The 4 Best Plant-Based Fitness Influencers to Follow for Inspiration

It's that time of year when motivation starts hitting a wall, exercise is the last thing you want to do, and sleeping in has become the most important activity. When the sun rises hours after you do, it can be hard to be productive first thing in the morning. For me, I like to get an early start at the gym because when the 8 am crowds roll in, I can barely find room on the floor to do crunches. But, more importantly, I think it's better to get it out of the way so I can work throughout the day feeling better about the fact that at least I crushed my morning routine.

It's not as big of a commitment as you may think, but what helps me is to find sources of inspiration. I get my inspiration to get up and get my workout done from Instagram, specifically from a handful of fitness influencers who are vegan and share their secrets to being strong, healthy and fit.

They post videos of their favorite workouts, which is like having a free virtual trainer on your phone. It's helpful to watch their videos, especially how they work a specific muscle, to practice perfect form. Most of their video workout routines can be done on your living room floor or take less than 10 minutes. It's easy to just start and try to do the whole workout, but even if you only get through part of it, that's fine. You can always come back to it later, or time and time again and make it part of your routine. I wanted to share my favorite fitness influencers, the ones that make exercise fun and easy with helpful advice and tutorials. As an extra bonus, they are all vegan and encourage their followers to eat more plants as well.

1. Tia Blanco @tiablanco: 22-year-old professional surfer and vegan athlete.

We all know Tia as a professional surfer who won Gold at the International Surfing Association Open in 2015, and we were excited to find out she was powered by plants, as she credits her success to her vegan diet.

Influenced by her mother who is a vegetarian, Tia has never eaten red meat in her life. She has made it easier than ever to make exactly what she eats since she has a separate Instagram cooking page called @tiasvegankitchen.

She claims she stays strong by eating different forms of vegan protein like nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes. Check out her YouTube channel where she posts guided instructions on how to make her recipes, and smart advice to accomplish your own goals like Tia. She post videos of her grocery store hauls-- this is helpful when you are stumped on what to buy, she also explains what she eats in a day, my favorite is her smoothie recipe, it's easy to make and full of protein. In addition, she even shares her blood results after two years on a vegan diet, which are interesting to compare.

Take a look at her Instagram, Tia is very involved with raising awareness about veganism and is a brand ambassador for leaders in the industry like Beyond Meat, Sugar Taco (Plant-Based Mexican food), Swatch, and others.

Aside from surfing, she is also passionate about yoga and calls herself a "yogi". You can watch the videos on her Instagram, of her practice and copy her yoga flow routine in your own home or at the gym.

We are inspired by Tia and continue learning from her success. Take her advice she gives to anyone on their vegan journey, whether you're day one or year one. “I would say that the most important thing is to educate yourself on the diet and the lifestyle. My boyfriend is a vegan now. He was a heavy meat eater his whole life. He lost five to eight pounds the first week but gained the weight right back. You need to learn to eat more when you’re eating lower-caloric foods. As athletes [he’s also a pro surfer], we’ve seen the vegan diet have positive impacts on our performance and our health.”

Having an inside look into what a professional athlete eats and recommends will encourage you to stay positive and provide information on how to be healthy and fit.

2. Grace Beverly @gracebeverly: Girlboss and Oxford graduate with a ton of fitness inspiration.

With 1 million Instagram followers, Grace has created a loyal fan base for all things vegan, fitness, and lifestyle. She won London's Young Entrepreneur of The Year Award with the launch of her workout and exercise app, Shreddy, which created the popular hashtag #letsgetshreddy. Encouraging you to get active and accomplish your goals, this app provides workout programs targeting fat loss, lean muscle, and toning every inch of your body. It also includes meal plans and weight tracking so you can notice the difference in your results every day.

Grace is also the director of Tala, a sustainable and ethical clothing brand dedicated to high-performance activities. Her styles are suitable for women of all sizes and makes activewear look chic. Her pieces are mostly tight spandex, cropped tops, sports bras, and loungewear like sweatpants and sweatshirts. You will find short videos of Grace's work out regimes, and healthy tips for weight training and targeting the glutes.

3. Michelle Muench @bananablondie108: Plant-powered yoga enthusiast.

Michelle Muench is an expert yogi and takes you through her practices on her Instagram and YouTube channel. If you're an aspiring yoga or want to improve your practice, she posts yoga flow videos that you can copy and practice in your living room. On her website, you can become a member of Michelle's community where she hosts yoga classes, private videos, daily food journal, and daily beginner or intermediate flows. If you're trying to master a headstand or crows post, go to her Instagram page to find step by step videos of her process. If you want a good morning stretch, my favorite yoga flow is this one.

4. Nimai Delgado @nimai_delgado: As seen on Game Changers, he is a vegan IFFB professional who has never eaten meat.

Raised as a vegetarian, Nimai has never eaten meat in his life. He is a professional IFFB and placed 5th in his most recent contest, the 2018 Hawaii Pro Men's Physique. He hosts his own version of Ted Talks on his YouTube channel. Watch his video on "How eating plants changed my life" and learn how it can change your life too.

Nimai has his own vegan supplement line called, Vedge Nutrition. If you're looking to gain muscle mass, improve your training game, and enhance performance, he has an essential protein supplement for vegans that includes B12, D3, and Omega 3.

Personally, I love his vegan fitness Instagram page because his content is helpful and provides information on what to eat and what not to eat. My favorite is his vegan grocery list posts that include the essential nuts, whole grains, fruits, spices, vegetables, and legumes. His vegan bodybuilding food Instagram showcases body transformations and specific meal preps for people who want to lose weight, gain muscle, cut carbs, want a simple protein salad, and much more.

If you want to share your favorite vegan influencers, email us at hailey@thebeet.com or message us on Instagram @thebeetofficial.