In this episode, I speak with Mateo Way, a vegan powerlifter and bodybuilder, about what led him to lifting and veganism, differences between bodybuilding and powerlifting training, effective diet and nutrition strategies, individual genetic differences, vegan stereotypes and much, much more. Mateo is a burly ass dude with a 529 lb squat, 365 lb bench and 627 Lb deadlift at a bodyweight of 228 lbs. He’s been vegan for 15 years in just a couple months and for the entirety of his lifting career so virtually all of his strength was built on a plant based diet. Mateo drops tons of knowledge bombs in this episode and I think it’s incredibly useful information even for a seasoned lifter. I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I enjoyed our chat!
You can find Mateo at @mateo.way or at his business account at @grit.lapidary on Instagram.
If you’d rather listen on a different platform, check the show out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, PocketCasts, PlayerFM, RadioPublic or PineCast!
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 – Intro to Aethix Approach Episode
1:20 – Intro to Matteo
1:35 – Home gym
4:30 – What got you into pursuing fitness?
8:15 – Go Ruck
13:00 – Getting into lifting
16:30 – Getting into competing in powerlifting
20:00 – Genetic differences and gaining weight for hardgainers
22:15 – Would you ever cut to single digit body fat for bodybuilding?
24:30 – What’s it like working with the Revive Stronger coaching?
27:25 – Difference between bodybuilding focused training and powerlifting training
30:30 – What led you to veganism?
33:45 – People that blame lack of progress on plant based diet
35:30 – Were you ever criticized for being the skinny vegan guy before lifting? How does that compare to now being much bigger?
39:15 – Vegan lifters performing at the top level and PED useage
42:30 – Calorie/macro intake?
44:00 – Favorite vegan protein options?
46:30 – Average day of eating?
48:45 – Best advice for a lifter switching to a plant based diet?
54:00 – The importance of consistency
55:30 – Fitness and adovcating a plant based diet
57:35 – Cat appearance
57:50 – Any goals you’re working towards right now?
1:03:15 – Individual strength differences
1:05:15 – Mark Bell, keto diet, Renaissance Periodization, working out to stay healthy
1:09:00 – Where can people find you on social media?
