Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

First day of September.

Today was cool and the sun tried to shine thru, but the clouds won, and it became a foggy morning. Grabbed my helmet and headed out the door on my small mountain bike, and biked to Leonard (a really small town that is 12 miles away) and back home under 2 hours. Decided to up the speed, and kept it at a knee/glute pump at 25 to 27 speed indicator pace. A bunny decided to race me on the way back home. Good thing I saw him and kept my pedal up, otherwise I would have bonked him on the head. And luckily he decided to go toward the ditch instead of crossing right in front of me. Those bunnies along the trail are not so smart when it comes to cyclists. Now the chipmunks are a different story. I think it is a right of passage for them, or just plain fun, to run right across the trail about 2 feet in front of your bike and you barely miss running over them, which makes you curse out loud. . . well at least I do.

So morning cardio is done, and it was enjoyable - though my right foot still has a nagging soreness to it from the 10 mile road race I did last weekend (CRIM: http://www.crim.org/). I wear the Sprydons/Vibrams to run in (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/produc ... ty=running), and had been training by only running on the trails, and when it came to the road race on asphalt, well . . it made my feet sore (just in certain places - like the outside of my right foot - banked road surface?) to run on after a couple of miles. Have to keep that in mind next year to train on asphalt too. Toughen up the feet more for a more unforgiving surface to pound them against.

Gym time today is Biceps.

Looks like this will be a cool log, congrats on the 10miler, what time did you end up finishing in? Aren't the Vibrams great for running trails in? just seems like it might take you a little time to adjust to road running in them ~ they aren't overly forgiving are they.

Have a great bicep workout, hope you had a good weekend too MF.

Bicep workout was just an hour long - trying to trim my time in the gym down to an hour per body part a day (cardio not included).

Starting off with a 10 minute warmup on the Elliptical (level 1 as my feet are still hurting) and got a mile done. Then on to the MaxRack for some Barbell Curls for about 1/2 hour with about 5 sets, starting off with a light weight warmup set of 25 reps to the heaviest weight set with 10 reps. After which I did a quick descending pyramid set of 15 reps, with a rest in between of just taking off the weights off the barbell.

Then I went onto Dumbbell Hammer Curls, standing straight up with my back up against the pec dec machine to keep from rocking my whole body. Concentrated on keeping my elbows pinned at my waist as I "hammered" the dumbbells up to my shoulder, and full control on the way down (using gravity as resistance, and not assistance). Same as the barbell curls, took me 1/2 an hour to do 5 sets up to heaviest weight, and then a rapid descending set (with dumbbells right there on the rack for you to put down and pick up - there is no rest!) of 3. Of which I did twice. And that was my hour of lifting for the day.

Today was good for food. I even behaved myself tonight. My night time's are the hardest to mentally stay focused, and not say WTF and get the Cookie Dough coconut ice cream (like I did last night!). So tonight is my first night being good and not eating snacks. No protein powder left for my night time shake tonight either (poor planning on my part), so I just ate another extra Gardein Beefless Burger plain instead.

MF - official time was 1:57 :00 for the 10 miler. I was going to sprint the last mile, but there were so many people lining the sidewalks at the last 2 miles of the race, that I did not even see the 9 mile mark. So it was a casual "jog" for the whole 10 miles.

I was actually very busy visually watching all the pretty colors that the runners were wearing. I even got to see the usual runners that come in costume: the Ms. Cheetah lady (very fit 50+ woman) who I have seen for the past 6 years that I have been participating in this race. Riley the runner who dribbles/juggling 3 basketballs while he runs - yeah, he passed me at the 3 mile mark this year! (and yeah he is 50+ also). Wonder Woman was walking smartly, and so was the Hawaiian lady with her hula skirt (though I noticed no coconut bra this year - wonder if it hurt her last year? that can not be comfortable for the whole 2 hours + when you are swishing your hips as your arms swing from side to side as she is a very fast walker). And then I want to read all the messages that the participants have put on their shirts for supporting their charity, or well wishes for a loved one who is sick, or even as a memorial tribute to someone who has past away. My heart always vibrates when I run that race and feel all the vibes of those that are participating. My favorite this year was a group of 3 guys who were bantering back and forth to each other as they were running. "I'm going to go on this side of the median and pass you wimps as you stay over there!" "Oh yeah, I'd like to see you try it!" "Hey I already passed this person, and this person, and this person (yeah, I was one of the runners he past of course! LOL)." "Oh yeah, well I passed like 25 already! See ya!" "Oh no you didn't!" and off they went. They must have not have burned themselves out because I never saw them again. So much fun.

Great work !!

Colors are changing and the temps are now in the low 40's this morning. I am putting on my extras to keep me warm on my morning cardio bike ride today. Legs are a little sore from the 5 mile jog yesterday, but the sun is shining and it is so beautiful outside my window. Saw the momma deers with their babies today, running around in the back yard, and the babies have no spots left on them. All grown up and spot free! Kind of like me with all my kids now. All grown up and moved out of the house (till the holidays when they come to visit during their university breaks). Still feeling alittle sad and mourning the loss of the daily activities with my kids. Now is a good time to go for a bike ride and get the lovely endorphins going, along with my blood to keep me warm also!

