Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

2/2/12

Today was epic. Simply put. I got up really early after a short night of sleep to pick up Tom from his hotel to get an early start to the day, since it was his last day in LA.

We headed straight to Pacific Coast Highway, taking Sunset Blvd all the way. We saw all the famous sights along Sunset and even pulled into Bel Air so Tom could see it. He picked an orange off a tree and was pretty pumped about it.

After Bel Air, we arrived at our destination, Topanga State Park. I was introduced to an amazing steep and challenging hiking trail that overlooks the ocean by my friends at Forks Over Knives back when I lived here. I even learned about the back way, which is extra difficult.

So check it out. At Runyon Canyon we saw hundreds of people and dogs along the trails the whole time, overlooking the city of Los Angeles. This time, we saw lizards and rabbits and butterflies and check it...not a single person for the first 2 hours as we hiked up the back way. It was so steep I even fell twice, and when I ran and sprinted up, which I did many times, it left me wanting to vomit and I had to bend over and hold my knees to gasp for air and keep from sitting to recover.

About 45 minutes into the epic hike I took off to sprint/run while Tom enjoyed being in nature, and away from the winter in Cleveland, OH where we was flying back to tonight.

I got to the top and it was an amazing view of the ocean and Pacific Palasades, Santa Monica, and so on.

About 20 minutes later Tom made it to the top. There we hung out in the sun and then continued down the trail, taking a different, not as steep or narrow, path.

All tolled, we were hiking between 3-4 hours! And it was a tough, exhausting, sweating through all clothing, kind of hike. We planned to go to Muscle Beach for a workout in the sun, but me being super short on sleep (as much hiking as I slept last night as far as hours goes) and both of us being impacted by 4 hours in direct hot sun without a lot of fluids (though I carried Vega Gel, Vega in a water bottle, and 4 baby bananas with me, which were all consumed) we skipped out on the extra workout.

Instead we went to the famous vegan restaurant Real Food Daily and happened to bump into the lovely vegan author Ani Phyo who was there filming some things, and then we went to the Forks Over Knives office for a visit.

After that, we had vegan Thai food and then we both got massages in Santa Monica (mine was amazing. Incredible deep tissue which I love, and felt so good on my tired muscles). Then a stop by Whole Foods on the way to the airport and said goodbye to Tom.

Epic day, in need of major rest! Planned to sleep in but just got a text from the Forks Over Knives producer to train in the morning on the beach with his trainer, who also trains top NFL players and other amazing athletes. Can't turn it down. Gotta sleep now.

RC

_________________

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

2/3/12

Today I had the toughest workout of the year, and likely the toughest workout of the entire past 12 months!

I went with Kappel, who is a trainer to some of the greatest athletes the world has known (Top NFL running backs, for example) and I was left wimpering, almost crying and busted my hand open and scraped up both knees.

It's too hard to describe the workout. His training style is so unique. Our workout included use of a wheel, medicine balls, kettlebells and ropes, and I was left, broken. It was just so tough. I loved it, but it was incredibly painful.

Kappel helped me work through the pain by explaining why I was suffering, how to manage my breathing, to relax my face, to get the most out of my exertion, etc. He's amazing!

Brian, the producer of Forks Over Knives, treated me to the workout and he was talking trash the whole time. I talked trash back to him a bit too, but amazingly, I admit, he was dominating me through the exercises, even though I appear to be more fit and more muscular. He's just used to that style of training and the movements were so new to me, I was struggling. He crushed me in the first two, but in the final exercise which was multiple sets of virtually no rest, of sprinting through the loose sand while dragging a heavy kettlebell behind us which was attached to us by a belt and ropes, I completely dominated.

I also dominated running to the water and back, but that was an easy task, compared to everything else.

Super tough workout!

Then Brian and I went back to his place and each ate about 6 bananas and dates.

I grabbed more food after that and then spent 5 hours in the car driving to the next place I was staying, which was only 75 miles away. That can give you an idea about the insanity of LA Traffic on a Friday night!

Food now and then in desperate need of rest. Been such a long and exhausting week!

Goodnight.

RC

_________________

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

Rest well, Robert. That workout sounds incredibly challenging and something I would have loved back in the day.

Take care.

