Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Hi everyone,

I've just joined the site and I wanted to start off with a training journal.

I've been vegan for about 4 years and was vegetarian for about a year before that. The last year I haven't been so strict with being vegan and have eaten some cheese now and then (it's the only thing I miss) but I'm wanting to go back to being strictly vegan. I'm vegan for a lot of reasons, the main ones being that it links in with my political and ethical beliefs. I'm completely opposed to all forms of exploitation, whether of people, animals or the environment, and meat-based diets are a problem on all those fronts, so for me being vegan is a logical choice. I'm not convinced that me being vegan as an individual has an impact, but I do think that creating more communities that are vegan is an important step in prefiguring a sustainable and politically sound world. For me it's about changing how people live together, not just how individuals live.

I've been training for about three years but I've only recently (the last six months or so) decided to really work on it and follow a muscle building diet. The main reason that I want to focus more on building muscle now is that I was training for a few years and just wasn't seeing any results myself (although people who would see me for the first time after a year would say that they could see a difference). I know that the reason that I couldn't see any big gains was that I was just following the same diet as I had done prior to training (i.e. breakfast, sandwich for lunch, dinner).

Now I'm trying to up my protein intake and eat six or seven meals a day. I am finding it difficult even to get to 190g of protein a day, but hopefully if I post my diet you guys can give me some advice. I eat more or less the same every day, so I won't update that part of the journal every day. The diet I'm on now is roughly this:

Meal 1 - 75g bran flakes, 200ml soya milk, 125g soya yoghurt, 1 piece of fruit (about 20g protein)

Meal 2 - protein shake (mix of soya and hemp powders), 1 piece of fruit (about 38g protein)

Meal 3 - normally 100g pasta or rice, at least 1 piece of veg, 100g of soya or portion of beans (normally about 20-30g protein)

Meal 4 - 1 trek bar, 1 9 bar (about 20g protein)

Meal 5 (post workout) - protein shake (same as above), 1 piece of fruit (about 38g protein)

Meal 6 - depends on who's cooking, but if it's me then it'll be based around the same as Meal 3 (20-30g protein)

Meal 7 - either 2 vegan sausages or 1 portion of nuts (about 20g protein)

In total about 175-195g protein a day.

I should note that I live in a house where we share the cooking, so I can't always control what goes into the dinner, although I do try to make sure I have at least 20g of protein in there. I'm also concerned about my budget, and at the moment this diet is costing me about £240 (I currently live in the UK) per month and I'm not keen to go far above that, so if anyone's got any tips on getting in more protein without it costing a huge amount more, I'd love to hear them.

In terms of training, I'm currently following is Kris Gethin’s 12-week training programme from budybuilding.com (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris-ge ... eek-1.html). I like it because there’s a video every day which I watch with breakfast and that helps motivate me and because you follow it every day I find it easier to stick to the schedule and I’m happy to say that I’ve not missed a workout yet.

I’m currently at the end of week 5 in the programme and you can see the results here (there’s not a noticeable change from week 1 yet). I'll post photos every week and also give details about how the diet's going and what the workouts are.

The only other thing to mention I think is that the only suplements I'm taking are multi-vitamins, flaxseed oil tablets, citamin B12 tablets and xtend before, during and after my workouts.

I'm really looking forward to connecting with the people on the site and in the community and I'm sure I'll get a lot out of being a part of the vegan bodybuilding world.

Thanks,

Tommy

Here's another couple of pictures.

Hi everyone

Had a really busy week so didn't get a chance to update each day as planned. I did make it to all my scheduled training sessions though, so I'm happy about that.

I had four sessions this week on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and today, Sunday. As I mentioned already, the schedule is taken from bodybuilding.com: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris-ge ... eek-6.html. Here are the details:

Wednesday - Shoulders and calves

Side raises - 3 tirpple drop sets (10kg,6kg,4kg each hand) of 10 each
Front plate raises - 3 sets of 10 (20kg)
Superset of military press and rear raises - 3 sets of 8 on the press (45kg) and 3 sets of 12 on the rear raises (10kg each hand)
Dumbbell shrugs - 3 sets of 20 (32.5kg)
Superset of standing calf raises and bouncing calf raises - 2 tripple drop sets of 12 on the standing raises (80kg, 70kg, 60kg) and 70 reps on the bounces.

For cardio I walked 15 minutes early in the day and spent 20 minutes on the recumbent bike.

Thursday - Chest, triceps and abs (I've misplaced the sheet where I wrote everything down so I can't remember the weigths, but I'll fill them in where I can rememver)

Dumbbell bench press - 2 sets of 8 (22kg each hand)
Decline barbell bench press - 1 tripple drop set of 8 (?kg)
Incline dumbbell press - 2 sets of 10 reps (20kg) and 1 drop set of 10 (20kg, 16kg each hand)
Cable crossover - 2 sets of 12 reps (?kg) 1 drop set of 12 (?kg)
Superset of Lying Close-Grip Barbell Triceps Extension Behind The Head and bent-arm barbell pullover (alternating) - 3 sets of 10 (15kg)
Seated tricep press - 3 sets of 12 (20kg)
Bench dips - 3 drop sets of 12 (with 10kg, no weight)
Decline reverse crunch - 3 sets of 15

For cardio I made two 20 minute walks, one early in the day and one later on.

