So a local school is putting together a kick-boxing event in early May.
Just found out tonight. My coach thinks I should do it.
I’m walking around right around 190 +/- 3 pounds. I need to decide in the next few days what weight I want to meet an opponent at.
Weigh-ins are the night before.
I’m probably around 15% b/f (maybe a little lower EDIT: Fuck it, I have no idea what my BF is. Visible four-pack) and just shy of 5’11". I always figured I’d cut at least to 170 for a more serious fight, if not lighter.
This fight is not a huge deal, and at my level being able to practice/train with more intensity closer to the fight is probably going to benefit me more than trying to cut every possible pound I can.
What do you guys think a good weight to toss out there would be? I’m worried if I just do 185 I could end up with someone much larger than me who took the cutting weight thing more seriously, even though it’s not a very serious fight.
Can’t say in your situation but in boxing most guys walk around 10-20 pounds more than their fighting weight, it’s possible in your case it could be 10-15 so you’d practically be weighing the same the day of the fight. You should get an idea of what the average 185 pound fighter’s measurements are, if they’re similar to yours then the weight should be too much of an issue. Really just go with how your body is feeling because some people react differently to cutting weight then others. Early May isn’t too bad for you, you can go lower if you don’t want to test the waters at 185. Sorry but I really don’t know kickboxing divisions so I can’t throw around advice on how to make weight, I’m assuming they’ll have a Light Heavyweight division[175 pounds] and that’s obtainable.
My best advice is to not even worry about dropping actual fat if you fight at 185, cutting the water weight is easy and the time between the weigh ins and fight will definitely be enough time to rehydrate. Be sure to get an idea of how easy or hard it’s to lose the water weight though, having to drop weight at the last minute is always a hassle and it’s pretty embarrassing not to make weight. Just simulate making weight for the fight by waiting until later on in the day before you start fasting, put on a sauna suit or layers of sweat suits and jog or jump rope. Anything to sweat really. After 10 minutes strip down to your underwear, wipe yourself off, and weigh to see where you’ll be at. If you’re making weight at that point it’s just a matter of waiting until after the weigh ins before eating or drinking then making sure you get plenty of pedialyte or water after the weigh ins.
This may or may not be relevant, but sort of going off of the advice already given, how do you handle taller fighters? Since you can’t pick the opponent it seems like you should at least play to your known strengths. Do you prefer to get inside or keep the other guy at range?
I know that tall guys give me fits, so I would want to start dropping weight like a Tijuana crack whore. If on the other hand you are great at taking angles and smothering tall guys that is less of an issue. If this is match allows clinching and knees how do you match up there with tall guys or stronger guys? Just a few thoughts.
How much weight for a 24 hour pre-fight weigh-in can I lose in 1.5 months and still feel 100% for the fight.
I have no doubt that if I were told I had to fight at 170 or even 165 I could make weight in that period, but my guess is that I would feel drained and sub-par.
As far as height; the main pro I spar with is 6’3", so I’m used to taller/relatively comfortable with it, but also clearly do much better with people my height. Note: he fights at 170…
I’m not kidding.
Its something to practice, just like hitting a heavy bag.
my usual take on weight cutting and I don’t necessarily mean you
is that if people are complaining about cutting,
then they should find another sport.
In your case I would suggest two courses of action
work hard on conditioning cut easily to the next lowest weight class what ever your 180 something is.
or do a test run , sooner vs later, spar 2 to 3 hard rounds 12 to 24 hours after and see how you do.
honestly - I think 24 hour weigh in’s are a godsend and make it a non issue.
same day weigh-ins I would tell people to man up any college wrestler can tell you
you can cut a good amount for same day weigh ins and compete right after- or they would
just find something else to do.
to put it in perspective 8 lbs in an hour for someone in good condition at about 200 lbs is very reachable.
How disciplined is your food diet situation, are you relatively lean - and eating huge to keep on size?
or are you already gram counting clean eating etc?
this is a good test - a fight that would be competitive but low pressure to do either course of action
cut just enough to make the next weight class, or use this fight , and next month to figure out
how you deal with cutting.
With that much time and a day before weigh-in 170 should be no problem. At that size 12-15 lbs of water the day of weigh-ins should be easily doable if you prepare for it correctly. You’ll be back to 100% no problem by fight time.