Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

..I suppose I’m supposed to start with some kind of introduction..I’ve read the forums off and on for a while now but have yet to post. I have however always been surprised by how supportive the people are on it. And, now that there are those there prizes of awesomeness, I guess it’s time for me to join in.

While I was originally motivated by the prizes (prizes I actually would use are a mighty rare thing), that motivation forced me to think about what my goals would be..and of course forces some accountability on my part – which in turn pushes me to go beyond what I otherwise might. Thus the less than ideal reasons for posting rapidly morphed into the point of the prizes – and for that, I have to say thanks for the extra push. (And thanks for all of the effort that went into organizing this!)

I guess that leads to my goals…

I’ve been vegan for 14-15yrs, but am not ready to put my meal plan in a goal right now…Lately it has consisted of a lot of salad (cabbage, spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and carrots), the new Vega coconut/chocolate bars (yum), PlantFusion (like I said, prizes I actually would use!), and an unfortunate amount of tofu and tempeh. Far from ideal and far from my ideal, right now, that’s what it is…one step at a time.

As for my fitness goals..I had foot/ankle reconstruction surgery (calcaneal osteotomy, tmt fusion, fdl tendon transfer, gastroc recession) for a busted (posterior tibial) tendon in September and have had a less than ideal recovery so far with a lot of nerve pain issues. So, a lot of my goals for now are far more muted than they otherwise would be. Prior to the injury, I had just finished p90x doubles…weekly hikes with the dogs…abs 3x/wk…arms 1-2x/wk and so on… Needless to say, my tendon and surgery put a damper on my activities.

I continued to be partially active despite the pain – both pre and post-op…throughout, I’ve kept up with arms, modified my bike trainer so I could ride with one leg and a crutch, and kept doing abs. But, of course, nothing was switched up and limits weren’t pushed.

Which leads me to now..

Given my limitations, I don’t have any tremendous goals..no CrossFit competitions or triathalons…but I do have some.
Within the limits of what I’m cleared to do and am of course currently capable of, during January, I want to:
*continue to do PT exercises every day – increasing difficulty and repetitions as the month progresses.
*push the intensity of my post-pool-PT swimming (and, as the month progresses, increase duration)
*explore the gym to find new/different workouts I can do – perhaps rowing instead of biking?…
*mix up arm/leg/ab workouts – including spending more time at the gym in order to cycle through some of the machines with different weights (& ideally keeping track in order to up the weight/reps as the month progresses)

Happy New Year :)

Apparently I was a bit too enthusiastic about exploring the weight machines in the gym yesterday; despite the fact that I didn't feel much at the time, today my arms/back are definitely hurting.

So, no arms today.
Instead, I did PT in the pool followed by about 20+ minutes of leg-only swimming.
Later, I did my out of pool PT.. (Listed below for progress/reference's sake)
In other words, pretty much a rest day.

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wide marching (20 in pool, 20 out of pool)
narrow marching (20 in pool, 20 out of pool)
side steps (20 each way in pool, 20 out of pool)
backward walk (20 in pool, 20 out of pool)
regular walking - only in pool; didn't count laps...was able to make it to ~3.65'
out of pool ->
gastroc stretch, soleus stretch
straight leg heel/toe rock (20)
split leg heel/toe rock (20)
draw alphabet (2x)
foot pointing with band/leg straight (20)
foot pointing with band/leg bent (20)
foot flex with band (20)
foot inversion with band (20)
slide foot forward, side, back (20 each)

I was reading some of the other posts and several people have mentioned their water intake. Though I'm not doing any meal goals this round, making sure I'm getting my water would be a good one to add. Given what I drink, I'm always amazed I'm never dehydrated - though I suppose that's due to what I intake via veggies..nonetheless, drinking more would definitely be a good thing for me!

That said -
my arms are still feeling Sunday so I picked an easier on the arms workout for the day: The Method - Pilates Target Specifics Plus (1hr)
I had to modify a few of the moves because of my foot/ankle, but the rest were fine.
Had a chocolate PlantFusion with chocolate light Silk after. yum.

