I think you may be right about a good training partner, but find it difficult to find anyone on my level. I think it would be really good if there was a website specially for finding compatible training partners. I have to admit my biggest downfall is I struggle with motivation, and often need a good kick up the ****! A few years ago I had a personal trainer for a couple of weeks, but I had to give it up as I moved out the area because of work. During that short time I really felt I made massive advances in terms of motivation. I went to the gym for the first time in years yesterday, but I struggled to put the work in. I was only managing to bench a very disappointing 60kg x 12, but know I could go a lot heavier with a good kick up the ****!
With regards to saying you think a vegan diet may conflict with my training goals. I googled vegan body building and came across the following two sites. I know many of the people shown aren’t the biggest body builders in the world, but many people would agree that they have had good results. There was one guy (can’t remember name) I saw on the net a few years ago who was vegan and he looked absolutely huge.
http://www.veganbodybuilding.org/main.htm http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=galleries