Making Weight in Olympic Weightlifting

It is inevitable in any sport that separates competitors into bodyweight categories that athletes will face the temptation to manipulate their normal bodyweight up or down for a competitive advantage. More often, this involves temporary weight loss so the athlete can compete in a lighter category than their actual bodyweight would allow. This temporary weight loss is often referred to as ‘making weight’ or ‘cutting weight’, and the athlete’s task is to cut sufficient weight to make the upper limit of the category in which they wish to compete. In Weightlifting, if the desired category is M81, the athlete must reduce bodyweight to 81.00 kg or less. If 81.01Kg is the best they can do by the end of the weigh-in period, the athlete fails to make weight. Depending on the status of the event, the consequence of such a failure is that the athlete is forced to lift in the next bodyweight category up or is disallowed from participating in the competition at all.

At the outset of this discussion, it should be noted that there is little justification for beginners to cut weight for competitions. Preferably, beginners should compete at their normal body weight, as their participation at this stage of their development should be purely for enjoyment and learning. If a beginner misses a category limit by a few grams, it really doesn’t matter.

In general, it is relatively easy for an athlete to lose 2% of body weight in a 24-hour period. Thus, if an athlete normally weighs 82.5 kg at 5 pm the day before, successfully making weight for the M81 category at a 10 am weigh-in the following day should be an easy proposition, provided simple rules are followed. This amount of bodyweight loss leverages the natural tendency of humans to fluctuate by approximately 2% of bodyweight without ill effect. The most important rule when making weight in Olympic Weightlifting is to ensure continuous access to reliable, accurate scales. For most athletes, this means purchasing scales to keep at home and regularly monitoring body weight at different times of the day. In particular, in the final weeks before a competition, athletes should make a regular habit of checking body weight last thing at night and first thing in the morning after voiding urine. This will enable the athlete to understand how much weight, on average, is lost overnight and what their normal body weight is at the start of the day.

Within the 2% rule-of-thumb guideline, making weight is a matter of regular checks of bodyweight after inputs of food and fluid, and outputs of bodily waste. However, it is also important to be aware of water loss through sweat and water vapour in exhaled breath. The amount of water lost through normal breathing at rest is 35-50g per hour, depending on the athlete’s body dimensions. It results from normal metabolic activity in the body and is often referred to as ‘insensible weight loss’.  Sweat loss varies with climate but can be significantly greater than insensible weight loss. One way or another, even if the athlete lies in bed for 3 hours before a weigh-in, they will lose a small amount of body weight. Thus, if an M81 athlete has a weigh-in at 10:00 am and weighs 81.50Kg at 7:00 am then, provided they do not drink or eat, the chances are they will lose the excess 500g of bodyweight through sweat, insensible weight loss, and by faeces and urine production. The key strategy, therefore, if for the athlete to regularly use reliable scales at home and get to know how their bodyweight changes during the course of the day as a result of normal life.

When needed bodyweight loss is greater than 2%, the task of cutting weight requires more significant measures. Athletes should not underestimate this task, nor the degree of planning involved. It is all too easy for the athlete to put themselves under significant stress in the last hours before competition, with inevitable consequences for performance and even failing to make weight.

Reducing bodyweight by using a sauna, if one is available, is a commonly used method for making weight in Olympic Weightlifting.  Bodyweight is lost through heavy sweating as the body attempts to cool in the sauna’s excessive heat, but athletes and coaches should be mindful of potential issues and limitations. Although stories of significant weight loss by using a sauna abound, athletes should be wary of relying on this method to reduce more one percent of bodyweight. If this is considered a trivial amount, athletes should visualise a one-litre container of water and realise that this much sweat must be produced to lose one kilogram of bodyweight. If the athlete is relying on a sauna to make weight, they should allow enough time before the weigh-in begins and frequently check body weight on accurate scales. Athletes should also check the temperature of the sauna well in advance of their planned period in the sauna, especially if an early morning sauna is required. It is not uncommon for a sauna to be switched off overnight and fail to provide sufficient heat in the first hour of being turned on.

If a sauna is not available, athletes in hot climates can achieve a similar result by driving a car with all windows up and the heater on full blast for a while! In a cold climate, a hot bath will induce a similar effect. But by whatever method, losing weight takes time and can be extremely arduous. Athletes should be cautioned about the risks, which include fainting, headaches and fatigue.

After completing the weigh-in, the athlete must maximise the time available to rehydrate. The amount of fluid to ingest must exceed the amount lost in the sauna, as urine production is likely to increase significantly over a short period.  A study by Shirreffs and colleagues (1996) provided evidence that athletes should not rely on thirst alone but should deliberately aim to rehydrate 150% of the fluid loss. In the interval between completing the weigh-in and commencing the warm-up, this task is a priority. Attempts to replace fluid after the weigh-in need to be ‘isotonic’, that is, with a concentration of salts and glucose that is similar to the bloodstream. Consuming isotonic fluids will help reduce the risk of cramping.

While athletes can and do lose significantly more weight in a sauna, a gentler and more beneficial strategy is to invoke carefully planned dietary measures over time to reduce body weight. The objective of such dietary measures should be to restrict total energy intake in a manner that maximally reduces body fat while minimally affecting muscle mass. When total energy intake is less than the total energy used by the body, the diet is said to be ‘hypocaloric’. There is a general view in science that if the protein and carbohydrate content of a hypocaloric diet is maintained while the fat content is reduced, then the adverse effects of the energy deficit are minimised (O’Connor and Caterson, 2010). There will be less effect on performance. However, it depends largely on the degree of daily energy deficit. A 400 kcal deficit for an athlete consuming 3000 kcal per day might be considered small and have minimal effect on performance. However, a 1000 kcal/day deficit in the same athlete would likely induce greater muscle mass loss, fatigue, and mood disturbances. For this reason, athletes planning to use dietary measures to cut weight for an impending competition should start as soon as possible and avail themselves of dietary advice. The longer the period over which dietary measures are implemented, the smaller the daily energy deficit required.

Coaches will have different opinions on how bodyweight should be reduced for a competition in terms of both feasibility and safety. Although science exists on the subject, it is not easily accessible to the coach, and therefore opinions tend to be shaped by a coach’s personal experience. The following model is proposed with the knowledge that some will disagree.

Method	Advice
Last 24-hour dietary restrictions	In all circumstances where the athlete is normally above their competition category limit, careful and regular monitoring of body weight and management of bodily inputs and outputs over the last 24 hours are required.
Hypocaloric diet	In all circumstances where the athlete is normally above their competition category limit, careful and regular monitoring of bodyweight and management of bodily inputs and outputs over the last 24 hours is required.
Sauna	When an athlete’s normal body weight exceeds their category limit by more than 2%, they should implement dietary measures to create a daily energy deficit. The degree of energy deficit on a daily basis depends on the amount of weight to be lost and the time available. Early action always makes the task easier.

References

O’Connor, H. & Caterson, I. (2010). Weight loss and the athlete. In Clinical Sports Nutrition 4th Ed. Edited by L. Burke and V. Deakin. McGraw-Hill, Sydney. 116-141

Shirreffs, S. M., Taylor, A. J., Leiper, J. B., & Maughan, R. J. (1996). Post-exercise rehydration in man: effects of volume consumed and drink sodium content. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 28(10), 1260.