Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Ha ha, it's not really that much, just looks like a lot when it's all written down!
Yeah, I used to drink a lot more coffee but have reduced it to just pre workouts so it shouldn't be hard to cut it out, especially if I have other alternatives, like the Yerba Mate to give me that kick before I train.

Chest workout last night, threw in some arms and a little back to - I like these workouts now, I was never a fan of the one bodypart a day training but now that I have gone from doing a 3 day split to essentially a 2 day split I have gained a fair bit more strength and size.
Bench press - Bar x 15
60kg x 8
100kg x 5
110kg x 5 x 3 sets
Floor press - 100kg + 2 chains per side x 3 x 3 sets - chains weigh about 10kg in total but most was dragging on the floor so it didn't really add much except the cool noises that made look more hardcore.
Swiss ball dumbell press - 45kg x 4 x 3 sets
Pullups 6 x 3 sets
Dumbell curls - 18kg x 6
22kg x 6 x 3 sets
Skullcrushers - 55kg x 6 x 3 sets

Meal 1 - Nitrofusion shake, 10g flax meal
Meal 2 - Lentil soup, 3 slices black bread, extra bowl of chickpeas (60g) and tabbouleh
Meal 3 - 120g tempeh, 50g nut meat, 50g black quinoa, steamed spinach, 10ml avocado oil
Meal 4 - Same as meal 3
Meal 5 - Nitrofusion shake, 3g creatine
Meal 6 - 15g BCAA, 20g Spirulina, Pineapple and orange juice
Meal 7 - TVP sheppard's pie, bowl of mixed beans with tabbouleh

Had a short workout last night, tried some olympic style lifting which I think should help me with my powerlifting exercises. Think I need a bit more core stability work and I'm not a fan of some of the core exercises that look more like circus tricks than legitimate exercises.
The workout was just some light legs and some delts and traps.
Clean and press - bar x 8 - did some light dumbell presses and deadlifts first
40kg x 5
60kg x 3 x 2
80kg x 2 x 4 sets - This is such a killer exercise, I get beat up by it every time I try it.
Bentover lateral raise (pronated on incline bench) - 12kg x 10 x 3 sets
Split squats (front foot on box) - 60kg x 6 x 3 sets
High pulls - 60kg x 3 x 6 sets

Meal 1 - 1 dark rye roll with nut meat, chickpeas, beetroot and spinach leaves. 1/2 serve of Nitrofusion.
Meal 2 - 1/2 packet of tofu, black quinoa (50g), steamed spinach, 1/2 avocado
Meal 3 - Same as meal 2
Meal 4 - 1 Lebanese oregano pizza with olives, capsicum and onions. 100g chickpeas
Meal 5 - Nitrofusion shake, 15g spirulina, 3g creatine, espresso (have to go find the Yerba Mate so I can stop with the coffee)
Meal 6 - 20g BCAA's, grape, pineapple, lemon and apple juice, 3g creatine.
Meal 7 - 1 packet of Vegechips (tapioca chips), nitrofusion custard (2 scoops in a bowl with small amount of water and mix till custard consistency) 20g almonds mixed in.

Looking forward to getting back to MVS, have not been there for a couple of weeks but I think I'm ready to challenge myself with them this weekend.

Heehee... anything that makes it look more hardcore is important.

Is the black quinoa actually colored red? I've only ever had quinoa that was white or red. Never heard of this black stuff before and now you have me curious about it.

Good luck with the MVS guys this weekend. Let me get you warmed up for ... EASY ..... EASY.....

The quinoa is actually black, I've had the white and red before but I had never seen the black one till I found it at a small organic grocery. It has a similar taste to the red one, which is slightly sweeter than the white.
Ha ha, thanks for the motivation... I always need it when training with the MVS guys, we seem to always try to go for pb's.

Anyway, trained chest and a little bit of back, legs and abs last night.
It wasn't a huge workout as I'm still easing my way back into training and have been getting sore a lot more than usual.

Bench press - bar x 15
40kg x 8
60kg x 5
100kg x 3
120kg x 3 x 3 sets
Dumbell bench press - 45kg x 5 x 3 sets
Bentover rows - 100kg x 10 x 3 sets
Squats - 100kg x 5
140kg x 3
170kg x 1 - Squatted it quite easily in the end, could have done 175kg... next time!
Rollouts - 6 x 3 sets - Used two dumbells instead of the barbell
Barbell calf raises - 110kg x 12 x 5 sets

Meal 1 - Nitrofusion custard with 25g almonds
Meal 2 - 2 rye rolls with nutmeat, chickpeas, beetroot and green beans
Meal 3 - 120g tempeh, green beans, spinach, 1/2 avocado
Meal 4 - 1/2 packet of tofu, 2 cups broccoli, 1/2 avocado
Meal 5 - Nitrofusion shake, 3g creatine
Meal 6 - 20g BCAA's, 15g spirulina, 3g creatine
Meal 7 - Same as meal 2

It's always good reading your log Joel. Nice squatting!

