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PERFORMANCE NUTRITIONFOR WRESTLERS:

A Practical Handbook to Solving theSport’s Complex Nutrition Puzzle

ByClint Wattenberg, MS, RD, CSCS

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Disclaimers / Legal Information

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, storedin retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,without the prior written permission of the author/publisher, exceptin the case of brief quotations for the purpose of writing criticalarticles or reviews.

Notice of Liability

The author and publisher have made every effort to ensure theaccuracy of the information herein. However, the informationcontained in this book is presented without warranty, either expressor implied.

Copyright Information

Copyright 2014 Publisher: My Sports Dietitianmysportsdconnect.com

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Table of Contents

a. Foreward

b. Acknowledgements

c. Introduction & Nutritional Seasons

Part 1. Off-Season: General Sports Nutrition & Healthy Fueling

a. Fueling Fundamentals

Purpose

Quality

Quantity

Timing

Balance & Consistency

Hydration

b. Fueling Purpose - What’s your purpose?

Food Quantity - What is good food? NUTRITION BREAKDOWN:Helpful Nutrient Supplements

c. Food Quality - How much is enough?

Athlete Energy Deficit (AED)

d. Nutrient Timing

e. Balance and Consistency

Balanced Fuels

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1. Protein

a. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Recovery Nutrition

2. Carbohydrates

3. Fruits and Vegetables

4. Fats

Fueling Consistency

f. Hydration

Part 2. pre-season: Weight Management

a. pre-season Objectives

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Safe Weight Loss

Target Weight

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Calculate Body Fat and Weight Loss

Weight Management/Loss fundamentals

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: NWCA Optimal PerformanceCalculator

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Supplement Safety

b. Balance

Baseline Energy Requirements (BER)

Energy of Exercise Requirement (EER)- METS

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Energy Neutral Training

c. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Under/Over Fueling Pattern

d. Athlete Energy Deficit (AED): The impact of restriction on long-term health and obesity

Part 3. In-Season - Weight Maintenance, Weight Cutting, WeightRepletion and Competition.

a. Fueling for Weight Maintenance

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Anti-Inflammatory Fats

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Weight Management In-Season

b. Making Weight

Weight Cutting

Pros & Cons of Weight Cutting

Regular Weight Fluctuations with Training

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN- Don’t make weight cutting harderthan it needs to be

Weight Cutting Fundamentals

1. Fueled and Hydrated

a. Hydrated

Intracellular Fluids/Hydration

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Fluid Inertia

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: What is Full Hydration?

Super-hydration

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: “Day-before” weigh-ins:

b. Fueled

Fueling adjustment- Low Residue, low Glycemic

2. Commitment to Work

a. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN- Empower your “WarriorMindset”

b. Weigh-in AM workout

Improved Float

Impact on Sleep

Metabolism Support

Enhanced Warm-up

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Relaxed Rehydration

c. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Tournament Logistics

3. Faith In The Process:

a. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: A Case Study in ExcessiveWeight Management and Weight Cutting

c. Weight Repletion & Fueling Competition:

d. Rehydration

e. Refueling

f. Tournament Fueling

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Sodium

Conclusion

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

Wrestling Nutrition Definitions

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Foreword:

This ebook was written for coaches, parents, dietitians, athletictrainers and even wrestlers in mind. I attempt to provide enoughdepth in each section to help explain WHY I make therecommendations that I do. I suggest reading the book cover-to-cover once, bookmarking the sections of the book that apply moredirectly to your needs as you go (i.e. Weight Management or weightcutting). The earlier healthy fueling portions will help provide abetter understanding of the sections later in the book. Throughoutthe book I attempt to use both plain language where possible, amforced to use some scientific jargon and have developed a glossaryof wrestling nutrition terms for your reference in the appendix.

Many sections of the book include a “Nutrition Breakdown”, in whichI provide practical experience or application related to the topicbeing discussed.

While women’s wrestling continues to grow to be a vital andimportant component of the wrestling community, I do notspecifically address the unique needs of female grapplers in thisebook. My recommendation for a female wrestler is the same as Ihave for the youth or inexperienced wrestler; utilize the HealthyFueling (Part 1) and Weight Management (Part 2) portions of thisbook without hesitation, as those are core to performance fuelingregardless of gender, age, or weight. However, care must be takenwith weight cutting, and should be limited to the normal weightfluctuation that is common with typical training.

Enjoy the book, work to develop healthy habits through planning andpractice, and adjust to meet your individual needs.

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Acknowledgements:

I want to thank:

Sarah for all your help and support on this and every other project.You are the only person that may care more about an athlete’s well-being than I do.

Joe Stanzione for your tireless help in producing materials for thisebook.

Stacy Sims for sharing your broad hydration experience andexpertise.

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Introduction:

Wrestling is a truly unique sport that requires athletes to compete inphysical “hand-to-hand” combat while managing their weight.Wrestlers often seek to gain a competitive advantage by reducingtheir weight to compete at a lower weight class in order to be biggerand stronger than their opponents. Parents and coaches play a rolein this process and try to help their athlete have an advantage overtheir opponents. The thought process is simple:

“I will lose more weight than my opponent ∴ I will be bigger than myopponent ? I will be stronger than my opponent ? I will defeat myopponent.”

However, wrestling performance rarely hinges on a simple size andstrength differential. Rather, performance is a complex combinationof technique, strategy, speed, strength, flexibility, leverage,endurance, psychology, mental toughness, size, and health. It mustbe stressed that excessive and improper weight cutting negativelyimpacts each of these performance variables.

Effective Weight Management combines components of sportsnutrition (dietetics) and sports science to optimize each stage ofpreparation. These include: training, recovery, Weight Management,weight cutting, weight repletion and competition. The following ebookdetails how wrestlers of all ages can utilize these principles tooptimally fuel their performance in a safe way. Topics are organizedby season:

Off-season: General sports nutrition & healthy fueling.

Preseason: Fueling Weight Management.

In-season: Fueling training and recovery, weight maintenance,10

In-season: Fueling training and recovery, weight maintenance,weight cutting, weight repletion and competition.

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Part 1. Off-Season: GeneralSports Nutrition & HealthyFueling

Nutrition is foundational to optimal athletic performance. Effectivefueling itself will not win any matches. Yet, without it, success will behamstrung. Proper fueling helps reduce injury and illness, increasestraining capacity, and improves recovery from that work. Nutritioncan either help an athlete get the most out of their efforts, or it canundermine even the best training. As the adage goes, “Nutrition canhelp a good athlete be great or can make a great athlete good.”Some athletes may appear to be successful while neglecting theirbody’s nutritional needs, but in doing so they are hindering theirperformance and even impacting their future health. Poor fueling notonly limits training potential (i.e. increased muscle, more energy,improved recovery), but it also puts athletes at increased risk ofinjury, inflammation and illness. While these effects may not beobvious initially, they add up over time and are likely to impact healthor performance at the most inopportune time.

The fueling fundamentals presented in this section are appropriatefor year round training, but are certainly the primary focus duringoff-season training. Upon this foundation, preseason (WeightManagement) and in-season (Weight Maintenance and WeightCutting) can be built.

Fueling Fundamentals

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1. Purpose

2. Quality

3. Quantity

4. Nutrient Timing

5. Balance and Consistency

6. Hydration

1. Fueling Purpose:

Without fueling purpose, even a wrestler’s best efforts becomemisguided. The obvious fueling purpose for most wrestlers is theirperformance, but there are other factors and purposes. Otherfueling purposes may include energy, endurance, recovery, injuryrecovery or prevention, mental energy on or off the mat, overallhealth and food enjoyment. Identifying a wrestler’s purpose forfueling helps them understand how, and why, nutrition can be aperformance variable; this creates a framework for effective fueling.

Eating without focus, or purpose, leads to an athlete being an“accidental eater”. When this is the case, food decisions are madebased on convenience rather than any particular performance goal.‘Accidental eaters’ tend to miss breakfast and grab conveniencefoods for meals. Instead of being mindful of the nutritional quality ofsnacks, accidental eaters are more likely to snack (especially late inthe day) on sweets and other processed treats. Though fueling withpurpose is important for all wrestlers, accidental eaters do exist atevery level of the sport. When a wrestler’s nutrition lacks focus, theyrisk undermining their performance in a multitude of ways. Thus,fueling with purpose is not simply a luxury to wrestlers; it is core totheir success.

