Building muscle ?on PLANTS?as a newbie. How much protein?, which supplements? And one of the biggest LESSONS I learned...
Back in November 2017 I was a regular skinny guy - known as a hardgainer in the bodybuilding world.
I’d had gym memberships ever since I was 18 and never got any noticeable results from my hard work. I tried to bulk up many times.
Constant frustration?, I blamed my genetics.
Around the same time, I’d just started eating a plant based diet ? and I was taking a lot of stick. Friends and family blamed the vegan diet for my skinny frame, I’ve always been skinny so it was just silly banter - but I got sick of the lettuce and bacon jokes in the end.
I wanted to inspire my friends to eat a plant based diet, not turn them off, as it stood I was just slotting into the typical skinny vegan stereotype. ?
?So I set myself a MISSION of getting from 152lbs to 177lbs in just 12 weeks.
I was aiming for 25lbs of muscle gain.
Most experts claim you need 1 year to put on that amount of mass.
I DID IT IN 11 WEEKS ?
So how was I able to put on that amount of muscle so quickly?...
If you want to learn EXACTLY how I put on that crazy amount of mass in such a short space of time - go here and download my KICKSTARTER - it’s completely free and it’s jammed with amazing hacks, lessons, guides and motivation for making rapid and healthy gains:
Click this link to go and grab it now - IT’S TOTALLY FREE
But let me tell you what I’ve learned because the whole point of my weight gain experiment was to inspire other men like you to do the same.
The 3 BIGGEST lessons I learned that I want to share with you..
#LESSON 1 - Protein Is NOT The ?
Let me start with my beliefs - I’ve been that guy eating boiled chicken by the shopping trolly load, I’ve been the guy forcing down dry protein shakes on my lunch break at work and I was that man who looked for lean meats, dairy, fish and eggs to get the best sources of protein.
The general public and I myself believe/believed that if you’re gonna build muscle with plants you’re already at a disadvantage right?
Opinions are slowly shifting and from my own experience this isn’t true.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently published results of an extensive study that debunks the ‘meat builds protein better’ myth:
Lead author Kelsey Mangano, PhD, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, says the study delivers a message that meat and veggie lovers can both celebrate:
“As long as a person is exceeding the recommended daily allowance for protein, no matter the source in their diet, they can improve their muscle health,”
Which leads me to my second point;
The amount of protein needed?
The daily recommended allowance of protein for the average man is around 56g - so why are people posting on forums asking how to get 300 grams of protein into a days worth of eating?
It’s completely unnecessary - worse still, its dangerous, especially if you’re getting your proteins via animal products - too much animal protein has been linked with colon cancers and kidney damage.
Protein is an old school rhetoric that marketers have been banging the drum about for years - any idea what the most profitable bodybuilding supplement on the market is today?
You guessed it - protein?
So how much protein do you need to get jacked quick?
First let me ask you a serious question?
Are you gunning to be the next Mr Olympia? Do you want to step on stage with a body fat percentage of single figures after years of dedication to strict eating and endless hours in the gym? Do you want to become a professional bodybuilder?
I’m guessing your answer is no to all these questions right?
Ok - so now we’ve established that you’re just like me - just an average dude who wants to put on some mass, jack up his physique, look great and feel healthier… without the pursuit of all these goals taking over your entire life and putting your health at risk.
I gained 25lbs in just 11 weeks.
Sure that’s not pure lean muscle mass and I certainly added some body fat too but you can see from my after shots that I stayed pretty lean. I think it’s fair to say if you’ve got this far reading this you would be happy with a similar result.
I was eating around 100g of protein per day.
If you go and google how much protein to take to build muscle right now you will find some ‘expert’ bodybuilding sites telling you to take 3 times that amount - some even more.
Now of course this is slightly anecdotal because you’re not me but don’t go thinking I’m some genetic freak who slams on muscle just looking at weights.
If anything - I’m the opposite end of the spectrum - more in the hardgainer camp.
But I want you to realise that the amount of calories you’re eating is going to have the biggest impact on your growth - NOT PROTEIN.
