Yet Again . . .

It has been close to four years since my life changing trip to the Mayo Clinic.  In the time that has passed since my return, I have gone through many changes.  I often think I sound like a broken record when I tell clients and other agents that "change is a constant". 

Back in 2006, the goal was to lose weight, get healthier and hopefully balance my body so I wouldn't be sick any longer.  Through dedication and comittment, that worked.  Shortly after, the realization that I was over training and not consuming enough nutrition became a reality.  So, change again...enter the lean muscle building phase (and lot's and lot's of protein).  And again, did it successfully.  Then my interest in fucntional training and strength grew...and that is where my focus went.  After a couple of years, I continued to develop more and more diversity into my own training regimen, allowing for constant integration of strength work, cardiovascular, as well as functional/balance training. 

Today there is a new goal, a new challenge, a new change that must be made (not to mention Olaf (005) called me out on this in his last post - the agents can certainly count on each other in that way:)

About 6 weeks ago, I decided to attempt the Vegan lifestyle, at least with regard to nutrition.  My wife joined me in this "experiment" and as I mentioned in a recent post, we both have truly enjoyed sharing this experience together.  Since making this shift, we feel great!  Additionally, we have embraced much more than just the nutritional aspects of Veganism, with our new found interest and commitment to sustainability and the environment.

However...old habits die hard. 

Prior to making this change, I researched, I read and I asked everyone I could about their experiences with a plant based diet.  I thought I had it all figured out and was excited to begin the quest.  What I didn't prepare for was an adjustment in my training.  Well, let me rephrase...if you are going to be vegan and train the way I train, more adjustments will be necessary.  I was already relatively lean before starting, but without modification to my training and little flexibility with my eating (more on that in a moment), I have lost some weight, a bit too much perhaps.  There are countless Vegan athletes (Olympians, Body Builders, etc), most who are elite and at the top of their game - even attributing large parts of their success to being Vegan.  One of the issues I have been dealing with is taking in enough fat and carbohydrates.  I was so accustomed to years of lower fat clean eating, that making that shift has been challenging.  Many Vegans consume 30-40% of their daily calories from fat...keep in mind there really aren't "bad" fats in a Vegan diet...particularly when you eat as clean as we do.  On the carb front, I only eat whole grain carbs, so increasing my intake there will carry many benefits.  Additionally, I must work on increasing my protein intake (which currently comes primarily from nuts, hemp and legumes). 

Those who know me personally (and many who have followed my story) know I can tend to be a little obsessive...I don't do much in life half way.  Fortunately, I have been able to use this "talent" to focus on achieving much of the success I have found physically.  This same "talent" is also what I must always remain most cautious of.  I push harder, faster, lift heavier, eat cleaner, never cheat...and often times enough is never enough. 

So what now?

I refocus.  I commit to a new goal.  The goal of adding more lean muscle/mass to my body...again  I continue to learn, to experiment and to measure progress.  And, I modify regularly until I achieve success.  I've been in this place before...just not as a Vegan.  In fact, the last time I intentionally added weight, I increased my lean muscle mass by just under 12 pounds in 12 weeks.  This time, we do it Vegan style. 

There has been a great deal of interest in my shift to this diet.  A number of people have asked me to discuss/document the impact a plant based diet has on my training, my progress and my challenges.

So here is part one. 

More soon.

Josh

P.S.  This coming Saturday is the Komen Race for the Cure here in Indianapolis.  For more information please visit www.komenindy.org and search for the Agents of Change Team.  It's not too late to join us!

Burn more calories . . . The program begins to take shape

Yesterday evening, I was having a conversation with my 4 year old son. We were working on repairing a broken toy, when I said "maybe we should just give up" . . . to my surprise he responded, "Daddy, you can never give up". Quite profound for my little guy. I asked him who told him that you never give up, his response, "you and mommy".

The point . . . listen. Listen to what you tell yourself, not to what others tell you can or cannot be accomplished. Do not become passive, and do not view yourself as others wish you to be. Throughout my transformation, I reminded myself on a daily basis of the simple mantra, "I can do this".

As I began to figure out how to limit my daily caloric intake (and feel satisfied), the next step was to increase my daily caloric expenditure. Now, I have tried many many programs in my lifetime, and most of them have worked for me to some degree. However, this was game time. I wasn't getting started to lose a few pounds for an upcoming holiday vacation. No, this time my health and well being were at stake. Looking back, it is now obvious to me that health and well being should always be a primary focus in your life (and I don't solely mean physical health, for me, mental health is far more important).

