Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

4/18

Shoulders

Warm-Up: 200 weighted jump ropes

Barbell Seated Behind the Neck Press @ 45 x 10, 50 x 10, 55 x 10
Cable Upright Row @ 30 x 10, 30 x 12, 30 x 12
Barbell Front Raise (Negatives) @ 3 x 20 x 10
Reverse-Grip Lateral Raise @ 10 x 10, 7.5 x 10, 7.5 x 10

Can't remember what cardio I did...oh well. Dance for an hour I think.

4/19

Upper Body Circuit

3 circuits

Pop Push-Up (wide stance push up then "pop" in to close and push up) @ 3 x 6
Bench Dip @ 3 x 10
Underhand Lat Pulldown @ 3 x 40 x 12
Barbell Deadlift @ 45 x 12, 45 x 10, 45 x 10
Cable Standing One-Arm Bicep Curl @ 3 x 10 x 10
Bench Push-Up (grasping edge so mainly tricep) @ 3 x 10

Something about the sequence is a little weird - I may change some things. For one, moving from one exercise to the next is awkward...I prefer circuits that are all dumbbell or plate or something so there's no time lost to setup.

Cardio: 2 mile trail run, fairly hilly terrain. 30 minutes.
1 hour dance class

4/20

Decided to change my split by making this a cardio day, then legs, then upper body machine/sprints

Cardio: 20 minutes stairclimber
Abs: Weighted Russian twists, V-Ups, Bicycles

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4/21 Legs Day 2

Reverse Lunge with Pulse, 3 x 20/leg w/ 10 pulses per set
Donkey Kick, 3 x 20
Switches, skipped

*These are somewhat weird exercises from an old M&F Hers: the competitor the routines were written for suffers from the same big leg syndrome that I do, hence the bodyweight focus...

The reverse lunge with pulse involves doing a reverse lunge and at the bottom tilting the hips forward and coming back up about 25% of the way then back down, then to standing and so on. So I do 10 reps with a "pulse" followed by 10 regular reverse lunges on each leg.

The donkey kick is sans machine, forearms on the ground, one knee on the ground and the other leg raised so that the knee is in line with the torso...that leg is then raised, heel first, while contracting the glute and then the knee is returned to being in line with the pelvis, never back down to the ground as it usually is for this exercise. Not the best description I realize, but there it is!

4/22 Upper Body Machine/Sprints

1/2 mile warm-up run then 5 30 second sprint intervals...can't believe I was doing 10 before. The heat and humidity make a huge difference.

Barbell Bench Press, 65 x 12, 75 x 10, 80 x 8
Cable Seated Row, mid-grip, 40 x 12, 45 x 10, 50 x 10
Cybex Shoulder Press, plate-loaded, 20 x 12, 30 x 10, 30 x 10
DB Seated Bicep Curl, 15 x 10, 20 x 10, 20 x 10
Cable Straight-Arm Pulldown, 40 x 10, 50 x 10, 50 x 10

4/23 Cardio

I know I did 40 minutes of cardio but completely drawing a blank on what it was...

4/24 Legs Day 1

Jump Squats, 3 x 20
Step Up with Curl, 3 x 20

10 minutes Cybex "elliptical"
10 minutes stairclimber

1.5 hour dance class (lots of legs and glutes involved)

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Hi Marcella. I have a question. What exactly is big leg syndrome? Do you tend to gain muscle in the legs very easily? I have been considering bodyweight only leg exercises. Does this help lean out the legs? Thank you. I wish you well in your competition.

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If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. -St. Francis of Assisi

Oh jump squats! ouch! do you ever do them weighted?

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Big Leg Syndrome - yup, I had muscular legs before I ever even started weightlifting...unfortunately, they also retain fat far more tenaciously than any other part of my body. I think sticking to mainly body weight and plyometrics is helping as my thigh measurement apparently decreased from 19.3" to 18.9" over the past month and a half. And the M&F Hers competitor for whom the routine I'm using was designed claimed to have lost 4 inches off her thighs by switching to body weight exercises. That's why I decided to give it a shot: her body type looked remarkably similar to mine in the photos.