I read another post and saw that there's a p90x2 out. I'm starting to wonder about getting that such that I can do something that offers more of a challenge (though I undoubtedly would have to alter most any move that requires bearing weight on both feet, it would be nice to further mix things up a bit as I've been doing a lot of the same routines for most of the last post-injury year).

PT is listed below (no pool today).

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wide high-knee marching (20)
narrow high-knee marching (20)
side steps (20 each way)
backward walk (20)
gastroc stretch, soleus stretch
straight leg heel/toe rock (20 each foot in front)
split leg heel/toe rock (20) --i realized that i was doing a full point/flex on my bad foot during this and then realized that's because i'm putting 99% of my weight on the other foot. So, I need to start paying attention to this and trying to put more weight on the bad one while doing these..
draw alphabet (2x)
foot pointing with band/leg straight (20)
foot pointing with band/leg bent (20)
foot flex with band (20)
foot inversion with band (20)
slide foot forward, side, back (20 each)
toe scrunches (20)
balance on one foot (holding on to things) (~20sec each side)

Ugh day...but, my arms are back to happy..
I got some post-PT swimming in (about 20min and got kicked out of the pool for a class). I had a bit more energy than the last few times in the pool and definitely took the swimming up a notch (as I might not have if I hadn't written it as a goal!)
Went home and rode my bike trainer for 45min...
After, of course, PlantFusion and Silk

I didn't up my water intake though...I need to find my camelback. I think it would help with such an endeavor.

PT listed below.
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in pool, "normal walk" laps in deeper/pain-free water. ~20min; didn't count laps.
wide high-knee marching (20 in pool)
narrow high-knee marching (20 in pool)
side steps (20 each way in pool)
backward walk (20 in pool)
out of pool:
gastroc stretch, soleus stretch
straight leg heel/toe rock (20 each foot in front)
split leg heel/toe rock (20) --focused on more weight on bad foot
draw alphabet (2x)
foot pointing with band/leg straight (20)
foot pointing with band/leg bent (20)
foot flex with band (20)
foot inversion with band (20)
slide foot forward, side, back (20 each)
toe scrunches (20)
balance on one foot (holding on to things) (~20sec each side)
As per the PT person I saw today, I need to focus on massage/desensitization - no amount of band repetitions are going to get me walking as long as my nerves are up in arms..So, if needed, I may be easing off a bit on the movements in exchange for time spent on desensitization.
She also said that mixing up exercise is lovely (e.g. p90x2) but unlike a lot people who need to be kicked in the butt to keep going when in pain, i need to watch the opposite spectrum and not overdo things...So, maybe in a few weeks?

I think today is a rest day.
I'm sick today - for the first time in at least two years - but was going to go to the gym after work anyway...I then remembered something I often forget - that true fitness/health means both pushing limits and resting. So, no workout today..not even abs..

Still sick - though feeling better than yesterday. I think not going to the gym was a good idea...

Another relative rest day. Did p90x abs + 50(each side) crisscross crunch...20 reg pushups & 20 chataranga pushups.

I stayed away from the pool today as I don't think sneezing all over the place would be a good plan...and coughing while trying to swim..also not good..Hopefully I'll be even better tomorrow and can get back to the pool and gym machines..

Other than that, i did all of my non-pool pt yesterday and today, both with an additional focus on massage/touch/desensitization - particularly on the hypersensitive spots... I'm thinking i shan't write out each PT step anymore as it takes up half my post and there's still no easy way to view it/my progress..

anddddd still sick..Earlier today I was looking forward to going to the gym after work. But, of course, by the time I was done working my head and chest are anything but playing along.

I was thinking about going anyway, but in further thought, it seemed kind of stupid as i can't breathe quite properly to begin with. BUT tomorrow is the weeeeeekend. Which means during those hours I feel better, I don't have to just think about going to the gym (later) I can actually do it (before 'later' kicks my butt). So yay for tomorrow.

As for today..p90x abs.50ea side crisscross crunch.pilates leg routine.20 reg pushups.20 chataranga.the usual PT.
So, unfortunately, another very light day; not mixing it up much or pushing limits. But tomorrrrrowww..hopefully I shall be in better shape.

weeeehooooo

I made it to the gym today.

