Beginning (vegan) fitness training - newbie advice sought

[notmilk]

Hi all - as the title says I have decided to embark on a fitness programme - but have some simple (i hope) questions i hope you can help me with...
A little about me - i'm 35, male, have been vegan for 19 years (with the odd lapse to veggie) and although I consider myself fairly fit (i can comfortably mountain bike 50k) I feel that my upper body needs to strengthen. I am your typical vegan - very skinny but full of energy :-)
SO - enthused by a recent article The Army Fitness Programme in the (UK) Guardian newspaper a few weeks ago I have decided to join the local gym and work out.
I swim every morning before work for 25-30 minutes and attend body pump classes twice a week. I haven't actually hit the gym yet as I am awaiting my induction. I go mountain biking most sundays for anywhere between 2 hrs and 5-6 hrs.
Anyway - my questions mainly relate to eating....
1. Is it best to eat BEFORE excercise or AFTER? (or both?)
2. What sort of foods are best before and after?
3. Do I need to buy a "recovery shake" type product - I've been tempted by this: TORQ
but is it all kidology?
4. If I feel my muscles aching after a body pump session - should I give the swimming a miss the following morning? Or is it OK to ache and excercise?
5. When I do finally get into the gym - what should I do for upper body strength?
OK - hope that's not too much for my first post in a while!
love
notm!lk

[A2K89]

Well you don't want to exercise hungry for sure.. I've read that its best to eat about 30 minutes after exercise. One thing you could do is go buy some Whey Protein mix, and drink that 30 minutes after exercise, that would def. encourage muscle growth.

If you really really wanna pack on mass, then its best to eat periodically all throughout the day , as opposed to only three straight meals. Thats what body builders do. Not really necessary though if you don't visit the gym frequently enough.

I've never heard of "TORQ", but that doesn't mean anything, since I'm no enthusiast. I do know that Whey Protein is good, just make sure you read reviews of whatever shake product you get.

Its normal for your muscles to be sore.. To have that mild burning tensity after a work out is a good sign... But you must avoid straining your muscles to much, pain really doesn't ensure gain at all. You just gotta distinguish regular muscle soreness, from other types of pain like a pulled muscle.

If your really feeling the burn, then I'd say skip swimming the next day. You can just give your muscles time to adjust to such usage, and eventually you'll be able to swim the next day w/o any problems. Look up ways to prevent soreness, and cure soreness via a search engine.

What should you do? Err well again I'm no expert, so you could probably ask a trainer a good work out routine. Look at the diagrams on the machines and they'll tell you what muscles it targets. Shoulders, pecs, upper back etc.

BTW, I'm not a vegan, don't know if that matters.

[Dbarker]

Originally Posted by notmilk

1. Is it best to eat BEFORE excercise or AFTER? (or both?)

Kind of depends on how intense the workout and how you feel working out on empty stomach. Steve was eating an apple before his workouts. I generally don't eat anything if I go in the morning and then eat a bigger meal afterwards.

3. Do I need to buy a "recovery shake" type product - I've been tempted by this: TORQ

If you're staying vegan, no, this one contains milk. There are other varieties that you might try. I have at times and haven't paid close enough attention to whether they actually help me a lot. (Sounds like a possible 30-day trial.)

4. If I feel my muscles aching after a body pump session - should I give the swimming a miss the following morning? Or is it OK to ache and excercise?

As A2k89 said, it would depend on how stiff and sore you were.

5. When I do finally get into the gym - what should I do for upper body strength?

I prefer powerlifting exercises and multi-function exercises that hit the big muscles or multiple muscles. Bench press, overhead presses, pullups would be a good start.

I'm just getting back into lifting again and it will be interesting to see how big my gains are as I've been vegan for 9 months.

dave

[notmilk]

Thanks for your replies so far guys -
A2K89 - I would not choose to eat whey protien as that comes from milk...
Dbarker - if you scroll down the TORQ page you will find the vegan recovery pack (though it is £100!!)
I generally eat porridge in the morning - followed by a pasta dish for lunch and a bigger meal in the evening. Perhaps I'll try eating more little and often - thank you.

[bdp]

Ignore conventional bodybuilding advice. It works, but at the expense of your long term health. A day's worth of reading will change your whole outlook on fitness.

ArthurDeVany.com

I am in no way affiliated with De Vany, but I recommend his site to everybody that will listen to me. The information that he has compiled is truly amazing. His style of fitness is the most logical I have seen, and also the most enjoyable.

Right now his blog is missing the links to his essays because it's under construction, so read his archived posts starting with the oldests. Read the essays as soon as they're back up. He focuses on Paleo-style eating, but as a vegan I have found everything on that site to be valuable.

[Wildside]

Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

That site should be right up your alley. Also, try Hemp protein powder. Good luck!