Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

YB.

Way to keep pushing on carefully and with good progress. Awesome to have you out here. Going to miss my training partner when you go back out on tour. Doggies have loved you around as well. Good times!

Hope to hit up a workout before Canada if not as soon as you get back it's on.

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Where do you get your protein?
http://www.VeganProteins.com

Love reading your journal! Way to work hard. But remember to rest rest rest! I hope you got in a nice nap yesterday afternoon

Hugs
Steph

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Blog: http://www.stephanieberard.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephani ... 1450376118
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stephanieberard

My husband bought me your book for Christmas. I'm enjoying it so far! I'm also happy to hear you have started doing my favorite lift again, squats. Nice!

Thanks all.

Been a bit stressful the past couple of weeks but so much fun!

I miss my basketball playing buddy already, now that he's back in LA and I am starting to miss my roommate buddy Lean and Green knowing that I leave in about a week to another unknown destination....heading out again. Actually, the month of Feb is filled with known destinations, but come March I'm that nomadic free spirit again having a feeling I'll spend spring in Texas or Florida and then once I get my first book royalty check, I'll move back to LA and live by the beach, workout all day long playing in the sand and playing basketball, and of course lifting weights.

Check out this funny pic from last night. I'm slow at uploading pics because I have a lot going on, but since this one is on FB it's easy to snag and place here.

I got up to 205 on squats yesterday and it felt pretty easy. Nice deep reps and it felt good. Still injury-free for the longest time in the past 10 years. Loving it!

Jeans are cool to squat in, right?




This was only 155 pounds but there are other pics of wearing shorts and doing heavier squats that will surface when Mikkei gets them posted

Also for fun............these were my legs in November, before a single set of squats and 7 years away from squats.

Will be interesting to see what doing squats every week for a year or two will do for my legs.

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

OK the last photo has got to be your new profile pic!

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The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible.

They are, until you get to where you blow out the butt on 3 pair in a row on leg day, then you'll become a convert for shorts or track pants

Good to see the squat pics, Robert!

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"A 'hardgainer' is merely someone who hasn't bothered to try enough different training methods to learn what is actually right for their own damned body." - anonymous

hahaha!

I kept saying that to Mikkei that I hoped I didn't split my pants because I only have 2 pairs of jeans that were given to me by my brother. I haven't owned jeans in years but now I wear them every single day

I switched to shorts as I got up to 185 and 205. I'll see how fast I keep progressing and we'll see about a leg day in Anaheim.

On a funny note....I didn't sleep much for two days leading up to the leg day and went to bed earlier than usual after leg day and was in bed for 12.5 hours! I had to catch up on lost sleep days earlier and I was impressed with my ability to be in bed for just about 13 hours in a row, over half of an entire day! And I'm not even sick with a cold or anything. Just wanted rest to recover

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

January 19, 2011

Today I slept in big time! Like really big time! 12.5 hours in bed....buddy! I had a couple of nights of short sleep, like only 3 hours or so one night for example. So after my big leg day, I was determined to catch up on sleep...so I did.

Then I worked all day with Vega and Forks Over Knives, the two main things I have going right now...aside from my book of course and upcoming tour.

I'm still thinking about what to do this year. I used to work 12-18 hours a day and carried on doing so for about the past 2 years. Now bodybuilding is a prime focus and I spend hours at the gym training/stretching and a couple more hours on food prep, eating, supplementing, commuting for training, shopping, etc. I sleep more, work less and train a hell of a lot more.

Even with a book on Amazon's Best-Seller list in the top 100 in 2 categories (weight training and vegan), I'm still pulling cans out of the garbage to turn in for 5 cents each here in OR. I did that today at the gym and a few weeks ago stood in the freezing weather for an hour returning cans and bottles I picked up from my little brother's house. I'm a pretty interesting guy. I have high levels of success and popularity, but I don't know how to manage finances and go through periods like right now where I have been living rent-free since June, just bouncing around staying at various places around the country.

I'm thinking of moving to Texas in the spring when my current tour dates have a break. I'm busy now until mid-April and then I think it slows down a bit. I'm thinking of relocating to Texas to do some writing and I have a place to stay there. Then when I get my first book royalty check this summer I think I'll move to LA again. Still trying to finish Vegan Brothers in Iron too.

Anyway, on to my workout......

After lots of errands today I got to the gym and someone recognized me and talked for a solid 20 minutes. I couldn't escape. She was a big talker and hard to get a word in, but it was fine, no big deal. I jumped right into if after that. I decided to have an interesting workout. I created my own little cycle and did it over and over and over for an hour. The number of reps changed slightly but for the most part the cycle looked like this:

10 dumbbell cleans
10 dumbbell overhead press
10 push-ups
15 bodyweight squats
50 bicycle sit-ups
25 jumping jacks

Repeat for an hour.

No rest between exercises and no rest between sets.

I did it for 30 minutes without a break, not even for a drink of water. As soon as I'd finish those jumping jacks I'd grab the 30 lb dumbbells and go right to work with cleans and presses.

