Rex Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Hello everyone I'm new to this whole Vegan Bodybuilding. I'm 18 years old. I'm a 99.9% vegan. Since I heard about Vegan Bodybuilding on My Space, I wanted to give it a try since I got lots of time before I start school. Is there anyone that can please tell me what's the best way to start, how will I be able to gain weight since I'm a really skinny person (even before I went Vegan). Will anyone be willing to give me a list of foods and exercises I can do from morning to night. Couple of months ago I decided to start working out (before I heard about this website and I was still Vegan). I would only do easy stuff like 100 push ups per day, 100 pull ups and I would usually run on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes everyday. Then sometimes after finishing I would get light headed I'm not sure if it was because I was just starting or I'm not getting enough vitamins. I hope someone can help me so I can get a better start than then one I did before Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daywalker Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Hi Rex. Welcome to our forum I understand your main goal is weight gain, right? Okay, then first, you have to eat a lot. Simply eat everything you can find that is vegan for a start Beans, lentils, brown rice, quinoa, tofu, nuts, oats, seeds, and of course all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Don't eat too much in one meal, rather try to eat as often as you can. Training: focus on the big compound movements and on getting stronger on those. For a start, you have to learn the proper technique on the lifts so don't go too heavy. You should be able to do at least 12 clean reps in every set. Doing squats, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, dips, rows and chin ups would be enough for the beginning. For more tips on training read the sticky in the bodybuilding section. Good luck with your training! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offense74 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CollegeB Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 30 mins of cardio wont help you gain any weight, you should stop that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 10, 2006 Author Share Posted November 10, 2006 Welcome Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 10, 2006 Author Share Posted November 10, 2006 Hi Rex. Welcome to our forum I understand your main goal is weight gain, right? Okay, then first, you have to eat a lot. Simply eat everything you can find that is vegan for a start Beans, lentils, brown rice, quinoa, tofu, nuts, oats, seeds, and of course all kinds of vegetables and fruits. Don't eat too much in one meal, rather try to eat as often as you can. Training: focus on the big compound movements and on getting stronger on those. For a start, you have to learn the proper technique on the lifts so don't go too heavy. You should be able to do at least 12 clean reps in every set. Doing squats, deadlift, bench press, overhead press, dips, rows and chin ups would be enough for the beginning. For more tips on training read the sticky in the bodybuilding section. Good luck with your training! Thanks I'll I have to do to start bodybuilding is gain weight first right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 10, 2006 Author Share Posted November 10, 2006 30 mins of cardio wont help you gain any weight, you should stop that. Yeah.. doesn't that help though, somehow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Welcome Rex! I moved this thread to the introductions page so we can all properly welcome you. Thanks for joining our forum. Feel free to post any questions, and get to know the other members. We have a very cool, supportive vegan community here All the best and welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odidnetne Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 The cardio is great for the heart and lungs, but you're probably putting your body more in a "fat-burning mode" than with lifting and compound exercises. Welcome aboard though, it's good to have you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 10, 2006 Author Share Posted November 10, 2006 Welcome Rex! I moved this thread to the introductions page so we can all properly welcome you. Thanks for joining our forum. Feel free to post any questions, and get to know the other members. We have a very cool, supportive vegan community here All the best and welcome aboard! No wonder why I couldn't find it lol.I hope I get to know all of you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveliberate Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Hi Rex, Tell us more about yourself please. Where do you live? You say you are "a 99.9% vegan", what's the .1% non-vegan part? You wrote: "Will anyone be willing to give me a list of foods and exercises I can do from morning to night. Couple of months ago I decided to start working out (before I heard about this website and I was still Vegan). I would only do easy stuff like 100 push ups per day, 100 pull ups and I would usually run on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes everyday." How enthusiatic you are wanting to work out from morning to night! What an impressive amount of exercise you can do for someone just getting started! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flanders77 Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Welcome aboard Rex! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JW Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 Welcome Rex !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 11, 2006 Author Share Posted November 11, 2006 Hi Rex, Tell us more about yourself please. Where do you live? You say you are "a 99.9% vegan", what's the .1% non-vegan part? You wrote: "Will anyone be willing to give me a list of foods and exercises I can do from morning to night. Couple of months ago I decided to start working out (before I heard about this website and I was still Vegan). I would only do easy stuff like 100 push ups per day, 100 pull ups and I would usually run on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes everyday." How enthusiatic you are wanting to work out from morning to night! What an impressive amount of exercise you can do for someone just getting started! Hello, I live in Los Angeles. I've been living here for most of my life. I'm not a full vegan yet, I don't eat egg, milk typical stuff like that I'm still learning what foods may have animal products in them. I can't call myself a vegan since I might eat something by accident without me knowing it. Kinna like jello. Yeah, I want to start working out from morning to night maybe not full sets since I'm not prepared for that yet but I wanna use my time wisely since school hasn't started for me. THanks to all of you for your time, this looks like a really nice community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joelbct Posted November 11, 2006 Share Posted November 11, 2006 Welcome! Congrats on the veganism. I am also pretty slim, even before going vegan, but I have been putting some muscle on with the tips I've been getting here. I hear that if you are trying to gain weight, don't do more than 45 min of Cardio per week. I just do a 1 mile warm-up run before I lift 3 times a week. And eat a lot, nuts, legumes, tofu, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, and protein powders like hempseed and rice. I like glutamine a lot too, that seems to have a visible effect. Also, I highly recommend pullups and chinups, those are great. And bench, fly's, dips, etc. I'm not so sure 100 reps of anything at a time is best for building muscle, ask the experts here. Lastly, I recommend a gym too, and if not, a pullup bar like the everlast one that fits in a door. Here is a cool link for diagrams on muscle groups and their respective exercises: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html Take Care!Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdandrew Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Train hard and be consistent Eat a lot of quality food Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 13, 2006 Author Share Posted November 13, 2006 Welcome! Congrats on the veganism. I am also pretty slim, even before going vegan, but I have been putting some muscle on with the tips I've been getting here. I hear that if you are trying to gain weight, don't do more than 45 min of Cardio per week. I just do a 1 mile warm-up run before I lift 3 times a week. And eat a lot, nuts, legumes, tofu, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, and protein powders like hempseed and rice. I like glutamine a lot too, that seems to have a visible effect. Also, I highly recommend pullups and chinups, those are great. And bench, fly's, dips, etc. I'm not so sure 100 reps of anything at a time is best for building muscle, ask the experts here. Lastly, I recommend a gym too, and if not, a pullup bar like the everlast one that fits in a door. Here is a cool link for diagrams on muscle groups and their respective exercises: http://exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html Take Care!Joel Yeah I've actually been eating some of the foods you mentioned. I'm not sure if I really want a GYM membership, but that pullup bar sounds nice I'm gonna look for a nice one. Thanks for the nice site. Rex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 13, 2006 Author Share Posted November 13, 2006 Train hard and be consistent Eat a lot of quality food It's kinna hard to get started, but it's always good to be positive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 13, 2006 Share Posted November 13, 2006 Wassap man, good to have you here, I have seen various postz that you created using your computer on this forum. Yeah I would agree that you shouldn't do too much cardio, concentrate on muscle training. What kind of equipment are you using? Working out at home with weights, or with no weights, or working out at the gym? Then I could give you some better ideas that could work for you specifically. Doing 100 pullups in the course of the day is great stuff in my opinion, keep that up definitely if you can, and if it becomes simple, then go up to 150 or something. Similarly with pressups, aim for personal bests, I think that is good motivation, to know what you've achieved and want to beat it each day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 18, 2006 Author Share Posted November 18, 2006 Wassap man, good to have you here, I have seen various postz that you created using your computer on this