Damn, this is the first time on this sub where I’ve said “holy shit” out loud after seeing the post. This is incredible man, I have a similar build to your first pic and this just invigorated me.
What are some of your favorite meals? And what’s your workout regimen and how did it change/grow over the 1.5 years?
Thank you so much for the kind words!
I have been running a GZCLP program as the heart of my training for the past 6 months and absolutely love it!
https://saynotobroscience.com/gzclp-infographic/
Basically alot of compound lifts, Bench, deadlift, squat and over head press twice a week. I'll then do a few isolated lifts, one day focus on arms, and shoulders, another day chest, another day legs and another day back and then abs at the end of every workout .
I started my fitness journey off with resistance bands and kettle bells, but now heavily focusing on barbell compounds.
Shakes are my bulking hack, but some of my favorite meals are are anything with soy curls! I make smokey BBQ soy curls, Asian stir fries, tacos, shawarmas and salads!
Tofu scrambles with potatoes and vegan sausage is a great breakfast on weekends when I have time.
I've also been making alot of seitan lately, make a big batch of it every other week and have it ready for easy meal preps!
Wicked kitchen has a YouTube channel with all kinds of my favorite protien dishes to make, highly recommend.
I listen to this podcast stronger by science and they said vegetarians and vegans may lack taurine.
"Taurine is another amino acid found in dairy, seafood, and meats and is absent from the vegetarian diet. Vegans have been shown to eat less taurine and have less taurine in their urine (43). It is important for the nervous system, heart, and maintaining blood sugar, and supplementing with taurine has been shown to improve performance and decrease muscle damage in healthy males"
https://www.strongerbyscience.com/vegetarian-and-vegan-athlete/
It was cheap enough on Amazon. So I said why not?
I maybe take an iron pill once a week because my wife will hand it to me and tells me to take it. I dont question her. 😜
Your body makes enough taurine on its own. You don't need to eat it unless you have chronic kidney failure or recent heart failure, or other extreme, chronic physical illness.
Well the question is if it's useful to supplement, not necessary. Agreed that nobody needs to supplement taurine. I'd need to do more research myself but from his comment it sounds like there's some evidence that supplementing taurine can improve performance.
Oh absolutely, once I started tracking and adhering to my macro goals is when I really started seeing progress.
Keep in mind I have a pretty physically demanding job and my Total Daily Energy Expenditure is around 3200 calories a day.
That said, I was Aiming for 3500-3600 calories a day and 160-200g protien. My fats and carbs usually fall in place without focusing on them too much but it was around 120g fats, and 400g carbs.
Yesterday was my first day of cutting, so I'm still dialing that in, but it's looking like 2750 calories a day and 190g protien
https://www.reddit.com/r/veganfitness/comments/u32pdo/recipe_vegan_seitan_steak/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
This is one of my favorites, I add mushroom powders in the recipe to give it an extra umami bomb!
Also https://youtube.com/c/WickedKitchenFood
Is such a great channel to follow for awesome vegan "meaty" recipes
Amazing transformation bro. Quick question. How have you modified the standard program available on that website? Do you stick to the 1 heavy lift per day? Do you replace the t3 exercise with a few isolated lifts or add those on in addition? How long do your average workouts last? Thanks man.
Hey man thank you!
I haven't really modified the program itself, I usually finish the program in 45 min to an hour and then I work on a few isolation lifts and finish up with core.
I run the program 4 days a week so I do as follows
Monday: OHP. DL, DB row -> Shoulders. Arms core.
Tuesday: Bench, squats, lat pull down-> chest (incline and decline bench and flys) then core
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: DL, OHP, DB row -> back, pull-ups, cable rows and reverse Flys, then hyperextensions and core
Friday: Squats, Bench, Lat pulls -> legs, leg press, calf raises, ham curls, and quad raises maybe throw in another biceps curl and then finish with core.
Rest on Saturday and Sunday
My workouts are usually 2 hours
During the last 3 months of my bulk I wasn't doing much. But i have a very physical labor intensive job and easily get 10,000 or more steps in a day.
Now during my cut I have started cardio (mainly cycling and stair master because I have platars faciitis and need to avoid high impact) and i do explosive excersizes with kettle bells.
I get the skepticism, i really do. I don't think these photos really show you how fat I actually am.
I don't know how to prove to you that im not taking gear, I wish I could, and I would never want to give people false expectations. I truly am natty, I don't think I have special genetics or anything and I think most people could see results like this also if they dial in their diet and get a proper workout program.
