Matt

In the immortal words of Jon Stewart: "To say CNN's Crossfire is a show about debate is like saying pro wrestling is a show about athletic competition." I can't help myself.

Sorry, robert, not gonna happen, UNC's out...hard to bet against Duke, though.

Believe me, it took years of practice. It's really just a state of mind...

I face forward and keep my eyes half closed, like I'm bored.

WOOHOO! I'M #6 ON THE SMALL CITIES! Frankly, I'm surprised it's so far down the list, but I guess beggars can't be choosers... If anyone's in the area, I can show you around the #6 VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY CITY IN THE COUNTRY... Did I say it was #6? On the small cities list? Oh, and sorry, Robert, Santa Cruz rules....

Shelby, it's good to hear you are doing better. After reading your daily diet, I had some ideas which it sounds like you are implementing, particularly variety. I would also recommend buying a bunch of vegan cookbooks and cook up the meals. By doing so you'll introduce a number of new ingredients that you may have never even heard of before, and create some wonderful meals this way. About the original diet, I had immediate concerns that it was very low in overall calories in addition to not being very diverse. As someone who was underweight for many years as an endurance athlete (but still felt I was eating enough) I fell into ruts where I got sick and could not eat certain things and it all came down to not eating a balanced diet. This could be the problem, but it appears you are moving toward correcting that as well being excited about the new food possibilities. I would try this as the first, best holistic remedy. Glad you are sticking with your beliefs and morals.

I think if you've been doing one set for a while, you won't need much adaptation to go harder. I'd increase to two sets with a weight you can do 12-15 without too much problem and gradually increase it from there. It's likely if you feel comfortable with one set at a certain weight you'd be able to do two sets. At that higher set repetition (and lesser weight) you run less risk of injury than if you threw on a huge weight increase, and you'll be able to know you can do the workout.

Freegin' ripped!

What are your goals for your plan? And what sports or fitness areas are you shooting for?

I would first ask, "What are my goals?" If you just want to stay fit or look good, I think setting a measureable goal would be a better and more useful starting point to start with. You seem to like to run, so maybe that's doing a 5K run sometime in a few months. Or doing a 5K run in, say 20 minutes. But setting goals--measureable goals--gets you on the road to getting something out of your training, and that may be what's lacking right now. I agree with the fartlek idea. You can take that anywhere, and I find it fun to explore new places and never know what to expect. But if you train for an event, you can change up your training to fit that with some days hard and some not. Intervals and speedwork will help you improve if done right, and with lots of rest before and after for optimum recovery. I'd also suggest finding a running club and do some track workouts. When I got into a running lull many years ago, I started doing track workouts and found a structured, yet fun way to improve my speedwork. Of course, most of my examples here are about running, but they can be applied to anything else. My point is not to give you an alternative activity, but to suggest setting goals in whatever you do and find new, creative ways of achieving your goals from different workouts.

Personally I don't think calipers are that accurate. Hydrostatic tanks are supposedly even more accurate, but expensive and often hard to find places that do it. I agree unless you are doing highly scientific training that it's all about the mirror.

About the shoes, have you been running or not before buying them? I've found I've gotten shin splints after not running a while--or at least consistently--for a while. Additionally, even if you *have* been running a while, a drastic change in routine, such as a sudden shift from slow endurance running to speedwork can sometimes cause them. Anti-inflammatories are ok in the short term, but personally I think the best thing is rest, hands down. Some anti-inflammatories can actually thin your blood out which, if you are fit, you probably don't want. Wait until you are almost recovered or fully recovered otherwise you risk injury. Also, have your shoes checked out by someone at a running shoe store to see if they are right for your running style. They can tell what type of runner you are, whether you are neutral, an overpronator, or otherwise. Running shoes now are made for the specific type of runner, and this also could very well be the problem.

Oops, Robert...deleted my post after it repeated what you were saying essentially. We a local chain that's wonderful called New Leaf Markets: http://www.newleaf.com Trader Joe's I've found to be pretty good for a national chain, but not all their stuff is organic and I believe we should all go organic for long term health, but I digress... I think up where you are is a hotbed of health food stores as I have a mostly-vegan cycling buddy who used to live up in Oregon.

Just ordered a video. Looking forward to it very much. Will post a review on my site as soon as I see it. We still need more vegan fitness video and multimedia out there...there's still not much around that I can find. Congrats on making it!

NOOO!!! Don't quit the cycling altogether! Maybe you can become a sprinter...LOL

Thanks, Robert. I appreciate it. I'll be converting the site from the current link (http://www.cycleprime.com) likely by later this week, and we'll be putting cycling-specific articles up online and such. In any case, it's good to be here and as part of my fitness training plan I want to do some bodybuilding, if for nothing else to feel (and look) better on a daily basis!

Thanks, Robert. Also, my domain is now http://www.vegancycling.com rather than cycleprime.com. Thanks a bunch; love your site.

Thanks, all!

Robert, during a typical nutrition day as you posted above, when do you do your workout sessions? I assume your timing and what you eat at each meal reflects that.

Thanks, all! Great to be here.

I've been finding them at health food stores MUCH cheaper than supermarkets and big discount stores. Usually 79-99 cents each. Trader Joe's always has them cheap. I'm so happy they all went vegan. Also read a story in a business magazine a few months ago that they were approached by some big company that was going to infuse them with cash to "sell out", and they declined to stay true to their original mission. Gotta respect that, and I'm supporting them because of that, too.

Hello, just joined up looking for some cross training tips. I have been a vegan less than a year, but been a recreational and racing cyclist for almost 20 years. Looking forward to getting some great info and seeing what kind of performance results I can get with a vegan diet.