Before waxing all poetic on you, let me say it point blank:
CUTTING WEIGHT IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS CONCEPT IN ALL OF SPORT
Now, let’s begin…
Although the sauna is generally viewed as a tool for ultimate relaxation, conjuring images of a good sweat and feeling loose…
I’ve been involved in a few weight cuts in my years as a strength and conditioning coach and can tell you that the mere thought of one can make some of the toughest guys start sweating.
If you’ve ever been through a tough cut in the sauna, you’re probably sweating right now!
But there have definitely been some funny ones in there, though.
The funniest stories involve guys who are cutting weight for the first time.
I remember flying out to Vancouver with a fighter I was training named Joe Khamou. He was cutting to 170 lbs. It was his first MMA fight.
He was following my weight cutting guidelines and he was close, but it’d been about 24 hours since he last weighed in.
When we landed in Vancouver, we went for a walk to find supplies for the re-hydration phase. And hopefully a scale to check where he was at.
The whole time we were walking around, he was trying to spit, but nothing was coming out.
He kept doing it and I was like, “What the fuck man, stop already.”
“Sorry. It’s just so weird spitting and having no spit.”
Hahaha Khamou.
It was like walking around with a dog that you just fed a box of crackers to.
We did end up finding a scale. Joe weighed in at 168.7 lbs, so I had him start drinking again to maintain as close to 170 lbs as possible until the weigh-in a few hours later. The good thing for him was that he didn’t need the sauna.
There was another cut I was a part of in Vancouver. I was with Claude at UFC 115 for his UFC debut. Him, myself and Kru Alin were all hanging out in the sauna. Well Kru and I were hanging out, Claude was doing his best to shed every last bit of H2O out of his body.
I like saunas, but like I said, I don’t like cutting weight.
So I was sitting near the bottom. Heat rises, so it was a heck of a lot cooler down there.
Claude started making fun of me.
He snickered to Kru Alin, “Notice where E’s sitting??”
I didn’t care. What I did care about was keeping my organs as far from failure as possible.
And that’s just one reason why cutting weight is such a ridiculous concept. The risk of organ failure.
But because of what it brings in, it may never go away… However, I think I may have a solution.
Now, some argue that cutting is a skill and show of toughness.
I don’t argue about the skill or mental toughness involved at all.
To be able to lose 15-30 lbs in a short period of time and put it all back on within 24 hours…
… THEN have to go out and fight some beast like Junior Dos Santos or Cain Velasquez is undoubtedly one of the most impressive skills known to mankind. I kneel before you.
But wouldn’t it be more impressive if a fighter knew he had to be at a certain weight. And, he knew he didn’t have the ability to cut more than 5 lbs because he had to be that weight 6 hours before his fight?
I think so.
I think once everyone got used to the idea, we’d all realize the madness of doing it any other way.
There’s just this resistance to change. And it’s this resistance and insistence on traditionalism that blocks true progress.
And one of the driving forces behind this resistance is obviously the almighty dollar.
Have you ever been to a UFC weigh-in before?
It’s insane. Thousands of people packed in a loud stadium. Drinking beer. Snapping pictures. Soaking it all up.
It’s a huge spectacle and I’ll admit, gets you hyped up.
But my argument is to leave all of an athlete’s skill…
All of an athlete’s mental toughness…
And all of an athlete’s abundant amounts of energy, energy that he’s worked so damn hard for…
To leave it for him to use in his fight.
It’s a shame for this energy to be wasted on making weight. A real shame. That’s why I say that cutting weight is the most ridiculous concept in sport.
Yes, out of concern for the health risks to athletes, fighters and friends.
And because of the waste of energy that could be used to give us fight of the night after fight of the night.
Instead of a week dedicated to a low-calorie, low-carb diet, he could be nourishing his body properly, with delicious, nutritious food. He would stay well hydrated on pure and clean water. The good food and water would give him clarity of thought to mentally prepare for the task at hand. His body would have the building blocks to heal from the beating it took during a grueling training camp.
And because of these things, he would generate a store of energy that could accomplish amazing things inside the Octagon. Things that would make people accuse him of taking drugs.
Things that would make everyone watching <gasp> and SCREAM in excitement!
The UFC could still hold the weigh-in event… They’d still make their few hundred thousand or million doing so. People would still attend and enjoy Joe Rogan screaming at them.
All the UFC would have to do is have another weigh-in 5 or 6 hours before the fight.
Then, the fighters wouldn’t be able to cut much weight, because they’d have to enter the fight soon. It wouldn’t be worth it.
Athletes would then have to choose what weight they wanted to fight at and optimize their bodies and keep it that way.
There would be no more fights where it looked like a Grade 10 kid was beating up a Grade 4.
That would be a real show of skill.
Having the right amount of muscle mass for your frame and being able to scientifically manipulate it to such a precise degree and KEEP it long term is a greater show of skill than simply going on a no-carb, low-calorie, salt-free diet for a week.
Being able to gain or lose muscle mass strategically and keep it that way is no simple task.
What do you think?
Am I way off base here?
Or does this make sense to you too?
Let’s have a discussion in the Comments section. I want to hear your thoughts on this controversial topic!
[NOTE: This post is dedicated to Claude Patrick, who I hope one day will finally believe in the power of JC! And I’m not talking the man on the cross]
[sharebox4]BTW – this is a new share thingie – thanks for using it! :)[/sharebox4]
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