Drink More to Weigh Less for Matches
You need to be drinking more if you want to weigh less.
....Sounds counter intuitive, right? Here's the deal:
Your body is pretty smart.
And... It likes to be operating at 100% whenever possible.
So it can look out for #1...
Y'know, so you can do all the cool things you want during the day.....
-> Being able to focus and keep your cool on the mat so you can be as aggressive as possible
-> Having the energy to sit through class and training every day
-> Nailing your performance goals
So... when something is out of whack, your body tries to do everything possible to get itself back to normal.
Our kidneys do this [pretty cool] thing when we're dehydrated
They send signals to the body to hold onto as much water as possible and recycles it through the body.
(that signal is antidiuretic hormone-- or ADH for short)
In order words, your body is doing everything possible to keep that water around.
This is actually pretty great in most cases..
...but for trying to make your weigh-in?...
Not so much.
Unfortunately, there's no lever we can flip where we can let our bodies know:
"Hey you, I'm trying to lose water weight.. could you stop holding onto it?"
Luckily, we don't need a lever.
We need a plan.
If we play our cards right, we can actually train our bodies to work for us instead of against us when making weight.
How to train your body to work for you instead of against you
Ever wonder why wrestler's have an easy time dropping weight during a workout over the summer?
....But a difficult time losing even 1-2 pounds during the season?
Yeah, you guessed it (again).
Most wrestlers aren't restricting their fluid intake during the summer.
This means:
-> The kidneys aren't trying to 'fight' to hold onto water by releasing more ADH.
Instead, waters released rapidly in the form of sweat and urine.
This is also the same reason why some wrestlers have an easy time manipulating weight in the beginning of the pre-season or season but have a difficult time once they've started engaging in those dehydrating practices...
...you know the ones I'm talking about:
Not drinking any water for several days before a weigh-in...
...Spitting into bottles...
Slapping on every piece of clothing in their closet and going for a really, really long run
(I don't advocate any of this, by the way)
So what can we do instead to train our bodies to work 'for us' instead of 'against us'?
Want to lose water weight? You need to hyperhydrate.
Picture a kitchen sink with a clogged drain like a wrestler's body.
When you turn the handle a small amount and water starts slowly trickling out...
...it pools in the bottom of the sink...
This is exactly how the body responds when it isn't constantly replacing the water it loses.
.....Your kidneys send a signal throughout the body to HOLD ONTO that water...
...Because it isn’t sure when it is going to get more.
But if we can increase how much fluid we take in by hyperhydrating at the right times, with the right amount of fluid...
We can actually train out body to release huge amounts of water.
....So now picture our sink again....
Except this time instead of the water being stuck in the sink...
The drain is completely open and the water leaves as fast as it came in.
.....And the [best part] is when we do taper off that fluid intake....
the body keeps releasing large amounts of water weight for about 24 hours afterwards.
On average, high school wrestler's can expect to lose between
3 to 5% of their total body weight (in water) in about 24 hours
...WITHOUT starving, sweating or spitting for days on end.
In other words:
-> No more fatigue
-> Decreased strength
-> Fizzling out halfway through your match from exhaustion
All by simply following the right hyperhydration and diet protocol..
Pretty cool, right?
Do you know anyone whose tried hyperhydrating before a weigh-in?
P.S. Want to learn more about these strategies? If you're the parent or coach of a high school wrestler and want to learn more strategies on how to gain a competitive edge and make weigh-ins WITHOUT having to skip meals, dehydrate or sacrifice performance, [click here] to register for a free training I'm hosting a few times this week.
