Here is a written version of this lesson for hearing impaired clients:

Hey, I am super excited to have you here!!

You have joined the best coaching program on the planet! Kudos to you for deciding to invest in your health and fitness journey.

I know making a substantial investment in yourself can be a bit scary, but you have made a phenomenal decision and we’re going to give you as much value as we possibly can! We’ll be in your corner every step of the way.

There are a few things that I would like to share with you as you embark on this journey:

1) The most important thing that you need to keep in mind is that communication is vital! The more you communicate with us, the better your results and experience will be.

2) Your coach does need time to recharge so they can bring you their absolute best, so we ask that you please respect any personal time that they take during the evenings or on weekends. We want to be sure all coaches are taking care of themselves so they can bring 100% to you! Generally, coaches take off weekends, but all coaches have their own work schedules, so your coach will explain their availability during your setup call.

You are welcome to text your coach any time (your coach has a work phone so don't worry about texting them during their "off hours"), but just understand that you will likely not hear back from them during their “off hours.” This includes evening hours (which depends on their schedule and time zones). But don’t worry, we’ll still be in your corner 24/7! We’ve created a VSA support system to give you 24/7 support when your coach is taking time off. If you need help during your coach’s “off hours” you can send us an email at support@vegansuperheroacademy.com.

Our team will be taking turns being “on-call” so you’ll always get a knowledgeable response from an experienced coach. Please be sure to include your name and your coach’s name in every email that you send our support line to make it easier for us to help you. Also, if you need any changes to your program or if you want to move anything around, please try to let your coach know at least a day or two before the weekend. Our on-call support member could help you with minor changes over the weekend, but your coach knows your situation best, so please reach out to them before their off hours if possible.

3) If you ever don’t feel like you are not getting the support you need, please reach out to your coach or anyone on our team. We're here to help in any way that we can!

4) Please make sure you go through all the modules! They are self-paced, but the more you go through, the more you will learn! Please be sure to mark each lesson as complete as you go through it.

5) Finally, I want you to understand that this is far more than a health and fitness program. Maybe you joined this program to lose 20 pounds or learn how to squat with proper form. Those are awesome goals and I’m proud of you for taking the leap and trusting in us to guide you along your journey. But we want to help you accomplish so much more. Our mission is to transform not only your body but also transform your life.

As you may have heard us say before and will continue to hear us say, “fitness is a catalyst for life transformation.” And we’re going to do everything we can to transform your life!

So if you want to get the most out of this program, please take the time to go through these lessons and complete all of the requested homework assignments. Please also listen to your coach and ask them questions as they arise.

I’m really excited for you!

This is going to be an amazing experience and we can’t wait to work with you!

Here are the steps we'll be taking to get you 100% ready for Day 1 of the Vegan Superhero Academy!

Step 1: Complete your questionnaire if you have not yet done so already (here's a link to the VSA questionnaire).

Step 2: Purchase any items that you don’t already have (we’ll cover these in the next lesson).

Step 3: Go through this module and prepare for your “Setup Call” with your coach.

Step 4: You’ll have your Setup Call with your coach to meet each other and make sure that you are both on the same page regarding your specific goals.

Step 5: Then your coach will take 4-7 days to build your custom nutrition and training program. If your coach reaches out to you with follow-up questions, please respond to them in a timely manner to make sure the whole process goes smoothly.

Step 6: Your coach will email you your custom coaching plan and give you a few days to review it. If you have any questions, concerns, or if you want to change anything, please let them know and they’ll take care of it.

Step 7: Then you'll have a few days to buy groceries for your meal plan, prepare your first few days of meals, and learn how to do any exercises in your plan that you aren't familiar with.

We spend a lot of time and effort making every client’s coaching program just right for them, so please be understanding of your coach’s timeline. We don’t make cookie-cutter programs. Every detail is accounted for.

Also, the faster you complete your homework assignments and respond to any questions that your coach has, the faster we’ll be able to get you started in VSA.

I hope this cleared up any questions that you have regarding the onboarding process.

If you have any additional questions, please ask your coach.

Below is a list of items that you'll need to crush this program. If you have any questions about whether a particular item you have will work, please reach out to your coach.

Food scale

Having a food scale is absolutely vital for tracking what you eat. Our goal is to get you to a point where you no longer need to log everything you eat.

