Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Ok, so the "extraordinaire" was just to grab attention. Now that you're here, you might as well stay, mwahahaha...

*Edit: I finally have some photos taken. You can check them out at http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=14261

Here's the routine I've been doing consistently for about 6 weeks:

Monday: Upper body weight training* plus core routine**
Tuesday: 2 X 20km cycling
Wednesday: 8km running plus core routine**
Thursday: 2 x 20km cycling
Friday: Upper body weight training* plus core routine**
Saturday: 5km easy run
Sunday: 14km long run or "Brick"***

*Weight training
3 sets of the following: Bench press, seated row, lat pulldown, dips, dumbell curls, lateral raises, shoulder press.

**Core routine
I do a 5-exercise BW core routine given to me by my buddy on the university's rowing team. I don't recall all the names of the different positions, but there's one each that focuses on right obliques, left obliques, the rectus abdominis, the lower back/rectus abdominis and the glutes/shoulders/lower back. I spend 30 seconds in each position/doing each motion and repeat through the cycle as many times as endurance permits.

***"Brick"
A brick is a session where you combine cycling and running consecutively, named after the way your legs feel like bricks when you hop off the bike and start running! I've been working up the intensity of the brick, and my most recent one was 20km cycling followed by 5km running.

I'm just over 5'6".
My weight as of the end of May 2008: 106.5 lbs
My weight as of July 20th: 111.2 lbs

My body fat % has decreased slightly, so I've gained at least 4.5 lbs of muscle in the last 6 weeks. I'll try to post photos asap (I need to find my camera!). I don't have a soft measuring tape, though I suppose that might be useful for keeping track of progress, and hopefully I'll be able to take some measurements soon! I've gained enough muscle that people I know have actually commented - I guess when you're this small, small changes are more obvious!

My cardio goal is to compete in a sprint distance duathlon at the end of August (2km run, 30 km bike, 5km run). Once the summer is over, I'll be working on base training for the next duathlon season and doing more weights to build mass. My ultimate goal is to eventually reach 130 lbs by adding muscle, without sacrificing competing in endurance events (I did half-marathons last year, but am determined to stick with duathlon from now on).

I know that my cardio is slowing down my bulking goals, but I'm in love with endurance sports and that isn't going to change, hehe. Once the race season is over and I'm down to just cardio base training, I'm going to work in deadlifts and squats into my weight routine. I can't do them right now because I run and bike too much to go exhaust my leg muscles like that at the gym. With the cardio toned down and squats/deadlifts added into the mix, I hope to speed up the muscle gains in the fall.

My diet is heavily legume-based (including soy and to a certain degree, processed soy products), with whole-grain flatbreads, pastas, berries, fruit, veggies, and seeds (hemp, flax). I currently supplement my diet with about 45g of soy protein on days when I lift (one portion right after the workout, one portion right before bed), and about 20g of soy protein the day after I lift.

Alright, I know it can be painful to try to read through posts where every detail of a weekly routine are reviewed, so I'll stick to the basics with this update:

Current weight (July 27): 112 lbs
This week's mileage: 18km running, 101km cycling

I went for a run with markc7 on Thursday (about 7 km), and after talking to him about it, I incorporated deadlifts and squats into my Friday weight session for the first time. I figured if an ultramarathoner can fit leg strength training into his running routine, so can I. I'm really glad I did! I definitely felt the burn - but it didn't hold me back with the running or biking. My Sunday "brick" session was 21km on the bike and a 6km run, at the most intense pace I've done in a brick yet (27km/hr on the bike and a sub-5:00 pace on the run).

It's been a challenge to eat enough to meet my cardio demands as well as the extra calories needed for the weight training. Today alone, I burned about 800+ calories on the brick...so I have some more eating to do before the day is done! I visited family in Montreal, so I was away from the kitchen and didn't get as much eating done as I should have for such an intense cardio day...I did fit in an extra Clif bar and a whole wheat bagel on the car ride back, but that's still less than half of what I burned in the brick.