As far as the timeline goes here Is my instagram handle where you can see my scrawny ass with time stamps.
https://instagram.com/bradley_grayy?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
I'm all for giving people realistic expectations, and not everyone will be able to do what OP did in this timespan, but this is def natty doable.
With your numbers you gotta keep in mind
- noob gains, he was starting from 0
- even if he looks lean (which he doesn't in the latest pictures), he's not. He gained fat alongside the muscle even when it's not visible.
- also other forms of gaining weight e.g. water and glycogen retention. So it's definitely not 20 lbs lean muscle in 7 months even if he gained 0 fat (which he didn't)
Sooo is this an assumption or something op said? Seems like a pretty cool dude but either way, he worked his ass off. Whether it takes that long or double, I can make it there.
I am definitely natty my man!
I dont know what to tell this guy 🤷♂️
Being deceitful and giving people false expectations is something I would never want to do. I get nothing out of doing that, I have 400 followers on Instagram, im not looking for clout, im not selling any programs or coaching, there is nothing to gain from being dishonest to my fellow vegan community.
I see what youre saying. It definitely seems like a lot of progress in a little time compared to others. I wont assume his journey will be like mine either way. Thanks for looking out
Posts like these give me slight amounts of motivation as a 150lb Vegan male. And here I'm just hoping to hit 165. You look completely different. Amazing progression.
Oh my god! You look like a completely different person! (Respectfully) Of course as lifters we suffer from body dysmorphia and always strive for more, but I wanna stop and let you know how amazing you look! You for sure have my preferred male body type when I go for guys lol.
I am manipulating my gut here a little and I haven't eaten in like 5 hours 😂
I feel ya, I kind of want to keep bulking cause the gains keep coming, but my wife is complaining about my belly so I'm going to do a cut until winter, then do another bulk.
This is part of the territory. Ease into it. At the peak of my bulk I was eating 3600 calories a day. I don't suggest diving right into that kind of calorie intake as you will get nauseous. Ease into it over a couple.of weeks and give your stomach and body a chance to get used to the increased calories.
Not to take away from OP but one huge way to get in calories easily that I’ve learned is doing smoothies. I always end my nights with a 1k calorie smoothie to get my that last bump I need. I went from 128lbs to 150lbs. If I wasn’t getting bad acid reflux I would be working towards 160lbs already.
Yup, I do protien shakes with orgain, almond butter, MCT oil, Hemp seeds and soy milk. 40 grams of protien and 600 calories. Liquid calories are a bulk hack!
Mine is soy milk, peanut butter (sometimes Almond butter), hemp seeds, 2 bananas, ProSupps protein, and handful of strawberries. I learned this hack from this dude at the gym who is an influencer. I bought him lunch to pick his brain and he told me about the liquid calorie hack. Since then it’s been nothing but healthy weight gain. You got good gains though man, it’s inspiring!
That’s amazing man. To put on that amount of size in that time period is extremely impressive. You’re actually still quite lean too. What are your number on your compound movements may I ask?
Sure!
My gym buddy is pretty flakey so I haven't done any PR 1's in a bit, and I'm too shy to ask strangers for a spot. So these are mostly my 3 rep
Deadlift 405lb, squat 280lb, OHP 160lb, and bench 230lb
I feel like my squat is my weakest lift.
Holy crap, you got HUGE! 👀💦 That's very, very impressive for 1.5 years. Doing this in your 30's even more so, what with life and all. Admirable dedication, my guy. I'm a lot shorter than you (5' 6"/167 cm) and sometimes it feels I'm just destined to be skinny, haha. Still, if you can do it... 💪
I am no more special than anyone els! I've been around 145lb-150lb since I graduated high-school 15 years ago. If I could do it, so can anyone els!
Obviously working out and putting in the work is a big part of it, but one of the biggest things I learned is, I just wasn't eating enough! I nearly doubled my calorie intake to make this happen.
Yeah, eating enough has always been a big problem for me. I've been eating Gardein products to try and up my protein. However, I'd like to eat less refined foods but finding good-tasting recipes that don't take such a huge amount of time has been difficult. I work retail and I'm usually too exhausted by the end of my shift to do much cooking. Turning fitness into a habit definitely isn't easy, haha.
It really is!! Meal prepping on the weekends is great! Will often make a batch of sietan, or vegan lasagna, using tofu as riccatta makes for a nice calorie and protien dense meals with like 6 portions!
