Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

4/3/12

Back in business. I was in the gym for a 2nd day in a row with my wrist brace on and back in the iron game!

It feels good to be back in the gym after a full 2 weeks off!

Today I trained biceps. I quickly learned the only position I could have my wrist in was a neutral (hammer grip) position, so that is what I did.

The workout went like this:

Warm-up:

4 minute jog to the gym

Mountain Climbers
100
100
100

Arm Circles Forward
50
50

Arm Circles Backward
50
50

Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls
20s x 12
25s x 12
30s x 10
30s x 10

Dumbbell Concentration Curls
20 x 12
25 x 12
25 x 12

Seated (slight incline) two-arm Dumbbell Hammer Curls
25s x 12
25s x 12
30s x 8
25s x 12

Standing two-arm Dumbbell Hammer Curls
25s x 10
30s x 10
30s x 12
25s x 12

That was it. I couldn't lift real heavy and my range of motion was so-so, but I had that wrist brace on real tight and I was happy to be back in the gym!

I ate a lot of food tonight and I think I'll just keep on bulking up and my wrist should be back to normal soon.

Have a great week everyone!

I'll be training legs and abs soon to give my upper body a break from handling the barbells and dumbbells.

-RC

_________________

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

4/4/12

I took a rest day today. I've had a lot of late nights and was just feeling like taking a break today from a busy few weeks. This also gives my wrist another day of rest before training.

I plan to train abs tomorrow and then work my way back into deadlifts and then squats.

Gotta focus on eating big now. Still working on bulking up.

Heading to bed early tonight.

Peace!

_________________

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

4/5/12

Today I trained abs, as planned. The workout was a full hour which feels pretty cool to hammer the abs for that long.

I went for a walk in the sun on my way to the gym and then did a few sets of Mountain Climbers and then got down to business with abs.

The Workout:

Mountain Climbers
100
100
100

Front Crunches
30
60
60

Right Side Crunches
30
60
60

Left Side Crunches
30
60
60

Bicycle Crunches
100
120
120

Lying Leg Raises
25
35
40

Hanging Knee Raises (hanging from straps, not my wrists)
30
40
50

Plank
75 seconds
90 seconds
100 seconds

Solid abdominal workout today.

Will hammer out another workout tomorrow and on Saturday.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

_________________

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

Those planks are strong after all the pain you brought on your abs earlier.

Thanks! Doing what I can now. Looking forward to throwing around barbells and dumbbells again soon....possibly in a few hours!

_________________

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

4/6/12

Today was an awesome day for exercise! I spent nearly all day in the sun and loved it!

I started out this morning with a walk in the sun and then jog around the lake.

Later on in the evening I went back out to the lake and jogged a bit and then performed half of my workout on the exercise bars by the lake. Once I finished there, I went to the gym to use dumbbells for the rest of my workout. I opted not to try deadlifts just yet. I'm still getting my wrist back into the swing of things.

Warm-up: 5 minute jog in the sun

Forward arm circles
100
100
100
100

Backward arm circles
100
100
100
100

Workout:

Wide-grip pull-ups
12
12
15
13

Narrow-grip pull-ups
25
16
16
18

Dumbbell lateral raises
10s x 15
12.5s x 12
15s x 12
20s x 8

Dumbbell front raises
10s x 15
12.5s x 12
15s x 12
20s x 8

Standing dumbbell overhead press
10s x 15
20s x 15
30s x 12
40s x 8

Seated Dumbbell overhead press
50s x 8
55s x 5
50s x 9
50s x 5

Solid workout. Not real heavy, but I don't want to push my wrist too much. I wore my wrist brace and kept is as tight as possible during sets and made it loose while resting between sets.

Had a bunch of nice meals today, worked on my book a little, sold a whole bunch of Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness clothing items, and had a great time.

I plan to spend more time on my book tomorrow, and of course, spend time out in the sun too!

Have an awesome weekend, everyone!


I attempted to do some reverse grip chin ups but I couldn't even grip the bar with that angle with my wrist issue. My wrist is actually a bit sore right now, more-so than it has been in days and I'm not sure if it was from that attempt for from the next exercises I'm about to list. Oh well, it's not too bad, just a little tender.

_________________

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

4/7/12

I met up with one of our New You for the New You coaches in Austin today, which was awesome! mjcollette and I ate at an all raw/organic vegan restaurant downtown which was really good. I'm usually not a fan of raw food places, but Beets Cafe is great! Really good stuff.

