I decided to cut back on partying, work on better nutrition, hit the weights three times a week, and walk two miles every day (easy to do when you have an energetic golden retriever). Regarding nutrition, I increased my consumption of fruits and vegetables to five servings a day and made sure to drink ten glasses of water daily.

A few years later I learned the truth about the dairy and egg industries and decided to go vegan. Although it was difficult in the beginning, I soon discovered that there are a great number of delicious foods to feast on and I adapted quickly. Becoming a vegan had a profound effect on my training. Soon after going vegan, my bench press excelled past 315lbs and I noticed that I recovered much faster. In addition, my body fat went down and I put on ten pounds of lean muscle in a few months.

Today, several years later, I continue to follow a vegan diet and my training continues to get better every year. Over the last two years I decided to move away from standard weightlifting exercises such as bench pressing and curling and focus more on functional strength training.

Currently, I combine bodyweight exercises with kettlebell lifting. A kettlebell looks like a bowling ball with a handle and is great for both rapid and slow movements. For more information on kettlebell training, go to www.dragondoor.com. I use a kettlebell handle that I purchased from www.fractionalplates.com that allows one to load it with 10lb plates up to 110lbs. This combination of bodyweight exercises and kettlebell training is much more functional than standard bodybuilding exercises and in my opinion much more enjoyable. I do Kettlebell lifting three times a week and bodyweight exercises 2-3 times a week. Here is an example of my workout week:

Monday-Wednesday-Friday (Kettlebell days)

I always start off each workout with a wrestler's back bridge (go to www.mattfurey.com for information on how to bridge) I hold the bridge for three to five minutes. This exercise really stretches my spine and energizes me for my workout. I have been doing it for two years and as a result never suffer from lower back pain.

Next I move on to the kettlebell one arm military presses. Since my left arm is slightly weaker than my right arm, I always start each set with my left arm when it is fresh. I warm up each arm with a 50lb kettlebell and do three reps. From there, I move on to my working sets:

80x5x1 (weight-reps-sets)
70x5x2 (weight-reps-sets)
60x5x7 (weight-reps-sets)

I take sixty-second breaks between each set (after completing reps for both arms)

Next, I do several sets of the kettlebell snatch to work my back, speed, and coordination.

The snatch involves grabbing the kettlebell from the floor and in one swift motion taking the weight overhead. I recommend strongly Pavel Tsatsouline's "Russian Kettlebell Challenge" video for proper execution of all KB lifts. You can learn more about this video at www.dragondoor.com After doing a few warm up sets with a 60lb KB, I move up to 90lbs and do three sets of ten.

Tuesday-Thursday (bodyweight exercises)

Similar to my kettlebell workouts, I always start my bodyweight workouts with the wrestler's bridge. Again, I hold this position for three-five minutes. Next, I move on to full range handstand pushups between two chairs. I use two sturdy dinning room table chairs and place them about a foot and a half apart and about two feet away from a wall. From there I kick into a handstand on top of the chairs and place my feet firmly against the wall. I breathe in as I lower my body to the floor and hold my breath as I press back up to the starting position. Holding my breath keeps my body tight and strong during the pressing portion of the exercise. I do five sets of five.

After Handstand Pushups, I do one-legged squats and ab wheel rollouts from my feet. One-legged squats are an incredible exercise for functional leg strength as well as for increasing balance and focus. To start, hold one leg slightly in front of you and place your arms straight in front of you for balance. As you lower your body, bend down and turn slightly to the leg that you are holding out. Breathe in as you go down and breathe out as you come up. Be sure to keep your arms in front of you during the entire range of motion and look straight ahead. These take a while to learn, so do not be frustrated if you cannot even manage one in the beginning (I will be writing an article on how to progress on one legged squats in the future). I do five sets of five one-legged squats.

For ab rolls, I use an ab roller that you can get at any Target or Walmart for less than $10.00. If you are not familiar with this device, it looks like a small bicycle wheel with a handle on each side. To do full range ab rolls, start the exercise on your fee and roll the wheel as far out as you can. If this is too difficult, start off on your feet and gradually progress to a standing roll out. This is a fantastic exercise for lean, solid, and functional abs

After that, I do some light stretching and call it a day. All of my workouts take less than 45 minutes and most are around 30 minutes.

Next, I will get into what I eat on a daily basis and when to eat what to maximize fat burning, muscle building, and workout performance.

• See Part Two of this article.

Mike Mahler has been a strength athlete for over ten years and is available for phone consultations. If you would like more information on a personalized strength training and nutrition program to address your needs or to set up a one time "free phone consultation", please email Mike at mahler25@yahoo.com or call him at 703-259-4471.

Want to see more videos? Subscribe to VegSource!

Every time we post a new video, we'll send you a notice by e-mail.

No spam ever and you can easily unsubscribe at anytime.

Enter your email address, your first name, and press Submit.