Posted by everreadykid on November 26, 2001 at 16:58:27

Cutting weight. Is it worth it? By Steve Fraser Cutting weight for a wrestler is a personal decision. For some wrestlers cutting a few pounds makes them feel leaner, stronger, faster & mentally tougher. For others, cutting weight can make them feel slower, weaker and not as sharp. The big question is “How does cutting weight make you feel?” My sophomore year at Hazel Park High School I suffered what I thought was the greatest curse of wrestling: cutting weight. Cutting weight was always an accepted part of wrestling and is based on the theory that a wrestler will have a physical edge if he cuts some weight and drops down to wrestle a person without as much muscle mass. I weighed 165 pounds that fall when I played on the football team, and I was hoping to wrestle at 155 pounds. But that didn’t happen. After one or two matches, the wrestler who weighed 145 pounds came up to my division and beat me. If I wanted to wrestle for the varsity team, I would have to wrestle at 145 pounds, 20 pounds below my normal, healthy weight. The experience was the worst I ever had in wrestling. But it was also the most enlightening. I hated every waking moment of it. When I was cutting weight, I spent the entire day thinking of what I would like to be eating. Everything I did, everything I saw, reminded me of food. Watching television advertisements about food made me ravenous. I even dreamt about food. I dreamt about strawberry shortcakes and banana splits. I didn’t starve myself every single day. Like many wrestlers who competed below their normal weight, I gorged myself immediately after a meet. Then, the next day, I started fasting again. What did I eat during that week long fast? Almost nothing. I skipped breakfast, had a grapefruit or an orange for lunch, and had another grapefruit and maybe a couple of poached eggs for dinner. It drove my mother crazy. “Oh, surely you can have a little salad,” she’d say. But I just couldn’t eat anything. I couldn’t drink much, either. Just a few sips of water. Meanwhile, the practices I had loved so much became torture. I frequently would go into the hot wrestling room looking like a mummy, dressed in one or two shirts, a plastic sweat suit and a thick cotton sweat suit over the plastics. If I had a lot of weight to lose on a given day, I might also pull my hood up, put a wool hat on over the hood, and wear gloves or socks over my hands. After 10 minutes of calisthenics, I was mentally exhausted. The pain I felt was compounded by the bitter knowledge that after all this work I couldn’t even look forward to going home to a well-deserved meal. You might wonder how I could have been physically and mentally sharp at the end of a week of starving and suffering. Well I wasn’t. I wasn’t sharp at all. But I fasted because that was the accepted practice in wrestling, and I believed it was the right thing for me to do. My coach, Robert Morrill, hadn’t pushed me into dropping 20 pounds. He had left the decision up to me. I ended up having a very ordinary year. My overall record was 8 victories, 9 losses, and 1 tie. My big successes were that I made the varsity team and I made weight for each of my matches. But as a wrestler I was only average. I beat the below-average wrestlers, not the good ones, and finished fourth in the Southeastern Michigan Association League. I was sick during the district championships and couldn’t wrestle, but it really didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have advanced to the regionals anyway. The guys who beat me during the regular season would have beaten me in the district championships, too. My experience cutting weight taught me several things. First it taught me that a hungry, dehydrated wrestler probably isn’t going to do any better at a lower weight than his normal weight. Second, it has taught me that the fasting wrestler doesn’t just lose his strength. He destroys his attitude as well. At a time when he should be trying to learn everything he can about technique and strategy, his main goal becomes making weight each day or losing a certain number of pounds. I also learned that cutting weight can also have a negative effect in other areas of your life as well. Good nutrition is vital to daily performance, and going to school or work without breakfast is one of the worst ways to begin the day. Finally, there was one last discovery I made. The conventional wisdom in wrestling suggested that by dropping down a weight division, I should have been able to outclass the little wimps who weren’t as strong as I was. But surprise --- I learned that all weight classes had good wrestlers, and to beat the good wrestlers I needed to become a good wrestler. Of course, it’s hard to tell a kid not to cut weight. Sometimes wrestlers have to learn for themselves. And I must say I learned a lot from the experience. I learned that I would never cut too much weight again. I also learned to appreciate food, because I found out how painful it is to starve. I should mention here that cutting weight is not bad in all cases. If a wrestler is 20 pounds overweight, he should make an effort to lose that fat, provided