Hey everyone. Heres a guide to weight cutting that I wrote. Next time youre getting ready for a fight give it a quick read and make sure youve been doing your cuts properly. Ive never missed weight with this routine and always come in no less than a pound under. Guide to Weight Cutting Weight cutting can be a tricky business. You want to ensure youre fighting at a low enough weight that youre not getting out-powered but also that you never over-cut and have no energy for the fight. Generally I walk around at 155 lbw during my fight camp and Ill weigh-in at 143 lbs. If this is your a fight early in your career I wouldnt try loosing more than 6-8 lbs. Weight cutting is a science and takes energy that would be better spent on preparing yourself mentally for the fight. After 5-8 fights you might be more comfortable in the ring and then cutting 10+ lbs wont be such a burden. How much you can lose also depends on how heavy you fight at, with larger fighters being able to lose more weight. Also be aware that significant weight cuts can be very hard on your heart and over cutting too many times could lead to health issues in the future. Ill begin by cautioning everyone that this routine Im about to outline must be completed fully. If you neglect to complete every step or waiver from the routine in a moment of weakness it probably wont work and youll have to cut extra weight once the weigh ins are completed and everyone else is rehydrating. Step 1: Generally I like to start my weight cut 10 days from weigh-ins. All this means is that for one week Im very cautious with my diet and I aim to loose about 3-4 lbs of weight. To accomplish this I do a few simple things. First, I dont eat any carbohydrates after 2-3pm. Also, I increase the amount of Spinach or other greens Im eating. You can easily go through a bag every two days. But basically dont starve yourself during this week. You should still be training hard so you need calories to maintain energy for your workouts. For myself I probably drop from 4000-5000 calories a day to more like 2500-3000. So at this point you should be about 6-7 days from weigh-ins and be about 5-12 lbs off your goal for weigh-in day. Step 2: This process is the water loading stage. If Im weighing in on a Friday Ill start this process on Sunday. Depending on your weight you should be drinking about 5-8 litres of water a day. I generally try to have all the drinking done by 4--6pm so Im not up at night going to the washroom. I find here that I loose a pound every day or second day. Get on the scale around 8-9pm at night once most of the water is through your system. If youre too light eat some protein. Another little tip on getting calories when youre really hungary is eating a spoon full of peanut butter. Not Kraft or Jiffys but some organic 100% peanut butter. Theres about 100 calories in a large spoon full so it can fill you up a surprising amount. You also want to increase your salt intake. Remember to water load on Sunday- Wednesday with 5-6 litres of water a day. Then the day before weigh-in decrease your water intake by half. And a day from the weigh-ins your sodium intake should be minimal. If you have too much salt in your system sweating off weight will be difficult. Step 3: This is the final step to making weight. You should be able to complete this process during the late morning of weigh-in day. At this point you should not be trying to cut more than 5% of your body weight. I usually cut 5-6 lbs at the most. Theres a number of ways to complete the final weight cut but none of them should take more than 80 minutes. Remember to always have a buddy there to help you through the process. Its safer and more pleasant for you because it provides you with a distraction. For this final cut Id say you have 3 options. Number 1 is putting on a sauna suit and getting on the treadmill. Number 2 is going to the sauna. Number 3 is sweating off the weight in the bath. Ill quickly outline each of these options below. Each one has its positives and negatives. Sauna suit: If youre planning on cutting weight this way be sure you have a little spoon full of peanut butter before your run. You dont want to burn out 30 minutes into the routine. Make sure you have a full sauna suit with the jacket and pants. I prefer to start with a stretch, then a light warm up for ten minutes on something like a recumbent bike. Then I move to the treadmill were I usually keep at pace of about 6.5mph. Here I find I sweat about 1 lb about every 10-12 minutes. I usually keep the run going for about 40 minutes with the occasional 1 minute break. Once 40 minutes on the treadmill is complete I quickly remove my clothes, dry off with a towel and weigh-in in my underwear. If Im at my weight then just finish off with a stretch. If not put the suit back on and do another 10-15 minutes of running, shadow or stationary bike. When you run in the sauna suit the elbow area will fill up with sweat. Make sure you have a towel on the treadmill so you can drain the suit out every 4-5 minutes. Sauna: Ive never used this method before because its the slowest and I prefer to get the weight cut completed as quick as possible. Ive observed a large number of fighters use this option and it seems to be preferred to the other alternatives because theres no exercise required and the heat isnt overbearing like it can be in the bath. Most people Ive talked to say it takes about 1.5-2 hours to cut 5 lbs. Make sure you have your scale with you so you dont spend extra time cutting unnecessary weight. Also break up your time in the sauna into intervals. Maybe 20 minutes in and then 5 minutes out. This way youll be able to complete the necessary 90 minutes for this routine. Bath: This is the quickest of the routines but also the most uncomfortable. If you prefer to just get the routine over with in 30-40 minutes then this could be the best route for you. You fill up a bath tub with very hot water. So hot that it literally takes you 4-5 minutes to get your entire body submerged. Once you make it in get someone to keep time for 10 minutes and check on you from time to time. After 10 minutes get out, wrap yourself in towels, and lay on the ground for about 5 minutes. Youll continue to sweat quite profusely but still allow yourself to cool down from the very hot bath. When the time on the floor is completed youll probably need to get back in the bath for another 5 minutes. It might have cooled down a bit so adding some hot water might be a good idea. Always have a scale nearby. Once you get out of the bath after the second time youll want to weigh-in. If youve made weight or are only .5 off then you should dry off and go and relax. If you still have a little weight to go it will be a good idea to wrap back up in towels for about 10 minutes and sweat off another .5-1 lbs of weight. For each of these routines dont take a cold/ lukewarm shower or bath before you weigh-in. Your skin is your largest organ and will soak up about 1-2 lbs of fluid in a lukewarm epson salt bath. This is a great option for right after weigh-ins to rehydrate the first couple lbs as quick as possible.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 21:26:59 +0000
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