MatyG: I am not sure. I can see both sides of the argument. And I think they are drastically different categories of sports. I think weight cutting is much more dangerous in MMA, Thai Boxing, western boxing, wrestling and jiu-jitsu. For those sports, I think weight classes are a necessity. I DO think that there should be more classes in the heavier weights so that cuts are not as drastic. Then again, I think they should do away with rounds, referee stand-ups and that head stomps are less dangerous than some of the techniques they allow?
People are always going to do whatever they can to get a competitive edge. I have competed in 24 Hour weigh-ins, night before weigh-ins and 2 hours prior. I think the 2 Hour prior DOES make people cut less weight (in general) but it also DOES put them at much higher risk of injury, or even death. Drying out your brain, then getting hit in the head a bunch is pretty much the worst thing you can do for you personal health. For strength sports, I donāt see nearly as much of a problem.
My protocol for Strongman is that I will drop between 15-20lbs over the course of 4 weeks. Usually about 10-12 is fat lost from eating completely clean, then the rest is water. I usually weigh in around 228 as I always cut an extra pound or two because you never know if the promoterās scale will be heavy or light. I start re-hydrating and gorging myself IMMEDIATELY after I step off the scale and within an hour, I have gained at least 10-12lbs back. I have done this with 2 hours notice and with 24. My performance didnāt drop at all because of it on either account.
I am actually at my strongest after i have dropped the extra body fat and before I cut the water. This usually has me at a weight around 236-238. But the strongman classes are -231, 231-265, 265+. I usually canāt compete with people who cut to 265 so I have to make the lower class or not be competitive. For fighting, I need to make 205 and even in that class i am the shortest guy (at 6 foot) with the least amount of reach. It is a question of whether you want to be at the top of your weight class or bottom.
I think no matter what time limit you place on the weigh-ins prior to competition, things kind of balance themselves out. I would venture that most guys (at my level at least) cut somewhere between 5-15lbs. Usually the last 5-10lbs being all water on the day prior to weigh ins. This usually doesnāt affect a person positively or negatively all that much, so competitively, it isnāt really that statistically relevant. (At least not in strength sports). You hear about some freaks out there like Krock who cut like 38lbs in 24 hours or something ridiculous like that, but that was to set a world record. If you are on a world stage, you usually have the water cut down to a science. At local or even national competitions, guys who make HUGE water cuts just prior hurt themselves more than they help themselves.
I have done a decent amount of weight cutting in my life and I can honestly say that you EARN every single one of those pounds. If you are dehydrating yourself more than 15-20lbs the day prior, your performance WILL be affected. So you are not at 100%. And you are going into a contest with your body under more stress and duress than you ever would imagine. Just try going 8 weeks without one cheat meal. It is mentally very hard. Cutting water is even worse, because you are literally bringing yourself closer to death. Imagine the worst hangover of your life?The solution to your problem (water) is all around you and you have to choose what you want more. Success or the water. Those are hard pounds to lose.
I am not sure what a solution to this problem would be. Maybe something like a weigh-in 4 weeks prior, then you cannot drop 25% of your bodyweight by competition day, or something like that might work, but people would still find a way to game it. It is like drug testing. You can do everything in your power to run as clean of a show as you can, but athletes will ALWAYS beat the system. Reaction is always slower that action.
I donāt think the weight cut takes away from strength sports at all as that is how world records have been set and the bar has been raised. It is not a healthy thing, but there is not one professional athletic endeavor that IS healthy. Anything taken to the point of extreme isnāt healthy, but moderation is boring, and sure as hell wonāt put butts in seats. In order for the upper echelon to get paid to do what they love as a job, they had to make a choice. Health, or ride this thing into the rocks. Me personally, I wanna ride it into the rocks.
That was a really long way to say - I donāt know. It is different for combat sports than it is for strength sportsā¦Neither sport is changing any time soon, so I agree to the rules and compete. I also donāt agree with guys being able to use straps and suits in strongman competition. But they are usually permitted. I choose not to use them, just like I choose not to make huge water cuts. This may keep me out of the top echelon but I am trying to stay true to what I believe and live it out.
Pwnisher: I agree with what you said. There definitely is a skill to cutting weight. Much like guys with longer arms are usually better dead lifters. That doesnāt mean we shouldnāt let long armed guys compete or refuse to lift against them. We just try to accent our positives so that hopefully are able to win.
MattyG: I am still unsure of how it takes away. If a guy who isnāt cutting weight is truly shredded and is getting beat all of the time, he always has the choice to gain more muscle and strength then cut water away at the end to make weight. In reality, most of the time the guy who did cut the weight is only a little further ahead in their journey then the other guy. In my experience, most guys who donāt cut weight are not at an optimal body fat. It is not like they didnāt have the option to disciple their diet and drop 10-20lbs and compete at a lower weight class.
And when you see someone total 2500lbs @ 220, does the fact that they walk around at 245lbs really change your opinion of the feats of strength that were just performed that much? Iām not trying to battle you on this, just trying to understand how it takes away from the event.
There is a current Guy who fights for the UFC named Anthony Johnson. He is a natural 230-245 pounder who would cut down to the 175 class. He won a few fights there and I am not going to lie?some were pretty brutal. But?he got released from the UFC for a time because he kept missing weight and when he did make it, the cut took so much out of him that he kept losing fights at that weight. He moved up to the 205 Class and is now killing it. The point being that, a weight cut is not always a positive thing. If a guy tells me he had to cut a lot of weight to compete against me, I see it as a positive because maybe he will be washed out and weak. I want to go against the guy who had to lose 30lbs in the last 24 Hours. I will kill that guy.
Roran: Thanks for the support brother! And I am pretty sure that emskee just wrote it for me below. It is very much a personal preference and because of that, is really hard to make stern rules of when or a certain percentage a belt should be added. All a belt does is to give you an extra layer to push into that is one step further than my breathing and bracing article talks about. I throw the belt on at different times depending on how my body is feeling that day.
MattyG: I think it is fine if everyone is held to the same standard. You know the rules going in and you agreed to them. You had the same opportunity to manipulate your weight as everyone else. It would be different if they only let certain people do it, but they let everyone. I donāt think same day weigh-ins make a huge difference in strength sports. And in combat sports, same day weigh-ins are more dangerous. Like I said, maybe a 4 week out then % drop is where it needs to go, but I still donāt think it takes away from the sport.
emskee: I need to get your email so that I can get you to write some articles for my website. My opinion of the belt is the exact same as yours. My hat is off to you, my friend.
Ecchastang: I agree. Even playing field.
lift206: I think you and I are trying to use the same imaging. You with the tube and me with a soda can. Thanks for the engineering insight.
emskee: Not at all man! Hijack away. We are all learning from this!
Lift: Again, thank you, beautifully said.
LoRez: Yes. and Yes. and Yes. The biggest thing for me when my belt is too tight though is that it forces me take the air into my chest rather than my stomach (if i can take it into my belly, I canāt get full expansion)?Which kinda raises my center of balance rather than lowering it?Which in turns breaks my form down and makes me a weak little baby. But I totally agree with everything emskee and lift have written. I try to make my belt tight enough that it is snug, but loose enough that my belly is really pushing hard into it for only the last 1/4 of my breath. Then I flex my abs āovertopā of the breath. The belt just helps me brace harder.