Hello everyone, I have done a decent amount of reading on actual bodybuilding on this forum and I understand the importance of rest and recovery periods, after all, it is said many time here you dont grow in the gym you grow at home. But if I am training for a specific sport and not trying to get bigger is it acceptable to train 4-5 hours a day? For example this morning I met with the crew team and did some sprinting/running for about 2 hours. Then we all met up at the gym later and did some lifting, and tonight they want us to go for a leisurely run of about 10 miles. I personally don't mind this because I enjoy training a lot, but will this actually help you get better if your muscles are not given enough time to rest? because I will be getting up and doing the same thing for 5 days a week for the next 3 weeks. It is just a club team and our coach is not really a "coach" he rowed for the college himself when he was in college and now helps out.

Also, what kind of diet should I looking in to with training like this? I am currently around 187 pounds, but the ideal weight for a rowing member is usually between 165-178 pounds (or so I am told). So I need to lose a little weight too. Which will not be terribly easy since I am already somewhere around 12% BF.

The situation in my head that is going on is terrible because I am thinking I am going to be losing muscle at a fast rate especially if I don't eat a lot to keep my body fueled, but I have to be doing this training with the team. So how can I do all this training, eat below maitenance, and expect to be improving in my physical ability all at the same time?