I know some of you rolled your eyes at this topic and thought “I wish!”
But there are a bunch of you who are desperate to add mass. You don’t want to walk into next season at 5’10 and 135lbs. You are not sure how to make it happen when you are training 5 days per week and burning a ton of calories trying to prepare for next season.
It is tough.
I have even seen players who stop doing any cardio training so they aren’t burning those calories in an attempt to gain mass. I hope you can see how this is a HUGE mistake. You are sacrificing your speed and stamina on the ice for the sake of 5lbs of mass. So even if you gain that mass, now you don’t have the tools to perform on the ice.
No one is going to make the team because he or she gained 5lbs, when they are a pylon on the ice.
So you must do your training.
Do you need to do more training?
What about doing more training – more biceps curls, pec flyes, more bench press as you try to add muscle mass?
You are not alone in thinking that – I have seen lots of players sacrifice valuable training time doing more bodybuilding workouts in an attempt to add mass. Don’t make this mistake.
You should be able to gain 8-12lbs of mass during the course of an off-season if you are doing a proper hockey focused training program AND have reached the level of physical maturity where your body is producing sufficient testosterone.
The key is EATING enough to support that training.
The easiest nutrition program
Yes, you can use protein shakes and mass gainers (really just high calorie protein shakes), but you have to watch out for the ones that contain a lot of extra stuff that you don’t need, like stimulants, etc.
Weight Gain Strategy #1
Here is the simple solution that I learned from legendary strength coach Dan John. I call it the PB method.
Here’s what you do…
- Before you go to school make a peanut butter sandwich
- Eat half the sandwich between first and second period
- Eat the other half between fourth and fifth period
- If you are gaining mass, keep doing it.
- If you are not gaining mass, make another half a sandwich
Weight Gain Strategy #2
Get 40 grams of carbohydrate and 20 grams of protein immediately after your workouts. I don’t care whether it is a shake or a snack or what, but don’t wait until you get home, have something there to consume immediately after the workout.
Weight Gain Strategy #3
Eat breakfast. I don’t care if you aren’t hungry in the morning. The only way you will gain mass is by providing the building blocks necessary to build more muscle.
READ THIS: Not EVERYONE will gain mass…
If you are 12-18 and can get away with shaving once a month, you might not have the circulating amounts of testosterone necessary to really add a significant amount of mass. I know, it isn’t fair. But everyone develops at a different rate.
You can be doing the right workouts, eating the right amounts and still not packing on mass. Just stick with it, you are doing the right thing, it will happen for you, your body just needs the time to develop.
You WILL get stronger. You will become a better hockey player, you just might not get JACKED! – Yet.
I have trained guys who didn’t really pack on the mass until they were 19/20 years old and then everyone was asking me what I did with them that off-season. The answer is nothing, they were just getting a natural anabolic boost from their body pumping out testosterone.
Stick with it.
Cheers,
M
PS – here is the registration link for the LIVE webinar where I help you find the perfect off-season program for you >> CLICK HERE FOR THE DETAILS