While we were in Austin Texas this past July competing with Team Plantbuilt, these awesome people Matt and Sasha were shooting footage for their video series that follows all manner of vegan athletes, Strongest Hearts. They helped the team cover the event,…
Category: Workout
Want Faster Gains? Try Higher Frequency Training!
Tired of the same old ‘Train each muscle group once a week with a 5-Day split’ articles everywhere you look? I get tired of seeing that all the time too, especially because it isn’t necessary, and I would even argue…
The Basic Requirements for Gaining Muscle
Ever wonder if your mass-gaining plan is covering all the bases? There are a few basic necessities that anyone on any kind of diet (vegan or otherwise) needs to considering if gaining muscle is their goal. In my latest article…
Derek’s Top 3 Tips for Building Your Best Physique!
In this month’s article for Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness, I covered my three favorite tips to give anyone looking to improve their physique – and since that’s virtually everyone (myself included) I think it’s important to keep these things in…
Tips To Improve Your Next Workout!
This month on VeganBodybuilding.com I shared my two favorite techniques for turning around bad workouts. We all have days when we just don’t want to be in the gym (usually when we’re about to step under a heavy squat bar,…
14 Weeks Out!
The Naturally Fit Super Show in Austin, TX is approaching fast, so over the past two weeks Marcella and I have shifted from off season into pre-contest mode! Here’s the down low on what we’re doing to prepare for this…
The Biggest Vegan Bodybuilding Event Ever!
Marcella and I have been in heads-down training and working mode recently so we haven’t been posting as much as we should, but I wanted to update everyone on one of the things we’re currently preparing for – the…
Online Group Personal Training and New Member Portal
It’s been a busy, busy year for us thanks to the sudden widespread interest in plant-based nutrition and fitness (finally)! We opened a local personal training studio, Root Force Personal Training, right about the time Miles was born last year…
Getting Back in Shape – From New Mom to Female Bodybuilding Competitor?!?
Workout and excerpt from our meal plan included in this post! I last posted on my progress here. Having just become the mother of this adorable little nugget I really could not imagine bringing the intensity of days past to…
Posture – The Unsung Hero!
If you look around you in any public place you’ll quickly notice that everyone slouches! It’s understandable given that all day long people are sitting at a computer, on a sofa, in a car, or hunched over their smartphones, but…
Getting Back in Shape – Losing the Baby Fat
By the time I had my son Miles at 41.5 weeks, I’d gained about 33 pounds, bringing me up to 150 lbs from my pre-baby 117. By then I was freakin’ huge, bigger even than in this shot taken at 39…
My Mid-to-Late Pregnancy Routine
A typical week, with days bolded, looks like this: Legs 20 minutes incline treadmill or elliptical Deep Body-weight squats, 3-4 sets x 20 reps Leg Extension 3-4 x 12-15 SUPERSET WITH (45 lbs) Seated Leg Curl 3-4 x 12-15 (45)…
Exercise During Pregnancy
So you may have heard we are expecting… we’re actually half way there – crazy!! I’ve been looking into exactly what level of exercise is safe and beneficial during pregnancy, and one of my colleagues was kind enough to…
Back Home After a Phenomenal Trip to Seattle!
We are now back in Richmond after having a fantastic time in the Pacific Northwest! We had a great time at my contest, hanging out with our friends, going to our old favorite restaurants, AND summer in the northwest is…
4 Weeks From My Second Bodybuilding Contest!
On July 30th I will be competing in my second bodybuilding contest – the North American Natural Bodybuilding Federation (NANBF) Washington State Championship in Seattle Washington! That’s 4 weeks from now! After my first encounter with competing last month I’ve been as…
Awesome New Training Video!
As we’ve been upping our training intensity we’ve been filming our workouts. While we’ve been at this, Marcella’s been putting all the videos into an awesome video montage that is now complete in all it’s glory! Check it out!!
Derek’s Pre-Contest Program
My contest prep for my first actual show that’s in, I don’t know, 5 WEEKS, is pretty radically different from the prep you may remember from my photo shoot prep of last year. First of all, having just recently returned…
Bodybuilding Training Logs
Short post: I intend to post a high protein, low fat, low sugar cornbread that doubles as a polenta recipe tomorrow BUT for now: Just wanted to say that I’ve posted links to our workout logs on the sidebar at…
Marcella’s Training Program and a Sprinkly Donut
I usually leave the workout postings to Derek because I feel like we’ve kind of staked out our respective blog territories: his posts are naturally training-oriented and mine are usually recipes. But, damnit, I’m a bodybuilder too! And now that…
Our Plyometric Weekly Leg Workout
We decided to add a little variety to our twice a week leg program by making one of the workouts a plyometric day. Plyometrics are bodyweight exercises that involve a fast or explosive motion, such as jumping, and we decided…