Nutrition and BodyBuilding

I wrote that on my blog on MySpace and while ago.  http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog&Mytoken=E59DED15-9750-4683-8A985F40FE75403C85447596  Training and Vegan Tips, Life... ect

Someone asked me questions about starting to workout and transitionning to a vegan diet. I replied with an email, but thought it could be useful for some people if I'd share it here.
I thought I could share at the same time what my vision of arts is, and life, etc.
It's nothing extraordinary, just things you may already know or have seen in books, but I've put it here in this blog.
So I made some modifications from the email I wrote and here it is:



RESISTANCE TRAINING
There's 4 different types and they all improve strenght. Choose depending what you're looking for: 2 really increase size of muscles, more than the others.

1-endurance: long series of high reps (25 and more), light weights... impove especially endurance. It is recommanded for beginners to start with this.

2-strenght (traditionnal bodybuilding training, hypertrophy): 4 or 5 series of 8-15 reps (usually 10-12) each, for each muscles groups, heavy weights, improve strenght and size

3-sheer strenght: really heavy weights, many series of only 1-3 max reps. Gives power and strenght.

4-speed and explosivity (long series like for endurance, but concentrate especially on lifting weights the faster you can) gives power, some endurance, some strenght. Recommanded for advanced athletes.


First, it is good to initiate yourself to weightlifting with very slow movements to learn how to do them correctly.

To be fit, you need to do more than only resistance training, but also some cardio vascular training too, like running, cycling, swimming, or sports such as basketball, soccer, badminton.
The physical condition consists essentially of qualities of strength, speed, stamina, flexibility and coordination. You need to master all five to be in perfect physical condition.

Despite some may say, I believe bodybuilding is a sport, you can call it art too if you want, expressing yourself through your body. Martial arts are arts too. In both, possibilities are infinite and there's almost no limits at what you can do.
There's so many different programs, techniques, etc. You need to search and read the more you can about it. If you want examples of exercices routines, you can find lots of good infos on veganbodybuilding.com forum, or www.veganfitness.net forum
and http://www.bodybuilding-trainer.com/bodybuilding_routines/bodybuilding_routines.html
http://musclemayhem.com/front/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_intensity_training
also in books, magazines, ask people in fitness gym, etc.

Resistance training, sport and any physical activity is a stress for the body, so be sure to have adequat rest also, like for instance: yoga, meditation or just relaxation, enough of sleep, avoid as much as possible other sources of stress like at work or your relations with your close relatives.



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VEGAN FOOD

You can deceide to go vegan for different reasons :
-1-health: to get fit, improve athlete performances, or because of allergies to certain animal products or just to stay away from diseases

-2-ethical and philosophical: for animal rights and to respect nature, environmental reasons or just because it doesn't fit with your spiritual vision of life
Usually, most vegans do it for both main reasons, but the second one (animal/nature) is a must, otherwise you're not a vegan (this term involves a certain lifestyle or way of thinking), you're just someone who's on a vegan diet.
Anyway, in this article I'll just discuss the health aspect of it, because it's about getting fit.



The fundamentals are:
-vegan
-raw
-organic
Then, perhaps some other important aspects if you wanna get even closer to a perfect nutrition, a superior nutrition :

good food combining rules (from Dr. Shelton, saying our stomach cannot digest any different kinds of foods all at the same time)
Dr. Adamo's Blood Type Diet (saying some foods may be good for someone but not good for someone else with another blood type... but this is a pretty controversial theory, and I'm not so sure about this one, just trust your instinct)
a balanced PH (to have health you need a healthy blood. It needs to be slightly alkaline. If your blood is too acidic, all the problem starts. Only greens are alkaline. Fruits are alkaline or slightly acidifying. All the other foods are acidifying so they shouldn't be more than 50% of your diet.

So basically, as much natural as possible.

Mostly fruits and greens, it's all your body needs to work properly. That's all it needs to have all the vitamins, minerals, water, oxygen, chlorophyll, enzymes and proteins. With this nutrition your body will reach the optimal health your genetic allows you to. Cooked vegan food may not directly cause diseases as much as animal proteins could, but you'll be at maybe 90% of optimal health instead of 100% with raw.
It doesn't matter if you eat some industrial food sometimes, just try to eat foods that are the closest to nature as much often as possible.

Just stay away from all other foods supposed to have amazing health qualities -- It's propaganda. If you want vitamins and minerals go see Mother Nature, not scientists with supplements. So called nutritionnists, modern dieteticians are saying you should drink a glass of red wine each day and 3 squares of dark chocolate each day for the rest of your life otherwise you're gonna have disease. What a joke!
Red wine for the grapes it contains, just eat grapes instead.
There's antioxidants in all vegetal foods other than dark chocolate - cocoa (which is an addictive drug) containing saturated fats.
Hemp and soy and flax and basically all seeds and nuts and avocados and olives, will provide the benefits of healthy fatty acids without the deadly bad sides of fatty fish. Those fish live in polluted rivers and eat other sick fish, so you eat all those DDT, BPC and mercury.
A healthy food is a complete healthy food, with nothing nocive to health.

There's a serious misperception/misinterpretation about the purpose of food. It's not medication supposed to reduce risks of diseases. That's really inexact. It's supposed to keep us away from those risks, or not causing to have those risks. We are born with health (excluding internal factors such as chimicals and toxic products that are already in our cells before we're even born, due to our industrial era and nutrition of your mother, and exterior factors such as pollution, deadly sunrays, etc that we try our best to protect ourselves from), virtually no risks of illness and diseases. The purpose of food is simply to maintain this health to it's maximal level. This is what a vegan raw diet can do for you. No food is gonna give you extra energy or health that you don't already have inside of you. What food can do though, is causing damage to your health if you eat bad foods, such as mentioned below.

