Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

12/31/2011 - Cardio
45 minutes on treadmill, speed = 7.2 mph.

At three miles, I wanted to quit. I pushed myself to get through the mental barrier and kept going. Today's workout reinforced that 90% of fitness is mental, the other 10% is physical.

Trained legs, calves and abs today.
Legs
Squats: 3 sets x 12 reps
Leg Extensions: 3 sets x 12 reps
Romanian Deadlifts: 3 sets x 12 reps
Lying Leg Curls: 3 sets x 12 reps

Calves
Standing One Leg Calf Raises: 3 sets x 15 reps

Abs (Giant Sets)
Seated Leg Crunches/Exercise Ball Crunches/Side Crunches: 3 giant sets x 15 reps for each exercise

Stretched for 15 minutes.

Total workout time: 60 minutes

Today I trained chest and did 30 minutes of cardio.

Chest
Incline Bench Press 1 X 12, 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 8
Bench Press 1 x 10, 3 x 8
Decline Bench Press 1 x 9, 3 x 8
Incline Dumbbell Flyes 3 x 12

Cardio
30 minutes on treadmill at 7.2 mph.

Followed up the workout with skiing with my sons. What a day. Oh, my alma mater won their bowl game. Go Spartans!!!

Today is my recovery day. I need to tighten up my nutrition (stupid chocolate). Today is a new day and now is a new moment.

Peace.

I have not been able to train due to a rib injury I suffered while skiing on Monday. I am keeping my nutrition in line. Last night had delicious black bean quesadilla, amazing stuffed portabello mushroom and a salad. It was awesome. My wife got the recipes from an iPhone app.

I plan to get back into the gym as soon as I can exercise pain free. Until then, I will provide whatever I can to help anyone.

Until next time, peace.

Day 4 of not training because of my rib injury. I am getting antsy to get back to training. The problem having pain when I breathe deeply and on certain upper body movements.

I am keeping my diet clean. I am excited about that. My wife and just bought a Vitamix to support our nutrition. I loved watching it liquefy kale leafs in my morning smoothie.

That's it for today. Stay motivated and train hard, because you can.

Yahoo!!! Back in the gym today. Trained legs. I felt awesome, except for lying leg curls. The bench hurt my ribs too much.

Squats: 3 sets x 12 reps
Leg extensions: 3 sets x 12 reps
Romainian Deadlifts: 3 sets x 12 reps
One-legged standing calf raises: 3 sets x 15 Reps

Nutrition
Breakfast: green protein smoothie
Lunch: vegan pancakes with walnuts
Post workout: green protein smoothie
Dinner: stuffed peppers, risotto w/ chick peas
Evening meal: protein drink

Tomorrow, I am training my chest.

So I tried training chest yesterday. I could not remove the weight from the rack. Bruised ribs and chest training do not mix. This morning I did 3 sets of 20 push ups without pain. That is good. Tomorrow I will try to train back.

My nutrition has been good. I have not gained any weight. I am happy about that.

Today I trained my back abs. It felt great to train without any pain.

Pull Ups 4 sets x failure
Close Grip Cable Pulldowns 4 sets x 12 reps
Bent Over Barbell Rows 4 sets x 10 reps
Cable Pulley Rows 4 sets by 10 reps
Leg Crunches 3 sets x 15 reps
Exercise Ball Crunches 3 sets x 15 reps
*Leg Crunches and Exercise Ball Crunches were done in 3 supersets.

Breakfast: Green smoothie with hemp protein, two slices of Ezekiel toast, glass of water, vitamins
Snack: Almonds, grapes, glass of water
Lunch: Salad w/ black beans, glass of water
Snack: Protein drink, banana, glass of water
Dinner: Veggie burger, sprouted grain bun, sweet potato fries (baked), salad, glass of water
Evening snack: Protein drink

Looking forward to tomorrow. Shoulders and cardio.

Hi George,

How are things going?

Good looking journal here. I notice we eat a lot of the same foods (sweet potatoes, Ezekiel bread, some of the same types of fruit, protein drinks and beans as well). Great stuff.

Hope you're enjoying this month of training and accountability. Awesome to see you've been documenting it well.

All the very best as you continue forward!

-Robert

_________________

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

Hey George! I am also admiring your journal and love your little gems of wisdom! "Today is a new day and now is a new moment."

Looks like your wife is coming up with some awesome recipes: stuffed peppers, risotto w/ chick peas! Yes, please! And I'm sooooooo jealous of your VitaMix. *sigh*

Keep up the awesome work!

All the best,
Karen

Thank you for the words of encouragement. Things are going awesome. I love the accountability. Trying to find some variety for my snacks. Lunch and dinner get some great alternatives, thanks to my wonderful bride.

Today I trained shoulders.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 sets x 10-12 reps
Lateral Dumbbell Raises: 4 sets x 10 reps
Bent Over Dumbbell Raises: 4 sets x 10 reps
I was running late and had an early meeting at work, so I skipped cardio.

Nutrition
Breakfast: Fruit Smoothie with Hemp Protein, 2 slices Ezekiel toast, vitamins, glass of water
Snack: Almonds, glass of water
Lunch: Lentils w/ Artichoke Hearts, Green Salad, glass of water
Snack: Protein Drink, glass of water
Dinner: Pasta, Veggies, Tofu in Pasta Sauce, glass of water
Snack: Protein Drink

Looking forward to training arms tomorrow.

"To get something you never had, you need to do something you never did." - Not sure who said this, but it is a great quote.

Another gem of wisdom!

Today was arms day.

Barbell Curls: 4 sets x 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Dumbbell Curls: 3 sets x 10 reps
Concentration Curls: 3 sets x 12 reps
Close Grip Bench Press: 4 sets x 12, 10, 8, 8 reps
Lying Triceps Extensions: 3 sets x 10 reps
Rope Cable Triceps Push Downs: 3 sets x 12 reps

Breakfast: Pina Colada Smoothie with Kale, Spinach and Hemp Protein (no worries, no rum), vitamins, glass of water
Snack: Almonds, Blueberries, Raspberries, glass of water
Lunch: Black bean burger, green salad, glass of water
Snack: Protein drink, an Orange, glass of water
Dinner: Lentil Kibbee, Green Salad, glass of water
Snack: Protein Drink, Apple

Great day. Feeling good. Get to run tomorrow.

Today was cardio. I ran 3.5 miles in 30 minutes.

Breakfast: Smoothie (coconut water, banana, kiwi, apple, spinach, kale, hemp protein), vitamins, glass of water
Lunch: Burrito, creamy vegetable soup, glass of water
Snack: Popcorn, glass of water
Dinner: Pasta w/ navy beans, artichoke hearts, salad, glass of water
Snack: Protein drink

My wife and I ate at a restaurant she discovered. It is called Cacao Tree Cafe. It is a raw vegan restaurant. The food was awesome. The staff is super nice.