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2. Quality:

When fueling with purpose, nutritional quality of food becomes apoint of emphasis. Macronutrient distribution (fuel type) is critical tofueling needs and is dependent upon: training cycle, trainingdemands and body composition goals. The specifics of nutrientperiodization are covered in more depth in the Preseason/WeightManagement section.

The barrage of nutrition information available today makes itchallenging for consumers to determine the true impact that anyparticular food has on their body. Typically, foods are categorized asgood or bad, and this “good vs. bad” and “healthy vs. unhealthy”dichotomy makes improving overall intake much more challenging.This mentality leads to rigid thinking and harsh judgment when “bad”foods are selected, which often actually increases the likelihood ofselecting and overeating the forbidden food.

“Nutritiousness” can be simplified to this; nutrients make foodnutritious and whole foods contain the most nutrients. Whole foodsare unchanged or minimally altered prior to consumption. Freshfruits, vegetables, and whole grains are examples of whole foods.These foods grow by harvesting radiation energy from the sun. Theprocess of photosynthesis makes use of high-energy photons tobuild energy organically, but meanwhile the sun’s ultraviolet radiationcauses cell damage in the organism’s tissues. Plants have evolvedchemical defenses to resist and reverse this cell damage; thesechemicals are known collectively as phytochemicals. Phytochemicalsare largely found in the skin of plants, which is exactly where the UVlight causes damage. When we consume these plants, theirphytochemicals are transported into our bodies. When cell damageis created in our bodies, from either oxidative stress (exercising) orinflammation (training or aging), these phytochemicals behave thesame way that they did in the plant; they resist and reverse theinflammation and damage. Phytochemicals can be defined as “anti-inflammatory” and “anti-oxidant,” which is something that we often

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associate with medicine. Thus, whole foods act like medicine for ourbodies.

Food processing changes whole foods to make the new foodproduct last longer, look better or taste different. During thisprocess, the phytochemicals become lost or damaged. However, notall food processing has the same impact on nutritional value. Thewholesomeness of a food should be thought of as a continuum, andchoices should be made based on the best available option. Thisallows for an individual to choose a “better option” such as cannedor frozen vegetables when the “best” option is not available. Thinkingof food nutritiousness as a continuum helps eliminate the rigidmindset and empowers the inclusion of more generally nutritiousfoods.

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NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Helpful NutrientSupplements

While nutritional supplements may provide many of the nutrientsthat are important to our health and performance, they lack thecomplete package of phytochemicals that whole foods provide.When selecting nutritional supplements, be sure to complementfood intake by including supplements like protein bars, proteinshakes or nutritional shakes as sides to meals or as snacks.Micronutrient and specific nutrient supplements should beused to fill potential gaps in fueling and to build upon whathealthy fueling can provide.

An in-season athlete who is managing weight will likely have somemicronutrient deficiencies, so a daily multivitamin can provide a fullcomplement of nutrients for the body’s basic needs.

Beyond basic nutrient needs that can be provided in the diet or witha multivitamin, many athletes benefit from:

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a hormone that impacts bone development, mood andimmune function. Made in our skin when exposed to UV light, andwhile most people are deficient, wrestlers in particular don’t tend tocreate much Vitamin D in their skin by virtue of training indoors.Consume foods such as salmon, sardines, canned tuna, milk(fortified), eggs, and mushrooms to obtain vitamin D, or get somemoderate exposure to sun exposure if possible. Taking a Vitamin Dsupplement is can be the best way to get adequate levels; find andover the counter vitamin supplement that provides 1,000-2000 IU ofVitamin D3.

Omega-3 Fish Oil has been shown to reduce inflammation, improvemood, improve memory and brain function and recover from

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traumatic brain injury. Find a supplement with DHA and EPA as thesource of fish oil. DHA is the oil that reduces inflammation, so find aFish Oil supplement that contains 1-2g DHA. Consume foods suchas flaxseeds, salmon, avocados, nuts, nut butters, sardines andcauliflower to get a proper amount of omega-3s.

There are countless over the counter nutritional supplements thatmay be worth consideration, but each should be considered basedupon:

Athlete’s actual nutritional need

Impact on the athlete’s health and performance

Safety and reliability of the supplement

For more on supplement safety, see the NUTRITION BREAKDOWNin Part 2 of this book, or find the “Supplement Safety” ebook alsoproduced by My Sports Dietitian.

3. Quantity:

The body’s metabolism is the engine that makes an athlete’s bodyrun, and it requires fuel to keep it working at full capacity. Foroptimal health and performance, metabolic needs should be fueledcompletely and on-demand. Even rest days require considerablefueling and include two energy demands: basal Metabolic Rate andActivities of Daily Living. Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amountof energy required to maintain basic biological functions, whileactivities of daily living (ADL’s) also require energy to complete.Together, BMR and ADL’s constitute an athlete’s Baseline EnergyRequirement (BER); the BER represents the amount of energy thatthe body needs independent of any exercise.

Training provides a distinctly different energy demand and theExperience Energy Requirement (EER) must be provided in order

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for training and recovery to be optimally fueled. Total energyexpenditure includes BER and EER and is what the body needs tofully support metabolic (i.e. biological), training and recovery needs.

Athlete Energy Deficit (AED)

When calorie intake is insufficient to meet the body’s Total EnergyExpenditure (TEE), the body is forced to protect itself by adjustingdown how many calories are burned and prioritizing where thosecalories are allocated. The body down-regulates the metabolism inorder to burn fewer calories, thus narrowing the fueling gap. Thisdown-regulation is known as hypo-metabolism and it is in factmeasurable. This phenomenon is seen in many sports, includingendurance sports and wrestling.

As the metabolism becomes weakened, the body is forced to cut offthe energy flow to some very important biological systems. Thesystems initially impacted include tissue repair (i.e. muscle,connective tissue and organ), hormone/testosterone regulation, andthe energy systems impacting performance, recovery (i.e.phosphagen, glycogen and aerobic metabolism) and the immunesystem. The blunting of the immune system increases risk of illnesswhile decreasing the body’s ability to fight off skin infections. Thus,chronic under-fueling impairs health, performance, bodycomposition and may ultimately keep a wrestler off the mats withillness or skin infection.

Metabolic Profile

Metabolic profile examples demonstrating low energy expenditure atrest (BLUE bars = predicted substrate contribution, RED bars =measured/actual substrate contribution). Hypo-metabolism isprincipally from low carbohydrate (CHO) availability (from food,

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muscle glycogen or liver glycogen) and the increased use of protein(PRO-muscle and organ tissue) as a metabolic substrate(catabolism).

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Fueling metabolic needs is covered in depth in Part 2 of this bookrelated to Weight Management.

4. Nutrient Timing:

Nutrient timing refers to the strategic timing of meals, snacks, preand post workout fueling to support metabolism, training andrecovery. While the importance of food quality to both health andperformance may be obvious, nutrient timing may be even moreimportant despite the fact that is it often overlooked. Nutrient timingis especially critical to wrestlers because of the impact thatmetabolism has on Weight Management and body composition.

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Balanced and targeted fueling is key to any good sports nutritionplan. Balancing total calories with the appropriate rate of protein,provides consistent energy to the body. The body will then workalong with the necessary components to rebuild the lean tissue thatbecomes damaged by training. Balanced fueling provides the bodynutrients on-demand, enabling energy to be used to fuel activity andprotein to support muscle recovery. Failing to balance nutritionalintake results in “accidental eating” and a pattern of alternatingunder-fueling and over-fueling (under/over) that leads to a combinedblunting of metabolism and storage of body fat.

Balanced Weight Management Fueling Pattern(1lb wt. loss/week)

Daily Caloric Balance

Daily Caloric Breakdown

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Waking Daily Caloric Balance

Daily Caloric Breakdown

Daily Caloric Balance

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Waking Daily Caloric Balance

Wrestlers should target their training with nutrition. This strategicfueling optimizes training gains, recovery and performance.Specifically targeting pre/post workout can even enhanceproductivity of training even when in caloric deficit. In fact, targetedfueling enables the body to resist the destructive catabolic effects ofcaloric deficit.

