The old days, how much weight did you cut?

leg turk · March 26, 2014, 10:57:41 AM

I realize now we have the skin-fold test (which is a good thing), but what about some of you older guys, how much weight did you have to lose from your normal walking weight? I suspect some guys that had to cut alot to get that one spot on the team, cut alot. I have heard story of guys weighing 30 lbs heavier 2 weeks after the last day of wrestling for the year.

Buzz1979 · March 26, 2014, 11:25:54 AM

My junior year I played football at 185-190 (program had me at 195) and I wrestled 152. I actually started cutting during football. Our head coach was pretty mad when he saw me running to school one day (I lived 3 miles from town.) But I was a much better football player at around 160 than I was at the heavier weights. Senior year I was a little bit lazy and stopped cutting at 160 from the same 185-190. We had the skinfolds and such when I was in school but we did ours in the beginning of October so that we had plenty of time to get where we wanted with the 1/2 lb per day. And it usually only took me a week or two at the most to get back up to "walking weight!"

SP · March 26, 2014, 03:08:44 PM

High School- none- wrestled 5 pounds under weight all year.

College- different story!

OneEyedFatMan · March 26, 2014, 03:13:34 PM

14% of my body weight ( I was a lower middleweight) for about a month.
It hurt just a skotch too much

Quote from: leg turk on March 26, 2014, 10:57:41 AM
I realize now we have the skin-fold test (which is a good thing), but what about some of you older guys, how much weight did you have to lose from your normal walking weight? I suspect some guys that had to cut alot to get that one spot on the team, cut alot. I have heard story of guys weighing 30 lbs heavier 2 weeks after the last day of wrestling for the year.

Wisconsin Wrestling Fan · March 26, 2014, 03:23:37 PM

My last weight cut in college was from 180 to 153. And it was when they started using digital scales - the last 1/2 pound was painful !! 153.4, 153.3, 153.2 - Thanks for reminding me !!

Out of Nowhere · March 26, 2014, 03:32:26 PM

Senior year in high school I cut ~20lbs. 135 down to 115. Worst of it was when I decided to not watch my weight close enough after a Saturday tournament and had to make weight for a dual the following tuesday against a guy who ended up being the D1 runner up. 19.5 lbs in 36 hours. Gosh that was stupid.

(And the old days for me was only like 6 years ago)

leg turk · March 26, 2014, 03:37:07 PM

Quote from: Wisconsin Wrestling Fan on March 26, 2014, 03:23:37 PM
My last weight cut in college was from 180 to 153. And it was when they started using digital scales - the last 1/2 pound was painful !! 153.4, 153.3, 153.2 - Thanks for reminding me !!

Nice..

Spartan · March 26, 2014, 06:48:05 PM

My sophomore year in high school I cut from 135 down to 112, when we got back from state I got on the scale and I was 138 after weighing 116 on Saturday.

Senior year 160 down to 132

In college 175 to 180 down to 150

Can still remember sitting in front of the scale saying to myself I never have to do this again after winning in the semis and weighing in for the finals. Back then we weighed in the night before at nationals

DocWrestling · March 26, 2014, 08:51:31 PM

How many wish they could go back and wrestle without cutting weight? Still remember the heavyweights eating on the bus while we starved.

Houndhead · March 26, 2014, 09:27:22 PM

Quote from: DocWrestling on March 26, 2014, 08:51:31 PM
How many wish they could go back and wrestle without cutting weight? Still remember the heavyweights eating on the bus while we starved.

Whatever and I had this same conversation not too long ago. I wrestled at my natural weight my senior year. With the weight allowance, I was 2-3 pounds under weight before the state finals. I definitely think it made wrestling more enjoyable. I was the one eating with the heavyweights on the bus.

OneEyedFatMan · March 27, 2014, 01:18:27 PM

It should be said....that some of my best wrestling was done without cutting weight. One tourney first, one second place....happy with both performances.

Guess that's really what its all about, huh?

dietac · March 27, 2014, 02:52:07 PM

Freshman year I cut from 117 to 98 (only to certify) and senior year I cut from 149 to 126. I was terrible at keeping my weight down and was normally 5 lbs over after practice the night before a meet. My senior year, I once had to lose 11.5 lbs in 27 hours. I should have wrestled 138 or 145 my senior year, it would have been much more fun.

dad 2 5 · March 27, 2014, 05:24:58 PM

interesting. My cousin and I had this conversation about a year ago and wondered if that is why we both struggle with weight today. He reminded me he walked off the football field around 210 and had to be at 160 for his first match where he and his opponent had done the same just leaned on each other. Dan still won 3-2. That is the biggest cut I have heard of and remember him taking a couple months to recover.

bigG · March 27, 2014, 05:59:45 PM

In three days, in college, I went from 177 (weighed 174) to making weight at 158. Had 6% at 174. I will never enjoy a sauna. NEVER!

TomM · March 27, 2014, 06:55:31 PM

Had no weight 'issue' in high school two years on varsity.. Wrestled 155lb. When season practices began each year I weighed about 165 and with working out (just practices for the most part) I was quite close to 155 after that all the time with little change in consumption. Had to go out and run (read: jog) sometimes to get to just 155 exactly, but there was no 'cutting' and no great dehydrating.

In college I DEHYDRATED (face it, we are not talking about 'cutting weight' or 'losing weight' as such here for the most part, especially if there was 'bouncing' involved weekly.) a lot ONCE. It was stupid on my part. I will not condone, nor glamorize, nor validate it by calling it 'cutting weight'. I am embarrassed that I did it. The only thing more I will say is this: That experience was one of the greatest teachers I ever had as it taught me a great deal more respect and compassion for people in this world who are truly hungry and by no choice of their own. The awful miserable feeling that came with that dehydrating is not forgotten by me and never will be.
I don't know how anyone can have an opinion on hunger or the hungry unless they have actually experienced it. And mine was self inflicted... can't imagine having no choice, but to be hungry, go to bed hungry, wake hungry, if you can even sleep with extreme hunger. No one should have to experience that.

I cringe at this type of thread thinking it will cause 'kids' to think 'weight cutting' is the thing to do or that it is 'ok'.