Here is a blog that a fellow vegan weightlifter wrote for Kill Kilos Not Animals! From here forward I am going to use this blog for a few things:
1. Express the crazy, random thoughts that go through my head
2. Shine the light on other vegetarian, vegan, or plant based athletes
3. Promote and change the idea that in order to be strong, you have to eat pounds and pounds of meat
4. Provide a place full of motivation and information for people who are interested in plant based diet
Please enjoy this piece written by Dan Fisher. A vegan weightlifter working hard to get to the next level!
I love being plant based! Disclaimer: I’m one of those health nut picky eaters that probably trigger you. All I’m saying is that if you put high quality air, water, and food into your body then you’re going to be healthy! I started seriously researching nutrition and human physiology when I was 18 and at the same time I began training for olympic weightlifting. I spent a lot of time in the library reading books about nutrition and olympic weightlifting technique. I arrived at two conclusions respectively.
-A plant based diet is the way to go.
-Keep your shoulders over the bar.
I am very blessed to have been coached by Joe Seth, who is in my humble and biased opinion the best coach in the USA. He coaches at Advanced Fitness & Performance an olympic weightlifting gym in Sarasota, Florida. I was 18 years old or so when I began training and Joe knew right off the bat that I was vegan. He was curious but really he didn’t care about my diet. His job was to turn me into a weightlifter. I can remember struggling to snatch the bar. These days I’m chasing a 100kg snatch, the holy grail for the amateur weightlifter. And I’d like to thank Joe for teaching me, believing in me, and coaching me. I couldn’t be where I’m at today without him and I’m getting quite emotional as I’m writing this because I haven’t connected with Joe in a while.
The most fascinating part about weightlifting is the variety of people involved in the sport and their unique lifestyles. Plant based athletes in general are a minority in the world, and even more so in olympic weightlifting, but they are growing in numbers very quickly. I am certain the future of all sport and people, in general, will be plant based.
Let me make one thing absolutely clear before I ramble any further: there are MANY weightlifters out there who are stronger and more knowledgeable than me. And the fascinating part is that they are not plant based. I was just listening to a podcast by Jon North called weightlifting talk the episode was titled “Run Danny, Run” and in it Jon North talked about how he was smoking a pack a day and eating KFC for lunch every day with Donny Shankle while they were training for Nationals and both of them won 1st in their weight class.
Respect where it’s due to America’s finest, but I’m in it for the long haul. I think it’s amazing that the human body can run on a diet of complete garbage and still be capable of generating incredible amounts of power. I would like to make gains, hit PR’s, and reach my peak natural potential in the sport of olympic weightlifting while still enjoying a long and healthy life. This is why I’m a plant based athlete. Because I can have the cake and eat it too.
I used to volunteer at a hospital when I was in highschool, I would run all sorts of errands for the staff and interact with ill patients. I can tell you this for certain, being sick is not fun. Being plant based has not given me super powers by conventional standards, but for me, never getting sick is a super power. Three years and counting I haven’t been sick. Granted, even though I am young and healthy, I’m still actively investing in my future by being plant based. As I get older I do not want to spend time in hospitals, I know I would rather be in the gym snatching.
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