Fitness-Muscles

Among his accomplishments are a first place win for Overall Men\'s Novice in the 2005 INBA (International Natural Bodybuilding Association) Northwestern USA Natural Bodybuilding Championship, and a second place at the World Natural Bodybuilding Championships. A native of Oregon, Cheeke is an exemplary athlete who inspires everyone with his ability to bench press 265 pounds and leg press 725 pounds. His \"steroid\" is commitment, his strength is real and his fuel is naturally grown in the soil of our earth.

We caught up with the rising star at his home in Corvallis, Oregon.

HIPPOCRATES: When did you become a vegan and what inspired your decision to become a bodybuilder?

ROBERT: I became a vegan when I was sixteen after attending an Animal Rights Week at my high school. The only reason I attended was to support my sister, who had organized the event. As I listened to the speakers, watched videos and read the literature, I realized that my life had changed and that I would never be the same. In my senior year of high school, I was the one who planned the Animal Rights Week.

As far as bodybuilding, I started training seriously at the age of 20 and entered my first competition at 21. When I was younger I was frequently the smallest guy in my class and I wanted to be bigger and stronger. I had dreams of becoming a professional wrestler but I didn\'t have much success in strength-related sports at that age. This all changed when I became vegan.

HIPPOCRATES: How did you eat prior to becoming vegan? And how do you eat now?

ROBERT: I was a big meat-eater; bacon was my favorite food. I consumed meat daily-usually fast food, like meat subs and sandwiches and chicken strips. Now, I eat predominantly raw vegan foods.

ROBERT: I always liked sports, especially wrestling and running, and I was on the high school basketball team, even though I was small. I weighed 105 pounds as a freshman and was quite lanky. I was so weak at that time that I usually got bounced around by the other guys. When I became a vegan, I weighed 120 pounds. In just six years on a pure vegan diet, I weighed 195 pounds. Instead of the one being bounced around, I was someone to be reckoned with.

HIPPOCRATES: Aside from your size, what other contrasts did you notice once you were on the vegan and raw diet?

ROBERT: After becoming a vegan I became more productive in every area of life. As an athlete, I experienced a tremendous increase in energy and enthusiasm. I was a runner at the time and had such intense energy that I could run a mile in five minutes. When I first started bodybuilding, I took this energy into the gym and discovered that I could build my strength quickly. Another change I noticed was an improvement in mental sharpness, a new confidence or edge, if you will. Once I conquered the challenge of eliminating meat from my diet, I felt invincible; I knew I could tackle anything after exerting the discipline to make this major shift. The other thing that stands out to me is the way that my body \"recovers.\" Injuries happen when lifting heavy weights and I notice my recovery periods are so much shorter than when I was eating meat. My body heals and responds so incredibly well.

ROBERT: Definitely. When I won the championship for my class at the 2005 INBA Northwest USA title, I was the only vegan. All the other competitors were meat eaters. I love competing with them and winning. It proves that you don\'t need meat or dairy sources of protein to build muscle. Yet so many people believe this lie. I proudly wear a T-shirt that tells everyone that I am a vegan.

ROBERT: I usually work out six days a week: four days of weights and two of cardio. I work out 60-90 minutes each day, exercising one to two muscle groups each time; I try to hit each muscle group at least once each week, and most of them twice.

HIPPOCRATES: What would you like to tell everyone about their bodies, their diet and the importance of exercise?

ROBERT: I like the words of a friend of mine: \"This is not a discount body!\" Is there anything better to spend your time and money on than your own well-being? Your health is not the place to cut corners, discount or compromise, don\'t cheat yourself out of organic raw food. Many people choose cheaper and more convenient foods, without realizing that it\'s costing them both in the short and long run, Health must be your first priority and there is no room for moderation.

Also, I want people to know that they can build muscle as a vegan. When I was smaller, many people told me that I needed meat to get bigger and that I should not become a vegan until I gained weight. I am just one of a growing number of athletes who have proven them wrong, and your readers can too. As more of us accomplish this, we will break the stereotype that vegans are weak and scrawny. I truly believe that we are much stronger and certainly more intelligent than the general population who are consuming commercial foods. When you embrace the diet that your body was designed to consume, your health and energy as well as that of the planet are greatly improved.

ROBERT: I have a couple of shows in which I will compete this spring, and I was recently featured in the 2006 March/April issue of Veg News Magazine as the number one American Vegetarian Bachelor. Also, I just produced a movie, Vegan Fitness: Built Naturally. The movie rook 15 months to create and is full of critical information that can help anyone involved with fitness amateur or professional. The film features athletes from a wide variety of disciplines and one of the highlights is vegan athletes of the Ironman Triathlon, the quintessential athletic event.

Editor\'s Note: Dave Scott, a 6-time champion of Hawaii\'s Ironman Triathalon and longtime record holder, is a vegetarian. Vegan Fitness: Built Naturally is now available on www.veganfitnessteam.com.

HIPPOCRATES: In closing, is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?

ROBERT: I would like people to know that every vitamin, mineral, trace mineral and certainly protein is abundantly available in organic, vegan foods at higher and more digestible levels than any of the so-called \"foods\" of the Standard American Diet. As a population, we continue to be seriously misinformed about muscle development.

Political and commercial propaganda leads us to believe that animal sources of protein are complete and that plant protein is insufficient and incomplete. This is simply wrong. The truth is that all amino acids, the origin of proteins, are in plants. Consuming animals and their milk is not only a second-hand way of receiving these important nutrients but also the deficient way. Most of the amino acids that are in meat and dairy foods to begin with are eliminated in production. Farmers or ranchers slaughter the animal for meat, freeze the parts, and eventually send it in frozen form to your market. Homogenization and flash pasteurization of dairy food neuters the proteins. Thousands of vegan athletes, including many body builders, disprove the false claim that veggies can\'t build muscle. In fact, many of us improved our athletic ability and strength by adopting a vegan diet.

I also believe, over the next several decades, that animal food consumption will become a thing of the past. Last summer, the first annual vegan and raw athlete conference was held in San Francisco. This will be a yearly event that I am sure will grow worldwide. As the good news of \"muscle by veggie\" spreads, so are the numbers of people embracing this lifestyle. Now this is the kind of strength that I like to see.

Vol 25 Issue 2 Page 24