Play Sport vs. Gain Muscle

[HowHigh]

Which would you pick?

My goal is to gain enough muscle to hit 200lbs with little bodyfat. However, I dont think I can lift or gain muscle with 2 hour practices, 6 days a week.

I dont think I can make up the calories, nor have the energy to hit the gym, with that much cardio each week.

What should I do? :confused:

[nic6paul]

i still practice and i lift too on the same days even. i just finially relized 2000 calories is not enough to keep me goin and makin muscle so i plan to up the calories. id say play your sport and lift when you get time to.

[HowHigh]

Anyone else?

[Jock]

I hear ya man, I'm a rugby player & it's very very hard to balance work, lifting and serious sport at the same time.

I have practice twice a week with games on a Saturday. Along with 3 weight sessions and 3 cardio I have little time for anything else.

It's also hard to find motivation and easy to get stale/bored etc I never miss a session but sometimes they could be more intense. I've also picked up injuries etc which also sets me back in my goals.

I love the off-season, I'm never out of the weight room and it's balls-to-the-wall intensity every time.

But if I had to weigh up the two, sport for me wins every time. All that time I spend in the gym, all those ass-busting squats are to make me faster & more powerful. But having big muscles and looking good is also important to me.

Just my thoughts

Jock.

peace

[cursor]

I wish I knew the answer. I suppose that it depends on how taxing your pratices are. What sport are you talking about? 12-hours a week practicing ANY sport seem like it'd be too taxing though.

On the other hand, you might find that the weight training sessions are invigorating. Try it for a couple of weeks. You can do a lot of quality lifting in just half an hour, 3 days a week. Focus on the intensity.

[Lil'Lifter]

I played soccer freshman year. They said I was too small to play Sweeper so I got stuck 2nd string right midfielder. I almost never got game time (5-10 minutes per game) and I had to go to all the after school practices. I said FOOK THAT! And I didn't go out this year. I play CYO because I still love soccer and it is less taxing. I am doing track also. I am a jumper. I think that you just have to make a choice like I did. I wasn't getting enough out of soccer to sacrifice my workouts to it. So I stopped playing at that level. The choice is yours I would rather be a huge guy that plays soccer for fun then some skinny shlt 2nd string midfielder.
-Mike

[bsenka]

I mentioned before that I thought it was probably a foolish idea that I decided to really get serious about my fitness goals just before the holidays (and Super Bowl, and grey Cup, and my birthday, and my son's birthday), but I think the biggest challenge so far has been doing it during my hockey season. I'm on the ice 3-5 times a week, and I'm a goalie. That means I'm on the ice for the whole game, and my defense is porous enough that I'm seeing action for virtually that entire time. Any competitive sport can be tough if you play hard for the whole game, but try doing it with 30-40 lbs of equipment on, then you'll know the definition of exertion.

At first, lifting 3 times a week and doing interval sprint cardio 3 times a week was a very taxing program to add on to that. But, by the third week, I was finding that the hockey games were a lot more fun because they were actuallt not as intense as the workouts I was doing on my own. As a result I was not only in better physical condition for the action on the ice, but my mental focus has improved quite a bit too.

All the while, I have added muscle mass too. Not a lot, but still a visible and measureable amount. The trick, I found, was making damn sure I get enough sleep, and always eating before and after I play to minimize the catabolism.

[nic6paul]

what do you usually eat after a game. im kinda lookin for ideas myself for after hockey meals.

[Lil'Lifter]

What you mentioned about sleep is a really valid point. That is one of my own major flaws is that I don't get enough sleep.
-Mike

[bsenka]

Originally posted by nic6paul
what do you usually eat after a game. im kinda lookin for ideas myself for after hockey meals.

Sometimes a protein shake, sometimes a turkey sandwich, but my favorite is my Optimum cereal/unflavoured fat-fee yogurt/chopped fruit/whey protein concoction that I've mentioned in other threads. It tastes like dessert, but it is totally nutritious!

Another thing I didn't mention (that should go without saying) is keep your water intake up! I try to drink about 6 litres of water on game days.

[HowHigh]

I guess ill just double up on the weight gainer.

[BM.TK]

eat healthy food ! loooooooooooooooooooooooooots of them

train hard but short in your weight training sessions, rest mininum 8/9 hours a day