Weight Certification

[michael.geasley]

alcoa12505 - I feel your pain.

 

Each of my sons were at the bottom end of the next highest weight classes. Now they are lifting and eating to put on muscle. In fact, one of them is already over weight (perfect, just half a pound) and it is all muscle.

 

The bright side is that this year they won't have to be overly concerned about making weight (no more feeling drained going into a match) and some of the heavier kids that used to dehydrate 7 or so pounds to come down to their weight class will be stuck up at their own weight class.

 

Last year it was not unusual for my oldest son to wrestle a guy that outweighed him at match time by one whole weight class. That is because some wrestler's coaches and parents would allow them to dehydrate to a dangerous level.

 

Good luck on your season.

[whiskeyjoe]

Alcoa: You ought to go to the TSSAA website and read the weight certification rules. There is no requirement that anyone gain weight. The computer tells you what your weight would be if you had 7% body fat. If the computer shows that you have less than 7% body fat, then it makes no difference what your weight would be if your body fat was at 7% even though the machine supplies you with that information. If you weighed 124 with 6.1% body fat, then you are certified to wrestle at the 125 pound weight class. You just can't wrestle at any weight class below 125. The same thing goes for your teammate who weighed in at 110 with a body fat of 4%. He is eligible to wrestle at the 112 pound weight class even though the computer says he would weigh 113 if he had 7% body fat.

[CloudDrakan]

I agree with you when I say I have a lot more fat than I should, but personally that is my right. I wrestled 189 over the summer in AAU and NHSCA, and I plan to wrestle it this year until I can be at 171. To weigh 199 is my right, I have practiced all summer, worked out all summer and enjoyed eating the things I love to eat, yet still stayed true to wrestling. Its not like I went out and sat on my butt eating potato chips, in actually I ate out with friends and my parents almost every night enjoying a good steak or something to the such, had I not worked out then I would weigh 210 or so but I did. Thats besides the point though, my point is it has been done this way for years, I have done it like this my high school career. If they say 7% is the lowest I agree full heartedly, we don't need to go out there looking sickly. I have met my 7%, why add a rule only allowing 1.5% a week. Kids with more percent should be allowed to lose more a week thats all I am saying. Now that practice is starting back I lose close to an average of 5lbs a day (gaining 2 back from eating), but I can lose it so much easier than kids with lower percentages so why can't I be allowed to lose more than 1.5%. What wrestler can't say some of there best memories were working hard to make a weight training and cutting, to come match time and step on that scale on weight eat there food feel good about accomplishing that task and then winning a match. For me its one of the greastest feelings. To set a goal for a weight, work toward it and make it in the amount of time right for me!

[WrestleSBA]

Drakan,

 

I understand your sentiments being as that was how I felt about wrestling too, but I would say that I think at times I may have cut too hard. However, the problem is that science and nutritionists say that it is unhealthy for any person, regardless of beginning weight, to lose more than a percent and a half per week. Whether or not we agree with this is no longer a concern because it is out of our hands and we have to follow it. The bigger guys are allowed to lose weight faster than the little guys because of their added weight, all be it in some cases it does seem a little unrealistic to me in having to wait half of your season to reah your expected weight. Regardless, these are the rules we must now compete under and it is time we just deal with it.

Edited October 25, 2004 by WrestleSBA

[cchulk]

Alcoa, it sounds like the only chance you had for going 119 is if you had around 8.7% body fat because it would have been very hard for you to have even 3 pounds of extra water in your body. 124 minus 3 is 121 and 1.7% of 121 is about 2 which puts u at 119. You definitely didn't have 5 pounds of "extra" water at the time of your weight in. Sorry pal you didn't have a chance but on the bright side, you are allowed to go 125 without gaining weight.

[slowwhiteguy]

now wait just a dang minute..... this stinks..... are they trying to say that if a kid weighs 15lbs over his target weight but is allowed to go to that weight by the 7% rule, that for like 2 months he has to wrestle kids that outweigh him by probly 10 pounds because he has to lose weight at a steady weight while wrestling the same weight class??????? for example, what if a kid weighed 166poundsand had like 16% body fat.....he could make 152 but it would be like a month and a half. so he would have to wrestle 171 while weighing like162 or something then hed get a good week and be right at 160 and wrestle 160. then he would be losing a couple pounds every week and still wrestling 160,giving up more and more weight each week...until he finally made it to 152...if he made it..... i dont know about anybody else but as a 152 wrestler im not too excited about wrestling somebody who weighs 171 pounds solid. id get killed as would most 152s. even if i weigh 166 i still couldnt compete with someone whos 171 solid. ...................i think that if somebody has to go through that type of situation it will really stink..... their record will probly stink and they could get hurt while losing to bigger guys..... what about guys who are supposed to be ranked but they gotta wrestle guys with 10 pounds on them and lose and their record stinks so when they get to their weight they cant get seeded in tournaments and stuff like that........................

 

But then again i think that if a guy had to do that and he survived.... when he got to his specified weight he would dominate even more so than if he would have started out the season at his minimum weight............but also losing kinda messes with a kids self esteem..... even if you know youre losin cuz youre wrestling a monster of a kid it still stinks badly.....