More detail on nutrient timing and balance is available in the WeightManagement section of this book.

5. Balance and Consistency:

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Balance

Fueling balance refers to the distribution of energy and nutrientswithin meals and snacks throughout the day. Each fuel type (i.e.macronutrient) uniquely serves the body’s physiological needs.Whether a wrestler is in the calorie deficit of Weight Management orjust fueling their training, the effectiveness of any fueling plan hingeson the fuel balance of food choices. The four fuel-types of protein,carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables and fats are detailed below.

PROTEIN

Protein molecules are a series of amino acids linked together toprovide structure; each protein’s unique amino acid combinationprovides it a unique structure, and thus a unique purpose. Proteinscomprise many important structures in the form of tissue within thehuman body such as muscles, organs, the immune system, andhormone systems. Collectively, these will be referred to in this bookas Lean Body Mass (LBM), of which muscles are the primarycomponent. When the protein from other sources (animal or plant)is consumed, it is broken down into the component amino acids,absorbed and then rebuilt into LBM tissue. Protein intake should beconsumed evenly throughout the day to provide a consistent supplyof amino acids to maintain tissue repair. Protein content of mealsshould be evenly distributed and include approximately 30% ofbaseline protein needs.

Protein needs are best expressed relative to body size:

Daily Protein Requirement = 0.7-1.0g pro / lb body weight

Example: 150lb x 0.7-1.0g pro = 105-150g per / day

Meal Protein Requirement = 0.2-0.3g protein/ lb body weight

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Example: 150lb x 0.2-0.3g protein = 30-45g pro / meal

Choose lean protein sources when focusing on Weight Managementin order to eliminate any extra calories, especially those from animalfats.

When the fueling purpose is Weight Management, the objectiveshould be to maintain lean body mass (LBM). Protein becomes thecornerstone of the diet under this scenario because proteinconsumption helps preserve lean tissue when in a caloric deficit.While absolute protein needs remain largely unchanged regardlessof weight goals, the relative amount of protein increases significantlyas other calorie sources such as carbohydrates and animal fats areeliminated. The recommended protein needs for wrestlers are 0.7-1.0g/lb BW, and by supplying the body the higher level of protein(i.e. 1g/lb BW) LBM can be preserved despite caloric deficit.

Protein also has a satisfying quality within the diet. By providingrelatively higher levels of protein, the quality of life for the athlete can

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be improved when in caloric deficit. By providing adequate andtimely amino acids to rebuild muscle the body does not activate thecraving sensations that occur when muscle is catabolized.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Recovery Nutrition

The “rule of thumb” for determining if an exercise deserves recoveryfueling is if a workout makes you sore or then your body does needrecovery fueling. After such training, recovery can last for up to 24-48 hours, but this recovery will not be complete unless it is initiatedwithin approximately 30 minutes of the conclusion of the exercise.The initial recovery fueling should include both carbohydrates andprotein in a 2:1 - 4:1 ratio to stimulate tissue and glycogen repair;the more glycogen that is depleted, the more carbs are needed inthis recovery. The repair is not after this initial fueling, meaning thatconsistent and balanced fueling is necessary every 3 hours over thesubsequent 24-48 hours to fully recover from the most intensepractices. This continuous fueling should include all fuel types(carbs, protein, fruits/vegetables and fat). Thus, without targetedrecovery nutrition, an athlete wastes their best training efforts andwill not get as strong, fast or fit as they could with better recoveryfueling.

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates (CHO) are the kindle that fuels the flame of activity.While fat can be burned at very low exercise intensities, whenexercising at a high intensity carbohydrates are the only fuel that thebody can burn. Carbohydrates are consistently inadequate duringintense exercise, protein becomes a significant energy source tofuel energy expenditure. This means that muscle and other tissuesare broken down and burned. Over time, this results in poor energy,undermines training gains, and impairs metabolism.

Still, carbohydrates should be the most variable fuel in the diet;26

Still, carbohydrates should be the most variable fuel in the diet;adjust carbohydrate intake based upon Energy ExpenditureRequirement (EER) and Weight Management goals. The energyburned while exercising is best fueled by carbohydrates, so a lowcarbohydrate intake at rest should be augmented as EER increases.

Carbohydrate needs increase with weight gain and decrease withweight loss goals. It is imperative that carbohydrate restriction is notsevere and is as abbreviated as possible to minimize muscle proteinbreakdown. More details on fuel needs can be found in Part 2 of thebook (Weight Management).

Reducing carbohydrates assists in reaching a caloric deficit requiredfor Weight Management. By moderating carbohydrates, protein isspared which enables LBM preservation. Carbohydrates are stillcritical to fuel training and tissue repair; therefore carbohydratesshould not be eliminated completely. Rather, carbohydrates shouldbe temporarily reduced during the weight descent of WeightManagement. As is the case with protein, carbohydrate timing isimportant within Weight Management. Targeted fueling pre andpost-workouts, should include carbohydrates, as they will directlysupport work capacity and recovery. Carbohydrates as part of thebaseline intake should shift from being an equal part of a trainingplate to being a side. One to two carbohydrate servings (1-slicebread =1 fist) should be included in each meal but carbs are notnecessary for non-training related snacks.

FRUITS & VEGETABLES:

Fruits and vegetables (F&V) provide micronutrients critical to cellularand LBM repair, utilization of energy, and repair of the immunesystem. Plant based food provides fiber and volume to food, aidesin digestion and provides more fullness (aka “satiety”). Under normaltraining rigor (moderate training/weight maintenance training) F&Vshould provide one-third of the volume. As training volume

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increases, absolute F&V intake should remain about the same, butrelative F&V portions decrease as carbohydrates increase to meetthe rising caloric demand. When caloric deficit is necessary forWeight Management, F&V should replace the carbohydrates that areeliminated. This provides more fiber and volume to the meal, whichincreases the satisfaction and satiety of the meal.

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FAT

Fat is the most efficient and dense energy storage within our foodand our bodies. While the chemical structures of all fats arecomparable, dietary fat should not be confused with body fat; the fatwe eat does not inherently become fat in our body. Dietary fatcontains many essential vitamins, minerals and fatty acids that wecannot get from any other sources, and thus some fat isindispensable for our bodies. However, fats from different sourceshave different impact on our bodies. Plant fats are anti-inflammatoryand thus have a positive effect on health and performance. Fish fatsare even more potent in their anti-inflammatory effects, and theOmega-3 Fatty Acids that are found in fish fats have been shown tocombat inflammation, improve memory and brain function, andimprove mood. Animal fats tend to increase inflammation and thusreduce the body’s ability to recover from training and injury.Processed fats (i.e. fried foods, trans fats) will cause inflammationand thus should be moderated or avoided.

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While fats are an indispensable component of a healthy diet,moderation of dietary fat is key when managing weight. A simpleway to cut unnecessary and unhealthy fat from the diet is to avoidfried food and choose primarily lean animal protein sources. Thishelps avoid most sources of the less healthy and more pro-inflammatory saturated and trans fats. Highly processed carbs oftencontain processed fats, so minimizing or eliminating theseprocessed carbs removes the associated inflammatory fats. Hearthealthy plant and fish fats should still be included as they reduceinflammation. Even these anti-inflammatory fats are calorie dense,so they should be balanced and consumed in moderation accordingto individual energy requirements for Weight Management.

Consistency

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Fueling consistency describes the fueling balance between days (i.e.weekly fueling balance) in addition to within days (i.e. daily fuelingbalance). Poor consistency in weekly fueling can quickly undopreviously effective fueling. Care should be taken when wrestlershave extra free time on their hands such as weekends or otherbreaks, after making weight or on off-days from training. Be sure tohave a plan going into these scenarios.

However, inadequate or suboptimal fueling on one day can alsomake these problem days much more difficult to manage. Forexample a wrestler that starves their metabolism all week whileunder-fueling their training will trigger a metabolic response thatstimulates a need to over-eat. A week of hard training is quicklyundermined by under fueling and over indulging; this describes anUnder/Over (U/O) eating pattern. U/O fueling staves the body butstores body fat while leaving the metabolism impaired. Unfortunately,this is the norm for many wrestlers attempting Weight Managementand weight cutting without a balanced plan in place. By developing abalanced fueling and Weight Management plan in the off-season,wrestlers are more likely to maintain a healthy fueling foundationthroughout the entire season. From this foundation wrestlers canmore effectively focus their Weight Management and weight cuttingefforts.

