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Friday, May 29, 2009

Vegan Challenge: The Workout

On Wednesday I talked about my husband's foray into veganism for the next 30 days.  So here is the second half of his vegan challenge.  Not only eating vegan, but lifting and maintaining an active lifestyle as a vegan. 
When my husband and I were living in Hawaii together, we went to the gym together.  A lot.  I was really stressed out during my last student teaching experience, so I cut out the lifting and stuck mainly to yoga.   

Last night was my first night back to some serious lifting, and while it went well, I definitely am noticing that yoga did much more for my upper body than my lower body.  My arms, back, and chest are still fairly strong, but my legs were getting spasmatic after two sets of deadlifts.  

My husband however, was lifting more than ever while he was in Iraq, so I let him choose this workout plan.  I don't necessarily love it, but I definitely missed lifting, so its good to be back at it.  Plus, I get to pick the next program...heheh.  It will probably be something equally as complicated as the 5-7-9 program I made awhile back.  

Since his is simple, it should be much easier to follow.  The idea was to do the exact same workout three times a week.  Well, I got him to change that at least a little bit.  There are going to be two rotating workouts, and while the big lifts will change a little, the smaller lifts will be staying the same:

Workout 1:  
Deadlift 5x5
Barbell Bench Press 5x5
Dumbbell Military Press 5x5
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Pullups 4x8
Dips 4x8
Barbell Curls 4x8

Workout 2:
Back Squats 5x5
Dumbbell Bench Press 5x5
Barbell Seated Shoulder Press 5x5
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Pullups 4x8
Dips 4x8
Crunches 4x8

If you knew my workouts well, you would see my obvious influence on this program.  Since you don't, I will tell you.  First, I refuse to do anything more than 8 reps, I get incredibly bored and antsy.  Second, the way it is split into two parts, with the bigger lifts first, and the smaller lifts second...very "me".  As is the way there are fewer, but longer, sets for the second half.  What can I say, he asked my opinion.  

Post workout last night was dinner.  I let him pick something out of The Vegan Table, and he chose the Pan-Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Herb Infused Marinade.  What a mouthful.  These were possibly some of the best portobello mushrooms I've ever had.  I know it seems so simple, and to a degree it is, but the marinade was totally delicious, and the way they were cooked made it really soak in and just taste awesome.  


We had the mushrooms with roasted asparagus and mashed cauliflower (hummus is a good addition to this, if you were wondering).  

You'll have to excuse the lighting in our apartment for awhile.  I still need to play with it to find the best place, but I didn't want my food to get cold!   

He's got what I think will be some of his biggest challenges coming up this weekend.  Tomorrow we are having a BBQ at my aunt's house with some family that is in from Italy.  He'll have food to eat, no doubt, but I think it'll be hard for him to watch everyone else eating meat.  On Sunday we're going to visit his family.  It should be fine, they're really open to my being vegan, but I still think its going to be a challenge for him...but that was what he wanted, right??

7 comments:

  1. best of luck with the BBQ! those mushrooms look super savory.

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  2. I found your blog today while searching for an ice cream recipe. I'm not a vegan, but I am absolutely fascinated with your blog, especially the workout you posted here, and the 5-7-9 workout. I'm a fan, er, follower now!

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  3. that is so great! for me, going vegan has gotten my butt in gear, and i've been dragging myself to the gym about 4 times a week. i'm still scared of the weight machines though. best of luck! yoga does keep you really strong, but i can see how your upper body would be much stronger.

    i looove the vegan table! just bought it and can't wait to try the recipes.

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  4. Love me some portobello mushroom caps!!!!!! Good luck at the BBQ!

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  5. Gina,
    I love that you guys work out together. That surprises me about your legs as I feel like my quads get a major workout with all those warrior poses.

    Hope you're having a good weekend, and best of luck to your husband at the BBQ. He can do it!

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  6. Yeah for the hubs! Is he feeling better? Noticed the veggie difference? Hope it continues to go well.

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  7. Great job on getting back into lifting. I'm a huge fan of strength training!
    -A

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