Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Thanks Lena
It was Cubby who I picking on for picking on me
What fair is fair right ?

Erm... not much new. I'm on the way to strengthening my calves on the lowest impact I can find. I went out to the track also. I walked a bit and worked out in the stairs, kind of tiring. It felt strange going to the track and not running it, a bit sad.
Another regular day with food. I bought some fruit also, there were some random bald kiwis that I liked. Golden kiwis I think.
I'm going through my school work pretty diligently, that's good.

Edit: Led Zeppelin is good. Very good.

It's been a long time since I don't write myself some stuff. Well not that long but I haven't been in the mood for writing. I think it's mostly because many things are going on some days and some others nothing at all. But it has been a couple of bussy weeks with school. And the 3 next weeks are going to be about the same, I'm just not stressed about it yet. I'm taking a couple days break.

I started the juice feast. I think I can remember the first smoothie: pineapple, banana, strawberry, orange and kiwi. It was the most awesome thing I had eaten in a long time. I finished that whole pineapple in two hours, and it wasn't small. On my bday I had an exam, a presentation and a couple of things to write. It wasn't that fun really. But not big deal. As much as I turn 19 just once, today is also happening just once, as much as tomorrow and the rest of my life.

On Wednesday there was an Animal Rights presentation in my Philosophy class. I was going to do that one but my group mates didn't even know what Animal Rights were and when I mentioned PETA one girl said "Oh yes, pita bread" I was willing to educate them and prepare some awesome presentation on the topic but they all were interested in Fast Food and I was as well so I just let animal rights pass by because they were not in the mood for being educated. Anyways I was going to speak about animal rights in my part of the presentation even though I wasn't going to be able to speak further about furs and animal testing/entertainment etc. So I talked to the prof to see if he would give me 15 min extra to say a bit more then eventually some group lead by an animals farm owner decided to do animal rights. Ok then- I step out and let some people get interested by themselves and learn something without me having to tell them.

The presentation wasn't that bad but it was lacking of a lot of things. Then just to finish they ask the class "Is the life or pain of an animal more important than a human's?" - What a dumb question!!! Just to start, both are things completely different and non-comparable. I tried to politely make them re-think by "Under what circumstances would you ask that? Are you comparing my livelihood while sitting here with what's going on in your farm?" and they were like "No, we're asking in general". Well the story is not what's more important "in general" because 'in general' people are killing animals even though they don't need to. So please don't compare. "Is me painting the chair in purple more important than Mafalda not liking the soup?" It's just about civility and not being cruel just because. Then they said that the solution was being vegetarian, I ask "The solution to what?". They answered that it was the solution to animal cruelty for human feeding. I just had to ask them if keeping animals from their freedom and taking milk and eggs away as we shouldn't wasn't also cruelty. The answer? "Oh no, that's not cruelty. We have to focus on stopping the torture and then we think of that". What? So imprisonment is not a form of psychological torture? Shud up please...

Well yes, it was a pretty long description about my animal rights encounter with my class. I just had to let it go. Nobody around me would be willing to listen/discuss about it so I had to let it go somehow.

As of my training and my eating. I started a new cycle of volume training on Monday. I'm incorporating new exercises, working a bit harder and concentrating more in fixing some muscular assymetries. For food, I had to stop my 100% smoothies feast yesterday because I ran out of protein powders and all I have is creatine. There's no place in this city where I can get some non-animal protein powder. I will figure out something but it will be in September when I come back. By now I'll be drinking more smoothies and the like than I did before.

I think I'm going to bed soon.

I'm done with Spring session!!!!!! Well, at least with the classes, I still have final exams. But everything is looking like I'll be soon getting some rest for my brain even though before that I will squeeze it a bit. Today I went to do my regular groceries but went to another store I had never been to. Guess what? There was vega in it!!!! I was so uberhappy when I saw it! I was a bit worried about only having soy protein but then I found lots of different vegan protein powders, bars, stufff... including vega!
Other than that the cardio session was pretty annihilating, I wanted to shake things up and felt very exhausted while doing it; which shows that I have to train to get some flexibility in my resistance. No other highlights about my training, I'm finishing the volume section this week and next going to maximum strength.