6. Hydration

Hydration is critical to the performance of any athlete. But forwrestlers getting adequate fluids not only impacts performance onthe mat, it is the lynchpin to effective weight cutting.

Our bodies are made up of 75% water. Thus, water is the lubricantof the body, and without it, the body seizes up like an engine withoutoil. Water is the medium by which nutrients are distributed to working

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muscles and by which waste and toxins are cleared from muscles toorgans for excretion. Dehydration starves muscles from what theyneed to function, and in time, accumulated waste product hindersthe body from working. In fact, dehydration is the number one causeof fatigue and performance depreciation in all of sport. Much morediscussion on hydration, specifically relating to weight cutting, is inPart 3 of this book.

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Part 2. Preseason: WeightManagement

Preseason describes the time leading up to the competitive seasonduring which training includes a combination of strength andconditioning, technique, and Weight Management. The start of theseason is typically marked by weight certifications indicating that theathlete is now eligible to compete at a desired weight class. Thepreseason may span most of the fall, as is the case for collegiatewrestlers and high school wrestlers abstaining from fall sports. Forthose that are competing in fall sports, preseason is abridged andmay only include one to two weeks between initiating wrestlingtraining and weight certifications.

It is important to deal with any change in body size or compositionduring the preseason when the body is able to recover from hightraining demands combined with caloric deficit without directlyimpacting match performance. Strategic weight loss or weight gaindescribes the process of Weight Management. Many wrestlers waituntil the in-season begins to initiate the Weight Managementprocess as they are often attempting to stay big during the latesummer and early fall for football. Delaying the Weight Managementprocess limits its effectiveness because the body can only burnsmall amounts of body fat before it begins to burn muscle. Thus, ifWeight Management is attempted too quickly, a weight loss effort willresult in the loss of significant muscle and a weight gain plan willlead to packing on body fat. Thus, initiating this process early andhaving realistic expectations are critical to the effectiveness of anyWeight Management effort.

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How does a wrestler maintain his/her weight? Weight maintenancebegins with identifying a target weight and developing a weight lossprogression to get there. A Target Weight (TW) is the body weightthat a wrestler should maintain in-season to allow a small bufferabove the weight class to enable effective fueling and hydration fortraining. The TW for the in-season wrestler depends upon his/herage/maturity, size, the weigh-in regulations and the personalpreference of the wrestler.

Young wrestlers, particularly those not yet in high school, should notbe actively cutting any weight. Thus, their target weight should be nomore than the amount of weight that they typically lose in a practicewhen fueled and hydrated. This correlates to approximately 0-2%over competition weight.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Safe Weight Loss

HS Min Safe BF% = 7%

College Min Safe BF% = 5%

High School wrestlers can be as much as 3% over their weight class,which should correlate to the amount of weight lost in approximatelyone and a half (fueled and hydrated) practices.

Being more physically mature, college wrestlers can physiologicallyand safely lose a moderately greater amount of weight. Forcollegians, a target weight of 3-5% above the weight class isdesirable. This correlates to about one and a half to two fullpractices for a well-fueled and hydrated college wrestler.

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Once a target weight has been identified, effective WeightManagement hinges on initiating the Weight Management processearly enough to allow gradual weight dissent – enabling the body toburn body fat and preserve muscle. If a wrestler’s body weight isgreater than his/her target weight during preseason, then someWeight Management is likely necessary. Body fat is burned whenweight loss is moderate; the body will only allow 1.5% of total bodyweight (BW) in body fat to be burned in a week (seven-days). Anyattempt at more drastic weight loss causes a loss of lean tissue(muscle and organs) and actually halts body fat from being burned,forcing muscle to be the primary fuel for metabolism and body fat.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN- Calculate Body FatLoss:

To calculate the amount of body fat that can be lost in a week,multiply wrestler’s BW (at current hydrated and fueled body weight)by 0.015. The result is the amount of weight that the wrestler canplan to lose in body fat per week if fueling optimally for weight loss.This will be known as Weekly Weight Loss (WWL).

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To determine how much total weight a wrestler must lose throughoutWeight Management, subtract his/her target weight from currentbody weight. This will be known as Total Weight Loss (TWL).

To determine the number of weeks you need to reach your targetweight, divide TWL by WWL. This is the absolute fewest number ofweeks that you will need for Weight Management to train your bodyto your Target Weight (TW) leading up to weight certifications or thefirst weigh-in.

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Moderate energy deficit is a hallmark of any effective WeightManagement plan. There are many contributors to total energyexpenditure. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) represents the amount ofenergy that an individual needs to simply sustain basic life function,and it can be estimated:

Mifflin St. Jeor: 4.55 x BW (lb.) + 15.875 x height (in) – 5 x age(years) + 5

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(4.55 x 150) + (15.875 x 55) – (5 x 18) + 5 = 1470 kcals/day

The BMR fuels only basic life functions such as maintaining bone,muscle, hormone, and the immune systems that serves to keep thebody alive and well. Extras like walking, talking, thinking, focusingand studying, shopping, running, lifting and of course wrestlingrequire additional calories. There are a variety of methods tocalculate energy of expenditure. Metabolic Energy Equivalents(METS) is an effective method of calculating exercise energyrequirement by estimating the energy requirement of any given task.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: NWCA OptimalPerformance Calculator

All high school and college wrestlers, coaches and athletic trainershave access to the Optimal Performance Calculator (OPC) via theNational Wrestling Coaches Association. The OPC can help developa weight loss plan, estimate caloric needs, and even develop afueling plan to meet the metabolic and activity needs for anindividual wrestler.

Ultimately, effective Weight Management requires balance,consistency and timing.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Supplement Safety

While supplements may be helpful in providing nutrients to supportgeneral healthy fueling as outlined in Part 1, “Weight LossSupplements” are in a much different category, carry a great deal ofrisk and should never be used as a method for Weight Management.There are several types of weight loss supplements that you shouldavoid:

Metabolism Boosters:

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Energy drinks, fat burners, metabolism boosters are all attempting toreplace actual energy with a stimulant. Many use dangerousstimulants including methamphetamine analogs that create adependence on them to feel the energy high, and create a terriblecrash when their use is discontinued. Many of the drugs asstimulants are banned for use in sport, and several recent caseshave resulted in the drugs in these products causing very seriousmedical complications including liver failure and death.

Diuretics and Laxatives:

Diuretics and laxatives are very dangerous when abused as theyupset the fluid and electrolyte balance that is so critical to health,athletic performance and, of course, weight cutting. If abused whilecutting weight, the results can be catastrophic including severedehydration and organ failure.

Anabolic Supplements:

Beware of “Anabolic” supplements. While some legitimate and safesport supplements like creatine, protein, HMB, BCAA’s andGlutamine may result in an anabolic effect, they do not chemicallyalter the body’s hormone production. Within the muscle buildingmarket of supplements, many manufacturers include ingredients thatact like testosterone or trigger the increased production oftestosterone or another anabolic hormone; these are actually drugsequivalent to steroids and are dangerous and banned substancesfor sport. When exposed to these chemicals, the body down-regulates endogenous production of testosterone. Over time, thisrequires increased doses of the anabolic drug to result in the samedesired effect. When steroid use is discontinued, a testosteronebooster is often necessary to bring testosterone levels back tobaseline levels since the body’s own production of testosterone hasbeen down regulated. Low testosterone after steroid or anabolicdrug use is a common side effect. Once an athlete goes down the

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rabbit hole of performance enhancing drugs, it becomes a never-ending chase to maintain healthy levels of testosterone.

Beware of any ingredient that ends in -ol, -diole, -stene orhave any promise of a “secret formula” a “proprietaryblend” a “scientific or breakthrough”, These are all redflags, as this is how irresponsible supplement companieswork to hide unsafe or untested ingredients.

