Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Yesterday was recovery day. I took a short walk but didn't do anything else.

Today was Spin plus the jeans challenge. My cycle class is 55 minutes long. Plus we did Athlete's Workout, which is 45 minutes. We then spent about an hour doing some weight lifting--chest press bilateral and unilateral, weight step up, TRX Row, stretch.

Dinner tonight, after eating lots of protein earlier in the day, was a simple soup of broth plus veggies and some pecans to add crunch.

Today was a recovery day for me too. They can be nice and also extremely important and effective in the process to adaptation and improvement toward achieving goals.

Spinning is so fun, isn't it?

I had some spin classes with Bob Harper from The Biggest Loser and then I would do my own spinning sessions, just on my own, just as motivated, pushing it hard.

All the best with your week of training! Go get em!

Hi, Robert and thank you for the note. Sometimes I enjoy a solo spin more than class too. I've cut back on my cardio to build muscle...it was hard but I prefer this new way of working out.

Quick note for today because it is bed time already.

Tonight's gym challenge was a half hour work out:
Body weight leg extension with a jump
squats
V-up, right, left, center
plank to push-up

Side plank rotating from left to right and holding at each side
rowing machine
TRX row
ropes
ball to the wall
rowing machine
shoulder press

I tacked on about 25 minutes of solo Spin to start prepping for Cinderella.

Then it was customer appreciation night at the gym...so I managed to wrap up with a brief, free massage. Life is great.

Today was indoor cycling at Eden. I have to admit that there were times when I was happy to get off my bike and check on my riders. My husband asked if I am training too hard but I feel like I've cut back since the new year (I'm atypical). The sessions with Dustin in some ways are not as intense as what I do on my own. That said, I respect Dustin and I am so excited to work with him and to take a different approach in my training. I signed up for this because I knew what Dustin offers and wanted that.

Sadly I didn't do my deadlifts on Tuesday night. I have to do them tomorrow. I committed to staying with them. But I also learned last Saturday that my my form on dumbbell deadlifts needs work. Sigh...I thought my barbell form was good but maybe it isn't as good as I thought.

As a non-vegan on this site, I feel a little like an interloper. I am here to learn and because I support vegans and I believe a lot of the vegan philosophies (or I wouldn't be vegetarian). I don't feel pressured to become vegan but I am mindful that this is vegan space. So I also realized that I chose to give up cheese a few months ago. I needed to cut additional calories and my cheese was an easy way to shave off a little. I've maintained my pledge to substitute organic tofu for eggs in the morning and I'd already stopped cheese. My main consumption of animal foods is homemade yogurt and milk in my coffee (and any incidental baked goods along the way). Oh, and a teaspoon of honey for my allergies each day. So I am slowly moving in the vegan direction.

Okay, bed time. Tomorrow is a day in the office.

Great work!

Cool that you scored the free massage too. That is nice!

This website is for anyone and everyone and everyone is always welcome and encouraged to have fun here.

Great to have you here!

Keep up a great week of training!

Thank you, Robert, for such positive comments and encouragement. I really appreciate the space you've created and the knowledge that you share with us.

Today I put in a calm 60 minutes on the bike to train for Cinderella. It's raining so it was an inside ride.

The small group workout was
Dynamic warm up
Squats with band
Side step with band
Lat cable pull
Fast lunge
One legged squat with kettlebell (horrible at this)
KB shoulder press
Plank with rotation
Three variations of V-ups, side knee ab thing, and another ab exercise.

Oh, 2.5 minutes of plank and I didn't drop once. Typically I plank on Monday, after I've already taught spin. Planking after cycling is really hard. So I didn't know that I could hold plank that long.

Making the entry in the day light, not squeezing it in before bed!

I'm a little paranoid that Dustin is reading my training journal. Also that means I think the world in some small sense revolves around me...but I know it doesn't. I say this because every time I get all up about doing my deadlifts...we do deadlifts in small group. Also Dustin seems worried that I think we aren't going hard enough, fast enough, or lifting enough weights. Hey, Dustin, I'm happy with the group. I want you to find the imbalances (and that assessment you did today found them--I had to spend 41 years in this body to figure all that out). And I want to have good form for my lifts because I am a little scared that if I start doing the big serious lifts, I will get hurt.

