A Powerlifter’s Guide to Making Weight
By Matthew Gary
The reality of competing in powerlifting is that at some point in time
we all have to make weight. Making weight can make or break your lifting
performance. For optimal performance, a lifter should be at the very top
of his respective weight division. If you compete at the lower end of a
weight class, you’re usually at a disadvantage compared to your heavier
competitors.
As a twelve-year veteran of powerlifting, I’ve had to make weight in all
but two of my competitions. Making weight usually means that you’re on
the borderline of one weight class’s limits and on the lower end of the
heavier class. If this is the case, it pays to drop the last few extra
pounds and fit into the lighter weight class where your total will
likely be more competitive. For those who are in the middle of a certain
weight class (i.e. a 260-lb lifter who is in between the 242-lb and
275-lb weight classes) making weight really doesn’t apply to you. These
folks can simply lift at their current body weight and eventually grow
into a full 275 lbs. Most of us find ourselves in the previous situation
where we’ve trained at a slightly heavier body weight during our
training cycle to hopefully take advantage of some added strength. In
the last few weeks, we then have to lose a few pounds to fit into our
weight class. The question remains, “How do we lose those last few
pounds and not lose any strength?”
If there was only one way to make weight, we would all be doing it.
Conversely, there are right ways to make weight and there are wrong ways
to go about it. Before I explain how to make weight easily without
adversely affecting your performance, I’ll share with you the wrong way.
At 25-years-old with two years of competitive experience under my belt,
I thought I knew all there was to know about making weight. I followed
the practice of losing weight gradually over the course of the training
cycle so I wouldn’t be in shock when the competition came around and I
had additional weight to lose. On July 1, 1997, I was competing in my
first national powerlifting championship at the USPF Seniors in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I was planning on lifting in the 198-lb (90
kg) class. I had been training at a body weight of about 205 lbs and was
making good strength gains. I started losing the weight early, and when
I left for Philadelphia the day before the meet, I was 198 lbs right on
the nose. Perfect. Or so I thought.
When I arrived at the meet site, I checked in and immediately found
the meet scale so I could check my weight. I was scheduled to weigh in
the next morning. I undressed, hopped on the scale, and much to my
dismay, it read 202 pounds. I thought to myself, “This can’t be right. I
weighed 198 lbs right before I left and didn’t eat or drink anything on
the drive up from Maryland.” I got off the scale and got back on, and
sure enough, 202 was the number. I panicked. I was four pounds over with
less than a day to lose it.
To make a long story short, until weigh-ins, I didn’t eat anything
except lettuce. I sipped distilled water. I took not one but two enemas.
I’ll spare you the details and won’t even explain how that went. Use
your imagination, and I’m sure you can come up with some gruesome yet
hilarious images in your mind. And to top it all off, I sat in a sauna
off and on for approximately two hours the next morning doing push-ups
and jumping jacks. What can I say? I was grasping at straws. I finally
made weight, and I don’t even need to tell you how I performed. Simply
stated, I had the single worst athletic performance of my life. I went
4/9 and had the rare opportunity to experience full body cramps with my
training partners having to literally stand on me to try and keep me
from curling into the fetal position. It goes without saying that this
is an example of making weight the wrong way.
I learned many valuable lessons that weekend and decided it was time to
educate myself on the basic physiology of making weight for
competitions. I knew there had to be an easier, safer, and more
effective way to lose a few pounds without suffering decrements in
performance. I began to learn basic hydration principles and came to
understand the importance and influence of sufficient water in the body.
I spoke with more experienced lifters, I read everything I could get my
hands on, and I even experimented with different methods on myself.
Today, I’ve developed an easy-to-understand and effective system of
making weight without adversely affecting performance. I’ve used this
protocol with myself as well as with many local, state, national, and
elite level lifters. When followed correctly, it works like a charm.
Frankly, it’s not rocket science, and I’m certainly no genius. All you
need is a basic understanding of some nutritional and physiology
principles. Take that knowledge and couple it with some self-discipline
and you have a very safe and effective way of making weight without
having to kill yourself like I did. If you don’t learn from your own
mistakes take the time at least to learn from mine.
