Gaining weight in college

[TMD]

Weight gain for freshman girls - athletes or not - is very common. Heck, the "Freshman 15" was a thing even when I went to school way back in the dark ages. And yes, I know that freshman boys also gain weight, but this is DFP, so...

My daughter, who has always been thin, put on ~20 lbs freshman year mainly from eating more and weight training. Don't think it was all in the fall semester, but a lot of it was. Exactly what she needed, truth be told. Still has her speed plus now a bit more power. Now, I would not want her putting on 20 lbs every year (we'll leave that to her old man) but as she matures and learns how to train and eat and maintain what she needs to perform at her best, she'll be fine.

 

[ScottyDont]

Uh...my oldest DD lost 10-15 lbs...of muscle, when she started college softball...
She was powerlifting with me for 3 years prior to going to college, and was at 5'10" 185 lb+...and looked like a taller version of Ronda Rousey...(seriously)
Uh ya...her college of choice does very little, if any, power lifting... all frickin' runnin' and yoga BS...
The Rousey shoulders/arms are gone, and so is alot of the power...
...she looks like she needs a peanut butter sandwich or two...and a couple of 45 lb plates on the bar to rep out...

What a frickin' waste... vent over...

Total opposite for my DD. Lots of heavy lifting and very little done to improve speed/agility. I think it slowed her down a bit, both foot speed and hand speed at the plate. We have spent the summer working on getting the hand speed back.

 

[grcsftbll]

Weight gain for freshman girls - athletes or not - is very common. Heck, the "Freshman 15" was a thing even when I went to school way back in the dark ages. And yes, I know that freshman boys also gain weight, but this is DFP, so...

My daughter, who has always been thin, put on ~20 lbs freshman year mainly from eating more and weight training. Don't think it was all in the fall semester, but a lot of it was. Exactly what she needed, truth be told. Still has her speed plus now a bit more power. Now, I would not want her putting on 20 lbs every year (we'll leave that to her old man) but as she matures and learns how to train and eat and maintain what she needs to perform at her best, she'll be fine.

I haven't been in college for a long time and I both heard about and experienced the Freshman 15.

 

[JAD]

Some college coaches hit the weights hard while other prefer conditioning and more reps in the weight room, heavy lifting tends to add more muscle. Most female college students put on the "Freshman 15", sorority girls do it drinking, athletes do it in the weight room.

 

[corlay]

I see a big “bulk up” for many (most?) girls in their sophomore year of HS. Physiological changes at the end of puberty, girls tend to suddenly gain some weight and “grow some hips”. They also seem to get physically stronger and more “body aware” at this time. Its also about the age where our sport loses a lot of girls.

 

[slugger3]

Total opposite for my DD. Lots of heavy lifting and very little done to improve speed/agility. I think it slowed her down a bit, both foot speed and hand speed at the plate. We have spent the summer working on getting the hand speed back.

Before she went to college her 20 yard time was ~ 2.95
Now it's around 2.85

So she is a little quicker but the loss in power is catastrophic...I don't know how many times this Summer I heard..."What's up with ----'s swing/power"? (Her last year of 18U)
Or ..."are they starvin' her"? or, "ir she on a diet"......

After coming home this summer she lifted weights with me and her sisters, but you could see she was frustrated with the loss in strength...(as well as me)

All those years of hard work...gone

 

[_MIA_]

Coach should be interested in getting your DD stronger and faster, whether that means 0 lbs or 20 lbs should be irrelevant. I will say that putting on 20 lbs of muscle for a post-pubescent female, even an untrained female, in 3 to 4 months is highly unlikely unless they are planning on taking an East German route to it...

 

[Classof2020]

Coach should be interested in getting your DD stronger and faster, whether that means 0 lbs or 20 lbs should be irrelevant. I will say that putting on 20 lbs of muscle for a post-pubescent female, even an untrained female, in 3 to 4 months is highly unlikely unless they are planning on taking an East German route to it...

This is what I was thinking there is no way - especially reading her current stats and picturing her body type - that 20lbs would have to be at least half fat - unless there is more than food and protein powder going on.

 

[BT3100]

My DD has never been a big eater... She will have a small lunch after skipping breakfast and then eat a big dinner. She has a thin build and needs to add weight/muscle.
We started her on a super high quality weight gainer that is used by physicians to help people who are suffering from medical issues gain weight.

In 3 weeks she has added 6lbs. She is working out and looks like she is gaining muscle.

 

[diamond14]

Nutrition is as important as the strength/conditioning routine one follows. An athlete cannot get stronger without adequate protein to repair/build muscle. Nor can they perform adequately without proper carb/fat intake for energy. Optimal intake is to space 6-8 "meals" thru the day to ensure proper nutritional uptake. (this is hard for normal people). But if your DD is serious about strength gains, try to find a way to supplement protein intake seperately from main meals (body is most efficient when digesting one type of food eg carbs or protein) And it should be spaced thru day as only a limited amont can be utilized at one time. Using protein shakes is good, as is a lite meal of fish (tuna in a can) etc