Any other vegetarian/vegan fitness enthusiasts here? I only started into the gym about two months ago and just wondering about protein tips/meal plans/advice/stories from any other vegetarians.

I live in a trailer, so any progress pics I'd post would feature my living arrangements a little too prominently for me to want to post them for everyone to see.

I'm not carrying anywhere near the size I was when I was 248 pounds at 12% bodyfat in my early 20s, either.

Maybe I'll just man up and take a gym selfie one of these days.

I've been avidly going to the gym for approximately 6 years now with a solid 3 years of consistency. Nowadays my training regimen is power lifting with a slight mix of body building although I do not care too much for aesthetics as I do raw power. My training mostly consists of a combination of 5X5 and 5/3/1 and now I'm throwing in some principles I'm learning from a book I picked up written by Mike Mentzer winner of the prestigious Mr. Olympia. He definitely had the power builder physique so classic of 1970s body builders and although a lot of these guys were on the juice, their training techniques can still yield great results to people such as myself who rely solely on a very disciplined work out regimen and a pretty clean diet consisting mostly of home cooked meals.

At the moment my greatest weakness is my cardiovascular endurance which my body reminded me a few days ago when I was huffing and puffing during a mosh pit at an Exciter concert. Yes I've developed a good amount of power ever since I started powerlifting 3 years ago but I've sacrificed my cardio so I've made it a point to start doing some fast paced hiking and a lot of jump rope.

Mentzer was big on the HIT training, or at least that is what he advertised as using himself; many are skeptical that he utilized that training style at all when he was actively competing. There are some Youtube vids floating around of the final video series he made (which is kind of creepy as he passed away the night after they filmed it).

There is a huge injury risk associated with that kind of training. Most people I talk to who tried it said it was effective for a short period, but they ended up getting injured and it set them back further.

Because of nausea, the only real exercise I can manage on my current medicine is walking, so I walk. Is there any way that I can get the most out of walking? I figured, even though I'm not lifting weights or running, etc., I'd still like to get the most benefit out of the exercise that I can do.

From what I recall of Mentzer's books, he didn't arrive at his specific training protocol position until after his bodybuilding career had ended. Even at that, he modified volume and rest quotients during the course of his career as a trainer. I'll reread a couple of his books one of these weekends to refresh my memory on that point.

Nocturno: I'm assuming you're already working with a spotter. If not, a spotter is mandatory to safely implement HIIT. With increased frequency of training to failure, you'll need more rest, too.

Well, the obvious problem would seem to be that as you try to get more out of walking, it ceases to be sufficiently easy... That said, maybe you could experiment with carrying weight while walking. This could be done with a weighted vest, a backpack, or perhaps by carrying it in your hands, farmers walk style. That's a really nice, productive, and fun exercise, but with heavy weights, it could be too much for your circumstances.

Weighed in at under 200lbs bodyweight today for the first time since high school. Feels pretty good! Now I'm gonna see which comes first: 180lbs bodyweight or bodyweight squats.

Edit: Aaaaaaaaaaaaand a Korean guy posts on my Facebook status saying the same to remind me that I'm still obese. Thanks, Korea!

I'm honestly thinking that risk factor has to do with training to failure doing the major compound lifts with free weights such as the squat, deadlift, and bench press which if working over 90% maximum effort you definitely need a spotter. I'm not too concerned with training to failure with the accessory work outs that compliment the compound lifts but a spotter is essential to really squeeze out the reps that really count. I did do personal training for a few years so having had that background and keeping up with the latest developments in the human physiological science definitely helped to corroborate a lot of Mentzer's advise of course he makes it easier for the average lifter to understand instead of using the complex terms you would find in an exercise science journal. I think the biggest selling point for me was the fact that at the time, when all the major names in body building were promoting the whole split work out routine for a total of 6+ hours a day, Mentzer was the only who maintained that no one should have to work out for more than one hour which I can attest has worked well for me.



You may be right about Mentzer not incorporating the HIT system until after his prime, so far from what I read he does seem to hint at that but nonetheless, as it was common in those days, body builders did do a lot of power lifting which gave birth to the name power builder and that is more of the path I have chosen with a bigger emphasis on power. I will be sure to include some updates on my progress as I train and read more and even throw in some pictures.

Wouldn't you really burn out your CNS training like that for an extended period? I understand the longer rest times, but we also forget that even back then, all of those guys were loaded on drugs and some could grow just by doing mindless pump exercises. The question for the rest of us is, does HIT have more of an advantage to the natural lifter?

That is a good idea! A light backpack could probably give my walks a little boost. Thanks a lot.

Starting to get lean again. Side chest and side tricep poses.

