Weight gain and recovery from injury: Danny Jacobs

BY LISA SUTHERLAND, SPORTS DIETITIAN AND FITNESS CONSULTANT, HAWTHORN FOOTBALL CLUB
FRIDAY, JULY 15, 2005

Hawthorn Football Club has been using Aussie Bodies products for several years now with significant benefits to players trying to increase muscle mass. Defender Danny Jacobs, 25, is one player who has found Aussie Bodies products essential to help him meet body composition goals and also to recover from injury.

Jacobs has been playing AFL football for a number of years and has a history of struggling to maintain weight as the season progresses. During the off-season, many players lose muscle mass due to less time spent in the weights room. Some players experience more of an effect than others and find it difficult to put on weight during the pre-season, particularly in the early stages where there is an emphasis on aerobic training to build base fitness.

Jacobs is one of these players who finds maintaining weight a challenge. "I usually have trouble keeping weight on. I was trying before but it didn't work," he says. "Previously I struggled to get over 90kg."

During pre-season 2004, Jacobs started using Aussie Bodies powders and Protein Revival. In conjunction with weights sessions, he was having Weight Gainer shakes, made with full cream milk, plus Protein Revival regularly at training. Jacobs also ensured that he was eating well, including frequent snacking and plenty of protein-rich foods such as milk, yoghurt, meat, chicken, fish and nuts.

By mid-season 2004, his weight had gone up to over 95kg and he was pleased to reach a weight he had never been before. At the end of the season his weight did drop down naturally again, but gradually increased back up to 95kg by the start of this year, a weight that he is happy to maintain. The great thing about his results is that as his weight goes up, his body fat level actually drops, indicating that the weight he gains is predominantly muscle.

Aussie Bodies protein also helped Jacobs to recover from an early season injury. Unfortunately he suffered a fractured jaw in Round 3 against Essendon which required prompt surgery. Following the operation, there was pain and swelling that made chewing very difficult. He could only consume fluids and organised for a few slabs of Strawberry Protein Revival to be delivered to his house! These were easy for him to drink, required no preparation and tasted great – taste is pretty important when all you can have are sloppy foods.

Weight Gainer Vanilla was also a good option in smoothies as it contains extra vitamins and minerals that Jacobs was missing through not eating solid foods. His diet consisted of protein drinks, soups, juice and water until he gradually progressed onto mushy and soft foods such as yoghurt, mashed vegetables and soft noodles.

Jacobs was soon back on the field, but in his first game back he received a kick to the face and further injury was sustained. It was a number of weeks before he was back to normal eating and he just couldn't wait to bite into a big juicy (lean) piece of steak! "I think I would definitely have lost heaps of weight without the protein drinks. I got onto them straight away to help stop losing weight."

Jacobs lost a couple of kilograms in the initial stages after surgery, but regained it pretty quickly and is now back around 95kg. He continues to drink Protein Revival after training sessions and also has Aussie Bodies Perfect Protein regularly to provide protein and energy to help maintain muscle mass.

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