The Vegan Gym Podcast

You may be surprised by how many fears you end up confronting as you work towards a fitness goal. Have you found that you're actually a little fearful of lifting heavier weights, "losing your abs" if you eat more calories, or "getting too bulky?" These moments are amazing opportunities for huge personal growth and a big step forward in achieving the physique results you de...

Have you ever not finished something you set out to do? While you (or others) may see that as a failure, it’s really only a failure if you didn’t learn from it. Challenges and setbacks are some of the best moments for reflection and growth. In this episode, Leif shares why he didn’t complete 75 HARD, the valuable lessons he learned from that experience, and how we can apply this insight to set bet...

Derek Simnett is a vegan nutritionist with a passion for fitness and living a healthy, happy, purpose-driven life. Through his social media channels, Derek inspires others to take control of their lives and health by implementing simple habits and routine changes. He demonstrates that it isn’t that difficult to revolutionize your lifestyle when you focus on just getting started! Everything else wi...

Do you want to be a better person tomorrow than you are today? Do you want to grow, learn, and prosper? Receiving insight from someone you trust is an important part of this process. A coach looks at your situation from a different angle and provides you with honest feedback that guides you in making mindset and habit changes to help you meet your goals. However, this only works if you are coachab...

Dr. Laurie Marbas is a double board-certified family medicine and lifestyle medicine physician who has been utilizing food as medicine since 2012. She is the co-founder of Plant Based TeleHealth, an organization focused on the prevention and reversal of chronic disease utilizing lifestyle medicine. In this interview, Dr. Marbas explains what plant-based lifestyle medicine really is, how medical fi...

Robert Cheeke has dedicated the majority of his life to show what's possible when you follow your passion. Through many hard years of work, he proved to the world that vegans can compete and win bodybuilding competitions, at the national, professional level. But that was just the beginning! His story has spread and inspired countless vegans to find their purpose, persevere, and live life to t...

Dr. Niki Davis, a “rocket scientist” turned board-certified medical doctor, specializes in nutrition and lifestyle medicine. In this interview, we break down misconceptions and answer questions about oil, whole foods, the healing power of food, meal planning for fat loss, body composition, the need for starches, and more!  Support the show

You have the opportunity to forever change your life when you live by this simple, powerful principle:   “commit NOW and figure the rest out later”. What does this mean? It means fully committing to the things that you feel called to accomplish in your life. What if you didn't allow fear to hold you back? What if you chased your full potential in life and became all that you were put on this...

Knowing the benefits you can expect to experience throughout your fitness journey is critical for staying committed and consistent. When we have a skewed understanding or vision of what our progress should look like, we can become discouraged and distracted once we are in the thick of our journey. In this interview with Vegan Superhero Academy Coach Sawyer, we discuss how we can be realistic with...

There are two main nutritional considerations to keep in mind when you are working to build muscle as a vegan. One, you need to be consuming enough calories. Two, you need to be consuming enough protein. In this episode, we'll go into detail about how to accomplish these two goals, plus you'll learn how your body uses protein to build muscle and which foods are best for fueling your body...

Have you been sick lately and had a few weeks off from the gym or following your nutrition plan? You might be finding it hard to get back into the swing of things. The reality is that sometimes you go into the gym and make physical gains and other times you go into the gym and make mental gains. Getting back on track after being sick is one of those opportunities for mental gains. In this episode,...

When faced with difficulty, sometimes we put forth a little effort and ask, "does this count?" In reality, you know if your effort truly should count or if it shouldn’t count. If you have to ask, "does this count?" then no, it doesn’t. When you put forth your best effort every day, regardless of your circumstances, you'll make your goals a reality. In this podcast episode...

Whether you are vegan or are thinking about becoming vegan, you probably have been asked the common question, “But where do you get your protein?” All too often, other people are concerned that you won’t get enough protein and you’ll waste away.  There are many concerns about vegan protein, but fortunately they are just myths. Today, we will bust five of these common myths and share the truth abou...

Our brains are wired for comfort and survival, not discomfort and success. Your mind can have a powerful influence on your perceived level of effort and your results. Once you push beyond your limiting beliefs, you establish a new standard in your life. In this episode we unpack what it means to work hard physically and mentally, how to set new standards, and redefine what is truly possible  for o...

Many people struggle to stick to a fat loss diet because they feel overly restricted in what they can eat and/or they are stuck feeling hungry all the time. In this episode, we explain why tracking macronutrients is a better approach to nutrition for losing fat and provide a thorough list of the best vegan foods for fat loss. These foods don’t have any magical fat loss powers, but we have found th...

It is much easier to maintain momentum than it is to constantly be starting and stopping. This is true physically as well as for our mindset when it comes to setting and achieving goals. Momentum takes a lot of effort to start, but it also takes far less effort to maintain. So, how do you build and maintain momentum when it comes to your health and fitness? In this episode we share some practical...

If you are heading into the New Year without specific, meaningful goals, then you’re setting yourself up for living an average, mediocre life. Goals help give your life purpose and direction. Without them, you’ll waste amazing opportunities (and miss out on the amazing compounding effects of personal development) over the next year. In this episode, we share a simple but powerful 3-step process th...

Have you ever felt societal pressure to look a certain way? Have you ever struggled with your relationship with food? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be less obsessed with the number on the scale or the size tag in your clothes and more obsessed with fueling your body to be fit and healthy? This episode with Vegan Superhero Academy Coach Laura Marks is just for you! In our conversa...

Creating motivation is just the first step of momentum towards your goals. Maintaining motivation is the long journey. Everyone experiences ups and downs in their level of motivation. The key is to recognize when you are getting off track, course correct, and ultimately not throw in the towel. If you’re not in a motivational rut right now, you will likely be in one at some point on your journey. W...

Motivation is not something that you just have. You have to create it. In this episode, we explore how our personal whys, goals, and priorities play an important role in building momentum. You'll learn practical tips for implementing these six ways to get your drive back: 1) Create your ultimate vision; 2) Define your identity; 3) Have crystal clear goals; 4) Be clear on your priorities; 5) L...

Are you going to check out from your health and fitness goals over the holidays? The holidays are a wonderful time to be grateful for the most important things in your life like family and friendships. It’s also the time of the year when people are least committed to their health and fitness. In this episode we talk about how to cultivate the power of consistency and setting yourself up to start t...

When you take care of your body and your mind, it makes you far more effective at helping others. Many people, especially parents, feel guilty for taking time out of their busy schedule to focus on themselves each day. But you can’t pour from an empty cup. "You have to be selfish in order to be selfless”. In this episode, we take a fresh look at the difference between being selfish and selfle...

At our 2021 Vegan Superhero Retreat, Robert shared his inspiring transformation from a scrawny farm boy to a champion vegan bodybuilder and New York Times Best Selling author. I wasn't planning to turn this into a podcast so we only recorded it on an iPhone, but his story was too good not to share. Please excuse the audio quality. I hope you enjoy listening! Support the show

During a Zoom call with our clients, one of them, Michael, talked about how he often struggles with comparing himself to others. Towards the end of week 4 of our Vegan Superhero Academy coaching program, he was stretching after a workout and feeling super proud of all the progress he had made, but then he began scrolling through social media and comparing himself to others. He began thinking, &quo...

There are many common “broscience” myths in the fitness industry that have zero scientific merit. One of the most well-known bodybuilding myths is the idea that your body can only absorb a limited amount of protein from a single meal. Well, the truth is that your body can absorb nearly an unlimited amount of protein into the bloodstream. The more accurate question (that actually does have scientif...