Just finished week 6 of StrongLifts. Most of the exercises are starting to feel like a real workout, except for bench which is still pretty easy if I just do the amount I'm supposed to do, so typically I finish my 5x5 then slap a couple more plates on there and do three more sets or so. I'll eventually cut back to just the simple 5x5 once that working weight starts becoming a challenge.

I did miss reps on OH press today for the first time @ a meager 40kg, haha. Fuck, that's a hard exercise. I just hope I can get through the full 5x5 of that next Wednesday. I realize sooner, rather than later, I'm probably going to have to take a deload, but I'm really hoping that that doesn't happen until my deload weight is still above 40kg. It will be really demoralizing if I have to drop under that and go back to using small plates.

So yeah, currently at:
62.5kg squat
40kg bench
50kg rows
40kg OH press
80kg deadlift

I was steadily dropping body weight when I started but now it kinda jumps around a bit. I've started trying to eat cleaner on weekends as well as during the week so hopefully I can keep up with the weight loss, but we'll see.

You're making good progress, my friend! Keep it up. In no time you'll be jacked as fuck.

As far as my own monthly progress report, I'm getting more toned/shredded... though not yet near Diamhea's level. Lazar kicks our ass.


I am eating better this month, which is starting to show.

Although I totally understand the temptation, I would recommend trying to resist doing additional sets if you can, for e.g. bench. My case is different, but I did a lot more benching than other exercises for a while, and now I'm dealing with a lot of nasty imbalances. And keep in mind that if your body has to recover from additional benching, it'll possibly inhibit recovery in other areas.

Your OHP actually isn't meager! That's totally fine, and actually sounds proportionally better than some of your other lifts. I was benching 225 pounds 5x5, and I had no shame doing OHP at 95 pounds 5x5 (although at my best I got to 135). Improvement happens way slower on OHP, and it sounds like yours is coming along fine.

Put either of us on the drug protocol he's on and then we'll see.

Anyway, this is the best I've seen you look so far.

Thanks man. Still nowhere near where I want to be.

Fuck yeah, excellent day at the gym. Squats felt really good, still not really anywhere near grip failure on deadlifts @ 85kg with a standard double overhand grip (so, haven't really thought about switching to a mixed grip yet) and I totally crushed that 40kg OH press 5x5 without even coming close to missing a rep. I tried to really focus on squeezing my butt cheeks together really hard before starting the lifts, took the full 3 minutes rest between the last few sets and tried to really amp myself up by jumping around a bit. Worked wonders!

Careful with the mixed grip on deadlifts.... many a bicep has been torn that way.

Ok people I need some assistance. I just got a gym membership two days ago and I'm trying to be diligent about going a minimum of five times a week. All the booze I've been drinking has finally caught up to me and eating healthy plus work isn't helping me lose or even really maintain my weight anymore.

I'm doing 30-40 minutes of cardio plus weight lifting, typically I just use machines but if the free weight area is empty I will do free weights as I know you get more band for your buck with them as opposed to the machines. Anyways what I really need is to ditch the spare tire. I have huge ass child birthing hips and an ever budding keg where my abs are supposed to be. What are some exercises and other things I can do to target that area of my body?

All you can really do to lose the fat is make sure you are eating at a caloric deficit. It's not super clear but have you ditched the booze completely? That stuff can pack a ton of extra calories that you might not be thinking about. You won't out exercise a bad diet. Your body will lose fat where it chooses to, basically (unfortunately you can't target fat loss via exercise, only muscle building), so you just gotta keep on the deficit until you are happy with your fat %. Make sure you have a balanced weightlifting routine as well to ensure you aren't getting any nasty imbalances. Lots of people recommend Stronglifts or Starting Strength for beginners, personally I run a PPL (Push/Pull/Legs) routine (if you do some google research, you will probably find lots, but coolcicada's seems to be popular) 6 days a week, but there are lots of different ones that others might want to weigh in about if 5 days a week works better for you.

Yeah.. about that... no. And I won't just to be honest, I love drinking and it's a pretty big hobby of mine. I go to the bar usually two or three times a week plus have drinks with dinner at home pretty much every day that I'm not at the bar. I eat pretty damn healthy though so I'm not too worried about my diet. I'm a vegetarian and I eat to lose weight, I won't bother you with my daily rundown, but suffice to say I don't eat unhealthily. I guess I'll just keep hitting the gym hard and try to make it habit and hopefully after some time and work I'll still be able to slim down. Thanks for the advice though .

Alright guys, I need advice on something. I just got a labour job which is about 50 hours a week. The bulk of it is digging and and handling 30kg bags of concrete. I worked ten hours today and my back is pretty dusted. I still want to keep going to the gym as much as I have been and I'm just wondering the best way to not have the job completely ruin my gains. I'm drinking lots of water, foam rolling and stretching when I get home and trying to get a lot of protein throughout the day. I was fine during my junk removal job but on an average week the hours might be half what I have no, lots of weeks even less.

