Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hi Guys,

I thought that I would start a Journal/Food Blog for critique by the forum members and hopefully some motivation and see where it goes.

The aim of the training is not for bodybuilding. The goal of the training is to have a first rate standard of explosive functional fitness that can be applied in the real world. A lot of the workouts that I do can be based from Crossfit and Gym Jones principles but have a twist of my own on them. Weights are primarily Kettlebells with basic compound exercises such as Power Cleans, Deadlifts, Squat and Bench Press referring back to traditional weights. This is all complement with Krav Maga, Boxing and hopefully soon Kali (but we shall see about that one).

Diet is just started to be Vegan on and off, I have been Vegetarian for 5 years and my diet is 95% clean with good whole foods. I have however have been supplementing heavily with Whey Protein and Creatine and this will stop. I'm confident that all my nutritional needs came be accomplished with pure whole foods and plenty of hard work.

Photos to follow:

24/11/2009.

30 Minutes sparring with trainer (former professional MMA Fighter).

Alternating KB Snatches (16kgs) 10 reps * 4
KB Swings (24kgs) 20 reps * 4

Circuit

15 power bag thrusters (25kg)
20 press ups
15 burpees
500 meter row (Concept 2) 1m 45s

15 power bag thrusters (25kg)
20 press ups
15 burprees
1000 meter row (Concept 2) 3m 45s

My heart almost blew out of my chest at the end of the workout, my heart rate according to my Polar watch peaked at 190 (I'm 31 years old). Needed a long rest afterwards and a long cool down stretch. Black spots in front of my eyes and heavy legs were my reward at the end. Suffering = Glory.

Maximus

a frind of mine is doing thai boxing and his training looks pretty similar to yours. i guess this will be interesting to read.

about the protein powder: if you used to supply some whey protein, why not using soy or rice protein now? and you still can use the creatin as long as it's monohydrate, it's vegan.

25/11/2009

Warm up with 5 minutes on Concept 2 at an easy pace.
Halo's and KB military press as primer.

Circuit.

Bosu Ball KB Piston Press *10 (20kg)
Pull Ups 5
KB's Snatch *8 (20kgs)
Explosive Clean & Press *8 (60kgs)
Medicine Ball Slam *10 (8kgs)

5 Rounds

Warm down and stretch out.

Short on time today so had an explosive circuit to get the blood pumping. Pull ups are my weak point and at full extension can only manage 8 in a single set (ie not like Crossfit, no kipping involved).

Most of the protein powders that I have tried that are not whey basically tasted really bad and did not mix well with water, I have had bad experiences with hemp and pea protein powders especially. Additionally I would rather eat whole food and train hard to increase the gains that I have already have instead of using supps.

Maximus

26/11/2009.

Workout of the day.

"The Beast"

2.4km run
150 reps leg press (body weight)
25 chin ups
25 push ups
1000m row (Concept 2)
25 chin ups
25 push ups
500m row

Done fast as possible.

I had no idea how long this would take and therefore took my time, by the time I got to 100 reps on my legs I was feeling the pressure, I did 20 reps per set with 90 kgs loaded onto the bars. Chins were done in sets of 5 practiced with strict form and push ups were done in sets of 10 in between.

The circuit indeed lives up to it's name.

Maximus

Nice log. I train crossfit too. Good stuff!

30/11/2009

Workout of the day

"The Spike"

400m run
10 ball slams (8kg medicine ball)
10 knees to elbows
10 box jumps
10 burpees to high pulls (20kg barbell)

8 rounds through.

The circuit becomes more and more brutal with each set especially "knees to elbows". I'm attempting to do at least 100 press ups and a abdominal workout in the evening before I go to bed nightly. The diet is clean at the moment but just have to increase the protein and lower the carbs in the evening to maximise the results.

Maximus.

yeah the whole workout looked brutal!

02/12/2010.

This afternoon was a session with my personal trainer. These are usually met with fear and anxiety as these are always inventive and very hard. Mental toughness is required. A persons true character is revealed when stress is applied.

Workout of the day.

Split Squats 60kgs *4 sets
One leg explosive powerbag jumps off box (supersets)

Lunges 60kgs *4 sets
Explosive bodyweight lunges (supersets)

Angled leg press (240kg) *4 sets
Explosive power bag jump (20kg) (supersets)

Lying leg curl with swiss ball *4 sets
Explosive hurdled jumps

Power bag drag tag teamed with swiss ball march to finish the circuit.

