If you are serious about excelling as a wide receiver, you must fuel your body in a way that will allow you to develop quality muscle that will allow you to be strong, powerful, explosive, quick, and that will allow you to recover quickly.
As a wide receiver, you need to have quick acceleration and agility, as well as the strength to break through the defense so you can gain valuable yards and touchdowns for your team.
Part of your development will start with the diet that you consume. Fuel your body with mediocre nutrients, and you will only be able to achieve mediocre results.
Fuel your body with the nutrients to help you excel, and you will be able to develop the athletic physique that will make you fitter, faster, stronger, and more powerful on the pitch.
Things that you will need.
- Fat measuring calipers
- Smartphone (iPhone)
- EasyDiet App
- Protein powder
- Access to a fresh food market
- Access to a supermarket
Reduce your body fat.
Start by taking your body’s fat measurements. To be able to move quickly, you will need to maintain a physique that will have you holding at less than 12% body fat throughout the season. Ideally, you will be able to minimize the body fat to 8-10% throughout the season.
Get yourself a set of calipers that you can use to track your body fat percentage every 2-4 weeks.
Click here to buy a set of calipers on Amazon.
Based on your body fat benchmark, you will need to adjust the macros in your diet so that you will have enough fuel to train, but you will still be able to hit your body fat percentage goal.
You will need to start by:
- Setting a calorie consumption goal (daily)
- Tracking your macros (fats vs carbohydrates vs protein)
- Prioritise your macros based on the energy and fat loss that you need to achieve.
Note: You can still develop quality muscle whilst reducing your body fat.
Build lean, quality muscle.
Your goal is to build as much quality functional muscle as possible. This will see you develop more muscles in your:
- Glutes
- Hamstrings
- Chest
- Back
- Triceps
- Biceps
- Back
- Calves
The only way your muscles will grow is if there is a calorie surplus that will fuel the muscles to repair themselves after the athlete has trained themselves.
As a rule of thumb, an athlete can develop 1-2lbs of muscle per month with the right training and diet.
What kind of food do wide receivers need to consume in their diet?
As a rule of thumb, avoid any food or drinks that’s been processed. Instead, focus on consuming these types of food as a part of your macros.
For additional energy, consume starchy carbs.
- Sweet potato
- Brown rice
- White rice
- Potato
- Yam
- Oats
For quick energy, you can also consume sucrose carbs.
- Bananas
- Peaches
- Mangos
For energy without the calories, consume fibrous carbs
- Spinach
- Zucchini
- Cucumber
- Berries
- Broccoli
To develop lean muscle, consume protein.
- Protein powder
- Tempeh
- Lean beef mince
- Chicken breast
- Chicken drumsticks
- Turkey
Consume healthy fats such as:
- Olives
- Avocados
- Nuts
You can also trigger your body to go into ketosis, whereby the body will start to burn fat as an energy source.
How should the macros be split?
- Focus on consuming 50% or more lean protein as a part of your diet.
- 30% or more should be carbs.
- 10% should be fats.
You also need to consume enough water in your diet.
You need to keep your liver healthy so that the nutrients that you are putting into your body is being absorbed and used throughout your body correctly. This means you need to consume upwards of 8L (2 gallons) of water per day.
Pay attention to the colour of your urine. If your urine isn’t transparent, it means that the nutrients aren’t being consumed by the body correctly.
What benefits can you expect with a good diet?
The strength and intensity in your training workouts will help you to become a better athlete. You will find that you are more energized and that you have less fatigue when training. You should also find that your muscles will become less prone to injury due to the muscles having the right nutrients, repairing themselves correctly, and the flexibility improving.