The year is ending! It’s been a year (11 months of veganism + 1 month of vegetarianism, but I’m rounding up to 1 year) that I haven’t consumed any product of animal origin, and that I combined that with bodybuilding in order to see the effects of this association. It went pretty quickly in hindsight and I’m pretty happy with this experience!
I remind you that my goal is not to switch back to an omnivorous diet after a year, the title is simply the name given to my adventure of trying to increase my muscle mass and my physical performance for a year following my change of diet .
The plate
I haven’t made any big changes in the past two months . However, I bought a blender , which allowed me to include smoothies / vegetable juices in my daily life. A very effective and simple way to add a caloric surplus and a supply of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), in order to have more energy during workouts and facilitate the increase in performance.
Being in summer, the majority of my plates were cold plates. Mostly full salads with a base of rice, quinoa or some other grain with vegetables, oilseeds, whatever made me want.
I continued to consume a minimum of processed foods (tofu, vegetable sausages and its variants) in order to maximize my energy intake (processed foods have a slightly lower nutritional value compared to whole foods, unprocessed).
I learned a lot about vegetable proteins in order to know how to organize my plates, whether or not, for example, it was necessary to make the association of legumes / cereals to have “complete proteins”. I made a video of it to help as many people as possible:
Treening
In terms of training, it has gone really well over the past two months. I really think the smoothies have helped me, by allowing me to consume a lot of fruit. They allowed me to have a lot more fishing during training and better recovery (thanks in part to the antioxidants they contain).
Session 1): Chest + Triceps + Biceps: Bench press / dumbbell bench press / 1-hand push-ups / Hollow rock / Curl
Session 2): Back: Deadlift / Muscle up / Pull-ups / Weight lifting Session 3): Technique + Shoulders + Cardio: Handstand push up work / Clean / Shrugs / Lateral raises / Arnold press / 5km run
Session 4): Legs + Biceps: Back squat / Front squat / Lunges / Curl / Hollow rock
Session 5): Shoulders: Handstand / Shoulder press / Push press / Shoulder press / Side elevations / Shaping
Session 6): Back + Abs reminder: Pull-ups / Shaping / Roll abs
Perfs and photos
Physical tests:
Cardio tests
Strength tests
Bodyweight exercise tests
Weight
Even though I did not manage to achieve all of the goals I set for one year, I am very satisfied with the results because I have improved on most of the exercises.
I don’t like to make excuses for myself but the fact of training at home during all this year played in the performances ( the loads can never be maximum and impossibility of setting up certain techniques of ‘intensification such as work in eccentric phase ) and in motivation ( difficult to be focused on certain days when training in a 9m2 room ).
In addition, it is also difficult to predict performance to achieve a year later and even more with a total change of diet. That’s why I put it into perspective and that I am confident for the future!
The vegan diet hasn’t stopped me from progressing. I managed to overcome these clichés and this mental barrier too often erected between sport and veganism (and even more between bodybuilding and veganism).
Physically, I am also very satisfied with my progress. I haven’t gained a lot of muscle mass, but I think it takes time, that there is a longer or shorter adaptation time for everyone. I came back to my starting weight as I lost fat (abs are more visible) which means there is a good chance that I have gained muscle mass.
The mind and anecdotes
I’ve taken a step back from a lot of things over the past two months. I don’t have a lot of time to devote myself to it but I will start to turn more deeply to meditation, to letting go. Spirituality is something that can give me a lot of happiness, peace and help in sport, and I plan to move into it little by little.
Otherwise, I took the opportunity to also make a video retracing this one-year challenge, which you can find here (to share with people who may be interested!):
And the rest?
I mentioned this from the start, but the goal was not to go back to omnivorous eating after a year, it was just the way to define a specific period. I know it’s early to talk about it but I won’t go back to omnivorous eating. I have learned a lot about animal suffering, the hidden reality and I will not be able to turn back.
I have been engaged in a personal philosophical reflection for almost two years regarding the normality or otherwise of eating animals, and the conclusions of this reflection have led me to refuse to do so. Likewise, my outlook on animals has changed completely since starting this challenge.
I feel like I understand them better, I can now interact with them much better because I know I no longer distinguish between those I respect and those I eat. From now on, I make sure to respect them all.
I am a sports coach and I love weight training, but I can’t stop at personal physical development, it’s too reductive. I have to find solutions to minimize my impact on the world around me and to link physical development to moral and philosophical development, it’s stronger than me.
I will never judge anyone who thinks differently from me because I believe that everyone has their own thinking. I only want to share the positive in what happens to me, in my thoughts , in my way of understanding bodybuilding, nutrition and my new relationship with life. I am open to dialogue if the person is respectful and open-minded enough. In my opinion, life is too short to waste time and energy on people who are not receptive.
I know that I still have a lot to learn, but I also know that I have accumulated a lot of knowledge during this year. So I decided to create a complete training linking vegan food and bodybuilding, I will talk about it soon. If you want news from this training, you can join me on the Treeninglife newsletter by downloading the free guide under this article or by clicking directly here .
I have a lot of projects and I also invite you to join the Treeninglife Youtube channel by clicking here Not to miss any of this.
Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone who encouraged me, I think that gave me strength. Life is short, of course. But for some, it is downright planned. I have the feeling that this change in the way I eat has completely changed my outlook on the world. The feeling of having taken a slap that allowed me to really see what is going on. I think I needed that slap. Life is short.
Train with the heart, eat with the heart.
