Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
While most people are trying to lose weight, there's a special breed of people who need to gain weight! They dream of packing on muscle but have never been able to. The good thing is it's actually pretty easy. If you're tired of being skinny and want to have that athletic fit look, here's how you do it.
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Have the program customized to your personal needs with one of our expert...
What Is Athletic Fit?
You need to know what you're trying to achieve in order to know what you need to do. Therefore, what is "athletic fit"?
"Fit" can conjure up a bunch of different body types; some want to be massive mass monsters, while others want to be lean and "toned."
Neither of these really fits the description of "athletic."
It's important to realize that a bodybuilder's body differs quite significantly from an athlete's body. Whereas a bodybuilder wants to put on as much mass as possible, an athlete wants the optimal amount of muscle that's most efficient for their body to perform at maximal levels.
It's the whole "muscle for show, muscle for go" debate.
All this means is athletes are well-conditioned and have higher amounts of muscle mass. Further, their muscle is in proportion to their body, causing them to look
- Fast
- Strong
- Conditioned
What Does Athletic Fit Look Like?
What most people mean is they want to look athletic with a low body fat percentage and considerable muscle size—but not too much muscle, so as not to seem excessive. However, their body must be built to perform.
Here are some key characteristics of what that looks like.
- Well-developed glutes- are the powerhouse of an athlete's body and should look like it!
- Strong and defined core- Every athlete needs a powerful core. This will enhance their performance by providing needed stabilization. More importantly, it will reduce injury.
- Broad shoulders- Wide shoulders always indicate that a person is active and constantly places demands on their upper body.
- Well-proportioned muscles- As athletes use their entire body, they need a fully conditioned body! No skipping leg day!
How To Train Like An Athlete
In order to look like an athlete, you need to train like one!
As athletes are concerned with performance, they train to be;
- Strong
- Explosive
- Powerful
- Fast
- Agile
- Functional
To achieve this body, they focus on your major compound movements as well as dynamic exercises. These movements are the most functional and train their muscles to perform.
Here's a list of various types of exercises you need to use in your training.
Strength Movements
Regarding strength movements, you need to focus on your primary compound movements.
We're talking about exercises such as;
- Barbell bench press
- Back squat
- Front squat
- Deadlift
- Overhead press
These big movements will make up a good portion of your exercises in the gym and lay the foundation of your training.
In terms of load, athletes can use a relatively wide range because they need to improve;
- Muscle strength
- Muscle mass
- Muscle endurance
With that said, you're going to spend most of your time in the 4-8 rep range. Popular rep ranges are:
- 3X5
- 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ramp-ups.
- 3X8
- Cluster sets (1 large set composed of smaller clusters. I.e. 5 cluster sets of 3 reps for 15 reps)
Bodyweight Exercises
Another major component of your training should be the use of bodyweight movements, as they hold several benefits. The primary three are;
- Chin-up/Pull-up
- Push-ups
- Dips
These exercises are great tools for maintaining the elevated levels of relative strength seen in athletes. Relative strength is simply how strong you are compared to your body.
For example, imagine someone you could bench 400lbs but barely perform 2 chin-ups. What do they look like? Now imagine someone who can bench 315 lbs but perform 15 solid chin-ups; what do they look like? Who's the more athletic person?
For example, if you weigh 200 lbs and can bench 300 lbs, you can bench 1.5 your body weight.
Since you're lifting your own body with bodyweight exercises, increasing your performance means you'll be getting stronger relative to your size. It also means you're improving your body composition as well as body control.
Explosive Power
Nothing screams "athletic" like explosive power. Whether it's exploding off the line or up in the air, explosive power is one of an athlete's defining attributes.
Power is different from strength as it's a measurement of the muscle's ability to create high amounts of force quickly; think about jumping. When your muscle is trained to create explosive power, this means it's working at a higher efficiency and can create more force faster.
To build this power, there are a few different types of exercises you can use;
Plyometrics & Ballistics
Plyometrics and ballistic movements are technically different, but they follow the same idea and have the same outcome, which is to increase power production. An easy way to think about it is;
- Plyometrics deals with jumping movements
- Ballistic movements include throwing movements
You can include These awesome tools in your training to increase your explosive power. Some examples include;
- Broad jump
- Box jump
- Slam balls
- Wall slam (Throw smash ball as hard as you can to a wall)
- Single-leg hops
Olympic Movements & Explosive Barbell Movements
The other group of exercises includes Olympic movements and other explosive barbell movements.
Now, Olympic movements are considered to be the king of power exercises, and rightfully so. However, they're highly technical, and it can take a lot of time to perfect your form so that you truly benefit from them.
While you can definitely do them, the good thing is other simpler exercises produce similar results. Some of these include;
- Squat jump (we like performing with a trap bar deadlift)
- Barbell push press
- Barbell high pull
Functional
The term "functional" has been misused over the years to explain anything. In reality, any movement that increases strength is "functional," as strength is always functional.
