Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Thx!

1/4/12

Today I took a scheduled day off. My lower back has been getting pretty beat up from not only my new compound lifting program of deadlifts, squats, overhead press, etc. but also sitting at the computer for 12 hours a day, in the position I sit in.

Each day is so interesting. Yesterday I was signing books for WWE Pro Wrestlers, today I got an email from the New York Times saying an interview they did with a number of our forum members a month ago is going to print Thursday and is online now: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/05/sport ... ref=sports

And each new day there is always something.

I'm even offering a Buy 1, Get 1 Free clothing/book sale on Thursday and have a lot of prizes from #12 Days to ship (still waiting for a few prizes to arrive, but should have them all shipped by Friday).

Big clothing sale details are here. Hope you snag some up and post pics wearing them around!

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27348

Always something new, which reminds me, I should get back to editing my new book to keep it's release date scheduled in 2012 up to speed.

When I wake up it should be pretty exciting as the New York Times article about Jimi Sitko, and this Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness community will be rocking the newspaper. I suspect we'll get a few more forum members out of it too. New friends waiting to be made. Always a good feeling.

I slept in big time today because of my sleep schedule that has been dramatically through off (once I got the internet at home for the first time in weeks or months) two weeks ago and the crazy projects that ensued. I might even get to bed before 1AM.

Hope you all had a great day today!

Catch up tomorrow.

Peace.

I don't know how we are ever to get our 8 hours Looks like we both have the struggle with that one.

Best of luck with your workouts and busy days.

Thanks! I didn't make it bed by 1AM. I was too excited/busy recruiting additional sponsors, including some awesome companies, to contribute to our online fitness program.

Stayed up late working, but got a lot done and it's only 1:33AM and I'm turning the computer off in 10 minutes or so.

We'll see what Thursday brings.

Have an awesome day. Thanks for your support!

I hope that you are enjoying your new year of training and success, it is great that you are hitting everything so hard this year. I look forward to reading about the training and what hustling you are up to that week.

Happy training,
Steve

Thanks, Steve! You're the BEST! You have seriously helped me through so much over the years. I'm so grateful for your support. Really, I am. It means so much.

I'm still having a rough time with sleep. It has been well documented that ever since The 12 Days of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness program where I worked 12-15 hours a day for 12 consecutive days + additional days leading up to it, I have had trouble sleeping. Though it has been 5 days since that program finished, I still go to bed at 3AM, which was when I'd finish working during that period.

Last night, not only did I go to bed between 3AM-4AM again, I was awoken before 8AM. I have a new smartphone and I'm not a tech guy, so I don't even know how to control settings, so my phone beeps every time I get an email, or a text or other notification. So it was keeping me up. Anyway, on my 3.5 hours of sleep I woke up and got to work. Busy day when the New York Times puts you in their paper. It actually wasn't as busy as I expected and I managed to keep up with emails, and of course I thank Richard for all his amazing work to handle our increase in traffic and inquires.

My day was thrown off by the lack of sleep and then thrown off when my uncle invited me to a college basketball game. Basketball is by far my favorite sport. I like it a whole lot, and also wanted to spend time with family, so I agreed. It was thrown off further by a request from my mother to help her with a project. If you think I'm leading up to saying I missed my workout, you're mistaken. Just taking you through my day, because I tend to be long-winded and draw things out. These would all just be excuses if I missed my workout, but they were all fun opportunities to battle through lack of sleep, embrace the New York Times feature, spend time with my mother and have a wonderful time at the game with my uncle. We were 6 rows back from the court and by the OSU Beaver bench, coached by Mrs. Obama's brother. Great game and Beavers upset Cal in a close one near the finish. We cheered lots and I loved it!

On to my workout. Sorry for all that other stuff.

My lower back is still so-so after all this compound lifting and pounding but I didn't wimp out and do pull-ups, I went with my scheduled deadlifts and rows, while tossing in a few extra things.

Per my new style I spent 30 min warming up before even touching a weight, since I only do compound barbell lifts these days (for this new program to add mass, muscle and strength).

Warm-up

Stair stepper for 20 min - This actually wore me out! haha! I didn't hold the handles like usual. I had my hands at my sides and put it on a fairly aggressive speed and after 15 min I was soaked and somewhat gasping for air. I powered through 5 more minutes.

Bodyweight squats with lots of stretching in between:
30
30
30

Deadlifts (using kilo plates so pound numbers look odd)
89lbs x 20
89lbs x 15
133lbs x 10
153lbs x 6
163lbs x 3
163lbs x 4 - Like last week, low back had enough and needed to stop.

Bent-over rows
133lbs x 10
133lbs x 10
133lbs x8
133lbs x 10
133lbs x 8
133lbs x 8

Box jumps
30
20 - After two sets I realized this was a bad idea for my quadradus lumborum (been a while since anatomy class, did I spell it correctly?) - The pounding on my lower back was too much so I'll save that for another day. I like the box jumps because it keeps my body warm, loose, and flexible and adds some aerobic activity to it too, if I do enough reps. But not today, only 2 sets. Low back was and still is sore, 6 hours after I trained.