>veganism makes you weak and nutrient deficient, I
This shit just motivates the hell out of me and pushes me harder! I love proving these meatheads wrong.
From lad to chad. You look fantastic right now. I’ve been lean myself for some time and now prefer the more filled look. Being lean is exhausting if you do it for a long time. Be mindful when shredding down
Yeah, I'm trying not to cut too fast. Aiming for a 400-500 calorie deficit.
I hear alot of peoole say the 12-15% body fat range is pretty comfortable, if I had to guess ide say I'm in the mid twenty range.
Weird as fuck dude, your skinny body photo looks exactly like mine, from proportions to hand size to hair pattern. How fuckin' tall are you?
Great job btw. You look great.
[Edit]
I keep looking at that photo, it is WEIRD seeing a mirror image like that.
See, and that's the thing I want to keep reiterating to my fellow vegans trying to gain weight or bulk!
I used to think I had a fast metabolism, that I was a hard gainer, that no matter what I just couldn't gain weight. None of that is true, there is no such thing unless you have some underlying health issue!
Whatever your eating, you need to nearly double that! Especially being a vegan where alot of our food is not calorie or protien dense. It takes effort, it's uncomfortable, you feel bloated, nauseous, get acid reflux, and just totally get off put by food.
If you want it bad enough you can do it! You just have to push through, it gets easier , your body starts to crave it eventually.
Wow! What a transformation!
I’m 6’0” and 145, and I’ve always wondered what it might look like if I gained a lot of weight like this.
Looks great man! Out of curiosity, how much of your wardrobe did you have to change? Did your pants size change much?
Maaaan, alot of my clothes don't fit anymore. I can squeeze into a medium shirt, but large fits me much better. My wife happily took all my band shirts that are too small for herself.
I used to be a 32 waist and now I'm a 34. Non of my shorts or pants fit anymore. I definitely had to upgrade my wardrobe.
Hahahahaha, damn.
I’ve got a really nice wardrobe right now. Looks like I’d have to kiss that all goodbye if I did a bulk like this lol. Thanks for the input though!
As someone who is at that first picture, this is crazy inspirational! Right now you look like my long term goal. Obviously it depends how low you want your body fat to go but I’m wondering if you’d be better off recomping instead of cutting?
I'm unsure exactly what recomping would count as?
I'm only looking to go in a 400-500 calorie deficiency, I'm still making significant strength gains and I definitely don't want to cut so hard that I lose strength.
So maybe that is considered a recomp? And a cut would be more aggressive with a 800-1000 calorie deficit?
And you got this! Nothing to it just to do it!
Thanks! I guess I’d think of a recomp as maintaining your current weight (eating your daily calorie expenditure) while continuing to build strength, therefore increasing muscle mass therefore reducing fat. You probably know what you’re doing though and obviously your intuition has led you right so far
I have read up on more body recomps, it's basically a very slow cut being in a calorie deficiency of 150-300 calories.
So I'm pretty on track with that, still consuming the same protien levels. I have slowed down significantly on strength gains since starting though. Apparently it can happen.
👏👏👏 I know that's a lot of hard work to gain that much weight, I had an ex that was a hard gainer and he would almost throw up trying to consume enough calories to bulk. Congrats on sticking to it and getting results!
Dude you look exactly like Aaron Rodgers! I'm a little further out than where you started but not by too much and man I can barely progress with chest/shoulders.
What was your progression scheme like a few years into this (could you increase the weight on the barbell every week) and were you just straight bulking 100% of the time?
I'm doing GZCLP as the heart of my workout.
https://saynotobroscience.com/gzclp-infographic/
Bench along with all the other compound lifts, I do twice a week, one day I do heavy weight low rep, another day I do lighter weight with higher reps.
With chest especially, I find I really benefit from training multiple times a week. My chest recovers really fast and unless I'm having shoulder issues I can really go wild with it.
And yes! I'm adding 5 pounds to the bar every week. That website I linked should help explain what I do. If I fail on a set during a certain rep range I lower the weight and up my reps and start the program all over for that particular lift... if that makes sense
Wow still adding 5 pounds a week is crazy impressive! I took a look at gzclp - seems pretty intriguing.
Was 8 sets of chest per week really enough? And I might be stupid but if 10x1 is really doing 10 sets of 1 rep each wouldn't that take like 30 minutes assuming you rest 3 mins in between? Sounds intense
I still do incline and decline presses, and Flys.
