MichelleRisley

Great to see you taking a slow, smart approach to getting back into shape! So many people look to you to be both a role model and for inspiration. I'm sure it's great for some to realize that everyone is human, we all ebb and flow with our fitness, and we all have to contend with physical limitations. My lower back and tight hips have ALWAYS been a limiting factor in my workouts. But hey, you gotta work with the body you have, stay close to that edge, and push to YOUR max, whatever it is at the moment. All the best with your upcoming move, your road back to the stage, and your many other endeavors!

I'm happy to be your coach for January....Looking forward to helping you to reach your goals!

1/3/12: Morning weight: 113.4 lbs Had water with glutamine and BCAAs prior to pre-breakfast (low intensity) cardio: 30 minutes on treadmill Meal 1 (prior to weight training): Steel cut oatmeal with cinnamon, hemp seeds, raw agave An apple Meal 2 (post-workout): Immediately followed workout with a green smoothie made with spinach, kale, banana, apple, pea protein powder, glutamine, BCAAs. (For those of you not familiar with making green smoothies, a Vitamix is what you need! It's a high-powered, high-speed blender that does soooooo much more than just blending. It can replace several kitchen appliances, depending on which model you purchase. They are a little expensive, but worth every penny. I purchased a factory refurbished Vitamix about two years ago. And it came with a 7-year warranty. If this is something you're interested in, let me know. I have a friend who may be able to get you a code for free shipping. ) Meal 3: Lentils, faux "chicken" strips (from Trader Joe's), and brown rice, seasoned with turmeric, curry, cayenne pepper, lemon, and sea salt Mixed greens salad and homemade dressing made with avocado, nutritional yeast, and apple cider vinegar Meal 4: Thai style soup made with chickpeas, sweet potatoes, spinach, coconut milk, curry paste, and vegetable stock Mixed greens salad with avocado dressing (see Meal 3) Meal 5: Homemade raw, high protein "cookies" (lol...I'm still tweaking and experimenting with the recipe, but they were made with oatmeal, protein powder, raw almond butter, dates) Ginger tea Meal 6: Sandwich made with dehydrated eggplant slices as the "bread", avocado "mayo", sprouts, marinated mushrooms, shredded baby bok choy Kale chips (coated with a mixture of nutritional yeast, Braggs Aminos, apple cider vinegar, cajun seasoning prior to dehydrating) Meal 7: Edamame Miso soup Before bed: Water with glutamine Total macros: Carbs 297 gm Protein 152 gm Fat 69 gm Total water: 5 liters (about 1.3 gallons) Weight training: quads, hams, glutes Warmup: 5 minutes on stationary bike some deep yoga stretches to warm up and stretch my hip flexors and psoas, as these always get tight when I do legs/glutes. Barbell squats: 4 x 15, adding weight each set (3 different foot posititions, 5 reps each) additional drop set with each of the 3 foot positions Split squats on Smith Machine: 4 x 12 each leg, adding weight each set Bench step-ups: with dumbbells, 5 x 12 each leg Superset: 4 sets, 10 reps each, adding weight each set Leg press with feet in neutral postion Leg press with heels at top of platform (no contact from balls of feet and toes) Leg curls Stretching: 15 minutes

Awesome! Thanks for the detailed journal entry. I'm looking forward to working with you to help achieve your goals.

Thanks, Robert! I am very happy and grateful to be a part of this. I really appreciate it! And yes, I'm looking forward to collaborating much more in the future!

You were assigned to me...I'm looking forward to working with you and helping you reach your goals!

I'm looking forward to working with you and helping you reach your goals!

I'm looking forward to working with you and helping you reach your goals!

