Supplements and eating for high profile athletes

[terryl965]

What is the right formula for athlete intake on eating? I mean my son zach is eating about 2800 calories a day and taken simple suppliments like protien shakes and a muscle builder and a antioxcident treatment, but he wants to put on about 10-15 lbs over the neaxt 6 months in muscle and strength? He is 16 and trains for three hours a day one hour with wieghts and two on the floor everyday. he has a trainer that helps him a couple days a week and me, we are finding out it is hard for him to put on the wieght. He is a better fighter at 131-139 than he is below the 131 mark, he has more quickness and feels better but fighting under is hard because you must make wieght so for him to fight that bracket he need to be there and not just wear two layers of clothes at wieghin. Any help is appreciated.

 

[ATC]

What is the right formula for athlete intake on eating? I mean my son zach is eating about 2800 calories a day and taken simple suppliments like protien shakes and a muscle builder and a antioxcident treatment, but he wants to put on about 10-15 lbs over the neaxt 6 months in muscle and strength? He is 16 and trains for three hours a day one hour with wieghts and two on the floor everyday. he has a trainer that helps him a couple days a week and me, we are finding out it is hard for him to put on the wieght. He is a better fighter at 131-139 than he is below the 131 mark, he has more quickness and feels better but fighting under is hard because you must make wieght so for him to fight that bracket he need to be there and not just wear two layers of clothes at wieghin. Any help is appreciated.

Lots of lean high protien is all he can do. To gain that much is such a short time and have it be quality will be hard. You can put on the weight but it won't be muscle, and that is what he needs.

Why does he think he needs to go up in weight that much. He may find the top competition at that weight is just as fast but hits a lot harder. Now I am talking about the top competition not the local people he may beat all the time. Just something to think about.

Plust the weight brackets changed. They added a couple of lbs to each bracket now.

 

[MSUTKD]

Terry,

Let his body acclimate by itself and all he has to do is keep training. You might want to look into some new research on young people and lifting weights; many experts believe this is not very good for kids.
If he is eating good there is NO need for protein shakes and absolutely NO need for so called muscle builders. His body right now is a muscle building factory without the voodoo of these products. As long as he trains he will find equilibrium.

 

[Ken Morgan]

Sounds like your son is training at a very professional level and as such will need more food then normal.

In heavy weight training you will need 1-2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight just to maintain what you have. To grow, to gain lean muscle mass, you need to crank up the intake of lean proteins.

If he is training that hard and not gaining weight, then he is under eating. Protein powders are great for convenience, but I prefer fish, chicken, turkey or beef.

He should be eating complex carbs and proteins every three to fours hours, total of approximately five or six meals per day. As a teenager he needs a high amount of calories to begin with, add in the training and he needs to eat even more.

Protein alone, (Then you will need to add the carbs) he will need at least 250 – 300 grams a day. Consider a chicken breast is 40 grams, hence why you need to eat five or six times a day. Your body can only metabolize so much protein at once, so it has to be spread out. You will need to experiment to see what works, if he’s still not gaining add even more food, if his body fat is going up, cut back on the carbs, or add more cardio, he has to see what works for him.

Article I wrote some years ago my be helpful http://ejmas.com/pt/ptart_morgan_0202.htm

 

[terryl965]

Lots of lean high protien is all he can do. To gain that much is such a short time and have it be quality will be hard. You can put on the weight but it won't be muscle, and that is what he needs.

Why does he think he needs to go up in weight that much. He may find the top competition at that weight is just as fast but hits a lot harder. Now I am talking about the top competition not the local people he may beat all the time. Just something to think about.

Plust the weight brackets changed. They added a couple of lbs to each bracket now.

Because some of the Master and GM that I will not mention believe he is better suited at that wieght. He tends to be a better fit in that catagory and since those high on the totum poles says it and they control who and what make a team. That is where he needs to be.

 

[terryl965]

Terry,

Let his body acclimate by itself and all he has to do is keep training. You might want to look into some new research on young people and lifting weights; many experts believe this is not very good for kids.
If he is eating good there is NO need for protein shakes and absolutely NO need for so called muscle builders. His body right now is a muscle building factory without the voodoo of these products. As long as he trains he will find equilibrium.

Master Southwick thanks for the words of wisdom. Zachary is one of those he wants to be the best and you know this after meeting him. I can tell him one thing and then some of the high profile coaches tells him something else and it put me in that position where I do not want to be in. I will pass on what you say and keep my eye out for his training.

 

[ATC]

Because some of the Master and GM that I will not mention believe he is better suited at that wieght. He tends to be a better fit in that catagory and since those high on the totum poles says it and they control who and what make a team. That is where he needs to be.

Ahh..OK then. Well I am not sure what he weighs now but If on the low end I would reach for the middle of the pack. This way is closer to his bodies normal weight without being slowed down but the extra weight.

Lots of lean protein is all I can say. Fish, turkey, chicken and so on. Not sure about the weight lifting but light ones I guess could not hurt. Maybe start training with a weighted vest also. Nothing heavy maybe just 5 or 10 pounds of weight to get his legs use to the extra weight before hand.

 

[Kwan Jang]

Terry,
Ken Morgan gave you the best advice of anyone here regarding nutrition and is right on track about knowing what he is talking about. If used properly, your son's resistance training will enhance his speed and athletic ablilities, but it is important to make sure his development is balanced and along the natural strength curves of the body. I.e. keeping his strength and development in proper proportion by not overdeveloping or underdeveloping certain muscle roups in relation to the whole. Also, keep in mind that his body is using a lot of energy for overall growth at this stage and it will grow first and build muscle second. If he has not yet reached his full adult height, there could be some potential problems with the growth plates in regards to very low rep/heavy weight work. This can easily be worked around by using more moderate weights with higher reps BUT using high intensity.

One other factor to consider is avoiding overtraining. Try to keep his training volume as low as possible and still get the neccesary work done to achieve his goals. Intensity and volume are mutually exclusive; this is why you can sprint for 40 yards and jog a marathon. Make sure he is getting the nutritional support and the recuperation needed to allow the growth to happen.

 

[granfire]

What is the right formula for athlete intake on eating? I mean my son zach is eating about 2800 calories a day and taken simple suppliments like protien shakes and a muscle builder and a antioxcident treatment, but he wants to put on about 10-15 lbs over the neaxt 6 months in muscle and strength? He is 16 and trains for three hours a day one hour with wieghts and two on the floor everyday. he has a trainer that helps him a couple days a week and me, we are finding out it is hard for him to put on the wieght. He is a better fighter at 131-139 than he is below the 131 mark, he has more quickness and feels better but fighting under is hard because you must make wieght so for him to fight that bracket he need to be there and not just wear two layers of clothes at wieghin. Any help is appreciated.

Somebody was nice enough to link me to an online magazine that covered nutrition, when I am not so jet lagged anymore I see if I can find the name of it, the cover had a young guy with big weights on it....nvm, I guess they all have young fellows with big weights on them.

There are also many books available on sports nutrition. Confusing lot, that's for sure, one for every sport, and then some. I liked 'Idiot's guide' but I thinks it's no longer in print. Library is your friend.

BTW, seems to be the author had the opinion that modern foods are no longer as nutritious as they were in the olden days, he suggested a daily multivitamin, even with balanced nutrition.