Ultimately we want to get you to a point where you are following intuitive eating (basically that means that you are conscious of your nutrition and still eating the right foods in roughly the right amounts to keep making progress), but tracking your food intake carefully is a vital first step in the process. It’s kind of like learning to ride a bike with training wheels.

You will need a food scale with 1-gram accuracy. Here are our top food scale recommendations:

Option 1: $22

Option 2: $16

Option 3: $12

Body weight scale

The number on the scale is not the most important metric to measure your progress, but it is a helpful data point for making decisions about your training and nutrition. If you don’t have a bodyweight scale, we recommend that you get one. If you have struggled with tracking your weight in the past for any reason, please let your coach know and we can make adjustments. The day-to-day fluctuations in your body weight can be challenging to experience psychologically, so some of our clients track their body weight once a week instead of every day.

Option 1: $38

Option 2: $20

Protein powder (optional)

Protein powder is not necessary, and if you do not want to use protein powder in your meal plan, please make that clear in your questionnaire. However, the right protein powder can be a healthy addition to your nutrition plan and helpful in many ways:

Protein powder is super convenient. You can make a macro-friendly protein shake in less than a minute on the go.

Protein powder has amazing macros. Most high-protein vegan foods are also high in carbohydrates (such as lentils) or high in dietary fat (such as tofu). It is very helpful to have a protein source in your diet that is almost entirely protein to boost your protein intake without adding a bunch of calories.

Protein powder helps to add flavor. You can mix protein powder into shakes, baked goods, oatmeal, smoothie bowls, and a bunch of other foods to add flavor and make them more macro-friendly.

My current go-to protein powder is Bare Nutrition Peanut Butter Cookie

I've tried over 40 vegan protein powders and this one is unquestionably the best. However, it's a bit expensive, especially for people outside of the US, so there are some other options that I recommend:

If your main consideration is cost, then I recommend TrueNutrition protein powders:

Pea protein isolate

Soy protein isolate

I recommend that you choose the “heavy” flavoring option and do not add any of the optional “boosts.”

Use VEGANGYM5 at checkout to receive 5% off your TrueNutrition order.

If your main consideration is healthfulness, then I recommend CleanMachine.

If you’d like other vegan protein powder options, please check out our Ultimate Vegan Protein Powder Review.

If you’re already using a protein powder that you love, awesome! Just be sure to clearly specify the type of protein you are using in your questionnaire. Again, protein powder is optional, so feel free to say that you don't want to use protein powder in your questionnaire or tell your coach via text before your Setup Call.

Body measurement tape

We’ll be sending you a VSA one, but sometimes shipping takes a while, so you’ll probably want to get one of your own.

Here's a super inexpensive option

Here's a fancier option

You can also just use a piece of string and a ruler or tape measure.

Home workout equipment (optional)

If you would prefer working out at home during your time in VSA for whatever reason, then your coach will speak with you on your setup call about the equipment that you have. If your coach thinks that you get much better results in VSA by investing in a few additional equipment items, they’ll make suggestions during your Setup Call.

Resistance bands:

Heavy bands (great for deadlifts and squats)

Bands with handles (10-50lb)

Booty bands (loop bands)

Weight vest:

Rogue Fitness box weighted vest (up to 45lb)

Short weighted vest w/ zipper (20-60lb)

Pull-up bar:

Doorway pull-up bar

Best sites for fitness gear:

Rogue Fitness is the best place to buy weights, barbells, racks, and most other weightlifting/training equipment.

Precor sells some of the best cardio equipment.

Facebook Marketplace is also a great place to pick up used fitness equipment for a reasonable price.

Okay, those are the main items we suggest you have to crush VSA!

If you have any questions about what items you need or if you’re not sure if a particular item that you currently have will work, please ask your coach.

Here is a written version of this lesson for hearing impaired clients:

In this video, I’m going to help you visualize your health and fitness goals. This is going to be super fun!

But before we jump in, I want to make something clear. The most important part of this process is to focus on what matters to YOU! Don’t set goals based on what other people think or expect from you. That goes for ALL your goals, not just your health and fitness goals.

