Muscle Building On a Vegetarian Diet
Most people will tell you that you cannot build muscle without meat. That is completely wrong! In fact vegetarians are generally able to put on more muscle mass due to the fact that the human body can digest vegetable proteins more easily than it can digest meat proteins. Also the protein we would receive from the vegetable proteins would be more bioavailable. Check out our Diet section where you can see what foods are available to you.
Vegetarians have so many protein rich foods available to them nowadays that there is no excuse not to be a vegetarian.
Remember, the ancient Roman gladiators were vegetarian or vegan. They ate a high carbohydrate diet to bulk up and gain weight, to protect their bodies from attack, and they consumed large amounts of calcium, to build strong bones so that their body was resilient and able to endure combat.
Vegetarian Foods
The introduction of Quorn products means that there are plentiful products to appetise you as well as build muscle. Some of their products such as chicken style pieces contain a large amount of protein in the form of ushroom protein. They contain just as much protein, if not more than meat, which is readily absorbed by the body.
Some people who are not vegetarian will always comment on vegetarian foods specifically protein rich foods saying that "its not proper protein" or "its not proper food", this
is not true. They contain a lot of protein, which can be easily absorbed by the body, rembering that you do not have too much at once because the body can only take up to approximately 40g of protein per meal, any more then this and the body then starts to reject the rest of the protein and you might then suffer side effects such as diarrhoea, nausea and wind.
Since as our bodies were not designed to digest meat it takes longer, and the protein that is absorbed by the body is not as good quality as a vegetable protein such as soy.
Vegetarian Bodybuilding Myths
The myths in building muscle as a vegetarian are that:
- You cannot build muscle as a vegetarian.
- Vegetarian bodybuilders use steroids.
- Vegetarians are weak and therefore cannot workout properly.
- Vegetarians have low testosterone levels becasuse they don't get any from meat.
1.) This is false! It is as simple as this; When you work out, your muscle fibres get damaged which may lead to DOMS(Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), during this period if you consume sufficient calories and protein as well as the other factors relating to muscle growth, e.g. water intake, rest, testosterone levels, etc, then the muscle fibres will then grow back bigger and stronger. Vegetarian substitutes for protein are scientifically proven to be easily absorbed by the body as well as being high in protein content, thus if you replace meat with vegetarian proteins you will build muscle. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
2.) Many people who don't work out may see bodybuilders or actors who are clearly using steroids and think that they are natural and are acheiving their huge muscular build from just eating meat. WRONG! There is no difference between a vegetarian bodybuilder and a meat-eating bodybuilder, if anything the vegetarian bodybuilder is bigger! Whether bodybuilders eat meat or are vegetarians they can both build muscle, they may resort to taking steroids, both bodybuilders can achieve strong, muscular bodies.
3.) Vegetarians are only weak if the individual is not eating properly or not eating enough. Vegetarians who eat well do not suffer from any malnutrition and therefore do not suffer from any weaknesses caused from their vegetarian diet.
4.) It is true that vegetarians do not ingest any hormones coming from meat, but then who wants all the waste product hormones which have come from the animals, they serve no good purpose. As for testosterone, it is produced naturally in the body and ever since puberty has begun, it has started regulating on its own accord. If meat were to contain testosterone, it would interfere with the bodies own natural testosterone production, very much like steroids and would actually lower your bodies own natural testosterone.
 
These are well known vegetarian professional bodybuilders. Andreas cahling and Bill Pearl.
Sample Diet For Muscle Building
Breakfast
A glass of orange juice.
2 slices of wholemeal toast with peanut butter
1 whey protein shake with soya milk
A bowl of porridge oats with demerara sugar
Lunch
2 Quorn quarter pounder burgers with two wholemeal baps with fresh salad.
A milkshake with soya milk.
A handful of peanuts.
Tea
Quorn chicken style pieces in a sauce.
1 whey protein shake with soya milk.
A tablespoon of peanut butter.
A banana.
Dinner
2 baked potatoes with grated cheese.
2 Quorn fillets with steamed vegetables.
A milkshake with soya milk.
This is a standard meal plan for a vegetarian who is looking to build muscle and it will work!.
This plan can be changed depending on your goals. If you want to get as big as possible then just increase the serving sizes, if you want to lean down, then decrease the serving size.
The Quorn products are filled with protein and are the best choice of meat substitute to feature in any muscle building plan.
Supplements
There is only one real supplement that you that you need to take once you have your protein and calories attended to and that is testosterone boosting supplements.
These are, of course many supplements on the market such as creatine, BCAA'S (Branched Chained Amino Acids) and glutamines which will exhibit very minor results. Testosterone is primarily the number one anabolic for building muscle, second to protein. So, for example if you were to take testosterone boosters but were not having the full protein or calorie intake you should be having, then you may experience better gains in muscle mass than if you were to have the full recommended intake of protein and calories without the testosterone boosters. Obviously the best solution would be to have the protein and the calories and the testosterone boosters as well as some optional extra supplements such as creatine.
Products
6-OXO
This product is mainly an anti-estrogen by a company called ergopharm and can be bought from Biovea. It works by binding to the estrogen receptors in your body which stops the production of further estrogen. This in turn raises your testosterone levels because your body keeps a perfect balance of testosterone to estrogen ratio and when this balance is disrupted by the decrease in estrogen, it pushes the levels of testosterone through the roof! So it does increase testosterone levels solely by itself but does so through the decrease of estrogen levels.
My Review
I myself have tried this product and have had great success with it. The main effects it had on me were a a bulking effect. I tend naturally to gain fat so it copied this genetic trait but it also built a lot of muscle, so much so that it caused stretch marks on my biceps. This shows all in all how powerful this product is.
The method I used to achieve the massive muscle gains from 6-oxo
It was simple. All I did was to take one capsule per day, which by the way I, to avoid consuming the gelatin capsule shell, emptied the contents into a small glass as the powder sticks less to glass, added some water to it, swished it around a couple of times and then swallowed it. This does not reduce the effectiveness of the absorbtion of the product at all!
Anyway, I took one capsule per day for about one month. This raised my testosterone so much across the course of the month that it produced an almost steroid like effect.
Tribulus Terristris
This product, by now foods, is a natural testosterone booster because it comes solely from a plant. It is designed to boost testosterone levels and is used by athletes and bodybuilders to build muscle mass. It works by increasing the luteinizing hormone which stimulates the secretion of testosterone from the testes.
My Review
I found this product very effective at increasing my testosterone levels to some extent, however it only seemed to have an effect on my libido and overall well being. I think this product is great for reproductive health and helping with fertility, however I don't think it is powerful enough to boost your testosterone levels high enough to the point where your muscles will start to build.
This man above is called Mac Danzig and he beat off 16 meat-eating competitors to win a 6 figure contract with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) which is a mixed-martial arts sport where competitors fight inside a six-sided platform which is surrounded by a tall perimenter fence. He did this all on a vegetarian diet. He says himself, as a vegetarian and an animal rights activist that the muscle you gain on a vegetarian diet is more compact, solid and better quality than that of muscle gained on a meat-eating diet which is obviously of poorer quality.
This further concludes that muscle built on a vegetarian diet is far superior to that built on a meat-eating diet.
© 2010 change2veggie.com
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Vegetarian Bodybuilding