I'm probably not the best person to give you advice because I suck at actually working out, as evidenced by my previous posts, but I do have a similar work situation so yeah. My typical work day is usually 11-12 hours just at work which translates into 13-14 from the time I get up to when I get home. I do manual labor (I unload a semi truck mostly by hand and with a dolly five days a week) and my job requires me to handle boxes weighing anywhere up to 95lbs. Normally the weight range is in the 30-60lb but it does vary a lot. All in all I average 13-15,000lbs of product a day and wind up handling most things two or three times minimum. So yeah, pretty stressful on the body.

All I can really offer in advice is that you need to stretch frequently. Minimum four times a day. Especially after you come off lunch and whatever type of breaks you get. Certain stretches will do more for you than others so learn what your body needs and repeat often as possible. Otherwise dude, and I hate to say this to you, it's just something you have to get used to. There isn't really a magic answer other than letting your body get used to the workload and then fall into a rythym. I would say you should definitely take it easy at the gym until you get acclimated to your new job though. You don't want to burn out, that's when injuries occur.

This is a drop in the bucket, albeit a moderate one. If you want to lose the spare tire, it is almost entirely diet, and that spare tire is the absolute last thing to go (trust me on that...). You can make lifestyle choices, like going to the gym without altering your diet, that WILL slightly alter your body chemistry (more muscle you carry the more calories you burn at rest... helps you lose at least some excess flab) not to mention the burned calories from doing the workouts on their own.

If you are a chronic drinker, I can promise you that cutting out the booze will do wonders for your weight on its own. I know you work a tough job, do what you gotta do, eat as much protein as possible (again difficult as a veg but there are options, I eat soy protein powder a lot cuz its cheaper). In the end its up to you.

EoH, I'm sure it's possible to eat a caloric deficit even drinking pretty often. Beer is just liquid bread anyway. Just cut out some carbs elsewhere.

Now, I'm not going to pretend to be some fitness guru or anything (far from it actually) but honestly I couldn't be happier with how I'm progressing on StrongLifts. It's hard to say for sure since I was doing some dumb made-up routine of exercises using mostly machines for a couple of months before I started StrongLifts (coming up on seven weeks ago) so I'm not 100% sure how well I prepared my body for a progressive system like this, but I dunno, lifting on it feels great and definitely makes me a lot happier going to the gym.

I've lost maybe about 15 lbs since before I started working out last October or so, but I've gone from size 38 loose fit jeans to 34 slim fits kinda getting too big in the waist (so I might have to go to 32's soon). In the seven weeks on StrongLifts I've gotten a lot stronger, too, and now that the fat is starting to melt away the muscles are finally peeking out a little. I noticed I have lats for the first time ever the other day, but the best part was definitely how I went from just flat flabby non-chest to actual pecs. Not to mention I just feel a lot healthier, and adding weight to every exercise every time I lift is seriously addictive stuff. Also the StrongLifts app is super simple and helpful.

So yeah, I wish I had started something like that from day one. StrongLifts + cardio + calorie deficit, man. I'm sure Starting Strength is probably just as good.

I loved Stronglifts when I first started, I can seriously attest to the almost addictive nature of the linear progression program. It does get a little frustrating once you start plateauing. I actually ended up switching my routine once I started hitting big plateaus strengthwise because I was starting to dread going into the gym and getting my ass handed to me again and again (yeah, I'm a wuss ), plus I wanted more volume and aesthetic focused routine while I was bulking. That being said, Stronglifts was great for getting me in the frame of mind needed and to get me familiar with the major lifts. You should try it out EoH!

To be honest, I was thinking of starting it back up again: despite being pleased with how my body is progressing and enjoying my current routine, I was never as on the ball consistency and diet/lifestyle(not getting enough sleep, partying etc) wise as I should have been and so I'd like to see what kind of strength gains I could make if I really buckled down. That being said, I'm not too concerned with being a powerlifter and putting up heavy weights as I am just looking more sculpted and being healthier in general (running is my preferred form of cardio).

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll try and cut out some calories from my dinners I guess, probably just eat smaller portions. And I guess I could start eating before I get to the bar on nights I go out. The only meat free food they have is pizza and a "barbarian pretzel" which is supposed to feed four, or one fatty named Dan. Yes I can and have maxed a pretzel meant for four people in one sitting. But typically my carb intake is pretty low, I eat like four pieces of bread a day, two at breakfast and two for a sandwich I eat at work. Otherwise I tend to avoid empty carbs like tortillas or other such things. And I never, ever eat white bread or rice of any kind.

