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24 Hour Weigh Ins and Weight Cuts

BeastBuilder

By BeastBuilder
in Diet & nutrition

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BeastBuilder Senior member

BeastBuilder

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So this year with my introduction into GPC powerlifting I also got introduced to the opportunity of 24 Hour Weigh Ins.

I had always known fighters etc to make the most of these and drop ridiculous amounts of bodyweight to weigh in and then fight at their normal weight if not heavier.

Fair to say I was intrigued.

Competing at GPC Anzac weekend comp in Chch was my first time to test out my ability to drop weight.

My usual morning weight was anywhere from 103-104kg so I aimed to drop under 100kg ready for Friday morning.

I started water loading a week out beginning with drinking 5L Friday, 6L Saturday, 7L Sunday and so on and peaked at 10L on Wednesday. This is to trick your body into thinking there is an abundance of water and so you're ADH (Anti Diuretic Hormone) levels drop and you're body keeps expelling water like there is no tomorrow. I also included a herbal diuretic from Health2000 just to help the body along with what it thought it was supposed to be doing.

Then on the Thursday prior to weighing in I drank normally up until 10am (24 hours before weigh in) and then cut all fluids. Your body still thinks there is more water coming so you piss like a racehorse for awhile longer till your body cottons on. This period varies from person to person, my body wasn't fooled for long but some people drop a lot of weight with just this alone. I would still say it helped me drop a kilo or two.

Thursday night I jumped on the scales and was 102kg, combination of a really hot epsom salt bath for 20 minutes plus stationery bike with three layers of clothes on by the fire for about half an hour dropped me down to just over 100kg. My food stayed exactly the same as usual throughout the week given that I didn't have too much to drop, I was surprised at this but didnt argue and trusted in the methods of my coach. Relatively easy, and weighed in at 99.3kg on the Friday.

Friday day was filled with high carb, high sodium foods, water mixed with Hydralite and feeling bloated as all hell cos I rushed the eating part too much.

Jumped on the scales on Saturday morning before lifting and I had rebounded to 108.5kg ! This is because due to the stress I put my body under dropping the weight it then overcompensates and holds onto more water and glycogen etc than usual.

A successful rebound is just as important as a successful weight cut as otherwise you're performance will be impairer and will make the whole exercise relatively pointless imo.

Onto experiment number two !

My normal morning bodyweight had increased to about 105kg at this stage so I knew I was going to have to drop more than last time but given how simple it was last time I thought it would be a walk in the park.

I water loaded and included the same diuretics as last time, all was going well. Till I decided it would be a good idea to have my cheat meal on Sunday... Now probly doesn't sound like much but my cheat meals tend to get out of hand and usually always end up in excess of 5kcal minimum over a couple hours. So this combined with the water loading, I woke up on Monday, jumped on the scales hoping the damage wasn't too bad, I was wrong, 109.1kg.... Had my work well and truly cut out for me to drop in under 100ky by Friday ! I ate normally on Monday but cut carbs down to next to nothing Tuesday, Wednesday to empty out my body's glycogen stores as for every gram of carbs stored your body stores three grams of water with it to make the glycogen for your muscles etc to hold.

This brought me down to 105kg by Thursday morning. I knew I had a lot to lose so I cut fluids then and there.

Thursday was a long day... Flew up to Auckland only snacking on protein bars, shrimp, veges and I think that's about as exciting as my diet got that day. Sodium was kept minimal as well, not zero but definitely not my usual sauce/seasoning consumption.

During the day Thursday I had a few really hot showers just to keep my body running hot and sweating out little bits where I could. Food basically stopped about mid afternoon as I knew it would just be more water I would have to lose later to balance it out.

Thursday night I took advantage of the hot epsom salt baths again. One twelve minutes long, straight back into layers of clothing to refill the next one hotter again. Fifteen minutes out and then hopped into the new bath, fifteen minutes in here and then straight back into clothes and blankets. It's fair to say I was hating life at this stage.

Epsom Salt Baths are imo magic for cutting weight. They work on osmosis. So basically having the salts in the water makes the sodium balance between your body and the bath water be uneven so the salts draw moisture from your body. The key is too have it as hot as possible so that your pores open right up and the salts can get in and do their thing. Also the heat makes you sweat like a bitch so it's a double whammy. Takes a lot of willpower to stay in a burning hot bath for extended periods, and trust me that fifteen minutes feels like a lifetime when you're in there, but it's still a lot easier on the body than spending hours on hours in a sauna. Much more effective use of time imo.

About half an hour later I stripped off and jumped on the scales again just before bed, 100.8kg was the reading. So had managed to lose just over 4kg in about 16 hours.

Went to bed and got up earlyish to hopefully be in under by then. Was still 100.3kg so I jumped under a shower as hot as I could handle it for ten minutes, out and dry into blankets etc for about another twenty. Hopped back on and I was 99.7kg. Success !

This was bathroom scales btw, had to weigh in on calibrated scales at gym for comp so I just crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Weighed in at 99.6kg !! So officially a 9.5kg drop in four days..