I finished with 2 sets of low back hyper-extensions to loosen the lower back up a bit.

After the workout I had my Vega protein drink, an energy bar, a banana, then got home and had some potatoes and greens. Had to shower and hustle to the basketball game and came home to have another big plate of potatoes and greens with some Gardein tofu stuff and an energy bar at the game and one on the drive home before this late dinner.

I'll have a bit of fruit as I finish emails. It's midnight now and I suspect I have another hour or (usually more) to go. Hope to sleep more tonight.

Catch up tomorrow.

-RC

1/6/12

Today I was so swamped with computer work I was in my pajamas until after 7PM. I couldn't leave the house, there was so much awesomeness coming in via business phone calls, emails, etc. And oh, by the way, all of you who are in this New You for the New Year Challenge stand to benefit Big Time from today's business discussions with various owners. Awesome stuff coming your way!

I'll get right to it. I have so much yet to do and it's already late and I'm out of town tomorrow. So many packages to prepare and ship.

Today's workout was an Overhead Press-Pull-up-Shrug day.

It went like this:

Warm-up - Stair stepper for 20 minutes

Bodyweight squats
30
30
30

Stretching throughout.

Again, a good 30 minutes before touching any weights, staying loose, warming up and stretching out.

Standing Overhead Barbell Press
45lbs x 12
45lbs x 15
45lbs x 15 (first three sets are warm-up with the bar)

65lbs x 10
89lbs x 3
89lbs x 3 (was a little too much for me to get as many reps as I wanted)
75lbs x 8
75lbs x 10

Dumbbell Shrugs
70's (140lbs) x 25
75's (150lbs) x 20
80's (160lbs) x 15
85's (170lbs) x 12
90's (180lbs) x 12
100's (200lbs) x 10

Wide-Grip Pull-ups
10
10
10
Narrow-Grip Pull-ups
12
12
12

Solid workout. Exercises like overhead press and pull-ups are always tough ones for me, much like deadlifts and squats on an upper-body level.

Had fruit, Vega, bars, and will get some potatoes before the night is over. Had potatoes, tofu and greens before the workout.

Back to work. So much to do.

Night!

-Robert

That's the way Robert! Nice Lifting!

It is really good to hear about all the e-mails, phone calls etc that's flooding in at your door step!

Keep rockin'

Glad to see you hitting the gym, I am on my way myself, though it was funny to see that you and I were doing the same workout.

Awesome! Have a great workout, Steve!

Man, I was up until 4AM again. Tried to sleep between 2-3AM but was just lying there thinking for an hour or so. Then up at 9 this morning. I think I even woke up earlier first, but got out of bed around 9 and back to work.

Should be a fun day today. I'll see a bunch of vegan athletes at a grand opening of a vegan fitness studio in Portland, OR. Lots to ship before I head to Portland.

Today is a day off from the gym.

With my new compound lift schedule I'll only be training 4 days a week. I'll need the extra rest to recover between days of deadlifts and squats and so forth. I'm excited about it and thinking that 4 days of compound lifts per week will be more beneficial than 5 days of weaker exercises per week. With my lifestyle which often leaves me short on sleep and traveling a lot, 4 days in the gym fits it better too.

I'll outline what the days look like soon. Still piecing it all together, but I think after a week into it, I have my workout routine for the week created in my head. I'll type it up soon.

Back to work now. Have an awesome weekend, everyone!

Take care of your back. You only have one!

Thanks Hayley,

My back is really sore these days! I'm going to get a massage asap. I'm also doing a lot of stretching and trying to move around amidst the long 12-hour days.

I had a great time meeting up with a bunch of our forum members tonight! There were about 10 forum members from this site at Ed Bauer's Plant Fit Vegan Fitness Studio Grand Opening tonight, including 4 of the coaches in our New You for the New Year Challenge.

Here is a pic (L to R) of me, Alli Breen, Julia Abbott and the man himself, Champion Vegan Bodybuilder Ed Bauer, owner of Plant Fit in Portland.

Why are you so buff but do such low weight exercises all the time? Have you gotten to the point where it's hardly ever a heavy thing except to stay a certain size, and the rest of the time toning?

I think it's because he is recovering from an injury and wants to ease back into it.

That's just what I can lift right now. I'm pushing it hard, but that's all I can move at the moment. I'm recovering from 2 injuries (chest and abs) and have a history of low back injuries so I'm taking it slow with the back exercises.

A year ago today I was benching 300lbs on decline bench without needing a spot, but today I can't bench, period.

It's one of those cases of starting over. I'm even back to my old college distance running weight. Clearly, I have a long road ahead if I plan to compete in bodybuilding again, which I do plan to do. It will take a lot of hard work, dedication and a positive attitude and I'm ready for the challenge.

Back in the gym with my friend who got me into bodybuilding in the first place more than 10 years ago, when we meet up tomorrow. Almost 3AM. Gotta get some rest now.

Have a great weekend!

After what I've read in your book - if anyone can do it, you can! Work hard, but work smart and don't ruin yourself