I feel like I need to get bigger so that I don’t get pushed around against bigger, taller defenders. I’ve already lost 4 pounds in college and when I play I feel like being lighter actually makes me feel like I get pushed around easily and not be as physical. I was looking into doing a hybrid of strength/hypertrophy work for my lifting instead of just a focus on strength (used to do just 10-12 reps in total). So after speed I was thinking of doing like 6 sets of 4 of squats, bench etc. because I want to loose bodyfat but also gain muscle and have an overall greater weight, but this would cause more metabolic fatigue for my muscles so I’m not sure about recovery but I’m thinking of giving it a go and see how I can recover for my other workouts if I do a total of 24 reps for my weight exercises (squat bench, rows, pull ups, overhead press). RDLs i keep to 2x5-6 reps on my liftings after speed days and I do an extra upper body session where I do pull ups and overhead press to balance it out. So I do 6 reps x 4 sets squats, bench, rows, and rdls 5-7 reps x 2 after the 2 speed sessions throughout the week and do 6x4 pull ups and overhead press on Monday when I do speed/strength on Wed and Fri. Btw I try to rest around 3 mins for my exercises and increase the weight whenever I complete the reps and sets prescribed.
Pick one, increase weight, or lose bodyfat. Very difficult to accomplish both at once, esp while competing in college athletics. Also, if you’ve lost weight already, I’d be looking at you calorie intake as opposed to your strength training as in season, starting a new lifting program seems unwise. Unless you have a calorie excess that’s causing bf gain, if you are currently losing weight, adding to your activity level doesn’t make sense to me.
I did not get to try out for the varsity team so I’m just playing pickup or intramurals and doing my own training in the meantime. I feel like I’m eating more calories than I used to and I’m losing weight lol but maybe that’s fine as if it’s fat that I’m losing then it’s okay. I think the loss of few pounds might have stopped now. I’ll try just eat a lot of mainly whole foods to the point I feel recovered and performing at my best and see how this routine works. Instead of focusing on gaining weight I’ll just focus on training and burning fat and building muscle and the weight should take care of itself.
Dreambig - in my opinion, you really should go look at some academic work/ texts - even something basic like the “Essentials of Strength & Conditioning” by the NSCA.
As mentioned by tb2010, you are fighting a losing battle. Burning fat - accomplished by using the oxidative system - is extremely counter productive for anyone looking to build muscle. Unless you are still growing, the weight will NOT take care of itself.
I work with countless college soccer players…many of them are completely unaware of the role energy systems play in sports training & performance. Soccer has an aerobic component, but many soccer players train solely in the realm of long, slow distance training. Those who only train that way are negatively impacting their performance!
No problem devils but I know it’s hard but my goal right now in my ‘gpp stage’ is hypertrophy so that I can use some more muscle for better strength gains in the long run. Adding muscle will also help burn fat by itself so I’m not too worried about losing fat right now. My arms are like tubes compared to the rest of my body so I’m trying to focus on big compound movements and just pack some muscle and hopefully my arms will grow as well (I’m thinking of adding some isolation work in the end also). Trust me I train a lot different than the majority of soccer players
Hypertrophy may be appropriate now…I was just focused on the fat burning comments. As long as you’re not trying to cover long distances at low-mid intensity while doing this, you should be fine.
Yeah I just have some tempo and pickup soccer but they are not overly large volume and if I eat and recover well I think I should be okay. After giving hypertrophy more thought I think I should just keep it simple and will just try do 3 full body workouts focusing on strength and that should get me bigger in the long run and stronger as well. After all this is what the legendary Reg Park did to have the foundation for his physique
