Making weight - Im interested to know how much weight fighters shed in the last week to get on the scales for the weigh in?

For both day before and on the day weigh ins?

Sawatdee Khrup!

I get all my fighters to sit at around 1/2kg above fight weight 3 weeks before their fight so that they get used to training and sparring at the weight and don't go in drained, this works especially for same day weigh ins.

For day before weigh ins some fighters rip down in last 2 weeks before their weigh in and then feed up and try to come in as heavy as they can on the day of the fight.

Also you have to take into account whether your fighter needs to gain or lose to reach their fight weight and how close they sit to their preferred weight when off season

SHAUN

I recall meeting a guy who had just fought at 76kg with a day before weigh in.

He said he was about 83kg 4days before the weigh in.

Also I saw a 67kg fighter same day weigh in who said he weighed 71kg 3days before the fight.

I just wondered if kind of weight cutting is standard for fighters.

Drizzle, IMO What fighters cut, can cut, and should cut are rarely the same thing!! Weight cutting esp sauna/salt bath can be VERY dangerous in more ways than people think.

Also fat % & length of cut open this question up massively.

As a sweeping statement I would say for most people with a day before weigh in, done correctly 7-10% IS possible but I sit within Kru Bowlands statement.
Its aslo something that should be practiced before taking a fight at a weight that you are not at or recently been at.

The more lean muscle mass the fighter has, the larger percentage of his body weight he'll be able to shed.

When it comes to cuts, some people prefer to do the largest portion of it on the day, others like to do the old school boxing style thing and cut it over the last week. There's no doubt that, coming from a purely biological perspective, the first method tends to be the safer and healthier method. It should also provide just as large a weight cut.

Typically speaking, the shorter the length of time you spend dehydrated the better. Unless you're travelling a great distance to make the weigh in there's really no reason to spend any more than an hour at min hydration before starting the process of rehydration.

Many fighters nowadays are moving away from the old school boxing stuff and like to switch diet to a pure protein diet about 2 weeks out from a fight. This strips the last kilo or two of fat from the body and maximises lean muscle mass when coupled with the last two weeks training. This also, in turn allows for a larger water cut. Many will simply drop down to a half litre of water per day for the last 2 days and do most of the water cut in the sauna immediately before the weigh in. An extra part many do is "water loading" which is, a week before the weigh in, to drink about 6 litres of water a day then do the cut down to half a litre a day 2 days before the weigh in.

That, of course, is an ideal situation, it's obviously different when you're travelling to the weigh in etc.

When I was coaching in germany, my first fighter who was, to be fair, completely ripped, managed to drop about 5.5kg in water quite comfortably over the last day. This was for a 68kg fight (i think) lol.

Im fighting in Scotland at 64kgs in 1 week and I'm 70.5kgs now :( a fun week ahead

I did 6k in just under 2 days. Really not a good idea to do that. You just feel drained in your fight and are not as sharp.

Thanks for the info, I think its quite amazing what fighters go through diet wise aswell as the training

I lost about 9kg for my last fight, through dieting and sauna

For my last fight i did 4.5kg overnight for a day of weigh in, not a good idea, felt awful!

question for Steven Hodgers: How do you intend to take the weight off mate?

Nephilim, when you talked about water loading you didn't mention anything about increased salt (plus reduced salt) or electrolytes???
Also when you water load/dehydrate youself you have to be aware of the blood brain barrier, renal failure plus many other health related issues, these are VERY serious things.

When you remove "carbs" from you diet you also remove water as you body needs to retain a certain amount of water per gram of glycogen which is why many people think this is a great method of weight loss.