forum. Yeah I would agree that you shouldn't do too much cardio, concentrate on muscle training. What kind of equipment are you using? Working out at home with weights, or with no weights, or working out at the gym? Then I could give you some better ideas that could work for you specifically. Doing 100 pullups in the course of the day is great stuff in my opinion, keep that up definitely if you can, and if it becomes simple, then go up to 150 or something. Similarly with pressups, aim for personal bests, I think that is good motivation, to know what you've achieved and want to beat it each day. Nope I'm working out at home, I think I should get a little bigger before getting into the gym lol. I have a few weights, but no fancy machines. So no cardio at all? Not even running in the morning? Thanks for the info and motivation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Wassap man, good to have you here, I have seen various postz that you created using your computer on this forum. Yeah I would agree that you shouldn't do too much cardio, concentrate on muscle training. What kind of equipment are you using? Working out at home with weights, or with no weights, or working out at the gym? Then I could give you some better ideas that could work for you specifically. Doing 100 pullups in the course of the day is great stuff in my opinion, keep that up definitely if you can, and if it becomes simple, then go up to 150 or something. Similarly with pressups, aim for personal bests, I think that is good motivation, to know what you've achieved and want to beat it each day. Nope I'm working out at home, I think I should get a little bigger before getting into the gym lol. I have a few weights, but no fancy machines. So no cardio at all? Not even running in the morning? Thanks for the info and motivation! Well, the thing is that you said you're skinny and want to put on weight. Cardio will burn up calories, and not give you much muscle. I personally wouldn't wipe out cardio altogether, it is still a good thing to do to stay healthy. But maybe I'd cut it down to 15 minutes, as like a warm-up to weight training / working out. You can do more working out to compensate, it all depends on what you want to achieve; lifting weights / working out will get you bigger muscles, cardio will mainly just get you fit and burn fat. Also, you can achieve great results without a gym, there are tonnes of exercises you can do. Have a look at Big Bwii's forum, it has a big list of exercises just using your own bodyweight: http://s12.invisionfree.com/FLF/ scroll down, and you see a big long list of video tutorials for individual exercises, click on the name of it, and you get a video demonstration, it's really good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 20, 2006 Author Share Posted November 20, 2006 Wassap man, good to have you here, I have seen various postz that you created using your computer on this forum. Yeah I would agree that you shouldn't do too much cardio, concentrate on muscle training. What kind of equipment are you using? Working out at home with weights, or with no weights, or working out at the gym? Then I could give you some better ideas that could work for you specifically. Doing 100 pullups in the course of the day is great stuff in my opinion, keep that up definitely if you can, and if it becomes simple, then go up to 150 or something. Similarly with pressups, aim for personal bests, I think that is good motivation, to know what you've achieved and want to beat it each day. Nope I'm working out at home, I think I should get a little bigger before getting into the gym lol. I have a few weights, but no fancy machines. So no cardio at all? Not even running in the morning? Thanks for the info and motivation! Well, the thing is that you said you're skinny and want to put on weight. Cardio will burn up calories, and not give you much muscle. I personally wouldn't wipe out cardio altogether, it is still a good thing to do to stay healthy. But maybe I'd cut it down to 15 minutes, as like a warm-up to weight training / working out. You can do more working out to compensate, it all depends on what you want to achieve; lifting weights / working out will get you bigger muscles, cardio will mainly just get you fit and burn fat. Also, you can achieve great results without a gym, there are tonnes of exercises you can do. Have a look at Big Bwii's forum, it has a big list of exercises just using your own bodyweight: http://s12.invisionfree.com/FLF/ scroll down, and you see a big long list of video tutorials for individual exercises, click on the name of it, and you get a video demonstration, it's really good! That's a really nice website thanks!I have another question, how long do sets have to be for a beginner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 With exercises that you are new to, ones that you have never done before, or haven't done for several weeks, I would advise doing about 12 reps, and 2 sets. But that's with things which can be adjusted (weights). The amount of weight being used in an exercise determines the reps; you choose a weight which is heavy enough that you literally cannot do 13, only 12. That way it would be a fairly light weight. However, with body-weight exercises like pull-ups, press-ups etc, you can't adjust the weight below