Building Bigger Athletes

The skinny on how to help players gain weight and not get fat
by: Jacqueline R. Berning
registered dietitian
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WHILE THE REST OF THE WORLD STRUGGLES TO lose a few pounds, for athletes often the hardest thing to do is gain weight.

In fact, it actually takes longer to gain weight than to lose it. That's why it's important to devise good programs to help those skinny athletes bulk up.

The ideal program, of course, would allow the athlete to achieve maximum muscle gains without adding much fat. It may be unrealistic, however, to expect an athlete to gain only lean tissue on a weight gain program. The key to gaining weight is to consume more calories than what an athlete expends in workouts and daily living. This may sound simple, but isn't since it takes time to gain weight.

Family history also plays a major role in the natural development of an athlete's physique. Athletes from naturally thin families are less likely to be able to transform their bodies from thin, svelte figures to bulky muscular ones. With improved nutrition and proper weight training, however, athletes can enhance the likelihood of gaining weight. And with age, as many coaches know firsthand, many young players will naturally gain weight.

Keys to gaining weight

Muscle can be gained through intense strength training several times each week coupled with the consumption of additional calories. For each pound of muscle gained, the athlete will need to consume about 500 to 1,000 additional calories each day. The extra calories should come from a variety of foods - milk, meat, fruits, vegetables, and grains. Consistency is the key. Eating three meals a day with snacks in between is an essential part of gaining lean body mass. Athletes who sleep in and skip breakfast miss an opportunity to add extra calories to their diet.

When eating, athletes should eat enough to satisfy their appetite and then try to eat a little more. This can be accomplished by eating larger than normal portions, eating an extra snack or additional meal (like a peanut butter sandwich with a glass of low-fat milk), drinking commercial liquid meals, like GatorPro, or milkshakes with regular meals or as snacks. Bulky low-calorie foods, such as cereal, grains, and salads should be kept to a minimum as they fill athletes up without providing many calories.

Many athletes believe that consuming a protein shake every day will build muscle and reduce body fat. While protein is necessary in the diet for repairing body tissues and making hormones and enzymes, it does not by itself create large muscles. Protein does, however, provide the building blocks for muscle growth, but muscular growth comes from a balanced diet, physical maturity and training. Here's some tips to give athletes desperate to gain weight:

• Eat larger than normal portions at all meals if you can.

• Eat six meals per day. For example: breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, bedtime snack. Remember, if you skip a meal, you have missed an opportunity to bulk up.

• Select higher calorie foods. For example:

Cranberry juice has more calories than orange juice (170 vs. 110)

Granola has more calories than bran flakes (780 vs. 200)

Bananas have more calories than apples (170 vs. 100)

Corn has more calories than green beans (140 vs. 40)

Bean soup has more calories than vegetable soup (130 vs. 80)

• Add high-carbohydrate, high-calorie foods to your diet like: dried fruit, like raisins, pretzels, yogurt, English muffin with peanut butter, fat-free fig bars, fruit bread, like banana bread or blueberry muffins, milkshakes made with low-fat milk, yogurt, fresh fruit and baked (not fried) tortilla chips.

• If you get tired of eating, try instant breakfasts, Nutri-Grain or energy bars, carbohydrate-loading drinks, hot chocolate with added powdered milk or peanut butter sandwiches with a glass of skim milk. A high-calorie smoothie can be made in a blender by mixing together four ounces of skim milk, one carton of yogurt, four ounces of orange juice and one banana.

Tell your thin athletes not to get discouraged. To have a successful weight gain program, they should set realistic goals and give themselves adequate time to reach them.

Coaches, and athletes should remember that gaining weight takes time. Just as it is unrealistic to expect an athlete to lose significant amounts of body fat in a short period of time gaining weight cannot be accomplished overnight. Realistic weight gains of a half or one pound per week can be expected based on reasonable increases in food intake.

Carbohydrate intake, bread, grains and fruits and vegetables, should be maintained at approximately 60 percent of the total daily energy intake, with fat at 20-25 percent and protein at 12-15 percent. Keeping carbohydrate intake high will prevent excessive gains in body fat while protein is important to aid muscle growth.

Fast-food fumbles

Too often athletes who want to gain weight believe that they can eat anything they want and it will magically turn into muscle. Athletes who consistently eat at fast-food resturants and make lousy food choices do not gain lean muscle mass, but gain weight in fat. Those who consume a high fat diet will store the extra calories in the form of fat.

Making wiser food choices when eating out or eating on the road will not only help produce lean tissue but also help balance the diet for peak performance. Selecting foods that are lower in fat and have more carbohydrates or provide more nutrient density will help athletes meet their performance standards. [see Food Guide Pyramid]

For example, selecting two plain hamburgers, a side salad with low calorie dressing and a low-fat carton of milk instead of the No. 2 and supersizing it will provide needed protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals instead of a high fat meal.

Athletes also need to be reminded that the basis for a proper diet for any sport starts with the food guide pryamid. Making the majority of their snack and meal selections from this guide will help maximize their abiltity to perform.

Whether an athlete is trying to maintain weight or gain weight, they should be making wise food choices that are based off the food guide pryamid and make sure that their diet is consistent in order to have long lasting results and the opportunity to maximize their athletic potential.

Jacqueline R. Berning is a nutrition consultant for the Denver Broncos, University of Colorado Athletic Department, the Colorado Rockies and the Cleveland Indians, and an assistant professor at the University of Colorado.

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