So long as you’re exceeding the recommended functional amount of around 56g by at least 50% then you will grow fast if you’re getting everything else right.
>> Shoot for about 1.5 grams of protein for every kilogram you weigh. Don’t over complicate it or stress about it being the key to making the gains you want.
?BOTTOM LINE: Chill on the protein. I recommend getting about 100 grams per day - and if you’re hitting the necessary calorie numbers you’ll need to hit for bulking and you’re eating a balanced plant based whole foods diet with the correct macros, you’ll hit your protein target without even having to think about it.
#LESSON 2 - Most SUPPLEMENTS are a waste of cash - I only used ONE during my transformation
I don’t want you to waste your hard earned cash on ?supplements.
If you’re following a plant based diet then I recommend some basic supplementation such as zinc, B12 and Vitamin D if you don’t get much exposure to sunlight.
But I’m talking in ?bodybuilding terms here.
If you’re basing your supplements choices on ? science and not hype, then the only supplement on the market backed by extensive scientific research and a confirmed safety record is creatine monohydrate.
Creatine is a supplement powerhouse.
No other sports supplement has ever shown such a quantifiable increase in strength, muscle mass, and fat loss.
Creatine allows for quick recruitment of energy during intense exercise and causes a significant gain of water storage inside our muscles – this is what provides the benefits.
Other supplements that are backed up with solid scientific evidence are L-Leucine and L-Carnitine. Many vegan bodybuilders would recommend these supplements and I don’t argue they are effective but I didn’t take either and achieved amazing results.
I prefer to keep things as simple as possible.
And it doesn’t come much more simple than eating real nutritious food provided by mother nature.?
?BOTTOM LINE: Don’t believe expensive pills and powders hold the secrets to getting serious results. Creatine will definitely help you but your biggest weapons are a correct mindset, a dialed in nutrition plan and a proper mass building workout routine.
#LESSON 3 - Find YOUR reason WHY
I’ve had gym memberships ever since I was 18.
I’ve tried to bulk many times before with very little success.
So what changed this time?
My MINDSET - my reason why.?
Ask yourself this question - WHY DO YOU WANT TO BUILD MUSCLE?
On a scale of 1 to 100 your reason better be a 100 otherwise you’ll choke when the going gets tough, you’ll get bored, distracted and downbeat when you don’t get immediate returns.
How do you find a ? reason?
You make the reason something bigger than yourself.
Using myself as an example, I wanted to prove muscle could be built fast on plants to serve as an inspiration to other men like you.
Failure was not an option because in my mind the results and future health of thousands of other men depended upon me getting the results.
Muscle was just a vehicle - my bigger mission was promoting health.
You might base your reason on your kids, your wife, your health - whatever it is - make it real and make it more than your vanity.
It has to be a ?deep desire - not just a wish.
Once you have your reason why you need to take action.
Set yourself a goal and a deadline and create a plan for getting from A to B.
Imagine setting off in your car one day to get to a party - you know is somewhere at the other side of town but you don’t have an address and you don’t even know what suburb it’s in - you just know it’s the other side of town.
Would you EVER do this? How stupid does it sound.
What are your chances of finding the party?
You’re gonna get lost big time, you’re gonna get frustrated and angry and you’ll most likely give up and go home to your TV.
These days we have sat nav to guide us but without punching in a destination it’s useless.
Same applies to gaining muscle - it seems so obvious but ask all the guys in your gym, the ones that don’t have great bodies, ask them what their target weight is?
My bet is they’ll look at you like you just asked them the square root of 63.
They haven’t got a clue.
This is just aimless working out, this is EXACTLY what I did for 10 years - and the result will be treading water and slow progress.
?BOTTOM LINE: Mindset is the foundation to getting real results. If you don’t set real goals, have a plan and hold enough fire in your belly (a reason WHY) - you’re wasting your time.
.......
I WANT TO HELP YOU - THE KICKSTARTER
I've designed a free muscle gain program that covers the foundations of mindset, plant based nutrition and the workouts. Everything I learned and used to make my transformation. It's totally FREE and you can get it here:
KICKSTART YOUR GAINS NOW >>>
Click the link and get started TODAY - It's FREE