Friday – Legs (I have problems with my knees and shouldn't bend more than 35 degrees when exercising, which is why the weigths might seem higher than I would normally be able to do; I'm only doing partial reps)

Superset of leg press and squats – 2 sets of 25 on the press (190kg) and 3 sets of 20 on the squats (no weight)
Superset of seated leg curl and seated leg curl one leg - 3 sets of 20 with both legs (50kg) and 3 drop sets sets of 10 on each leg (20kg, 10kg)
Unilateral leg extension - 1 set of 20 (20kg), 1 set of 10 (20kg), 1 set of 5 (20kg) with no rests between, just moving to the other leg and then back.

For cardio I walked 15 minutes early in the day and spent 20 minutes on the arm bike.

Sunday - Back and biceps

Reverse hammer grip pulldowns - 3 sets of 10 (90kg)
Single arm rows - 3 sets of 15 (22kg each hand)
Bent over rows - 3 sets of 12 (50kg)
Single arm preacher curls - 3 sets of 10 (12kg each hand)
Concentration curls - 3 sets of 15 (12kg each hand)
EZbar cable curls - 7 sets of 12 (17.5kg)

For cardio I walked 15 minutes twice, before and after the gym.

The other days for cardio I just walked to and from work (about 15-20 minutes each way).

My weight this week has been between 91 and 93kg.

The two problems I faced this week were that I experienced a lot of pain in my fingers after the workout on Wednesday and that I'm still finding it hard to get up to 190g of protein a day. This week I think the average would be about 150-160g. For the finger pain, I've ordered some wrist straps that should arrive in a few days.

Hoepfully I can update daily this week so that I don't end up posting a huge chunk of text

Here are some photos at the end of this week, which is week six of the programme I'm on.

Hi again,

Today I worked shoulders, calves and abs.

Dumbbell shoulder press - 2 sets of 10 (18kg)
Side raises - 3 sets of 12 (10kg)
Front raises - 3 sets of 12 (12kg)
Cable side raises - 3 sets of 10 (5kg)
Wide grip upright row - 7 sets of 15 (25kg for first 2, 20 kg for other 5)
Superset of calf raises on leg press machine and modified crunches - 3 sets of 20 on the raises (90kg) and 3 sets of 25 on the crunches

For cardio I spent 20 minutes on the recumbent bike and walked for 15 minutes early and again later in the day.

but you're doing it! What are your main goals? What's your overall diet like other than all the foods you mentioned?

Hi

That's a good question about goals. I'm not too sure to be honest. One thing that does motivate me would be to be able to go to the gym with a vegan t-shirt and for people to be surpised that I'm vegan. I've got no intention of every competing in anything and it is just a hobby for me, not really a huge part of my lifestyle as a whole, although I do want to committ to it.

In terms of diet I don't really eat much more than that. I don't snack too much but if I do it'll normally be crisps or dark chocolate, but that would normally only be one evening a week at the weekend of I'm in a particular mood. I don't drink any fizzy drinks or sweets.

I'm trying to add a bit here and there to up my protein intake. I'm adding a slice of bread with peanut butter to breakfast and an extra 50g of whatever at lunch to get try and get an extra 10g of protein in each meal. I also just got some pea protein powder which I'm going to add to my post-workout shake, so that would also be an extra 10 or 12g. That should get me above 200g of protein a day okay.

Yesterday I worked my chest and triceps with the following:

Incline flyes - 2 sets of 12 (16kg)
Flat machine press - 2 sets of 12 (55kg, only got to 10 reps on second set)
Modified push ups - 2 sets of 10
Dips - 3 sets of 10
Overhead rope etensions - 3 sets of 15 (20 kg)
Cable pushdowns - 2 sets of 12 (27.5kg)

I did 20 minutes cardio on the recumbent bike and also walked 20 minutes early in the day.

I ran out of protein powder on Monday and the delivery of new stuff is taking a bit long, so my protein intake yesterday and the day before was only about 110 and I missed out on my post-workout shake. Hoepfully the stuff arrives today as I'll be working out again today doing legs.

On Thursday I worked my legs with

Leg estensions - 3 sets of 20 (50kg)
Partial leg extensions (extending 2 inches from bottom of movement) - 2 sets of 50 droping every 10 reps (60,55,50,45,40kg)
Leg press (moving feet up every 20 reps)- 2 sets of 60 (190kg)
Walking lunges - 2 sets of 20 (20kg)
Stff-leg deadlift - 3 sets of 15 (35kg)

Cardio was walking 20 minutes at the start and end of the day (walking after the workout wasn't easy )

The soya protein I ordered still hasn't arrived which I'm not happy about. It's been a week now since I ordered it. I've still been managing to get about 140-150g of protein, so I'm not too worried for the moment.