Then the next 30 minutes I took a few breathers, maybe doing 2 or 3 cycles at a time, resting a moment and going back at it.

I ended up with 20+ cycles I think.

While there I saw Champion Vegan Bodybuilder and forum member Ed Bauer. He's one of my favorite people so it's always great to see him.

Then I hopped on the stair-stepper for 25 minutes and then bike for 10 minutes just to get a little cardio going to make sure I'm in shape for the LA Fit Expo coming up in 10 days. I'll be working the BB.com booth with Jamie Eason, Jerome Fergusson, and many others.

Since I was talking to the woman and to Ed and did the 30+ min on cardio I decided over 2 hours at the gym was enough and I skipped the steam, sauna, hot tub I planned to do. I wanted to get home and get ready to go to Canada tomorrow.

Had some Vega Sport Protein at the gym along with some fruit.

Now I'm eating tofu, tempeh, lentils and tomatoes. I'll get some fruit in before bed too.

Midnight now, gotta pack and catch a flight tomorrow morning to Vancouver to present Forks Over Knives to an audience of about 350. Should be cool.

Peace out yo.

RC

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

January 20, 2011

Today I took a rest day. I didn't get a lot of sleep and had a trip to Canada to host a screening of Forks Over Knives so I deliberately enjoyed a day off.

Lean and Green took me to the airport, I flew to Canada, got to my downtown hotel room, ate and then took a nap and then hosted a screening of www.forksoverknives.com for 350+ people at the public library.

I introduced the film, hosted the Q and A after and mingled with people, took some pics, had fun, etc. Called Brian in LA and gave him the recap and then headed over to my co-workers condo just 2 blocks away. There we had vegan dinner, he bought 2 of my books, gave me a book by another author friend of his, gave me a train ticket to the airport and around midnight I walked back to the hotel.

Solid day in Vancouver, Canada.

Good times.

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

January 21, 2011

Today I woke up in Vancouver BC after a late night at my friend's house party and watching a bit of TV til 2AM since I haven't had TV at home for more than 5 years....it's fun for me to watch occasionally.

I hit my alarm a bunch of times for a full hour, wanting to get a workout in before I headed to the airport. Even though I'll work out later tonight, I wanted to get a workout in right away.

So I hopped out of bed, went down to the fitness room and climbed on the stair stepper for 32 minutes and then sat in the sauna for about 5 minutes.

I'm at the airport now and board in less than an hour. Lean and Green will pick me up and we'll hit a workout tonight, possibly more cardio and sauna etc. too.

I'm preparing to be ready for some photo shoots in 8 or 9 days that may or may not take place. I'm hoping to get some photo shoots with some IFBB Pros and other fitness models, vegan models, etc. while back in LA for the first time since I moved in June.

I'll be doing other photo shoots in the spring and throughout the year as I make my return to bodybuilding and "fitness" - I have more a fitness physique now at 180 pounds than a bodybuilding physique of 195+ pounds, but I do plan to get up to that bodyweight later this year. In fact I'm still growing, I'm just growing slowly as I also keep bodyfat fairly low. Though I'm growing slower by design, I am more fit, look more fit, feel more fit and I'm happy with where I'm at and where I'm going.

Flight soon....then another workout.

Yeah Buddy!

Continued......

Lean and Green and thendanisays picked me up from the airport, took me home, I got some food and headed to the gym. I stayed there for 2.5 hours or so. Lots of exercise today.

Lean and I trained chest.

I did about 6 sets of flat bench up to maybe 195, 4 or 5 sets of decline bench at 225 at the top weight, and then did 4 sets incline dumbbell press and 4 sets incline flys. I also did 4 sets of push-ups.

Then I rode the bike for 32 minutes and spent about 30 minutes in the steam, sauna, hot tub and also had Vega, and fruit throughout my workout.

Dinner afterward.

Sleep time.

_________________

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

January 22, 2011

Today I completed 3 interviews so I'm pretty pleased about that. Two were for European Magazines and both were quite long interviews and the third one was a podcast interview for about 45 minutes over the phone. I rambled a bit and was aware of it during the interview, but oh well. There are many more. In fact, I'm really enjoying the radio interviews, discussions, debates, etc. so I plan to do a lot more in the coming months

After spending a lot of time writing most of the day, I also shipped a few things and then of course Lean and Green and I hit up the gym.

Today my workout was back and shoulders.

It looked a little like this:

Dumbbell lateral raises x 6 sets
Dumbbell front raises x 5 sets
Dumbbell rear delt raises x 4 sets
Dumbbell overhead press x 6 sets

T-bar rows x 4 sets wide grip
T-bar rows x 4 sets narrow grip

Wide grip pull-ups x 4 sets
Narrow grip pull-ups x 4 sets

Dumbbell shrugs x 4 sets

Nearly 40 sets but I kept the pace up and finished in less than an hour or just about exactly an hour.

Lean and Green trained some of the same exercises with me. We talked trash because for most exercises I'm stronger but weigh less. He's stronger on legs and some back exercises but I think I've got him everywhere else. He's gunning for me since I got a head start making my return to the gym in August compared to his return in about November or December. We both find ways to let our actions shut the other up and it's all for fun and with smiles and fist bumps, high fives and hugs.

