed to do 30 minutes of HIIT (1 minute up, 1 minute down) at a 15 degree incline. After the first couple of minutes, I decided to go with a 10 degree incline so I could actually stick out the whole time. Next time I'll try 11 and work my way up!

30 minutes:
6mph for 1 minute
2mph for 1 minute
10 degree incline


Just going to down some Sun Warrior now. Feeling good today! Yeooow.

squats are killer but on smith machines they are not...Use a barbell buddy. Otherwise it'll be your back that kills (English slang for painful not sure if you guys use it over there)

_________________
"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

Definitely! The bar was unfortunately in use at my work gym and we don't even have a rack for it. I just moved to California from New Zealand to work in the video game industry over here - so I get your Brit slang I guess I could use the ez-curl bars since we have ones that go up to 120lbs which is sufficient for me at the moment. Is there a better alternative? If you have any sick compound exercises you can recommend then throw them my way. Hopefully I can steal the bar tomorrow and deadlift like crazy. I'm sitting at around 250lbs for a few reps for my deadlift so I'm going to see if I can better that. What would be a good deadlift routine?

Cheers mate!

If you dont have the option of doing barbell, try doing heavy goblet squats with a dumbell. I used to do them a lot. It is similar to a front squat with even more core stabalization.

You can't really sub squats, they are what they are. It has to be barbell work, if the gym has no power/squat rack then really you're in trouble. How could you load a heavy weight otherwise? Dumbbell squats are possible but pale in comparison, the next thing I'd suggest is hitting up lunges but again you'll have to really use dumbbells for heavy(ish) work.
Ez bars are for curls & tricep work, it won't be stable on your back.
 For a deadlifting routine, deadlifts are the routine. Your workouts should be based a round bench press (do not sub barbell work with dumbbell if anyones says to do this then they have little intelligence) military press (no leg movement) squats & deaslift. As you're training 3 days a week I'd highly recommend these program's as your after strength, starting strength by Mark Rippetoe or this one over at builtfit http://www.builtfit.com/workouts/strength-and-powerlifting/builtfit-5x5-workout

If you focus on big multi jointed compounds you can cut the crap out people think you need to do a million & one assistances, check out my log (the last few pages) I train for strength/power & have added a lot off mass. There's only 1 Olympic bar?

Look over YouTube for technique videos by Mark Rippetoe, so search Rippetoe squats/ Rippetoe military.
What games you working on? I'm loving mass effect 3's multiplayer

_________________
"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

Thanks for the tips guys - much appreciated!

I started on the Builtfit routine that you posted and did the Friday workout. Definitely going heavier next time on most of the exercises - I kind of undershot it a bit on a few things. Veggie, I work at a company that starts with a "B" and rhymes with "lizard" and I love it here. Can't say I've had a chance to play Mass Effect yet but I hear that it's REALLY good!

Goblet Squats:
Bar was in use so I tried these out. Managed to get really good depth and I totally hear you on the core stabilisation! Going heavier next time - too light on these.
5x50lbs
5x55lbs
5x60lbs
5x65lbs
5x70lbs

Bench Press:
I pilfered the bar and bench! I'm still a bit of a noob with these and admittedly can get more depth. Might keep the same weight next week and nail the form.
5x95lbs
5x105lbs
5x115lbs
5x125lbs
5x135lbs

Barbell Rows:
Owww! These felt bad in that really good way.
5x95lbs
5x115lbs
5x125lbs
5x135lbs
5x145lbs

ez-Bar Curls:
Had to give up the bar but I figured it was ok for biceps.
12x60lbs (heavy enough to sacrifice form towards the end of the set)
12x50lbs
12x50lbs

Leg Press:
Serious burn on these - could still feel the squats and hill sprints from yesterday.
10x100lbs
10x100lbs
10x100lbs

Cable Crunches:
I liked these! Going to go heavier next time.
10x100lbs
10x100lbs
10x100lbs


I also had to blast through the whole routine in under 40 minutes (lunch break workouts) so my rest periods were pretty short.

The only problem with the builtfit prog is the weight it says to add soon adds up & you will hit a wall sooner rather then later. I hurt my back so couldn't squat or deadlift for a while & I used the program to get some strength back quickly. I then went over to 5/3/1 which is amazing.
It's better to start to light than to heavy.

