How Nick Hardwick maintained 300lbs playing

[Bolt-O]

Saw this in the news feed, fascinating....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/nick-hardwick-consumed-an-insane-amount-of-food-to-play-center-in-nfl-164726907.html

When San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick appeared at his retirement press conference, it was shocking. He looked like he was half the size he was for his last NFL game.

Not quite. But he lost 85 pounds in less than five months. That, of course, prompted speculation on how someone could quit the NFL and look like a new person in less than a half of a year.

Hardwick talked about the weight loss in a great story by Emily Kaplan of The MMQB, but the story has to begin with the weight gain. To maintain a body of about 300 pounds to play in the middle of an NFL offensive line, Hardwick's eating habits were absolutely mind-blowing. Here's what he told Kaplan he consumed every day:

- At 4:45 a.m., a 600-calorie protein shake and a 20-gram protein bar
- After working out, a 300-calorie Gatorade protein shake
- A large "everything imaginable" smoothie after showering, which included "five eggs, sausage, and 32 ounces of whole milk"
- Snack of mixed nuts while watching film
- Two or three hours into meetings, another 700-calorie protein shake
- After practice, another protein shake
- For lunch, a salad with "as much protein as possible piled on top" and a lot of bread on the side
- A normal dinner with normal portions with his family
- About 90 minutes after dinner, a 32-ounce container of Greek yogurt with cereal on top
- A pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, with 1,040 calories and 104 grams of sugar

Not that anyone thought an NFL lineman maintaining a 300-pound body through massive amounts of calorie intake was healthy, but that's ridiculous. It gives a pretty good insight into what many of the men playing in the trenches in the NFL have to do to maintain the type of body mass needed to survive in the sport. That has to take a terrible toll on one's body.

Thankfully Harwick got his weight under control right after he suffered a season-ending injury in 2014 and decided to retire. Kaplan's story does a great job outlining how he cut way back on his food intake and exercised a lot to get his weight down.

Everyone knows of the physical dangers associated with playing in the NFL. You can add simply eating as one of the pitfalls for many NFL players, too.

[6025]

I remember a story in SI on Tony Mandarich when he was coming out of college. He said the same thing, he consumed a lot of calories.

[TTK]

That's crazy.

[Lightningwill_420]

Saw this in the news feed, fascinating....

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/nick-hardwick-consumed-an-insane-amount-of-food-to-play-center-in-nfl-164726907.html

When San Diego Chargers center Nick Hardwick appeared at his retirement press conference, it was shocking. He looked like he was half the size he was for his last NFL game.

Not quite. But he lost 85 pounds in less than five months. That, of course, prompted speculation on how someone could quit the NFL and look like a new person in less than a half of a year.

Hardwick talked about the weight loss in a great story by Emily Kaplan of The MMQB, but the story has to begin with the weight gain. To maintain a body of about 300 pounds to play in the middle of an NFL offensive line, Hardwick's eating habits were absolutely mind-blowing. Here's what he told Kaplan he consumed every day:

- At 4:45 a.m., a 600-calorie protein shake and a 20-gram protein bar
- After working out, a 300-calorie Gatorade protein shake
- A large "everything imaginable" smoothie after showering, which included "five eggs, sausage, and 32 ounces of whole milk"
- Snack of mixed nuts while watching film
- Two or three hours into meetings, another 700-calorie protein shake
- After practice, another protein shake
- For lunch, a salad with "as much protein as possible piled on top" and a lot of bread on the side
- A normal dinner with normal portions with his family
- About 90 minutes after dinner, a 32-ounce container of Greek yogurt with cereal on top
- A pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, with 1,040 calories and 104 grams of sugar

Not that anyone thought an NFL lineman maintaining a 300-pound body through massive amounts of calorie intake was healthy, but that's ridiculous. It gives a pretty good insight into what many of the men playing in the trenches in the NFL have to do to maintain the type of body mass needed to survive in the sport. That has to take a terrible toll on one's body.

Thankfully Harwick got his weight under control right after he suffered a season-ending injury in 2014 and decided to retire. Kaplan's story does a great job outlining how he cut way back on his food intake and exercised a lot to get his weight down.

Everyone knows of the physical dangers associated with playing in the NFL. You can add simply eating as one of the pitfalls for many NFL players, too.

From what I know about how human being's bodies grow, eating a ton isn't going to make a naturally thin person heavy.
It might do terrible things to the person's health, but it wouldn't make them gain 85 pounds of muscle. If somebody who isn't born with Shaquille O'Neal genes wants to put on 85 pounds, I have a seriously hard time believing one can do that naturally.
Nick Hardwick may not be naturally skinny, but he isn't naturally 300 pounds either.

