Bruins’ Jack Studnicka Details Grueling Offseason Weight-Gain Program

Jack Studnicka didn’t put on weight by accident or negligence.

The Boston Bruins center explained to The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa how he gained 15 pounds of muscle this offseason. Studnicka’s added bulk was the result of an intense regimen of eating 4,000 calories per day and lifting weights diligently in Foxboro, Mass., under the watchful eyes of Edge Performance Systems founder Brian McDonough.

Here’s what Studnicka did each weekday morning, per Shinzawa:

6:30 a.m. — Drink a protein shake and eat eggs.
8 a.m. — Warm up at Edge Performance Systems
8:30 a.m. — Lift weights and incorporate plyometrics to emphasize speed
9:45 — Cardiovascular work
10 a.m. — Eat another breakfast and drink another protein shake

Studnicka then would join local NHL players for a skate in Boston at Warrior Ice Arena. Afterward, he’d drink another protein shake before heading to a local eatery for lunch. At night he’d eat a home-cooked dinner, consisting of protein, quinoa or rice, vegetables and sweet potato.

The Bruins last season listed Studnicka at 6-foot-2, 176 pounds. He now weighs 190-plus pounds. His plyometric and skating work paid off, as the added muscle didn’t cost him speed on the ice.

Studnicka’s commitment impressed his Bruins coaches and teammates alike, and he is trying to prove he deserves a roster spot, perhaps as the center on Boston’s second line. Bruce Cassidy and his staff will make the call where Studnicka begins the season, but quality performances in preseason games already are showing he’s more ready to withstand NHL rigors than he was in previous seasons.