I see you're a fan of beetroot. I never really liked it as a kid because the only way I ever ate it was in slices. I had a great tempeh burger the other day with grated carrot and grated beetroot and it was delicious. Anyway that's my story

Yeah I like beetroot, I like most root vegetables, taro and sweet potato are my favourites though, I just eat them more sparingly.
Tempeh burgers are awesome, I might make one this weekend

OK JOELK i wanted to come see what's up and all i see is the food list. Skimming right through; don't wanna know about it. LOL glycogen stores are long gone from my last refill meal and i'm tired and drained. But it'll alllllllll be worth it in 8 more days. Pm me and explain what MVS is as i cannot bear the thought of looking at your food list lol. No offense i'm just starved!

Ha ha, PM sent mate!

OK, I missed out on MVS on Saturday... again.... I'm bit upset by it because I enjoy training there a lot. Circumstances just seem to have intervened a lot recently. I'll be back this week, even if I have to get a taxi there!!
Had a short workout yesterday, was a bit tired because I made my inlaws happy by showing some interest in Orthodox Easter which was this weekend. Not really my thing but wasn't in the mood to be argumentative.
Anyway, trained legs and did some deadlifts yesterday.
Squats - Bar x 20 - The bar was 15kg and used 22.5kg plates as I trained at a different gym.
60kg x 10
105kg x 5
150kg x 2
177.5kg x 1
190kg - Fail. My training partner decided to spot me against my wishes and decided to push the bar up only on one side, throwing my balance off. Won't say that I would have got it but that just annoyed me and I decided not to try again. Set the pins really low and sort of had to fall back to rack the bar. Got a bit of a crowd by the time I had 3 1/2 plates on the bar so it was embarrassing when I failed with the 4. Nevermind, I'll try again this week.
Split squats - 60kg x 5 x 3 sets
Deadlifts - 105kg x 5
155kg x 2 x 3 sets
Rollouts - 8 x 3 sets

I though would have a refeed yesterday, not because I have been depleting this week but because I will be going back to the more vegetable, less starchy carb diet this week and thought I would just get any cravings out of the way. I'm good once I start.
No real meal consistency, I must say that I tried Sosso's homemade protein bar recipe and it worked out great- it will be a regular in my diet, thanks mate!!
Ate a few dark rye rolls, plenty of nutmeat and baked some pumkin and carrots and ate that throughout the day, it was nice to not feel so regimented.

Hey Joel, glad you liked the recipe. I can't really take credit for it though

What's up big man?

Just dropping by to say hi and hope all is GREAT!

Ha ha, either way you were the one who I found them from



Thanks Robert, all the best for the show mate, we're all rooting for you guys


20-4 - Didn't get a chance to post it yesterday
Chest workout with a mate.
Dumbell bench press - 50kg x 6 x 4 sets - warmed up first obviously
Bench press - 110 x 5 x 3 sets
Dumbell flyes - 33kg x 6 x 3 sets
Pullups - 6 x 6
Barbell curls - 40kg x 6 x 3 sets
Dumbell skullcrushers - 30kg x 6 x 3 sets

21-4
Back and shoulders
One arm rows - 30kg x 10
54kg x 8 x 3 sets
Deadlifts - 100kg x 4
140kg x 3
180kg x 1 x 3 sets
Powercleans - 80kg x 3 x 5 sets
Dumbell clean and press - 30kg x 3 x 3 sets
Rollouts - 8 x 3 sets
Barbell calf raise - 60kg x 12 x 3 sets - held bar like was going to do shrugs, but raised heels off ground (standing on small plates). Easier to keep balance than the way I normally do it with barbell on traps.

Meal 1 - Nitrofusion shake, muesli bar (found it in pantry and couldn't resist, blueberry and apple flavour, no honey just fruit juice to bind it)
Meal 2 - Seaweed salad, 120g chickpeas, small piece of pumpkin, avocado oil
Meal 3 - 1/2 packet of tofu, pumpkin, spinach, 1/2 avocado
Meal 4 - Same as meal 2
Meal 5 - Nitrofusion, 15g spirulina, little bit of Yerba Mate (I got some, tried brewing it today for the first time, different feeling to caffeine, didn't train any worse so it is a keeper)
Meal 6 - 20g BCAA's, 3g creatine
Meal 7 - 2 wraps with lettuce, beetroot, corn, chickpeas and lentil burgers

I like how structured and regimented this log is, haha. A good example of ridiculous consistency. I do have to look twice most times though because I forgot everything is in kg, haha.

By the way, what BCAA's do you use? I ran into some trouble with L-Leucine and (N-acetyl-cysteine) being sourced from duck feathers, and I never found a truly vegan BCAA supplement.


Keep it up man. I'll be definitely looking through this blog some more once I start gaining again.

Your log is very inspirational to me. Best of health to you, Joel.

Yeah YERBA MATE Baby! Your right it is a different kind of energy. Less Jarring more constant I think.

If you would like I can send you some recipes I use it in instead of having to drink it all the time.

I found some choc. coconut butter and black quinoa online. I just need to place the order.

Ha ha, thanks mate. For a long while I had trouble using kg too, I used to measure everything in pounds.
I just started using the Gen-Tec BCAA's after using the MRM and Primaforce in the past. They are all vegan friendly, being extracted from rice.
I thought most NAC was from from pigs? Either way I wouldn't use NAC unless it had 'Parve' on the label, so it's vegan friendly.



Thank you John, I appreciate that a lot



It is a better feeling, I don't get so anxious like caffeine can do to me. I'd like some recipes if you can send them through, would be nice to try.
That chocolate coconut butter is awesome, which brand did you find?