One of my favorite quotes is by Dr. Suess. He said, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

You may have joined this program in part for other people in your life. Maybe you want to be able to show up more powerfully in your relationships. Maybe you want to live a long, healthy life so you can be present for your kids and grandkids. Maybe you want to attract the right partner and you know that feeling more confident in your own skin will allow you to do that. Those are all admirable reasons for wanting to join this program, but as we set goals in this lesson, I really want you to think about what matters most to you.

Okay, so let’s begin with Part 1 of visualizing your health and fitness goals.

Part 1: Find your “Dream Body” picture

When I saw Daniel Craig’s physique from Casino Royale in 2006, that’s one of the main things that sparked my drive to get ripped.

One of my closest friends, Marcus, and I both went to the gym almost every day in college. We both loved Casino Royale and we both were working out to look like Daniel Craig.

We also would watch motivational videos on YouTube of a guy named Greg Plitt. I achieved Daniel Craig’s physique a few years ago and then increased my goals to shoot for Greg Plitt’s physique.

Greg Plitt tragically died in an accident in 2015, but he was 6’1” and 195 lb when he passed away with a body fat percentage that hovered around 7-8%.

That’s where I got the idea to shoot for 190 lb at 10% body fat.

I’m 5’11” so those numbers would put me pretty close to where Greg Plitt was at his peak.

Now, I don’t think Greg Plitt was 100% natural, so I’ll probably never reach his physique because I’m not willing to do drugs to get there, but it gives me a clear idea of what I want to shoot for.

Finding these physique photos is really fun and part of your assignment after watching this lesson will be to find photos of a physique that you want to achieve.

But there’s another photo that I want you to find, which leads me to Part 2 of visualizing your health and fitness goals...

Part 2: Find your “Dream Achievement” picture

It’s awesome to look good, but obviously, fitness isn’t all about looks. The reason I love fitness so much is that training challenges you to push past your personal limits and redefine your identity. Fitness helps you to redefine what is possible for you.

So what kind of fitness challenges do you want to conquer? What kind of things do you want your body to be able to do?

I want you to find a picture that embodies this fitness accomplishment for you. I call this your “Dream Achievement” picture!

It could be a picture of someone crossing the line of a marathon. Or a picture of someone doing a pullup. Or a picture of a challenging yoga pose. Or a picture of a parent playing sports with their kids in the backyard. It could be anything at all!

Here’s my picture of a man approaching the finish line at the Ironman event. I get chills when I see pictures like this.

The thought of crossing the finish line at an Ironman really gets me fired up.

Okay, so now you need to go ahead and find your dream pictures.

You need to find:

Your Dream Body picture

Your Dream Achievement picture

Two things to keep in mind:

First thing to keep in mind: Suspend your current reality and hold all of your limiting beliefs

Tell that little voice in the back of your mind that’s telling you “But I can’t look like that” or “I can’t accomplish that” to shut up. You CAN do it and we’re going to figure out a way.

Every person who has gone through this program has destroyed limiting beliefs that have been holding them back for years, sometimes decades. You will do that too! So don’t be afraid to claim exactly what you want.

Our entire coaching team is extremely skilled and we love helping our clients accomplish MASSIVE goals. We’re here to support you every step of the way!

Second thing to keep in mind: You should have fun with this!

The pictures you find should both excite you and scare you at the same time. That’s how you know you found the right picture :)

Please take a few minutes right now to find these photos.

Please don’t wait to do this!! Have fun and I’ll see you in the next lesson!

Here is a written version of this lesson for hearing impaired clients:

Alright, so at this point, you should have both your Dream Body and Dream Achievement photos.

If you don’t, please finish that before watching this lesson. Every one of these lessons builds upon the previous one, so it’s super important that you find these photos before continuing!

Alright, let’s dive into the lesson…

Now that we have spent some time visualizing your health and fitness goals, we need to define exactly who you want to be. And I’ll teach you how to do that in this lesson.

But first, I want to talk about motivation.

You might start making fitness progress and implementing positive habits because of motivation, but new habits will only stick around once they become a part of your identity. It’s easy to get to the gym once or twice. It’s easy to eat healthily for one or two meals. But your goal is lasting fitness transformation.

And the key to lasting fitness transformation is deciding who you want to become and then becoming that person. We all have the power to decide who it is we want to become, yet most of us let the world around us dictate our life path.