 

i also hate the weight loss limit because its harder than some people think to control your wight within tenths of a pound.... i mean if you weigh a tenth less than your supposed to then everything is screwed up... you could get a 2 week suspension for losing a tenth too much.... but if you dont lose enough than youve got to wait longer to get to your target......that stinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

all i got to say is WHAT THE heck??????

[TDArtist]

Here's an idea...get in shape before you go to the weigh-ins and you'll be fine. It's your kind of mentality that go us into weight certs. in the first place. If wrestlers were being healthy to begin with and not cutting crazy weight in two days then no problems. This is the system, deal with it. Besides, if you weighed 166 and your alpha date is Nov.1, you could weigh 151 by the middle of December. For us, that would be after 2 tournaments and 1 dual meet. You should be under 160 by Thansgiving, if you don't blow it.

[Drem2Achev]

TD some kids play football and need to put on weight for that sport if you are a lineman. So you work your butt off in the weight room all summer to do that. Then a sport you love {wrestling} says if your not on weight at the start of the season which over laps with football then you wate to Jan. or even Feb. to get to your desired weight.

 

This will {could} be a nightmare come tournament time with seedings. kID WRESTLES 140 start then goes to 135 shows at region 130 without wrestling 130 all season. of course the coaches will work it out. I guess it makes it more like college in that respect.

 

As my question of a few weeks ago, why does wrestling need these regulations and football has more kids die annually that wrestling has had in 20 years and has no simular regulation. When all the football deaths come in hot months from dehydration and supplement problems. Football is popular wrestling is not main stream, thats the reason. We are willing to what happens in football because its the masses.

 

Most of the coaches I know are very responsible with there kids thats why in Tn. we have not had some of the real bad things happen.

 

Its going to be the law and like everything else we must learn to live with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[texas23]

TD some kids play football and need to put on weight for that sport if you are a lineman. So you work your butt off in the weight room all summer to do that. Then a sport you love {wrestling} says if your not on weight at the start of the season which over laps with football then you wate to Jan. or even Feb. to get to your desired weight.

 

This will {could} be a nightmare come tournament time with seedings. kID WRESTLES 140 start then goes to 135 shows at region 130 without wrestling 130 all season. of course the coaches will work it out. I guess it makes it more like college in that respect.

 

As my question of a few weeks ago, why does wrestling need these regulations and football has more kids die annually that wrestling has had in 20 years and has no simular regulation. When all the football deaths come in hot months from dehydration and supplement problems. Football is popular wrestling is not main stream, thats the reason. We are willing to what happens in football because its the masses.

 

Most of the coaches I know are very responsible with there kids thats why in Tn. we have not had some of the real bad things happen.

 

Its going to be the law and like everything else we must learn to live with it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

825410713[/snapback]

the only point I do not understand, is that when you add weight by going to the weight room and you work out in the correct manner, then the weight you add will be muscle, not fat. If you add muscle and your measured fat is in line, your ability to loose weight will be at the expense of muscle. If you have that muscle, you should be able to wrestle at that weight without being at a disadvantage.

[TDArtist]

Really, you didn't convince me of anything except that it's ok to be fat in football. If kids are dying in football and not in wrestling, isn't that something we are doing right? The truth, to me, is that football encourages an unhealthy lifestyle. So, as you say, it's ok to put on fat for football season even if it means that your chances of dying in the heat go up? If you make it through football season, you have a chance at becomng a statistic in wrestling because you are wearing a trash bag in practice. That way of thinking is what has to stop.

[Drem2Achev]

TD dont have to wear a trash bag in practice. Wrestle where you are. I do not believe in cutting alot of weight. I did not in high school. Played football at 210 wrestled 185. It came off through increased activity. I do not have a big problem with the system. It will not affect me our my team in a big way. All I am saying is why is wrestling regulated and other sports such as football are not.

 

Fat does not always equate to unhealthy. I was in a study for high blood presure. In this study it was found that your genectic make up had more to do with heart and blood pressure problems. Study involved 400+ people. This was done locally. One thing that came out Most of the people with High Blood Pressure did not have weight problems.

 

If you coach you know a kid that is to heavy will lose alot at first because of increased activity. Kid may come in at 190 lose to 170 because of 6 day a week workouts. It may or may not be healthy for him to go to 160. He may need to wrestle 171. He may do this faster than the 1.5% per week. Just because of the increased work.

 

Like I said its the law, and we will live with it. And it will be ok. It will hurt some kids opportunities. But if a kid can wrestle he can wrestle. If he can have a shoot at placing at 125 he will have a shoot at placing at 130.

 

P.S. I wasnt trying to convince you of anything. But a few extra pounds can help you on the football field some times. And hurt you on the Mat at others.

Edited November 2, 2004 by Drem2Achev

[TDArtist]

Drem2Achev, good post. This issue is very complicated. BTW, my wrestling days are way over. The only thing you'll catch me doing with a trash bag is tossing dead soldiers and pizza boxes into it.