Los Angeles Chargers outside linebacker Joey Bosa embarked on a deliberate offseason plan to regain his former power and dominance on the field. This involved a significant adjustment to his diet and a consistent workout regimen. Bosa, feeling the need to return to a heavier version of himself, dedicated himself to consuming a substantial amount of calories to increase his weight.
Bosa's Bulking Diet: Eating as a Job
To put on weight ahead of the 2023 season, Chargers edge defender Joey Bosa admitted that he had been eating between 4,500 and 5,000 calories this offseason. The primary focus of Bosa's offseason was to consume enough calories to facilitate weight gain. Bosa said he eats 4,500 to 5,000 calories a day and is trying to bulk up to get stronger and harder for offensive linemen to move. For Bosa, this meant consuming between 4,500 to 5,000 calories per day. “Eating isn’t really enjoyable these days,” Bosa said, per ESPN's Lindsey Thiry. “It’s more so just part of the job.” He acknowledged that this process wasn't always enjoyable, describing it as "more so just part of the job."
Bosa said he worked closely with a nutritionist and remained close to the refrigerator throughout the process "so that he could consume five to six meals per day and constantly snack," according to Thiry. Bosa added that he'd eaten roughly five to six meals to hit the caloric target goal. This involved eating five to six meals a day and constant snacking.
Nutritional Choices
But what exactly does Bosa's diet consist of? He makes sure to include plenty of healthy options such as fruit, red meat, chicken, fish, vegetables, chickpea pasta, pretzels, nuts, smoothies and peanut butter. Before a morning run, Bosa would drink plenty of fluids, maybe eat a little fruit. He’d follow his run with a small breakfast. Then, the eating marathon would commence. Five more meals with plates full of red meat, chicken or fish. A big dose of protein, some vegetables and often a version of his guilty-pleasure carbohydrates, like chickpea pasta. And snacks. Lots of snacks -- think pretzels, nuts and fruit (But no honeydew or cantaloupe, which Bosa despises) -- often smothered in creamy peanut butter. And a smoothie.
“I'll just eat berries in the peanut butter because my chef in Florida said that the fruit, you need a fat with the fruit for it to really have its whatever benefit,” Bosa said. “So that helps with the weight gain and getting all the vitamins and stuff from the fruit.”
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The Challenge of Maintaining Weight
Gaining the weight while dripping sweat during hour-long workouts in the summer Florida humidity proved difficult, but perhaps not as hard as maintaining his weight during training camp in Southern California, where the Chargers spend about 2 ½ hours daily sweating on the practice field. And Bosa’s fast metabolism has required that he not miss a meal. If he does, the consequence will be felt the following day when he weighs a few pounds less. “I've always been kinda the one that needs to eat a ridiculous amount to keep on weight,” he said. “I've been eating a ridiculous amount lately.”
Regaining Power: Bosa's Motivation
Bosa played the 2022 season at 250 pounds, according to Thiry, which was down from the 265-270 pounds he weighed during his Pro Bowl 2021 campaign. He said putting the weight back on should help him be more effective in 2023. Bosa weighed in at 269 pounds at the 2016 Scouting Combine, but he said he has lost weight during his NFL career in an effort to get quicker, and he played last year at about 250 pounds.
"I specifically tried to really eat good and put some weight on this offseason, get back to my weight I was at a few years ago, where I could really use my power," Bosa explained. "Really handle guys in the run and be more effective in that part of the game." He feels that the additional weight will add more power to his game to make him an impactful run defender again.
Bosa’s 2022 season was cut due to a groin injury that required surgery. The plan to bulk up was put into motion following a 2022 season that saw Bosa spend 12 games on injured reserve after undergoing groin surgery, and which saw the Chargers fail for a second season to stop the run, allowing a league-worst average of 5.4 yards per carry.
Support from the Coaching Staff
The 28-year-old consulted outside linebackers coach Giff Smith before moving on with the plan to gain weight, and the proposal was ultimately approved by head coach Brandon Staley. Smith said of the process: "When we went to this system of defense, he thought he needed to be a little bit lighter and he was dealing with some nagging injuries, so you always lose a little weight when you have some lower half injuries. He's finally healthy and he was able to add the muscle mass, good muscle mass, and he feels comfortable. And then it does expose the power. Everybody knows how gifted he is with his hands and his movement, but when you can shock [opponents] with the power, it just has another element to his game."
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Coach Brandon Staley, who scrapped the Chargers' 4-3 defensive scheme for a 3-4 when he was onboarded in 2021, endorsed the change. “That's where he's most comfortable,” Staley said. “You have to be able to establish power as a rusher, that's what's going to make you really, really dangerous. He has some of the best hands in the NFL, which is kind of what he's famous for, but to set those hands up, you have to really establish power.”
Consistent Workout Routine
Bosa said he stuck with his usual offseason workout routine, just added a lot more food to it. “Was able to stay consistent with all the things that I normally would do,” Bosa said. “But the key to gaining weight is just to eat a lot. Eat way more than you want to." To gain the weight, Bosa continued his usual offseason training regimen with his brother, 49ers star defensive lineman Nick Bosa, in Florida.
Early Impact and Observations
Arguably no player has felt Bosa’s strength in training camp like left tackle Rashawn Slater, who must contend with him daily. “I noticed that right away,” Slater said of Bosa’s weight gain. “I feel a little extra pop with him this year for sure.” But for all the eating and bulking up, outside linebacker Khalil Mack says you can’t tell by looking at Bosa. “Which is a great thing,” Mack said, before chuckling.
Transition and Adaptation
Bosa played around 265-270 pounds in the first five seasons in the NFL and dropped to 250 pounds these last two. When Brandon Staley was hired as head coach in 2021, Bosa transitioned to an outside linebacker, requiring him to drop back into coverage. That meant he had to lose weight to be more fluid in space. He is now back to his starting weight when he played a traditional defensive end position under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley.
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