Eating

[iggy]

Hi. I'm a soon to be Senior high school football player, and i've been doing a 5x5 workout for the past six months (counting being injured one month). I'm 5'7, 203lbs. Six months ago i weighed around 175. I've been lifting very hard, and eating, eating, and eating. My diet has consisted of about six meals a day with something similar to a gallon of water, gallon of chocolate milk, steak, tuna, brocolli, spinach, subway, potatoes, hamburgers, and energy drinks with protein shakes in between meals every day. In six months i've turned from 175lbs to 203lbs. My lifts have improved from 185x1 bench to 240x1, 275x1 squat to 365x1, and 155x1 hang clean to 225x1. A few of my teammates and coaches are telling me that i'm getting too fat and losing too much speed. I've been running only a mile a week. But on the other hand a few other coaches and friends say that i'm doing the right thing and need to continue. Since i'm only 5'7 and i'm getting a belly on me now,(although i don't eat much fast food, and i do roman chairs till it hurts.)i'm really contemplating if i should diet myself back down to 185 or not. If i were to go for more power than speed, i would lift crazy and eat myself up to 225. My sleep hours are weird though, and i think i overtrain myself sometimes. I need your advice on what you would do if you were in my shoes.
thanks.

 

[ChinkNasty]

im assuming you play for St. Ignatius from your name...if thats the case, I think you are in pretty good hands with yall's coach in terms of tailoring a football-specific program

 

[BiggT]

I sent you a PM Iggy.....Great job eating, if only most other guys training like you ate like that, lots of food, lots of nutritional value....Again, as far as how much you weigh and speed, it depends on your position, and also it is individual.....if you can move your weight, it isn't a big deal, and actually works to your advantage. Some guys can move big bodyweights, some can't. Ron Dayne broke the NCAA record for rushing yards weighing 270 at 5' 9....some 5' 9" guys can't walk from the fridge to the TV at 270.....Jerome Bettis gained an enormous amount of weight in the twilight of his career, but he could still move it......again, it is individual. At your height/weight, I was thinking running back/fullback.....but if you play on the line, get as big and strong as you can.

And yeah, if that is St Ignatious in Clevland, you're in pretty good hands.....actually they used to play a team from my old conference in PA, Berwick, for a few years every year.

Anyway, post back or PM me if you have any specific issues.....you're making crazy gains, maybe post a journal to show what a guy your age can do with hard training and enough food.

 

[iggy]

i play for elyria catholic. iggy is just a nickname.

 

[BiggT]

lol, check your PM's....we're typing the same stuff twice for no reason

 

[Cynical Simian]

If you're getting help via PM from BiggT you're in good hands, so I won't add much (some of which might've already been covered in the PMs).

It depends in part on your goals: do you want (or think you'll be able) to play football at the college or pro level? If so, then optimizing your weight training and conditioning for football, which might entail not gaining much more weight, could be an option. But if you're not planning to play competitively after HS, concentrating on strength training, which is something you can enjoy and improve for pretty much the rest of your life, might be what you want to do. You're still growing, and your hormone levels are through the roof right now, so you have a chance to get very strong very fast and build a great foundation.

Also, consider incorporating some sprinting into your schedule. Don't go overboard, of course, if you want to keep pushing the SF 5x5, but one session of sprints per week will be very good for conditioning and nutrient partitioning.

Hmm...looks like I added quite a bit...