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Has been vegan stongman


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Hey Everyone,

I used to be a strength athlete but now I'm on a new path...I'm still interested though. Anyway I was an all-american shot putter in High School and I turned vegan as soon as I went to college(after only about 2 months I guess). My last years of HS I got alot of injuries keeping my strength and such. My best lifts were 340lbs bench, 550lbs squat, 290lbs clean. I was eating tons of terrible food as we all were before we went vegan and I was supplementing like a maniac(creatine mostly). Anyway I got injured in college and never got the results I wanted due to a hand injury but my lifts that seemed to have peaked increased dramatically when I went vegan. Despite not supplementing my diet with anything and eating really lousy vegan food as a small school I managed to get my bench up to 370lbs, squat 600lbs and clean 320lbs.

Anyway...I've hurt my shoulder and hand way too many times so now I'm giving cycling a shot. I ride around 300miles a week and I'm trying to get rid of some of that muscle I worked so hard to get on. I was at a time an athletic 320lbs...now I'm just under 200lbs. I'm still working my way down...hopefully the 180lb range but we'll see.

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Wow, you are awesome man! Glad you joined us here. Thanks for the sports background. You are a pretty accomplished athlete.

 

My friend Brendan Brazier does a ton of cycling. I've never really been into it but I LOVE looking at the legs of cyclists. They are like bodybuidling legs....shredded, and huge! There is a poster at a bike shop in my town that I can't stop looking at because the guys's quads look so awesome!

 

Welcome aboard and have a great time getting to know the forum members.

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Yeah...its pretty crazy what cycling does to your legs. I was never interested in size but I had it anyway(my thighs were 32inches round). Oddly I could never get my calves to grow even when doing calf raises with 405lbs on the smith machine...but now my quads have shrunk(lost alot of fat and some muscle), but I think my calves may actually be bigger than they used to be. Surely not as strong but possibly bigger...definately more defined. As for Brendan Brazier, as soon as I started cycling he's been a person I've had utmost respect for. I bought his book and read it...quite a feat for me since I can barely read cliffs notes. Anyway hopefully I'll meet him eventually.

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Hey veganpotter,

 

Yeah, I'm totally obsessed with quads! It is by FAR my favorite muscle group on bodybuilders and on myself, and they are the most fun to train too.

 

I just returned to squatting after taking years off from that because of back injuries.

 

Yeah, Brendan is an awesome guy. He trains up to 10 hours a day sometimes! He's stayed with me a bunch of times and I go visit him in Canada every once in a while.

 

You should watch our movie: Vegan Fitness Built Naturally featuring Brendan, myself and Tonya Kay.

 

I think I might hop on a bike soon for fun....assuming I remember how to ride one The ones in the gym don't go anywhere but allow me to watch NBA playoff basketball when I "ride".

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I never really had a group I liked to train so much...I just did what would make me throw further. Really I loved cleans so I did squats to make my cleans better. I did however enjoy racking up machines for leg extensions....at my strongest I never met a leg extension machine that I couldn't rack completely and do well over 20 slow reps with. I really miss lifting...I think I'll start a little when I get down to weight. I just know if I touch the gym at all I'll gain a ton of muscle back and I just don't need anymore, and the longer I wait the less muscle memory I'll have. I know that will make lifting unpleasant but I think it will keep me from ballooning.

As for the movie...I definately plan on getting it when my loans come in. I'm dirt broke now which is keeping me on a healthy but boring vegan diet. I've got a bunch of loan money coming to me and I've just gotta wait for it. As for biking I think you'd enjoy it and if you use big gears it may even make your legs larger...don't think it will make them stronger though.

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That would be great if they get involved. I know there is a bunch of serious racers that ride for them and it would be a privilage to meet them. I've met a bunch of vegan athletes doing track and field(mostly all distance runners) but no real successful people doing what I'm doing...not that I'm successful yet but I'd like to see people that are already at the destination I'm working towards. Anyway it would be great to have them as a regular contact as well.

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Hi, veganpotter!

 

Your moniker is familiar...I wonder if I remember you from another fitness site?

Anyway, nice to meet you

 

Don't think of yourself as a "has-been" anything; you're just movin' on to Life's next adventure

 

Welcome!

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I don't really think of myself as a hasbeen...it just sounds better than havebeen since its been used for so long...so I'm really a havebeen since I havebeen really strong. Not being uber stong doesn't bother so much...its really the type of training that I kinda miss...cyclings a good substitute but not a complete one...so hopefully when I become vegan model skinny I can lift a bit again without having to worry about too much muscle.

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