_________________
Blessed be!
Sherrie

Getting healthier one day at a time
http://www.sherriet.blogspot.com

2/4/12

Thanks! I really do need to rest up! Today was another classic long workout.

It went like this. I slept in a bit, but not dramatically, just a bit.

Got out in the sun, got some fruit and some Vega and I was all ready to rock my workout.

Workout:

I went for a hike for about an hour, including on hills, out in the sun.

Then I did 10 uphill sprints which left me winded, gasping for air. It was awesome!

After that 90 minutes or so of training, I had some fruit and Vega and then 2 hours later headed to the gym.

Gym workout:

Warm-up: Stair Master for 15 minutes, 93 floors. Pushed it pretty hard.

Bodyweight Squats:
30
30
30

Squats
45lbs x 20
135lbs x 12
155lbs x 10
155lbs x 10
155lbs x 10
135lbs x 12
135lbs x 12

I know that isn't very heavy, but with my history of lower back injuries, it was what I was comfortable with, and I still pushed it pretty hard, doing deep squats.

Dumbbell Walking Lunges
50s (100lbs) x 24 steps
55s (110lbs) x 20 steps
60s (120lbs) x 14 steps
65s (130lbs) x 16 steps
70s (140lbs) x 10 steps
80s (160lbs) x 12 steps (and then I fell over)

Solid day of lunging, especially!

After the workout I sat in the steamroom and stretched, then sat in the hot tub, then back in the steamroom to stretch more, then hot shower and headed back to where I'm staying.

It is about 1230AM now and I'm up at 630AM to head to Vegas to meet kareno and continue on to Austin, TX to keep working on our VB&F projects.

Night Night!

I'm a tired guy! 3 hours of training today and lots of sun.

Lots of leg workouts the past few days too!

RC

_________________

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

Those Dumbell Lunges! That last set is intense!

Thanks! Soon I'll be carrying 100's in each hand.

I would do barbell walking lunges if I had a training partner.

I just arrived in Las Vegas. Perhaps I'll catch a workout with Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler this week and will have a spotter.

Taking a Rest Day today.

Just drove 4 hours. Relaxing the rest of the day

_________________

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

2/5/12

Today was a rest day. I woke up early, drove 4 hours to Las Vegas and then had a relaxing afternoon hanging out in the sun and eating fruit from Whole Foods Market.

I took the day off from "work" for the most part too, to hang out with my good friend, kareno, who joined me here in Vegas and will drive me with to Austin, TX from here.

Nice relaxing day of driving, eating, Vega, and hanging out with one of my all-time best friends!

Hope you all have an awesome week!

_________________

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

2/6/12

I slept in a bit today which was awesome since things have been so busy and hectic for the past week (but really for the past few months/years) so any and all slower paced days are a nice change of pace.

After sleeping in, I basically just ate and worked on my computer in the hotel room before finally leaving in the afternoon to head to Whole Foods for some shopping and then some errands around town and then off to the gym!

I headed to a local 24 Hour Fitness with kareno and we had an awesome workout. It went like this:

Warm-up: 15 minutes on the stair stepper for 88 floors of climbing

Bodyweight squats:
30
30
30

Invisible jump rope
200 jumps
200 jumps

I was showing kareno around the free weights so I just did some exercises for 1 set to demonstrate. Today had a shoulder and back workout on schedule, but I just limited it to shoulders and will do back tomorrow or again very soon.

Dumbbell Lateral raises
10's x 12

Dumbbell Front raises
10's x 12

Dumbbell Rear Delt raises
10's x 12

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press
40's (80lbs) x 20 - Super set Shrugs x 25
50's (100lbs) x 10 - Super set Shrugs x 25
60's (120lbs) x 6 - Super set Shrugs x 20 (kareno gave me a spot on final rep)
60's (120lbs) x 7 - Super set Shrugs x 15 (kareno gave me a spot on final rep)

Straight Bar Upright Rows
70 x 12
70 x 12
80 x 12
90 x 6 - Drop set 80 x 6

Dumbbell Shrugs
90's x 12
100's x 12

Medicine ball partner sit-ups
30
30

Stationary bike for 15 minutes

Awesome workout and I'm looking forward to more great workouts in Vegas!

