Matt

Here you go: http://www.spamartist.com/

Done

Robert, that's a great feeling. I want to meet you, too! Crap...guess what: we cannot attend VV07! I'll fill you in offline, but it sucks for a couple of reasons that are beyond our control starting August 2. We're really disappointed because we were all stoked to go but we simply cannot change a couple of commitments those first weeks of August! AARGH!!!! I think I'll just take a trip up myself earlier in the summer...rent a hotel for 3 days or so... AARGH!

Ok, Mr. Poopy Pants.

Or Climate Change in the Great Australian Outback?

Very true.

Hey Robert, you forgot to close this thread off to Potter. Could you get to that ASAP? Little help please...

The book.

Dang you, potter...i check my e-mail today and I have like 20 from VBB and they are all posts by you! Dang you!

HAHAHA right on...

I second what potter says; now that I've read a bit into the book, I think it would really help you out, Harley.

Agree. To follow up (I'm about 40% through it already), it really is what I wanted/hoped Thrive would be before I read that. Thrive Diet is great, too, because every sentence has some good info and it's very concise. There's no digressions or tangents...very focused and well-written. A must-have book, and a new paradigm, at least for "mainstream" diet-book readers. It's too bad that every book out there (at least in the US) has the word "diet" attached to it which implies weight loss, but this is about nutrition, of course, and "the only book you'll ever need" to guide your nutrition, in my opinion. I hope it gets the attention it deserves when it comes out in the US.

Count me in!

Just got it today! Amazon.ca shipped it in about 4 working days to the USA...pretty fast! Skimmed through it...looks awesome. More to come...

One more thing to mention...in forums, cross-posting is often a no-no, but I would suggest asking this in the "Raw Food and Lifestyle Discussion" forum as well; you might get some athletes in there with some relevant suggestions.

I was going to say that, but I don't get big chunks of money as I go in the REAL version of the game. Maybe if they made a "middle- to lower-class" version of the game...lol

Harley, I've been a cyclist for a while and did some heavy racing in the 90's, but I never did it on a raw vegan diet. I think the key here is that you aren't getting enough complex carb calories and your glycogen stores aren't being topped off. Perhaps you aren't getting enough protein, either, but I suspect you simply aren't getting enough of the right stuff when you need to recover. If possible, I'd go to increasing grains where you can, such as brown rice, millet or quinoa. I know you are raw, but I can't think of too many good options to replenish those glycogen stores other than to just eat more and eat more grains. Unfortunately, these foods usually don't absorb as much as you'd be used to if they were steamed (i.e. cooked), but maybe you can make this one exception to being completely raw. Another option might even be to go with potatoes and let them soak a bit in water. You might even try getting Brendan Brazier's book The Thrive Diet since he's vegan (and about 90% raw) and he has a formula, as an endurance athlete, that works great for him. I just got the book (it's new), and there's a lot of good info in there, but strictly raw is a little beyond my knowledge.

Life is really like Chutes and Ladders. But if I had to choose from checkers and chess, chess it is.

Cool...I think I'll join the next VBB gains contest deal...

Awesome! Keep us posted!

Haha! I imagine you weren't flexing the whole time! I'm trying to catch up...I'm doing bodybuilding for the first time in my life!

Looks to me like you ARE flexing...you have that "GRRRRRROOOOOORRRR I'M STANDING HERE FLEXING LOOKING LIKE I'M TRYING NOT TO FLEX" look ROFL

Hey Big, How long did it take you? I've run marathons in 3-4 hours so that must have been a long time! Great job, man... sounds like a blast, too

At the risk of jumping on the brown-nose bandwagon, I'd have to say Robert Cheeke as well. I'm doing some low-key bodybuilding for the first time in my life and Robert's inspired me not just by his knowledge, experience and results, but his selflessness in helping others improve. That's priceless. I also have Arnold's Complete Book of Modern Bodybuilding which I really like because of the extensive information, large format and plethora of pictures. It's been a good guide. I also get inspired by the Jack LeLane types who keep it going and show the world that life never ends if you work hard.

Just to add to what Wobbly said, if I have a muscle group that's off, I will isolate that muscle (in this case with a dumbbell), back off the weight until I can lift comfortably the weight of the weaker muscle group. Then I use the same weight with the other arm until they are in line, even if it takes a few weeks to get them right. If they are off, you also risk injury when you go higher weight and one side of your body tries to do more than the other (an extreme example, but has happened to me). Another thing to be careful about is with your weaker group make sure you really are isolating the muscle(s) because often guys will overcompensate with leverage and think they are lifting the weight the same as their "strong" side but really not. The key is to be patient with it and gradually develop the weight equally.