The aim of the session was to recruit fast twitch muscle fibers in my legs and to continue to train with intensity and passion. Aims were met.

Maximus.

03/12/2009.

Workout of the day

"Momentum"

5 Pull Ups
10 Push Ups
15 explosive lunges (bodyweight, high as you can, alternating legs)
Power Clean (reps depend on the round), power through your hips.

Round 1 = 5 Power Cleans
Round 2 = 6 Power Cleans and so on.

Add a Power Clean to each round
As many rounds as you can in 20 minutes.

KB Miltary press (20kgs) *4
KB Snatches (20kgs) *4

Legs felt sore from yesterday, this made the lunges lots of fun. Power Cleans are an explosive movement that require one to have full presence. Total for the day: 6 rounds. Pull ups are coming on but are far from perfect, full range of movement though (no kipping).

Photos coming at the weekend.

Maximus

serious workouts!

05/12/2009.

Workout of the day.

"700"

Deadlift 60kgs
High Pulls 20kg barbell
Push Ups 10kg (vest or power bag)
Pull Ups Bodyweight
Shoulder Press 20kg KB
Bent over rows 20kg DB
Box Jumps 45cm

100 reps of each exercise. You do not need to do the 100 in one go, you can do as few or as many as you like. However, you do have to add up to 100 in the end. I ended up doing 10 sets of 10 for each exercise.

Time to beat 54:05

An absolute beast of a workout. I knew that it would be very tough especially as I was performing it on a Saturday night. Physiologically it beat me before I started, it is not about the weight, it is about the effort and focus that it takes to complete the workout.

I'm not much of a puker, but by the end of sets I was coming close, the shoulder presses with 2 20kg kettlebells became hard after 6 sets, although the push ups were a breeze, I would do them all night.

Maximus.

06/12/2009.

Kettlebell play around session in the evening to practice form and test limits of strength and co-ordination.

From Mike Mahler's collection.

Double KB stomp clean (20kg each bell ) 3 sets of 8
Double KB swing (20kg each bell) 3 sets of 8
Renegade Man Maker (20kg) 3 sets of 8 Renegade row, combined with clean and shoulder press.
KB Squat and Clean (20kg) 1 set of 8 Feels strange to squat with KB's, I prefer powerbags or complete barbell thrusters.
Power Bag Lunges (20kgs) 3 sets of 20 Across gym floor, back knee 'kissing" the floor.
Turkish Half Get Up (16kgs) 3 sets of 8 Lock out bell and sit up with using your other hand, slowly return to original position.
2 point balance on swiss ball 5 minutes Contracting your abs, balance on swiss balls with your knees, if possible throw ball into trampette at the same time.


Interesting evening, the "man maker" certainly lives up to it's name.

Maximus.

07/12/2009.

30 minute run on the beach this morning at 150bpm followed by 1000m take down session on the Concept 2. Time 3:45. Stretch to finish.

Workout of the day.

"The Six Shooter"

6 Power Cleans (60kg)
6 Push Ups
6 Double KB swings (20kg)
6 Pull Ups
6 Burpees (with big clap at the top)

6 rounds for time.

Ripped my hands up on the barbell and KB's this afternoon. Nice. In the end, the Concept 2 will always win.

Krav Maga session in the evening to finish.

Maximus.

Food Intake 07/12/2009

07:00 3/4 cup oats with water, 1 scoop protein powder. Coffee.
10:00 Protein Bar, Apple. Green Tea
12:30 Tomato Soup, Tempeh roll. Tea.
14:30 (PW) 2 Scoops Protein Powder, water. Banana.
16:00 2 Scoops Protein Powder, Apple
19:00 Veggies stir fry with Tofu, spinach, tomatoes etc.
22:00 Post (KM) Large glass of red wine, Water, Protein Bar.

Food Intake 08/12/2009.

07:00 2 slices wholemeal bread, 1/2 avocado, baby spinach, few slices of tomato. 1 scoop protein powder, water. (90% shake). It is called this as this is the shake that I use 90% of the time.
10:15 Protein bar, apple. Tea
13:15 Tempeh and Salad Roll, with vanilla soy protein shake. Tea
16:30 2 slices of wholegrain bread with natural peanut butter. 90% shake.
19:00 2 Wholegrain tortillas, veggies, hot sauce
21:00 90% shake.