Also how you rehydrate & refuel is VERY important.
Many of the top level guys (MMA) now have IV lines straight after weigh ins.

what is wrong with a good old fashioned reasonable diet that allows you enough fuel to train, loosing the weight steadily over your 8 week training...OR not getting too big in between fights...

when i fought at 59 id normally be 67-70 in the end day after, apart from super showdown . was 65 max then bt did weigh 58 and id not eat or drank 2 days

Thats hard work Jonno,I remember waiting for medical on the same day as the fight(just done the weigh in) and I was seeing double and felt like I was swaying around,my opponent was near and remember thinking I hope he cant see me swaying!.

Jonno on another note,enjoy your retirement from all that dieting etc sir,It is probably the toughest part of pre fight work imho:)

Its by farrrr the worst part. Howson is the master of this shit though , he cuts scandal weight lol excuse the french. Thanks paul :)

Just reminding everybody that there is a fight training forum on Ax where this type of topic has been discussed a lot. This thread will eventually be archived there.

Crippler yeah there's a lot of info on it, I just didn't want to harp on lol.

Your welcome Jonno enjoy some good grub and beer you have earned it,its a tough game for tough people this and you have done your part and showed your heart and skills Jonno:)

I've cut 9kgs in a week before a fight , get down to about 4kgs a day before weigh in.

how'd u manage that Kieran?

Did 12kgs in 4 days to make 51.5kgs in LA for the Romie with the help of uncle Vinny's sweat suite ans sweet sweat, horrible week. I used to be by far 1 of the worst, walk round at 70 fight 55, sounds daft but since retiring and coming back to it 8 months later i now train better, diet properly and make weight so much easier, last fight was at 57 made 56 without even going near a sauna and im 59 now fighting 56 on sat so wont have to sauna again, its so much better and feel alot better for it.

Water loading , no carbs after breakfast , White meat handful size and plenty of mind games!

DanUK
Posted: 2012-02-10 12:14:13
question for Steven Hodgers: How do you intend to take the weight off mate?

i was 69kgs today so i plan to get to 66ish by thursday and then ill do the last 2.5kgs in the last 3 days :)

I get my fighters to cut around 10% if it's a day before weigh in. So for example, if i have a lad who is fighting on Saturday night and the weigh in is on Friday then he will be 80kg for the weigh in and 88kg when he steps in the ring the day after.

Steven, will taht be dieting, restricting fluids, saunaing etc?

I'm watching what i eat and drink but still taking on loads of food and drink . . ill be hitting the sauna on friday and just before the weighin on sat . ill be doing 2.5 - 3kgs in the last 2days . . still feeling strong hitting pads and running hard as well . I always do it this way and has never let me down before :)

i cut from 74kg to 67kg in a short time and have done 66kg once aswel. just cutting out the rubbish and the sauna. I saunaed off 69.9 to 66 something in about an hour and a bit.


if its a day before plenty water to re-hydrate and i always feel gd

I've previously written a short series of blog posts specifically for same day weigh ins, detailing how how much weight to cut, how to cut and finally how to rehydrate and restock energy levels. If you're interested you can read them via the following links:

http://heatrick.com/2013/04/01/same-day-weigh-in-and-fighting-part-1/

http://heatrick.com/2013/04/08/same-day-weighing-in-and-fighting-part-2/

http://heatrick.com/2013/04/15/same-day-weighing-in-and-fighting-part-3/

i do exactly the same as stephen hodgers eat and drink well and clean up untill the end and feel great for it and will be 2-3 over. The day beofre i weigh in hit the sauna on the night then go home and put a little bit back in to keep the body ticking over then check weight when i wake up see what needs to be done last time i only had 0.8 to go so easy made weight :)

If I may throw my hat in the ring on the subject. Regardless of how. It is possible to lose and regain safely no more than 5% of your lean mass with in 24hrs. If you lose more there is real danger of dehydration.

Running with a sweat suit to get core temp up. then sauna stints to cut. If you if your target is 72kg then your start weight is approx 76kg......You could safely stay in this 'cut' condition for a period of approx 3hrs (this time comes off your re hydration time) so itd take 27hrs to replenish.

Then theres salts and minerals to consider.