What's Your Motivation for Cutting Weight?
Wrestling has an unfortunate reputation around excessive weight cutting, and the wrestling community is often the ones bolstering that reputation. In my opinion, it is emphasized much too heavily and much too young. Through competing, coaching, and educating young wrestlers about the sport, I have observed that our young athletes hear far too often that success will follow if they compete at a lower weight. The males and females I've spoken to who chose not to pursue their careers at the collegiate or international level have often made that decision because they experienced burnout from weight cutting.
As coaches, athletes, and parents we should be paying more attention to the damage the weight cutting mindset does to our sport. When does it become impractical to maintain a weight class? Should our minds, bodies, technique, and love for the sport suffer? This article aims to guide the wrestling community in rethinking the messages we share with athletes about the pressures of cutting weight. Here are the most common reasons I've heard from athletes about why they choose to cut weight.
I'll Win More
It is easy to think when you are the bigger wrestler in a smaller weight class, you are guaranteed to win. Once you come to terms with the concept that we are never guaranteed anything in life, especially in sport, you may realize that your desire to cut weight is taking away from your focus. Wrestling takes full accountability of good nutrition, technique, conditioning, and mental strength. These are the factors that will contribute to your success on the mat and give you an edge over your competition. By relying on a weight cut to help you win, you are mistakenly putting all your eggs in the wrong basket. Weight classes are meant to level the playing field, not dictate extreme measures. Embrace competing at your natural size, where you're healthy, energized, and able to perform at your peak without the distractions and risks of weight cutting.
I'll Look Better in My Singlet
I hear it over and over! From middle school, to senior level – "I look way better in my singlet when I cut to the lower weight!" For girls and women, this is especially problematic due to the higher risk of disordered eating with this group (not negating that disordered eating happens to males and females alike). This mentality trickles down from the top to our youngest wrestlers. We have so much to deal with as women; societal pressures, media pressures, self-imposed pressures. Being in the sport of wrestling is empowering and gives us the opportunity to do amazing things with our bodies. By putting emphasis on being a smaller size, we are not recognizing that the real reason we are in this sport is because we are capable of amazing things at the exact size we already are. That is the beauty of multiple weight classes! For boys and girls, if you have a personal goal of changing your body composition through muscle gain, that is a very different concept from cutting weight and looking smaller only for a weigh-in. Weight cutting is not a long term approach to coping with how we feel in our own skin. Set goals for yourself that include increasing strength and good nutrition. Our bodies will make significant changes when we seek overall health, not when we cut weight for a season.
Making the Line Up
Making the team is important to every athlete. While a lineup spot at a different weight may be available, it should not come at the expense of your health. Deciding to move weight classes should be a decision made by you, your coaching staff, and your family.
It should be a carefully considered decision, free from pressure. Your health and longevity in the sport should be prioritized. The mental and physical well-being of an athlete is always more important than the need to cut weight. If you're still considering changing weight classes, especially if it requires weight management, develop a strategy that ensures everyone involved understands your goals. Here are some questions you should ask yourself:
Am I prepared to manage the additional challenges of weight cutting, such as meal planning and hydration, while balancing school and training?
Have I considered the long-term effects of cutting weight on my body and future in the sport?
Am I able to maintain this weight in a healthy and sustainable way throughout the season?
How will cutting weight affect my energy levels, performance, and overall well-being?
Is my motivation to cut weight coming from a desire to improve or from external pressures?
Remember, this is YOUR athletic career, no matter how far you take it. It is important for you to leave the sport with a positive out look and great memories. We want you to come back to the sport through coaching, leading, or one day with your own children competing in wrestling!
My Experience with Weight Cutting as a Young Wrestler
I was fortunate to have full support that never pushed me to cut weight. In high school, I changed weight classes each year to allow for natural growth. As I got older, I chose not to cut excessive weight because I wanted to enjoy wrestling and compete for as long as possible. I had seen too many wrestlers unhappy from constant weight cutting. Setting my sights on the 2012 Olympic Trials, I knew I’d have to move to a higher weight class. Instead of cutting weight to possibly make a world team at a smaller class the year before the Olympics, I focused on acclimating to the bigger Olympic weight class. Prioritizing my long-term goal helped me stay competitive and happy in the sport. With all the pressures and challenges of wrestling, adding years of weight cutting could have shortened my career.
Pressures Around Cutting Weight as a Professional Athlete
After a three-year hiatus from competition to start a family, I returned in 2019, fully aware that the 53kg Olympic weight class would be where I competed. However, my body had changed after giving birth, and I had more muscle mass than before. Determined to adjust to my opponents, the weight class, and the weight cut, I had just one short year to prepare for the 2020 Olympic Team Trials. Despite having a great system, the truth is, the body doesn't lie. For a senior-level athlete, one competition per month is a full schedule, and with back-to-back competitions for 3-4 months, the repeated weight cutting lowered my body fat to an unhealthy level. I lost my period (a condition called amenorrhea), and I immediately recognized it as a red flag. Shortly after, the world shut down, the Olympics were postponed, and the rest is history. Reflecting on that year, I realized that my stubbornness to stay at 53kg wasn’t as important as simply getting mat time. The lesson? I pressured myself into “going my weight” and I should have competed up a weight at 55kg until it was closer to the Olympic Trials.
Final Thoughts on Weight Cutting
I work with athletes who face pressures to cut weight or change weight classes. When they decide not to cut weight or decide follow a strategic plan, they returned happier and more successful. They realized that great wrestlers exist at every weight, and focusing on technique made them competitive. You’ve probably heard the saying, “a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter.” The same goes for wrestling. The happier we are, spending productive hours training instead of cutting weight, the more dangerous we become on the mat.
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