Was able to do some Back and Triceps yesterday at night. It is a Start at least (been gone from weightlifting for about 2 or 3 weeks). Just concentrated on working the muscle and worrying about what weight it is at. Just working it too, not ripping it, so I will not be so sore the next day, or the 2nd or 3rd day.
This morning's agenda is the usual 5 mile trail jog. Still alittle foggy and a cool 42 degrees F. The sun is trying to come out, so the leaves with color are glowing. Very pretty.
Prototype 202 from iTunes (free download) seems to be my music of choice lately. Progressive and House give me headaches halfway home, but the Trance seems to keep me mellow and no headaches. Plus it seems to go with the mood of the outside with it slowly starting to go into its own winter trance . . . luv it!

My mind is about to get set for focusing on training for a competition again. It is staring in me in the face, that I am the only one stopping me now. My kids are now grown up and out of the house (yeah, till their university breaks, but those are only 4 times a year, plus a summer - in which they could help support me by running and bike riding with me, and my one boy who is an Insanity fan! and is always asking me if I want to do it).
So today is the second day of being serious. I woke up and am having green tea (not going to go on Lipo6 just yet, the caffeine in the green tea seems to be enough so far to keep me going in the morning thru cardio), 2 white willow bark (my aspirin containing herb), and carnitine, and this week I started back up on Keto7. And now I am off to do a 20+ mile, 2 hour bike ride and enjoy the colors of fall (the morning sun isn't quite out yet, but the colors are in that magical glowing light). Today was also the first time waking up with a twinge of hunger. I will get a shot glass out and do a shot of grape juice and aloe vera juice before leaving. I will put a scoop of BodyTech BCAA's with Glu/Vitamin C in my water bottle for the bike ride (I tried that last time, and it seemed to hold off the hunger while riding BACK from the turning around point - which is after an hour of riding, getting more and more hungry and weaker of course, but I can't give up as I have to get back home). And then I will have my rice milk chai latte (heated rice milk with the Chai/vanilla flavored Raw Protein Powder) and a spoonful of wheat germ oil (I found that the squalene and natural Vitamin E in it does seem to help to keep my skin soft). Well the green tea is kicking in: energy beginning and my morning release of yesterday's toxins just flushed away, LOL!
Morning Cardio: bike ride
Evening WorkOut: Triceps (I worked out Back for 1 and 1/2 hours yesterday - went heavy)

I had a good night of lifting heavy for Triceps. In and out of the gym in an hour.

Now onto a jog for today's cardio. I had to think about doing Delts or Legs tonight. I think I will work the Delts, as after doing tomorrow's workout, the next bodypart on the agenda is Chest. I've never had much luck with Delts followed by Chest (I like to do alot of inclines to work the upper pecs more, which naturally includes the front delts). I will not do any morning cardio tomorrow (maybe a walk around the block in the morning) before doing Legs at night (tried it already and can not go heavy on Legs with the weights I know I can do with fresh Legs).

Waking up a couple of times at night now (4th day of dieting and using caffeine) but am able to go back to relax and drift back to sleep - unless the light is starting to come thru the windows - then I am up and ready to get outside for my morning cardio - a summer ingrained habit, carrying over into Fall. I am not hungry at these times at night . . yet. I am just kind of AWAKE, like my metabolism is firing up. Which is what I think in my head, so I smile when I do wake up, and then begin to make myself relax and tell myself to use the energy to repair the muscles! keep it positive - this is the mental part of dieting down/building mass without weight.

Back to Triceps again tonight at the gym. I have been able to do one bodypart each night. I am kind of like not wanting to go tonight. The wind is howling, there is some rain, and it is so cold. The Michigan UP had snow already today. Oooooh, I just want to hibernate. I have already taken all my supplements and my green tea, so the energy will kick in a minute or two. And I always say, it is just Triceps tonight, but my Back from last night has some DOMS already, and my Quads still hurt from this morning's 5 mile casual run on the trail. I do not know why, but after a night's sleep, some green tea and supplements in the morning, I feel like I can run a marathon (or at least the usual 10 miles that I know I can do). Then when it gets to be the night time, I am like all whiney about my aches and pains, and don't feel like going. . . and then when I get to the gym, my competitive nature kicks in and I look at my notebook, and say, I can lift heavier today!!!! I am a VeganBeast, and that is the green tea talking now! LOL! OK, got my tunes downloaded and I am off. Tonight's podcast is Gareth Emery's episode 254 , though I might go back to his 250 extended episode.

