Today’s post is written by Quest Athletics lifter/coach Brooks Conway. He routinely cuts over six pounds of body weight for his meets and has developed a method based on wrestling experience, advice from fighters, and what he’s learned from a world-class coach. I’ve gotten weight-cutting advice from Brooks in the past for my lifters, and I thought you all would benefit from his advice.
Cutting Weight
by Brooks Conway
It’s not always necessary to cut weight. For example, if you’re doing your first meet, there’s absolutely no reason to cut weight. Go have fun; you don’t need to add any stress to the process. However, if you want to be competitive, it’s time to consider what weight class you’re going to be strongest. If you’re 170 pounds and beginning to post some pretty big numbers, it’s worth it to cut the 5 pounds rather than lift with the 181s and have mediocre results. The question always comes down to: do the benefits of cutting the weight (being the biggest in the weight class) outweight the costs (possible loss of strength and mental strain)? Consult a doctor before beginning any diet or a weight cutting program concocted by a math major.
The most important aspect of cutting weight is the smart manipulation of water. I put emphasis on the word smart because any idiot can wear a sauna suit, run around in circles for 3 hours, and sweat off 6 pounds. But the aforementioned idiot certainly won’t be able to lift to his full potential two hours later. I use a simple water loading/depleting template a buddy of mine who fights on the amateur level gave me. Six days out until three days out, drink 1.5 to 2 gallons of water. Two days out, drink 1 gallon. Day before, drink half a gallon (all of it before 4pm if you have a 7am weigh in, spread it out through the full day if you have a 2pm weigh in). One thing to consider when doing this is that drinking excessive amounts of water is liable to flush out a lot of important vitamins and minerals from your body. I typically have a Powerade Zero as 32oz of my daily water allowance to get some electrolytes in. I also take extra amounts of our Ultra MEGA-4 Mineral Complex because minerals are just as likely to get flushed out of your system as electrolytes. Water loading/depleting works because if your body isn’t receiving ample amounts of water, it holds on to every ounce you put in because it’s in survival mode and doesn’t know when the next time it will receive water. If your body is receiving plenty of water, it readily excretes it, knowing more is on the way. Your body doesn’t adjust very quickly though. For example, the first day of consuming 1.5-2 gallons of water you may not piss as much as you expect, but on day 6 (the day before the meet) you will continue to piss almost as much as you were the previous few days because your body thinks more water is on the way.
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