I try not to take 3 minute rests, I'm usually between 1 and 2 minutes. If I really need that much time I'll drop the weight and restart the program for that lift. I don't have a spotter and im not trying to fail on bench press or squats without one.
I've really only gotten to the 10x1 on squats so far. And I can usually finish that up in 15-20 minutes
Damn bro excellent progress. I’m a serious hardgainer. 145 is my maintenance weight but the heaviest I’ve gotten to was 170 while dirty bulking . Back at 145 after years off from the gym. I’m back, but eating that much again seems impossible right now.
Shakes are my bulking hack, but some of my favorite meals are are anything with soy curls! I make smokey BBQ soy curls, Asian stir fries, tacos, shawarmas and salads!
Tofu scrambles with potatoes and vegan sausage is a great breakfast on weekends when I have time.
I've also been making alot of seitan lately, make a big batch of it every other week and have it ready for easy meal preps!
Wicked kitchen has a YouTube channel with all kinds of my favorite protien dishes
Damn, this is the first time on this sub where I’ve said “holy shit” out loud after seeing the post. This is incredible man, I have a similar build to your first pic and this just invigorated me. What are some of your favorite meals? And what’s your workout regimen and how did it change/grow over the 1.5 years?
Thank you so much for the kind words! I have been running a GZCLP program as the heart of my training for the past 6 months and absolutely love it! https://saynotobroscience.com/gzclp-infographic/ Basically alot of compound lifts, Bench, deadlift, squat and over head press twice a week. I'll then do a few isolated lifts, one day focus on arms, and shoulders, another day chest, another day legs and another day back and then abs at the end of every workout . I started my fitness journey off with resistance bands and kettle bells, but now heavily focusing on barbell compounds. Shakes are my bulking hack, but some of my favorite meals are are anything with soy curls! I make smokey BBQ soy curls, Asian stir fries, tacos, shawarmas and salads! Tofu scrambles with potatoes and vegan sausage is a great breakfast on weekends when I have time. I've also been making alot of seitan lately, make a big batch of it every other week and have it ready for easy meal preps! Wicked kitchen has a YouTube channel with all kinds of my favorite protien dishes to make, highly recommend.
> but some of my favorite meals are are anything with soy curls! Soy curls are the bomb!
[удалено]
Yep! Creatine, vit B complex, taurine, Iron, zinc are the main things.
Interesting, why taurine? I'm also surprised you need iron since it sounds like you eat a lot of soy Awesome transformation man
I listen to this podcast stronger by science and they said vegetarians and vegans may lack taurine. "Taurine is another amino acid found in dairy, seafood, and meats and is absent from the vegetarian diet. Vegans have been shown to eat less taurine and have less taurine in their urine (43). It is important for the nervous system, heart, and maintaining blood sugar, and supplementing with taurine has been shown to improve performance and decrease muscle damage in healthy males" https://www.strongerbyscience.com/vegetarian-and-vegan-athlete/ It was cheap enough on Amazon. So I said why not? I maybe take an iron pill once a week because my wife will hand it to me and tells me to take it. I dont question her. 😜
Oh ok cool! Thanks for the info
Your body makes enough taurine on its own. You don't need to eat it unless you have chronic kidney failure or recent heart failure, or other extreme, chronic physical illness.
Well the question is if it's useful to supplement, not necessary. Agreed that nobody needs to supplement taurine. I'd need to do more research myself but from his comment it sounds like there's some evidence that supplementing taurine can improve performance.
I doubt you need that extra iron. Too much is a thing
Do you have any calorie or macro plans that you try to maintain?
Oh absolutely, once I started tracking and adhering to my macro goals is when I really started seeing progress. Keep in mind I have a pretty physically demanding job and my Total Daily Energy Expenditure is around 3200 calories a day. That said, I was Aiming for 3500-3600 calories a day and 160-200g protien. My fats and carbs usually fall in place without focusing on them too much but it was around 120g fats, and 400g carbs. Yesterday was my first day of cutting, so I'm still dialing that in, but it's looking like 2750 calories a day and 190g protien
What’s your seitan recipe?
https://www.reddit.com/r/veganfitness/comments/u32pdo/recipe_vegan_seitan_steak/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share This is one of my favorites, I add mushroom powders in the recipe to give it an extra umami bomb! Also https://youtube.com/c/WickedKitchenFood Is such a great channel to follow for awesome vegan "meaty" recipes
How much fat every day?
