When it comes to being an athlete, weight is a very important factor; especially football. Usually when you hear about weight problems you always hear about people being overweight, you rarely hear about people being underweight. It sounds easy but gaining weight can actually be hard for some people, especially if you’re trying to gain it the right way.
One important key factor in gaining weight is your diet. If you want to gain weight you have to eat a lot. Baked foods would be your best bet if you’re trying to gain lean weight. Foods that have a lot of carbs and protein would be the best foods to eat. You should eat as much protein as you weigh. If you weigh 215 pounds then you should aim for 215 grams of protein a day. An example of a healthy dinner with a lot of calories would be baked chicken with rice, green beans, and corn with a glass of water or if you really want to pack on the muscle then a glass of milk would go great with the meal. You can’t eat foods with a lot of sugar or salt because they will cause you to gain fat. Also when it comes to gaining lean weight it is very important that you don’t skip a meal. When you skip a meal and then eat your body stores it as fat because it does not know when you’re going to eat again. You should eat 3 big meals a day if you’re trying to gain mass but for more lean mass you should eat 6 smaller meals a day to keep your metabolism going fast. Sometimes eating just isn’t enough. That’s where supplements come in to play. Protein shakes are a huge help in muscle gain. Protein shakes consist of many key vitamins that the body needs and tons of extra protein in case you’re not getting enough in the foods you’re eating. The best time to drink a protein shake is right after a workout because it replenishes your muscles with key nutrients and vitamins that were just lost during the workout. It is also good to drink a protein shake before bed because your body builds muscle while you’re sleeping. A few good protein shakes that you can buy are Muscle Milk, CytoGainer, AMP, Muscle Tech, Whey, or NO Xlode.
Rest is also an important part of gaining weight. You should at least get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. It is also important not to work out every day. When you workout you are basically tearing your muscles down. That’s what rest is for, your muscles have to rebuild themselves and if you consistently work your muscles they will continue to wear down and you will not get bigger. Your body has to get its rest so the muscles will continue to grow and get bigger.
Working out is the final important part of gaining weight. If you are trying to bulk up then you have to do heavy weight and low reps. If you are trying to tone up then you should train with low weight and do high reps. When you workout it is best to work out lower or upper body one day, then the opposite the next day followed by a day of rest. Three of the most important lifts are bench press, squats, and dead lifts. So make sure you incorporate these lifts into your workout regimen. It is also important that you do cardio in order to minimize the amount of fat that you gain. You can go for a 30 to 45 minute walk or light jog every other night but not every night because you don’t want to burn too many calories.