I just texted Jay Cutler and he said he'll text me tomorrow about getting a workout in so I'm looking forward to possibly training with 4x Mr. Olympia tomorrow!

Have a great week. Keep crushing it!

_________________

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

One of the Whole Foods in Vegas has a huge,bigger than all the other stores in the area, deli/kitchen..it's in a nicer mall area...omg...they have an agave sweetened chocolate by a company called "xan",... Some of the best vegan chocolates ever, they are behind the counter not on the shelf, ...and only the WHole Foods in that region and then only a handful of those (it's called SoPac) have them. ( i really know every store...and i havent forgotten about the smaller chains re: areas that carry books...just have not pulled the list and made time- i gave your card to my local coop that i am running to be on Board of Director's and he said thanks, so when i am working again in the industry will plaster and canvas) Not sure if you do any crap food,but these are probably some of the best vegan chocolate candies ever...like best vegan, gluten free bakery is in Portland next to a Dr.Brew's on Alberta street)..cool on the Olympia workout..he is HUGe! And again, safe travels to Austin (now THAT Whole Foods is to freakin'die for)

Hey Robert,

Awesome news about a possible training session with Jay Cutler, that will be amazing. I just had a thought that it would be an honour for some of us to train with you.
Maybe next time you do a challenge in the summer, you could have a top prize which will be to meet you and have a workout together. Would deinately make people try even harder and attract more people to the Vegan Bodybuilding site.

Thanks

Matt

_________________
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."-Bruce Lee

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.-Arnold Schwarzenegger

That would be a great prize winner cover the cost of their flights I think the invaluable information and experience from Robert would be worth it!

Thanks for the feedback!

I've thought about those types of prizes and even an all expenses paid trip for 2 to join me and many others on the vegan cruise in the Caribbean for a week, in 2013 if I can afford to offer something like that.

At the moment, my budget is so tiny, nearly all of our prizes are donated, aside from things I'm offering myself, such as books and clothing from Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness.

I'd love to offers come cool trips or meet-ups or training sessions, etc. with me and/or other members from this community, but I've got to get finances in order long before I make that happen.

We are selling a lot more Vega through the stores I work with, and we're going to be arranging more affiliate banners on the website to generate revenue and we'll keep making progress so we can continue to give back.

Still waiting to hear back from Jay about tonight's possible workout. kareno and I already worked out for about 90 minutes, but I'm hoping to catch another workout with Jay tonight, and a workout with a Professional Poker Player tomorrow.

Saw Joe Jackson today (Michael, Janet and Tito's dad) in Vegas, randomly. Actually, kareno spotted him. I wouldn't have even known what he looked like. He was outside of a restaurant next to the gym we trained in with a slick black Mercedes Benz.

Anyway, I'll update my journal later on with today's workout and hopefully have 2 workouts to write about!

Thanks for the suggestions for contests and prizes. Trust me, I want to offer the coolest stuff I can. I just have such a limited budget. I'm working on generating more revenue each day to keep exciting stuff coming your way.

All the best!

_________________

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

It is understandable that you have alot to do on a small budget, but like pphelps said I would pay for my own flight if I got to train with you. It's the education and experience you can give us that is the main prize.
Other than buying supplements from the stores your affiliated with is there anything law we can do to support you and the website?

Matt

_________________
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."-Bruce Lee

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.-Arnold Schwarzenegger

Robert I agree with Matt. Do you have any graphics/banners I can link to you from my website to help traffic. Another suggestion have you tried google Adsense on your site? Could help.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=52.029560,-0.799459

_________________
Douglas Robson

http://www.my-healthy-lifestyle-choices.com

Thanks guys! I appreciate it big time. I'll follow up once I arrive in Texas in a few days. I've still been training too, in fact, had some really nice workouts, but I haven't been able to type them up.

Been a hectic schedule! For example, I went to bed around 430AM last night after a late night in Vegas with one of the world's top poker players (and vegan) Daniel Negreanu. Getting up early to drive 6 hours tomorrow.

Will type up workouts soon and provide feedback about ways to support the site.

I've been running it at a net loss for 10 years. Some friends tease me saying I'm the greatest non-profit organizer they know.

That will change soon. We have lots of exciting things going on. I just tend to give away everything I have so I kinda shoot myself in the foot.

Gotta sleep now. See ya!

_________________

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