Rebound was a bit better thought out this time around, focusing more on the hydration side of things than the food. Don't get me wrong, the list of what I didn't eat was probably still a lot shorter than what I did eat but hydration was key. I had a 4L bottle and went through it twice plus other drinks here and there and took two little token pees all day, just shows how dehydrated I was plus how much weight I was going to put on haha.

Jumped on before lifting on Saturday again in clothes and I was amazed, 111.7kg ! I didn't expect that kinda result ! Great Success !

That's basically my experiences with weight cuts, I never expected them to be so effective before I tried them.

If I missed anything out or something interests you more fire up questions etc.

I'd be interested to hear other people's experiences along the same lines as everyone is effected differently.

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soundsgood Veteran member

soundsgood

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Great post bro, pretty much summed up everything you need to know about cutting weight for powerlifting comps. You definately got the recomp right, some of those overnight weight gains were mental!

Just a word of warning to anyone considering doing a weight drop for a pl comp. Unless you are trying to make a weight class to set a national record of in beasts case attain elite international powerlifting standard then don't even bother doing it. It's really easy to miss your weight class, lose your strength and end up having a dud comp. Not to mention its extremely unenjoyable going through the process. And potentially dangerous playing with your hydration levels.

Post of the month imo

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BeastBuilder Senior member

BeastBuilder

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Great post bro, pretty much summed up everything you need to know about cutting weight for powerlifting comps. You definately got the recomp right, some of those overnight weight gains were mental!

Just a word of warning to anyone considering doing a weight drop for a pl comp. Unless you are trying to make a weight class to set a national record of in beasts case attain elite international powerlifting standard then don't even bother doing it. It's really easy to miss your weight class, lose your strength and end up having a dud comp. Not to mention its extremely unenjoyable going through the process. And potentially dangerous playing with your hydration levels.

Post of the month imo

Thanks bro, just ramblings on stuff I find interesting lol.

But definitely agree on the case of don't do it unless you're experienced, are well informed/have proper guidance and have a dam good reason to do it.

It takes something pretty epic in your head to keep you in those salt baths or to keep you from taking that wee sip of water when your lips are dried together.

I dunno how many comps I have done, I would wanna say nine or ten now, obviously not overly experienced but still not a novice to the platform. One of the things I always push on new people I'm coaching/training with/helping on their way to comps is to not give two fucks about what they weigh. It's just you and the bar. Focus on lifting more than you did last time and growing. Worrying about bodyweight is a totally unnecessary stress when everything else is new too (comp attempts, comp calls, platform etiquette etc etc). Which is why I also usually advise people to have a handler/coach at comps in the beginning, even at advanced stages it helps big time. I had my coach Tom at Nationals and he was fantastic, all I had to do was lift the weights, when I came off the platform he asked how it felt, based off that plus how it looked plus my goals he did my attempts for me, wrapped my knees, told me lifting order when to warm up etc. It takes all the extra stress out and let's you just lift and enjoy the competition.

Nothing drives new people away more than feeling like they had a bad time. No point adding to all that new stress with bodyweight to worry about too.

And yes just to reiterate the point about it not being enjoyable.. It's not whatsoever. You'll want to stab someone. But then at least you know you're doing it right.

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BeastBuilder Senior member

BeastBuilder

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Awesome post, Beast!

It's interesting... bodybuilders obviously do a lot of water manipulation too, but the epsom bath salts trick seems to be more favoured by powerlifters. I wonder why bodybuilders don't use it as much?

I don't know enough about the science behind it all to give you a clear cut answer on that, but I would assume it possibly has something to do with sodium levels ?

Although it was difficult cutting weight etc I think it would be a lot harder for a fighter or bodybuilder tbh. As a powerlifter when I rebounded I didn't have to worry about being slower, what I looked like, being less mobile etc I could just focus on putting on as much weight as possible and enjoying the food as much as I could.

Whereas a bodybuilder has to time his foods, liquids etc and still has to stress about his physique, not spilling over.

A fighter has to worry about not being too far above their training weight cos they'll be slow and less mobile.

I guess these differences probably effect the methods used by the different groups.

Although I was actually advised of the Epsom Baths by a seasoned MMA fighter who routinely cuts absurd amounts of weight so go figure lol

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BeastBuilder Senior member

BeastBuilder

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Looks pretty good and Straight forward bro. Same basic principles seem to apply overall which makes sense, good basic plan for people to try, and then refine as you find what your body responds better too etc.

How much would you usually cut bro ? And how much do you usually weigh etc ?

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BeastBuilder Senior member

BeastBuilder

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Yeah good post man.

And you felt strong for competition?

It's a fine line with the 24hr water cut eh.

I felt pretty strong, big PBs for me right across the board.

Although I would definitely say it is a stress on your body that you would probably be stronger without having to do.

Hard to say as I don't know what I would have hit if I hadn't cut and rebounded. I think you just have to be careful with food and water so you don't feel sluggish, overly bloated etc.

Definitely a fine line, and different people have very different tolerances.

At ProRaw it's a two hour weigh in and my weight class will be U110kg so we'll see how I go with that kinda weight being my usual training weight and lifting at the same weight with no dehydration etc.

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