Spine

Interesting question. I'm not anywhere near big enough to deal with this myself, but I think I understand where the concern is coming from: a fear of being seen as vain. I'll leave it to others to decide whether that fear is sometimes justified; I guess it depends on the person. Personally, I'm aiming for a physique that's strong, lean, and defined, but not so big as to make anyone think, "that guy spends a lot of time at the gym." I want my look to be natural and not an obvious result of training. But for guys (and gals) who eat much more, spend much more time training, and are building much bigger bodies than I, there's nothing to hide.

How much do you want to spend? Looking for any particular type of scene?

The New York Times has an article on Casa Diablo, the vegan stripclub on Highway 30 in Portland that's apparently not doing much better than the pirate-themed vegan restaurant it replaced. "TWO things that you can find a lot of in Portland, Ore., are vegans and strip clubs. Johnny Diablo decided to open a business to combine both. At his Casa Diablo Gentlemen’s Club, soy protein replaces beef in the tacos and chimichangas; the dancers wear pleather, not leather." The article goes on to say that the club is for sale because it's not doing well--imagine that. It's an interesting piece, with a strong focus on body image and sexism as they relate to veganism.

Lately I've been making a quick and delicious dish you might like: lentil, bean, and chopped veggie salad. I've been soaking lentils overnight and then boiling them for just a couple of minutes to soften them a little. I also cook beans from scratch sometimes. But you could buy them in cans and save time. Throw the lentils and beans (kidney and garbanzo work well) into a big mixing bowl. Add some chopped carrots and celery. Finely chopped kale is good too--the lacinto variety is good raw. Add a few dashes of brewer's yeast and a few splashes of Bragg's Amino Acids, and some cumin and cayenne. Drizzle some flax oil. Mix it all up and eat. It's damn good, and you can make a big batch to enjoy over a few days. This recipe might seem complicated if the ingredients are unfamiliar at all, but it really is very easy.

Three words: Bragg's Amino Acids. Very flavorful, very savory-tasting, no added salt, low sodium. Just squirt a little on veggies or grains. It's kind of like soy sauce, but not as salty and more complex in flavor.

This is probably a newbie question, but perhaps also one with no clear answer. I'm slowly building mass through weight training (of course) and by eating more than I used to, including quite a bit more protein. I'm at about 161 pounds now, up from 155 when I started. I'd like to get to 165 and see how that feels. My question is, once I reach my goal and I'm satisfied with my size, how do my nutritional requirements change? If I continue to train but I go back to eating a relatively low-cal diet without as much protein, how will that affect my muscle mass?

Looking good Robert!

And a great talk it was, Robert! The Master Vegetarian class has been great. Lots of good speakers and info. I would have loved to hear you give some training tips and show us some poses, but that wasn't really the time or place.

I'm going to my 20th reunion this summer and can't wait! (I bet that makes me sound pretty old to some of the youngsters on here...) I love seeing how people change--or stay the same--as they get older. Sometimes it's depressing, sometimes inspiring. In any case, my face is still pretty smooth and I've got some muscles I never had before, so I'll make a good appearance.

Don't ever feel like that. I agree. I think it's tempting for us vegans to think we're pure, and that we inflict no suffering on other creatures, but the truth of modern consumerism is more complicated than that. We shouldn't be hard on ourselves for small mistakes--especially when they're innocent (albeit frustrating) ones made by other people. Man, it's really starting to seem that way. The vegan restaurants, bakeries, and shops are great, but just as important is that the dining scene as a whole is getting really good at accommodating vegans. I ate at a fantastic Peruvian place called Andina tonight that had a "V" symbol next to the dishes that could be "veganized." I had a quinoa dish with wild mushrooms and grilled asparagus...mmm. Of course, plenty of vegans wouldn't want to eat food prepared in a kitchen that also prepares fish and meat dishes, but I personally am relaxed on that point.