Speaking of form, the bottom 1/3 of my barbell deadlift is not right.

I was the only person who showed for 9 AM small group today. This means I had a private session with Dustin. And we did barbell deadlifts, which I yammered about last night. Weird coincidences tend to happen in my life.

So we did a little warmup on the treadmill, including sideways shuffles, then dynamic stretching. Then set an incline on the treadmill, didn't turn it on, and I reenacted pulling a sled up a hill (funnny, that's how I was envisioning it and that's how Dustin described it)...that was cool.

Next: run quarter mile, dips, deadlifts, leaps over a step, step, piviot, leap, step, pivot leap 20x
Run quarter mile, dip, deadlift, leap 'n pivot 15x
Run quarter mile, dip, deadlift, leap 'n pivot 10x.

So because my back rounds in the bottom 1/3 of my deadlift, Dustin gave me an additional assessment and found a tight left hamstring and tight right quad. He did so because my deadlift problem is not an issue of core strength--it's an issue of flexibility. I agree completely. Part of my leg routine is about balancing quad dominance and building hamstring and adductor strength. So in less than 2 weeks of small group, Dustin found these things. And that's why I wanted to work with him.

Now I'll have to discuss my plan to perfect a natural glute-ham raise with him.

Hummus for lunch. Creamy, eaten straight up by the spoonful.

Saturday was a 90 minute workout

We started with agility moves like shuffles, inch worms, sprints, etc...
We repeated last Saturday's workout with pull-ups, sumo high pulls, and dead lifts (one big barbell). I actually lifted 100 pounds and my form was much better. We wrapped up with some abs--v ups, spidermans (forward and backwards--it's so hard backwards!), and planks.

Tonight for dinner I had caramelized cauliflower. Amazing. Can't wait to make that again.

Every couple weeks I get ravenous and start cheating on my diet. It's true...it starts slowly with a little bite here or there. Next thing I know I'm in the middle of two cheat days with not much intention of letting out. Slowly my brain gets back in gear. I'm in the middle of one of those now.

Spin this afternoon, mid-day. Small group lifting after Athlete's workout tonight.

Hang in there. We all go through it. My experience has been to get into the gym. A good workout puts me back on track.

Oh my gosh, thank you!

Quick post.

Monday's workout: barbell deadlifts--much better form now. Thanks, Dustin! I think that pelvic tilt explanation did it. Pull-ups, TRX row.
Today's workout: run w/ obstacles, oh press, any kind of pull. 4 sets. Some sets were lighter weight with more reps, some were heavier weight with lower reps. You know, they both were hard!

Then I spent a half hour on a stationary bike to train for cinderella.

Today was indoor cycle at Eden. I also offered to lead Sunday rides if we need any for Cinderella training. And I do need to go ride on Sunday if I'm going to be ready for a metric century by March 31. I think I may ask one of the women there to ride on Sunday anyway, because she's so enthusiastic and such a sweet person.

Met with an Arbonne consultant today. I know that there is a thread discussing their products on here and I'll read it before I make any decisions on their products. Glad that thread is there to help me!

Did well with my diet today. Getting back on track. I'm still not on my regular program but I'm back within my calorie range.

I'm also working on changing my protein sources. I need a little tweaking. Like the consultant said, "It's progression, not perfection." I am one of those people who is always analyzing where I am and considering the next step.

An hour with small group tonight.

Dynamic warm up, including a fun new groin stretch (which is essential to me).

Forgot my sneakers. Worked out in socks.

On to the workout tonight:
Lat cable pull alternating with fast lunge X4
Kneeling OH press alternated with crunch w/weight X4
Single leg deadlift with weight (graduated amt of weight, fewer reps in each set) alternated with push up with rotation and leg lift.
Stretch.

Today's workout:

Dynamic warm up
Five minutes treadmill
Wall sits alternated with handstands x4
Treadmill intervals
Treadmill sled intervals (treadmill off, run)
60 minutes cycling to train for Cinderella

Also I had my first ever acupuncture today. That was really interesting.