In the past, I have been painfully shy, introverted, self-conscious, skinny, weak, and unconfident. When people called me a nerd or they called me skinny and weak, I just thought, “Okay, I guess I am.”

I let other people define my identity.

And if you don’t believe that you control your own identity, then you’re not going to make any substantial effort to transform your life.

After learning about self-development, everything changed for me. I read books by self-development authors like Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Brian Tracy, Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale, and Darren Hardy. I listened to motivational speeches delivered by powerful orators like Les Brown and Eric Thomas. I watched motivational fitness videos starring Greg Plitt and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Their combined message introduced a radical concept to my life: I had the power to change.

My self-limiting beliefs didn’t define my life, they were just lies that kept me from achieving my full potential.

I realized that I can become whoever I want to become.

I can define the beliefs I want to have in my heart.

I can define the qualities that I want to embody.

I can define the habits that I want to execute on a daily basis.

I can define my life moving forward.

And so can you!

I know that YOU have the power and ability to define who you want to be. You just have to decide to truly commit to change.

There’s a side to you that’s happy, healthy, confident, successful, and fit. It’s all within you. You just have to unleash it.

You can begin the transition by defining who you want to be by creating a detailed description of the person you aim to become. A person with the mind, body, and confidence that you dream to have. I call this future version of yourself your Dream Identity.

To get the ideas flowing, consider the following questions:

How does your dream body look and feel?

What level of energy do you bring to your life and relationships?

How does your physical presence affect other people?

How do your friends, family, children, and/or significant other see you?

How do you feel wearing a swimsuit at the beach?

What athletic feats have you accomplished or are capable of accomplishing?

What kind of foods do you eat?

How do you define your relationship with food?

What do you see when you look into a mirror?

The possibilities for your fitness and life are endless!

To give you some creative inspiration, I want to share my Dream Identity. As you read my Dream Identity, there are a few things in particular for which I want you to note and implement.

Add as much detail as possible. The more detail you add to your vision, the more tangible it will become. The only way to know that you are heading in the right direction is to know exactly where you want to go.

Write your Dream Identity in present tense. By doing this, you condition your subconscious mind to believe your dreams are possible and to begin working to bring them to fruition.

Don’t allow your Dream Identity to be defined by your current reality. Anything is possible. Try to create a vision that makes you want to jump out of bed at 5:00 a.m. to get to the gym, either literally or figuratively.

If you create your Dream Identity with these tips in mind, you will create a powerful vision of your future. Here is my Dream Identity:

“I weigh 190 pounds at 10% body fat. I have defined shoulders and six-pack abs. I’m a well-rounded athlete capable of doing everything from deadlifting 500 pounds to completing an Ironman triathlon. I eat to fuel my body and serve my health. Every day I nourish my body with the vitamins and minerals that I need to maintain optimal health and performance. Being in peak physical shape will allow me to be a driving force for good in my relationships, my community, and ultimately the world. My physique and athleticism will fuel the vegan revolution by challenging the status quo and inspiring others to adopt healthier, more compassionate habits.”

Pretty awesome, right? Every time I read my Dream Vision, I want to drink a kale smoothie and head straight to the gym. That’s the kind of vision I want you to create for your body, fitness, and health.

Maybe you don’t want to deadlift hundreds of pounds, race triathlons, or have six-pack abs. That’s okay! Whatever YOU want to create for YOUR life is all that matters.

For a different perspective, here’s a Dream Identity statement of one of our Vegan Superhero Academy clients:

“I am healthy, radiant, and fit. I inspire my children to choose nutritious foods and create healthy habits. I move my body for at least one hour per day. Instead of tearing myself down when I get off track, I recognize the events and patterns that led to my divergence, remind myself of my goals, and forgive myself. I use my missteps to grow and create a healthier future, but they don’t define me. I love and accept the person I am today, but I also work to better myself each and every day. I am a strong, confident woman who is not afraid of wearing a bikini to the beach or grunting when I lift heavy weights at the gym. My legs are sculpted, my abs are toned, and my arms are ripped. I am a vegan BADASS with a good ass!”

Her dedication and work ethic have already propelled her far towards accomplishing her Dream Identity and I’m super proud of her progress!