Did the Triceps, and I went up in the weights for it. Still can not do Dips at my current weight. I did do 8 solid ones on the 25lb assisted weight. So probably in 2 weeks I can get up to doing bodyweight dips. I looked around the gym last night and it seemed like all of the regulars were like me - no smile, all work, just doing it. Then the teenagers come in and brighten the whole place up with their carefree here and there working out on machines and treadmills, or a couple were like dedicated athletes at school, so I saw all the old school bad mechanics of lifting. When are those teachers going to retire and let the new techniques begin? My pet peeve is the Lat Pulldown. I get agitated when I see them performing the pull action past their chest with a curl of their wrist! Luckily, well actually luck has nothing to do with it, because by the time you get to the heavy weights, your little wrist muscles are not going to be able to do that. They probably get to pull it down the right way and stop when their elbows are as far down to their sides as can be, and the bar is just at their chin. They might think that they are cheating - only if you don't pull your elbows all the way down to your sides - though with my heavy weights I do not pull my elbows all the way down - then again I only want to work the belly of the muscle and not any of the muscles by the ligaments/tendons. My rant for the day.
It is now time for me to head out into 34 degree F (close to 1 degree C) environment for my morning cardio bike ride. Quads were alittle sore this morning as I awoke, but are OK now that they are warmed up (up and down stairs doing morning chores), and I bought myself a wind jacket yesterday that I will try today and see if that helps with the sweat on my back going cold when the wind blows up on it when I am 45 minutes into the ride and the sweat has accumulated.
Haven't stepped on the scale yet. Clothes still feel normal except the arm openings are getting tight with my tshirts again (which is good thing in my opinion). Will start to weight myself next month. It will be colder, and will have to decide if I want to do morning cardio outside or inside, or perhaps no cardio- perhaps go back to doing yoga?

Oh my G! I was warm with the wind jacket on, but my feet froze! and I wore 2 pairs of socks. Breathable uppers on shoes are not good for winter temp bike rides! Waiting for them to warm up, just so I can take my shower without them feeling like pins and needles from the warm water running over them. I thought my thighs would also be cold and red, but the light knit pants on the outside and the biker capris underneath did a fair job of keeping them warm. Knit gloves are not going to work if it gets much more colder for my hands either.
I suppose I should give it up (as my mind was telling me on the last 30 minutes of the ride back to the warm house) as a morning cardio. I don't mind spinning, just the people who do the spinning class. Plus I don't want to go without my commune with nature to start my day. Well tomorrow is Leg day, so no cardio. I will just think about it later. LOL! Like today, I was like, here I go, I got my wind jacket, gloves, double socks, head warmer, and my ever present sunglasses to keep the eyes from tearing up like a babbling brook, and I am off. First blast of arctic air hitting my whole body, and I am like "Oh sh*t! What have I gotten myself into" and the reply is always at the beginning, "Oh just go, you will warm up", along with a "Oh just do it!" LOL. And then with the trance music going, I just trance out all the way to the 10 mile turnaround to go back home, and then realize that the wind was at my back all the way there - and now it will be in my face all the way back!

Delt night. Time for some green tea, and off I go. Feel much better about going than yesterday night. Think I might wear my tank top and see if I can see some changes, to go along with the weights creeping back up, plus I am eating more - like I have oatmeal with my protein powder now after a good workout instead of just rice milk (the extra calories help me sleep, and refuel my glycogen stores for the morning cardio - which I do not eat anything before I go - though I do a little Orange Juice now and then if I wake up hungry, but not now with the oatmeal at night).

Been thinking alot about how exercise causes free radicals (any metabolic processes causes free radicals, by anything to do with the glucose metabolism in the mitochondria will be a cause for alot of free radicals). Read somewhere that marathoners have the most damage from free radicals as the sport demands alot of rapid glucose metabolism. I guess weight lifting isn't as demanding on glucose for energy (especially with the long breaks I am doing right now as I am building muscle mass), but I guess we have to worry about inflammation as we rip the muscle tissue during a heavy lift. Still, I try to take in as many anti-oxidants (free radicals that neutralize the body's free radicals) in my water, my meals, and even with the protein powder shakes.
Was thinking of upping my caffeine content from green tea to Lipo6 again, but green tea has the anti-oxidants I need to go with the caffeine high that usually goes along with my morning cardio. Maybe I will do both. Instead of 2 Lipo6, maybe I will do 1 Lipo6 with my Yogi Kombucha Green tea.
Now to get over my hatred of cold weather. Winter is just about here in Michigan, and with it the gloomy grey skies, and this week has been cold rain (snow is alittle bit better, as I can go and run in snow, but I get drenched in the rain - and since it is not a warm rain, it is bone-chilling). The sun is shining, but there is a wind blowing out there, so I am skeptical that this is going to be pleasant. Plus I have Leg day tomorrow, so I can not jog, but am planning a nice walk for 3 miles (1 hour walk). That means I won't get all warm with the blood pumping thru my body. But I will do it anyways. Sigh.
Saw a girl at the gym yesterday and last week also, that is quite SWOLE and even ripped (especially her back muscles). She grabbed a chin up bar and started to do about ten bodyweight chins. I suddenly got some inspiration to get big and ripped again. Pushing the weights more. Watching what I eat alittle bit more (like denying myself that piece of pie last night - even though it was after a weightlifting workout and the calories would be taken care of - I had oatmeal with walnuts instead - more nutritious I guess). Glad to have some inspiration again. Wonder where she came from?

Oh, vegans can’t build muscle!” Yep, we’ve all heard this from annoying people once or twice before—we’re looking at you, beer-belly gym teacher! LOL . Great sources!