Souped-Up Gatorade

Have some souped-up Gatorade after weigh-ins.  photo from pedialyte.com

I don't know why I never used this tip until now, as I first learned of it when I wrestled for Team Illinois in 2006.  That experience at the training camp and then at Fargo was the first time that I was exposed to serious weight cutting.  As for whether it's good or not is a whole other story, but some of these guys sure could cut.  But what they also knew how to do was how to rehydrate quickly after weigh-ins.  As silly as it sounds, many of them would drink Pedialyte.

The well-known children's drink used to replace fluids lost from vomiting or diarrhea can also be used to rapidly replace water and electrolytes after cutting weight.  I like to think of Pedialyte as souped-up Gatorade, as it contains vital electrolytes, salts, and other minerals.  I had a bottle of it after both of my weigh-ins this weekend at University Nationals/World Team Trials, and it tastes delicious.

I would always advise to reconsider going up a weight before you cut any drastic amount of weight, or to start planning far ahead if you want to move down.  However, there may be scenarios where you need to fit into a particular spot in your team's dual lineup or you just plain didn't prepare right.  Or, you may be as frustrated as me that the international weights are so spread out and so you need to shoehorn yourself into a weight class for any FILA tournament.  In any case such as that, grab some Pedialyte at the store before weigh-ins and then drink up.

Don't be embarassed to drink it,
Jeff