1/2/12: Morning weight: 114 lbs (I need to get % body fat done soon to get a baseline...My weight is a little up from some of the Holiday yummies I've indulged in a bit ...I'm looking at an early June show, so it's still way too early to think about leaning out...I'm guessing, since I've put on some muscle and stayed fairly lean, I will have no more than 8-10 lbs to lose for the show.) Meal 1: Green smoothie made with spinach, banana, pea protein powder, glutamine, water Meal 2 (pre-workout): Sweet potato, black beans, avocado slices Meal 3 (post-workout): Immediately followed workout with brown rice protein powder, glutamine, BCAAs, and water. Then shortly thereafter, had quinoa with steamed broccoli and a "cheese sauce" made with nutritional yeast, flaxseed oil, water, and Braggs Aminos Meal 4: Edamame and kale salad, brown rice Meal 5: Blackeye peas, collard greens, seitan (yep, that was leftover from my New Years Day menu...what can I say...I'm from the South! ) Meal 6: Tabouli, hummus with carrots and red bell peppers, lentil soup Before bed: Water with glutamine, raw almonds, a pear Total macros for today: Carbs 303 gm Protein 148 gm Fat 68 gm Water: 4.5 liters (about 1.2 gallons) Today's workout was chest, shoulders, tris: Warmup: Internal and external rotations 3 x 20 Incline db presses 5 x 10 Incline db flys 4 x 15 Push-ups on inverted Bosu 3 x 15 Clean and Press 2 x 12, plus 1 set to failure Superset: 3 sets of 15 each, plus 1 set to failure on each Side laterals Rear laterals Skull crushers 3 x 15 Close grip db presses 3 x 10 Stretching: 10 minutes

Okay, so I didn't post yesterday. It was New Years Eve, and yep, I took it as a rest day. But back to it... Here's an updated entry for 12/30: No cardio I tried something a little different...I did giant sets and supersets with bis, tris, and delts, with a focus on bis and delts: Warm-up: 3 x 20 external & internal rotations with very light weight to warm up arms and shoulders Giant set-4 sets, drop sets on the last set: Machine barbell curls, 15 reps Dumbbell curls, 15 reps Side laterals, 15 reps Giant set-4 sets: Barbell curls, 10-12 reps Rear laterals, 15 reps Arnold presses, 15 reps Superset-4 sets: Hammer curls, 15 reps Front raises, 15 reps Superset-4 sets: Cable curls with T-bar, 15 reps Dumbbell overhead extentions, 15 reps Last set, 4 sets, with drop sets on the last set: Close grip dumbbell presses, 12-15 reps Stretching: 10 minutes

Thanks, Robert! YOU rock! And you're very welcome!!! I love hearing that I've been an inspiration to people. I just want everyone to know that I'm not any different than anyone else. If I was able to do it, then YOU can, too! Yes, it takes discipline and hard work. But nothing worth having usually comes very easily. So come on people, let's do this! Let's all become wonderful examples of what being vegan can look like and feel like! : )

Good for you for going vegan!! With regard to your eating, are you tracking amounts of food consumed and total macros? If not, you may want to start there. Also, try eating more fiber-rich, nutrition-dense carbs. It's very easy to get too many carbs while trying to get enough protein. So it's imperitive that you make the carbs you eat count. That means NO COOKIES...LOL...And if you're trying to put on muscle, you're going to have to eat a lot more nutrition-rich calories than what you're currently eating! Don't be afraid of carbs! They just have to be the right carbs. If you find that you crave sweets, try eating more fruit.

This is what I've eaten so far today (it is almost 1pm EST): Meal 1 Steel cut oatmeal with cinnamon, raw walnuts, and banana Meal 2 Apple with raw almond butter Meal 3 Lentil soup, marinated kale and broccoli ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Although I didn't get back to posting the full day's meals, here are my current (off-season) macros per day: Carbs 300 gm Protein 150 gm Fat 60-70 gm Water: at least 4 liters

As one of the online mentors / coaches in the "12 Days of Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness" promo and the "New You for the New Year" challenge, I'm going set an example and begin posting here. I'm not new to this concept; I've kept a daily training and nutrition journal for quite some time now. I've just never posted any of it here before. And while this will be more of a blog style journal, and not quite as detailed as the one I keep separately, I'm sure many of you will still find some benefit in reading it.

Welcome, Chelsea! And that's so awesome that you've decided to train to become a (vegan) Fitness Model! It was Robert's book that inspired me to do what I'm doing, as well. All the best to you!

Welcome, Jeanine! Here are my ratios, depending on my goals at the time and how my body is responding to training/recovery: About 50-55% carbs, 25-30% protein, 20-30% fat