Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Lentils are great for healthy energy. Ironically, I'm actually considering lessening my protein consumption for more energy since I've been feeling tired during P90X month 2. Just goes to show that different people have different nutritional needs for different activities. Some of the best advice I've gotten on this forum is to find what works for you and stick with it, whether it's 80/10/10, 60/20/20, or 30/50/20. A little trial-and-error isn't a bad thing.

And congrats on the recovery and the running. It sounds like you're definitely putting the effort in, so your results should be terrific.

_________________
--
Bruce

Oh god, I have the mental energy to run a marathon right now, but not the physical energy. I have been hard pressed for time so I have been eating more nuts for protein, and all the beans I've eaten have slowed down my digestion and just made me incredibly sluggish in general. Carbs are my only friend.

It really sucks because I wanted to run 3-4 mi today and only eked out 1.5 miles before I got really tired, but I'm too frustrated with like, everything else in my life to have let it all out in 1.5 miles. I needed to do some upper body training today, too, but...no energy. I feel like I'm going to explode because I WANT to do it all right now, but I can't.

I'm having a seriously terrible day. I can feel it all in my chest and my throat right now, but I have no way to let it out.

Alright, so I swear I didn't give up completely! I just had to go to mom's for a few days (to finish taxes, lol). I'm leaving for Boston today to visit a friend and watch the Boston Marathon (aunt and uncle are running!) and see the sites. I already found three vegan restaurants I want to hit up, so I'm pretty excited!

Training for the past week: 3mi run, 2mi run, 3.5 mi run. No real strength training

Today: 3.2 miles for my hokies!

I was in Boston last August and it was my first time ever going to an all-vegan restaurant! I really liked TJ Scallywaggle's and Grezzo. Which restaurants are you planning on going to?

_________________
vegan for the win!

mmmm I already went to TJ's and DELICIOUS!!!! I also went to My Thai Vegan Cafe which was equally amazing. I'm hoping to go to Grasshopper's today and hit up the chinese food that people have been talking about.

Ooh I'm jealous! Enjoy all of the yummy vegan food!

_________________
vegan for the win!

I'm back home now! Grasshoppers was SOOOO good. I can't even describe how MUCH food they gave me though. I ate less than half of it but I still had a stomach ache afterward from so much fooood.

I...I think I need to fast for like three days just to let this food pass through me. I definitely don't usually eat this kind of food typically (vegan coconut 'beef' with vegetables, vegan pizza, vegan thai 'pork' with eggplant...vegan cake EVERY DAY)...so I'm a little stopped up right now, haha...

Workout regimen resumes tomorrow, people! I'm crazy motivated after watching the elite runners finish the boston marathon at such high speeds. I really want to get faster!! That can only come after I finish digesting all this food that is STILL in me.

started second phase today. chest, shoulders and triceps...lemme tell you, my triceps must be WEAK as hell. I got halfway through the workout and I felt a sharp pain right above my elbow on my right arm (the arm with impingement syndrome in the shoulder) and decided to stop. I'll be trying again with lighter weights on the next round, but for now I'm gonna let my triceps rest. I'm also worried that my form might have had something to do with the pain I felt. Hoping it was just a short term "stop what you're doing" kind of pain, and not an injury kind.

It's a great workout though! I wish I could have done the whole thing, but it seriously should just be called "triceps" because that's all I feel burning right now!! The slow motion push ups were killer. I'm also not ready for the one-armed push ups--should they be done with your body weight shifted over the one arm, or is the point of it to try and do it with the same form as a two armed push up?

Off to take a 4mi run today, and then I'm going to make a quinoa and kidney bean salad for dinner.

Yeah, CST is interesting. It actually has some great exercises. I find that P90X as a whole is a bit too heavy on arms and light on chest, but at least this routine has a better push-up variety.

The one-armed should be done however is most comfortable for you. I find putting my arm slightly to the side of center (right side for right arm, left side for left) at about chin-height and twisting my torso the other way works best. Not twisting all the way vertically like you would with a T-push-up/side arm balance, but just enough to shift your center of balance over your arm.

_________________
--
Bruce

cool! I'll be giving that one a go next time around...assuming my noodle arms let me!