[6025]

From what I know about how human being's bodies grow, eating a ton isn't going to make a naturally thin person heavy.
It might do terrible things to the person's health, but it wouldn't make them gain 85 pounds of muscle. If somebody who isn't born with Shaquille O'Neal genes wants to put on 85 pounds, I have a seriously hard time believing one can do that naturally.
Nick Hardwick may not be naturally skinny, but he isn't naturally 300 pounds either.

This.

[Steve]

Obviously he is not a naturally 300 lb guy, he had to eat obsessively to gain all that weight. And look at any NFL OL and you see that there is a lot of sloppy weight, even when they don't look bad like Hardwick or Jeff Saturday, who also lost a ton of weight.

A guy I worked with went through Navy ROTC with Hardwick, and he was always a large guy.

But that is pretty much "normal" eating for NFL OL. Other positions may not be quite as bad, but you are talking about thousands of calories, because they are big, muscular guys (by normal person standards) doing a ton of weight lifting, interval training and a regular practice on top of that. It is no uncommon for NFL players to eat 5 or 6,000 calories a day. Even receivers and backs eat a lot of fast food and extra calories, because they would lose huge amounts of weight and not stay near their playing weights.

[Lightningwill_420]

Obviously he is not a naturally 300 lb guy, he had to eat obsessively to gain all that weight. And look at any NFL OL and you see that there is a lot of sloppy weight, even when they don't look bad like Hardwick or Jeff Saturday, who also lost a ton of weight.

A guy I worked with went through Navy ROTC with Hardwick, and he was always a large guy.

But that is pretty much "normal" eating for NFL OL. Other positions may not be quite as bad, but you are talking about thousands of calories, because they are big, muscular guys (by normal person standards) doing a ton of weight lifting, interval training and a regular practice on top of that. It is no uncommon for NFL players to eat 5 or 6,000 calories a day. Even receivers and backs eat a lot of fast food and extra calories, because they would lose huge amounts of weight and not stay near their playing weights.

A. That's not something most people can do without long breaks.
B. A 215 pound man can do that until the end of time, but, unless something unnatural is going on, he's not putting on 85 pounds of muscle.
C. My message isn't specifically about Nick Hardwick. I think he's the norm in the NFL.
D. Do I have proof of what I'm saying? No. Just eyes.

[Foxbatkllr]

A. That's not something most people can do without long breaks.
B. A 215 pound man can do that until the end of time, but, unless something unnatural is going on, he's not putting on 85 pounds of muscle.
C. My message isn't specifically about Nick Hardwick. I think he's the norm in the NFL.
D. Do I have proof of what I'm saying? No. Just eyes.

Who said it was 85 lbs of pure muscle??? Surely he was a higher body fat % at 300 lbs than he is now. Let's say he's now 15% body fat at 215lbs. That would give him 182.75 lbs of muscle. Now lets say at 300lbs he was 30% body fat (given his lack of definition, gut and large thighs, this is probable). That would put him at 210lbs of muscle. That's less than a 30lb difference in muscle. Now, 30lbs of muscle is still a lot. However, keep in mind that increased carb intake, water intake, creatine intake will all increase muscle size (and weight) without actually gaining new muscle.

[Steve]

A. That's not something most people can do without long breaks.
B. A 215 pound man can do that until the end of time, but, unless something unnatural is going on, he's not putting on 85 pounds of muscle.
C. My message isn't specifically about Nick Hardwick. I think he's the norm in the NFL.
D. Do I have proof of what I'm saying? No. Just eyes.

Can't do what without long breaks? Maybe you shouldn't judge NFL guys one being able to work out, because that is the gig. If you can't do that, you aren't going to have any hope of playing pro ball. EVERYONE (even the women), on my college track team did at least that much, and we were a bunch of div III nobodies (not even particularly good nobodies). That is not the sign of an NFL caliber athlete, it just means that they/we weren't wimps. But anyone who really tries can do it. It's just a matter of building up to it. It's not steroids, it's just a little work. But it takes real work, not the pretend work that you see at most gyms. Most people who go to gyms should just light their cash on fire for all the good it will do them. That includes several football teams I have been around (div III).

I know a lot of people think that most NFL players do steroids or other PED, and I know some certainly do, but I don't think it is the majority. I think there are a lot of guys who get big enough by doing the work. It's just the vast majority of the people who think they work out are so completely wasting their time, they have no idea what hard work even looks like in a gym, or on a track.

Hardwick carried his weight well, but NFL players are not low body fat types. Even the ones who look in good shape, typically carry a lot of body fat (more thinking line, LB and FB types). Guys who run are maybe somewhat leaner. And they don't do wimpy body builder, foo foo weights. They do olympic style, core and power lifting, to really build up the big muscles in the body. Very heavy weights, low reps, build muscle and explosive power. They are thick and dense where it counts, but it also means the body carries a lot of fat around that.

