Weight cutting is the practice of rapid weight loss prior to a sporting competition. It most frequently happens in order to qualify for a lower weight class (usually in combat sports, where weight is a significant advantage) or in sports where it is advantageous to weigh as little as possible (most notably equestrian). There are two types of weight cutting: One method is to lose weight in the form of fat and muscle in the weeks prior to an event; the other is to lose weight in the form of water in the final days before competition.
Nutritional experts will rarely give advice on how to cut weight safely or effectively, and will simply recommend against cutting weight at all. However, many athletes choose to do it because they wish to gain an advantage in their sport. Coaches should be aware of this, and be prepared to counsel athletes on safe methods.
Dieting
In addition to improving performance through healthy eating, some athletes will seek to lose weight through dieting and aerobic exercise. By losing fat they hope to achieve a higher “strength to mass ratio” or “lean weight.” This means more muscle and less fat, and should theoretically give them an advantage against other athletes of the same weight.
Healthy weight loss can be seen as a positive effect of participation in sports, but reducing body fat too greatly can cause health problems. Athletes should try to maintain their body fat at the lowest healthy level to achieve their best performance.
Athletes at the elite level will sometimes attempt to temporarily lower their body fat to unhealthy levels to give themselves an edge in important competitions. Afterwards they will regain the lost fat, and return to their normal training weight. This technique should not be attempted without knowledge of periodization and the help of a knowlegable coach and medical advice.
Children and teenagers should be cautioned to avoid losing weight at excessive quick rates or to excessively low levels the way adult athletes may choose to. Young bodies require additional nutrients to grow. Weight-cutting techniques can interfere with healthy physical development.
Muscle Loss
When dieting or exercising it is impossible to lose only fat; muscle is always lost at the same time.
Some athletes desiring rapid weight loss may choose to sacrifice muscle mass by eating a low protein diet. However, most athletes are interested in maximizing fat loss while minimizing muscle loss.
The best way to minimize muscle loss while losing weight is through resistance training. If emphasis is being placed on aerobic training, resistance training will be a smaller part of the athlete’s training program, promoting greater muscle loss. Muscle growth cannot be expected unless emphasis is placed on resistance training, but muscle loss can at least be slowed. After a period of weight loss, athletes may wish to do a period of weight training to recover lost muscle.
The athlete should remember to eat protein at all meals, especially before aerobic exercise. This will help slow muscle loss. Some athletes may choose to use supplements to minimize muscle loss; Glutamine is a popular choice.
Dehydration
About 71% of the human body is made of water under normal conditions. This makes it tempting for athletes to temporarily lose weight through dehydration prior to weigh-ins. This weight can then be rapidly regained immediately afterwards.
A good rule of thumb for most athletes is to lose no more than 5% of their total body weight through dehydration. Athletes at an elite level often lose more than this. This should not be attempted without a knowlegable coach and medical supervision.
Starting a week before competition day, athletes can avoid ingesting salt and potassium. This will make their bodies retain less water. Starting a day before competition, athletes can also avoid eating or drinking any more than necessary.
Immediately before weigh-ins, athletes can put on warm clothes and engage in aerobic exercise to make themselves sweat. Garbage bags can be worn against the skin to eliminate cooling through sweat evaporation.
Some athletes choose to sit in a sauna so that they can sweat without wasting energy. Another technique is to chew gum to induce salivation, then to spit out the saliva instead of swallowing it.
Athletes should remember to urinate and defecate as this is an easy way to reduce weight. Some athletes may choose to take diuretics and laxatives to aid in this. It should be noted that some diuretics are banned by the WADA in events such as the Olympics, and that some may have harmful effects on the body.
Rehydration
After weigh-ins, athletes should immediately begin rehydration. Some sporting events hold weigh-ins on the day before competition; others hold weigh-ins on the same day, only hours before competition. In this short amount of time, complete rehydration may not be possible. For this reason, dehydration techniques should be used in moderation.
Athletes should continuously sip liquid until they compete. Rehydration cannot be achieved in a single sitting.
The best drink for rehydration is not pure water. The body requires electrolytes in order to retain water. An oral rehydration solution is the best choice. Sports drinks also work, but contain excessive sugar that may negativly affect performence. Another possible choice is V8 juice and water.
Wrestling
Perhaps no sport is so associated with weight cutting in the public imagination as wrestling. For years, wrestlers worked out in trash bags or rubber suits- practices that have since been banned by most governing bodies. After three wrestlers died cutting weight in 1997, the NCAA instituted new guidelines for the practice. Before the start of the season, wrestlers must undergo hydration tests and body-fat assessments and have their lowest possible weight class approved by a physician.
Most state high school athletic associations have some variation of this rule, and most states allow a weight allowance (ie, the 135 lb. weight class becomes 137) at some point in the season. Still, problems persist. One tragic example is the case of Moses Naylor, a wrestler from Cathedral High School in Massachusetts who collapsed and suffered a stroke during the All-State championships in 2004. It was reported that he had cut from 25-30 pounds in the last week.
Weight cutting. (2006, June 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 03:27, June 29, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Weight_cutting&oldid=61132918.