I did the cycle of all of the machines (no free weights for me right now)...3 sets of 12 reps on each. - though the way the machines are set up there, i found myself on a few repetitive ones (e.g. I did triceps...and then 5 spots later, i was doing triceps again). So, on those, I finished my first set and moved on..

Unlike last week, I definitely pushed it this time - and definitely felt it. So, should i be sore tomorrow or the next day...well..it won't come as that much of a shock.

Right after, I had a Vega chocolate coconut protein bar :) and then walked in the pool for a while...followed by some kicking (still too full of a head to attempt to swim regularly). I was eventually persuaded out of the pool by 'family swim time'..which means a lot of loud ...shrieking...and splashing everywhere. But, at least the persuasion didn't involve a pool of yellow water closing in on me :)

Other than walking in the pool, I haven't done PT yet..Ed Bauer's gym is having a grand opening tonight (http://plantfit.wordpress.com/2011/12/1 ... nd-opening) which I was thinking about visiting; but as my head and chest are full and my foot's nerves are all kinds of agitated, perhaps I shall have to wait for a non-grand visit.

At least I got to visit the other gym today!

A question if anyone happens to be reading my mesmerizing journal ->>

Do you write down your weight/repetitions after each set, or remember what you did and write it all down after your workout?

I write my weight and reps after every set...I've gone every day to the gym for 6 years and its easy to get confused about whether I did barbel curls 5 minutes ago or was it yesterday or the day before and was it 40lbs I just did or 45lbs ??? If I didn't write it down I can even forget what exercise I did 30 seconds ago or how many sets have I done so far, but then I can go back over and read what I was just doing...lol

_________________
Failure: unacceptable.
Find me on facebook: Deborah Nasmyth

Hey Lola!

Glad you're feeling better! Sorry to hear that illness kept you down for a few days, but super impressed that you stuck to your goals and kept exercising, doing as much as you felt you could handle. You rock!

All the best!
Karen

@precision female -
Thanks.

>If I didn't write it down I can even forget what exercise I did 30 seconds ago
That cracked me up.

I guess I keep hoping there's some kind of easier way other than toting around paper scraps and stopping to scribble every few minutes..oh well..


@Karen -
Awww. *Thank you*. That's very sweet!

The day is still young, but I'm online so i might as well post..

Today I did about 35 lengths of walking in the pool. My foot is becoming progressively happier with water-walking which gives me hope that one of these days I'll be able to walk properly again on land...
Followed it with about 10min of kickboard swimming..

I was thinking that I'd do pilates in an effort to fend off what feels to be impending arm cramps from yesterday's visit to the gym....so, I did about 40min of that..but contrary to my memory, the video i went with this time is butt/ab/leg focused so ...well, maybe i'll have an additional post later today that is arm related :)

I also realized that my gym visit didn't involve any rows, so i just did 3 sets of 12 of those here...

Anddd haven't done pt yet other than the pool, but that's next on the list..
Meanwhile, i keep wanting to go back to the gym today..Perhaps as a way to avoid cleaning the house?? I don't know...but it's really all i have any desire to do..

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update:
I didn't end up doing much in the world of arms, but i did do 20 reg pushups & 20 chataranga...and p90x abs...which has nothing to do with arms :)

Other than PT, today is a rest day..

Sadly, my pre-injury rest days just meant I didn't do official exercise, but still walked the dogs for an hour or something. But, as I currently am a bit..restricted..a rest day pretty much means most of the day is spent on the caboose...I did however get to walk the dogs about 5 blocks today with the cane and a boot, so...one of these days I just might be back tromping around!

I remembered earlier today that I still haven't pulled out my Camelbak thing...that is now my goal for the day. It's a tough one :)

34 lengths of pool walking followed by 10min of kickboard swimming during lunch..
After work, went back to the gym to test out the rowing machine..
I did that for 45min and left with a bunch of blisters on my hands which i had no idea i was developing..

It took a while to get my heart rate up on that thing, but once i did, it was pretty easy to maintain...It also definitely tweaks my ankle a bit as my foot will still no longer bend properly, but - it was different than biking. So, even if i don't always do it, it's out there as an option.
Went home and had a smoothie with a scoop of Vega and a scoop of pea protein.

And now I need to get off my butt and go do the rest of my PT...