T Nation

Losing Weight For College Football

#1

Hey I posted on here before about football....But long story short Im going to be Playing football in Fall of 2007 in college....Its now January and next week Im getting another 3-month membership.

So I plan on strength/conditioning training January through the end of March( 3 months), then I will do my Speed/Agility training during the 8-weeks of April and May all to get ready for the summer football workouts.

Now I wasnt quite sure on how to go about losing weight I currently weigh 210lbs and I have a little gut and I think Id be better at about 190 lbs to play running back. So during Jan-March what kind of "conditioning" should I do???...I looked in to Interval Training on a bicycle 10 seconds all out/50 second rest for 30 minutes. And I thought about circuit training and this High Intensity Treadmill routine I have.

I was wondering what would be a good idea on losing the 20 to 25 pounds necessary in the 12 weeks of Jan-March, all while not getting "skinny" and losing any strenght or speed in the process.I now how to strenght train I do chins and pull ups, benching, squats, box squats, shoulder work, cleans,deadlifts, low back raises, step ups and split squats...etc...,my strenght and speed is improving I just want to be in better shape.Ive been lifting weights consistent no longer than 7 or 8 months.I want the "look"...I know thats not important but still I need to be in better shape.

Here are some measurables and stats:

Age- 19

Ht- 5-9

Wght- 210

40 yard- 4.48 best, 4.54 worst.

Bench- 275 lbs

Deads- 365 lbs

Box Squat-415 lbs

185 Reps- 18 times

225 reps- 9 times.

Dumbell Split-Squats- 100lbs.

Step Ups- 100lbs.

**Please, only respond if you have something informative and helpful to share***

Thanx Fellas.

#2

1) You say you are about 210 pounds now and you want to be 190. What's your body fat % around though? Losing 20 pounds in 3 months is not going to be easy and I'd imagine you're going to lose a lot of muscle as well.

2) I'm not interval training expert, but 10 seconds balls out and 50 seconds rest sounds like a very lopsided ratio. I'd imagine you'd want them closer to 1:1

If I were you, I wouldn't worry about sectioning out your speed/lifting/weight loss goals. Why not combine them?

Losing body fat is going to be a lot easier if done slower over say 6-8 months then in just 3, and you'll definitely retain more muscle. Nutrition over your off season is very important if you need to lose that much fat.

Unless someone else disagrees, I'd lift and do your speed work for the whole off season and maybe toward the last few months shift toward where you are lacking/most bang for the buck.

#3

Dude your diet is what will dictate whether or not you lose weight. There's alot of joggers and weekend warriors in great CV shape, but their appearance fails to match it. know why that is...??

I'll give you a hint, it's because changing and being more disiciplined with your diet is a 24 a day job. Training is the easy part.

Sort your diet out, train your arse off and the fat will take care of itself.

#4

First i'd say if you want to be a running back the extra few pounds would probably help you more than anything, especially if the numbers you posted are all true. Second since you only have 3 months of "gym" time i'd suggest just working on strength and building some more mass. Then once you start your "speed/agility training" you should lean out a bit from that plus you will have built up that extra bit of strength and mass incase you do start losing weight from the increased energy systems work.

#5

maybe im crazy. but it's very hard to believe you run 4.48 40 at 5'9 210 with a gut.

#6

Id agree and say the 210 would not be to high for running back and I would NOT worry about body compm so much and concentrate on performance. You like many may perfomr better with a bit of BF ripped doesnt mean your in the best playing shape.

Lift hard eat right and concentrate on getting better at your position. Yes lots of intervals will help. sprinting and sure 10-15 seconds is great only time you MAY have to go longer than that is if you broke off a LONG run for a TD a LONG run.

Get strong get explosive get MEAN.

You would prob do good at both getting Eric Cresseys manual for athletes and look into a program like west side for skinny bastards and do a LOT of sport specific work on the other days. sprinting, dragging heavy things carrying heavy things, strongman stuff will translate well
etc.

Phill

#7

have posted such a question to the fourm. if you're really going to play college ball, you need to do this: call joe defranco and see if he'll do a consult with you. do what it takes to get the money.

(disclosure: i don't know the guy, he doesn't know me from adam. but he's the best in the business. so do what it takes to retain him.)

#8

try these workouts and add them to your routine 2-3 times a week and you will be shedding the fat.

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/themagic50.html

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/intervalchallenge.html

http://www.rosstraining.com/sequentialfatiguechallenge.pdf

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/workcapacity101.html

These are just a few, check out www.rosstraining.com for more great articles on getting into shape.

#9

IM not sure about my BF%...Ive been to some clinincs and Ive been in some college weight rooms and I see kids who are just chisled and ripped...but we get on the track and I blow by them like they were standing still...I just always wondered how much better and faster would i be if i was chisled like them..ya know.

#10

Well you may actually be worse?? Undernurished etc compared to now.

Something to think about Performance is #1

Phill

#11

You should get a membership at the gym UNTIL you can work out at your school's gym. Any strength gains you make in the first three months will be long gone by September if you don't continue to lift weights. You also should continue to lift (albeit with reduced volume) during the season.

Plus you should be lifting in conjunction with your speed work. Being stronger makes you faster.

As others have said, check out defrancostraining.com. Pretty much all that guy does is work on making football players stronger and faster.

As for your weight, probably the best idea is to simply focus on having great nutrition (no chips, pop, heavy drinking, McDonald's etc. and eat lots of protein) and it will likely take care of itself if you are training hard.

#12

Get your conditioning through running sprints and your agility skills. With short rest periods, you will up the intensity making it anaerobic just like your sport. Dont rely strictly on your nutrition, which you should focus on improving with better food choices and nutrient timing.

You will be getting plenty of exercise with your weights and conditioning, so nutrition should be your main focus. You will also lose some weight when you report to camp so consider that when you start this program. Camp will drop a good 10 pounds off you without much trouble, at least it did for me when I balled in college. Stick to what works, some sports conditioning coaches dont know shit.

#13

Yeah, VanVan - Phill is right. Performance first. Unless you are really chubby, likely your lack of million dollar abs isn't affecting your running at all. And, at your age, you should be going crazy building speed and power - your best window is right now. Worrying about abs may make you make dietary choices that limit performance.

Unless the weight truly gets in your way, leave it be and it will take care of itself with hard practice. Just eat for performance and worry about looks later.

#14

Thanks alot guys for all the valuable information...I really appreciate it....

#15

This post isn't about your losing weight, but another piece of advice.

From reading your post, it sounds as if you will be walking on to the football team.

Because of that you will have to jump through some hoops, but you need to get ahold of the strength and conditioning coach.

When you visit with them, or an assistant, find out what they do for their agility and conditioning. When coming into a program, you need to be able to perform the drills they ask of you (no matter how stupid you may think they are).

For example, if they are running 20 110 yard runs in 15 seconds with 45 seconds rest at the end of the summer, you need to be able to do that.

If you are the athlete who is puking after 8, they will make sure that the position coaches notice.

There are athletes who are not the most talented in the world, but they will get to stick around on the team if they work hard and meet the physical standards set.