[#2] I am a personal trainer with 6 years of experience and have been a vegan for the past 5. I'm here to help, ask me anything

[extraneous]

Good afternoon, r/vegantiness. Ten days ago, I hosted an AMA with in-depth answers to your questions. As I was still receiving them today, here is another one. For whoever missed the first, the description is quoted below. Once again, I'm here to answer whatever you need.

From my previous AMA:

I am a personal trainer with a Sport Sciences degree who became a vegan during its course. Had many jobs on the field but am currently working as freelance while enrolling on a masters in Health and Nutrition.

Plant-based diets as a complement to scientific-based PA protocols has helped me improve the life of patients suffering a varied range of metabolic diseases and physical injuries. I mainly work in rehabilitation and injury prevention but I can help any of you with the usual diet/aesthetics.

I haven't done much of the reddit-trainer stuff as I don't aggree with the philosophy of most communities, but I can definitely stand behind r/veganfitness. If you need any help, just ask.

P.D: if the mods need credentials to verify me I can hit you up with the european certificate of my degree, meanwhile just ask away.

 

[dawn16]

@extraneous Hi! Thanks for doing this!

I keep being told whey protein is better than pea, hemp, or other vegan protein powders since apparently whey is more concentrated protein- true or false?

 

[extraneous]

@dawn16 Hello, you're welcome!

False. There are multiples studies on plant-based protein isolates (here's soy and here's pea, as two examples). Not a single paper I've read up to date following a gold-standard (peer-reviewed, randomised controlled trials on humans) that shows difference between lean body mass or strength gains with either of the protein isolates. In my honest opinions, these studies aren't even necessary as there is little difference in biochemical composition between the most common isolates.

You can find some obscure papers funded by different institutions that theorize or p-hack their way to make unbelievable conclusions that are opposed to basic human physiology, but the consensus based on reputable sources is that there's no difference performance-wise.

 

[dawn16]

@extraneous Thank you!!! I knew it logically made no sense but wasn't sure how to put it into words or find reputable sources. Can't wait to switch to vegan protein powder once the current whey one runs out

 

[greg76]

@extraneous Hi there, have been working out & running for just over a year (brand new fitness person) and veggie/vegan for 5 years. I don’t feel comfortable going to a gym just yet and would love to get some advice (all my knowledge is through Reddit + YouTube).
I’m 5’6, 61kg, have 5kg and 7.5kg dumbbells, and booty bands.

Training week is:
Monday: Run 3 miles, Upper body workout
(Tricep kickbacks, shoulder flies, upright toe, chest press, skull crushers) 8 reps, 3 sets

Tuesday: lower body workout
(Hip thrusts, split squats, rdls, sumo squat, step ups, banded sit steps) 10 reps, 3 sets

Wednesday: core

Thursday: run 5 miles, upper body workout
(Shoulder press, tricep extension, chest flies, Arnold press, push-ups, bent over row) 8 reps, 3 sets

Friday: lower body
(Hip thrust, split squats, rdls, sumo squat, single legged hip thrust) 10 reps, 3 sets

Sunday: Run 7 - 10 miles

I guess I’m wondering if I’m missing something? Am I doing okay? Should I push myself more? Does that mean more reps or sets? My goal is to get more toned and overall healthy. Diet is not too bad but could definitely cut out more sugar. I’m also looking to increase mileage soon again.

 

[extraneous]

@greg76 Good afternoon. Yes, there are a few ways to improve your routine, I'll order them by importance:

·Low-intensity high-volume aerobic training isn't the best option to boost body compositions. You definitely should be doing HIIT by now (as you have a year of experience already). Short sets of high-intensity running (imagine running for a minute/400m at a 8/10 RPE will be WAY more efficient and make you less prone to lose muscle mass (which running high-mileage does, just check out the difference between a marathonian and a sprinter (RPE is your Ratio of Perceived Effort, which you have to keep training to find out what a 10/10 means for you).

·Strength training should ALWAYS be done before aerobic training, otherwise it will decrease strength performance and lead to injury (it's irrelevant if it reduces aerobic performance as the objectives of aerobic training for body composition are achieved by relative effort (don't depend on how rested you are but how much effort does it cost), which doesn't happen as much with hypertrophy).

·The types of strength exercises you use are good enough assuming your technique is correct, but even though you don't want to go to the gym (I'm assuming you don't like gym culture), it has the best tools to provide results. You can do the best possible exercises, which will be more dangerous and less effective if you're not using the best available instruments you have.

·Even though what I said above is important, your problem is most likely a bad diet. You should be able to improve your body composition substantially in a year with the routine you're following. Check your overall caloric intake and the sources, switch everything you can to whole-foods.

·As a side note, the type of sessions you're using are called concurrent training, you can check online some of those if you're curious. They normally consist of hypertrophy or strength training followed by HIIT, and focus on either body composition or athletic performance.

