Why Weight?

RPI's new wrestling room

After a brief stay at home, I'll be heading back to school tomorrow, where RPI Wrestling has increased the size of their wrestling room by more than five times this off-season.  With the semester starting you all know what this means: wrestling season it just around the corner.  Although you may not have your first match until November or December, weight certifications could be as early as October.  Don't wait until the week of certifications to get your weight down, much less the week of your first match.  If you have excess body fat that you need to lose, plan ahead and do so gradually.

But here's a novel idea: don't cut weight!  It is ingrained in our heads that we need to "cut" weight for wrestling, but it may be doing you more harm than good.  The reason behind not cutting is this: if you don't have to worry about your weight, you can put all your time and energy into improving your technique and becoming a better wrestler.  It makes so much sense and is so simple that it's a wonder more people don't do it.  Dan Gable, the biggest name in USA Wrestling, moved up a weight class each year in college, and was never more than 5 pounds above his competition weight at ANY point in the year.  He was also the one that convinced the Peterson brothers to move up a weight while training for the Olympics, which resulted in both of them at the top of the podium.

I always do a decent job of losing weight the correct way, but I can definitely say from experience that when I cut weight, instead of focusing on my moves, I am far too preoccupied with how much water I'm sweating off during practice.  There was one week last year that I bumped up to 133, and despite fears that I wouldn't be as big and strong as those guys, one of my opponents, who I thought looked pretty ripped, told me after the match that I was really strong.  I was able to eat a big dinner the night before and breakfast before weigh-ins, feeling relaxed and focusing on my upcoming match, rather than worrying anxiously about weigh-ins.  Some of the best wrestlers that I've met cut little or no weight, and if my doctor lets me wrestle, I may very well go 133 this season.

Don't weight,
Jeff