Thread: Questions about eating and training for contact sports

I played American football for years, but at the age I was playing, I could have survived off of soda and chili dogs and been fine. At 25, my joints, connective tissues, and muscles don't fare as well as they use to. Now I have to consider the proper diet and training to stay in one piece.

Firsts off, is weight training 4 days a week combined with Rugby practice and games 3 days a week going to put me at risk? My intuition says it is a bad idea, but I would like to get some educated opinions about it.

I am way too big to be effective. There isn't much difference in being fat and being muscular when it comes to mobility. 230 lbs is 230lbs, and my legs and cardiovascular system isn't handling it so well. I need to be much leaner which leads me to my next question. How dangerous is it to cut while training 7 at the level I am at now? Will I be more likely to become injured on a caloric deficit?

My cardiovascular system is improving, but would it improve more if I increased the calories? I never really game much thought to it before. I always run to lose weight, but now I need to run to be a better runner. Would it be better to strengthen my running abilities first, then cut later?

How much does diet effect recovery time for things like sore ankles, bruised muscles, sore joints?

Do I possibly need to stop doing squats? My knees are not going to like being pushed to the max 4 days a week. Perhaps I should save squats for the off season, and train plyometrics during the season?

Originally Posted by KelJu

I played American football for years, but at the age I was playing, I could have survived off of soda and chili dogs and been fine. At 25, my joints, connective tissues, and muscles don't fare as well as they use to. Now I have to consider the proper diet and training to stay in one piece.

Firsts off, is weight training 4 days a week combined with Rugby practice and games 3 days a week going to put me at risk? My intuition says it is a bad idea, but I would like to get some educated opinions about it.

I am way too big to be effective. There isn't much difference in being fat and being muscular when it comes to mobility. 230 lbs is 230lbs, and my legs and cardiovascular system isn't handling it so well. I need to be much leaner which leads me to my next question. How dangerous is it to cut while training 7 at the level I am at now? Will I be more likely to become injured on a caloric deficit?

My cardiovascular system is improving, but would it improve more if I increased the calories? I never really game much thought to it before. I always run to lose weight, but now I need to run to be a better runner. Would it be better to strengthen my running abilities first, then cut later?

How much does diet effect recovery time for things like sore ankles, bruised muscles, sore joints?

Do I possibly need to stop doing squats? My knees are not going to like being pushed to the max 4 days a week. Perhaps I should save squats for the off season, and train plyometrics during the season?

Ok, I will see what I can do here to try to help you.

"Firsts off, is weight training 4 days a week combined with Rugby practice and games 3 days a week going to put me at risk? My intuition says it is a bad idea, but I would like to get some educated opinions about it. "

Likely, yes. It doesnt have to necessarily, however. A couple things need to be known - what exactly are you doing in the gym and what exactly are you doing at practice?

"I am way too big to be effective. There isn't much difference in being fat and being muscular when it comes to mobility. 230 lbs is 230lbs, and my legs and cardiovascular system isn't handling it so well. I need to be much leaner which leads me to my next question. How dangerous is it to cut while training 7 at the level I am at now? Will I be more likely to become injured on a caloric deficit?
"

I was in a similar predicement as yourself. I was a few pounds over 200 and was getting ready to train BJJ again. Now I am between 188-192 on a given day. Now that I am lighter it is much easier to be athletic and mobile. Movement and flow come much easier.

You have to be careful training on a deficit, but often when someone cuts they are much more careful with their nutrient intake. So while they are taking in less calories, they are getting plenty of good nutrients to recover. At the same time if you are training conditioning, it gets easier in the sense that you are dropping weight so you don't have to handle as much bodyweight while training.

How much does diet effect recovery time for things like sore ankles, bruised muscles, sore joints?

It is hard to quantify that. Diet can help plenty but you have to make sure not to put too much stock into helping things with diet that could be helped by other measures. Flexibility and mobility work for you ankles and joints. Using the RICE method, etc. Fish oil is good, you could look into some joint supplements as well. Drink plenty of water.

"My cardiovascular system is improving, but would it improve more if I increased the calories? I never really game much thought to it before. I always run to lose weight, but now I need to run to be a better runner. Would it be better to strengthen my running abilities first, then cut later? "

Sure you can improve your conditioning in a calorie surplus. Training is really the biggest factor involved with improving that. I find it easier to train conditioning cutting because when I lose weight I have less mass to move around. You can do it either way. Why not kill two birds with one stone though if you plan on losing weight anyway.

Do I possibly need to stop doing squats? My knees are not going to like being pushed to the max 4 days a week. Perhaps I should save squats for the off season, and train plyometrics during the season

Possibly. I assume you mean back squats. There are plenty of variations that can give you "slack" when it comes to maintaining exercise form and knee health. But like I said, everything really needs to be layed out so things can be balanced. You have to choose your main goal and work towards that. If you want to focus totally on your rubgy game you won't want to lift like you are used to.