Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I have been working out religiously for a long time. I like pretty much all kinds of exercise at one time or another. I started at Ucf a year ago so I have been getting my tuitions worth out of the gym. This summer my exercise schedule has been this: Monday/ Wednesday spin and hard bodies and Tuesday Thursday spin abs then flexibility. On friday I spin as well. Saturday and Sunday I either do kick boxing or weights at my house..or both...because I have to work and the gym opens too late. I will take other classes sporadically (yoga kick boxing Pilates boot camp). I work out for the awesome feeling you get after you are done and the energy. I like to work out early in the morning if I can because after my workout is the only time I am really awake....if I don't work out I feel not quite right all day. I have been doing two hour long workouts back to back lately because I find it is hard to push myself over the edge in just one hour...although there is a new teacher at the gym that pushes us pretty hard I can only do one hour of his classes.


SOOOO.... today being Wednesday I did abs and spin / flexibility it was great...we did endurance in spin but the teacher got sick during the last two songs so we kind of had to just wing the last two.

I really liked the flexibilty class that is something I need more of...I used to have better flexibility when I was a kick boxing/ pilates addict...but now I need to stretch alot more to regain it.


I think I have to start bringing powerade or something to the gym I always eat a sizable breakfast an hour before...but after about 90 minutes I start to get hungry....I don't want to be eating alot at the gym or I will get sick but I think I have to start eating in the 15 minute break before hour 2. I used to break up my workouts but I have started to like being at the gym for 2hours I feel even better when I am done. any suggestions on portable vegan snacks.... I need to eat something quickly before spin and Abs. I was gonna do like a powerade or something... I don't like to eat too much after I am done exercising I usually drink a protien shake and then eat a meal later... intensely hard exercise tames my appetite. days that I go easy on myself I eat way more...which seems the opposite of what it should.

Lara Bars EmmyBear, can't get more portable than that or healthier being all raw and a nice chunk of cals to provide some good fuel.

Oh and everytime I hear the word 'sporadically', my mind immediately goes to the movie 'Clueless' but that's ok b/c alicia silverstone is vegan and raw =D

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Where do you get your protein?
http://www.VeganProteins.com

omg my abs hurt!!! I never feel abs till the next day...it always seems so easy..the abs class.Then I wake up and it hurts to laugh. I am doing 20/20/ 20/ and spin today I pray that they don't throw in 20 min of abs!!! I think I am going to bring a clif z-bar to the gym..Lara bars are so damn expensive...
plus cliff z bars have a little bit more sweet taste because they are made for kids.

I forgot my stupid z-bar....erg. I ended up drinking half a powerade before spin...It was funny because I realized I had never had a powerade before...(I am not a fan of sports drinks) for all the sugar in it it tasted pretty bad. I did feel a little more energetic in spin. In 20 / 20 20 we did moderate cardio ten minutes of jump rope then 4 laps around the gym. I got a bad Charlie horse yesterday and I could feel it today so I did not go very fast. We did all arms today... Our teacher loves super sets so we did 3 supersets of flys, rows and chest presses on the ball first laying with our back on the ball then facing down. The first superset I used 8 the second 5. the we did a superset of push ups consisting of regular and inverted followed by a plank hold for 30 seconds 3 sets. We did 3 sets of that. I got there late so I got stuck with a heavy ass bar...we did pull ups and shoulder presses with the bar she usually does 10-15 reps but I wussed out and picked up my 8lbs to finish because my bar was 20lbs. Three sets of those. Then we did tricep dips on the steps which almost killed me. We used a resistance band to open up our chest and back. Then we did a few more supersets of presses on the ball. and the end we did crazy eights which is 4 sets of 8 bicep moves 8 regular 8 pulsing. My arms feel kind of jelly- ish. Spin felt freaking awesome after that class......we did strengthening. 45 minutes at maximum resistance. I felt pretty tingly all over after that whole deal. I think I need to chill out on the resistance because I am starting to feel my left knee...it does not hurt but I can feel it and my other one I don't feel at all. I used to wear a knee brace when I spun but I lost it in the move...I am gonna have to pick up another one. It could of been the jump rope/run/spin combo that did it.
my abs still hurt...I think I was not breathing as deep as I could during spin..because my lungs feel a little tight




as for food ...I actually ate a real lunch today instead of just downing a protien shake or something. I am addicted to those steam fresh veggie mixtures.. I had that plus some grapes and a veggie wrap I made with a low carb tortilla veggie bologna and vegan cheese... really good stuff.

You can just slip a couple of the bars into your bag. They won't go bad because you will probably eat them all up! Planning is always important in maintaining balance between your health and your active lifestyle! In fact after reading your workout, I would have me in overtrain mode within a week or two. Just be careful, otherwise you could compromise your immune system and will succumb to a virus or bacteria. Not to mention injury prone and plateau of gains. Pain is a very good teacher (it is up to you to be a good student and learn ).

Yeah it is tough but I usually end up skipping one or two classes due to time/ schedule conflicts...and labor day...NO Classes. Thanks for the tips

My abs hurt still today so I am gonna take spin with an easier teacher and do yoga instead of abs...I will be working out a little later than usual...but oh well. I need the relaxation of yoga today. I went out and bought healthier English muffins yesterday...the bad for you ones were on sale so I have been eating them for a couple of weeks...I also bought some peanut butter with less sugar than I had been eating before. Even though most vegan stuff is healthy when you start eating alot of processed vegan foods you can venture into junk food quickly.. I have been eating alot of vegan junk lately..due to being back in school and stressed. But summer break has been pretty relaxing.

