I can’t believe a VEGAN can climb that hard!
Steph! Let me say I am a huge fan. I am so glad that there are vegan athletes out there like you representing! I have been climbing since I was about six, but seriously for about 5 years, on and off, and been vegan for three years. In that time I have had ups and downs, both in climbing and veganism. Part of that was I was a freshman in high school when I went vegan, not exactly a social norm, and was tormented a lot for it, especially by my macho wrestling team-mates. But it ended up being a good thing for my climbing, cause that’s how I vented all my frustration with people. After a while my family was really supportive. My mom is a nurse, so she got really into all the health benefits and made sure that I was getting everything I needed. My whole family started eating vegan meals, although my brother and I were the only ones who are vegan 100% of the time.
One thing that I’ve come across several times is when I climb “hard” stuff, it’s no big deal, until people find out I’m vegan, then it’s “WOW I can’t believe a VEGAN can climb that hard!”, or worse ” Oh if he can climb it, it must not be so hard”. It pisses me off SO much. On one hand I feel like I should be proud, but on the other hand it just reminds me that veganism is still really weird to people, especially in intense sports like climbing. Lately I’ve been experiencing some stiff joints, especially my ring finger on my left hand, and my elbows, but I haven’t felt any pain. I’m not sure what it’s from. I haven’t been climbing any harder or more frequently than I did in high-school. I’m guessing it’s because I haven’t been eating as well now that I am in college. I’m sorry to rant about all this, it’s just that I hardly know any vegans, and I have never met another vegan climber. You are a huge inspiration to me!
-Jason
Thanks for writing Jason! How cool that your family is so supportive of you, and that you have decided to always be in control of your life choices, despite what others may think or say. That’s extra impressive when dealing with peer pressure. You’ve been climbing for so long, and when you say that you are feeling some stiff joints, you probably know to pay attention, since climbers battle with overuse and tendon injuries. I’m guessing that college gives you less time for climbing than high school did, but you probably still go to the gym and pull as hard as you always have. Drink lots of water, and warm up a lot, especially when you are climbing less than normal. The only tips I can offer to keep your tendons together are consistency (of climbing and training), hydration and staying light.
Best to you!
🙂 Steph
I, too, am a proud vegan climber. 🙂
I know other climbers that take glucosamine for stiff fingers and joints. I don’t take it myself, but I know some climbers that say it helps tremendously. Most glucosamine tablets found in stores have shellfish in it (gross!), so check out http://www.devanutrition.com for some vegan glucosamine if needed. Keep repping the vegan climbing community!! 🙂
-Kirsty
Hey Jason, hi Steph,
just wanna send some veggie greets from Germany!
My girlfriend and me are climbers too and I go to the gym frequently.
I’m in pretty good shape (for a 40yo;-) although I don’t eat any meat or fish for more than 16 years (or maybe because of that fact…?)
Just eat smart and healthy and be sure to get enough protein for your muscles (there are enough soy products available), vitamins and magnesium and the sky will be the limit! 😉
Climb on! 🙂
Volker
Jason, although I’m not vegan I am vegetarian and I climb. You should check out a book called Thrive Diet by http://www.brendanbrazier.com/ it’s a sports nutrition book from the standpoint of a vegan. Hope you don’t mind me giving that link Steph.
I will say this though, even though you may be vegan you still really have to pay attention to what you eat. I have meet other vegan and vegetarians that are not very healthy.
And p.s. you should join the Texas Mountaineers, there are a lot of veg heads in our club 🙂
Steph, everybody else, thanks so much! Since this post I’ve actually gotten completely over my stiff joints, and gotten even more motivated to climb. Winter Quarter here at Cal Poly has been a little easier then fall Quarter, giving me more time to pay attention to my diet and my climbing. I’m actually competing now in the College Climbing Series with my team the SLOOPERS!! we aren’t affiliated with the school but it’s still a lot of fun! For the first time in my life I’m completely surrounded by people who love to climb, and that’s awesome! Climb on and climb hard to all!
-Jason
Hey everybody,
I am not a vegan nor vegetarian but I’ve been thinking about bringing all the positive things together.
Can you say that eating meat can actually be bad for my performance? I try to eat whole and unprocessed foods, veggies, fruit, but I just like meat.
I am convinced that vegan body-builders do not get as good results as vegetarian or meat-eaters do, but I believe that for climbing it makes no difference (or might be better to be vegetarian).
Anyways, keep up the quality blogging,
Joe, Czech Republic