Supplements are terribly under-regulated by the FDA and youcannot judge the safety of a product just by reading their label; thereis no guarantee that the label is accurate and there are manymisleading or confusing statements put on a label. “Third PartyTesting” has been developed to ensure that the consumer can findreliable and safe products. Third party testing requires amanufacturer to pay for a separate company to analyze theirproduct for batch consistency, accuracy of labeling and absence ofany banned substances. You should only purchase products thatindicate third party testing right on the label. Reputable third partytesting companies include NSF, Informed Sport (HFL) and InformedChoice.

Balance

Fueling balance refers to the distribution of energy and nutrientsthroughout the day. Even distribution is optimal in supporting theBasal Metabolic Rate (BMR). BMR and activities of daily living(ADL’s) are fairly predictable and when lumped together theyrepresent baseline energy requirement (BER). ADL’s include basicdaily tasks like walking to class, studying, and doing chores. ADL’s doNOT include exercise. BER is predictable as it only accounts for theenergy expenditure of a typical day.

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Balanced Fueling of Metabolism and Training (AM Workout, PMPractice).

BER is calculated by applying an activity factor to BMR. An activityfactor of 1.2 describes low level of activity and is appropriate indescribing the BER for the typical wrestler.

Baseline Energy Requirement (BER) = 1470 kcals* 1.2 = 1765 kcal

Energy of Exercise Requirement (EER)

EER is the amount of energy used to fuel a bout of exercise. EERmust be replaced in order to reap the benefits of that exercise;these needs are in addition to the BER. Each activity has anassociated energy requirement that can be defined relative to bodysize and duration of that activity; this is how the MetabolicEquivalent of Task (METS) system works. Each activity is valuedrelative to the amount of energy required to maintain metabolismwhile simply being awake watching TV.

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The intensity of the activity and the duration of the activity arevariable.

The caloric requirement of each activity varies, but by targeting thatworkout with pre and post fueling, energy will be available to supportthat activity and subsequent recovery. Carbohydrates need to beavailable for training, while protein plus carbohydrates are requiredpost-workout to rebuild muscle and replenish glycogen stores. Body

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composition, recovery and performance outcomes are all improvedwith targeted EER fueling.

Ultimately, a negative calorie balance is necessary for any weightloss; 1lb of weight loss requires 3500 calories of deficit per week. Adeficit of 500 calories per day (from total energy expenditure)enables 1lb of body weight loss over that week. However, the body islimited to burning only 1.5% of total BW per week as body fat. Ifcaloric deficit surpasses that needed to lose 1.5% of BW, then LBMis burned and metabolism and fitness will be impaired.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Energy NeutralTraining

Energy Neutral Training (ENT) is a Weight Management fueling44

Energy Neutral Training (ENT) is a Weight Management fuelingstrategy that targets and replaces 100% of the EER within 60minutes pre or post workout. Any calorie deficit required for WeightManagement is withheld from the baseline energy needs.

The body is best adapted to utilize the energy during this 60-minutepre/post window, and ENT utilizes this adaptation thus optimallyfueling and preserving lean body mass (LBM). When in the caloricdeficit of Weight Management, this is the optimal way to fueltraining. The more reasonable approach for most student athletes isto include 1-2 high carbohydrate snacks 30-90 minutes pre and 1-2high carbohydrate and high protein snacks after training. Theremainder of the EER calories should be distributed throughout therest of the day.

BER relies upon balanced meals and consistent snacks. Aneffective meal requires a combination of all three fuel types (protein,CHO and F/V). Meals should also be more caloric than snacksproviding approximately 20-30% of the BER per meal.

Snacks should be smaller than meals and occur any time there is a3-hour time gap between meals. Snacks are critical in bridging thefueling gap between meals creating a more consistent flow ofenergy to the body thus increasing its metabolism. Since theprimary purpose of snacking should be to fuel the metabolism, it iscritical that each snack provides the body’s building blocks: protein.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Under/OverFueling Pattern

Many coaches can recall wrestlers that have worked hard and dietedall season only to become seemingly less fit. This scenario seemsto defy logic as the wrestler obtains more body fat and gets lessmuscular as the season progresses. The phenomenon of hypo-

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metabolism is a result of chronic under fueling and is compoundedby the under/over fueling that is seen when weekdays are restrictiveto make weight and weekends see more overindulgence. The rollercoaster of under/over fueling never allows the body to find theequilibrium needed to support a healthy metabolism. Instead ofbuilding muscle and burning fat, which is the ultimate goal of WeightManagement, under/over forces the body to burn muscle and storefat therefore decreasing fitness, diminishing performance, andmaking it more difficult to make weight as the season progresses.

Under eating increases the risk of overeating past the point of justbeing overindulgence and can even cross over to the realm ofdisordered eating and binge eating. While it takes weeks to reap therewards of a well-disciplined Weight Management plan, it takes farless to undermine it. Avoiding overeating certainly requires willpower,but restriction of energy and protein spikes a physiological responsethat increases cravings and a drive to overeat. Hypo-metabolism(i.e. slow metabolism) is a product of chronic insufficient fueling andhinders energy utilization. Thus, when an athlete overeats afterrestricting, the impact on the body is compounded with LBM lossand fat gain. Maintaining consistency with daily and weekly fuelingbalance is critical to the Weight Management progress.

AED: The impact of restriction on long-term health and obesity

Under eating during wrestling season can have negative implicationsbeyond performance on the mats just this season. The drag ofhypo-metabolism increases injury risk, compromises immunefunction and deteriorates body composition. Even years afterwrestlers’ competition days are behind them, negative complicationsfrom under eating may remain. The sad irony is that even thoughwrestling requires athletes to be incredibly physically fit, the athletewill set himself or herself up for a lifetime of poor health if they

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excessively restrict their intake to make weight. Research has shownthat the metabolic dysfunction seen in season can carry on laterinto life leading to an increase in body fat, obesity, diabetes andmetabolic syndrome. Not all is bad for former wrestles, as the sporttrains the body and mind in ways that are not seen in any othersport, providing an opportunity for wrestlers to be relative experts innutrition. By learning how to fuel the body for performance, wrestlerscan begin the process of getting the most out of their bodies withgood nutrition.

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Part 3. In-Season : WeightMaintenance, Weight Cutting,Weight Repletion andCompetition

Fueling for Weight Maintenance

For high school and college wrestlers, the start of the wrestlingseason is marked by weight certifications; this is where wrestlersmust demonstrate that they can safely make a specific weight classby being hydrated and within a specified amount of the weight class.After weight certifications, wrestling season is underway. This is atime for a change in fueling focus and tactics; the goal should nolonger be weight descent, but rather weight maintenance of a newlower and stable body weight. This new weight, which is the sametarget weight developed during pre-season, should be reached priorto weight certifications. (Note: There are no secrets to beatingcertifications aside from proper Weight Management to enableoptimization of body weight and body composition). Once the targetweight is reached, fueling should reflect a weight maintenancetraining plate. If the target weight is not obtained, then continue theWeight Management strategy of moderate calorie deficit through theearly part of the season until the target weight is reached.

For review of an Athlete’s Performance Plate inprevious section:

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Athlete’s Plate: Easy Training/Weight Management

Athlete’s Plate: Moderate Training

Athlete’s Plate: Hard Training/Race Day

Fueling well while maintaining weight calls for balance. The caloricbalance should be neutral with equal calories ingested as expendedand timed as outlined in the nutritional timing portion in Part 1 of thisbook. Plate balance should also adjust, with approximately equalportions of protein, carbohydrates and fruits and vegetables alongwith targeted fueling to support training pre and post workout.Baseline needs include consistent protein and reduced carbohydrateportions in Weight Management, but the transition back to weightmaintenance requires carbohydrates back to higher levels tosupport training and recovery demands. Glycogen is our body’sstorage form of carbohydrates in the muscle (i.e. gas tank). Chronicunder fueling of carbohydrates lead to a drop in stored glycogen andis a largely responsible for “Over Training Syndrome”, whichdecreases strength, stamina and motivation despite continuedtraining. Chronic glycogen depletion drastically decreases workoutput; this is why returning carbohydrate levels back to meettraining demands is critical to in-season performance. In fact, anyactivity, 30-seconds or longer, draws from our glycogen stores forenergy, so all training and competition will be affected by thisdeficiency and the problem will only worsen through the course ofthe season. Weight cutting is also impacted by chronically lowglycogen, as much of the water weight that is lost during the finalworkouts and the overnight float comes from water bound by muscleand liver glycogen.

