kurtjs

i see what you're saying. Point made, i hope you just understand how i read it. and now people who didn't know that, know it.

I hate to contradict someone, but creatine is actually the first energy source - or "cycle" you could call it - that the body uses to resynthesize ATP. When you first start a muscle contraction, you body uses ATP (adenosine TRI phosphate). The ATP then breaksdown into an ADP (adenosine DI phosphate) and an inorganic phosphate. The body then takes a phosphate off of creatine phosphate (in your muscles) to make the ADP back into ATP. If there is more creatine in your muscles - from a supplement - then you have more creatine phosphate to phorphoralate the ADP to ATP - thus; more energy! or an extra rep or two. After you CP (creatine phosphate) stores are used up - in about 10 seconds - then you start using sugar to get your ATP from glycolysis. And if the exrecise lasts long enough, you starting getting ATP from the Kreb's cycle and the electron transport chain - but that's a semesters worth of info there. Hope this helps.

I gotta say i love the oats . . . regular rolled, quick rolled, steel cut . . . the oat is good. Plus, it's like a blank canvas . . . you can mix anything into it . . . fruit, yogurt, tofu, cinnamon, molasses, hot sauce (real good). It's great as a side or a the main dish.

You can certainly sprout without a bag, but I do hear they work well. Personally, I use glass mason jars with a plastic screen screw on top. They work great. I usually do garbanzos or black eyed-peas (which I'm sprouting as we speak). After they sprout a couple of days, I steam them for 30min-60min, depending on how much I have. They seem to not only taste much better this way (I really can't eat many sprouted beans, the taste just doesn't work), but digest a lot better. No where near as much gas as compared to sprouted and consumed raw. P.S. Green lentils work great sprouted and steamed as well.

I lost about 5-8 pounds at first (7 months ago). But within the last two months I have gained it back. It's taken some work, but it's coming. We'll see where we can get to.

I'm game as well . . . i think just mentally telling myself i'm in a "competetion" will really help me acheive my goals.

Maybe this is just me . . . but i have a fear of getting fat. As soon as i see some weight coming on . . . i seem to back off. Does this happen to you? I've always been known to my friends as being ripped. I think i'm afraid that if i'm not ripped . . . and i'm not huge . . . i'm just a failure. Does this make sense . . . i really gotta get over this or else i'm never gonna gain the pounds that i want.

that is quite the recipe. I'm prob. not going to make it . . . but if i do become really inclinced . . . for the dry mix . . . is it 1/2 cup of soy flour AND chickpea flour (1 cup total) or 1/2 cup of soy flour OR chickpea flour (1/2 cup total)?? Thanks for the post . . . it sounds amazing.

I'll agree w/ the money issue . . . cheap is usually very healthy (not very processed convience foods). Also, i love lentil soup . . . what is the cup conversion (roughly) for 1lbs of lentils. Is 1 cup of lentils = 1lbs. 2 cups? 3 cups?

That is way to cool . . . i gotta try that . . . my dehydrator has that same sort of shape . . . i don't have teflex sheets so i just use parchment paper. Thanks for the post.

fudgam - that is a great point . . . and i used to live off whey.

I just found this thread . . . i gotta jump in . . . i started bulking about 4-5 weeks ago. I'm 20 years old, about 5'7". I've been lifting for 5-6 years (although the size isn't there . . . the definition is). I started at 127lbs . . . at the begining of this week i was around 131 lbs. I hope to actually compete in a show next summer. I gotta a lot of work ahead of me. My max weight that I ever hit was 140 lbs. I would love to hitthat again, maybe even go up to 145lbs before i have to cut for the show. We'll see what happens. My caloric intake is quite low right now . . . i average about 2000. Roughly 300-400g carbs . . . 100-120 g protein . . . and 30-50 g fat. I'm in the midst of a six week strength training program . . . if anyone reads muscle and fitness . . . it's the workout called "the 3 X 2 strength program" p. 190, Nov. 2006 issue. I just finished week 5 and will start week six on sat. I lift three days a week. Day one's focus is on squat. Day 2 is bench day. And day three is deadlift day. I definatly feel stronger already. And i'm feeling good about my form with some heavy weights that I've never used in the past. After next week I'll start a more "body-builder" type phase where i focus on rep ranges between 6-12 reps. Still working on the main multi-joint movements. Jonathan - in regards to those pics . . . .AMAZING!!! Keep up the good work brother. Also, your caloric intake is mind blowing . . . i hope you worked your way up to that number. How many cals were you eating when you were 19.

i'm very interested in that recipe . . . can you post or forward it to me. Also, member2873 . . . adding the flour to the oats . . . sounds really good. I can't answer the health question of it though. I'm curious myself. Especially considering that fact that so many people say that "fake meat" is "vegan junk food." And the # 1 ingredient in those "meats" is vital wheat gluten. I guess they say this because vital gluten is very processed. It's not very natural just to concentrate the gluten . . . just like it seems not very good to concentrate the soy protein in soy protein isolate. Any thoughts on this topic? Is vital wheat gluten "vegan junk food" because of its handling and isolation? Does this mean seitan is "vegan junk food"?

