It’s Monday, the beginning of your “workout” week. For the past 48 hours you’ve been shoving down as many double cheeseburgers and Twinkies as your stomach will allow. In the back of your mind, you know you’ve pigged out, but you’ve done it with a smile on your face. Add a couple gallons of your favorite soft drink and you’ve managed to gain about 12 pounds in two days. Life is good, for now.
“Cutting weight” is prevalent among college and high school level wrestlers. The idea is for the athlete to be at the exact weight of the class, ranging from 125 to 185 pounds, so they are sure to be heavier than wrestlers who didn’t “make weight.” Weigh-ins, usually conducted the night before or morning of, are a cause of stress for athletes—especially when their weight is ten or even 15 pounds over that of their usual class.
The popularity of this type of extreme dieting is astounding and gained nationwide attention in 1997. That November, three collegiate wrestlers died in a short span of 33 days, each attempting to lose a large amount of weight. The tragedy began on November 9 when Billy Saylor, a freshman at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina, died of cardiac arrest while attempting to lose six pounds. To cut the weight, the 19-year-old rode an exercise bike without drinking any fluids. On November 21, 22-year-old Joseph LaRosa, a senior at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, died of heat stroke after dressing in a rubber suit while riding a stationary bike. On December 9, Jeff Reese, a 21-year-old junior at Michigan, died of kidney failure and heart malfunction. He was also wearing a rubber suit, and was working out in a room heated to 92 degrees.
The rubber suits used by LaRosa and Reese are commonplace among wrestlers attempting to lose weight. For about ten dollars, a wrestler can purchase one from any department store. Designed to literally suck the sweat out of your body, these suits allowed wrestlers to increase the rate of weight loss drastically.
In response to the deaths, various governing bodies of wrestling (USA Wrestling, FILA, and the NCAA) promptly revised their weight loss rules and regulations. Based on their body fat composition, wrestlers are only allowed to lose a certain amount of weight over the course of the season. Weight loss aids (namely rubber suits, saunas, hot tubs and steam rooms) are strictly prohibited.
Ten years later, the revisions have proved a success. There have been no weight loss-related deaths in college wrestling. Nonetheless, many of the diet and exercise techniques employed by wrestlers of previous decades are still widely used today.
Entering his senior season on the University at Buffalo Wrestling team, Orange County, New York native Pat Lloyd is very familiar with cutting big pounds quick. A “mat rat” since the age of six, Lloyd learned how to lose weight before he could spell it. Shedding all the myths and rumors of competitive weight loss (some wrestlers even stand on their heads before weighing in), he has developed a system consistent with most college wrestlers.
“You’ll never understand it until you go through it,” he says.
Monday night (five days till weigh-in): After a two-hour practice, your shirt is soaked with sweat and practically stuck to your body. You figure that you’ve lost about four pounds. The reading on the scale indicates that you’ve only lost 3.4. At this point, you’re in no rush.
“I don’t need to cut as much the first day,” says Lloyd. “If I really wanted to I could lose all 12 that day but I have five other days to get the weight off. I would rather take my time.”
Tuesday night (four days till weigh-in): You began the day 11 pounds over your target weight. After a tough practice, you’ve lost four pounds. Only seven pounds away from your goal, you’re in good control of your weight. There’s no need for an extra workout, but you’ll need to begin altering your diet.
According to Lloyd, the beginning of the week is less strict than the end. “I allow myself to have more carbs and maybe some kind of sweets. [Later in the week] I start cutting my meals in half.”
Wednesday night (three days till weigh-in): Ten pounds over before practice, six pounds after. It’s time to shift gears. That means extra workouts.
“I work out as hard as I can while I’m in the wrestling room....If I limit my water breaks, I’ll probably lose about four or five pounds that day. After practice I’ll do about 20 minutes of cardio to sweat out another pound or two.”
Thursday night (two days till weigh-in): Turn it up a notch. At this point in the week, the intensity at practice tapers off. You can’t afford any untimely injuries before your match, so your coaches run you through a light work out. At eight pounds over the target weight, you need to lose big pounds.
An hour of cardio can shed four pounds—if you’re wearing the right outfit. “I wear two pairs of sweatpants, a dry fit shirt, a long sleeve shirt, a sweatshirt, and some kind of thick warm up athletic jacket,” says Lloyd.
Working out in multiple layers is no walk in the park. “It gets very uncomfortable,” says Lloyd. “You get extremely hot. All those uncomfortable layers of clothes make it hard to breathe.”
Friday night (one day till weigh-in): All you’ve eaten today is a sandwich and a small portion of fruit. At five over, the target is in your sights. Unfortunately, the last few pounds are always the most stubborn. “It gets hard to lose the weight at the end. You’ve lost so much so it’s like your body is fighting to keep the water in,” says Lloyd. You’re hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. Tough. An extra workout is still must. Lloyd has to push himself. “I think about what I am trying to accomplish—what I’m cutting the weight for,” Lloyd adds, “I just suck it up and do it.”
Because of the risk, doctors urge wrestlers to be cautious with their weight loss tactics. In an article from March, 2006 in Training and Conditioning, Jack Ransone, Director of Athletic Training at Texas State, reveals that a mere three percent body weight decrease can drastically reduce muscle strength. He adds, “Muscle strength is obviously a key component of wrestling. You can still lose weight without losing strength by cutting down calories as long as you maintain the appropriate ratio of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.”
You’ve cut down to your target weight. Now you wait. Your weigh-in isn’t until the next morning. You’ll probably drift a pound or two, leaving you room to eat and drink a very small amount. “The temptation to drink is stronger than hunger. They’re the longest nights and days in any wrestler’s life. I can’t even sleep when I’m thinking about drinking.”
It’s difficult for spectators to understand a wrestler’s willingness to struggle through the weight-loss cycle. But for those who make up the wrestling community, cutting weight is just one small part of a culture that embodies the blue-collar attitude. Amidst the layers of sweat suits and low liquid diets, wrestlers must still perform. “I’ve been cutting weight for over 10 years now,” Lloyd remarks “it’s just a part of the sport. If you want to be tough you’ve got to play the part.”
Steven Muldrow is a senior Journalism and Sociology major and a Features writer for Generation.