After that, I met up with another forum member, Bartronx7 and we had a great biceps workout. I am still limited on the range of motion I'm able to do and it is limited to just neutral grip (hammer grip) but I'm still able to push it pretty hard, even if the weights aren't real heavy.

Today's workout went like this:

Warm-up: 4 minute jog, 5-8 minutes on the Spin Bike

Arm Circles
50
50

Workout

Two Arm Dumbbell Hammer Curls
20s x 15
25s x 15
30s x 15
35s x 10

Seated Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls
30s x 10
30s x 10
35s x 8
35s x 7

Dumbbell Concentration Curls
25 x 12
25 x 12
30 x 8
30 x 8

Standing Alternating Dumbbell Hammer Curls
30s x 10
30s x 8
35s x 10
35s x 8

That's it.

Soon I'll get back into deadlifts and squats. Perhaps in just a day or two. At the moment I'm easing back into training with my wrist brace on, handling the exercises I'm able to do without too much trouble.

Hope you all have an outstanding weekend!

-Robert

_________________

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

4/8/12

Today was an awesome day of fitness. I didn't go to the gym, but I spent the entire day out in the sun

I went for a run around the lake at my apartment complex in mid 80-degree weather. I saw all kinds of wildlife including turtles, fish, ducks, geese, butterflies, birds, etc. I ran for about 20 minutes in the sun and headed back home.

Then I headed to the basketball court and shot baskets, ran around, dunked a bunch on a 9-ft hoop, and enjoyed it for about an hour.

I went back home for food and then went back out again and played basketball for another 30 minutes.

Throughout the day I drank about a gallon of water, which is a lot for me. I wish it were the norm, and perhaps it will become the norm now that I'm living in Texas, but today's liquid consumption was something I am pleased with.

I also sat in the hot tub and by the pool and in a reclining chair in the sun at home.

Nice day outdoors.

Back in the gym tomorrow.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

_________________

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

4/9/12

As much fun as I had yesterday playing outside, today I got myself back in the gym, and for the first time in about 3 weeks I did squats. After I hurt my wrist, I didn't want to do anything heavy or challenging that might further impact the wrist in a negative way. I took an entire 2 weeks off, and have been at it now with weights for a solid week.

It was nice to finally train legs again. My wrist was only slightly bothered when doing dumbbell lunges. Aside from that, it was all good. I didn't lift real heavy, but I'm climbing my way back.

While at the gym, I decided that I better just pick a competition and set my sights on something. I've been at it for 4 months with full of enthusiasm. This wrist thing set me back a bit mentally, and I want to be driven again. I could have easily trained legs after I hurt my wrist. Maybe not the first week, but surely 10-14 days later, but it took 21 days before I got back under the bar. I immediately looked online at www.inbf.net, an organization I've competed with in the past, and found two shows in my area. One July 20th, and one Sept 29th. One is in Austin, where I live and the other in San Antonio, just a 60-90 min drive away.

I'm kinda tired of the injuries that have been slowing me down the past year. I had the abdominal, chest, lower back, and now wrist, all keep me from reaching higher potential and even keeping me from personal fulfillment. Clearly there are ways I can overcome this, both mentally and physically. I'll look at those shows, and others within other organizations and get down to business. I'm actually in pretty good shape now. My abs seem better than usual, I have deep cuts in my legs, my back and arms are really lean, I'm just smaller and have less muscle than I would like. I still need to put on more mass before I'm real competitive. At the same time, I don't really care about being competitive. I want to get back into bodybuilding for my own interests, at my own pace, for my own reasons. I really don't care how I place or compare to others. I just want to do what I enjoy. We'll see if I can stay injury-free to get back on stage in the coming months.

Today's workout:

Warm-up:

5 minute jog
15 minutes on the spin bike

Squats
45lbs x 20
45lbs x 20
45lbs x 20
95lbs x 20
135lbs x 10
135lbs x 10
135lbs x 10
135lbs x 10

Walking Dumbbell Lunges
50's in each hand x 16 steps
50's in each hand x 16 steps
50's in each hand x 20 steps
50's in each hand x 22 steps
50's in each hand x 16 steps

After the workout I did some stretching in the sauna and then came home and made dinner using my new rice cooker

Had another solid day of selling Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness clothing. That was encouraging. We announced our Essay Contest winners and that was also fun.

Time for a bit more food, then watching Run Ricky Run, a documentary about the greatest running back to wear a University of Texas uniform (my new town), and then get to bed.