he still takes in the proteins and nutrients he needs to stay healthy. But a lot of kids who go out for wrestling are already lean, the way I was, and I would never advise them to cut anything over a few pounds. My advice to those wrestlers is that they wrestle at or around their normal weight. If they can’t make the team at their normal weight, I would advise them to move up a weight class before they consider moving down a weight class. I probably should have gone up to the 167 pound division my sophomore year instead of suffering through the season at 145 pounds. I might have surprised myself and found that I was quicker than the wrestlers who were a few pounds heavier than I. I proved my theory correct during my junior year in high school, when another high school coach, Masaaki Hatta, convinced me to wrestle in the 185-pound division while weighing only 170 pounds. I went into my practices feeling wonderful. My goals were to improve and have fun, both of which I did. And while I was going all out in those practices, the wrestlers who were cutting weight were walking around with their chins hanging down to the floor, sweating, tired and mentally exhausted. I also proved I could win. I remember so well the time we wrestled Southfield High School. I weighed about 170 pounds at the time, and as I was standing in the weigh-in line in my skivvies, Southfield’s 185 pound wrestler, a cocky kid, looked around and asked in a loud voice, “Who’s the 185 pounder?” “I am,” I said shyly. He looked at me and said with a chuckle, “You’re 185 pounds? You’re kind of small aren’t you?” “Yeah.” I said. “Kind of.” Well that was the last time he laughed at me because that night in our match I beat the living tar out of him. I was beating him 18-3 (I gave him 3 escapes) before I pinned him. To become a great wrestler you need to learn the techniques, tactics & strategies of the sport. Then condition your mind & body to be able to execute those techniques, tactics & strategies. Body weight differences, especially when slight, are of little importance in my opinion. I am totally convince that this attitude I had about not cutting too much weight was one of the main reasons I wrestled as long as I did. I loved this sport and I don’t think I would have loved it if I had cut too much weight. I encourage all wrestlers to take a hard look at weight cutting, especially excessive weight cutting. Ask yourself, “How does it make me feel?” If you are cutting too much you will know it. Your mind and body will tell you so. Remember…having fun with the sport plays a big role in succeeding with the sport. In the big picture, life is pretty short. If you are not having fun, the answer to the question “Is it worth it?” should become very clear. See you at the top! How to Lose Weight Safely So many wrestlers try to lose weight unsafely that it is now against the rules at most levels to use drastic measures. Here is a safer way to make your weight. Difficulty Level: average Time Required: 1-3 months Here's How: Start losing weight early. You should only lose 1-3 pounds a week. The more you need to lose, the earlier you should start losing. Here is what you should intake everyday. Carbohydrates: 60-65%; Protein: 15-20%; Fat: 10-20; On the day of a match, you should take in at least 70% Carbohydrates. Take vitamin suppliments that you may be missing from your diet. Your body needs vitamins to function the best. Eat 6 smaller meals throughout the day instead of 2 or 3 large meals. This keeps your metabolism going throughout the day. Breakfast should be the largest meal of the day and dinner the smallest. Eating larger meals late at night means your body will just turn it into fat. Do not skip any meals. Instead, eat something light even if you aren't very hungry. Starvation reduces energy needed for competition and your body may burn muscle. Drink plenty of water during the day. You should drink at least 6-10 glasses of water which will help clean your body and is easy to sweat off. Take in more carbohydrates before your workout and less after. Your body needs the carbohydrates during your workout and your body will just turn it into fat if you don't use it. To find how much carbohydrates you need daily, multiply your weight in kgs (lbs. divided by 2.2) by 5. To calculate amount of carbohydratess you need on day of match, multiply by 6 to 9. Do a few sprints to get your sweat going for your workouts. Everytime you feel like you stopped sweating, do a few more sprints to get it going again. Have extra workouts. Do one more than you planned to do. Doing 100 situps and pushups everyday is great, but if you do 101, that could be one more than your opponent does. The day before the weigh-in, you should reduce your water intake and work out to sweat it off. You should dehydrate no more than 24 hours. Do NOT take extreme measures to do this. Workout to lose weight. It's not a bad idea to lose weight on the day of weigh-ins to lose the weight. It will get your sweat going and help you focus on your match. Do not stuff yourself with food on the day of the match. Most of your energy will come from the previous day's meals. Eat only small portions on the day