Please discuss raw vegan working out, benefits you've noted, differences (if any) to cooked diets, etc.

I'll start. I notice with being raw high-fruit, I can fuel up if I want to and go running quickly after, as I don't have something digesting and fermenting for four hours. It feels great. I feel like I can run forever. I also love my sprints and HIIT training. I feel so much lighter running while a raw foodist.

My yoga practice is similarly wonderful, it's amazing how ease of digestion and high nutrient intake reflects on your practice. I don't get sore joints or knees anymore, and my sweat does not smell. I stay better hydrated. People notice my muscle tone and wonder what I do for workouts. I often have peopel ask where I go to yoga at without even asking me IF I do yoga first.

Traveling with food (around home, not necessarily international flights) is fairly easy as I can bring green smoothies that supply everything my body needs to recover. Have I mentioned I love being raw?


I enjoyed working out just as much as a cooked food eater and raw food eater vegan, but this is just blissful.

I have had no muscle atrophy whatsoever, but then again, I eat enough calories.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2010 05:00PM by Utopian Life.

A whole lot easier to breathe! Is the main benefit so far. For me, as a martial artist, improved athletic performance was one of the main reasons for going raw. Ive been transitioning to raw very slowly, have been 95% for quite a while now, just fruits, green juice, some cooked veg and a few nuts. Still using some salt.

I actually won the very first running race I went in, a 3K race in april. Just yesterday I entered a brutal 4k trail run through forest and creeks, followed by a 50foot long mud pit that you must crawl through. I placed 24th overal and first in my class.

Raw is definately the way to go for athletic performance. Im still transitioning and detoxing and stuff and Im already doing very well. Hell, I dont even run 4k a week.

I definately haven't lost any muscle at all and I always eat below 10% from protein. I usually 2200-2600 cal/day and usually an once or so of nuts the rest is fruits and veg. In fact Ive lost alot of flab and that has helped improve performance.

I know there are certain kinds of food to eat before and after a work out, what are they when you're following a raw vegan diet? Is it different for a strenuous work out like a bike ride vs yoga or pretty much the same thing?

I eat fruit before & after, greens all the time. That's what I choose, not sure about others.

Juicy fruit before and after. Nothing too heavy that will slow you down. I find staying hydrated is most important.

Really? I thought it was protein dominant foods at some point or something like that. Fruit it is then!

Fruit and greens have just the right amount of protein for humans.

Utopian Life- absolutely no nuts/seeds, or just minimal? And what about avacadoes or olives, do you eat them?

Maybe two brazil nuts per week and avocado, yes. No olives. Avocadoes vary. I might go a month without and then eat a couple one day.

All I know is that I have been into bodybuilding for 30 yrs now,and am as big,and have as much energy,as any time in the past when I was spending hundreds on protein powders,amino acid pills,growth pacs,etc....
Young bodybuilders listen to me!!
Dont waste thouseands on those things.
I could have had a Porsche now with what I spent on that stuff.
Now I just shop my produce section.

Vinny

eaglefly id love if you could post us a pic or two there are no raw bodybuilders that i can find, vegan is easy but raw i cant find one powerlifter or bodybuilder.

cheers

There are other raw forums where I've seen links posted for raw bodybuilders.....30 Bananas a Day had some links, if you want to check them out and join that forum.

How big are you? Post up a pic or some measurements if you don't mind. Not to judge but I am still curious how muscular a person can get eating raw. Also...not sure if you are into numbers as far as how much weight you can lift but if so could you post those numbers too. Interested in the big three mostly...bench, squat, dead. I am just trying to get an idea of what kinda of muscular strength is possibly on a raw diet. I am over the days where I was worried about numbers in lifting but coming from a powerlifting background I just have a curiosity. Perhaps someday I will get back into lifting (not for numbers) and I can see how this eating lifestyle change has affected my strength.

eaglefly Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> All I know is that I have been into bodybuilding
> for 30 yrs now,and am as big,and have as much
> energy,as any time in the past when I was spending
> hundreds on protein powders,amino acid
> pills,growth pacs,etc....
> Young bodybuilders listen to me!!
> Dont waste thouseands on those things.
> I could have had a Porsche now with what I spent
> on that stuff.
> Now I just shop my produce section.
>
> Vinny



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 06:30AM by Nubster.

www.veganbodybuilding.com has a few raw vegan lifters on there.

I race Cat 1 on the road bike and am a world class 24hr solo xc racer. I eat enough calories from my fav fruits each day.

Robert Cheeke just released a vegan/raw vegan bodybuilding pic with heaps of pics etc.

Here is a vid of me shirtless this week. I didnt have time to 'cut up' or 'pump up'. I lift weights a few times a year and cycle competitively.

[www.youtube.com]

robert cheeke if im right isnt raw though hes vegan i believe?

It's not like all of these people will come from the same background or body types (ecto/meso, raw from birth, raw after 30, started weight lifting at 25, etc).

Nubster-
Providing the body is functioning well, I see no reason why raw would limit strength. In fact it would probably help to build strength as well, because it enhances nerve energy and function, which is so important to strength production. It seems like most raw athletes are endurance athletes. Probably has something to do with how much better cardio exercise feels than before. Its alot easier! And as you know, if you used to do powerlifting, it dosen't matter who you are, if you want to be strong you have to earn it by putting in the work.

