Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Nice! I think I'll likely hit it around 172 also.

All the best in these final few weeks!

Take care,

Robert

_________________

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

Three weeks out. This week has sucked. I knew it would. I was in Kansas City all week for work. For those of you wondering, no there are not a lot of options for a vegetarian getting ready for a show. I did eat a lot of MRP bars I brought with me, had some oatmeal from Starbucks, and enjoyed more soy lattes than normal. I had three "off days" as opposed my normal one or two. Now I have put myself behind because I was in a place where it was hard to get what I needed. I did the best I could to manage it with what I had. I knew it was coming, and I prepared by basically overtraining last week and letting myself have this rest.

All of this said Monday I was at 182. Today I am staying away from the scale. I just don't want to face it. I have 3 weeks and anything I gained in three off days and three days of bad diet, I can burn over three weeks.

More to come as I get closer to D day. AND a good luck to my fellow Vegans out there doing their tune up show this week. You will all do well. Let's show the world that you can build an impressive body on a plant based diet.

You will do it brother! I got faith in ya Hang in there keep at it. No question about it; looking forward to seeing you here in OR!

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

We met your friend Derek today....PS I think I might join you on May 2nd. I haven't decided for sure...but I'm having so much fun competing it may be hard not to

All the best!

_________________

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

Robert, it will be good to meet you in real time. You and LNG did great. I have to say the photos were impressive, and Derek was amazed. Between my photos I send him and seeing you guys he is starting to believe that yes, people can compete without meat. AWESOME!!!!

This week is super awful for me. Last week was traveling for work meaning missed meals, bad meals, and missed workouts. This weekend I had some very bad news about some close friends that has been a gut punch. And yesterday my cat of 12 years died. I am completely wiped out. I can't eat, train or sleep. I just want to crawl in a hole and hide. I keep looking for him around the house. I expect to see his little face or hear him meow and brush up on me. At the same time, I know it will never happen again.

All of that said, I am grieving the loss, but I need to get back in the gym today, I ate breakfast, and I will eat my midmorning snack soon. I skipped weigh in yesterday, so maybe today. Maybe late in the week.

The hardest thing is to put it back together and come in strong. Today I just don't feel like it. I have posing practice this afternoon, so I better find a game face somewhere.

Hey Steve,

So sorry to hear your news.........head up, hang in there, feel well soon.

I am officially entering the Bill Pearl Classic in Bend and got permission to film it too!

It will be awesome to meet in person! All the best and see you on the stage soon!

_________________

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

Robert, that is great news. Really looking forward to it. After all of the emails we have exchanged, it will be nice to put a face with the email. LOL.

Yeah the week has been awful. I miss Sam more than I could have ever imagined. I did make it back into the gym yesterday, and am eating again.

I weighed in yesterday at 183, so I should hit stage about right. Looking forward to seeing you in May. Also if you get a chance stop by the Slam for Sam on Sunday at the Aikido dojo on 9th and Wilson in Bend. It is a martial arts seminar I am teaching. Proceeds go to Family Dogs New Life Shelter in Portland. Also let me know if you need a place to stay Saturday night.

I still miss my buddy Sam. I am not sleeping and training has been difficult. This is where the test is. Anyone can train hard an diet when life us good. Today I am channelin my anger into chest.

Yesterday I weighed in at 183. I know I can push enough water to hit middle weight status. I just need focus a little an train hard to make the last two weeks good ones. I expect to hit stage at about 172 to 174. My bodyfat is low and I really have kept my diet steady with the exceptions noted in the blog. For those out there thinking of competig on a plant based diet I can say it is actually easier than doing it eating meat.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Train hard, we're almost there!

_________________

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

Training looks good this week. I had a hard time focusing, and my sleep has been crap. I hate going to bed. I find myself missing Sam the Cat, so I just avoid bed altogether.

My diet has been pretty clean, and I have been back to my consistent meals. I have not weighed in this week, but will do so tomorrow before posing. I am increasing the intensity of the workouts by training with a lot of giant sets, rest periods are now breath almost caught, then into the next set. My total number of sets is actually up a little bit. I am not a big believe in hours of mindless cardio to burn fat. I like to burn as much as I can with weight workouts that have a high heart rate. The reason I do this is because it is too easy to lose muscle mass. So let's say I run for cardio. It is usually something with some sprints in there. I try to keep cardio in interval training, like varying hills and upping the resistance on a treadmill. My biggest form of cardio remains Bikram Yoga.

My diet is pretty much the same as it has been through out the cut up. Next week that will change up some. I wanted to cut back on carbs this week (two weeks out), but was reminded I will peak too early. I am getting into that trap many competitors hit where they want to make things happen instead of letting them happen. Next week will be low carbs and a lot of water until Friday when I do my final dry out.

I am really sorry to hear about Sam. These things can be really tough to get through. Sounds like you are coping best you can and your training is still coming along.

Endless hours of mindless cardio make me want to stab myself. I like the way you are doing things. I'd like to find a studio here that does Bikram, no luck yet.

_________________
vegan for the win!

Hi Steve
just curious... how tall are you?

_________________
What's the difference between boogers and broccoli ?
-Kids don't eat broccoli.
.

Sounds like your almost there. can't wait to hear how you do.

_________________
http://www.myspace.com/MaryStellaStab
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id= ... ef=profile

Six days out from contest, and I feel good today. That might change by tomorrow. The thing I love about this point is when the body is changing your hormones get so out of whack that you can be in the best shape of your life and still think you are in awful shape. The mania that goes with it is really interesting. I even see it in top competitors, so I try to remind myself when I see other peoples photos and stuff that I need to be more objective.

This week my diet should be interesting. It is my first carb depletion and load and first experiment with a vegan diet for contest. Let's see how I do.

Really inspirational blog. The pictures you posted are incredibly impressive. It'd be cool to see all the info on how you, Rob, L&G, and Jimi prepared for competition this year organized and released to help others thinking about competition on a plant based diet. Just an idea, but I got excited when I thought of it. If you guys ever think about I would be open to designing (or helping design it). I'm going into my third year of design and I've been wanting to contribute my skills to VBB somehow, haha. Anyway, let me know what you think of this, and hopefully Rob and crew read it too.

Good luck in the competition!