[Lightningwill_420]

Can't do what without long breaks? Maybe you shouldn't judge NFL guys one being able to work out, because that is the gig. If you can't do that, you aren't going to have any hope of playing pro ball. EVERYONE (even the women), on my college track team did at least that much, and we were a bunch of div III nobodies (not even particularly good nobodies). That is not the sign of an NFL caliber athlete, it just means that they/we weren't wimps. But anyone who really tries can do it. It's just a matter of building up to it. It's not steroids, it's just a little work. But it takes real work, not the pretend work that you see at most gyms. Most people who go to gyms should just light their cash on fire for all the good it will do them. That includes several football teams I have been around (div III).

I know a lot of people think that most NFL players do steroids or other PED, and I know some certainly do, but I don't think it is the majority. I think there are a lot of guys who get big enough by doing the work. It's just the vast majority of the people who think they work out are so completely wasting their time, they have no idea what hard work even looks like in a gym, or on a track.

Hardwick carried his weight well, but NFL players are not low body fat types. Even the ones who look in good shape, typically carry a lot of body fat (more thinking line, LB and FB types). Guys who run are maybe somewhat leaner. And they don't do wimpy body builder, foo foo weights. They do olympic style, core and power lifting, to really build up the big muscles in the body. Very heavy weights, low reps, build muscle and explosive power. They are thick and dense where it counts, but it also means the body carries a lot of fat around that.

How many of them naturally put on 85 pounds of muscle during their college careers?

If you want to get anecdotal, I have a story too. I have a friend who is a fitness/weight trainer. He probably weighs 160 pounds. Works out quite a bit - I would say about 8 hours per day, 6 days per week. When he gets a month off, he doesn't gain or lose any weight. His physical condition changes, but not his weight.

My sister's ex boyfriend must have been about 6'6 and was as skinny as a mantis - always tried to gain weight - worked out daily and ate a ton. I figured it was all about metabolism - that this dude burned calories way too fast when he lifted weights. Over two days, we did this experiment. He sat on the couch - only got up to use the toilet. We brought him all his food - it involved an entire freezer full of hot pockets, a drawer-full of bacon, and 3 cases of beer. When he weighed himself after the experiment, he weighed the exact same thing he weighed the day he started. The point is - it didn't matter what this guy ate or how he lived; he was destined to be a stickman.

Yea, I know people gain and lose weight - it happens. My weight fluctuates, but that's because I'm nowhere near my fitness potential. In my heyday, when I was my best physical self, I weighed 185. I never worked out 3 times a day over a long period of time (which is what you say football players do), but I'm pretty sure that, if I did, I wouldn't have got over 185. In fact, 10 years after that, through all kinds of eating habits and workout habits, I weighed 185 all the way through. At some points I was 185 and could run up and down Cowell's Mountain twice. And, other times, getting off the couch was an effort. But I was always pretty much the same weight. I'm way over that now, but that has to do with age - I didn't gain all this weight in just a couple years. Unless I had some horrible metabolism, that would be impossible - naturally.

Today's players weigh a lot more and run a lot faster than they did 10 years ago; and, 10 years ago, those guys were a lot bigger and faster than they were the decade before. Remember Louie Kelcher? That dude was a huge defensive lineman for his time. Now he might be big enough to play tightend. Why? Do you really think nutrition and exercise have come that far that quickly? I don't. I think the PEDs have gotten better.

If you aren't on PEDs and you're in the NFL, either you are a rarity or you are really cutting down on your chances of success. It's not just about muscle. PEDs, with the right exercises, make everybody bigger, faster, quicker to heal, and quicker to recover breath after a workout. If you're just a natural dude in the NFL, you are really, really putting yourself at a disadvantage. You are going to be smaller, slower, weaker, have slower recovery times, and spend more time dealing with injuries.

Baseball was all about PEDs a few years ago. Bicycling was all about PEDs for I don't know how many years. Do you really think the NFL is so angelic that most of its players are clean from PEDs? I don't. There's no way I can believe that.

[blahblahblah]

Just another data point with no context:

In HS wrestling I maintained a 170 lb weight with about a 7000 calorie a day diet. When I got injured and didnt change my eating habits I went up to a soft 215 almost immediately. My "normal" weight is 180 to 185 pounds.

Now, nothing compares to a teenage boy in terms of burning calories and I was doing a lot more endurance work than power/explosion lifting but that gives me some context against the amount of training NFL players probably do.

[homeless simpson]

I have a full beer bellied dad bod.