‘Yes You Can!’ – Getting Strong On A Vegan Diet

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For this blog, I’ve consciously decided to go with the words ‘getting strong’, instead of going with other terms like ‘losing fat’ or ‘gaining muscle’. You see, getting stronger is a thing I think we can all relate too.

Whether you’re a 65-year-old woman, or a 30-year-old man, getting strong is something we all want. Getting stronger means being able to do more things, and never being limited by your ability.

On the other hand, what you want your body to look like after you got stronger depends on the person. So, long story short, that’s why we’re trying to get stronger.

Is This Even Possible?

Yes, getting stronger on a vegan diet is possible. We all know eating vegan is a lot healthier than any other diet (if you’re reading this, I’m assuming we don’t need to discuss this now). However, not many people equate being vegan to being strong.

Heck, even a lot of vegans sometimes falsely believe that getting stronger is somehow more difficult for them. Maybe I was guilty of this myself. Not that strange if you consider that we’ve been told over and over again that:

• We miss many vital nutrients and vitamins
• Vegan diets aren’t high enough in protein

In our modern day and age, I’m a 100% sure both of these statements are lies. After gaining around 35lbs of muscle in the past 10 months and eating a very high-protein diet, I’m a 100% sure these statements are lies.

If you’re not yet convinced: Google ‘vegan fitness transformations’ and see what comes up. If you’re reading the newsletter that I’m sending daily, you’ll also receive many inspiring vegan fitness stories daily, so I’m hoping that gets you in the right mindset.

How To Get Stronger On A Vegan Diet

Honestly, just like any non-vegan would get stronger: by doing exercises that challenge you and by eating a healthy diet that consists of +/- 25 – 30% protein.

To truly get stronger, we’ll have to use some form of (body)weight exercises. How much you can and/or should do is really going to depend on your personal fitness level and age.

I’m a big believer that anybody can get stronger doing this on their personal level. Too many people get intimidated too quickly when they hear the word ‘weight’.

Dumbbells start at 1 pound. If you can lift a pack of soy milk, I’m pretty sure you can lift some weights and that it would be fantastic for your overall strength if you did.

Throughout the blog and the newsletter, I’ll do my best to discuss exercises and workouts that are accessible to as many plant-based people as possible.

The #1 Fitness Mistake

The number one tip I can give you for making this work is to be kind to yourself. Don’t overdo your training, don’t overdo your fitness routine.

The trap people always fall into is that they’re very enthusiastic when they start off, and they start off really strong. Eventually, the enthusiasm slowly fades away, they stop training and eating like they planned too, and that was the end of it.

Remember: training two or three times a week is a lot better than not training it all. Eating more healthy sources of protein is better than eating less of them. It really is that simple.

Stefan K.

Stefan has been vegan since 2019 and has been regularly working on his strength since the beginning of 2023. He’s on a mission to help other vegans get stronger and have all of them achieve the quality of life they deserve.