Then we made a massive dinner.....something I'm still working on finishing as I type this while he falls asleep preparing for a long day tomorrow.

We made a kale salad with nuts and raisens, potatoes with Daiya vegan cheese and soy curls and I snacked on a few other things while we prepared food, mostly fruit. He may have had a shake.

Anyway, good times, productive day, so pleased to get those 3 interviews done and have another article to finish asap and then many more to write, along with my new book of course too.

My book dropped a little on Amazon rankings but the rankings change hourly so no big deal. When more interviews and reviews coming out it will pick right back up.

As my tours continue and as I move to Texas, Florida or California and get in a new environment I imagine book sales will pick up then too.

I'm still in the low 180's in bodyweight but working on compound lifts and eating. Progress is coming, even if it is slow, it is steady. A pic from a few days ago:



Peace out. Have a great weekend everyone!

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

January 23, 2011

I just got home from the gym, eating dinner with Lean and Green and read the news that Jack Lalanne passed away today. Sad news

Today I did a bit of computer work and then did something I don't normally do...I spent most of the entire day with friends. Normally I'm working all the time and don't make a lot of time for social events outside of work-related social events, but today I just hung out I watched football, played with my friend's kids, shopped for groceries and of course went to the gym.

Today at the gym I trained biceps, a little bit of triceps and 20 minutes on the stair stepper at a fast speed.

I did a ton of bicep curls from supinated curls, hammer curls, EZ curl bar curls, and even decline bicep curls on a bench. I did about 20-25 sets total. I ended up doing about 4 sets of triceps overhead extensions with a dumbbell and about 8 sets of push-ups. Then 20 min on stair stepper, Vega Sport Protein drink, showered and came home with groceries and Lean and Green made another great dinner.

Dinner time! I'll get some food pics soon but for now, arms in my Forks Over Knives t-shirt

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

January 24, 2011

Today I ran a bunch of errands and then I ran up a bunch of hills I focused on running hill repeats today. The hill was steep and about 200 meters long. The sun came out for the longest time that I can remember lately so I trained outside today. In total I ran for 38 minutes in a sweatshirt and sweatpants and knit cap. It will still cold, but I didn't want to spend the gas money to go to the gym today knowing it was just going to be a cardio day and total body workout day. I'm still recovering from massive debt, and still even pulling cans out of the garbage at the gym or picking them up off the street to return them for 5 cents each. I put myself in unique positions. Even if I have successful projects, I'm still working day by day to cover bills.

In addition to running, I also trained total body via ab roll-outs, squats, push-ups and sit-ups. In honor of Jack Lalanne, I did 96 reps of each of those 4 exercises today.

I'm really looking forward to going to the LA Fit Expo this weekend! I'm selling books at half price, scrambling around to get myself there, but I'll make it. Vega is covering a lot of my expenses, but I still have to front a bunch of them. I'm so pumped to be there! I haven't been in 2 years and it's only my 2nd time going. I'll be working with my friend Jamie Eason from Bodybuilding.com and I'll be at the Bodybuilding.com booth all weekend.

I'm also going to be filming some new videos while I'm there and that should be super exciting.

Today I ate a lot of potatoes, avocado, tofu, tempeh, salsa, protein drinks and fruit.

Time for more food and then sleep.

Have a great day everyone!

If you're in LA come out here: http://www.thefitexpo.com/

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

Remember all your hardwork will pay off so stay tough!

I personally would much rather do cardio outside then on a treadmill. So much more exciting and entertaining! I kind of dread going to the gym knowing I'll be on the treadmill the whole time :/

Have a safe trip to LA and have a blast!

_________________
Blog: http://www.stephanieberard.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephani ... 1450376118
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stephanieberard

January 25, 2011

Thanks Steph.

Today I shaved my legs for the first time in almost 2 years and the floor looked like someone lost their mullet or small dog

Getting ready to go to LA. Got my travel plans all sorted out and I'm ready to leave this weekend for an awesome time at the LA Fit Expo. Gonna rock, hope some of you come out for it.

I visited my mother today, picked up more VEGAN shorts to ship to www.veganessentials.com and met with Lean and Green for a workout.

Workout was like this:

Dumbbell lateral raises x 6 sets
Dumbbell front raises x 6 sets
Dumbbell rear delt raises x 6 sets
Dumbbell overhead press x 6 sets

Then about 15 sets or more (basically 45 minutes+) one arm dumbell swings (kettlebell style)

I also did about 8 sets of push-ups and 5 sets of lower back extensions.

After that I spent 30 minutes on the stair stepper.

1 hour 45 minutes training.

Massive dinner again.

Kale salad, potatoes, tofu, tempeh, avocado, fruit, etc.

Good times.

Up late, got squats tomorrow. Gotta head to bed. Watching stand up comedy on TV with thendanisays while Lean and Green works on www.veganproteins.com stuff.

We're rocking!

RC

_________________

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