Training Tip #5 – Weight Cutting

Weight cutting is something that shines some bad light on the wrestling and those who do it poorly are the ones who usually are the most visible to the outside world.

Weight cutting isn’t about starving yourself which is unintelligent and counter-productive to make weight. Starving yourself means making weight because you haven’t eaten in a day and a half. If you starve yourself your performance will be pretty terribly. 

Making weight isn’t a victory. It’s just the price you pay to play the game

Those who weight cut well probably don’t complain a whole lot because they are eating. They eat smaller portions and drinking a good bit less. I would really like to see weight cutting done away with in youth wrestling. Because it won’t happen though, the next best thing is that youth and high school kids do it right.

1. Jolly rancher spitting is silly and doesn’t get any weight off.
2. Abstaining from food means that your stomach will shrink and reject taking food once you do make weight.
3. Water weight is the most easily lost and quickest to replace. (You can lose up to 10% of your weight in 24 hours and have no harmful affects on your athletic performance)

To cut weight correctly you need to be in shape and it’s harder to do than to just wither away. Guess what though, once you make weight you will be much better apt to perform. You will have energy and because you have eaten. Because you actually work to get the weight off your shape will be much better than your opponents.

1. Get off your butt, put wear some heavier clothes and go for a run or wrestle to get your weight off. (My formula was 1 lb. every 10 min of working out. I worked out hard, not crying while half walking around like most people I see who haven’t eaten in 2 days. Everyone is going to be different based upon how much fluid you have in you and what your weight is. You’ll figure out your ratio.)
2. Eat a decent amount. Food doesn’t weigh much and then drink up less than what you weighed before the workout. (I used to lost 5-6 pounds in an hour of working out. I would eat a pound or more and drink a pound.)
3. Work out before you make weight. If you are down to weight for more than an hour you are doing something wrong. If you weigh in at 8 show up at 7 ready to workout. Have a pound or two to lose and do the warm up you usually do after weigh-ins and before wrestling.
   1. You will be able to sleep better at night with food and drink.
   2. You be warming up regardless. It doesn’t matter if it’s before or after weigh-ins to your body.
   3. If you have already warmed up it will give your body more time to digest the food after you make weight.

This is a tentative schedule of course, you need to find out what works for you, but I have yet to see anyone who performs great when they starve themselves. Don’t be lazy about cutting weight. You do it in the first place so you have a better chance at being successful. Don’t do it terribly so your efforts are in vain. Commit to cutting weight better and being in shape