of a match. Ask Dan Gable >> I am having trouble cutting weight. I was wondering if there are any techniques you would suggest to help me out a little before the season starts? I don't like to refer weight loss as "cutting weight". That's to me more like "water weight". I like to talk about it in other terms--nutrition, weight control for an example. Most everyone has trouble with it whether it's weight loss through cutting weight or simple weight control and nutrition. Because of that the number one understanding of what needs to be done is through education. There's a good book out by Nancy Clark, called "Sports Nutrition Guidebook" and it can be obtained through Human Kinetics Publishing. They have a toll free number, 1-800-747-4457. My simplest explanation is to drink plenty of water, eat balanced meals, cut these meals in terms of quantity, make sure you have the quality, eat often but make sure that you're burning up more calories than you're putting in in food if you want to lose proper body fat. You do this over an extended long period of time, not a quick short period of time, because otherwise you will lose muscle as well. This is just a quick explanation. Discipline and Education is the key here. It's a lot better than Starvation and Dehydration. Ask Dan Gable >> I recently passed out in school, and my doctors said that it was due to dehydration, malnutrition, and low blood sugar. My coaches feel that it is due to weight fluctuation. I am cutting weight from about 124 down to 112. My family does not want me to cut weight anymore, but it could cost me a state title. What do you feel I should do? If you are having problems with weight loss, then there must be some adjustments made. You think it will help you to cut a lot of weight to get you to a lighter weigh class so you can win a State Championship, when in reality you'll probably lose your best performances by cutting this weight, if not feeling well. So the best solution here is to be able to make the weight and still feel well, still feel good. And then you'll be able to perform well. So unless you can get your weight under control to where it's easier to make, then you'll probably not have a real legitimate shot at a state title anyway. So more discipline needs to be involved, and if the weight class is too low, then you might as well go up just because you're not going to wrestle well there anyway. It's kind of up to you and your coaches and your parents to make a decision. But mostly it's the discipline involved that will enhance one's chances to be successful in winning wrestling matches, whether it be in strictly techniques, or whether if there's discipline involved with weight loss. Weight Issues In Wrestling By: Mike Viscardi NCAA ResponseThe ProblemThe SolutionsConclusionsReferences ********************************************************************************* What do Billy Saylor (19 years old) at Campbell University in North Carolina, Joseph LaRosa (22) at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and Jeff Reese (21) at the University of Michigan all have in common? They are all dead now, victims of one of the ghastly secrets of college wrestling. All three boys were engaged in dehydrating practices trying to lose weight in order to qualify for their first college-wrestling matches. Reese was trying to lose 17 pounds so that he could wrestle in the 150-pound weight class. His two-hour workout in a rubber suit in a 92-degree room cost him his life. He died of rhabdomyolysis -- a cellular breakdown of skeletal muscle under conditions of excessive exercise, which, combined with dehydration, resulted in kidney failure and heart malfunction (Iowa Gazette - December 22, 1997 ). LaRosa was also riding a stationary bike and wearing a rubber suit when he collapsed and died. Saylor was riding a stationary bike in a predawn workout when he suffered a heart attack (Washington Post - January 14, 1998 ). Physicians are of the consensus that excessive dehydration as a means to lose weight can harm bodily functions, possibly leading to kidney failure, heat stroke or a heart attack. Why then do the wrestlers engage in these dangerous activities? Legendary University of Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable had this to say in an ESPN report : "They (wrestlers) think they are indestructible. But I’ll tell you what -- those three athletes thought they were indestructible, too. And they aren’t around to talk about it."Wrestlers believe that it is mind over body; they can accomplish anything and nothing bad will ever happen to them. So, LaRosa’s behavior on that fatal day in November wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for many college wrestlers. He was wearing sweats over a rubber suit and riding a stationary bike in a steam-filled shower room. His body temperature reached 108 degrees. He was trying to make weight for his match the next day, and wrestling’s rules did little to discourage such dangerous practices. The logic in wrestling is to make the lowest weight you can in the weigh-ins, which are 24 hours before the match. Then you can replenish and rehydrate your body over the course of the 24 hours