your own bodyweight. As you're already able to do 100 pullups in a day, that suggests you're in pretty good shape already, in at least one way (strong back, and low fat ratio, I could be wrong?). With new body-weight exercises, I'd advise just doing what feels comfortable. Don't push yourself to your very limits straight away, you may injure yourself. Do 2 or 3 sets of good reps, stop the exercise immediately if you're shaking / struggling. Stop and wait a few seconds and try again, so you do smooth controlled movements. I've been doing this with one-legged squats, as I have had problems with my knees. I was wobbling all over the place, well, I still am (!), but I am getting better by concentrating on control. You will be able to do more reps as you practice the movements. But really, with body-weight exercises, I don't think it's really possible to hurt yourself that much by doing too many reps. One day I did 50 squats in a row, and could barely walk afterwards, but I was fine the next day. Similarly, I did 300 pressups during the course a day, and really felt the burn the next day, but it was just normal exercise burn, not an injury. Your body should really clue you in to if things aren't going right. Once you've done the exercises a few times and your body is used to the control of it, then you can step up the reps, or add weight, adjust the angle, or do them even slower to make it harder. It varies from person to person how long it would take to get used to them, but I am sure you'll feel it, feel what you are capable of doing. I've been told to stand on one leg with my eyes closed for 1 minute to strengthen my leg muscles and learn balance to deal with my problems. That sounded so easy, but I sucked! I was okay with my eyes open, but eyes shut, I got about 14 seconds... but now after about a month or so, I can do 1 minute on each leg. It still doesn't come easy to me, but I think in a few more weeks, it will be really simple, you just have to keep trying the things that you struggle with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Posted November 21, 2006 Author Share Posted November 21, 2006 With exercises that you are new to, ones that you have never done before, or haven't done for several weeks, I would advise doing about 12 reps, and 2 sets. But that's with things which can be adjusted (weights). The amount of weight being used in an exercise determines the reps; you choose a weight which is heavy enough that you literally cannot do 13, only 12. That way it would be a fairly light weight. However, with body-weight exercises like pull-ups, press-ups etc, you can't adjust the weight below your own bodyweight. As you're already able to do 100 pullups in a day, that suggests you're in pretty good shape already, in at least one way (strong back, and low fat ratio, I could be wrong?). With new body-weight exercises, I'd advise just doing what feels comfortable. Don't push yourself to your very limits straight away, you may injure yourself. Do 2 or 3 sets of good reps, stop the exercise immediately if you're shaking / struggling. Stop and wait a few seconds and try again, so you do smooth controlled movements. I've been doing this with one-legged squats, as I have had problems with my knees. I was wobbling all over the place, well, I still am (!), but I am getting better by concentrating on control. You will be able to do more reps as you practice the movements. But really, with body-weight exercises, I don't think it's really possible to hurt yourself that much by doing too many reps. One day I did 50 squats in a row, and could barely walk afterwards, but I was fine the next day. Similarly, I did 300 pressups during the course a day, and really felt the burn the next day, but it was just normal exercise burn, not an injury. Your body should really clue you in to if things aren't going right. Once you've done the exercises a few times and your body is used to the control of it, then you can step up the reps, or add weight, adjust the angle, or do them even slower to make it harder. It varies from person to person how long it would take to get used to them, but I am sure you'll feel it, feel what you are capable of doing. I've been told to stand on one leg with my eyes closed for 1 minute to strengthen my leg muscles and learn balance to deal with my problems. That sounded so easy, but I sucked! I was okay with my eyes open, but eyes shut, I got about 14 seconds... but now after about a month or so, I can do 1 minute on each leg. It still doesn't come easy to me, but I think in a few more weeks, it will be really simple, you just have to keep trying the things that you struggle with. I'm gonna start doing what you said, and then add some more. Standing on one leg sounds pretty easy lol. I should give it a try. I haven't been doing leg exercises, but just like you said it's going to be hard the first months. Thanks for the info now I know how not to hurt myself lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 I'd check that bodyweight forum, and ask bigbwii (he is on this forum too, that is his username here), he knows lots about bodyweight exercises. My advice might be utter crap, hahar. But what I've said makes logical sense to me anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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