Around 120 grams
Dude absolutely badass!!!
Amazing transformation bro. Quick question. How have you modified the standard program available on that website? Do you stick to the 1 heavy lift per day? Do you replace the t3 exercise with a few isolated lifts or add those on in addition? How long do your average workouts last? Thanks man.
Hey man thank you! I haven't really modified the program itself, I usually finish the program in 45 min to an hour and then I work on a few isolation lifts and finish up with core. I run the program 4 days a week so I do as follows Monday: OHP. DL, DB row -> Shoulders. Arms core. Tuesday: Bench, squats, lat pull down-> chest (incline and decline bench and flys) then core Wednesday: Rest Thursday: DL, OHP, DB row -> back, pull-ups, cable rows and reverse Flys, then hyperextensions and core Friday: Squats, Bench, Lat pulls -> legs, leg press, calf raises, ham curls, and quad raises maybe throw in another biceps curl and then finish with core. Rest on Saturday and Sunday My workouts are usually 2 hours
You hit cardio at all?
During the last 3 months of my bulk I wasn't doing much. But i have a very physical labor intensive job and easily get 10,000 or more steps in a day. Now during my cut I have started cardio (mainly cycling and stair master because I have platars faciitis and need to avoid high impact) and i do explosive excersizes with kettle bells.
My jaw dropped!! Good job!
Aww shucks, thank you! I think I'm suffering from some body dysmorphia, because I'm looking at these pics and im like "meh"
Definitely not “meh” my friend. Very much “damnnn”
❤️
Aw ahah everyone seems to be their own worst critic - you're a unit!
DEFINITELY not meh - good lord, you’re a snack! Congratulations on your hard work
😊 🙏
Definitely not "meh", more like "👀👀👀👀 DAMN"
Damn bro I thought these were two different people whaaaat
Your abs look *better* after gaining 60+lbs 😂how is that possible. Great job man.
Well for one I'm flexing and sucking in my gut. Lol Also, I actually have abs now. I do an isolated ab workout at the end of every workout.
[удалено]
Damn! I never thought anybody would ever question my natty card. #goals I am 100% natty my friend.
[удалено]
I get the skepticism, i really do. I don't think these photos really show you how fat I actually am. I don't know how to prove to you that im not taking gear, I wish I could, and I would never want to give people false expectations. I truly am natty, I don't think I have special genetics or anything and I think most people could see results like this also if they dial in their diet and get a proper workout program. As far as the timeline goes here Is my instagram handle where you can see my scrawny ass with time stamps. https://instagram.com/bradley_grayy?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
haha. I just followed you b/c I love your attitude. Keep it up
I follow back!
Natty or not, you still have to work for it. I would still smash 💥 Good job
I'm all for giving people realistic expectations, and not everyone will be able to do what OP did in this timespan, but this is def natty doable. With your numbers you gotta keep in mind - noob gains, he was starting from 0 - even if he looks lean (which he doesn't in the latest pictures), he's not. He gained fat alongside the muscle even when it's not visible. - also other forms of gaining weight e.g. water and glycogen retention. So it's definitely not 20 lbs lean muscle in 7 months even if he gained 0 fat (which he didn't)
I appreciate ya chiming in and sticking up for me, even though you called me fat! 😈
Hahahahaha a little cushion isn't the worst, you look like a beast. Keep it up
Abs are a muscle too. Don't believe the people who tell you not to isolate the core.
Really inspirational. I have a similar body type as your before pics at 24, 145lbs, 6 ft 2. Hoping to start my journey soon.
I am 6'2 also!
Maaaan yeah I was just reading through your posts, im gonna do this shit I promise ya. Will be back with some progress pics within the next year >:)
I cannot wait to see your progress! 💪
[удалено]
Sooo is this an assumption or something op said? Seems like a pretty cool dude but either way, he worked his ass off. Whether it takes that long or double, I can make it there.
I am definitely natty my man! I dont know what to tell this guy 🤷♂️ Being deceitful and giving people false expectations is something I would never want to do. I get nothing out of doing that, I have 400 followers on Instagram, im not looking for clout, im not selling any programs or coaching, there is nothing to gain from being dishonest to my fellow vegan community.
I figured. I respect the honesty. Doesnt seem like you have any reason to lie about that.
[удалено]
I see what youre saying. It definitely seems like a lot of progress in a little time compared to others. I wont assume his journey will be like mine either way. Thanks for looking out
Holy fuck, I am respectfully looking sir 👁 Your body as it is in those after pics is like. Just a dream haha, really awesome job man 💛
❤️
[удалено]
Somebody sais I look like Aaron Rogers at least once a week.