Lena, have I never commented in your journal ever, is that possible? How bad do I suck?!?!?!?

Well that's about to change starting today!

First and foremost,



hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaa, I belted out a huge laughing session when I read that! Buy a clue people. Sorry no one listened to you. You should have brought huge graphic posters of the foie gras farms/chicken wire cages/slaugherhouses/beak shaving/etcetc I bet that would have raised heads!

Stair climbing in the track, cooool. Stairs/step ups always get my legs wobbly over anything else, even 15 sets of squats. It's not sad you couldn't run on the track, there's always outside of the track.

Good luck on your studies, stay strong, I believe in you.

Have fun with the maximizing strength training. Leaning out and dieting down may look the best to me but it is also a ton of fun looking huge and slinging weight all over the place. I'm sure it will be the perfect thing to offset all the heavy studies you are about to engage yourself in.

I did it: I'm done!!! Now I'm going down south where it's hotter but I'm having a great piece of Toronto first!

Tomorrow it's going to be so interesting!!! I haven't been on a real bike in years but I'm going to get domesticated by it again and ride around Toronto. We'll workout, play squash and go kayaking! How's that for a day? Besides, we'll be eating healthy vegan food (will we?).

Today was great working out at our little spot in they gym with Andreafrancis even though the salsa class in the other room was calling me Then we talked a lot and I got some precious advice I will follow. We ate at Fresh... hum - we ate... a lot! I mean, we have to have some fuel for tomorrow, right?

Toronto is a nice city, it's full of life and there are completely great vegan persons to meet; I know because I just met one and it would be a sin not to have more persons like her in a country.

Right now I'm just thinking of that bike. It will be awesome! I think I'll wear my new vegan fitness team tank top!

The vegan fitness team shirt looked awesome. I hope you make your flight, I feel bad that we kept you out late. I had so much fun, I wish you lived here! Talk soon, I'll send you pics, please remind me if I don't within a week.

Don't feel bad you kept me out late, I'm very thankful for that! It was the awesomest, bestest trip I've ever had!

Just for the books, today was the most hardcore day ever. I was taken out to bike around Toronto after many years without riding a bike. I fell stopping at a red light somewhere in the city but it was the best bike ride ever. We played great squash and we went to the Lake Ontario at night and canoed around. Andreafrancis is the most adventurous girl I've gone out with. She made me feel strong, brave and fun. I don't think I could have had a better 4 days trip to Toronto. Thank you! I'll see you either in the Caribbean or in Toronto!

btw my shoulders are looking nice lol

Did you sleep at all last night? Hope you had a good flight.

I'm sore! My hamstrings mostly (probably from our so awesome game of squash), lats a little, same with delts probably from racing canoes.

How are you enjoying home? and when are you back in Toronto.

I didn´t get to sleep. When I got to the room my friend called me and we were talking till 3 and at that time I started packing. It was fine though. No problems with anything and I can just remember the sweetest trips ever the day before. I hope I can be back soon but I still don´t know when. I will let you know for sure!!!

I'm back home now. This place is so sweet and my friends are all beautiful. I went out dancing as soon as I could... ah lovely days! I went to take a tea sunday night with my best friend in the last floor of our highest building, I see so many good things happening here and the lights on the streets seem to light beautiful events. I feel so much hope about the city...

Today I went to a contemporary arts exposition and my friend got the first place. I'm so proud of her! She was the youngest competitor and I know how much she has fought for her career. She completely deserves this prize and now she will be traveling to Italy with 2 expositions over there. I hope she learns a lot from this experience and that this is just one of many to come.

Talking about food and training, I'm going crazy with these tropical fruits. Mango, papaya, mamey, guava, bananas, pineapple, coconut; it's hard not to fall. Besides my parents are cooking a lot of nice vegan food and almost not cooking meat since I'm here. Black beans, lentils, funny-rice-that-I-love with cummin, pumpkin and greens.