I use to love Diablo 2 on pc, many hours spent on that badboy!!! Mass Effect is pretty sweet tbh! haha pilfer love that word!

Nice workout amigo

_________________
"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

Today's workout 4/2/2012

Goblet Squats:
Heavier than last Friday which is good. The jumps in weight that were over 5lbs were due to those dumbells being in use. No time to waste, go heavier...
5x55lbs
5x65lbs
5x70lbs
5x80lbs
5x85lbs

Bench Press:
Same as last Friday but with better form. All the way down to the chest on the first two sets of weights - I won't go heavier until I can get the full range on all sets.
5x95lbs
5x105lbs
5x115lbs
5x125lbs
5x135lbs

Barbell Row:
Better form than last Friday I think...
5x95lbs
5x115lbs
5x125lbs
5x135lbs
5x145lbs

Dumbell Shoulder Press:
12x25lbs
10x30lbs
5x35lbs (failure!)

Treadmill:
1 mile: 8:03
That's faster than I've done it recently and still had a bit left in the tank. Going to crank that up next time (Wednesday) if my legs feel good and go for <8 mins.

@Veggiesasquatch - I spent a lot of time playing D2 as well! Have you had a chance to check out D3? It's only 6 weeks away!

I haven't really tracked the Diablo 3 news as I don't think my laptop will run it on a high setting but I know it's coming out on Xbox so I may have a catch up over the next few days. Atm I'm looking forward to Darksiders

Nice work again, I'd suggest hitting a military press (barbell work) over the dumbbells but if you only have the one oly bar that's going to be hard. Dumbbell pressings assistance work to me, if It's not on a barbell it's not a big lift. Also on the Monday where you do 5 reps if you're feeling good on the last set blast past the 5 reps (always keep a rep or two in the tank) this is a good to dominate the workout (taken from Mr  Wendler)

_________________
"Don't fall for that crap that people are peddling on the message boards, in magazines or on TV. Get your shit in order, and get your training in order. Start kicking ass, and take out the crap that doesn't matter" Jim Wendler

Dropping in to say hi. Keep up the great work!

Nice journal and great detail and consistency. Hope you're enjoying Derek's training program. Great guy and great physique!

All the best!

-Robert

_________________

Check out my Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness Book on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Vegan-Bodybuildin ... 497&sr=1-1

Thanks for dropping by RC! As you can see, Veggie and Matt have been so awesome at giving me heaps of advice; definitely a testament to the strong community you've built here. Whenever people tell me "it's unhealthy to be vegan" or "where do you get your protein?" (I seriously hate that one!) I always point them to articles here and show them you, Derek and Ed. I can't say I've had much luck converting people yet - but a lot of people around here are curious about what being vegan means. Ironic isn't it that the people that come at me with "where do you get your protein?" are often type-2 diabetics... curious.

Anyway! Just got back from another Tuesday cardio session. Gym was empty which is usually not great for me. But I put the headphones in, caught up on what's happening in the NBA, and got to it.

Treadmill HIIT:
30 minutes (1 up, 1 down) 6mph & 2mph
10 degree incline

Looking forward to another one of Derek's workouts tomorrow. I don't see much of a change but my fianceé has noticed some extra muscle - I'll take what I can get!

So... much... compound. Feels good!

Cleans:
First time adding these into the rotation so I practiced the form before adding weight.
5x95lbs
5x105lbs
5x115lbs
5x120lbs
5x125lbs

Incline DB Chest Press:
Managed to have someone spot me for the final 2 sets so I could go a bit heavier. The last set was the heaviest I'd ever done it and I didn't need any spotting on any rep other than the first (just to get the weight up)
5x45lbs
5x50lbs
5x50lbs
6x55lbs (spotted)
5x60lbs (spotted)

One Arm DB Row:
5x55lbs
5x60lbs
5x65lbs
5x70lbs
5x75lbs (felt REALLY heavy for me but managed to keep form pretty good)

Deadlifts:
As if the cleans weren't enough! Yeesh, I'm sitting here typing and I can feel the fatigue in my whole back and hammys. Sun Warrior, do your thing. I've gone heavier on these but not at 5x5. 225lbs for 2-3 is about where I sit at the moment.
5x135lbs
5x155lbs
5x175lbs
5x185lbs
5x195lbs