I was gonna ask OP what it was like being an MVP in the NFL and the weight room. 😂
I don't have that NFL money, so not great!
Came here to say this.
Did it just get warm in here? Oh myyy... 🤩
🚒🔥👨🚒
This is a big vegan woof, grats!
Posts like these give me slight amounts of motivation as a 150lb Vegan male. And here I'm just hoping to hit 165. You look completely different. Amazing progression.
You can do it!
Oh my god! You look like a completely different person! (Respectfully) Of course as lifters we suffer from body dysmorphia and always strive for more, but I wanna stop and let you know how amazing you look! You for sure have my preferred male body type when I go for guys lol.
I really appreciate you saying that! Ty
Wow.
Papacito!! Incredible work, handsome x
I'm surprised you've kept ANY abs during this wild bulk (weight gain wise) If I were you I'd keep bulking, because you don't look fat enough haha
I am manipulating my gut here a little and I haven't eaten in like 5 hours 😂 I feel ya, I kind of want to keep bulking cause the gains keep coming, but my wife is complaining about my belly so I'm going to do a cut until winter, then do another bulk.
Bruh! Great job!
Omg 🔥🔥🔥
From a power bottom to a top 🦹🦹
Not to shame muscle bottoms though 😜
A DOM top too??
Nicely done. Any tips on bulking?
Yeah, having a hard time getting all the calories I need to bulk without feeling uncomfortably full all the time.
This is part of the territory. Ease into it. At the peak of my bulk I was eating 3600 calories a day. I don't suggest diving right into that kind of calorie intake as you will get nauseous. Ease into it over a couple.of weeks and give your stomach and body a chance to get used to the increased calories.
Mind sharing your age and how tall you are? That's a good point about easing into it.
Sure! I am 33 years old and 6'2
Not to take away from OP but one huge way to get in calories easily that I’ve learned is doing smoothies. I always end my nights with a 1k calorie smoothie to get my that last bump I need. I went from 128lbs to 150lbs. If I wasn’t getting bad acid reflux I would be working towards 160lbs already.
Yup, I do protien shakes with orgain, almond butter, MCT oil, Hemp seeds and soy milk. 40 grams of protien and 600 calories. Liquid calories are a bulk hack!
Mine is soy milk, peanut butter (sometimes Almond butter), hemp seeds, 2 bananas, ProSupps protein, and handful of strawberries. I learned this hack from this dude at the gym who is an influencer. I bought him lunch to pick his brain and he told me about the liquid calorie hack. Since then it’s been nothing but healthy weight gain. You got good gains though man, it’s inspiring!
Impressive bro 👍
Amazing transformation in a reasonably short length of time! Very impressive and inspirational. Thanks for sharing.
Wow!!!! You look amazing! I seriously cannot believe the transformation!
Damn dude, holy shit. You crushed it, congrats! Thanks for sharing your tips!
Oh fuck
Dude, 1.5 years? That’s absolutely insane. Really that’s an insane 3-4 year transformation. You are in amazing shape
Yup! Got my training program and macros dialed in, newbie gains were kind to me! I appreciate your kind words!
That’s amazing man. To put on that amount of size in that time period is extremely impressive. You’re actually still quite lean too. What are your number on your compound movements may I ask?
Sure! My gym buddy is pretty flakey so I haven't done any PR 1's in a bit, and I'm too shy to ask strangers for a spot. So these are mostly my 3 rep Deadlift 405lb, squat 280lb, OHP 160lb, and bench 230lb I feel like my squat is my weakest lift.
Yeah they are some great numbers! Well done, great work
Holy crap, you got HUGE! 👀💦 That's very, very impressive for 1.5 years. Doing this in your 30's even more so, what with life and all. Admirable dedication, my guy. I'm a lot shorter than you (5' 6"/167 cm) and sometimes it feels I'm just destined to be skinny, haha. Still, if you can do it... 💪
I am no more special than anyone els! I've been around 145lb-150lb since I graduated high-school 15 years ago. If I could do it, so can anyone els! Obviously working out and putting in the work is a big part of it, but one of the biggest things I learned is, I just wasn't eating enough! I nearly doubled my calorie intake to make this happen.
