While you would think this would be a good place to ask this, it seems like not a lot of people actually play bball that post here.
Anyways - I am playing in a rec league x1 a week and I play pick up 2-3 times a week on top of that. I would really like to lift, because in my rec league in particular, I get knocked around like a bowling pin. I am 6'2", but I only weigh 170 and a lot of the guys in my league are super strong and aggressive.
My problem is that lifting will totally mess up my bball playing. I can't shoot on the same day I lift arms, for instance. Does anybody have any experience lifting while also playing competitive bball? Like what should my target weight be, what should i focus on, etc.? I know I shouldn't try to bulk up, but that's about it.
If you're a hardgainer, which by the sound of it you're, then you definitely need to up your daily caloric intake. Now, this doesn't mean to eat everything in sight, but you're probably eating less than your body needs to grow. Tracking your macro's is vital. You simply need to know what you're putting in your body in order to make necessary adjustments and subsequent progress. This is a tedious process, which entails weighing foods and a lot of meal prep, but the results will pay dividends. For example, if your body's maintenance level (the amount of calories your body takes in order to neither gain or lose weight) is 2250 calories per day, then a modest increase to around 2500 is likely optimal. From there you gauge and see where you're at after a couple of weeks. If you're staying stagnant in weight, then you can add another 100 calories or so and reassess. It's a blueprint, it's a plan, but going on without it could lead to poor results.
Let me expand on this with some helpful tools:
Here is a good way to get a solid estimate of your caloric maintance level:
http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html -- For "Activity" put in "Little to no excerise" and then subtract your calories burned manually.
Age - 25?
Male
6'2"
170 LBS
So your Maintance Level (Or Calories/day to maintain your weight) is roughly 2500 calories. If you are looking to gain lean muscle, you need to eat more than that, and I would suggest adding 500 calories to your diet. Your diet breakdown for a lean bulk should run around a 40/40/20. In other words, 40% of your intake should be Carbs, 40% should be Protein, 20% "Good" fats. You should be taking in over a gram of protein for every pound that you weigh. So you should be shooting for 180 grams of protein a day to start.
Keeping in mind that every 3500 calories in 1 pound (Same applies if you are looking to lose weight, -3500 calories is a pound lost), if you are adding 500 calories to your diet everyday, after 1 week (7 days), you will gain a pound (7 x 500 = 3500).
I understand why some would say to stop hooping during a bulk, but if your macros are tight, there is no need to.