Hopefully, with squats and deadlifts working some major muscle groups that I wasn't working too hard before, I'll be able to increase the muscle gains. In about a month, after I race my duathlon, I'll be cutting back the cardio to "base training" levels on the bike only, and stepping up the weights to at least 3 times a week - hopefully the gains will come quicker then. So far, I'm really pleased with my progress though - I've been getting more comments about the muscle I've been putting on on my upper body as well as my legs (bike outfits are pretty revealing, so I don't have too many secrets from my labmates, hehe).

I know that feeling. I, too, was a runaholic .
Have you tried making your own bars to take with you? You could make some really calorie dense, nutritious stuff! And at least you'll know what's in it and how old it all is. Wouldn't take but minutes in a food processor, and you could make in bulk and freeze in portions for grab-n-go.

One thing I used to do was make an oven-full of sweet potatoes at night and the next day I'd have all I'd need for snacking. They travel well, can stay out most of the day without going bad, and taste good cold or room temp (even better than right out of the oven, to me). If you want weight gain, then eating them with some good fat will help.

Ever tried raw cacao? Another good travel food, not to mention excellent addition to a meal bar (and green smoothie)

It's always nice when people notice, I agree. Sometimes it's hard to see progress in ourselves.

Continued success

Thanks for the post, _raVen_!

I've actually been looking into making my own bars. Still sifting through recipes for something to try. Never tried raw cacao, so maybe I'll try that out in there!

Hitting the weights in half an hour. Definitely psyched to hit them hard today. I'm not quite at the point of being able to bench my own weight (multiple reps, not one-time max), but am hoping to get there soon! I'm lucky to have a much bigger and stronger friend for a spotter, and he's a great help - he's great with pushing me just a little bit further than I'd be going on my own.

Duathlon... I should try that. I love running and biking but I'm a major failure at swimming endurance. Anyways, I wish you hardcore muscle gains and a good competition in August.

You're welcome; you seem very motivated
It's good you found a spotter buddy!

Here is an easy, simple base mix you might want to look at; it'll give you some idea anyway:

1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup almonds
2 coconut-date rolls (or add separately; but Trader Joe's sells these)
2 tablespoons raw cashew butter (or other)
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds (or chia seeds)

Extras: Add cacao, ground (or leave as nibs), or cocoa powder
Vanilla, or other, extract to taste
Drop or two of coconut extract, if you like (or if you don't have coconut)


In a good blender (or even in small amounts in a coffee grinder), grind the sunflower seeds/nuts of choice; Add the butter and extracts and grind till a paste forms (may take some scraping down the bowl, repeat, etc.) Form into balls or press into a brownie-like pan. Eat or fridge 'em for storage. They keep well in the fridge and you can keep them longer in the freezer.
I always soak seeds and nuts to make them more nutritious, but you don't have to (it adds moisture, too, so the grinding goes smoother)

Vary the flavorings, nuts and seeds to your taste

Thanks, Lena01! You should definitely give duathlon a try then. It's a unique experience, similar to a triathlon and perfect for people like you or me who aren't big on the swimming. I find the training a lot more fun than the pure running training I was doing in the past few years. Like triathlon, your training schedule automatically includes a ton of cross-training because there are two sports involved.

_raVen_, I'll have to try that (or maybe a variation depending on what jumps out at me at the grocery store). Thanks!

The past week wasn't the greatest in terms of training. Due to a combination of horrible weather and general tiredness, I skipped out on a day of biking. I tried to make up for it by pushing hard on my brick. I did a full 30km biking and 5km running (the distance of the last two legs of my duathlon I want to race at the end of the month), at about 27 km/hr on the bike (which involved a lot of hills) and sub-5:00 pace on the run.

This week's weight: 112.5 lbs

A day of rest was really what I needed. I'm feeling great again and I'm ready to hit the rest of the training this week with a vengeance. My spotter was away for the long weekend, so I'm looking forward to hitting the bench press hard this Friday.