I NTRODUCTION
Vegan Bodybuilding is the best new way to lead a healthy lifestyle . Combining the healthiest diet with the ultimate way to get fit , its no wonder that its rapidly becoming the hottest new trend in fitness. The workout plan can be tailored for everyone from beginners to the most advanced, so why dont you give it a try today? This guide will give you all the knowledge you need to get started , so read on to make a positive change in your life. One that will benefit you forever!
The training and dietary plan is all about obtaining a fit body, whilst following a plant based diet. A common misconception is that its virtually impossible ; that you need to have meat, dairy and other animal products within your eating plan, to build up muscle and keep up the strength to get as fit as a bodybuilder.
This is wrong !
There are many bodybuilders, and other athletes, now adopting this new diet, and finding that it suits them no end, and at the other end, there are people just starting out, and realizing that this is the best way theyve ever discovered to get fit . You only need to look at the very famous Jim Morris, the 77-year-old bodybuilder who follows this fitness plan and looks much younger and healthier than his years.
With so many people adopting a lifestyle which doesnt exploit animals for food and helps the environment, research studies have been completed to confirm the health benefits of this diet, and its been scientifically proven to reduce high cholesterol, high blood pressure and the likelihood of having a heart attack or stroke. A plant-based diet can even reduce the risk of certain types of cancer. In fact, one of the most comprehensive studies, completed by the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in 2009, came up with this conclusion:
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.
Combine this with the right type of exercise, and you have the recipe for a very healthy lifestyle. People select bodybuilding as their exercise of choice for many different reasons. Bodybuilders are proud, confident, hardworking people who earn their fantastic bodies through strict dedication. Some may choose to work for the sculpted body to show the world their potential, others for health reasons. Whatever it is that makes you turn to bodybuilding, its a lifestyle choice that you wont regret.
As with any intense exercise regime, the strict diet that accompanies it is vital, and bodybuilders are no different. If anything, they are more concerned with their diet than anyone else, which is how veganism has become such a strong contender to them
In the following sections, concentrating on the vegan diet and bodybuilding exercises, this guide will provide you will all the tools and knowledge you need to build your very own personalized action plan to assist you in becoming a successful vegan bodybuilder .
NUTRITION
A bodybuilder is advised to eat 6-8 meals a day (3-4 of these being main meals, and the rest snacks); to ensure you continually keep all the nutrients you need to build muscle. Monitoring your body weight is hugely important and nutrition is one of the most important factors for this. One of the strongest pieces of advice given is to drink or eat 60 to 90 minutes after excising .
But what is the best thing to eat?
Below is a table, just to give you a rough idea of how many calories you should be eating for your body weight while you are bodybuilding, and how you should distribute your calories.
Watch video: Raw Vegan Bodybuilder Eats No Meat
PROTEIN
The primary concern for bodybuilders, and in particular those that follow the vegan diet, is protein. Its suggested that bodybuilders need to ensure they get one gram (one and a half for vegans) of protein per pound of body weight , so the larger you get, the more youll need. Protein is made up of amino acids, which absolutely essential to building muscle. Without these amino acids, its impossible to grow, repair and maintain muscle tissue. On top of that, it also helps maintain our hormones, enzymes and many other body tissues.
The World Health Organization has established that the minimum amount of protein for human adults is approximately 5% of the daily intake, but for bodybuilders, this needs to be much higher. In fact, as the following diagram displays, protein should take up approximately 30% of your calories (with fat being 30% and carbohydrates being 40%).
For meat eaters, its easy to know where to gain protein from; meat and fish contain a lot of it, but its more challenging for vegans to find, which is why the Protein Triangle has been created. It labels the three main protein sources for plant-based dieters, and its recommended to eat 2 of these per meal .
Another great source of protein for vegans is Textured Vegetable Protein (also known as TVP and TSP ) which can be found in the form of soy meat or soya chunks. The protein content within this meat substitute is equal to that of meat.
This was created by the Archer Daniels Midlands food processing company in the 1960s and generally contains soy flour, cotton seeds, wheat and oats. It was designed to give vegans the opportunity to eat traditionally meat-based dishes.
Another product with similar qualities is Tempeh ; an Indonesian soy product, which is made by a natural fermentation process which binds the beans together to create vegetarian burger.
Nut butter is a great spreadable snack that can be used in a bodybuilders diet, and there are many varieties of this, all with their own varying degree of health benefits, as demonstrated by the following data: