Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Sorry I didn't see this...

You should always eat mostly carbs and you should eat a few hours after. Fill your body with carbs to recover and once your body has had some rest it can handle processing protein better. This is when you should eat a full meal. Personally I tend to just guzzle a lot of sweet juice down(maybe grape juice...the 100% kind) or make a smoothie with mostly bananas...bananas have fiber but not enough to really hinder carb absorption.

Thanks veganpotter, I feel like I eat constantly during the day, but it sounds like most of you do, so I shouldn't worry about it. The good thing is I tend not to eat much at night and never feel like I want snacks after dinner.

Yesterday after work I did make it to the gym. I wieghed myself when I was there: 153, I lost a whole pound, woo-hoo! Then I did 30 min on the stationary bike, then shoulders & biceps.

This morning I got up to do a speed workout with a friend. We decided on mile repeats. I kept pace with her on the first one, about 8:35, but it was really tough & my second one took over 9 minutes. I stopped after that because my legs felt so heavy and jogged while she did two more. Not sure why I had so much trouble. Last week I could do four in around 8:30-8:40. Maybe my legs were still tired from the trail run, maybe it was the pizza I had for dinner, I don't know. I was planning on using weights for my legs after work today. Now I'm not sure if that is a good idea. They just feel really tired now in my hamstrings & quads.

I made myself a vega smoothie infusion with a banana & pineapple juice, pretty tasty! I like how it turns the drink green, thats pretty fun. Now I'm getting ready to have oatmeal with hemp protien and two pears for my second breakfast.

I say go for the weights. I think lifting weights at the wrong time can really hinder a seasoned runner but for an up and comer it shouldn't do any damage and should only help you.

hey thanks for the advice veganpotter, I was leaning towards doing the weights too. Do you think it is good to cut a workout short if you aren't feeling it & just not hitting the pace you should be? Or do you think next time that happens, I should tough it out & run the other two repeats at whatever pace I can manage?

Near race time you shouldn't really keep going if you aren't making pace since thats a sign you aren't tapered well enough. But in the off season when building miles its a good idea to just keep going...even if it is at a slower pace...it'll only make you stronger. As for weights I think you should keep going too(when not training for a race) but just lower the weights not the reps. If you were training for short distances I'd suggest you just deal with it and keep going and going and going but endurance athletes do much better with volume and lower intensity.

I'm signed up for a half marathon this weekend & another in two weeks, but I plan on just "participating" and not worrying about time. In fact, I purposely have not looked up my last Half Mary time just so I can't be disappointed.

I think my goals right now are to lose some weight, tone up, and try to get faster. Running a half marathon as fast as I can right now would do nothing but make me too sore to work out for a few days afterwards.

Next week I'll make sure to complete the speed work even if I'm sluggish and slow.

I think you'll find that will really help you out...especially in a race when you don't have much gas left.

I got up a little late today so I didn't get a ride in but I wound up doing about 30 minutes of jump roping with lunges squeezed in over about a 50minute span. Oh well...I'll get a good ride in tomorrow. I'm going to my sisters place to do some housework to make some extra cash. It'll be nice since the roads are so flat and so much smoother than they are out here...its normally super windy though.

Hey veganpotter, I think you meant to put that last post in your blog!!!

I took your advice & trained legs yesterday after work. I'm glad I did too. But this morning, I was really tired & didn't want to get out of bed. I won't have time to work out later either. Oh well, I don't think I've had a day off since Friday, so I guess it's ok. I realized that I didn't eat anything before going to the track yesterday and I think that may have somethign to do with my poor performance. I'll make sure to have a banana or something before my run tomorrow morning.

Thanks...your right...I must have been way too sleepy.

Yesterday I came home & It felt like Christmas! I get a box of organic produce delivered every Wednesday, so it's always fun going through that, PLUS I finally got my big tub of Berry Vega from Food Fight. I immediately had to try it. I mixed it with some water, it was ok this way, kind of grainy though, it's definitely better in a smoothie. Then I went with my husband to a reception dinner thingy, I was a little nervous about eating there, but luckily it was a buffet so I could load up on the veggies & salad & just have a little pasta & potatoes, no one even noticed that I didn't take any meat!! I also treated myself to two drinks, which really helped me loosen up to make small talk.