Before beginning the discussion of making weight, one must recognize and
understand appropriate times for weight loss. Unless a young athlete is
clinically obese, it is never appropriate for them to lose weight. Famed
Russian powerlifting coach, Boris Sheiko, admonishes that weight loss
for young athletes has negative effects on one’s overall health
including disturbances in the activity of the endocrine glands and the
cardiovascular system. This translates to impaired physical development
in athletes, who are not finished growing as well as the intrusion of
poor performance and results. Dave Tate of EliteFTS takes it a step
further to explain that, “The last thing a beginner needs to worry about
is making a weight class. They need to focus on getting stronger.” I
agree wholeheartedly. If you’re a novice, just lift. Focus on your
technique and on getting stronger. Then hit some PRs.
Alas, there are two sides to every coin. Those who need to concern
themselves with making weight are fully grown and experienced lifters.
Even then, unless you plan on totaling elite, breaking a record, or
competing at the highest levels, what’s the point of losing weight?
Another consideration is to understand the difference between when to
lose the extra weight and when to move up into the higher weight class.
A good rule of thumb to use is if you’re continually having to lose more
than 5 percent of your weight class limit, it might be time to move up
to the next weight class. For example, if a female lifter who is
desirous of lifting in the 165-lb class is often having to lose more
than eight pounds (165 X 0.05 = 8), perhaps your body is telling you
that it’s time to move up to the 181-lb class. Sometimes this isn’t
necessarily the case because a lifter really just needs to clean up
their nutritional plan and lose some excess body fat. Over time,
powerlifting makes us all bigger, thicker, and more muscular. It is
extremely rare to see a lifter compete in the same weight class for
their entire career.
By the same token, maturing into a heavier weight category often
takes time. As your body weight increases your leverages change.
Increased body weight is usually favorable in both the squat and the
bench press. However, the added weight often inhibits or slows progress
in the deadlift. Leaner competitors that carry a low body fat percentage
will find it more difficult to keep making weight. I used to train with
an elite 114-lb lifter who was extremely lean. His body fat was so low
that when he did cut weight for competition he lost muscle. This
severely hampered his performance, and he eventually moved up to the
123-lb class where he is happier and stronger.
Articles featuring various methods on making weight have recently been
presented. Many advocate losing the weight as fast as possible and then
putting it back on in the same fashion. This makes sense if you have a
weigh-in that is 24–48 hours in advance. Some powerlifting federations
allow early weigh-ins like these. With an early weigh-in, the most
popular school of thought is to train at a heavier body weight and then
lose the excess weight as fast as possible, often employing drastic
means like diuretics, dehydration, fasting, hot baths, and sauna. This
ensures that the body is at the lower body weight for as short a time as
possible.
Immediately after weighing in, the buffet begins. Rehydration and
massive eating resume in an effort to put the weight back on as quickly
as possible. If you can make it all the way back to your original
weight, you’re usually going to be in good shape. This method may be
sufficient for early weigh-ins, but for the sake of this discussion, we
will focus on making weight for the two-hour weigh-in.
Understanding your body’s response to water is the most critical aspect
of making weight. The human body acts like a sponge. If you only consume
small amounts of water, it’s like taking a few drops of water and
pouring it into a small sponge. What happens? The sponge absorbs the
water and holds onto it. The opposite is true when you drink large
amounts of water. Now imagine taking that same small sponge and pouring
a gallon of water into it. What happens now? The sponge first absorbs
the water then it overflows and pushes out the excess. Your body
functions much the same way.
This is where people make horrible mistakes with making weight. Most
lifters think they need to stop drinking early. On the surface, this
seems like a practical solution, but the process is flawed. When you
cease water intake, your body responds by saying, “Whoa! I’m not getting
enough fluids so I better hold onto whatever little bit I’m getting.”
That’s what makes you feel bloated. When you’re bloated, you’re actually
dehydrated from a lack of fluid intake. Conversely, when you’re fully
hydrated, you feel normal, leaner, and not as puffy and swollen because
now there’s a constant flow of fluid intake followed by excretion.
Most lifters make the mistake of stopping their water intake way too
soon. I can’t count how many times I’ve gone to national and world
championships only to see elite lifters walking around like zombies
because they’ve stopped drinking water. Science tells us that
dehydration symptoms become noticeable after a mere 2 percent of one’s
normal water volume has been lost. (1) Thirst, decreased urine volume,
urine that is darker than usual, fatigue, headache, dry mouth,
dizziness, loss of appetite, and hypotension (decreased blood pressure)
are all classic symptoms of mild dehydration. Most important, athletes
(powerlifters) can suffer a loss in performance up to 30 percent and
experience flushing, low endurance, cramping, rapid heart rates,
elevated body temperature, and the rapid onset of fatigue. (1)
Additional water loss such as sweating causes these symptoms to become
more severe. Obviously, there are no advantages to being dehydrated.