Powerlifer-
Charlie Abel is the only raw vegan bodybuilder I can think of
[www.veganbodybuilding.com]

id love to hear about the conditionally essential amino acids again such as taurine/caritine etc, these will deplete under high intensity workouts most likely anaerobic/weights etc. When levels of the precursors are usually also not intaken in big enough quantities via a vegan diet.

thanks workoutman for the link, he just looks lean to me though not a bodybuilder as such, not meaning the roided out look but robert cheekes physique etc.

very true also utopian.

What numbers would you like to see for those amino acids as intake in mg/g (?) per day, Powerlifer?

Im not sure what id like to see as theres no studies i just want to know how they replenish on a raw vegan diet from a theory stand point. I know of 2 raw lifters who eventually werent able to train on a raw diet most likely for this reason

Plus when your body is using all the precursors to sythethsise the amino acids, protein synthesis is inhibited.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 02:27PM by powerlifer.

Well, with that vague of a reference, I don't see how we are supposed to respond.

I know, it was just the theory of it i guess if someone could put my mind at rest what im saying.

Ill do more reading.

powerlifer...I checked out Robert Cheeke and while not what I would consider big, he definitely has a great build and actually at this point in my life a build that if I decide to start lifting again I would aspire to. His size certainly could be from his training style, genetics, or choice.

I also checked out Charlie Abel. He certainly looks pretty average to me. I know people that never lifted a weight in their life and work manual labor jobs that have a much better build then him.

I am still searching for information on raw powerlifting. I did find one site where some people put up some numbers for the big three. They were vegan and not raw but the numbers were not too bad really but I would still love to see some raw numbers to compare.

WorkoutMan...yeah...I agree about raw foodies being more endurance based athletes. I think that is why my curiosity is spiked so high about strength athletes and raw eating.

I know that what I am looking for is kinda trivial but I just can't help to wonder.

I think a lot of people who are into health more (raw foodists) might not want to lift so much....but of course there are probably a few. This guy transitioned to raw, www.gymmorris.com. I think most bodybuilders/powerlifters in general don't care so much about health; they jsut want to look a certain way, and to get there, you usually have to consume some pretty nasty things (my opinion of course) and from waht I've seen of the powders and such, a lot of the vitamins don't come from the food but from the supplements. Some eat broccoli and other vegetables - that's great.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 07:14PM by Utopian Life.

I like to do Iyengar yoga 5 mornings each week (about 1 hour), plus run and do a cardio routine with handweights on alternate days.

My running distances go up and down depending on how busy I am, but I maintain a 4-mile distance.

I'm almost 60.

I run in the late afternoon. On my running days, I like to eat lots of fruit, one or two brazil nuts, a small quantity of sunflower seeds and whole sesame seeds, plus some soaked chia or a teaspoon of flax. When it's time to run, I'm feeling very strong and ready to go! More fats than that can give me cramps. Less than that seems to deplete my energy.

Greens don't work real well for me if I eat them before running. Eating them after running is OK as long as I don't eat them everyday. My muscles get sore after eating lots of greens. Seaweeds seem to be fine though. But maybe that's just me.

Utopian Life said,

"I think most bodybuilders/powerlifters in general don't care so much about health; they jsut want to look a certain way, and to get there, you usually have to consume some pretty nasty things (my opinion of course) and from waht I've seen of the powders and such, a lot of the vitamins don't come from the food but from the supplements."

Seems that could be the unfortunate truth for many bodybuilders. Last week I watched a documentary where the competitive bodybuilders were consuming illegal steroids routinely to achieve their bulk. The documentary was on women body-builders, but the same is probably true for many (or most, all?) of the men.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 07:41PM by suncloud.

steroids arent really a magic tool they just help increase protein synthesis and recover faster you still need to eat masses of food and lift.

the other guy on that site Avi lehyani, looks pretty big but for some reason i think he may have done a cycle of something,

It may be that way utopian although theres got to be some or im feeling that its just not doable raw due to the theory.

.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 11:45PM by veghunter.

powerlifer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> steroids arent really a magic tool they just help
> increase protein synthesis and recover faster you
> still need to eat masses of food and lift.
>
> the other guy on that site Avi lehyani, looks
> pretty big but for some reason i think he may have
> done a cycle of something,
>
> It may be that way utopian although theres got to
> be some or im feeling that its just not doable raw
> due to the theory.


Im not sure what youre wondering exactly? Weather or not its possible to build muscle on a raw diet? Many people have already confirmed that it is..

A healthy raw diet does not give you inflated muscles! Your muscle is 100% functional on a raw diet. Genetically you are over 99% the same as a chimpanzee. The average adult male chimp might be 135lbs. Their arms are not very big, but they can rip your car door off! Ive read that they can be 5 times as stron as an adult human. The muscles of bodybuilders are extremely understrengthed relative to their size. I know people and chimps are not the same. But I still think it is useful to consider these things. Given the size of these guys they should be able to lift way more! The body of anyone who regularly consumes much cooked food and potions, salt, toxins, etc is inflated. Even if they are not using steroids they are still unnaturaly big in my opinion if they consume these things.

Give me time to regain my health, I will put it to the test! My goal is to develop a very strong and balanced base of fitness including strength. Developing the highest strength to weight ratio is an important goal as an athlete.
Consider these guys they are not very big
[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/20/2010 11:55PM by WorkoutMan.