Tacitus

Like others have said, Muay Thai is not a good chioce of martial art if your aim is to get big. Look at Muay Thai fighters, yes, they are in amazing shape, but they are not big. Being big is actually not good thing for Muay Thai, again look at the body type of the top fighters out there. But if you're looking for something fun, and getting big isn't your main goal, then I would choose Muay Thai over cardio any day of the week.

Oh, I forgot: In terms of nutrition, I would try to make protein a big priority. You probably know all the good vegan sources already: lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, tofu. Eat alot of this stuff, aiming for about .8-1 gram of this per pound of lean mass. The thing is, theres no way, because of the fiber in these sources that you'll stomach this much, so I would include some vegan protein powders, preferably a mix of them. That way you won't feel over full all the time, but you can get closer to your needs (in practise, I never do thought, usually ten grams under). Make sure you get lots of fat too. Include lots of nuts, but also lots of flax or chia. DHA is important for joint health, and is usually lacking in the vegan diet, so you may want to supplement (I like udo's dha blend myself). I also take borage oil, because the gla in that is supposed to help with inflamation. Other than that, I do lots of yoga to keep my body from getting injured all the time. You could also try ginastica natural for that too. I also do grip work a lot, because its easy to do while im sitting around at home. And kettlebells are great for working endurance (but it sounds like you need to get your strength up first!). Hope this helps.

I know this is an older post, but thought I could offer my two cents. I'm a vegan and I do bjj and no one has ever accused me of not being strong enough. As a matter of fact, I'm often told to not rely on my strength so much! Personally, I don't think there is a huge crossover in attributes needed to excell at karate or bjj (that doesn't mean you can't do both). Bjj does rely more on power (after technique), especially important is the ability to be explosive when you need to be. In terms of training, it goes without saying that specifity is key here: the more bjj you do, the better you will get. To build endurance, rolling often is the best. That being said, I know all too well that it's hard to make it class more than a couple times a week sometimes. So I would advise you to spend a couple days a week working heavy weights at low reps. If you're not used to heavy weights, try a good 5x5 program for a few months, before you decrease reps to 3 (at 75-80% max.). By priortizing maximal strength for a few months, you will see your explosive power improve. Of course, to really make gains you'll have to have a good periodization scheme which includes periods of strength/power/endurance building. I would strongly advise that if you do intend to do strength training that you limit your rolling to once or twice (max) a week to avoid overtraining. Yes, your endurance will suffer, but once you get to that period you can regain that pretty fast.

Well sometimes it takes a few tries and then it just 'clicks'. Sometimes I'll be putting all of my energy into a short story, only to have it comletly fail and then I'll write a poem the next and it'll just 'work'. But the failing with the short story is why the poem works. One trick you might want to try is to go at your project 'marathon' style. Basically, this is something you can only do if you have a week to devote most of your energy to the project. Basically, get all your food for the day ready ahead of time, sit down with a timer at your desk, (I time myself for 7 hrs), and write! Don't really even think about what you're writing, just get it all down. Once it's all there, you'll have a stack of paper, and feel really good about it, so you'll be encouraged to go on with the thing. I find that this method works for me when I have something that I know is good, but that I just can't finish. Anyway, for some people this method isn't very applicable, but if you have some spare time give it a shot...you might be suprised with the results.

Daywalker: thanks alot. I think martial artists can really benifit from the vegan diet, because it cuts down on inflamation so much for one thing. The Gracie's have a specific diet which is really close to veganism, and there are a few of them who don't eat meat at all. I didn't know about the vegan Muay Thai Championship, but that kicks ass! I'm going to do a search on it when I get a chance.

Basically I'm looking for all around 'how to be vegan books'...I think I found some at organicathelete.com though, such as that Thrive one you mention.

I actually have really developed a taste for almond milk. I think that stuff is just amazing after lifting! As for the whey, yeah I've already bought some yellow pea protein. Like two months ago I bought one of those big jugs of whey--so I have to finish it, because i don't think it should be wasted. There's only a week left anyway.

I was wondering what those of you here that adhear to a raw diet use as good sources of protein? If sprouts, do you know where I can find some kind of nutrient fact sheets, so I can monitor my protein amounts? Thanks

Thanks for the links...very helpful. Does anyone know of any good dietary books for a vegan noobie?

Hey, my real name is Chris. I'm from Toronto. I'm not really a bodybuilder, but I do alot of strength training because of my involvement in mixed martial arts (jiu-jitsu, boxing,muay thai). I'm not a vegan yet, but am on my way! My goal is to eliminate all animal products over the next month. Currently I just free range eggs and drink the occasional glass of organi milk, as well as whey shakes (too many!). My other interests are classical lit, and I'm trying to teach myself ancient greek right now, because I don't do drugs or drink or watch television so I have too much free time! I'm also a writer and have publsihed some poems here and there and will be coming out with a small press book in June 2006. Anyway, that's a lot of info I think so...hey, what's up?

Hey, my real name is Chris. I'm from Toronto. I'm not really a bodybuilder, but I do alot of strength training because of my involvement in mixed martial arts (jiu-jitsu, boxing,muay thai). I'm not a vegan yet, but am on my way! My goal is to eliminate all animal products over the next month. Currently I just free range eggs and drink the occasional glass of organi milk, as well as whey shakes (too many!). My other interests are classical lit, and I'm trying to teach myself ancient greek right now, because I don't do drugs or drink or watch television so I have too much free time! I'm also a writer and have publsihed some poems here and there and will be coming out with a small press book in June 2006. Anyway, that's a lot of info I think so...hey, what's up?

Hello everyone. This is my first post, but I've been lurking here for a few months. So, I've decided I need to be vegan. At this point, I don't think it's 'want', because really, I just think it's the only ethical way to function these days--but that's my opinion and I wouldn't force it on anyone of course! I was vegetarian for 3 years, but about a year ago, I decided to get in shape. Basically, all the guys I worked out with convinced me of the need to to eat meat (I wish I found this site then.) Well in the last year, I've gained a lot of fat, even when I count calories. I'm congested all the time, I feel so lethargic from when I get out of bed to when I go to sleep. I've been to the docter and she says there isnt a thing wrong with me. I really beleive its the meat/dairy. Before when I was vegitarian, I just kind of 'didnt eat meat', there was no real knowledge behind what I did. Right now I'm fazing out meat, but still eating eggswhites and drinking whey. I'd very much like to be pointed in the direction of some good resources for becoming a vegan athlete, this could be other websites/books you guys and gals have found educational etc. I want to go into this the right way. My plan is to work myself up to a 90% raw diet. Any help is apreciated and I'm really sorry for how long this post is. Thanks. Chris