It is rare for a powerlifter to heed the recommendations of a
bodybuilder. Nevertheless, this is one of those infrequent times when
powerlifters should learn from bodybuilders. When a bodybuilder steps on
stage, they are at their leanest and most vascular. What the casual
onlooker doesn’t realize is that while they might look like the epitome
of a human anatomy chart, they are actually in their most depleted
state. They are malnourished (in a caloric deficit), often dehydrated,
small, and weak. It is commonplace for bodybuilders to cramp while
posing. While this transient state of exhaustion may be the perfect
recipe for displaying muscular proportion, it is the worst possible
scenario for optimal physical performance.
Accordingly, powerlifters (and all strength athletes) should be at
their biggest, most hydrated, and completely nourished state when they
step onto the lifting platform. Nobody cares if your posterior deltoid
is in proportion to the development of your latissimus dorsi. The only
thing your competitor is concerned with is how much weight you lift.
Making weight usually comes down to understanding body water and
managing your water intake. A large portion of the human body is water.
Blood is 83 percent water, and lean muscle tissue contains about 75
percent water. Body fat contains 25 percent water, and bone is roughly
22 percent water. In males, approximately 55 percent of the body’s mass
is water. In women, the value is about 51 percent due to a higher
proportion of body fat. (2) I mention these statistics to illustrate how
abundant and important water is to the human body.
Simply stated, water is the single most important nutrient in the
body. It helps regulate nearly every bodily function from digestion to
brain function to maintaining healthy skin. Death due to dehydration can
occur in three days (or less in hot weather), and no one normally lives
more than five to six days without water. To further illustrate how
vital water is, we need not look any further than a former political and
spiritual leader of India, Mahatma Gandhi. On several occasions, Gandhi
led nonviolent protests that included fasting. He once went twenty-four
consecutive days without food. However, these prolonged demonstrations
would not have lasted without water.
Most research states that healthy males should consume approximately
three liters of water daily and females should consume 2.2 liters daily.
I’ve always strived for more than a gallon daily though there’s really
no research behind that. It’s just what works for me. With every
nutritionist I’ve spoken to, the same sentiments have resonated
repeatedly. The more water you drink, the better off you’ll be. The
better you’ll feel, and the better you’ll perform. That’s enough
incentive for me. The effort it would take to drink the amount of water
required to induce death by water intoxication and hyponatremia
(electrolyte disturbance) is monumental. Most deaths from water
intoxication occur as a result of complications from other medical
conditions, water drinking contests, and long bouts of intensive
exercise in extreme heat during which time electrolytes are not properly
replenished.
The first step to making weight without impairing performance is to
begin charting your weight in the evenings immediately prior to bedtime.
Record the number, go to sleep, wake up, urinate if you have to, get
weighed again, and record the new number. Do this for one week and
average the amount of weight you lose overnight. This is how much play
you’ll have come meet time. Always use the same scale. That way even if
it’s wrong, it’s consistently wrong and you still know how much weight
you’ve lost or gained.
After you establish your overnight weight loss, continue to weigh on
Saturday mornings only. Body weight can fluctuate from day to day. Think
of it this way—one gallon of water weighs eight pounds. So
hypothetically speaking, if you drank one gallon of water, did not
urinate or lose water by sweating, and then stepped on a scale, you
would be eight pounds heavy. Sodium rich foods can cause tremendous
water retention so don’t worry yourself with daily fluctuations. I also
recommend Saturday morning because most of us compete on Saturday and
you want to try to create the exact same situation as you’ll experience
on contest day. Furthermore, if you get weighed with underwear on, wear
them every time. Do not get weighed in jeans one Saturday and without
clothing the next. You’ll never be able to establish any kind of
accurate account of your weight.
If you have approximately 5 percent of your body weight to lose, start
early. When you begin to plan for your next competition, look at the
calendar and consider how many weeks of training you’ll need to
adequately prepare. By beginning the weight loss process early, it will
be more gradual and less of a shock to the system than last-minute
weight loss, which can wreak havoc on your body and create all of the
aforementioned negative symptoms that adversely affect your performance.
