Do you want to get bigger? Do you want to get leaner? Do you want to havethat muscular, ripped physique that more and more vegans are achievingnowadays? Well, what is the root to acquiring any of these goals? Anyguesses as to what I may suggest? To achieve larger muscles, you need to getstronger. To get leaner, you have to burn fat. A fantastic approach to doingthis is to build more muscle to stoke your fat-burning engine, which meansyou need to get stronger. In the end, strength will be the underlyingadaptation which must take place for that ripped look. Without strength, youwill lack lean mass, and following a cutting diet protocol will only makeyou look skinny and undernourished, which is not what you want. Regardlessof who you are, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, so let’s lay out thissimple plan that will get you stronger and increase lean body mass. Here arethe three easy steps.
Step 1: Program Design
Now this is a simple approach I picked up from a strength coach named JimWendler. It is called the 5/3/1 Program. I recommend you go here to read allabout it. The program is simple enough, and it is based on percentages ofyour 1 repetition max for four basic compound lifts. These exercises are theBack Squat, Bench Press, Dead Lift, and Standing Shoulder Press. This willbe the first portion of your workout and will be solely based on liftingmore weight for more reps over time. It is set up in 4 week durations. Theweight increases for 3 weeks, but then on the fourth week, weights get muchlighter for a deload week. This prevents burnout and allows the body torecover for the next round. After every four week cycle, the upper bodyweights are increased by 5 lbs., while the lower body weights are increasedby 10 lbs. So in other words, over the course of 6 months, you will beworking with 30 lbs. heavier on the bench press and shoulder press, and 60lbs. more for the squat and dead lift. Now let’s be honest, have you seenthat fast of an improvement beyond your first year of training? Mostpeople’s 1 rep max doesn’t increase 10 lbs. over the course of a year.
This program is really simple and easy to follow. Just estimate your 1 repmax for these four lifts and use percentages for the programming. So here isa quick example of how Squat programming would look: If my 1 rep max was 300lbs., I would use 90% of this number for calculations, so 270. Then for week1, I would perform 5 reps (or more) with 65%, 75%, and 85% of 270 lbs. Week2, I would perform 3 reps (or more) with 70%, 80%, and 90% of 270 lbs. Week3, I would perform 5/3/1 reps (or more) of 75%, 85%, and 95% of 270 lbs.Then for the 4th week, I would perform 5 reps of an easy 40%, 50%, and 60%of 270 lbs. After the first 4 week cycle, I would add 10 lbs. to myestimated number. In other words, for week 5, I would perform 5 reps (ormore) with 65%, 75%, and 85% of 280 lbs.! With patience and persistenteffort, this program pays off with huge gains in strength over time.
Plus, another great part of this program is the main lift is only performedfor 3 sets. You will have time to follow the program up with whatever typeof training you prefer. For example, perform your 3 sets of squats, and thenfollow it up with assistance work for Bodybuilding, CrossFit, Power Lifting,Olympic Lifting, or for any other goal you may have. I have used thisprogram for the last 8 months and have had significant strength gains. Okay,now let’s move on.
Step 2: Nutrition
I like to recommend people eat 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal bodyweight. For example, if you weigh 150 and your goal weight is 165, eat 165grams of protein daily. As another example, if you weight 230 lbs., but yourgoal weight is 180, then eat 180 grams of protein daily. This is a simplestrategy that ensures you are giving your body enough amino acids to buildmore lean mass. A few easy vegan protein sources are:
Lentils
Kidney Beans
Black Beans
Chickpeas (AKA Garbanzo Beans)
Pumpkin Seeds
Hemp Seeds
Almonds
Peanut Butter
Quinoa
Tempeh
Tofu (Soy or Hemp)
Sprouted Grain Bread (Wheat)
Protein Powder (Rice, Pea, Hemp, Savi Seed)
Analog Meats such as Tofurky or Beyond Meat
Leafy Greens
Beyond meeting your protein goal, calculate your daily intake, based on whatyou have been eating for the last few weeks on average. If your weighthasn’t changed over this course of time, it is safe to say this is yourmaintenance calorie intake. If your goal is to increase weight, simply addin an extra 400 calories per day. The easiest way to do this is to add inone Protein shake with a scoop of protein, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter,and a banana. This will add approximately 435 calories, 29 grams protein, 32net carbs, and 18 grams of fat. At this rate, you will add about 1 to 1.5lbs. every two weeks. Anything faster is surely fat gain. If your goal is tolose fat, then reducing calories by about 300 calories per day would be agood place to start, while increasing calories burned through exercise.These calories should be reduced from net carbohydrates or fat, but not fromreducing protein. Now let’s go over the final step.
Step 3: Recovery
After intense bouts of weight lifting, it is essential to recover properly.This can be done by proper rest and supplementation. For starters, getenough sleep at night. Aim for 8-9 hours per night. Also, if you can, takenaps sometime during the day. After workouts would be an ideal time fornaps. Make sure to take in protein at crucial recovery times. These twotimes are immediately following a workout and right before you go to bed.After workouts, your body is ready to start repairing all the muscle damagethat just happened. If you do not feed your body at this crucial time, youwill heal much slower and likely no stronger than before. This time periodof 1 hour after a workout is also known as the “anabolic window.” Your bodyalso rebuilds itself while you rest, so by consuming protein right beforebed, you give your body crucial amino acids to help you heal and growstronger as you sleep. A few supplements I recommend for better recovery areL-Glutamine powder, Zinc, and Magnesium. L-Glutamine is shown to boostimmunity, help protein synthesis, and boost growth hormone levels – allvaluable components of gaining strength. Zinc and Magnesium taken before bedcan improve overall sleep quality by helping with muscle relaxation, and thedeactivation of adrenaline. This allows for a better quality of sleep withbetter recovery.
Info on Glutamine
http://www.webmd.com
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7733028
Info on Magnesium
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/marek-doyle/help-me-sleep-magnesium-secret-to-sleep-problems_b_3311795.html"target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.co.ukhttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/marek-doyle/help-me-sleep-magnesium-secret-to-sleep-problems_b_3311795.html"target="_blank">
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