Interview with The Raw Built Body Project: Building Muscle on a Raw Food Diet

Mr. Goldcoast Competition 1980

Raw Built Body Project

1) What was your personal experience with gaining muscle while eating Raw Food?

(Natureboy): Unlike most people putting on muscle with a raw food diet, my story is a little different. I actually came from a competitive bodybuilding background. I had a bit of an edge, or so I thought. During my competitive career, I was misled to believe that the only way to put on muscle size was to consume large amounts of animal protein. Aesthetically I looked good, but as I got older my body physically began to suffer the consequences. When I reached my mid forties, my joints began to ache and I didn’t seem to recuperate from my workouts as easily. Instinctively I reverted back to a plant based diet and immediately felt the difference. I was determined to cleanse and detoxify my body while increasing muscle size. Today on a raw food diet, I feel better and more vibrant than I did in my mid forties.

2) In what ways does eating Raw Food make it easier for people to gain muscle?

(Natureboy): While embarking on a raw food diet, your body will go through various cleansing phases. You may notice your strength levels decrease. That is nature’s healing process paving the way to a higher level of health and vitality. I went through several stages of cleansing before my body started to respond by putting on clean healthy muscle through raw plant based foods. I truly believe an athlete can add years on to their career by adopting a raw plant based diet. But most are afraid of the unknown and unwilling to change the socially accepted norms.

3) What are some Raw Food ways people can tweak their diet, to have an even easier time gaining muscle?

(Natureboy): Gaining muscle comes from three components:

1.) Adaptation through heavy weight training with good form. There is a direct correlation between strength and muscle size. You should always aim at increasing your workload from previous workouts. You can change the type of exercise you do, the length, the amount of weight lifted or the number or reps.

2.) Rest. If you are not getting stronger from your previous training sessions chances are you are not recuperating sufficiently. Take extra rest days before hitting that muscle group again. Short naps during the day are great if you can fit them in.

3.) Diet. Diet and nutrition comprise of 85% of your health and fitness results. Eat as much raw nutrient dense foods as possible and make your post workout meal a fundamental part of your training routine. The best way to put on muscle is to have a good raw plant based protein, a raw slow burning carbohydrate, and healthy fats like seeds and nuts or oils (coconut, hemp, flax seed, etc). My key to muscle growth is placing my body in a state of positive nitrogen retention by consuming protein every three hours. I prefer to have 5-6 small feedings a day.

4.) I just put together a supercharged holistic social network and wellness HUB with my partner SunGoddess. We will be adding tons of free information from some of our leading health experts in addition to our own articles and videos. I’ll be sharing tips and advice on fitness and nutrition from my 40 years of personal experience.

5.) SunWarrior http://www.sunwarrior.com
RawNatureboy http://www.rawnatureboy.com

If you’d like to read more stories about people who have gained muscle with Raw Foods, please visit The Raw Built Body Project http://laurenkinseynaturalbeauty.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/raw-built...