I've got a lot of pain in my right shoulder, elbow and hand at the moment because I've been working a lot and I sit at a computer all day at work. I've been to see a physio and I've got another appointment next week, so hopefully that does something for it. So far it's not impacted on my workouts, but tomorrow I'm scheduled to do a back and biceps workout, so that would be where I notice it. I'll see how it goes and take it easy if it causes me a lot of pain.

Speak to you all on Sunday night. Have a nice weekend.

Yesterday I worked on my back and biceps.

Chin ups - 3 sets of 15 (only got to 5 on the last set)
Cable rows - 3 sets of 15 (45kg)
Behind the neck pulldowns - 3 sets of 15 (60kg)
Hammer curls - 3 sets of 20 (12kg)
Barbell curls - 3 sets of 12 (25kg)
Hammer cable curls - 3 sets of 20 (17.5kg)
Bent of machine rows - 3 sets of 15 (40kg)

I was worried that this would be a difficult workout as I've had a lot of pain in my right shoulder and arm from sitting at a computer too long the last couple of weeks trying to work to deadlines, but actually it wasn't a problem, so I was happy about that.

My weight is up to about 95kg which means I've put on about 10kg in the past 6 months or so, so I'm happy about that as well. I think it's about 4 or 5kg since the start of the programme I'm on now.

Today's a rest day so I'll pop back on once I've completed another workout.

I think that your goal of wanting to go to the gym wearing a vegan t-shirt and surprising people that a vegan guy can be super fit is an awesome goal. I'm tired of telling people to care about what they eat. Its great that you want to lead by example. That's what Robert and a lot of the athletes that belong to this forum do. They don't have to tell people to change, instead they show people what type of change is possible. Keep up the good work man, its inspiring.

-Dylan

Thanks for the kind words Dylan, the support means a lot. just out of interest, what goals do you have?

Yesterday and today I was in the gym working on shoulders, calves and abs on Tuesday and chest and back on Wednesday.

Tuesday

Side raises, pyramid set - 1 set of 50 (3kg), 1 set of 40 (4kg), 1 set of 30 (5kg), 1 set of 20 (6kg), 1 set of 10 (8kg)
Side raises, drop set - 5 sets of 10 (8kg, 6kg, 5kg, 4kg, 3kg)
Machine hammer press - 1 tripple drop set of 10 reps (40kg, 30kg, 20kg)
Barbell shrugs - 2 sets of 15 (45kg)
Superset of seated calf raises and standing calf bounces - 3 sets of 12 on the raises (100kg) and 3 sets to failure on the bounces
Sit ups with legs on bench - 3 sets of 30 (10 full, 10 at bottom, 10 at top)

For cardio I walked twice for about 20 minutes.

Wednesday

Superset of pull-ups and dumbbell press - 3 sets of 12 on the pull-ups and 2 sets of 10 on the press (22kg)
Superset of cable rows and inclince dumbbell press - 3 sets of 12 on the rows (50kg) and 2 sets of 10 on the press (22kg)
Superset of wide-handed pull-downs and incline dumbbell flies - 3 sets of 10 on the pull-downs (65kg) and 2 sets of 10 on the flies (18kg)
Partial deadlift - 3 sets of 15 (70kg)

Did 20 minutes on the recumbent bike and walked for 20 minutes.

I'll post some progress photos tomorrow.

Hi everyone. Yesterday I worked on my legs.

Superset of seated hamstring curls and leg extensions - 1 set of 20 on the curls (50kg) and 1 set of 40 on the extensions (40kg)
Leg press - pyramid set of 40 (170kg), 30 (180kg) and 10 (190kg)
Superset of leg extensions and seated hamstring curls - 2 sets of 20 on the extensions, 10 at top and 10 and bottom, (50kg then 60kg) and 2 sets of 20 on the curls (55kg)

For cardio I walked early in the day and for about an hour in the middle of the day.

Here's some photos from today

Today was biceps and triceps

Superset of bicep cable curls and lying tricep extensions (alternating between skullcrushers, headbangers and rockers - I love these names!) - 1 pyramid set of 50 (7.5kg), 40 (10kg), 30 (12.5kg), 20 (15kg), 10 (17.5kg) and then the same in reverse on the curls and the same pyramid set on the extensions with the same weights.

Cardio was 20 minutes on recumbent bike and 20 minutes walking earlier in the day.

Tomorrow is an off day and then back at the gym on Sunday.

Calves, abs and shoulders today.

Standing one-legged calf raises - 5 sets of 15
Stomach crunches with legs on bench - 3 sets of 50
Giant set of upright barbell rows - 3 sets of 10 wide grip, 7 medium grip and 5 narrow grip (35kg) and 1 tripple drop set of 10 (30kg, 20kg, 20kg).
Pyramid set of smith machine shoulder press - 5 sets of 50 (10kg), 40 (15kg), 30 (20kg), 20 (25kg) and 10 (30kg) overhead press and 5 sets of 10 (25kg), 20 (20kg), 30 (15kg), 40 (10kg) and 50 (5kg) behind the head press.

For cardio I walked 20 minutes twice during the day.