Anti-inflammatory fish and plant fats should be included daily tomeals and snacks. It remains important to choose lean sources ofanimal protein and to avoid processed and refined fat sources as

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these increase inflammation that is increased from the trainingprocess.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Weight ManagementIn-season

If you find yourself heavier than recommended moving into theseason (i.e. above your target weight), then you still have someWeight Management to do in order to transition into the competitivepart of your season. This is not ideal, as forcing a caloric deficitwhile simultaneously training and competing impairs recovery andincreases inflammation. However, a short period of in-season caloriedeficit may be inevitable so long as you are within striking distance

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of your target weight. If you are within 1-2% of your target weight,then Weight Management should continue through the early part ofthe season until a well-fueled and hydrated target weight is achieved.Depending upon the specific weight certification program used byyour state or governing organization, you may or not be able tocontinue this process for the weight class that you originally had inmind, and may be forced to go up to the next weight. This regulationis for your health and safety and you should never attempt to cheatthe system, as you will be putting your health and safety at risk. Ifyou are >2% over your target weight or certifications do not allowyou to get down to the weight originally targeted, then a discussionbetween athlete, coaches, parents, athletic trainer and/or sportsdietitian about what weight class is appropriate, and strategies toreach that weight should occur.

Making Weight

In-season is a time to train, recover and prepare to make weight. Ifyour body weight is >2% over your weight class, then weight cuttingis not necessary as this correlates to the approximate weight thatcan be lost in a single workout or practice. For those that do notneed weight cutting, simply enter your final practice well fueled andhydrated, complete your practice and be on weight. Defer this finalworkout till as close to weigh-ins as possible. If it must be the nightbefore, eat a small-moderate dinner (selected from the LowGlycemic, Low Sodium Foods list). This will provide the necessaryenergy and protein to support the body without retaining water orcausing a large weight gain.

This strategic style of making weight is not restrictive and should bethe closest to weight cutting that youth wrestlers should consider.

Weight Cutting

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Weight cutting likely has a different meaning to everyone that hasever wrestled, so it is important to standardize terminology for thepurposes of this book.

Weight Cutting Definition: The shifting of food and fluids for a shortperiod of time for the purpose of making weight.

In fact, the more effective a weight cut, the closer wrestlers willcompete to the “target weight” from which his/her weight cut began.

Pros and Cons of Weight Cutting

Weight is an inherent performance variable in any weight classsport. As soon as people are divided into a weight class, therebecomes an advantage to being as big as possible. However, it istypically more of a perceived advantage than a true advantage,especially in the long run. Excessive weight cutting is oftenused/abused, especially at the younger ages, by those seeking thisperformance advantage in order to overcome a deficiency in theirskills, strength, etc. As stated before, performance in wrestling is acomplex combination of variables, all of which can be impaired byexcessive weight cutting. This impact can include increased injuryrates, decreased muscular strength and stamina, increased “Ratingof Perceived Exertion,” hypo-metabolism, muscle glycogendepletion, blunted immune system (increased illness and skininfections) and impaired cognitive function. Not only is excessiveweight cutting ineffective and a potential performance and healthbarrier, it often masks wrestlers’ other technical deficiencies, thusholding them back from developing skills that will help them progressto the next competitive level. Weight cutting delivers young athletesshort-term success without helping the athlete develop the skillsneeded to succeed in the long run. As wrestlers mature, they canhandle incrementally more Weight Management and weight cutting.Once they are competing in college and internationally at the seniorlevel, the approach described in the following weight cutting section

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of this book will be most effective to managing and making weight.The general sports nutrition and Weight Management principlespreviously outlined remain foundational to performance and areappropriate for wrestlers of any and all ages.

Effective weight cutting is actually quite simple. It requires a wrestlerto initiate the process at their target weight, and then utilize thenormal training and weight fluctuation patterns that occur naturallywithin a normal training week.

Weight Fluctuations of a 150lber Wrestler

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Notice that the weekly weight loss patterns of excessive and starvedweight cuts do not allow for normal training fluctuations the week ofweigh-ins. This forces the body to shut down as the week goes on.

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Training during any given week should include a blend of harderpractices, easier practices, runs, lifts and conditioning. Weight willnaturally fluctuate significantly between the day’s highest and lowestweights. Effective weight cutting relies on maintaining fueling andhydration going into these workouts to enable these normalfluctuations to continue while working down to weight. Fueling andhydrating all week long better supports the body for training, makingweight, repletion and competing. Effective Weight Cutting[5]

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Don’t make weightcutting harder than it needs to be

Often, out-of-season wrestlers will say something that goes like this,55

Often, out-of-season wrestlers will say something that goes like this,“I just lost “X” number of pounds at today’s workout! Too bad it’s outof season, because if I could have lost this much weight during theseason, then [making weight would’ve been easier/ the seasonwouldn’t have sucked so much/ I wouldn’t have lost that one match/ Iwouldn’t have gotten injured].” These wrestlers were not able to loseas much weight in season because they prematurely dehydrated andrestricted their intake, limiting glycogen storage and fluid retention.This not only decreases weight cutting ability, but also decreasesavailable energy and increases fatigue and injury risk.

Integration of a “weight cutting” plan can be safe, easy, and effective.It requires three vital components:

1. Being Fueled and Hydrated: Maintain fueling and hydration allweek until within 24-hours of weigh-ins.

2. Commitment to Work: Commitment from the athlete to work theweight down by getting necessary extra workouts outside ofpractice.

3. Faith in the Process: Faith from the athlete in the process. It isalso critical to have the coach, parent, athletic trainer and medicalstaff understanding and supporting the process.

1. Fueled and Hydrated:

Fueled and hydrated refers to providing the body the energy andfluids that it needs to maintain normal metabolic and fluidmanagement functions.

When the body is fueled and hydrated the weight cut is easier whileperformance in training and competition remains high. Dehydrationdiminishes a wrestler’s power and endurance, which undermines twoof the most important performance attributes for a wrestler.

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Hydration

Intracellular Fluids:

Water is quite heavy and makes up the somewhere between 2/3rdsand 3/4ths the weight of the human body, shifting greatly dependingupon our diet and exercise. Large amounts of water are held withinour muscles bound to carbohydrate molecules forming muscleglycogen; this is our storage form of carbohydrate energy andpowers activities 30 seconds to 2 hours in duration. Maintainingpeak glycogen levels is critical to muscular endurance and recoverybut makes the muscle very heavy. Muscle glycogen is broken downduring exercise and even when sleeping, freeing water to becirculated through the body. This intra-muscular source of waterenables fluid loss during weight cutting that does not put extra strainon the kidneys or the heart, as does extended restriction. Fuelingand hydrating the body enable muscles to temporarily discard fluids,which is key to safe and effective weight cutting.

Extracellular Fluids:

Beyond performance variables, fueling and hydrating significantlyimpact fluid regulation. Hydration is tightly regulated within thehuman body. The kidneys control fluid regulation, which managesboth heat regulation (sweating) and urination. These processes arecontrolled via a negative feedback loop; this means that when thebody senses dehydration, sweating and urination are decreased inan effort to retain fluid. When extrapolating this to weight cutting, itis critical to maintain consistent water flow through the body andkidneys as to not tip them off that loss of water and dehydration areimminent. Maintaining adequate or even super-hydration going intoany weight cutting enables the body to maintain full filtering capacityeven as fluids are no longer being consumed. “Fluid Inertia” refers tothe phenomenon of a super-hydrated body’s ability to continue

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filtering and discarding water even after fluid consumption hasceased.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Fluid Inertia

To visualize “fluid Inertia,” think of your body as a garden hose; thewater in your body acts very similar to the water in that garden hose.

If you turn the faucet all the way on (i.e. you drink unlimited amountsof water), water will flow into the hose (i.e. your mouth), speedthrough the middle sections of the hose (i.e. various arteries, veins,muscles, organs) and then spray out the far end of the hose (i.e.sweat and urine). In this example, when the faucet is turned all theway up, the water spends just moments in the hose before it isforced out the other end. The water flowing from the hose is coldand clean, and no water is left in the hose to pool up. This is howthe body functions when fully hydrated; water that is ingested isused and discarded very quickly.

