Sol wrote:

>I'm curious. I don't hear much about exercise in the Raw Foods community.
>What I mostly hear is that people walk or do light aerobic exercise. I hear
>some of yoga as well. What are people's experiences with exercise?

I have been a raw-foodist for about 2 1/2 years now and I am very big into
weight-training.  I hit the weights 6 days a week and walk, hike, or run
4-6 miles every day.

>The challenge that I do have is that I am not getting stronger in my weight
>lifting routines.

A have a story for you.  Back when I was a cooked-food eater, I was on a
weight-lifting strength-plateau for about 5 years.  I worked out with my
brother every day.  And every day he would out-lift me in the bench-press.
I could never do more than 3 repetitions of 300 pounds.  He would do 4 or
5.  I could never understand it.  We had basically the same physique, we
had the same diet, etc.

Since then, I have followed a raw diet and my body weight has dropped about
40 pounds.  Last week, my partner and I were filming a Nature's First Law
video segment called "RAW POWER!" and I pushed up 300 pounds 11 times!  I'm
going skiing with him next month.  I'm sure we'll find a gym somewhere.  I
can't wait to ruin him on the bench-press!

>I believe that is because I'm not willing to consume enough
>calories for my body to have extra to build more calories.

I don't agree.  I don't ever think about calories.  In the summertime I
eat, almost exclusively, melons (very few calories) and I am able to
maintain/gain strength with no problem.

>I'm not willing to eat the extra calories because of the evidence I've
>seen >that we live longer if we eat fewer calories...

I pretty much agree with, "The less you eat, the longer you live."  I'm
still pretty young (27) and as I get older I will be eating less and less.

>...plus my motivation to gain more muscle is motivated by vanity and I'm
>not >willing to potentially endanger my health to look buff.

My motivation to gain muscle and strength is motivated by my sincere love
of exercise and the exhilaration of that feeling of possessing great
strength.

I believe in "The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy."  If you *think* you can't gain
muscle, weight, & strength on the raw-food diet -- then you can't.

>From my experience on a raw-food diet, it is easily possible to gain muscle
and unleash strength that you never knew you had.  As far as I'm concerned,
cooked-eating, meat-eating, pill-popping, steroid-injecting body-builders
have false, cooked, artificial strength.  They have truly accepted a
Faustian bargain (A short-term gain at the expense of a long-term tragedy).

Keep pumping,

Stephen Arlin
Nature's First Law

If you're interested in seeing the work-out video tape, check out Video 3 at:

http://www.io-online.com/~nature/descriptions.html

I go through my entire weekly weight-lifting routine!