Have an awesome week!

-RC

_________________

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

4/10/12

I shipped out clothing all day and didn't get to the gym until after dinner, around 9PM.

I went with a 1 hour shoulder workout today.

Warm-up: 3 minute jog and 10 minutes on the spin bike

Forward Arm Circles
50
50
50
50

Backward Arm Circles
50
50
50
50

Dumbbell Lateral Raises
10s x 15
15s x 12
20s x 8
20s x 8

Dumbbell Front Raises
10s x 15
15s x 12
20s x 8
20s x 8

Dumbbell Seated Overhead Press
40s x 15
50s x 10
55s x 5
55s x 8

Barbell Shrugs
135 x 20
175 x 12
175 x 10
175 x 10

Hanging Knee Raises
40
40
40

I had my wrist brace on and my wrist was a little sore during the shrugs so I finished with some abs, hanging from straps, not from my wrists.

Up too late again tonight.

Gotta get to bed.

I start the T. Colin Campbell Foundation Plant-Based Nutrition Course through eCornell tomorrow!

_________________

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

are you going to do the 2 shows in your area in july and sept? if so it will be cool to follow your progress. Injuries are a huge bummer but it looks like your being smart about the wrist thing and easing it back in, hopefully it comes back just as stong or stronger for you! I have this stupid achilles thing bothering me for several months now that I can't seem to get rid of. ughh very annoying

4/11/12

Frayedendz, I'm not sure. If I can put on enough muscle and stay injury-free, and have the time available and in town, not traveling, and have the finances, etc. I'll likely get on stage in one or both shows. I really want to compete in bodybuilding again, just for the fun of it, and having those competitions (and other ones) in my home town, helps.

So we'll see how it goes. Lots of factors at the moment, but I'll keep training as if I plan to be in my posing trunks on stage in July.

Today's workout:

Warm-up: 20 minute run in the sun

Forward arm circles
50
50
40

Backward arm circles
50
50
50

Workout:

Wide grip pull-ups
14
15
16
17

Narrow grip pull-ups
22
14
17
20

Standing alternating dumbbell hammer curls
25s x 12
30s x 10
35s x 10
40s x 8

Seated 2 arm dumbbell hammer curls
30s x 12
35s x 10
40s x 8
45s x 6

Dumbbell concentration curls
30 x 8
30 x 8
35 x 8
40 x 8

That was the workout.

I started my first day of the T. Colin Campbell Plant-Based Nutrition Course through eCornell. I finished my primary assignment earlier today but I'm back to continue working on the next projects.

Peace out!

RC

_________________

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

Just saw on your fb that youre going to NYC. I'd totally be down to meet up! we could work out at my alma mater nyu!!!

_________________
Darth Vader from Sandlot once said, "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die." Then he later died.
https://www.facebook.com/BigMeeeeech

4/12/12

Yeah, I'll be in NYC on the Upper West Side from the 19th-24th. I'll be working at the Green Festival all weekend but should have free time in the evenings and on Monday and possibly on Tuesday before I fly out. Get in touch while I'm there. Sometimes things get busier than planned, or I'm more exhausted than anticipated, or I have school projects to finish up, but check in and we'll see where we're at.

Today was a rest day. I thought about training abs, but looking over my journal, I've trained quite a bit recently and I've been staying up super late each night, so I felt like a rest day would be just fine.

I also slept in way later than usual/planned which tells me I need a little extra recovery time.

Today I also spent hours working on my school program and that kept me focused on academic stuff rather than training.

I did some shopping today and I continue to make all my means at home at the moment. I have lots of greens that need to be consumed! I'm primarily having rice, potatoes, or rice pasta as my dinner which usually comes with greens, avocado or something else with it, perhaps curry sauce, etc.

Well, back to work and then to sleep!

Back in the gym tomorrow and on Saturday and likely throughout the weekend.

_________________

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

4/13/12

Today I played basketball for about 40 minutes and then I had a 40 minute abs workout.

It went like this:

Front crunches
30
40
40

Right side crunches
30
40
40

Left side crunches
30
40
40

Bicycle crunches
100
100
100

Hanging Knee Raises
40
40
40

Lying Leg Raises
30
30
30

Plank
100 seconds
100 seconds
100 seconds

Had a protein drink before bed as I'm trying to get back into bodybuilding mode, but since I have a small bladder I had to wake up 5 times during the night to use the restroom. Therefore, I'm a bit sleepy right now.

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

_________________

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