Strong on raw . . .

[rawstrength]

Yes, you can build muscles on a raw vegan diet.
I'm still working on my abs, but my arms have come a long way . . . there's no meat in these biceps!

[Raene]

Wooohooooo congrats! You look great.

[HolyGuacamole]

Hot-cha-cha! I would loooooove to have your figure. You look healthy and beautiful!

[Pking]

Yep, it's true. You definitely can build muscle going raw. Awesome pic lady!

[Marin Mom]

Wow!!!!!!!! Do you use suppliments, protein powders, hemp seeds?? What is your favorite exercise? What do you typically eat? (Note matchstick arms in avatar.)

[Rawtwists]

What an inspiration! Thanks for sharing. :)

[rawstrength]

*blush* thanks everyone . . . I owe it all to spirulina! Seriously, I eat everything that's green in abundance. Greens contain amino acids, the building blocks of protein. I don't shy away from fats, either. They supply the slow-burning fuel needed to complete long workouts. I generally prefer avocados, olive oil and coconut oil over nuts and seeds, but I don't exclude any raw foods from my diet. I don't use any man-made supplements, except for a bit of MSM on occasion.
As for excersize, I run for an hour five days a week. I lift weights for 15 minutes five days a week. I have just recently started to do some crunches and sit ups for my abs, which could use some improvement.
I also garden organically; doing tasks like lifting 150 pound bags of rock dust or tilling soil by hand makes a big difference.
At my college, my job is to compost! I pickup heavy trashcans filled with food scraps and put them in the back of a truck. Then I drive them over to the compost bin, lift them up and dump them in. This is once a week for an hour.
I think the tasks that I do that use my strength for a function like gardening are much better than just lifting weights in the gym. Also, I can garden for much longer than I could lift weights in the gym, because I get bored in the gym so easily.

Listening to really good music helps make the time spent working out pass in a blink.

[Veganforlife]

You go chicka!!!!!!!!!

you bicep queen you!!!!!!!!!!!

Love your green bedspread too!!!!!!!!!!!!

Green is mean, eh??????????? I mean "mean" in a good way! LOL!!

[rawstrength]

that's my roomies bedspread . . . if I had a green bedspread I'd be hungry all the time!

...

I'm keen on green!

[Jenifae]

Yes, you can build muscles on a raw vegan diet.
I'm still working on my abs, but my arms have come a long way . . . there's no meat in these biceps!

There's diffently NO FAT on your Bi-ceps :) and you ABS look GREAT too ;)

Beautiful Girl!:p

[raweater]

Great picture. Do you workout with dumbbells? How often do you workout?

I also posted a picture a few days ago here (http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=45225).

[Aleesha Sattva]

you look amazing girl. i'm soooooooo proud of you!!! (((hugs)))

[rawstrength]

Thanks, Aleesha! Thanks all for the encouragement!

I think some of the guys in the gym yesterday were getting intimidated by my muscles. I can lift more than some of them :o .

[Raw Joy]

Raw Strength, if you're not totally bored with this subject, can you give us some detail about what weight lifting you do each day? I've tried to get into this before, but found I didn't have the time to do it. But I could manage 15 minutes a day.

Thanks. And BTW, you look great.

[rawstrength]

Raw Joy, I described my excersize regime above, but I will try to describe it in more detail below.
When I life weights, I usually use weight machines, not free weights. I do the triceps machine, the biceps machine, the shoulder press and the chest press. I also do body squats with free weights (a combination of squats and lifting weights). I try to use the maximum amount of weight that I can do 10 to 12 reps for. But much of my strength I believe comes from gardening, lifting heavy compost bins, and other active chores. I think this is great, because I would rather have functional muscles than muscles developed just from working out in the gym. Recently I have started doing sit ups, crunches, and using the ab machine at the gym to work my stomach. I do the weight lifting during the middle of my daily running, so that my body is already warmed up and full of blood from the cardio. This prevents injury and makes the weight lifting more effective. Also, it breaks up my running so I don't get bored, and during the fall and winter, going inside to the gym keeps me from getting too cold while running outside.
I run a lot, usually five miles a day, five days a week, and once every two weeks usually I will do a longer run of about twelve miles. This helps keep off the flab to reveal the muscles beneath. More importantly, long distance running is my stress relief; it is my own form of meditation. While I run I listen to music, or sometimes I listen to books on tape to improve my mind (but since I run to relax, I usually listen to music). I really love running.
The most important thing is doing a form of excersize that you enjoy, so that you stick with it.

[Moretta]

You look great.

[Raw Joy]

Thanks. Can't do a gym right now. I work a desk job so can't very well throw compost around in the office. :p

I have free weights at home and have tried to get motivated more than once. But I do get bored and therein lies the problem. Maybe I need to stick with it and once I start seeing some results, it will carry over to more interest. Maybe just do the 15 minutes a day instead of trying to cram everything into a couple of sessions a week.

Thanks. You give me hope.

[janem]

KUTGW!! I love to run! I am now just getting back to it and am loving life. What time of day do you run?

[Vaclare79]

RawS- you look great and you are my inspiration girl! Keep it up. Wish I were there already, but hopefully I can get there soon. I can't even walk 5 miles without panting much less run it! But, you have inspired me more with your story.... I think I'll definitely keep eating raw. :p

[raweater]

Thanks. Can't do a gym right now. I work a desk job so can't very well throw compost around in the office. :p

I have free weights at home and have tried to get motivated more than once. But I do get bored and therein lies the problem. Maybe I need to stick with it and once I start seeing some results, it will carry over to more interest. Maybe just do the 15 minutes a day instead of trying to cram everything into a couple of sessions a week.

Thanks. You give me hope.

I found this works: For my barbell workouts I wear wireless headphones (the wired ones were a real PITA while trying to workout) to listen to music.

For dumbbell workouts, I have them by the TV to do those exercises while watching TV.

[Andre]

Wow Raw! * eyes pop open like a cartoon character * :eek:

You look, well.., Incredibly Sexy! If I'm allowed to say that. :o

And that shot portrays such confidence. You look like someone who handles themselves very well. Like an assertive woman who knows what's best.

I'm glad to see things are going so good for you Raw. I'll be hitting the db's very soon myself.

[rubyhair]

rawstrength, if you don't mind, what is your current weight and height? you look to be about the where i want to be at my goal weight.
thanks.

[rawstrength]

Hey Ruby, I am 5'2" and I weigh about 120 pounds.

[rubyhair]

Hey Ruby, I am 5'2" and I weigh about 120 pounds.

You have a smaller frame than me I am 5'8, my goal is 150. Oh well. You look great and I aspire to have strong muscles like you!

[rawstrength]

I'm going to take some progress pics later today.

[cz213]

Wow! You're such an inspiration to a newbie like me! Keep it up. :p The benefits of raw seem endless...

[rawstrength]

Some more pictures for you.

[freshlight]

you look so cute! Thanks for posting your beautiful pics. Keep up the raw magic :)

[gritsnla]

Very strong!! A true testament to raw!

[HolyGuacamole]

You look awesome. Your abs look more defined. :)

I think I see some wheatgrass back there. ;)

[Veganforlife]

Oh yeah! That's a Raw body fer sure!

GR8 job!!! :D

[cz213]

That is amazing! Your abs didn't look bad before, but now they are so defined! Good work!!!

[Jenifae]

Your Tummy looks very tone and tight now. :) I can tell you are working out, GF!
Woo-Hoo! You look really good RawStrength.