We don't need animal proteins. So just ignore what people still living in another century say and try to convince you to eat meat, fish, eggs and milk and other fatty dairies. It has nothing vegetal reign doen't have, besides it's full of grownt hormones, toxins, chemicals, pesticides, saturated and trans-fat, cholesterol, animal fats... cooked, pasteurized, irradiated and highly processed, packed in plastic, not providing anything useful to the body.
A healthy and nourishing diet, giving strength, stamina, physical and intellectual vigour. Without vitality and energy, you lose your most precious good: Health, without which there is no happiness.
Cholesterol doesn't exist in the vegetal reign. Fruits, greens, nuts, seeds --
A natural nutrition, capable of filling the needs of the human body, to maintain Man in this state of kindness and beauty which is its right and its duty the most sacred and where from ensues happiness.

Your foods defines what you are and becomes your new cells -- You are what you eat.
Life engenders life -- Living foods, raw foods, such as fruits and greens regenerate your cells.
Cooked, processed foods -- maintains life...
Sugar, foods deprived of any vitamins -- slows down the life.
Animal fats, animal proteins. Dead flesh -- Kills and destroys life.

To get from an omni diet to a vegeterian diet (with eggs, dairies) can take months, or just a matter of days for others.
To get to a strict vegan diet (no animal products of any kinds) can take years for some, or it can be very easy for some others.
To get to a 100% raw vegan diet, or even fruitarianism, can take years too. It all depends on your background, education, environment, etc...
The path from a modern nutrition to a natural nutrition can be long, very long.
The key is to go slowly, gradually, if you crave for meat or dairies at the beginning, it's normal, and don't resist because it's useless, go ahead and eat it, instead of creating frustrations. After some time, the envy for such things will completely disappear, and you'll feel only better.

You can eat lots of seeds and nuts, grains and beans, or you can eat less dense food if you want.
The best way to gain lots of muscles is to eat a lot, more than you would normally do. But you'll gain muscles even if you don't eat a lot, your body will use your bodyfat and transform it into new muscles.
Whatever happens, believe only in yourself, and forget about all the animal proteins thing and the protein myth, we don't need huge quantity of proteins, but we need quality proteins, like the vegan proteins, and raw is even better because it's intact amino acids. High quality amino acids is the key. Again, it can take some time before understanding this and to get rid of your education and all of preconceived ideas.

You don't need any protein supplements such protein shakes. But if you still feel you need some, which is normal with the overestimated protein real utility and importance, prefer other sources than soy isolate (low digestibility and highly processed), prefer brown rice protein powder, some algae like spirulina or chlorella, or hemp, they're all raw. Hemp being perhaps the best choice of all (hemp protein powder is a raw, organic, easily digestible complete food with high quality amino acids). For soy, limit yourself to soy derivees like tofu and all fake cheese and meat products and desserts.

Of course, stay away from cigarettes, alcohol and all drugs, try avoiding coffee, chocolate and other things containing caffeine. Avoid refined flours and sugars, molasses, wheat, too much sodium, pepper, and even vinegar, onions, garlic, hot peppers, spices, cooked oils... Reduce to a minimum all processed foods (packed, irradiated, full of pesticides and additives) and non-organic foods.


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LIFESTYLE
The key in changes is a progressive transition, accepting mistakes and learning from them, go up gradually to whatever perfection represents for you.
I think most important things in life are self achievment, set goals and accomplish them, don't have any attach (especially not material) and above all, life is a long search for perfection and happiness. The ideal of perfection is different for each person because perception of life differs from a person to another. As for me, perfection is simplicity, revoving everything which is useless, until there's only essential left. Happiness being the ultimate goal. It is a long road paved with accidents, strewed with discoveries, mistakes, understandings, illuminations, being lost and searching for truth and finding what you are, discovery of the world, etc.


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CONCLUSION

So to be perfectly fit, focus on quality not quantity, you need all 4:

- training program - high effort level and efficient technic, resistance training along with some cardiovascular training
- nutrition - healthy foods, as close to nature as possible
- rest - relaxation, yoga, meditation, breathing, positive thinking, creativity -- physically and artistically – express yourself through art and through your body. Read, listen, look, travel.

Stay away from: stress, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, caffeine, fast food and processed food and all animal proteins.


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MORE VEGAN FOOD INFOS

Here's some more links related to veganism, because sometimes at beginning the transition to a new diet or lifestyle can be difficult.
With vegan foods, always remember than wathever which meal or food you like (may it be cakes and other baking goods, or meals that usually contain cheese or meat) it is possible to get a vegan version of it for absolutly everything you can think of.
Fake meat and fake cheese (usually made of soy) and all cakes, cookies, pancakes etc can be made without eggs and milk. I like some vegan fast-food sometimes. I love vegan pizza, also veggieburger and veggiedogs. Also sandwiches with raw veggies like spinach, with avocado and tomatoe slices, alfalfa, Veganaise (so delicious, more than Soyanaise or regular mayo)...

If you wanna go vegan but don't wanna quit all your favorite fast-food type of meals, you'll be served: http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=13365&highlight=



Vegan recipes blogs links:
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10849
Vegan recipes books suggestions:
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9522