Weight Management Strategies for Athletes Coming Back To School

The first month of the fall sports season is an intense period for high school athletes as they prepare their bodies for the rigors of competition. This time presents both opportunities and challenges in helping athletes reach their optimal playing weight, since athletes will be at different body weight compositions based on their habits over the Summer. Whether an athlete needs to gain muscle mass or lose weight, the strategies employed during these initial weeks can significantly influence their in-season progress. Let’s delve into some practical approaches, such as periodized nutrition, targeted recovery, and combined training to support athletes in managing their weight healthily.

Periodized Nutrition for Weight Management

Nutrition periodization is a powerful tool that aligns dietary intake with the varying demands of an athlete’s training cycle. By adjusting macronutrient intake and timing based on the specific training phase, coaches can enhance training adaptations and optimize weight management in athletes.

1. Early-Season Strategies: Burning Fat While Building Strength

During the early season, many athletes may be focused on shedding excess fat while building a solid strength foundation. Coaches can guide athletes to reduce overall energy intake and increase protein consumption to maintain muscle mass. A “train low, compete high” approach, where athletes train with low muscle glycogen stores but compete with adequate carbohydrate intake, can be particularly effective for burning fat and enhancing metabolism during games.

2. Mid-Season Adjustments: Balancing Energy and Adaptation

As the season progresses and training intensity ramps up, maintaining a balance between energy intake and expenditure becomes critical. Coaches can incorporate a “sleep low, train low” strategy, where athletes complete low-intensity morning training sessions with low muscle glycogen stores after a night of carbohydrate restriction. This approach can stimulate metabolic adaptations that enhance endurance for certain exercises without compromising performance during higher-intensity training sessions or competitions.

3. Pre-Competition Tapering: Maximizing Energy Reserves for Peak Performance

Leading up to important competitions, reducing training volume while increasing carbohydrate intake is crucial for maximizing energy storage in the form of muscle glycogen. This “train high, compete high” strategy ensures that athletes enter competitions with fully stocked glycogen reserves, ready to perform at their peak. Coaches should work closely with athletes to fine-tune their nutrition plans during this critical period to avoid unnecessary weight gain while ensuring optimal energy availability.

Gaining Weight: Building Strength and Power

For athletes who need to gain weight, the goal is often to increase lean muscle mass rather than simply adding pounds. Here are some key strategies to help these athletes bulk up in a healthy, effective manner:

1. Prioritize Nutrient-Dense Calories

Encouraging athletes to consume nutrient-dense calories is crucial for healthy weight gain. Coaches should work with nutritionists or dietitians to create meal plans that emphasize high-quality protein sources, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Foods like lean meats, fish, eggs, whole grains, nuts, and avocados should be staples in an athlete’s diet. Additionally, incorporating frequent meals and snacks throughout the day can help meet increased caloric needs without overwhelming the athlete at any single meal.

2. Structured Strength Training Program Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy

A structured strength training program focused on hypertrophy is essential for athletes looking to gain muscle mass. To stimulate muscle growth, coaches can incorporate compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses, which target multiple muscle groups. Repetitions in the 8-12 range, with progressively increasing weights, is ideal for muscle hypertrophy. Integrating periodized nutrition strategies can also be helpful—such as ensuring high carbohydrate intake before and after training sessions—to optimize muscle glycogen stores, which fuel these intense workouts and support recovery.

3. Adequate Rest and Recovery

Of course, rest and recovery are just as vital as training and nutrition are for athletes aiming to gain weight. The importance of sleep and rest days cannot be understated, since muscle growth occurs during recovery. Inadequate rest can hinder progress, so encourage athletes to get 7-9 hours of sleep per night and incorporate at least one full rest day into their weekly training schedule. Additionally, the “sleep low, train low” strategy can be used periodically to enhance metabolic signals that promote specific muscle adaptations, particularly during times of lower carbohydrate intake.

Losing Weight: Enhancing Agility and Endurance

For athletes who need to shed excess weight, the focus shifts towards reducing body fat while maintaining muscle mass. The following strategies can help these athletes achieve their weight loss goals:

1. Balanced, Calorie-Controlled Diet

To lose weight healthily, athletes can adopt a calorie-controlled diet that creates a slight caloric deficit. However, it is crucial to balance this deficit with the nutritional demands of training. Guide athletes to eat whole foods rich in nutrients, such as vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, and whole grains, while reducing intake of processed foods and sugars. Monitoring portion sizes and meal timing can also help manage hunger and energy levels. Utilizing periodized nutrition strategies, such as the “train low, compete high” approach, can help athletes maximize fat burning during training while ensuring adequate carbohydrate availability for peak performance in competitions.

Ensuring adequate protein intake—around 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight—supports muscle preservation during weight loss, especially when combined with strength training. Consuming protein immediately after workouts supports muscle repair and growth, especially when carbohydrate intake is limited. For athletes following a low-carbohydrate diet, increasing protein intake becomes even more critical to maintain a positive protein balance and support training adaptations.

2. Incorporate High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is an effective method for burning fat while preserving muscle mass. Coaches should integrate HIIT workouts into the athlete’s training regimen, which may include short bursts of intense exercise like sprints, followed by brief recovery periods. These sessions can be particularly effective when combined with traditional endurance training, providing a dual benefit of improved cardiovascular fitness and accelerated fat loss. When combined with a “recover low, sleep low” strategy—where carbohydrate intake is minimized post-workout and before sleep—HIIT can further enhance fat burning and metabolic adaptations.

3. Hydration and Recovery

Hydration plays a crucial role in weight management, especially for athletes. Educating athletes on the effects of staying hydrated is important, as dehydration can slow metabolism and hinder performance. Just as with weight gain, recovery is vital. Adequate hydration can help with recovery by flushing out toxins and supporting muscle repair.

Combining Endurance and Strength Training

For athletes who need to manage their weight, especially those focusing on endurance sports, combining strength and endurance training is a good option. Strength training supports muscle maintenance, which is important even for endurance athletes, as it prevents muscle loss that can occur from prolonged endurance training. By integrating two to three strength sessions per week, coaches can help athletes preserve muscle mass, which is vital for both performance and injury prevention.

Educating athletes’ on how to manage their weight during the first month of the fall sports season requires a thoughtful, individualized approach. Strategies must be tailored to the specific needs of each athlete, whether the goal is to gain muscle or lose fat. By focusing on periodized nutrition, recovery, and combined training coaches can help athletes achieve their optimal playing weight, setting them up for a successful season.