That said, when we say "functional," we're talking about dynamic exercises requiring an athlete to be mobile with a load. This includes exercises such as;
- Sled pull
- Sled push
- Tire flips
- Farmer carry
- Sandbag carry
- Sandbag throw
- Resisted sprinting
All these movements require an athlete to perform real movements with resistance, which is crucial to an athlete! Static exercises (e.g., squats and bench presses) work great, but these movements force the muscles to work dynamically.
Speed & Agility
You can't be a slow athlete! Remember that even the massive NFL linemen are fast!
The good news is that you'll already be getting some of this training with push sleds and resisted sprinting, specifically the acceleration part.
Other than that, the best way to improve sprinting is to sprint! You can do this simply by using sprint repeats and interval training.
Agility simply means the ability to change direction quickly under speed. This can be a wide receiver making a quick, sharp cut while not losing any speed or a soccer player dribbling around multiple defenders.
Similar to speed, you'll already get some of this training with the plyometric work as they train the same physiological systems. In addition to that, add in these methods;
- Ladder drills
- Agility tests (T-test, 505)
- Shuttle runs
- Hurdle
Apply Progressive Overload
The most important role of all of these training modes is to implement progressive overload.
Progressive overload is simply a training principle that says in order to progress, you need to continually place greater loads on the muscles. This simply means to lift more each week!.
There are several ways you can do this, including;
- Increasing the load
- Increasing number of reps
- Increasing number of sets
How Do Athletes Eat?
To look like an athlete, you need to eat like an athlete, especially if you're skinny!
This means you need to eat a lot! Everyone can have different needs, but you should start with a 300-500 caloric surplus and see how your body responds. You can then make any needed adjustments.
There is obviously a ton of variety regarding a specific diet that athletes follow simply because there are so many athletes!
However, one clear thing is you'll definitely need to start eating whole foods. You can't expect to look or perform at your best by eating junk and processed foods.
Therefore, consider following the 80/20 diet. This is a type of flexible dieting that says to get at least 80% of your nutrition from whole foods. This will ensure you get quality, nutritious foods that supply all of your micronutrients. Then, if needed, the rest of your diet could be processed foods.
Know that this does not encourage eating junk food. It's simply an allowance, essentially saying you'll be ok eating some processed foods.
What Macro Breakdown Do Athletes Use?
Your macro breakdown refers to how much of your three macronutrients you eat. Again, there is a variety, but here's what generally works best.
Protein For Athletes
Athletes need protein! A general recommendation is around 2.0g/kg of body weight, so start here.
Fat For Athletes
Regarding fat, at least 30% of your calories should come from fat. For example, if you eat 3,000 calories, at least 900 calories must be fat. This will ensure you have enough of this nutrient to;
- Provide energy
- Optimize hormone levels
- Support your immune system
- Transport fat-soluble vitamins
Carbs For Athletes
Carbs are crucial for athletes as they are a fast fuel source! This will optimize your workouts and training. In terms of how much carbs there are, they are a "fill-in-the-rest" macro, as that's basically how they're used—you fill in the rest of the remaining calories with carbs.
Normal Macro Breakdown
A good macro breakdown to achieve an athletic fit look will look like this. athletes' breakdown will usually look something like this;
- Protein- 30%
- Fat- 30%
- Carbs- 40%
This is a good place to start, but everyone has individual needs, so make adjustments if needed.
It's important to keep in mind that your macro breakdown won't look exactly like that of an elite athlete, as you won't be training as much.
Many athletes eat a significant amount more calories and meet this excess with carbohydrates, meaning carbs may be up to 50% of their diet or more at times.
High Calorie Foods
People trying to gain weight generally have a problem getting enough calories. This is especially true when you're eating whole foods. With that said, you can easily add some high-calorie foods to make it easier; here are our favorites;
- Any type of nuts or legumes
- Nut butter
- Olive oil
- Avocado
- Butter
Or, try to make this smoothie a regular part of your nutrition.
- Milk
- 1-2 scoops protein
- Oatmeal
- Frozen berries
- Peanut butter
Mix to taste and have at it. You can easily get this up to 600 calories a serving.
What Supplements Do Athletes Use?
Again, there is a wide range of replies, from "nothing" to "an entire regime."
However, the general recommendations are similar to what a bodybuilder uses, including;
- Protein powder
- Creatine
- Caffeine
- Essential amino acids
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Have the program customized to your personal needs with one of our expert...
Get Your Athletic Fit Body!
Getting an athletic body is definitely doable. It will take consistency, adherence and intensity, but nothing stops you from reaching this level. Your primary concern needs to get in a caloric surplus then get in the gym. Follow progressive program that utilizes the above exercise modalities. You then need to be consistent and your athletic fit body will come!
Garett Reid
Author