Gradual weight loss rarely affects strength in a negative way whereas
abrupt weight loss is almost always accompanied by strength loss.
Another advantage to gradual weight loss over the course of the
training cycle (one pound per week is best) is you will know exactly how
your gear will fit on meet day. If you’re heavy early on and
procrastinate until meet week to begin losing the extra weight, your
gear can often feel loose at the meet. There is nothing worse than
starting warm-ups for the squat and pulling your squat suit on to find
that it fits like a pair of baggy jeans. As I usually compete in either
the 220-lb (100 kg) or 242-lb (110 kg) weight class, I prefer to start
losing weight early on in the training cycle so when meet week arrives
I’m within three to four pounds of my weight class limit. If that’s the
case, I can eat lots of clean calories the last week to fuel my body for
optimal performance.
We should all be drinking at least one gallon of water daily. This is
even more important during our training cycle because of the exertion on
the body. And if you sweat a lot like I do, you need to replace what’s
lost. Most of the literature on water intake advises us to count food,
juices, sodas, teas, coffee, and other beverages toward our total daily
water intake. I prefer to only count the actual water that I drink. Some
beverages contain caffeine, which has a very mild diuretic affect. Not
to mention, who has the time to add all that up? I’d like to meet the
person who knows how much water is in my steak, sweet potatoes, and
broccoli. I don’t have a clue or the inclination to waste my time
calculating the water content in my food. That way, at day’s end, I know
that I actually drank a gallon of plain water.
There are very specific nutritional guidelines to follow during meet
week. Avoid breads, crackers, any products made with dough or flour, and
dairy products like cottage cheese, yogurt, and cheese. While some whole
wheat, flax, and grain breads are a good source of complex
carbohydrates, flour makes your body retain water. Dairy products create
the same effect. Water retention and bloat is not something you want
until after weigh-ins. Your carbohydrates should come predominantly from
oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and truckloads of fibrous vegetables.
Asparagus, broccoli, leafy greens, and spinach will all help keep things
moving. Avoid white potatoes, rice, and pasta during the last week.
Protein should come from whey protein powder, egg whites, chicken, lean
turkey, lean beef like flank steak or round, and white fish. Include
fats like almonds, walnuts, olive oil, and fish oils. You can still eat
a lot of calories to fuel your body. They just have to be clean.
On the Monday of meet week, increase your daily water intake from one to
two gallons. Be absolutely sure you get two gallons down every day of
meet week. This will ensure adequate hydration and additional fluid
excretion. Urination will increase as will overnight weight loss.
If you are flying to your competition, this adds another variable to the
equation. Flying and the subsequent changes in air pressure and altitude
have a dehydrating effect on the body. It makes your body retain more
water than usual. This is why lifters who cut out their water pre-flight
have so much trouble making weight after landing. They arrive and
because they haven’t had any water, their bodies immediately start to
hold onto everything. This makes weight loss extremely difficult,
especially on overseas flights. It can take up to 24 hours for your body
to acclimate to having flown for more than five hours.
My wife has this system down to a science. She drinks like a fish
pre-flight and during the flight as well. On our last two overseas
flights to the IPF World Championships, I think she spent more time in
the plane’s lavatory than she did in her seat. When she wasn’t drinking
or going to the bathroom, she was tracking down a stewardess for more
water. This year I decided I’ve had enough with being disturbed by her
frequent bathrooms breaks so I went online to Best Buy Catheter Supply
and bought the newest model. Now my only concerns are how we’re going to
get it through security and where to put the drainage bag. All kidding
aside, she drinks nonstop and I mean nonstop. However, when we land,
she’s barely bloated, hydrated, and closer to making weight.
If you’re not flying to your competition, the process is a little
easier. Continue drinking two gallons of water daily. A good rule is to
keep drinking until approximately 12 hours prior to weigh-ins. For
example, if you weigh-in at 8:00 am on Saturday morning, cease water
intake at 8:00 pm on Friday evening. If you shut your water off at 8:00
pm, you’ll still have a couple of hours to urinate and lose some more
fluid before bedtime. Immediately after the cessation of water intake,
eat one whole lemon. Lemons have nearly innumerable functions and
increasing urination is one of them.