However, if the faucet is only turned on to a fraction of its fullcapacity, then the water flows into the hose at a trickle. Uponentering the hose, water pools at all the low spots and only a smallamount is able to rise above the twists and turns of the hose to findthe mouth of the hose to exit. When the body is poorly perfused,dehydration triggers the negative feedback loop, stimulating thekidneys and other systems to hold onto water by decreasing sweatand urination. This is great if you are starving and cannot find water,but this undermines your weight cutting efforts if you are dehydratingyourself in order to make weight.

If you can maintain hydration until you actively begin cutting weight(i.e. 24-hours before weigh-ins) then instead of resisting the negativefeedback loop that causes water retention, your body will actuallyfacilitate the loss of additional fluids. When your body is super-hydrated, your kidneys up-regulate sweat and urine function tohandle the increased fluid supply. In essence, your faucet is been

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cranked all the way up, and then you shut it off instantly at the lastsecond. The inertia of your kidney’s fluid processing allows theremaining water in your hose at the time of fluid cut-off to continueto be spared and discarded from your body via sweat and urine.Thus, “Fluid Inertia” enables your body to continue processing waterwhile you begin your weight cut and are actively shedding water fromyour body.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: What is Full Hydration?

As most high school and college wrestlers know, the literal answer tothis question is a specific gravity of 1.020. Practically speakinghowever, full hydration means that 100% of the water being depletedfrom the body is replaced. To achieve full hydration, regular fluidconsumption should maintain day-to-day needs while fluids lostthrough exercise must be replaced before, during and after training;the notion of baseline and targeted hydration mirrors what wasdiscussed with fueling. Baseline hydration needs are approximately1/2 your weight in pounds of body weight in ounces of fluid.. Forexample, a 150 lb. wrestler should consume ~75 oz of water orother fluids throughout the day to optimally get through a typical day.75 oz equates to approximately 9½ (8 oz) cups, 2½ (32 oz)Gatorade bottles or 0.6 gallons of fluid. Diuretics drinks like coffee orsoda obviously do not count toward this goal and if consumedmoderately can be considered neutral on hydration. When fluids arelost with exercise, each pound of body weight lost should bereplaced with 16 - 24 oz (i.e. 1-1½ pounds) of fluids.

Since hydration impacts both heat regulation and urination, wrestlerscan self-check their hydration by looking at these variables.Wrestlers should be aware of how much weight they typically lose inworkouts by weighing themselves pre and post workout during theoff-season and as the in-season training begins. Once a pattern forweight change during practice can be developed, a standard can beset for when moving into the season. A simple way to ballparkhydration is to estimate specific gravity based on urine color.

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Hydrating beyond baseline and rehydration needs leads to super-hydration. Super-hydration is best accomplished by increasingbaseline fluids up to 200%. This requires 150 oz of water or othernon-diuretic fluid plus 150% rehydration for the 150 lb. wrestler. This

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equates to 19 (8 oz) cups, 5 (32 oz) Gatorade bottles or 1.2 gallonsof fluid. Rehydration from a 4 lb. weight loss at practice wouldrequire an additional 64 - 96 oz. The total fluids required to maintainpeak super-hydration would be 214 - 246oz or 1.92 gallons.

A single gallon of water weighs 8.35 lb., thus 1.2 gallons weigh 10.02lb. and 2 gallons weigh 16.7 lb. This is the amount of fluid that yourkidneys become accustomed to processing on a daily basis. In thecontext of the hose analogy, the body becomes accustomed tofiltering and dispensing more fluid, thus enabling “Fluid Inertia” toassist with the loss of fluid simply by switching the faucet fromcompletely “on” to completely “off” instantaneously. While fullhydration should be maintained as much as possible during training,super-hydration should be maintained for only 2-3 days preceding aweight cut.

The body’s faucet should remain off for less than 24-hours so as tominimize the impact on muscle and organ performance, recoveryand health. Thus, the weight cut should not start further than 1 daybefore the weigh-in. Thankfully the governing bodies for high schooland college wrestling have instituted weigh-in regulations limitingweight loss for safety. It is advisable to cut approximately theamount of weight that can be regained before competition, so it isadvisable to limit fluid shifting to the 3-5% outlined above based onage, experience and weigh-in profile.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: “Day-before” weigh-ins

For wrestlers that weigh-in the day before competition, such assenior level wrestlers or Mixed Martial Artists (MMA), super-hydration can be an effective and relatively safe tactic to loseadditional fluids. Larger time gaps between weigh-ins andcompetition enables more significant fluid and weight loss to be lostand regained.

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FUELING:

Fueling the body throughout the weight cut is not only critical inenergizing training and recovery but also drives the body’smetabolism. By maintaining a healthy metabolism, the negativeconsequences of weight cutting like injuries, illness, and overeatingcan be minimized. Matching energy intake with physiologicaldemand helps the body continue to adapt to the stresses of theseason to improve fitness, body composition, recovery andperformance. Energy balance can be daunting to a wrestler whilecutting weight. The negative effect of under-fueling is directlyproportional to the fueling gap, so even if the athlete cannot meet100% of the expenditure, any effort to fuel their metabolic demandwill help reduce the metabolic impact. This partial fueling ofmetabolic needs, while not ideal, may be required in the earlyseason by some wrestlers as they continue trimming their bodydown to their target weight. Every effort should be made to train thebody down to target weight through the pre-season and earlyseason so that the body does not pay for the under fueling as theseason progresses.

Caloric demand may not change as the weigh-ins draw near and theweight cut begins, but meal and macronutrient composition mustadjust. During the weight-cut, food is valued simply on its mass andits impact on blood sugar and subsequent glycogen storage. Theless a food weighs, the less impact that it has on the scale at weigh-ins. Thus, energy density is desirable rather than nutrient density,which is desirable under normal training circumstance. High fiberfruits and vegetables are no longer the ideal foods as these weighdown the body without providing an appreciable amount of energy.

Glycogen is a critical part of the energy pathway as discussedpreviously, but temporarily depleting this heavy molecule from ourmuscles allows our body to maintain safe extracellular hydration andprevent muscle from being burned. Limiting glycogen re-synthesisenables the body to decrease water and weight that is being stored

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intramuscularly without affecting the water in our circulatory system,thus allowing our organs and muscles to remain hydrated despite adrop in total body water. While high carbohydrate starches andgrains at first glance seem like ideal high calorie foods because theyfuel exercise, these high glycemic starches actually bind to water asthey are reconstructed into glycogen within the muscle. Bytemporarily stripping/moderating glycogen and water from thesystem, muscle is spared from being wasted away during the weightcut. Refueling with carbohydrates after weigh-ins can initiateglycogen repletion, which restores the athlete’s glycogen levels comematch-time.

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In order to maintain caloric balance as water, fiber and starches areeliminated from the diet in the 24-hours preceding weigh-ins, theenergy density of the food consumed must increase. Protein and fatare energy dense and have little effect on blood sugar (i.e. glycogenstorage) and should be the main fuels to support the final stages ofthe weight cut. Dietary fat and protein are also better thancarbohydrates at providing satiety helping the wrestler resist theurge to overeat. Even in the final fueling stages, the goal is tomaintain both caloric balance and meal timing while reducing the

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mass of the body and its contents. By shifting from nutrient dense toenergy dense foods, 1-2% of body weight can be effortlesslyeliminated from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract without affectingmetabolism or energy balance.

