Competitive lifters, how do you manage your weight?

[Eric K]

Yeah, especially for those of us in the 264 class who don't want to gain 70 lbs to be competitive.

Though competitive is a relative term anyway and context matters. At smaller meets, I've seen plenty of heavyweights putting up lighter totals because they're just butterballs.

[Simon Rest]

Yeah, especially for those of us in the 264 class who don't want to gain 70 lbs to be competitive.

Though competitive is a relative term anyway and context matters. At smaller meets, I've seen plenty of heavyweights putting up lighter totals because they're just butterballs.

[jbackos]

When I was competing at 220, I was my strongest between 205 and 211. I chose not to drop to 198 because I tried cutting a few times and did not like the results.

[David Copperfeels]

I'm not an expert, but one thing I heard is the key to cutting a lot of weight is to use some kind of supplement that helps retain nitrogen in the muscles. Anyone have any ideas what that might be? I never figured it out.

[Bryan Dobson]

How do you manage your weight when you're competing? Do you normally stay just a few pounds above your weight class and do a small cut the week of the meet? Or are you 10+ pounds above your weight class and start cutting in the weeks leading up to the meet?

I did my first meet earlier this year and was underweight by 5 pounds, but I didn't care because it was my first meet. Same goes for my second one coming up because it's a different federation, and the weight classes are different.

I'm going to do another meet a few months after that one and I'm actually going to want to stay in the 110kg/242lb class this time around. I actually weigh just about that now.

I have 2 hour weigh ins and usually my weight class weighs in at noon. I try to walk around 225-230 and start watching my weight fluctuations in the last few weeks before the meet. I want to walk in and weigh in right under 105 kg.
My fault is undereating before a weigh in when I travel. I have to travel with my own digital scale from now in so if I am tracking low the day before I can go ahead and eat a little more. there is no reason to come in to far under.
So no I don't cut . My body wants to go back to the lower 220's if I am not forcing feeding myself to 231.

[melody]

Count macros. I stay within a couple of lbs of my comp weight and I'll never water cut again.

[kanahan]

I have no plans to compete in the foreseeable future but just being curious here. Wouldn't it be easier to train year round a few pounds *below* the limit weight, and eat a little more for a couple weeks before the meet so that you get a nice boost in performance from the extra cals just when you need it?

[Dag]

I have no plans to compete in the foreseeable future but just being curious here. Wouldn't it be easier to train year round a few pounds *below* the limit weight, and eat a little more for a couple weeks before the meet so that you get a nice boost in performance from the extra cals just when you need it?

Yes but what if you are just a few pounds *above* the next lower weight class. If you're 215, you may as well compete at 220 but if you're 205, may as well cut to 198

Edit. Assuming a 2 hour weigh in and that you're not trying for anything special, like winning a big meet or some kind of record.

[DoctorWho]

What kind of body fat percentages are you guys talking about starting with here? It makes all the difference but I don't see anybody reporting it.

[Dag]

What kind of body fat percentages are you guys talking about starting with here? It makes all the difference but I don't see anybody reporting it.

It's not so much about body fat as dehydration and carb depletion. If you cut 10 pounds, say from 208 to 198, the goal is to weigh 198 for about as long as it takes to stand on the scale then be back to normal weight when you lift. Extreme examples are guys that walk around at 240-250 and compete at 220. By the time they lift, they want to be 240 again. Of course that's a 24 hour weigh in but just to illustrate what I'm saying.