Training

| November 25, 2021

Making Weight For Competition

There are several different ways for making weight, but above all else, for me personally having a deadline makes it that much easier. I do not believe in doing extremely aggressive weight cuts, chances are, you are going to lose some hard earned muscle and strength, especially for a powerlifting meet.

By Steven Fitzpatrick

Read time: 3 min.


There are several different ways for making weight, but above all else, for me personally having a deadline makes it that much easier. I do not believe in doing extremely aggressive weight cuts, chances are, you are going to lose some hard earned muscle and strength, especially for a powerlifting meet.

For starters, it is very important to keep protein high so that while cutting body weight, you can maintain as much lean muscle as possible. You have worked too hard in the off season to simply throw this away due to a lack of diligence in your protein intake, it is VERY important that when in an accurate deficit, that you track your macros to be sure that you are hitting them every single day, thermodynamics do not lie. With that said, the method I use, is that I pull from fats very lightly but make sure that I am getting in at least the minimum to allow for proper micronutrient delivery and hormonal support. I then drive up carbs, it is glucose and glycogen that allow for us to create the ATP (muscle energy) required to perform the fast twitch contractions involved in powerlifting, I am also very adamant about consistent creatine intake, knowing that my red meat intake is lower, it is very important to keep these creatine stores nice and full so that peaking is at its absolute best.

So when it comes down to the nitty gritty, the small things really matter in the big picture of it all, these small things, whether it be 200-300 calories here and there, can really make a difference when accounting for a sports deficit. For example, one of my downfalls that I needed to correct, was eating before bed, something about it is just so darn satisfying, but in order to reach my objective, I needed to cut it out, when your body is in a deficit, it almost feels like your hormones are pulling you towards the food, sounds a little bit crazy but true! The body wants to maintain energy equilibrium, losing weight goes against basic human survival instincts. So sometimes when we feel hungry we give in, and perhaps we fill that 300-500 calorie spot that our bodies actually need to lose weight. The important thing to do, is to account for vegetable before you reach your caloric limit, foods such as broccoli or other greens with low calories that fill a big spot in your stomach.

If you are able to, try and have higher glycemic foods (sugary starchy) foods around your workout, this will supply the body with the energy that it needs for a hard and intense bout of training, then the rest of the day should be filled with lower glycemic (more fibrous) food choices. This will help to regulate your hunger.

Fiber is another key! The best way to keep insulin steady and to ensure that you have an overall feeling of satiety is fiber. We need it to cut the weight, keep the colon and gut healthy, it also helps to manage proper water influx. A couple suggestions can be oatmeal (steel cut) and bran buds, but it is very important to change up the sources over time to keep the bacteria healthy as well.

Lastly, this one is more personally subjective, but do not keep empty calorie foods around the house when dieting, I know for a face that I am that much more likely to over indulge in these foods if they are just sitting there, so if I ever do want a treat while cutting weight, I get it, track it into my daily calories, then go along with my day. This helps to create balance while still being able to lose weight.

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