Now, to answer your questions:

·You're missing HIIT, need to switch the order on your routines and need better tools.

·You're doing good, but can easily do better.

·You should not push yourself more. Train smarter, not harder. Put some thought in your diet too, it will help massively.

·If you want a bigger body it will always mean more volume (reps, sets and days). If you want a tonned body, which is less body fat, either hypertrophy (what I just described) or strength (less volume, higher intensity) are good. The most important fact here will be diet (proven how you're constant enough as you've been training for a year already).

 

[greg76]

@extraneous Hi Thank you so much for replying, and so in depth as well.
I will admit, this routine has only started about a month ago. And weights introduced perhaps 8 or 9 months ago.
My body has come a long way since I started, but it’s me now wanting to look toned instead of just slim (does that make sense?).

Yes it’s gym culture/lack of confidence/ and covid! I think once covid gets better here I’ll start going gradually.

So incorporating HIIT instead of the shorter runs after weights?
As well as really focusing on my diet.
I’ll definitely be doing some Googling after this!

I’ll admit I do love the long runs, as mentally it does great things for me (would also love to do a half marathon).

 

[extraneous]

@greg76 Sadly, if you want a tonned body, you need more muscle mass. For women, that means lower-body, for men, upper body.

I'll give you two examples of world-class female runners: marathonian/ sprinter.

If running long distances is good for your mental health, go for it, but I have to advise you it's a detriment for your overall physical health (you're more prone to injury) and it opposes your goal of changing your body composition to look tonner.

As a final note: even long-distance runners incorporate HIIT in their workouts nowadays.

 

[greg76]

@extraneous Ok perfect, completely understood!

Thank you so much for spending your time replying, I really appreciate it.
I look forward to continuing my fitness journey

 

[beccabeccab3]

@extraneous My wife, son, and I are going to consult with a trainer in a week or so. My wife and I for general fitness and strength training, and my son for whatever is beneficial to his professional goals in basketball. What are the odds they will be anti vegan, and do you have any tips?

 

[extraneous]

@beccabeccab3 I became vegan at first for athletic performance and recovery. If he's against a plant-based diet, he doesn't have a clue about nutrition. You can either keep him if he's a good enough trainer and ignore his diet advice (we often don't study dietetics in a significant depth during our degrees, and that's fine), or look for a better trainer.

A rule of thumb to distinguish good from bad dietetics advice for vegan workout plans is how focused someone is on increasing your protein intake. Average plant-based diets with a caloric surplus are already efficient while building muscle mass, and even though protein intake is important and can be modified or supplemented, there are more significant changes to be made (total caloric intake is definitely the best one for vegans due to the high content in fiber and water our diets have).

From my experience, it's quite hard to find a good PT. The best tip I can give you in this regard is to ask as many questions as you can to understand the recommendations you're being given as best as possible. A reputable trainer does not only train you, it teaches you how to train.

Good health professionals in any of the branches have to be able to solve your questions and give you detailed but easy to understand answers. If you start working out without understanding what you're doing and your PT isn't solving your doubts, find a better one.

 

[mark7871]

@extraneous My parents took collagen and glucosamine chondroitin for their joints. Are there vegan foods I should be sure to include to keep my joints in their best shape?

 

[extraneous]

@mark7871 Glucosamine and chondroitin oral supplements have been shown to have little effect on joint health. When necessary (gonalgia caused by the degeneration of cartilage, mainly), they're infiltrated on the affected joints, and even then, there's still debate about their efficacy.

What's proven to improve joint health is a healthy whole-food plant-based diet and a well-programmed strength training protocol, especially if it includes excentric overload.

 

[mark7871]

@extraneous Excellent, because that's mostly what I do. WFPB and strength training. I'm still working on improving my strength training over time.

 

[extraneous]

@mark7871 Low-rep, high-intensity strength training with excentric overload would be your best bet. Good luck!

 

[mark7871]

@extraneous Thank you;

 

[john127]

@extraneous Can you eat too much soy and if so, how much is too much?

 

[extraneous]

@john127 You literally quoted one of the videos from the best doctor on clinical nutrition I know, so I'll leave you to with it.

Hint: it's almost physically impossible to eat too much soy.

 

[john127]

@extraneous 3-4 servings a day. I mean, how much is a serving? Feels like it is quite possible to eat too much.

 

[magnus359]

@extraneous I'm recently vegan (as in a few months) and am continuing to train as a powerlifter (been doing this for about 2 years). I have a coach for power lifting, but am new to the world of macros when vegan. I roughly understand what I should be eating macro-wise (i.e percentages), but struggled to eat enough grams of protein pre-vegan. What are some of the fasted, best, protein sources for me now?

Also, am I just going to have to suck it up and deal with the taste of vegan protein powder? Are there really none that don't taste like dirt?