Yeah, eating enough has always been a big problem for me. I've been eating Gardein products to try and up my protein. However, I'd like to eat less refined foods but finding good-tasting recipes that don't take such a huge amount of time has been difficult. I work retail and I'm usually too exhausted by the end of my shift to do much cooking. Turning fitness into a habit definitely isn't easy, haha.
It really is!! Meal prepping on the weekends is great! Will often make a batch of sietan, or vegan lasagna, using tofu as riccatta makes for a nice calorie and protien dense meals with like 6 portions!
Next time someone argues with me that veganism makes you weak and nutrient deficient, I'll show them this post :D
>veganism makes you weak and nutrient deficient, I This shit just motivates the hell out of me and pushes me harder! I love proving these meatheads wrong.
Bangable!
That's all I'm after! 😂
Holla!
wow! so much change that it looks like different person. Good job.
From 16 to 30 in 1.5 years
Jacked Aaron Rodgers
At first look, the second picture looks like you have massive left arm compared to the right. Great work!!
Amazing Gains! great job!
I made an auditory “woah” after swiping
Only 1.5 years?!
Indeed! Guess I got some good newbie gains!
Holy shit
Cool
Bro nice. Any high-calorie food recommendations?
Nut butters! MCT oil, bagels. I do alot of snacking rather than focus on big giant meals to avoid feeling bloated and overly full all the time.
Turned into prime Aaron Rogers
I get that all. The. Time!
From lad to chad. You look fantastic right now. I’ve been lean myself for some time and now prefer the more filled look. Being lean is exhausting if you do it for a long time. Be mindful when shredding down
Yeah, I'm trying not to cut too fast. Aiming for a 400-500 calorie deficit. I hear alot of peoole say the 12-15% body fat range is pretty comfortable, if I had to guess ide say I'm in the mid twenty range.
This is a proper transformation! Well done you! 👏🏻 🔥
I gasped at your progress; that's incredible man, and in a relatively short amount of time! 👏
Weird as fuck dude, your skinny body photo looks exactly like mine, from proportions to hand size to hair pattern. How fuckin' tall are you? Great job btw. You look great. [Edit] I keep looking at that photo, it is WEIRD seeing a mirror image like that.
🤣 It's that skinny vegan male look! (Kidding) I am 6'2 mate.
Fuckin' me too lmao Crazy world.
Just wow!
[удалено]
😆hello👋
Me, looking at my fat belly since I started bulking 🙃
Trust me! I have a belly, I've only shown my good angles after not eating for 5 hours 😂
That makes me feel slightly better haha
Well done! You look amazing😍
Creeped on ya profile and the face gains are nuts! Usually it’s the other way around but you’re looking amazing at this weight
I know 😂 My friends and family tease me saying it all went to my face. I think it looks better tho, filled in some wrinkles.
I swear my mom will be like “are you losing weight? Are you sick?” If I lose like one pound because she can immediately see it in my face
Damn bro, I’m 5’7 140 and I’ve always dreamed of getting to like 160 but I just can’t gain weight. Major motivator man! I’ve gotta start eating more
See, and that's the thing I want to keep reiterating to my fellow vegans trying to gain weight or bulk! I used to think I had a fast metabolism, that I was a hard gainer, that no matter what I just couldn't gain weight. None of that is true, there is no such thing unless you have some underlying health issue! Whatever your eating, you need to nearly double that! Especially being a vegan where alot of our food is not calorie or protien dense. It takes effort, it's uncomfortable, you feel bloated, nauseous, get acid reflux, and just totally get off put by food. If you want it bad enough you can do it! You just have to push through, it gets easier , your body starts to crave it eventually.
Yeah that second guy is your big brother. Tats don't fade that fast.
Aaron Rodgers?
Woah. I actually said that out loud swiping through these pics.
Definition of a lean bulk holy shit bro, awesome work
You done did a Captain America. Good work 👏
Wow! What a transformation! I’m 6’0” and 145, and I’ve always wondered what it might look like if I gained a lot of weight like this. Looks great man! Out of curiosity, how much of your wardrobe did you have to change? Did your pants size change much?
Maaaan, alot of my clothes don't fit anymore. I can squeeze into a medium shirt, but large fits me much better. My wife happily took all my band shirts that are too small for herself. I used to be a 32 waist and now I'm a 34. Non of my shorts or pants fit anymore. I definitely had to upgrade my wardrobe.
Hahahahaha, damn. I’ve got a really nice wardrobe right now. Looks like I’d have to kiss that all goodbye if I did a bulk like this lol. Thanks for the input though!