Thanks for the feedback. Done! Definitely--I learned that the first time I did clean and presses, when my hamstrings were shot the next day. I put them in the shoulder category because of the press part--and because that's how it's categorized in the book Natural Bodybuilding. I've heard different opinions about this, and I'd like to know more. Right now my routine works pretty well for me, and I don't mind if my gains are a little slower as a result of hitting each muscle group only once a week. At the same time, if someone convinces me that I'm wasting energy this way, I'd be willing to try something else. I wonder how the routine would be structured if, for example, I trained each group twice a week. How could I do this while training the same amount of hours per week as I do now?

Great work! I definitely see some expansion starting to happen in the shoulders, chest, and back.

O Canada! Very fit--nice work.

He also wrote a book about the evils of whole grains.

Actually, the Fluevog hemp shoes are on sale right now and dirt cheap! But the online store has only a few sizes left. I'll be happy when Fluevog makes a vegan version of these. And these.

So after about four months of working out, I'm pretty happy with the results I'm getting and all the different exercises I've discovered. I thought I'd post my approximate routine here, in the hopes of getting a few words of advice from anyone who sees any red flags or opportunities for improvement. I feel that my back is my weakest area right now. I usually work out four days a week, broken up by a day off here and there. Lately I've been thinking it's hard to train back/abs and shoulders/triceps on consecutive days. Curious to know what you think. Also curious to know what you think about this split in general. It really varies where my days off fall. I usually do three or four sets of each exercise. A warmup set of 15-20 reps with light weights, then 12 reps of medium weights, 10 reps heavy weights, and 6 or 8 reps really heavy weights (sometimes to failure). I warm up with 10 minutes of cardio, and a few times a week I try to get longer periods of cardio. Day 1: Back/Abs - V-Bar pulldowns - Wide-grip chins, assisted (just started doing these--really hard for me at this point) - Machine row (traps/rear delts) - Hyperextensions - Kneeling pulldowns - Decline crunches - Leg raises (straight and bent) - Stability ball or floor crunches Day 2: Shoulders/Triceps - Clean and press - Upright rows - Overhead dumbbell press - Bent-over lat raises (why are these so hard?) - Dumbbell shrugs - Bench dips - Dumbbell triceps extension - Straight-bar pulldowns Day 3: Rest Day 4: Legs - Squats - Leg press - Machine leg extension - Seated calf raise Day 5: Chest/Biceps - Dumbbell bench press - Dumbbell flys - Incline dumbbell press - Decline dumbbell press - Straight barbell curls - Concentration curls - Incline dumbbell curls Day 6: Rest Day 7: Rest or start routine again

I don't miss any animal foods, but I'm a sucker for nice shoes. I don't want to wear leather anymore, but the idea of not buying a new pair of Fluevogs from time to time is painful. Fluevog makes a few vegan styles, but they don't compare--not yet, anyway--to the leather ones. This is honestly my biggest problem as a vegan.

That would be amazing. I want to see that now. Be careful what you wish for, Cubby! http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/8868/louierippeduf2.jpg

I hear you...I had a cold a few months ago and wasn't happy about it. But then I realized it was my first cold in over two years, after a lifetime of having three or four colds every year. All hail plant foods!

It's bizarre to see Carrot Top with this physique. I remember when he first started getting famous, and this isn't exactly the future I would have predicted for him. Who's next? I nominate Louie Anderson.

Guillaume's way better than William....but if you insist... I agree with Zack--those legs look strong! Nice round biceps too.

Oh, and the coconut-milk ice cream from Larry and Luna's, out of Eugene, Ore., is pretty amazing.

I know these awards aren't restricted to Portland, but I have to nominate Proper Eats in St. Johns. The quality of the food is consistently excellent, and the focus is on high-quality ingredients, with only as much cooking and handling as necessary. The tempeh reuben is a masterpiece!

Bonjour et bienvenue!

Excellent! I already had plans to be in Seattle that weekend, but didn't know about this festival. See you there.