On essentials

It is upon us, Veggiesaurs, I trust you are all in good standing with your gyms, spotters, and fridges, because it's about to get real.

Wednesday through Friday will not see us burning away at the gym yet, as I enjoy starting a new program on a fresh week come Saturday, during this time, it is best to understand the science behind anabolism and hydration, utilizing it to your advantage.

Insulin and you

• Carbohydrates stimulate the release of a hormone known as insulin, most associate this little gem with diabetes, but it is a potent factor in allowing amino acids to migrate freely into the muscles to aid in the building process, leaving the free carbohydrates at the mercy of the burning anabolic body furnace, the body will burn as much carbs as it needs to meet the current energy requirement, storing the rest for later, which is what most want to avoid.

Energy

• The body loves carbohydrates, it is the preferred source of energy, as it is easy to deplete and easiest to chemically break down, but carbohydrates are not the only source of energy, in times of need, the body will resort to burning fats and in dire cases, protein, to meet the energy requirements of your body, so if one decides to cut carbs completely from ones diet, then one will burn out rather quickly come workout time, and ones body will hit up the protein stores, decreasing ones chances in viewing any visible change.

Hydration

• Anabolic processes aside, most ignore a key factor in muscle growth and tone, water; your muscles contain 70% water, keeping your muscle cells good and hydrated, enrich them, increasing intracellular functionality and metabolism, and, as a result, gives you very effective results when combined with aforementioned information, adversely, dehydration sends the body into an antianabolic state, where fluids seep outside muscle cells, causing a state of muscle wasting, and that's pretty bad.

Read, learn, sexify, for Saturday marks the start of a new era, MY...I mean your era, you're not stepping stones on my personal path to greatness.

Read...

On body type

As the Dawn nears, we must familiarize ourselves with our bodies, a cellular structure as unique as your fingerprint; it would be impossible to precisely categorize and enumerate body type in terms of metabolism and general build, but there is a standard set of three, rather broad, categories in which one can get a fairly clear assumption as to where it is they stand in the body-type spectrum:

• The Endomorph has a plumper, softer build than the other types; metabolic upkeep does not favor the endomorph, as oftentimes they find themselves struggling to shrug off weight whilst attempting to build muscle at the same time, the primary goal of the endomorph is to maximize and utilize cardivascular exercises for fat burn as opposed to simply building stamina, high reps and toning exercises work to the endomorphs advantage, doubling as cardio and building muscle (Which eventually aid the metabolic process) and endurance at the same time. 

• The Ectomorph  lies at the opposite end of the spectrum, where they are thin, and, try as they might, find extreme difficulty in gaining weight in order to start a muscle building program, here, cardio does not work to the advantage of the ectomorph, as this breaks down essential fat and protein stores that are to later become the foundation for a muscle gaining journey, rather, the ectomorph should primarily focus on larger, heavier weights with minimal reps in order to maximize the muscle gaining process.

• The Mesomorph lies comfortable smack in the middle of the spectrum, having genetically gifted builds with often no gym time at all, the mesomorph can and must work any training protocol to their advantage, as workout variation is key to the progression here, a balance of cardio and a hybrid build of toning and building will see the mesomorph through their physical excursion.

The aforementioned does not define you, it guides you, you know your body better than anyone and should not be put off by slow results, this program is a year long, most train years to attain physical perfection, this is but a stepping stone on your path to excellence, physically and mentally.

As Wednesday approaches, say your goodbyes to your meats, slap on that track suit, we're going to start working out very soon.

Godspeed, Veggiesaurs, godspeed.

On creed

First of all, a humble bow to the lovely work of Ms. Khayra Bundakji on the layout.

Now, to business,

"Calories are the devil, weigh ins are the devil, and overclocked workouts are the devil;
 I believe in balance, I believe in healthy, I do not, and will never, believe in numbers." -Veggiesaur Creed


I believe in form and results, you can workout for three hours straight, with no breaks in between, running on fumes and improper form, exhausting your body and setting it up for failure come the next workout day.