I continued biking almost daily, gradually increasing my rides to 30-minutes, then 40-minutes. What was I going to do next . . . As you will hear me discuss often in my posts . . . research as well as my own personal experience has shown us that building lean muscle mass will burn more calories than cardio exercise (certainly even more if you do both together). Please do not misunderstand that last statement. I am a strong believer in cardio, particularly considering the fundamental health benefits that accompany it. Lowered cholesterol, improved circulation, etc, etc. I will talk more specifically about how I maximize cardio in another post.

Taking what I had learned from other programs, I knew which muscle groups where the largest, and therefore if "developed" would burn the most calories. Obviously focusing on a wonderfully defined forearm wasn't going to do the trick. There are many large and medium sized muscles which I focused on initially. Here are those areas:

Back - Often overlooked, your back and all of the muscles it is comprised of are a large group.

Legs (I actually almost never do leg specific workouts simply because I ride my bike so often and I run now as well). My focus on legs was and continues to be tied directly to my cardio, kind of double dipping there:)

Chest

Arms - both biceps & triceps

Shoulders - Ahh, my favorite.

Again, I chose these areas based upon their size and ability (if developed properly) to burn calories. I had to build multiple calorie burning engines that would do some of the work for me (they do a lot of it while you sleep by the way).

I began with the clothing rack I mentioned in a previous post - my old friend, the Bowflex Extreme 2. Although it had become the focal point of our dining room (just ask my wife), it was about to see better times. I had purchased this machine initially because I much preferred the smooth resistance it provided as opposed to the clanking of free weights or circuit training machines. It also assists you in maintaining resistance in a bi-directional fashion. I'll explain further; when you lift free weights, it is very easy to say, curl a barbell up. But unless you are very focused, you might let up as you return to the start position. The Bowflex uses "Power Rods", which maintain the tension at all times. Plus, I already owned the darn thing, so I might as well use it.

I began with a plan that would have me working those muscle groups in the following manner:

2-days on, 1 day off (I actually still only lift on this cycle)

Day 1 - Chest/Shoulders

Day 2 - Back, Biceps, Triceps

Day 3 - Cardio and Abdominal work

I started out reasonably . . . I wasn't looking to build bulk (I certainly had plenty of that already), I was looking to lean up. So, lower weight, lots of reps. I would typically do 4-sets of 12 reps for each exercise in my program. In the beginning, I completed 2 separate exercises for each muscle (Example, Chest-I would do a chest press and a chest fly).

On the 3rd day, the day for cardiovascular and abdominals, I used a balance ball (you know those huge balls you see at gyms these days) to work my abs. I had always disliked sit-ups and always had pain from doing them. Balls allow you to really target the abdominals while relieving the strain on your back and neck. Today I use a product called the Bosu Balance Trainer (link on left side of page). I will dedicate a post in the future to this product specifically, but let me tell you, I now love working my abdominals and have continued to see great results. However, I use this product every single day and for many areas other then the abdominals.

A quick re-cap before proceeding . . .

I was now doing cardio (still only on the bike - running hurt way too much at that point), using the Bowflex, 2 days on, one day off and working my abs on the off days.

I have already received a number of messages from readers (thank you all by the way) with requests for more details on how I have accomplished what I have so far. I do plan to give them to you. However, my success has been based upon a number of things.

Eating habits, yes.

Workout program, yes.

Focus/Commitment, BIG YES.

I had to commit mentally and commit in a big way. I was sick, I was overweight, I was eating atrociously, I was not sleeping enough (refer to pre-transformation pictures on the left if you haven't been here before). Although I had been through some extremely unpleasant realizations at the time (Mayo Clinic as an example), I had to convince myself that I could in fact make this lifestyle change. Was it easy? Nope. Does it get easier? Yes.

One last point to make. I have and will continue to describe the specifics (products/nutrition) that have been part of my own transformation, but I am not suggesting that others must follow my "self-prescribed" methods for success. What I have accomplished has been based upon certain fundamentals. They can be applied in a number of ways. I initially used my Bowflex, others may have a gym membership or a set of free weights. Use what you have access to and remember what the profound 4 year old said . . .

"You can never give up"