Weighted jump squats...man. I actually have never tried them - Derek used to always do them with, I think, a 110 lb barbell and I thought he was insane. That was long before I even started doing body weight jump squats (which kill my glutes as it is) and I'd totally forgotten about the possibility of adding weight. I wonder if that would hurt my lower back? My main limitation in doing any leg exercise is stressing my lower back, it drives me nuts. I can't even do 45 lb deadlifts, good mornings, bent over rows or box jumps without having my lower right back clench up like a fist for a day or two. Anything that involves crouching even slightly while tensing my lower back. When I go back to plyometrics in a few weeks I should try a 20 lb barbell and see how that goes.

Thanks for the suggestion!

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Thanks for the details. Do you know by chance what issue that was in? I'd like to read it and try the workout. Thank you again. I appreciate it.

_________________
If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. -St. Francis of Assisi

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Bodybuilding, Recipes, and Nutrition!

Thank you very much. Thanks for inspiring me with your workouts like MaryStella and Lobster!

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If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men. -St. Francis of Assisi

Thanks Barb!

This past weekend was Derek's bodybuilding competition so everything got kind of thrown off...

5/28 Legs Day 2

Reverse Lunge with Pulse
Donkey Kicks
Switches

All sets of 20

These body weight exercises performed with strict form actually have been making my legs a little sore and I think I see some improvement (size reduction) so I'm going to stick with this routine for a few more weeks before returning to plyometrics.

5/29 Cardio (forgot it was supposed to be upper body, now I'm a day off!)

30 minute trail run
20 minute stairclimber

5/30 Upper Body

Morning: 20 minutes elliptical

It was so packed and insane at Gold's today I couldn't do anything I'd planned on so I just improvised and got the hell out!

Cable Chest Press (wanted to do barbell, but the free motion cable was still quite hard with high resistance), 3 x 10
Close Grip Cable Row, 40 x 12, 45 x 12, 50 x 12
Decline Pullovers, 3 x 25 x 10
Arnold Press, 20 x 12, 25 x 10, 30 x 8
Seated Bicep Curl, 3 x 20 x 8
Seated Machine Dip, 3 x 10 (never do these, but everything was taken...very awkward - I'm 5'2" so on a lot of the machines my feet dangle above the floor when I raise the seat to the correct height...)

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Great consistency with training!

I always knew that about you when I first met you on the ship....you trained and trained and trained!

All the best!

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

Thanks! Consistency in working out is easy once you're addicted to the endorphins, right?

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Bodybuilding, Recipes, and Nutrition!

5/31 Legs Day 1

Body Weight Squats, 3 x 40
Bench Step-Ups w/ 10 Lb DBs, 3 x 20/leg

Skipped glute pulses b/c I planned on doing belly dance later in the day and I found that doing the bench step ups while holding the weights at my side put some strain on my glutes. The dance drills I do involve alternately flexing your glutes to move your hips at a fast pace for an extended period (sounds weird but that's how it's done!) so I prefer not to do too many glute exercises as I don't need an even bigger butt!

Abs:
Sideways Extensions w/ 7.5 lbs, 3 x 10
SS w/ Roman Chair, 3 x 12

Just when I was getting back into the groove of doing a lot of cardio I had to stupidly step on a rusty nail in my backyard...

Did 20 minutes of elliptical anyway and tried to dance but today I'm kind of hobbling around so probably not a good call.

6/1 Shoulders

Smith Machine Behind-the-Neck Press, 50 x 10, 55 x 10, 60 x 8
Easy-Curl Bar Upright Row, 35 x 10, 40 x 10, 45 x 8
DB Front Raise (stabilized on a wall to isolate), 10 x 10, 12 x 10, 12 x 10
Seated Lateral Raise, 10 x 10, 12 x 8, 12 x 8
Rear Delt Machine, 35 x 10, 35 x 10, 35 x 12

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Bodybuilding, Recipes, and Nutrition!

Welp, I've fallen way behind recording my workouts...I've been focused on diet and nutrition the past couple of weeks, both making mine over and writing meal plans for clients: must be a summer thing!

On the nutrition front, I've eliminated protein bars, most refined grains, nut butters, tofu, and all oil in an effort to lose fat. It's been gradual over three weeks and so far I've lost about 2 pounds without losing any muscle in the upper body (which is the first thing to go if I'm not eating enough calories). So far so good - and I have to admit that I feel way better and my skin looks more glow-ey without the processed food.

On the workout front, I'm on the same routine. Only notes I can think of are:

On my upper body non-circuit day I've gotten my 4th set of flat bench back up to 8 x 80 lbs consistently.

