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How to stay healthy and young
Samantha Shorkey is an inspirational example because she’s the first ever vegan WNBF bikini pro and she has a pleasant personality and good sense of humor to match her beautiful outsides.
And well, the constant questioning of my diet inspired me to not only want to impress them with an above-average “healthy-looking” appearance but to blow their minds when they saw just how “Jacked on the Beanstalk” I could get on stage.
Samantha’s Profile
Name: Samantha Shorkey
City: Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)
Age: 32
Height: 5’7″
Type of training: Bikini competition
Weight/Competition Weight: 135 lbs /125 lbs
FB: facebook.com/JackedontheBeanstalk
Supplements
Multivitamin
Glutamine
When and why did you became a vegan?
I grew up in a small “hunting town” outside of Ottawa, Ontario in a log house in the middle of the forest. We didn’t have cable TV, we had nature.
My mom was my biggest hero, always feeding the birds, raccoons & deer, taking in stray cats and even raising orphaned baby squirrels. Sometimes we would have 30 deer behind our house and it would literally break our hearts to see them disappear every fall when hunting season was on.
I just couldn’t understand how people could hunt and kill such beautiful, sweet creatures. So at the tender age of eight, I became vegetarian. I went vegan in 2011 when I learned more about the dairy industry and realized that animals were still dying because of my milk and egg consumption.
When and why did you start to compete?
I’d always enjoyed going to the gym but I didn’t get serious about weight training until I dated a personal trainer for four years. It was a horrible relationship and for a year, we were doing the long-distance thing. I was basically miserable and wanted to get in really good shape to “blow him away” when he finally returned.
I bought a weight bench, barbell and dumbbell set off Craigslist and did “at home” style workouts in my tiny bachelor apartment for that entire year. Every time I was upset, I’d hammer the weights like a beast!
Eventually we broke up and I graduated to a “real” gym. I’ve been in love with bodybuilding ever since that ghetto, little home gym.
I decided to compete because I’m an ego-maniac and I love a good challenge. I suppose I’ve always been pretty strong and healthy because people were always surprised to hear that I didn’t eat meat.
And well, the constant questioning of my diet inspired me to not only want to impress them with an above-average “healthy-looking” appearance but to blow their minds when they saw just how “Jacked on the Beanstalk” I could get on stage.
What are the advantages of being a vegan as a competitor?
I think my skin looks better and younger than many other women my age and it’s easy for me to maintain a healthy weight year-round. It’s so true that when you eat healthy, you feel healthy. And when you eat like crap, you feel like crap.
“I definitely have more energy as a vegan and I just can’t help but feel good knowing that everything going into my body is clean, unprocessed and grown from the earth.”
I tell people all the time “I can be perfectly healthy AND compete without consuming any animal products so why would I?”
What does your diet while preparing for a competition look like?
Like most bikini competitors, to get really cut right before their competition, I eat asparagus constantly (a natural diuretic) and consumed dandelion root (another natural diuretic.)
Diuretics help to flush out the sodium and excess fluids in between skin and muscle.
Asparagus contains high levels of the amino acid asparagine, which not only helps to flush out the fluids but it helps rid the body of excess salts too. And salt (sodium) equals bloating—something you definitely don’t want on stage.
“I also cut out water starting the day before my show.”
Generally speaking, in terms of diet, (whether training to compete or not), I get most of my protein from tempeh, tofu, beans and high quality, plant-based protein powder. I like mixing them with hemp or brown rice protein powder.
My go-to starchy complex carb sources are yams, squash, quinoa, and oatmeal. For fats, I love almond butter, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, and flax seed oil.
Favorite food in your bikini competition vegan diet?
Protein pudding. Chocolate Vega Sport mixed with water.
Describe your diet off season:
My diet doesn’t change that much in the off-season, just more “cheat meals” and bigger portions. Generally-speaking in terms of diet, I eat a lot of tempeh and protein powder for protein. I get my starchy complex carbs from sources like yams, squash and oatmeal. And for fats, I love my almond butter and coconut oil!
I pay close attention to macronutrients when trying to maintain a healthy weight and preserve my hard-earned muscle. Macros (for those who don’t know) are nutrients that provide calories or energy. Nutrients are substances needed for growth and metabolism.
There are three macronutrients: Carbohydrate, protein, and fat. I get 50 percent of my daily calories from carbs, 30 percent from protein, and 20 percent from fats.
What is your favorite food off season?
Dates dipped in peanut butter. Chocolate anything. Pretty much every vegan dessert that Whole Foods sells.
What is your favorite quinoa dish?
Quinoa Salad with Pecans & Dried Cranberries
Describe your training for a competition (favorite exercises, weekly training schedule, etc):
When I’m training for a show, I’m doing a lot of cardio! Anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour every morning (depending on how close to competition I am.) A lot of high intensity interval training (HIIT style) cardio like running and walking lunges on the treadmill, the Stairmaster, Stepper Machine and peddling on the exercise bike, ass always off the seat.
“With bikini division, there isn’t really a bulking period so I generally never allow myself to get any bigger than about 135 lbs. (I’m 5’7). I basically just add in more cardio over time and very gradual calorie reduction to lose any extra weight.”
I also change my weight sessions as I get closer to competition by incorporating more sets with higher reps i.e. from three sets of 12 to 4 x 15 to 5 X 20. I will also do a lot of supersets so that my weight sessions are also a cardio workout—burning even more fat.
The only things I go really heavy on are the muscle groups that I really need to build i.e my shoulders and glutes. For these areas, I do a lot of drop sets (starting as heavy as possible and lightening up with each set.)
Describe your training off season (favorite exercises, weekly training schedule, etc):
After just winning my pro card last weekend, I’m taking a long break from intense competition prep and training. That means I’m doing both cardio and weights every second day which works out to four days of exercise and two or three rest days per week.
I only do 15 – 20 minutes of cardio in the morning and about 45 minutes of weights in the afternoon or evening. My current training program is an upper/lower body split. So I’ll do upper body one session then lower body the next but I switch my program every six weeks or so.
Where can we find you online regarding vegan bodybuilding?
I’m just another vegan fitness freak who has a blog all about being a vegan fitness freak. Except I’m brutally honest and have a pretty rad sense of humor. Oh AND I’m the first ever vegan WNBF bikini pro.
Facebook fan page is www.facebook.com/JackedontheBeanstalk
My blog is www.jackedonthebeanstalk.com
Twitter handle is @SamanthaShorkey
Instagram is @samshorkey
For more ideas related to vegan bikini contest prep, watch this video - Vegan Bodybuilding Meal Prep
Author Bio:
Chris Willitts (creator of V3), is the founder and owner of Vegetarian Bodybuilding.
V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System is a mixture of science and author’s advice, providing users with optimal diet and exercise. This system is designed for vegans and vegetarians only.
A lot of research has been put in this program. Furthermore, a lot of professional bodybuilders and athletes tried and tested the program, praising its progressiveness and efficiency.
The program is about taking control of your own body and health according to your potential and needs. And worry not; you’ll get plenty of proteins with this system. It will boost you with energy, and you’ll feel just a strong as any carnivore would (perhaps even stronger, depending on how much you invest in your exercise). It avoids vitamins deficiency and provides you with a lot of proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Instead of saying things like “I think a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders,” the V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System claims “I know a plant-based diet is good for athletes and bodybuilders, and I have results to prove it.”
To find out more, visit the website at V3 Bodybuilding – Vegan Bikini Contest Prep
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