between the weigh-in and the match. This will give you an advantage in the competition because you really will be bigger and stronger then most of the wrestlers in that lower weight class. ~ In the face of these tragedies, the NCAA responded quickly with several rule changes effective immediately: The use of saunas (defined as a room with a temperature above 79 degrees), as well as rubber and impermeable suits, is now banned. A seven-pound weight allowance has been added to each class, an increase from the previous one pound allowance. This means that a wrestler in a 118-pound class can actually weigh up to 125 pounds. The weigh-in time has been moved from 24 hours before the match to two hours before the match. This third rule change will have the most significant impact. According to Marty Benson, playing rules liaison to the NCAA Wrestling Rules Committee, "With less recovery time after weight-in, a person who is using his head knows if he has to cut too much weight, he’s not going to perform on the mat." This change should severely reduce the frantic, last minute attempts to drop weight using the dehydration measures. These rule changes became effective immediately, but are only temporary, in place just for the remainder of the season. A further review of the problems is forthcoming. The NCAA will look at successful high school rules and regulations, and the success of this year’s changes and hopes to have new rules in place for the 1998-99 season. The Problem: What is it that the NCAA, coaches, and parents across America are worried about, though? Rapid weight loss is potentially very dangerous to the health of wrestlers. Estimates show that 25%-67% of wrestlers use techniques such as exercise, food restriction, fasting, and various dehydration measures to lose weight. Wrestlers do this with the notion that their competitive success will increase as a result of these behaviors. However, these techniques appear to adversely influence the wrestler’s energy reserves, and fluid and electrolyte balances (Oppliger, Case, et. al). Often wrestlers will attempt to rapidly replenish their fluids between the weigh-in and their matches. That is why making weigh-ins shortly before the fight might be an effective rule change. This would decrease the benefits of cutting weight, because you would be at a competitive disadvantage physiologically, as a result of dehydration. In another study on weight loss and wrestling, Roemmich and Sinning looked at the effects of nutrition, growth, maturation, body composition, and strength. Their experiment compared two groups of adolescents (mean age 15.5), one group recreationally active and the other a group of wrestlers. The control group consumed adequate amounts of energy, carbohydrates, protein, and fat and demonstrated normal gains in weight, fat mass and fat-free mass. The wrestlers, however, consumed a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet but did not get enough energy or protein during the season. This deficient diet decreased weight gain, relative fat, and fat mass and also slowed the growth of muscle tissue. Interestingly, it was found that the wrestlers experienced reduced strength in their arms and legs during the season. This conflicts with the idea that weight loss will give the wrestler an edge over his competitors. Strength and weight increased again post-season, though, as the wrestlers reduced their physical activity and increased their energy intake. It does not appear that undernutrition has any long-term effects on bone growth or pubertal maturation. The Solutions: What has been done in high schools to correct this problem in wrestling? In 1989, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association looked to curtail this problem by enacting rule changes and implementing a nutrition education program (Oppliger, Harms, et. al). The project was instituted over a three-year period, consisting of a pilot testing year, a voluntary participation year in which the program was fine-tuned, and then the mandatory implementation in the third year. Training clinics were used to prepare a pool of about 200 certified testers. Using skinfold body fat measurements and scale weights, a minimum weight class for each wrestler was determined. It was required that testing be completed prior to the wrestler’s first competition. Wrestlers were also restricted to a maximum weight loss of three pounds per week. The nutrition education program focused on three main points: the basics of nutrition, the relationship of nutrition to performance, and the appropriate measures for weight control. The education program is still voluntary, but over 60% of the schools conducted a program in 1993. The success of the project has been overwhelmingly positive. Coaches, who were originally against it, are now 95% in favor of it. More than 75% of the wrestlers questioned were also in favor of it. Preliminary evidence shows that the frequency of weight cutting episodes, amount of weight cycled weekly, total weight lost, and longest fast prior to weigh-in have all decreased since the program's implementation.

Wanna get the Gold. Dont Cut Hard or burn out.

Re: Cutting Weight