On my first day of the week I now do 3 sets of 50 body weight squats and sometimes weights on the step-ups with curl. Doing the body weight stuff still makes my legs sore b/c I adjust my position to make the exercises harder as I progress

I hadn't been doing the sprints that are the third legs day of my routine b/c it was 100 degrees outside all last week. Running fast on a treadmill just is not the same - I can't possibly go balls to the wall. I finally went to my university's soccer field this past Sunday and did 3 sets of (sprint 25 yds, walk back, sprint 50 yds, walk back, sprint, 75 yds, walk back, sprint 100 yds, walk back). It was 91 degrees still, so by set 3 I felt like vomiting and stopped - on a cooler day I might be able to get 5? We'll see this Sunday!

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Bodybuilding, Recipes, and Nutrition!

Have an awesome time at the Richmond Vegetarian Festival this weekend! I appreciate all your support big time! All the best!

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

So, clearly, it's been a while since I've posted! I'm now over 6 months pregnant, so the title ought to be changed to "3 Months Until Labor!" or something more appropriate, but that's ok.

Still working out as often as ever, and nearly as hard as ever, and my routines are not all that different really. Some exercises need to be avoided during pregnancy, but there's too many alternatives to choose from for it to be an obstacle. Here's the routine I've been doing for a few months:

Legs Day

20 minutes incline treadmill or elliptical

Deep Body-weight squats, 3-4 sets x 20 reps
Leg Extension 3-4 x 12-15 SUPERSET WITH (45 lbs)
Seated Leg Curl 3-4 x 12-15 (45)
Glute Push-down (using assisted pull-up machine) 3 x 12

Chest/Back Day

No exercises that involve lying flat are allowed. On compound exercises like incline bench, I stick with my old warm-up weight and do higher reps rather than risk straining too hard.

20 minutes incline treadmill or elliptical

Incline Bench Press 4 x 12-15 (50) SUPERSET WITH
One-Arm DB Row 4 x 12-15 (25)
Seated Cable Chest Press 3 x 15 (50) SUPERSET WITH
Assisted Pull-Ups 3 x 10-12
Cable Chest Fly 3-4 x 12-15 (15) SUPERSET WITH
Free Motion Cable Row 3-4 x 12-15 (25)

Cardio Day: 20 minutes incline treadmill or elliptical

Shoulders Day

Overhead presses are out because they can injure your lower back in the later stage of pregnancy. Very sad – those are what got my shoulders bigger! Oh well, I’ll get them back.

20 minutes incline treadmill or elliptical

Dumbbell or Cable Upright Row 3-4 x 12-15 (15-20)
Seated or Standing Front Delt Raise 3-4 x 10-12 (10)
Side-Lying Lateral Raises 3 x 12 (8) SUPERSET WITH
Rear Delt Raises 3 x 12
Seated Cable Press 3-4 x 15 (20) The free-motion cable machine doesn’t strain my lower back – I wait until the end of the workout so I keep it light, and lean back in the seat

Arms Day

This is one area in which I haven’t really dropped the weight I’m using much. I now do close-grip bench and skullcrushers (for triceps) at an incline instead of flat.

20 minutes incline treadmill or elliptical

DB Bicep Curl 3-4 x 10-12 (15-20) SUPERSET WITH
Seated Tricep Extension 3-4 x 10-12 (25)
Cable Bicep 21′s 3-4 x 21 (40) SUPERSET WITH
Close Bench Push-Ups 3-4 x 6-8
Sometimes I’ll add a third superset of something if I’m up to it

Cardio Day: 20 minutes incline treadmill or elliptical

Rest

My focus is obviously not on building muscle right now, but on maintaining as much as possible and building endurance for labor. My diet was previously really strict with around 10-15% calories from fat but I'm eating plenty of nuts and avocado and so on these days and am looking smoother and rounder (being in my third trimester it's not unexpected!) but have only gained about 15 pounds thus far. The recommended weight gain during pregnancy for a fit woman is 25-35 lbs, so I feel pretty good! Actually, it's pregnancy weight gain that accounts for the majority of the female portion of the obesity epidemic...it's important to consider that being overweight or obese while pregnant leads to all kinds of problems for you and the baby. A lot of women, unfortunately, think that exercise at such a time is risky when the truth is quite the opposite!

Progress pics, looking softer but you can see there's still muscle under there!

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Bodybuilding, Recipes, and Nutrition!