You can count calories to holy high hell, simply looking to barely meet your quota, not knowing what said calories consist of, and as a result, losing essential nutritionally relevant items to the irrelevant.

You can obsessively way yourself in every day, every week and become discouraged due to lack of any fraction of change on the demonic scale, not taking into account the forming of muscle and the obliteration of fat in the early going makes changes on the scale almost unseen for what can often drag into several months.


It is you, good community, that will represent the Veggiesaurs amongst your friends, your  homes, and in your schools; it is your results, your transformation, that will make our little band grow stronger, greater, and come years end... well.

On Structure

The male, the female, the young and the old, omnivores and straight up carnivores, those looking to build, those looking to tone, those looking to lose, and everything in between, I realize we've a broad demographic to cater to, and it is for this reason that I'd like to address some concerns.

Conversion to vegetarianism is not the aim of this program. The aim is to give your body a chance to detox from all that which is dietary unsound; a healthy vegetarian diet of fibres, antioxidants, vitamins, proteins and fats, is ideally how this is to be achieved. To expect everyone to stop meat cold turkey,  would be foolish on my part, but the entirety of the recipes on this blog will be vegetarian, meats of ones favoring may be added should one will it.

You need a gym membership, or access to gym equipment. I am a medical student on the wrong end of my final year, and I make time, so there are no excuses because if you want change, it is to be earned through the sweat and tears of our little venture.

The blog will be updated on a weekly basis when it comes to core topics such as the workout and diet plan for the week as well as random occasional entries addressing the physiology and science behind what is myth and what is fact concerning the world of food and workout.

Workout plans will be divided into build and tone; for example, if we are to talk about a standing bar bicep curl, (ignoring the terminology and methodology for now) it would look something like this:

Those looking to build are those looking to increase strength and muscle size, and does not essentially mean they cannot tone.

Those looking to tone are those who seek to increase stamina and muscular definition but does not mean you cannot build as well should you will it.

Hybrid options will be provided when time comes to it.

The community will send recipes, pictures, results of weigh-ins and any questions to veggiesaurs@gmail.com. Select pieces will be picked and posted up here on the blog.

Spread the word, we've an exciting year ahead.

I am Hakeem Jomah, and I am your new years revolution.

Dawn of the Veggiesaurs

Being an avid gym goer and an equally avid veggiesaur (Hi, by the way), I am met with alot of skepticism as to how one is supposed to build any form of muscle when there lacks a main meaty component from ones diet. It is for this reason, that I thought it appropriate to kick off 2012, with a year-long completely-vegetarian gym blog.

As of the 1st of February, I will start a core building, fat ending, body toning and building regimen, on nothing but a vegetarian dietary program, custom made by yours truly, so you know nothing can go wrong, ever... ever...

Now aside from slowly monitoring my OWN transformation, I had more of a community based concept for this one, the reason I am starting this a couple of weeks from now is because I want EVERYONE that has the stones to work hard for a year, saurs and saurettes alike can start the program with me, sending photos, ideas, healthy vegetarian recipes, and a plethora of other socially driven online activity, so one does not have to go at it alone. Your online community will be your spotters, snapping at you for cheating, and cheering you on for all those pounds you're bound to shed.

How it will work

The program includes:
A solid, consistent workout plan, with pictures and video.
Pre, peri, and post workout dietary plans and advice, with recipes, all original and from the community.
At the end of every fortnight, I will post my own results as to weight, waistline, and a reflection of said fortnight.

For questions, recipes, inquiries, and general concerns, I can be contacted via:

Email: Veggiesaurs@gmail.com
Twitter: @HakeemJomah #Veggiesaurs

Please note this program shall proceed and not cease until the end of 2012. You can jump on the train any time, but maximum efficacy can only be achieved via dedication and a strong drive from the start.

I am Hakeem Jomah, leading your new years revolution.