So again, you are capable of becoming whoever it is that you want to be. Your mind is incredibly powerful and is often greatly underestimated. Suspend your current beliefs about what is possible for your life and allow yourself to create a powerful description of your Dream Identity. Many of my goals are so ambitious that they scare the hell out of me. I literally have no idea how to accomplish them! I just know the first one, maybe two, steps that I need to take to start heading in the right direction.

So even though it might scare you, avoid procrastinating on defining your Dream Identity. Take a few minutes right now to start jotting down your thoughts. I find it helpful to look around for inspiration, so you can look around online for pictures, just like you did for your Dream Body and Dream Achievement photos.

Keep in mind that you don’t need to have all the pieces together to get started. You can always come back to refine your goals and Dream Identity. I’m constantly refining my goals based on my progress and new plans for the future.

The key is to just get started.

I’ve added a worksheet with this lesson that you can download to help you write out your Dream Identity. You can also just write it down on a piece of paper. I recommend writing this out by hand because I find that writing by hand helps me to think better, but you could also write it on a phone or laptop.

However you decide to write it, please create a first draft of your Dream Identity before moving on to the next lesson. You can always make changes to it, but it’s really important that you create the first draft.

I hope you have a lot of fun writing your Dream Identity!

Here is a written version of this lesson for hearing impaired clients:

Do you know why 95% of New Year’s Resolutions are NEVER achieved?

It’s because everyone gets fired up at the start line when they first set their goals. They get motivated to accomplish a certain goal and get all pumped up to achieve it, but they fail to understand that motivation alone DOES NOT LAST.

However, when you are clear on WHY your goals matter to you and WHY the completion of your goals will forever change your life, then you’re not going to give up! You’re going to follow through with MASSIVE COMMITMENT.

I want to make sure that you understand the difference between “the what” of your goals and “the why” behind them.

The What: your perceived goal → the thing that you think you want

This could be losing 30 pounds, doing 5 consecutive pull-ups, or running a 5k without walking.

The “what” FIRES you up!! And it should!! That’s exactly how it should feel. But that fire is going to burn out if you don’t have a steady supply of fuel.

And this fuel is your why.

The Why: Your why is the driver behind your what… it’s the thing you really want.

Here’s an example…

You’re tired of avoiding beaches and mirrors like the plague. You want to be truly happy and confident with how you look so you can live life to the fullest.

And here’s another example...

You want to set a positive, healthy example of health and fitness for your kids.

One of our clients David has two young children. In 90 days of working with us, he lost 32 pounds, dropped under 200 pounds for the first time in his adult life, did the first pullup of his life, and developed a healthy, sustainable relationship with food.

Those are all MASSIVE wins, but the biggest win he had was hearing his son tell him that he’s proud of him.

His children are his why, which motivates him to set a positive healthy example and do everything in his power to live a long life so he can spend as much time with his family as possible. Your why is POWERFUL. It’s the fuel that will drive you to accomplish your goals.

To give you another example, I’d like to share my transformation story with you.

My Transformation Story

I graduated high school at 5’11” weighing 130 pounds. I had no self-confidence and I didn’t like the way I looked. In fact, I never went to prom because I couldn't talk to girls.

So I decided to get into weightlifting when I started college. I needed to make a change. I did everything the bodybuilding magazines told me to do. I ate tons of animal products, took worthless supplements, and spent 2+ hours in the gym every day.

I did build muscle, but honestly...my results sucked for all the work I was putting in. Plus, I seriously compromised my health with my terrible diet, lack of sleep, and overwhelming stress.

In August of 2013, I was diagnosed with an incredibly rare form of cancer. I still remember that walking out of my oncologist’s office, getting into my car, and crying.

I felt alone. Depressed. Helpless. And completely uncertain about my future.

I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t do my school work, and I couldn’t focus on the business that I was building at the time. I realized during this time that if I didn't have my health, then I didn't have anything.

So I swore that I would do whatever it took to never have to experience such hell again. I did hundreds of hours of research on the topic of natural/preventative medicine, which ultimately lead me to adopt a vegan diet in May 2014.

That was hands-down the best decision that I have ever made.

In my first year as a vegan, I got my nutrition and health in order, but I still struggled with low self-confidence and I didn’t like the way that I looked. I wanted to finally achieve the strong, muscular physique that I had never quite achieved.