I haven't stopped training. I'm into volume training right now but I stressed too much my quads the last couple of days and I could only squat 20 pounds, press 50. The rest of the muscles are just fine, I'm feeling the chest now. Tomorrow I want to train early in the morning so I can sleep later because there's more dancing waiting for me in the night and then going to the beach on thursday. We're getting two bikes probably tomorrow so I'm probably biking a lot over the summer, it gives me a lot of illusion. I went to the beach in the weekend and realized how bad is my endurance in the water, talked to my father and agreed that I should start swimming in september when I go back to Canada. If that happens then I will have been on every discipline in triathlon, I'd love to get into it if I can get my swimming to be a bit better and my calves to heal. I'm going to the orthopedist soon for that and getting blood tests to see how awesomely good I must be doing after turning completely vegan.

I went to the orthopedist yesterday because my shin splints come back every time I sneeze and that's just too much. I got x rays done and I didn't have anything weird , actually I realized of what a gorgeous pair of bones are the tibia and the fibula; but they're still sore when I run.
The doctor told me not to lift weights with my legs or run in a month, to avoid anything that would stress my calves. It hurts a bit to be told so and not exactly in my legs. I guess its time to make my upper body grow but I won't make any extremely strong effort with it because I might get injured. I'll see...
Food? Who said food? I'm not eating food, this is more like edible jewels, it's just awesome.

Muchas gracias por el libro de espeleología Lena! I've been trying to accumulate technical terms from the internet but this book has everything I need plus the internet is not always accurate. It covers the technical side really well and that vocab is so hard to find! Thanks so much, such a nice surprise.

Birte and Inga had a blast with you. I love her first coconut story. Apparently you know your buildings...anyway they are both so thankful to you.

Talk soon!

I'm glad you liked the book! I had my doubts on whether getting you that or something else and then I remembered when you said that caving was your life. I'm happy that Inga and Birte liked the small tour. We had a really nice walk around the old city

Tomorrow I'm heading to Santiago with 3 friends and another one is joining 2 days later. We're going to be around the eastern part of the island for 8 days. That's probably going to be a huge blast.

I'm back in Canada! I had to come back 12 days before the planned date, not for a bad reason but any lost days and undone plans do hurt a bit. Still, I had so much FUN!!! I got tanner than ever in my life. I wonder if it's ever going to go away. It all started in Toronto biking around with Andreafrancis and then the beach, the mountains, the city and a new bike back home. I wore sunblock for almost everything but I still went black.

My friends were awesome with me being vegan now. They had a vegan day in my honour and they even restrained from riding a horse. The coolest thing was how they'd ask the waiters about the ingredients in the food even more than me. They kinda ordered for me as there are no many options to eat vegan at home.

As of the training I kept on training with my brother's ex who got into bbing 9 months ago. She got impressively Swole and the weights she can do are just ridiculous. I rode my bike a lot and kept on the weights training, when I was away from my house I'd take the resistance bands. I also hit my brother's punching bag when I had nothing else to do. I kicked it more than punched it with my fists. I also got a bit skinnier. I didn't take a lot of attention to my nutrition so I mostly ate fruit and fruit and more fruit... I had spirulin, Vega and other stuff over there but I didn't use it. I think it's that I was much too entertained with everything and not paying a lot of attention to eating. I don't like skinny so I have to go back to more protein now. I might also have lost liquid and look smaller because of that but still, my legs look too small which I don't like at all.

We had so much fruit this year. We had more mameys than ever, that's good as it's my fave fruit. Not so many mangoes though.

Bananas, chirimoyas and guanabana:


And finally me eating a coconut after I drank the water. The green leafs by my side are spinach from our yard.


There are some other awesome pics but I didn't have time to get them out of my friends' cameras. I hope I get them by e-mail and perhaps post some.

On a side note, the former Mr. New Brunswick who is a friend of mine told me yesterday at the gym that I shouldn compete in 12 weeks, that I didn't need to wait till next yeat. I dunno! I think I'll wait, I want to look very very awesome on stage, and that's not going to happen in 12 weeks. Now I want to start swimming as I can't run and my endurance at it is really bad. So basically I want to get good or at least decent at swimming and it's about time. There's also a boxing club I might join, it all depends on how much time I have.