So I took an easier spin class today and skipped abs. It was an interval spin but I took too many breaks in the class so I sweated but my face was not pink when I left...as usual... I also did yoga which was fun...it was hatha yoga so we were constantly moving..I actually ended up sweating a little bit from that. I actually hate rest days... I know you have to take them once in a while... but when I don't get that elated/ extremely exhausted feeling after a workout I feel like I was kind of cheated. But I also know that you have to have a slow day so your body can recover. Tomorrow I am taking spin with an easy teacher again... but I am going to try to not give myself any breaks so I come out pink.

food...
I ate pretty much the same things I always eat
peanut butter and banana on English muffin with soy milk
cliff z-bar
steamed veggies grapes and a vegan bologna and cheese sandwich in a low carb wrap
and a soy milk strawberry protein shake...
for dinner I'm thinking vegan pizza..yum

Lara bars are expensive, you think? They are like $1.29 each, considering the amount of raw calories you get, I didn't think it was that bad. clif bars are around 240-250 a bar and cost about $2.30 and have alot of sugar. Lara Bars are around 190-230 calories and have all whole raw food in them. How much are they around your way?

Instead of a powerade, may I suggest coconut water? Of course straight from a coconut young or mature would be ideal but the bottled ones would stil be better, much better than a powerade and whatever is in them. Zico makes the best coconut water imo, harvest bay tastes terrible in comparison.

Coconut water is the #1 best source of electrolytes on the planet and the water is super clean and pure...

_________________
Where do you get your protein?
http://www.VeganProteins.com

Here clif and luna bars are 99 cents at Whole Foods,and Publix supermarkets. Larabars are around 1.40 each.

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The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible.

Lara bars have 20 grams of sugar...I don't eat the big cliff bars... I eat the cliff z bars that have 120 calories and like 11 grams of sugar 3 grams of protein. They come on a box of 6 for 3.50 each. However today I noticed at publix that they came out with a new nature valley granola bar it is vegan made with peanuts and almonds 180 calories 7 grams of sugar and 7 grams of protein...they are on sale BOGO 2 for 4 $. I think I will try those. I did spin today...another easy day.. but I had to work and my job is basically a workout I walk like 10 miles every day around publix pushing a shopping cart....8 hours. And I have to secure the premises..which sometimes involves running with that heavy cart...it did today! Tomorrow I am doing a 90 minute yoga plus 20/20 /20...I am so looking forward to it.


Food!!!!!!!!!...Omg I ate so much today
I had my regular breakfast of pb and english muffin
and regular lunch of "bologna and cheese" sandwich but 1 cup strawberries today and soy crisps ... work makes me hungry though so I also ate 2 clif bars and a silk soy yogurt and drank chocolate soymilk
after work I went to subway and got a low carb wrap all veggies and this small frozen "fruit" drink and I use the term loosely.... I have been having a really sore throat lately so I ate 5 Popsicles( 4 of the tofutti kind and one edys) as well...when I am sick it is harder to control my food intake and I was pretty miserable today. Most of the stuff I ate today was an effort to soothe the pain in my throat. I think I messed it up singing/screaming.

Tomorrow I am having a gym and lunch date with an omni friend of mine...she says she is going to cook me a vegan lunch...we'll see how this turns out.....

Can you ditch the english muffin and go for oatmeal instead? English muffins are white refined wheat (even the whole wheat ones. Now the sprouted wheat ones are not so bad, but it still has enough flour in it to spike your insulin levels way up).

Funny how when there is pain, like a sore throat, we throw everything to the wind and just eat? Your body needs the calories to fight whatever you are coming down with. You need to be smart and feed it nutrient dense food (dark leafy greens sound good, and probably orange juice or some other Vitamin C containing food) rather than giving it comfort food. And if you keep tearing down your body with exercise, it won't be able to fight off the invading virus/bacteria, and repair your body from the intense exercise. My point of overtraining. Be smart. Relax and enjoy a couple of days off as you fight it (takes about 3 days for the immune system to kick the invader's protein coat: antibodies to the virus/bacteria's cell membrane surface takes 3 days ideally to refine to perfect killing machines).

The English muffins that I have now aren't that bad They have the same amount of protein and fiber as my oatmeal and they have less carbs and only 90 calories. And no sugar. I ate oatmeal for two years that was all I would eat I got sick of it. But I am probably switching back due to the fact that the English muffins cost more.

I don't think I am sick with a virus I am pretty sure I messed up my voice singing with my band. You are right controlling my emotional eating is one of my biggest diet pitfalls.

How many calories in an 8oz serving

So, I powered through a 90 minute yoga class today. I can really feel myself becoming more flexible. I almost got my leg over my head today and I feel a split is in the near future. After that fun I went to my friends house and she made me lunch. A Boca chicken patty whole wheat pasta peas and a cauliflower broccoli romaine lettuce olive salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. It was really good. Her lunch was pretty much the same but she put cheese on her Boca burger.... She says she is trying to eat less meat but it is hard because she is Hispanic. When she visits her family they all eat meat. She says she does not know any Hispanic vegetarians ...what do you say to someone like that. I know she loves animals. She eats organic meat because she says they are nicer to the animals.( yeah before they slaughter them cruelly) I know she is on the verge. But She has alot of other influences in her life.. her boyfriend her family. I also did 20/20/20... it was an easy teacher though...the cardio and abs part was difficult...but we used resistance bands for arms and we did no legs..just one set of squats. If you read my arm workout thread I think I am going to start doing my own resistance /weight training and only going to the cardio classes.