Muscle Building Tips, Bodybuilding Diet, Bodybuilding Workout Exercises and Weight Gain Supplements

im a high school football player and have a potential college career. i want to burn fat and gain muscle. how do i do this. should i take protein shakes concidering i workout 5 days a week. or should i just do tons of cardio. etc. any advice is welcomed. also if i pack on 5 pounds i dont care. as long as its good weight. how do i go about this and would protein shakes help?

Before I answer your question I’m going to get a couple of thoughts out of my system.

First of all, if your goal is to play football at the next level, your only concerns should be what you should do in order to get there. One thing I can say without even knowing you is that one of your goals in training is to get stronger (if not, it should be). I’ll assume this is what you mean by gaining muscle so you’re on the right track here.

As far as losing fat, be careful. Are you looking to lose fat in order to look good for the ladies, or do you have a weight issue that can hinder your performance on the field? Make sure that if you’re trying to lose any fat, it’s the latter.

I’m not sure what your position is, but if you’re a lineman of some type, forget about the 6 pack! Think PERFORMANCE. If you’re at a skill position, that type of physique is more realistic and should come along with proper training and nutrition, so don’t worry too much about it.

Now about your training regimen and nutrition..

Training Regimen:

Every time you do something in your training regimen, ask yourself the following question: "Is this going to make me a better football player?"

Is doing "tons of cardio" going to make you a better football player? Since football is an anaerobic sport (I think the average play is around 7 seconds or so), then the answer is NO. Why train your body like a marathon runner? It makes no sense. You want to be able to perform explosive, powerful movements. So this is how you should train!

If you find a high level football player running in any 5K races or jogging on the treadmill, let me know, and I’ll give you 20 bucks (it can’t be a kicker).

You are training 5 days a week, and I assume that regular practice will be starting for you soon. Unless your high school is completely slack, you’re going to be busting your butt for the next few months during your team practices and workouts. Use your rest time to rest–you’re gonna need it.

If you still have too much body fat at the end of the day, the problem isn’t in your training–you may want to look at your nutrition–are you eating junk?? If so, stop it.

Nutrition:

You are on the right track in knowing that protein is important to build muscle. Before worrying about a protein shake or supplement, make sure you’re eating healthy, staying away from soft drinks, eating vegetables, and including a source of protein in every meal. If you’re already doing all this, a protein supplement can help in that it’s an easy way to fuel your body between meals.

Say you’re between meals, and don’t really have time to cook up a chicken breast or cook up some ground beef. Now’s when a shake comes in handy as it allows you to supply your body with the protein it needs between meals.

It’s not that using the powder is better than eating real food (it’s not). The reason to use the powder is that it’s fast and convenient. It’s a way to get your 40-60 grams in without having to cook up 7 complete meals every day.

If you train hard and eat well consistently, you’ll have a true advantage over your competition.

I hope this information helps, and I wish you the best of luck in your career!