Yesterday was plyometrics day...it seemed harder than usual! And this morning I ran 4 miles, but walked a bit of them because my legs hadn't really recovered from the plyo. I'm about to do the chest and back exercise, even though my lats are still kind of sore from all those slow push ups the other day.

I signed up for a 10k run in Miami next saturday! So excited. It probably won't be fast or anything, since I just found out that it was happening when I'm going down there anyway, so I haven't exactly trained for it. I'm just going to have fun!

I meant to write my thoughts about the Boston Marathon the other day: watching the elite runners finish their races so FAST has made me really want to run faster. I currently run about 10 minute miles when I'm on a long run, but I would love to eventually get to 8.5 minute miles in time for my first marathon next January. Quite a few people in my family have run marathons, but my uncle has been the only one to run one under 3.5 hours. If I can just get to 3.5hr, I'll be freaking happy as hell! (It will be almost half hour faster than my older-brother-the-runner's first marathon, and when he hangs his head in shame, I'll tell him I'm only better because I'm vegan!!) It's going to take some hardcore training though. And a lot of carbs.

Really half-assed the chest and back workout the other day, as well as the yoga today. Gotta have more carbs if I want to work out, I think. I just hate that I have no upper body fat and a ton of lower body fat, and I have to look absolutely skeletal on top in order to have a decent bottom half, so I just really have no idea as to what to do about my diet/workout to even it out at all. I'll just keep on keeping on for now...focus more on strength and fitness and less on looks!!

Legs should be okay for a run tomorrow, so I hope to be hitting the road in the cool hours of the morning.

Hello Apple, thank you for the welcome post a few weeks back! How are you getting on with the P90X? A couple of my tramping buddies swear by it, but Ive never stuck to it. Id way rather be outside!

Didnt really read too closely, but Im getting the vibe that youre a natural pear shape and not too happy about it? Im more stringy naturally, which i hate, I'd kill to have some girly curves! But when i got serious about climbing and loaded up on the upper body work and the carbs I bulked up more than i thought a skinny girl could. I love my body where its at now because i know i treat it right with lots of vegan goodness, fresh air, and exercise! If youve ran alot and never done much strength work the result would be a strong muscular lower body and skinny arms. The ex-gf that converted me to vegan used to call it T-Rexia whenever we would be running on the beach and see all the tourist chicks running miles and never working the upper body, they were working so hard to get those skinny legs but they didnt get why their legs kept getting bigger and their arms looked sadly puny.

Id say youre right on about not thinking about looks. Whats importnat is feeling good about your awesome body!! Vegan isnt just about animals or the environment, its about doing something great for you!! Love those workouts and dont be afraid to load up on apples with almond butter when your done. your muscles and your taste buds will thank you for it

Keep up the good work!

-Andy

Just stopping by again to say hi. Hope all is awesome!

Have an outstanding week!

All the best!

_________________

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

andy,
hahaha t-rexia!! I definitely have that. Even when I'm not running or exercising at all, I have bigger legs than arms. I'm *okay* with my pear shape half the time, I just need to lose a little fat and if it's replaced with muscle and I turn out to be the exact same size, I'll be okay with it because at LEAST I'll be stronger...and less jiggly. I just read on some other post, Marcina recommended some swimming as cardio replacement so that the upper body could be worked some more, and I think I might try that, but the only day I could possibly do it every week would be Saturday (since that's the day I can get into the campus gym for free). ...I just can't swim in a straight line. I'll look like a goof in the pool!!

As for P90X, I do think it's incredibly effective, but it's getting warm enough now that I would rather be outside. However, my aunt and uncle have gone through the whole program at least once and they've memorized the workouts from doing them for so long, so it takes them about half the time to just go through the whole thing from memory instead of with the dvd, and they can do it wherever they are, instead of being stuck inside with the tv.

robert,
thanks so much for the well-wishes! I'm doing great. I ran 4 miles without stopping yesterday at a 9min mi pace, which is pretty freaking sweet for me. It's pretty amazing how much an upcoming race motivates me to get going!

I hope you have an awesome, relaxing time resting up and catching your breath again.