The Art of Cutting Weight

meangene1975 · 06-25-2009, 09:38 PM

I need to weigh 185 for a fight. I am 19% body fat and weigh 226 right now. I was told by my trainer after he used caliper that at 10% . I would still be at around 200 or so. I am 5 ft 10 and most of the guys in my gym that are around 205 are 6ft 2 or so. I have a hard time while sparring tall guys. Plus they hurt alot more that the 185ers. I am an old man in this sport i am 34 and havent had a fight since 93. I need to be at 185 and not kill my almost non existant cardio.

pliftkl · 06-25-2009, 09:47 PM

What's your question?

Start dieting now. You don't mention when your fight is, but since you have to lose 41 pounds, I hope it's next year.

meangene1975 · 06-25-2009, 09:53 PM

I want to walk around about 200 and cut to 185 for the fight. thats only 20 to 25 lbs. I was told that i cant make it under 200 without losing muscle. I dont want to lose any

pliftkl · 06-25-2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meangene1975

I want to walk around about 200 and cut to 185 for the fight. thats only 20 to 25 lbs. I was told that i cant make it under 200 without losing muscle. I dont want to lose any

If you want to walk at 200 and drop 15 pounds of water, here's my prediction:

You are 34, and will subject yourself to a miserable 2 weeks of cutting water, which will be followed by you getting your ass kicked in your incredibly weakened state.

I wouldn't worry about the muscle loss - worry about strength loss, and with a good strength plan and a solid diet, you won't lose much strength at all.

Do you think you'll be weaker, from the perspective of this fight, if you lost 5 pounds of muscle, or if you dehydrated yourself 15 pounds to make weight? You aren't going to lose a fight that you could otherwise win by dropping a small amount of muscle, but you can definitely lose a fight that you could otherwise win by screwing up your hydration for the two weeks going into the fight.

**Sinister** · 06-25-2009, 10:48 PM

If you do a ketogenic eating regimen the right way, you can lose roughly a lb a day and not lose MUCH in the way of strength because the body will still be fueled well. Before you ask what that is, I'd suggest the South Beach diet as a base.

BigSifu · 06-27-2009, 06:16 AM

Is this striking only? I would rather have a decent chance at a weight I could make than kill myself dropping weight and still lose. You're not a pro,most ammy MMA fights I've seen the first guy to get ground control usually wins. As far as tall guys goes,I'm short(5'10"),and old(42) and I maul guys in the clinch. Dirty boxing,hard knees to the legs,liver shots,grinding my head on their chin. It's not like I'm going to go pro,Dream big,but odds are you'll keep your day job.

meangene1975 · 06-28-2009, 09:18 PM

Its just a little boxing smoker. I am just real short for my weight and have trouble with taller opponents. I want to do a couple boxing matches a tough man and kick boxing smoker and try to get in the cage for some mma next summer. I just know that Im 34 and need any advantage i can get. And lets face it there are some huge 185 ers out there.

SportyDog · 06-29-2009, 12:41 AM

Hey man, same age here, 34 also ('74 so a few months older) I don't understand why anyone would say you would "have" to lose muscle to get under 200. You might lose a bit, but it doesn't have to be that bad.

If you're at %19 bodyfat, and if you lose %11 bodyfat that would put your BF% at about 8% you'd be pretty lean, but you'd be at about 200lbs and not have lost any muscle. (in the perfect scenario) From there you are right, you can cut the last 15 in waterweight 3 days out of your weighin. Especially depending on how much time you have between the weighin's and your fight.

POINT312 · 06-29-2009, 01:43 AM

200-8% water weight = 184 i don't think thats unrealistic.

but at 226-9.5%=204.5 water weight i don't think thats too far off either.

but 226-18.5%=184.1 is way too much even if you got 10% back on depending on weigh ins same day or next day...

either way you should be ok with cut of no more than 10%...

you said a few things in your post 185ers hurt less??? and your non existant cardio wtf???

an 85er or a 205 will beat your ass just as bad if your cardio is down a 170 will probally do alot of damage too...

you should be real with yourself if its an ammy show you might be able to do the 200 to 185 and fair pretty well....but you still gotta lose 26 lbs so thats gonna take time...

the 226 to 205 is more in your boat imo your not gonna cut fat and fight at 185 that will take you i bet 6 months of 2 a days and clean eating...start eating clean and diet down as much as possible then cut water as the rest of the weight if its same day weigh ins i wouldnt cut more then 4-6% water if its next day you should be able to do an 8-10% cut....you need to really look at your goals and see what YOU want....

BigSifu · 06-29-2009, 06:54 AM

I have done ammy MMA at 205 and 185. 185's hit just as hard as 205's! When you're older,the main problem is that everyone seems to move so FAST. I would start with a grappling tournament before a boxing smoker. Boxing's real hard on the brain. Up north here,almost everyone has a hs wrestling background. I've seen so many ammy matches that are Takedown.GnP,Win. Wash rinse repeat.

I'm old,the fact is young strong Lions beat Old Lions. Choose your fights CAREFULLY.