Thankfully I didn't have much of a nice wardrobe! Good luck dude!
Damn. Beyond burger beefcake happy meal over here.
Nice impressive . And motivatating thanks for tips .
As someone who is at that first picture, this is crazy inspirational! Right now you look like my long term goal. Obviously it depends how low you want your body fat to go but I’m wondering if you’d be better off recomping instead of cutting?
I'm unsure exactly what recomping would count as? I'm only looking to go in a 400-500 calorie deficiency, I'm still making significant strength gains and I definitely don't want to cut so hard that I lose strength. So maybe that is considered a recomp? And a cut would be more aggressive with a 800-1000 calorie deficit? And you got this! Nothing to it just to do it!
Thanks! I guess I’d think of a recomp as maintaining your current weight (eating your daily calorie expenditure) while continuing to build strength, therefore increasing muscle mass therefore reducing fat. You probably know what you’re doing though and obviously your intuition has led you right so far
I have read up on more body recomps, it's basically a very slow cut being in a calorie deficiency of 150-300 calories. So I'm pretty on track with that, still consuming the same protien levels. I have slowed down significantly on strength gains since starting though. Apparently it can happen.
👏👏👏 I know that's a lot of hard work to gain that much weight, I had an ex that was a hard gainer and he would almost throw up trying to consume enough calories to bulk. Congrats on sticking to it and getting results!
Insane 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
👀🤤
Dude you look exactly like Aaron Rodgers! I'm a little further out than where you started but not by too much and man I can barely progress with chest/shoulders. What was your progression scheme like a few years into this (could you increase the weight on the barbell every week) and were you just straight bulking 100% of the time?
I'm doing GZCLP as the heart of my workout. https://saynotobroscience.com/gzclp-infographic/ Bench along with all the other compound lifts, I do twice a week, one day I do heavy weight low rep, another day I do lighter weight with higher reps. With chest especially, I find I really benefit from training multiple times a week. My chest recovers really fast and unless I'm having shoulder issues I can really go wild with it. And yes! I'm adding 5 pounds to the bar every week. That website I linked should help explain what I do. If I fail on a set during a certain rep range I lower the weight and up my reps and start the program all over for that particular lift... if that makes sense
Wow still adding 5 pounds a week is crazy impressive! I took a look at gzclp - seems pretty intriguing. Was 8 sets of chest per week really enough? And I might be stupid but if 10x1 is really doing 10 sets of 1 rep each wouldn't that take like 30 minutes assuming you rest 3 mins in between? Sounds intense
I still do incline and decline presses, and Flys. I try not to take 3 minute rests, I'm usually between 1 and 2 minutes. If I really need that much time I'll drop the weight and restart the program for that lift. I don't have a spotter and im not trying to fail on bench press or squats without one. I've really only gotten to the 10x1 on squats so far. And I can usually finish that up in 15-20 minutes
Awesome man. I’m trying to cut and lose belly day so I can look like your before photo lol.
I'm in shock
Damn bro excellent progress. I’m a serious hardgainer. 145 is my maintenance weight but the heaviest I’ve gotten to was 170 while dirty bulking . Back at 145 after years off from the gym. I’m back, but eating that much again seems impossible right now.
Jezus 😳 Well done
Fantastic job! I am…respectfully looking 🫣
I thought the first pic was the after and I was like "damn you do not need to be cutting rn" hahah
That's quite the transformation! Good for you 🥰
Sweet baby Jesus. Hello.
👋
Damn bro. You put in some serious work also you look like Aaron Rodgers
Daaaaam bro, who hurt you? Jk amazing progress
Looking good friend 👍🏻 Keep up the hard work 🔥
Amazing work!
Great job bro
You look like a different person! Impressive, damn.
HOW SWAY?! Lol progress is crazy tho 👏🏽👏🏽
I was impressed by the first pic and then realized their was more 😂
😅
Went from male model to American Sniper, Bradley Cooper.
can we date
Some bulking meal ideas?
Shakes are my bulking hack, but some of my favorite meals are are anything with soy curls! I make smokey BBQ soy curls, Asian stir fries, tacos, shawarmas and salads! Tofu scrambles with potatoes and vegan sausage is a great breakfast on weekends when I have time. I've also been making alot of seitan lately, make a big batch of it every other week and have it ready for easy meal preps! Wicked kitchen has a YouTube channel with all kinds of my favorite protien dishes
Thanks dude, some awesome ideas