Packing on Weight and Strength for Football

Question: I want to gain weight for football. I am moving to a new school and with it I feel I can make the team but I know I need to be bigger and stronger. I weigh 135 now. How much can I gain before football starts? Should I use a weight gainer?

Answer: It is not enough to be heavier for football but also to be stronger. A solid 4 days a week training program is necessary to fill that order. Make Day 1 training for your upper body, chest, back and shoulders. Day 2 needs to cover legs and arms. Day 3 is your explosive workout day. You will do cleans, push presses, push-up rows, etc. Day 4 is another explosive workout day but for our training crews it is generally outside with tires, sleds, logs and sprints.

With all this training you will need fuel and food is fuel. An old friend of mine who was 8 times Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney, used to say every day, "If you want to be big you've got to eat big." He did eat big and he won a lot of hardware to prove it. You stated that you ate a bowl of cereal, and two sandwiches at lunch and considered that eating a lot. Sorry, that just won't do the job.

You need at least 135 grams of protein a day and drinking at least 96 ounces of water would be a good idea. If and only if you are unable to consume 135 grams of protein from food sources then you should consider a protein supplement other than one after training. Whey protein is so easily digested and absorbed that after a workout it is the best food you can consume. Although Lee used a minimal amount of supplements and he competed at almost 260 pounds because he fed the machine. Have your bowl of cereal and eat 3 egg whites scrambled with one yolk with it. Drink 10 to 12 ounces of milk; it does a body good. Mid-morning is the time to eat a banana or a bowl of oatmeal. For lunch have at least one chicken breast although two is better, a sweet or baked potato and some green beans, Get your training done and drink up a protein shake within an hour of completing training. About an hour after that you should be hungry again and that would be the signal for dinner. Just remember supplements are an addition to not a replacement for food so to answer your weight gainer question remember this, weight gainers add a lot of calories but the idea is not just about gaining weight but as much muscle as possible.

As you see you need to be diligent in your workouts and in your eating plan to make a difference in time for preseason training to begin in August. How much you gain is a speculative question and difficult to determine. Let's say that the outcome is entirely up to you but it is a distinct possibility that with intense training and discipline you will achieve your goal and be ready to play.

Daryl Laws

Personal Training and Sports Performance Excellence Blog

Packing on Weight and Strength for Football