Bodybuilding on a Vegan Diet

It's been about six weeks since I last worked out regularly. I have no excuses. For the past two months I have been vegan (no meat, fish, poultry or dairy) with the exception of occasional dairy (cheese/whey). I feel a lot healthier without any dairy in my system, however the vegan diet has dramatically decreased my protein intake. I feel as though I've lost a ton of muscle mass in the past six weeks -- but after checking the scale, I believe it's mostly a psychological effect. I'm still 164.2lbs and 13.5% BF -- not at all much different than six weeks ago. Still, I feel physically weaker (again, could be psychological!).

I haven't done any research on vegan bodybuilding, but I know there are successful vegan bodybuilders out there, so it can be done. My brother has done considerable research on the topic and he says there isn't much scientific information available. I'm going to spend at least the next two months concentrating on my workouts and seeing what results I can obtain while on a vegan diet.

The workout routine I'm doing is the same routine I started back in June. It's designed to build muscle, while keeping your metabolism fired up by varying the exercises and hitting many different muscle groups in each workout. There are four parts to the routine which are completed in a single week, with the first half completed back to back (A and B), then a days rest, and then the second half back to back (C and D). I'm using the same weights as I was in June, however I will probably increase the weight over the next two months. To save you from having to view the old posts, I'll copy the workouts here:

    Workout A (Monday)
    Bench Press, 3 sets, 5 reps, 170 LBS
    Dumbbell Row, 3 sets, 6 reps, 45 LBS
    Dumbbell Bench Press, 4 sets, 8 reps, 50 LBS
    Snatch-Grip Barbell Row, 4 sets, 8 reps, 90 LBS
    Incline Dumbbell Press, 3 sets, 12 reps, 40 LBS
    Dumbbell External Rotation, 3 sets, 10 reps, 8 LBS

    Workout B (Tuesday)
    Squat, 3 sets, 6 reps, 100 LBS
    Rear-delt Raise, 3 sets, 10 reps, 20 LBS
    Romanian Deadlift, 4 sets, 8 reps, 100 LBS
    Dumbbell Split Squat, 4 sets, 8 reps 35 LBS
    Swiss Ball Jackknife, 3 sets, 10 reps
    Bicycle Crunches, 3 sets, 50 reps
    Swiss Ball Rollout, 3 sets, 10 reps

    Workout C (Thursday)
    Pullup, 4 sets, 8 reps
    Neutral Grip Dumbbell Press, 4 sets, 8 reps, 45 LBS
    Weighted Chinup, 3 sets, 5 reps, 16 LBS
    Lateral Raise, 3 sets, 8 reps, 25 LBS
    Bench Press, 3 sets, 6 reps, 160 LBS
    Barbell Curl, 3 sets, 8 reps, 50 LBS
    Decline Dumbbell Triceps Extention, 3 sets, 8. reps, 30 LBS 30 LBS
    Incline Dumbbell Curl, 3 sets, 12 reps, 20 LBS

    Workout D (Friday)
    Deadlift, 3 sets, 6 reps, 140 LBS
    Side Plank, 3 sets, 20 second hold
    Front Squat, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 LBS
    Good Morning, 4 sets, 8 reps, 60 LBS
    Overhead Squat, 3 sets, 5 reps, 30 LBS
    Calf Raise, 3 sets, 10 reps, 35 LBS
    Swiss Ball Curl Up, 3 sets, 15 reps

I'm reading a really good book right now called Pain Free, by Pete Egoscue. It contains exercises designed to get your body back into it's correct alignment and function. I'm starting to incorporate the exercises into my morning yoga routine. I'll write a review of the book once I've given the exercises some time.

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