Let’s take a look at the typical year of a fighter. During the offseason, the wrestler is in the gym lifting weights. The workouts are intense. The wrestler eats normally, maintains muscles, and adds strength to his body. The wrestler may occasionally compete in a tournament or go to a wrestling camp. The fighter is learning more moves and skills, along with improved strength. Everything is good. Things are looking great for next season!
Then the season arrives. The wrestler decides to cut between 15 and 20 pounds. to move to a lower weight class, where they will be big, strong and ready for any competition. The wrestler eats very little, runs a lot (even in plastic suits), spits, uses saunas, etc. to make weight. The wrestler gains weight. The fighter has a good season, he gains weight every week and chokes after every fight.
OBJECTIVE THE FIGHTER IS A FEW OF HIS POTENTIAL!
The fighter does not understand. Practice hard, very hard! He lost two weight classes and is gaining weight every week. Practice after practice and work as hard or harder than anyone else in the mat room. He doesn’t strength train during the season because he practices a lot and doesn’t have the time or energy to exercise. Plus, all that hard work in the weight room during the offseason has made him really strong!
Or did it?
If you are losing weight for wrestling and want to be the BEST your potential allows, be sure to:
1. Continue your strength training
During the off-season, you want to work to gain as much strength as possible. I recommend training 3 times a week in the weight room, working the muscles used for wrestling. Be consistent and document your progress. Always strive to add a little more weight or reps. During fighting season, YOU HAVE TO STRENGTHENING TRAINING! You won’t maintain the strength you gained during the offseason if you neglect training during the season. If you are losing weight, it is even more important that you continue your strength training. If you are losing weight, practicing and fighting in dual competitions and tournaments, your body is using its own muscle for fuel. You can prevent some of this by doing a full body strength training every 4-5 days.
2. Eat more often
Don’t starve your body to gain weight! If you starve your body, you are slowing down your metabolism. Metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories. A calorie is a unit of energy. By starving, you will cause a rebound effect and have even more trouble gaining weight next season. The answer is in trying to lose fat, not muscle or water. This is accomplished by eating more frequently. Four smaller meals each day will allow you to lose body fat while saving muscle, give you energy to fight hard, and stay strong throughout the match.
3. Give your body the right amount of calories
To find out how many calories your body needs to maintain muscle while losing weight, take your current body weight and multiply it by 13. This is the minimum number of calories you need to consume each day.
4. Eat a ratio of 40-30-30
Now that you know how many calories you need to lose weight and still maintain the muscle and strength you’ve built up, you need to eat the right ratio of protein, carbohydrate, and fat. 40% of your calories should come from lean protein (egg whites, turkey, lean beef, whey protein powder, skinless chicken). 30% of your daily calories should come from complex carbohydrates (whole wheat bread, baked potato, sweet potato, brown rice, oatmeal) and 30% of your calories should come from unsaturated fats (olive oil, nuts). Generally, you do not have to figure in fat more than a little oil in a salad, because the meats you eat will have a small percentage of fat that will be enough for the day.
5. Don’t jog excessively if your goal is to gain weight.
Nothing is more exhausting than a tough wrestling practice in high school or college. You shouldn’t get into the habit of jogging miles and miles each week to lose weight. First of all, it won’t give you the stamina to fight like good old-fashioned live fighting will in practice. If you try to lose weight by jogging, it will start to eat away at the muscles in your body. Aerobic activity is NOT an effective way to lose fat. A controlled eating plan is the answer.
6. Don’t get dehydrated
To fight in the best way and make your body work efficiently, you need all the body systems to function optimally. Each of your body’s systems requires water. If you have to lose a couple of pounds to gain weight after following the tips above, then you will restrict your water intake. However, restricting your water intake is not the same as not drinking water at all. You still need to give yourself 3 to 4 ounces of water every 3 hours on days you are trying to gain weight. Remember, this is to maintain your strength. You need to plan well to do this correctly. Do not gain weight until two days before and be drastic on your weight loss system.
7. Stay away from sugar
Wrestlers who lose weight by eating too little and jogging excessively tend to crave sugar. Sugar has no place in your eating plan. The only time my clients consume sugar is immediately after an intense strength training session. If it is within 3 or 4 pounds. for your weight class, you may want to consume approximately 60 grams of high-glycemic carbohydrates (sugar) in the form of grape juice or apple juice within 20 minutes of your strength training session. This replenishes the body’s glycogen stores and helps with recovery. In general, stay away from sugars. They have no long-term positive effects on your energy. They are much more likely to be converted and stored as fat.