Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

I know Im posting this in the fitness section, but what I'll be asking will be about fitness. I used to lift weights hardcore way back in the day, and Ive stayed big with my muscles, also got a lot of fat to go with that haha. But I know that if I lost all my weight, I wouldnt be able to get down passed 185 to 190. I know I'd be a short, stout sawed off guy, but I dont want that. There was a time I wanted to be big and all buff and stuff, but not anymore. Now Id really like to have the body of like a surfer/skateboarder/yoga type body. Tho I do plan on eventually getting involved in mma/bjj/kali, for now I want to focus soley on getting back into shape. I know I need to work heavily on my cardio, but that I need to start off slow. But alls I know really is weight lifting, walking/jogging, and a core routine for power lifters.

I do want to learn to surf and skateboard as well as mma/bjj/kali, but again I know I need to loose my weight and get in shape for it first. Plus I live nowhere near an ocean, but I am hoping to move soon and plan on finding a place by the ocean. I just really love the ocean. So what kind of exercises do I need to do to get into the shape I need to get in for these sports? Like what kind of core routine should I do, and I know it sounds weird but I have a very strong core, but most fat people do, they just dont know how to use a powerful core to their advantage. I dont like lifting weights anymore either, I prefer bodyweight exercises, but I cant even do more than 3 pushups and I couldnt do a pullup to save my life, literally. I measured a while back and I could pull myself up about 3 inches from a dead hang. Ive never exercised being vegan tho, so I dont know if there are rules to it or not. Thanks for any help.

HI and Welcome to the forum.

A few thoughts on your goals and methods to get there:
The type of training you do will change the shape of your muscles/body but you can't out-train a bad diet. Nutrition is probably 70% of the picture.

There a a lot of great bodyweight exercises and they seem to be most effective when done in a condensed circuit workout.

Eating a vegan style diet has not changed my ability to workout and lift and I have in the past even done a low-carb (NOT Atkins) type of diet. I feel more energetic eating a mostly raw vegan diet..

Don't overdo exercising at first, ease into it so you don't end up so sore that you have to take time off or you quit.

Try something simple to start with such as:

Workout A: No rest between exercises. Rest 1 minute at end of circuit. Repeat for a total of 3 times.

1. Kneeling Push-Up (10 - 20)
2. Bottom Leg Lift (10 - 15)
3. Top Leg Lift (10-15)
4. Straight Leg Lift (5 - 10)
5. Straight Leg Lift in Front (10 - 15)

Workout B: No rest between exercises. Rest 1 minute at end of circuit. Repeat for a total or 3 times.

1. Inverted Rows (10)
2. Kneeling Close-Grip Push-Up (10)
3. Waiter's Bow (10)
4. Dips (8 each side)
5. Stick-Ups (10)

Workout C: No rest between exercises. Rest 1 minute at end of circuit. Repeat for a total or 3 times.

1. Jumping Jacks (25)
2. Kneeling Plank (30 seconds)
3. Bodyweight Romanian Deadlifts (10)
4. Pull Up Negatives (5)
5. Mountain Climbers (8 each side)

Interval Cardio: The point is to have periods of hard intensity followed by periods of low intensity.
It is not about heart rate or anything else.
Treadmill fast walking on incline? or walk/run outside? or jumping rope? or......?

Chose one of the routines below to do either after the circuits above or for 2 of your off days.

Interval 1: Warm-up for 2 minutes
Intensity level of 8/10 for 1 minute
Decrease level to 3/10 for 2 minutes
Repeat for a total of 5 intervals
Cool down for 2-5 minutes.

Interval 2: Warm-up for 2 minutes
Level 8/10 intensity for 90 seconds
Level 3/10 intensity for 45 seconds
Repeat for a total of 6 intervals.

Man that is some awesome advice, gave me some excellent ideas to modify it a little to more match me and my abilities and strengthening my weaknesses. I actually never thought about doing kneeling push ups man, I have no idea why either. I really appreciate the reply. Also, I used to do my walking on a treadmil, flat level and Id go for like an hour. But the second Id try to jog Id screw it all up. That and honestly my weight was making the engine drag a lot, and I damn sure cant afford a new treadmil. So I went back to walking outside, I actually enjoy it a hell of a lot more. I just hate my walking shoes, I was thinking of wearing those shoes that are shaped to your feet, no tread or anything, just a covering so you dont screw your feet up on the streets or trails. I find myself more comfortable walking barefoot, but theres no way Id ever walk barefoot out on the streets around here man.

Vegan or not, gaining endurance is the same process: do it. You can only do 3 push-ups because you're only doing 3 push-ups. How often do you practice this? Since the type of body you're building is built with endurance and pushing yourself, I recommend doing your 3 push-up max + 3 "best as you can" push-ups every time you go to the bathroom, upon waking, before bed, and after you get dressed. Those 3 "best as you can" push-ups are going to very quickly turn into real push-ups, bringing you to 6 push-ups...and just keep doing that. X push-ups + 3 "best as you can" push-ups. Do different hand-widths, too. Regular, wide, and diamond. When you get to 30 push-ups, start putting your feet up on something to increase the difficulty.

For pull-ups, do your "3 inches from dead hang" pull-up, and then do something called a "flex arm hang." You jump up to get your chin above the bar and you hold yourself up there as long as possible. You'll start lowering and you want to lower yourself until you're locked out, as slowly as possible. And you know what? If the chin starts drifting below the bar, try to pull yourself up over the bar. Time yourself with this flex arm hang. Your "stop time" is when your arms are locked out.

You say you want a "yoga" body.
Well, man, do some freakin' yoga!

Swimming is a good way to prepare for future surfing. It will teach you to paddle well. I used to swim all the time and look forward to doing it again when I graduate college and move back home where there are lots of pools. It's also a good and low intensity cardio exercise.

I don't like to jog outside because it hurts my knees/shins too much. Walking is good (but not too intense) so is biking, roller blading, various sports, aerobics videos.