Who is Anthony Alderman? Walking down the street, he may appear to be a “normal” guy. But you better believe he turns heads without a shirt on – he is extremely cut! Now, we all know meat has protein, and protein makes our muscles both bigger and stronger. But what if I told you Anthony didn’t reach his high level of strength through meat consumption? This 53-year-old community activist originally from Brooklyn, NY has been vegan for over two decades!
“Without exercising I think I would die – without fitness,” said Alderman said in a video, where we see him beasting out pull ups that many half his age would struggle with. In the video he reveals how his addiction to fitness began. “My third grade teacher, her name was Ms. Shields. During recess, we didn’t play. She had us doing exercises. You know like squats, push-ups, and what was called chin-ups at the time. On the monkey bars, for discipline, for punishment, or for basic exercise, she had us do chin ups. I saw that I liked doing it. So, I didn’t mind getting in trouble because I know that I enjoyed doing chin-ups. So that’s how I got started. I was about 8 at the time.”
You May Also Like
Alderman has always relied on body weight exercises, he shares, with calisthenics being his prime way of staying physically fit. "I tried weight training but it wasn’t for me - very uncomfortable. I didn’t see any reward from it.” But Alderman also understands the importance of eating healthy to go along with intense exercise to stay fit. “I’ve been a vegan for at least 20 years. I think I’ve been a vegetarian for over 35 years. I’d say 1980 was the last time I had red meat."
You May Also Like
Adopting a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle can be challenging and for Alderman he wants people to understand that veganism is a process. He offers, "I would always advise people to start with eliminating red meat. If you choose, eliminate the chicken. And after you eliminate the chicken, you can eliminate the seafood. Once you get to seafood, you’re going to find other products that will replace the nutrients and supplements that you get from the meat. So it’s all about researching and knowing what your body wants.”
He makes it sound so easy, right? Check out his fitness routine below:
