I was nervous.
I’ve never liked asking for things.
I really didn’t like asking things for my birthday, because it’s only a few weeks after Christmas. It just never felt right asking for more stuff after I just got a whole bunch of really cool stuff.
But, I really wanted this. So, I asked, “Mom… for my birthday this year, can we go to a sports nutritionist?”
I was a sophomore in high school and the only thing in the world I cared about was figuring out how to gain weight the right way.
I was always a skinny kid growing up. After my freshman football season, I got some really bad advice about how to gain weight and ballooned up from 155 lbs to 190 lbs in a 3 month time period.
I gained this weight during track season. I ran an 11.30 sec 100 meter the first meet of the year and then was running above 12 seconds at the last meet of the year.
Like I said, I had horrible advice. I felt like Violet from Willy Wonka when she turned into a blueberry.
As strange as this sounds, I was really lucky to get sick that summer and dropped back down to about 175 lbs and got my speed back.
After my sophomore football season, I knew gaining weight was going to be absolutely necessary for me to play at the D1 level, but I did not want to repeat the previous year’s nightmare.
It worked. I committed to a strategic, rigorous nutrition plan that allowed me to slowly add lean body mass. I got bigger, I got stronger, and I stayed fast (I was one place away from going to states in the 200m as a sophomore that year).
Turns out the process is pretty straightforward.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
What is it?
This is a starting point for gaining muscle mass for competitive athletes. I’m not a registered dietitian. More individualized, nuanced information can come from consultation with an RD.
However, most of you don’t need that. If you truly commit to the steps in this article, the weight gain will come.
Why does it matter?
The more muscle mass you have, the more capability for generating force you have.
If you want to hit something hard, throw something fast, move another human being against their will, and not get bullied in tight spaces, you can’t be little.
How does it work?
Calories
At the end of the day all weight gain or weight loss largely comes down to how many calories you consume and how many calories you burn.5
It isn’t the only nutritional principle that matters for overall health, but it is the main thing that matters for your body deciding whether it adds or subtracts energy storage (e.g. muscle, fat).
It’s basic thermodynamics: energy can be neither created nor destroyed, only transferred from one state to another.
You’ll hear people say that calories in and calories out doesn’t matter or it didn’t work for them, but they are not an exception to the laws of thermodynamics. It just happens to be more difficult to measure than some people think.
Some people under or overestimate how much they actually eat (even when tracking), which gives a false measurement on the “calories in” side of the equation.
On the “calories out” side of the equation, there are a seemingly infinite number of factors that can alter the amount of calories that are burned throughout the day and nearly all of them are really hard (if not impossible) to accurately measure.
Brotein
Protein is responsible for building energy, enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, immune system components, and of course, muscle.
But here’s the thing: the body (thankfully) prioritizes all of those other protein-reliant structures much more so than muscle.3
So if you don’t have enough protein coming into your diet, then your body will break down your muscle and use it for all the other needs.
Moral of the story: no protein = no gains.
Carbs are your friends
We live in a world that demonizes carbohydrates. Don’t fall into that trap.
Carbs are your main source of energy. As a competitive athlete, you need a lot of energy. As a competitive athlete trying to gain weight, you need even more energy.4
Your mom might be able to get away with eating keto as she goes through her daily life, but it would be disastrous for your athletic performance.
How can you use it?
TRACK IT!
If it doesn’t get measured, then it doesn’t get managed.
1. Weigh yourself. Establish your starting weight and if you have the capabilities to do a legitimate body composition assessment, go for it.
2. Track everything you eat for one week. MyFitnessPal is a great resource. It’s free and easy to use.
3. Weigh yourself at the end of the week. If your weight stays the same, that’s the amount of calories that you need for maintenance.
4. To add 1 lbs per week, increase your caloric intake by 500 calories per day (this calorie number isn’t perfect, but it’s a starting point).2
5. Make sure that you’re eating about 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight per day.1 If you weigh 150 lbs, you’ll need about 108 grams of protein per day.
6. Continue to track your food.
7. Weigh in at the same time each week.
8. Make adjustments as indicated by your weight gain progress (or lack thereof).
Make sure you are diligent in your tracking. Add up all of the oils and smaller ingredients and make sure your portions are accurately recorded. Most people mess up and over or under record how much they’re actually eating.
Update it
The more muscle you have, the more fuel you burn at rest.2
This means that as you gain weight, you’ll need to increase your calories and protein intake in order to continue gaining weight.2
What got you here won’t get you there.
Cool, dude! But, how do I actually get more calories in?
1. Increase meal frequency. Eat 6-7 times a day (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, early afternoon snack, post-practice snack, dinner, evening snack).
2. Drink your calories. Shakes (and even mass gainers when needed) are easier to sneak in more calories than doing solid foods alone.
3. Choose high calorie foods. “For example, cranapple juice has more calories than orange juice (170 vs. 110 calories per 8 ounces); granola has more calories than Cheerios (500 vs. 100 calories per cup); corn more calories than green beans (140 vs. 40 calories per cup).” 5
My thoughts.
Nutrition is what separates good from great.
It’s not nearly as hard to show up and work your tail off for 1-2 hours during training/practice as it is to stay dialed in on your nutrition for the other 23 hours in a day.
Most people start off strong and then, once it stops being new and exciting, they miss a day here or there.
That snowballs and they fall off the wagon.
Only you can decide how important it is to you and take action accordingly.
Fun facts.
I ate a pint of ice cream every night as a part of my freshman year “gain weight at all costs” initiative.
Every. Single. Night.
Please, don’t listen to the nutrition advice of your unqualified football coach or local gym bro.
Don’t end up moving around like Violet the Blueberry.
That’s it!
Best,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS
References
1. Stokes T, Hector AJ, Morton RW, McGlory C, Phillips SM. Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training. Nutrients. 2018;10(2):180. Published 2018 Feb 7. doi:10.3390/nu10020180
2. Manore MM. Weight Management for Athletes and Active Individuals: A Brief Review. Sports Med. 2015;45 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S83-S92. doi:10.1007/s40279-015-0401-0
3. Stokes T, Hector AJ, Morton RW, McGlory C, Phillips SM. Recent Perspectives Regarding the Role of Dietary Protein for the Promotion of Muscle Hypertrophy with Resistance Exercise Training. Nutrients. 2018;10(2):180. Published 2018 Feb 7. doi:10.3390/nu10020180
4. Mata F, Valenzuela PL, Gimenez J, et al. Carbohydrate Availability and Physical Performance: Physiological Overview and Practical Recommendations. Nutrients. 2019;11(5):1084. Published 2019 May 16. doi:10.3390/nu11051084
5. Clark, Nancy M.S., R.D., FACSM, FADA. Bulking Up: Helping Clients Gain Weight Healthfully. ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal 9(5):p 15-19, September 2005.