The morning of the competition, wake up, go to the bathroom, and if
you’re already on location (as in a hotel), then immediately check your
weight on the meet scale. Hopefully, you’ll be right on or slightly
under. If you’re one pound under then you can eat one pound of food and
still be safe. Do not drink before weigh-ins. Water is heavy. Two cups
(16 ounces) of water weigh one pound. You would rather fuel your body
with calories then add weight with water. If you absolutely need to,
just take small sips of water to hold you over until weigh-ins. Invest
in a small food scale. They’re not expensive and then you can place your
food directly onto the scale to see how much you’re eating. For those
who have to drive to the competition, if you’re on weight or under, you
can eat accordingly.
Immediately after weigh-ins, start drinking water again. Drink at least
16 ounces of water. Then eat some high energy foods. Focus on quality
carbohydrates like oatmeal, apples, apple sauce, or bananas on meet day.
Include foods that you enjoy because they are easier to get down if
you’re nervous. I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on wheat
bread. They taste delicious and they’re jam packed with calories
including carbohydrates and fats for energy. Avoid sugar-filled and high
glycemic carbohydrates like grapes, watermelon, candy, and fruit juices.
This will spike insulin levels and lead to a crash. You want
carbohydrates that will provide sustained energy.
You can eat a candy bar when you get ready to deadlift if your energy
levels have dipped and you need a quick boost. There’s no need to
concern yourself with protein on meet day. It takes too long to digest
and can slow you down. Lastly, it’s important not to change too much on
contest day. If you’re not used to eating pancakes with syrup, then
don’t all of the sudden eat a short stack before you lift. This could
potentially wreak havoc on your stomach. Eat foods that are familiar.
After eating your first post weigh-in meal, drink another 16 ounces
of water. Then you can introduce sports drinks like Gatorade, Cytomax,
or even Pedialyte. There has been research supporting how ingesting a
lot of sodium and potassium via sports drinks immediately after
depletion can be dangerous. The good news is that if you follow these
simple steps of proper hydration and sufficient caloric intake you won’t
be dehydrated nor depleted of electrolytes. In fact, you’ll likely be
exactly where you want to be. So, in this situation, the sports drinks
aren’t dangerous.
You can also eat salty foods like plain salt, potato chips, or canned
chicken soup or drink a V-8. All of these are ultra high in sodium and
will be absorbed quickly so your body will begin to retain more water
and then your gear might even fit a little tighter.
Overall, the plan is fairly simple once you have an understanding of
basic physiology and your body’s response to food and water. Lifters
make the process out to be more than it is. If for some reason you get
in a bind the last week and have difficulty losing those last few
pounds, you can use a mild, over-the-counter diuretic like Absolute
Nutrition’s Watershed or Eclipse Shrinkwrap Definition. They are
potassium sparing and don’t contain stimulants. Because some
powerlifting federations prohibit the use of diuretics, always consult
your federation’s drug testing policy. The key ingredient in your
diuretic is uva ursi. Uva ursi comes from the leaves of an evergreen
shrub and is used to treat common urological issues like urinary tract
infections, bladder inflammation, and kidney stones, thereby having a
diuretic effect. Dandelion root is another herb with similar effects.
Vitamin B-6 and green tea help too.
Under no circumstances should you ever use a sauna or rubber suit,
purposely dehydrate, take an enema, or turn to other drastic measures.
These are foolish last resorts, and they will surely claim almost all
your strength. Making weight does not have to be an arduous task, and
when done correctly, you can preserve the strength you trained so hard
to acquire. Eat well, drink a lot of water, and make weight the easy
way. Then have fun and hit some PRs.
References
1. Bean Anita (2006) The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition.
2. Hansen John, Koeppen Bruce (2002) Netter’s Atlas of Human Physiology.
Matt Gary is a full-time strength coach in Rockville, Maryland. He
works one-on-one with many high school and collegiate athletes as well
as elite powerlifters. His educational background includes a bachelor’s
degree in kinesiological science from the University of Maryland. Matt
is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) via the
National Strength and Conditioning Association and an active member of
the USAPL where he maintains his status as a national referee and
assistant coach on the USA Men’s and Women’s world powerlifting teams.
Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the
strength training industry by providing the highest quality strength
training products and services while providing the highest level of
customer service in the industry. For the best training equipment,
information, and accessories, visit us at www.EliteFTS.com.
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