@diam: yeah I try and get as much protein as possible still. I drink a shake everyday and I take a cheese sandwich for lunch. So that gets me to about %60ish of the advised intake. Which is actually probably higher than most people who aren't paying attention to what they put into their bodies.

the question for you is less 'healthily' than 'low caloric total'. body builders eat healthily, too ... and with a massive caloric surplus to ensure they gain weight.

that's an iffy concept in and of itself, though, unless you have it strictly controlled.
I mean, I don't 'alter my diet' consciously, but I am well aware by now of the difference in sheer quantities of the same foods I eat on a week I work hard vs a week I don't go to work at all. the body/hunger adapts to what you need, so it's easy to accidentally increase your diet to meet demands when you increase your exercise, rather than trimming fat going into deficit that way.

Well yeah, that was the implication. Although in practical daily life, nothing is static. Cortisol rises and drops, activity level is never going to be exactly the same, etc. I get what you're saying.

People at the gym still annoy the fuck out of me so in between sets I'm on my phone, but instead of just random conversation I'd like to have conversations that fit the "lift/push/whatever till it hurts"-mood, so anyone here wanna add me on Whatsapp or Messenger? PM.

Being on your phone in the gym is almost as egregious a sin as being the other annoying people.

But I got all my workout logs on my phone

Yeah, I use the StrongLifts app. People using their phones don't bother me even a tiny bit, unless you're just constantly taking selfies or you start playing games or whatever during your rest period and wind up taking ridiculously long rests and tie up equipment for longer than you need to.

I don't even pay attention to what other people are doing while I'm there. Personally I put my phone on silent and just stick it in a cubby so I don't have any distractions while I'm working out.

So far I went to the gym three times last week (not bad for signing up Monday and being out of town for the weekend) and I've been three times this week. I'm trying hard to go at least five times a week, hoping to make it everyday unless I've got something that prevents me from going. I'm really pushing myself to get back into shape. I'm doing 40 minutes of cardio and then some weights in the middle of that. Hopefully in another few weeks I'll start being able to see some physical results.

I'm just sick of being fat and out of shape. That and I'm trying to build a regular routine so that whenever I'm finally able to find a different job I won't balloon up like 60lbs.

Ever since I started heavy lifting again, I've increasingly noticed people who use bad form. It doesn't even annoy me, it just kind of saddens me because I see some people come to the gym often and know that they will never make progress that way. I'm a bit of a form Nazi, and the only time it really annoys me is when Youtubers and other fitness gurus train with dogshit form, because it's inadvertently going to be passed down to the people who watch their videos (guys like Kali Muscle, Brad Castleberry, etc). The fitness industry really does suck, because it's full of both charlatans who are out to make money off of peoples ignorance and ignorant well-to-do'ers who give out bad advice when they don't know any better.

I predicted the fall of that Jason Blaha dude (seriously, look up his recent "outing" its a riot) but the only YT fitness "Celebrities" I ever watched regularly were Jerry Ward (Bios3) who is no bullshit, and Ric Drasin because of his cool stories and guests.

I wouldn't call myself so much a stickler for form as I used to be. There are instances wherein swinging a little is necessary. I've learned this as I worked up my weight on heavy alternate hammer curls. I am, however, very strict on all chest-related stuff. Everyone is always sizing me and each other up at the gym, and I do get some motivation out of demonstrating good form because once the long-sleeve shirt comes off, I'm always the most cut dude in there. Most of the regular "bodybuilders" in my gym are intermediate permabulkers who simply live under the smith machine, because BRO how much u bench!? They are usually all delts because they can't even engage their chest correctly.

This is recent and with a killer pump (I haven't posted this pic in this thread yet):


And remember, I never once touch the barbell for any chest exercises.

Man, your phone situation is brutal, I wanna see those bad boys in high def!

As far as form goes I just try my best to keep good form, I honestly couldn't care less if some dude snaps his back doing deads or squats or whatever. I'm not there to look after other people, nor do I really feel like it's my place. Plus I see tons of super jacked guys with questionable form. Whatever works for you, I say.

Just finished StrongLifts 5x5 week 8 with moderate success. Crapped out on the last couple of sets of OHP again today, this time at 45kg. I get the strong impression from here on out I'm only going to be able to increase the weight on that exercise every second time I do it. Broke bodyweight on my first exercise today (deadlifts), so that felt pretty good.

So, in eight weeks of progress, 5x5's for everything except deadlifts which are just a 1x5:

Squat: 20kg (44lbs) - 77.5kg (171lbs)
Bench: 20kg (44lbs) - 50kg (110lbs)
Rows: 30kg (66lbs) - 57.5kg (127lbs)
OHP: 20kg (44lbs) - 45kg (99lbs) - work in progress, lol
Deadlift: 40kg (88lbs) - 95kg (209lbs)

Bodyweight has kinda stalled around 200lbs, but I think my body fat % is coming down nicely. Still a lot of progress to make there, as well.