Eat Raw . . . you said you had raw “Cinnamon Poptarts”? How do you make those? please post a recipe when you get a chance . . . thanks

I agree . . . HUMMUS IS GODLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got into making mexican style hummus a while ago . . . awesome. 1 can pinto beans drained juice of 1 lime couple gloves of garlic tablespoon of olive oil fresh hot peppers black pepper cumin throw it into the old food processor and wirl like mad . . . great with everything.

I agree . . . get in the kitchen and make some new bodybuilding foods. Then post some of the new creations . . . and most importantly . . . savor the results

Wierd question just for general knowledge . . . are there any main stream pro-wrestlers right now (or in the psat) who are vegans??? I hope somebody comes up with an answer like Jake "the Snake" . . . that would make my day!

I'll be honest . . . i just buy the 16 oz. bags, throw one or two in the fridge, let it defrost for a day or two, and consume. It's so easy . . . you just gotta remember to keep taking a bag or two out of the freezer or else you're in a bind.

Best of luck on the day Rob. I have to say i saw Howard Lyman speak about 6 months ago. As of this weekend . . . I have been vegan for 6 months. Enough Said

That looks and sounds amazing. Question . . . do you think when he made it he pressed the 5 blocks of tofu beforehand? Also, i wonder if the tofu was fresh or was it previously frozen to make it tougher?

I'll be honest Rob, I wanted to be a pro-wreslter for a long time myself. I went to a real small private school . . . so our pro-wreslting club was centered around watching PPVs and talking about wrestling. The closest that I came was wrestling from 8th grade - 12th grade. I think that is why I really liked ECW. There was always a lot of technical wrestling - like the scholastic folkstyle seen in schools. That was usually those first initial moves seen in the ECW matches, then the tables and barb wire came out!! I remember when that first season of the WWF reality show came on MTV with the winner becoming a pro . . . I thought that was gonna be my chance . . . but I guess you could say I grew out of that . . . or my MOM smacked that idea right out of my head (I like to think the first, although it was really the second). On another note . . . favorite ECW wrestler . . . or WCW wrestler . . . or WWF. Let's go old-school with these answers. I want us to go back to the 1,2,3 Kid, IRS, Razor Ramon, Diesal (NOT Kevin Nash). GOD I LOVED THOSE DAYS!! I always loved the Undertaker . . . before the American Bad Ass persona. I really got into ECW in their later years so I liked Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Spike Dudley. I loved Spike. I'm about 5'7" 125-130 . . . i could relate to Spike. I thought if a guy his stature could make it, I could make it. Oh well.

ECW! ECW! ECW! I'm with you Rob. I loved ECW . . . the real ECW. That DVD was awesome. Anyone who is/was anyone in pro-wrestling went through ECW. That stuff was insane to watch. At one point I got into FMW. It was a hardcore japanese wreslting organization, that had a lot of the ECW guys (Mike Awesome was one i remember). FMW stood for "frontier martial arts wreslting" (if I remeber correctly). They used the barbwire, explosives, and I rember a sickle at one point. Insane!!!!! I love it. I really haven't watched wrestling in a while. I stopped watching right around the WWE conversion, but before that, everynight I was watching. WWF, WCW, and ECW! ECW! ECW!!! On another note - Rob, I'm coming to Oregon at the end of December . . . I hope your around then. We'll be in touch.

i just had a craving for some stuffing . . . anyone have a good vegan recipe . . . preferable wheat free

yerba mate salad dressing: 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar 1/2 cup hemp oil 1/3 cup water 2 tbsp yerba mate (dry) 1 clove garlic 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp dried cilantro 1 tsp dried thyme It says to chop or grate garlic . . . shake all ingedients together in a bottle and let sit overnight to allow flavours to infuse and nutrients in the mate to be extracted. Sounds good to me . . . but have yet to try . . . off to the kitchen i go!!

i must say i'm fond of a cup of mate in the morn with some dried stevia herb and a wedge of lemon. I wish i'd known before that people use the leaves multiple times . . . i feel like i've thrown a lot of money away Brendan Brazier has a recipe for an yerba mate salad dressing . . . i haven't tried it yet, but it looks good. Anyone make this one yet?