So in 2015, I made the second-best decision that I’ve ever made... I got a coach. My coach explained the importance of heavy compound weightlifting... exercises like the squat, bench press, and deadlift, and the results were immediate.

I was working out half as much as I had been before, but my results skyrocketed. Since then, I’ve gained 30+ pounds of lean vegan muscle, shredded some fat, and achieved the physique that I had always wanted.

More importantly, I have become filled with confidence and clarity. In fact, I remember the day, not too long ago, that I looked into my bathroom mirror and was legitimately proud of the man I had become.

I realized that if I can make that transformation with my body, then I can achieve anything and so can you.

My ultimate fitness goal now is to get to 190 lb at 10% body fat. That’s 86.2 kg. Just for reference, I’m 5’11” or 1.8 meters tall.

This goal fires me up!! To accomplish this, I have to gain about 5 more pounds of muscle.

That might not sound like a lot, but I’ve been training for over a decade now, so I gain muscle very slowly as I get close to my ultimate physique potential.

Anyways, reaching 190 lb at 10% body fat is my “what”

And while that fires me up, it’s not enough to get me out of bed at 4:30 AM when it’s freezing outside.

That’s where my “why” comes in.

So WHY do I want to accomplish this goal? Well, there are 3 main reasons:

Looking good makes me feel more confident and that makes me feel better in life.

I push myself in the gym to build mental strength. To build a Warrior Mindset, which helps me excel in all areas of life.

And since I went vegan in May 2014, I’ve wanted to challenge the status quo. Working out is my personal form of vegan activism. I want to inspire others to consider adopting a vegan lifestyle.

Make Your Why Stronger Than Your Why Not

Succeeding in fitness is all about making your “why” stronger than your “why not”

Fitness is really tough. Building muscle is really tough. Shredding fat is really tough.

There are a million reasons to not work out… to take it easy.

But what are the one, two, or three main reasons why you will do whatever it takes?

WHY do you want your health and fitness transformation?

Not just for the next 90 days or year, but for your entire life?

How would achieving your health and fitness goals affect your relationships, particularly with your partner?

How would achieving your health and fitness goals help your relationship with your children (if you have kids)?

How would transforming your body affect how you show up in your career?

How would achieving your health and fitness goals affect your confidence?

Now on the flip side, what happens if you stay the same?

What will happen if you set another health and fitness goal, but you don’t follow through and achieve it?!

Those of some of the questions that I want you to ponder as you think about your Why.

I’ve added a worksheet (HERE) with this lesson that you can download to help you get really clear on your Why.

You can also just write it down on a piece of paper.

I recommend writing this out by hand because I find that writing by hand helps me to think better, but you could also write it on a phone or laptop.

However you decide to write it, please write down your Why (or Whys) before moving on to the next lesson. If you have multiple Whys, that’s okay, but I’d recommend that you keep it to no more than 3.

Focus on the one, two, or three Whys that matter most to you.

I hope you enjoy this process and get a lot of clarity by thinking about your Why or Whys!

Here is a written version of this lesson for hearing impaired clients:

Awesome work making it to this final lesson of this module!

By this point, you should have:

A Dream Body picture identifying the body you want to have and a Dream Achievement picture identifying the athletic accomplishments that you want to be able to do

A clear Dream Identity

A clear “Why”

The next step is to share these resources with your coach prior to your Setup Call. Please do that in the ‘Before Your Setup Call’ form.

It will take you to an Airtable form where you can upload your Dream Body and Dream Achievement photos and share your Dream Identity and “Why” or “Whys” with your coach.

I would also HIGHLY encourage you to share these with our VSA Facebook group!

I know not everyone enjoys being on social media, but I promise that our VSA Facebook group is worth being on social media for.

This group is incredibly supportive and encouraging.

It’s only filled with other vegans who are working to crush their fitness goals.

While we are all on a slightly different path, we’re all working hard to accomplish our goals and it’s super fun to be in such a positive environment.

I promise no one will think your goals and dreams are crazy.

We’re all here to support you!!

Again, please be sure to submit everything that you’ve worked on in this section to your coach prior to your setup call.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your coach!

Thank you so much for going through these videos and giving us the knowledge we need to help you crush your goals!