Unfortunately, because we were not home with the puppy from 5 to 9 she didn't want to sleep through the night and I ended up getting up with her in the middle of the night. When the alarm went off in the morning it was a tough one, but I told the girls I'd meet them for a run, so I had coffee & a banana and off I went. It was really humid & warmer than it has been lately. I really struggled, but I did the best I could. When I got back in I was soaked & really hot. I drank a ton of ice water & then mixed up a berry vega with two kiwis & some soymilk- good stuff!!! Now I'm sleepy here at work, getting ready to have my hot cereal with hemp & an apple. My back still feels stiff, I don't know if this could still be from Saturday, but I'm thinking of doing yoga and maybe abs later today.

WOW I hate to admit this, but I had a really unhealthy lunch and I feel sooo much better!! This morning I was reaily dragging. I ended up going out to lunch with some coworkers to a mexican place. I got a combo platter with rice, refried beans, a bean enchalada, and a cheesy thing, also guac, chips & salsa. I thought I would feel worse afterwards, but I was so hungry I didn't really care. Now I'm all wound up, I feel great! Maybe this shows I just haven't been eating enough lately. I don't want to go back to eating much dairy and processed carbs because I don't think it's healthy. I'll try to make a point to eat heathly foods, but just more of them than I have been.

I had a great weekend!!!

It started out not so good with a tummy ache Friday afternoon/ night. I couldn't really eat much and so wasn't looking forward to the half marathon the next day. But the race went really well. I think my time was around 2:21, not great, but not horrible either, and I felt good afterwards, so that was a bonus. I had time for a nice long nap Saturday afternoon and caught up with some housework. We started decorating for Halloween.

Sunday I took the dogs for a nice long walk, swam 30 minutes, then worked out my back, shoulders, and abs, and streched really well. While at the gym I weighed myself: 151!!!! I couldn't believe it!! If I had to guess I would have said I gained weight last week, not lost it! Must be the vega! I also ended up walking around alot later in the day and felt exhausted by 8 pm so I went to bed early.

This morning I got up in time to bike for 30 minutes and work my chest, biceps, triceps. Feeling pretty good! I don't have as many plans this week as last so I should be able to workout more consistently.

Still feeling pretty good. Yesterday morning I ran 3 X 1 mile with less than a minute break in between. My times were 8:53, 8:48, 8:55. Not too bad considering the shorter recovery intervals. After work I did lots of leg work at the gym.

This morning I swam, concentrating on having good form, and was feeling pretty tired afterwards so I streched really well & did ab work. Tomorrow I plan on going to the track in the morning & then hitting the weights after work.

I made this wonderful soup for dinner last night. I get produce on Wednesdays so a lot of Tuesday I try to use up veggies that are getting old. At lunchtime I sauteed an onion, some cabbage (1 pound I think), and garlic in a little olive oil, then combined this with a sweet potato, a regular potato, some carrots, veg broth, Mrs. Dash, and nut yeast in the crock pot. When I came home at night I added soymilk mixed with a little cornstarch, more nut. yeast, and salt & pepper. It was soooo good. I even had some of the leftovers for breakfast this morning!!!

Wow, I haven't written on here in a while! I weighed myself yesterday: 152 grrr. I know it's normal for weight to fluctuate, but it still makes me mad!

Thursday I went to the gym after work, did back & shoulders, then a speed workout on the treadmill. 7 X 400, with 1:30 rests in between. It was fun to do these short intervals, and made me feel very fast. Friday I did biceps & chest and rode the bike for a half hour.

Saturday morning I met up with some other runners and ran 8 miles at a slow comfortable pace. I made a new friend with a woman training for her first half marathon next month. She had 8 miles on her schedule but was already saying she could just do 7 before we even started. I caoched in to the full 8. I could tell that it was a real challenge for her and it gave her a huge sense of accomplishment, so I was really happy to be able to help her out.

Saturday evening I took the dogs for a loooong walk to the dog park. My puppy is very timid & defensive around other dogs, so I'm trying to socialize her. This Saturday was a huge step. By the time we left I think she was starting to feel more comfortable around new dogs. My five year old loved it since I haven't taken him for his long walks very much since we got the puppy.

Yesterday I swam at the gym, did legs, and abs. Then my shoulders and back got a workout trimming these evil shrubs in the front of my house. It took me over an hour. I'm glad I had time to rest a little before going to a wedding. I definetly ate & drank too much at the wedding (including "cheating" with some black forest cake), but I also danced alot in some killer heels & my legs are telling me today that they had a good workout, especially the calves! In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have worked my legs the morning before going out!

I slept in this morning since we got in kindof late last night. Not sure if I will make it to the gym after work or not. I could just go for a bike ride I guess.