2. Commitment to Work:

Many wrestlers choose to starve rather than work their body downto weight; this passive weight loss is known as “floating”. Relying onfloating as a primary method to lose weight leads to restriction andforces the body to down-regulate metabolic, fluid and heat regulationsystems to conserve energy and maintain hydration. Depleting foodand fluids early in the week compounds the effect of restricting. Thisrestriction further slows down the body, which then slows andhampers the weight cut. Being dehydrated for longer than 24-hourswill drive even a well-trained and mentally tough wrestler to be lazyand avoid extra workouts. Physiologically, prolonged dehydrationdecreases blood volume, which decreases perfusion of muscles andorgans limiting work capacity. The psychological impact of prolongeddehydration may be even more debilitating. Rating of PerceivedExertion (RPE) is a value that measures how difficult an individual

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thinks a particular task is. RPE spikes with dehydration, whilemotivation and self-efficacy drop. This means that wrestlers willchoose to starve, rest and float their weight off rather than fuel up towork it off. The metabolic impact of starving the body of food andfluid affects not only the upcoming competition, but may even impairfuture weight cuts, overall Weight Management, and future metabolichealth and wellness.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Empower your “WarriorMindset”

Many wrestlers love their sport due to the self-discipline it requires.However, dehydration and starvation can sabotage self-discipline inmany ways (i.e., extreme laziness, seeking alternate ways to expendcalories). These lazy tactics undermine the discipline that is socherished about the sport while putting health and performance atrisk. The “warrior mindset” of a wrestler requires fuel in the tank.

Better fueling and hydration provides wrestlers with necessaryenergy to train throughout the week and to workout extra to getdown to weight. Well-trained wrestlers can complete a 20-30-minutedrill in their sleep, and will have done this routine dozens orhundreds of times through the course of a season. What theycannot do, or likely will choose not to do, is workout if they aredehydrated. Thus, by fueling their weight cut, wrestlers empowerthemselves to proactively work their weight down in such a way thatminimizes the impact on the body and mind.

It is desirable for those that appropriately cut weight (i.e. college andexperienced high school wrestlers) to plan being slightly over-weightthe morning of a weigh-in, ready to conduct a short workout (a drillis preferable) to lose the remaining weight. The athlete should be0.25-1.0% above their weight class, which is 0.4-1.5lbs for 150lbwrestler. Working out in the morning enables the wrestler to sleepbetter fueled and at a higher weight; 1.0-2.5% over the weight class

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is desirable, correlating to 1.5-2lbs for the 150lb wrestler example.The large degree of variability accounts for personal variability,weigh-in regulations (i.e. dual vs. tournament) and the individualspectrum for ability and comfort with weight loss in the morning.More experience will breed more confidence in this process, and thewrestler will develop a protocol that is comfortable to them.

Weight Float on Weigh-ins Eve

Over the course of a season wrestlers will have many weigh-ins (20-25 for college wrestlers), and the contrast between sleeping on theeve of weigh-ins in starved versus partially refueled is dramatic.Planning to include the weigh-in morning workout has a number ofpositive effects.

1- Float

By sleeping at a higher weight, the overnight float will be larger.Many times after wrestlers refuel as recommended, they float morethan anticipated and will actually wake up on weight because theirbody is still metabolically active and processing energy and fluidsnormally.

2- Sleep

The body will be better fueled and hydrated overnight when it is timeto sleep, recover, and repair from the day’s training. Many wrestlersfind sleeping when down to weight and dehydrated nearlyimpossible, limiting overnight recovery and impacting the next day’sperformance. By enabling the body to be better hydrated, sleep canbe greatly improved.

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3- Metabolism

With better recovery fueling after training on the eve of the weigh-in,the body can repair itself even while cutting weight. Most wrestlersget close to their weight class the night before weigh-ins, and thenride-it-out and “float” the remaining tenths of a pound overnight.This tactic leaves the body un-fueled and unable to repair leantissue for an extended period of time. If a wrestler were instead torefuel with energy dense foods as detailed earlier in this book, theirbody would have an opportunity to recover from the training,enabling it to repair and be more prepared for competition. Refuelingalso helps the body float more weight than had they fasted and notrefueled overnight. In the end, the body weight when waking upafter proper refueling versus fasting will be virtually the same.

4- Warm-up

Working out before weigh-ins is preferable in many ways to waitinguntil after weigh-ins. If planned properly, drilling before weigh-ins isnot as bound by time constraints and can be a more extensiveworkout than the typical pre-match warm-up and therefore betterpreparing the wrestler for the day’s upcoming match(es). Having amore complete warm-up is also important in minimizing the fatigueand rust that oftentimes accompanies a dual or the first match of atournament.

5- Refueling

The weigh-in morning workout enhances the re-feeding/refuelingroutine. By completing warm-ups before weigh-ins, more time andfocus can be placed on rest, rehydration and refueling after weigh-ins. There is also much less of a scramble for mat space and lessrisk getting rolled over by working out pre-weigh-ins rather thanimmediately before competition when everyone is trying to squeezeonto the mats.

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NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Tournament Logistics

Fueling the weight cut for tournament weigh-ins will present someunforeseen challenges. Early mornings become even earlier aswrestlers must get to the gym at least an hour before weigh-ins orskin check in order to complete their pre weigh-in workout. Theseearly mornings impact sleep quantity overnight, so in order tosustain energy throughout the day, plan naps after weigh-ins andduring gaps in competition. Fortunately, having worked out beforeweigh-ins, more time will be available after weigh-ins for resting andrelaxing. Sleep efficiency will be important, so be sure to pack apillow and blanket to ensure a comfortable nap environment.

3. Faith in the Process:

Even a well-intended weight-cutting plan can go awry when awrestler panics about not making weight. Wrestlers, parents, andcoaches are uncomfortable with a wrestler remaining as heavy asdetailed in this book for fear of them missing weight. Oftentimes acoach or parent, whether they realize it or not, pressures theirwrestlers to be within a certain margin of their weight class. Withoutemphasis from the coach on the importance of hydration, this willdrive his wrestlers to eliminate water because it is so heavy. As weknow, cutting water early is the LAST thing that they should be doing.Although done out of precaution, this early dehydrationsubsequently results in the same starved body and poor weightcutting effort.

Assuming wrestlers are starting their weight cut from an appropriateand hydrated target weight, maintaining a higher body weight laterinto the week is actually critical to optimizing the weight cut topositively impact health while accentuating performance. It is criticalfor wrestlers, as well as coaches, parents, and athletic trainers, tounderstand that proper fueling will not only keep the body healthierand performing better, but will also enhance the weight cut.

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NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: A Case Study in ExcessiveWeight Management and Weight Cutting: An Interview withAll-American Mike Nevinger-

Mike was a 2X D1AA All-American and 2 year Cornell WrestlingCaptain. Mike wrestled 141 pounds his entire Cornell wrestlingcareer. This interview highlights Mike’s weight struggles during the2012-2013 season, his Junior year:

Q - What was your highest weight over the summer?

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A - The highest weight that I hit over the summer was 175. However,this was after a few days of pigging out and such. Eating normally(for off-season), I was weighing around 165-168.

Q - What was your weight coming into pre-season?

A - Coming into preseason I believe I was around 165.

Q - How was this different than the previous year? What were thevariables that made things more difficult and your weight higher?

A - I think the biggest thing that was different was that I spent a lotof time lifting hard during the summer and put on much more musclemass than I realized. In past summers I had hit 160’s, but this wasme being very “fat and happy”. This summer I hit it and assumed itwas the same situation and it would come off easy so I let it slideuntil pre-season and didn’t realize that I actually put on a lot ofmuscle mass.

Q - What strategies did you utilize to get your weight down forcertifications and competition weigh-ins?

A - Since I noticed my weight was higher than it should have been Itried to crash diet in a way to shrink my body. Unfortunately, this ledme to late night binge eating and left me right where I started. Thiscycle repeated itself through most of the season. My body weightdidn’t get down to a comfortable range until late in the season so Ihad to dehydrate myself more than the optimal amount.

Q - What did you notice once you made weight?

A - I noticed that I didn’t have a lot of energy. Usually after refuelingafter weigh-ins I would temporarily feel better, but during warm-upsand especially later in matches I felt extremely fatigued and not100%.

Q - How did your weight fluctuate after weigh-ins?

A - After making weight my weight would always shoot right back up.71

A - After making weight my weight would always shoot right back up.On average the next day I would probably weigh 155-158. On a fewoccasions my weight hit as high as 163 after making weight.

Q - What were you doing on the weekends to help/hurt your cause?

A - I don’t think I did anything to really help or hurt me on theweekends. As soon as preseason hit and I was heavier than I wasexpecting to be, I cut out all drinking of alcohol. The only thing I canthink of is during season the over-eating that happened after makingweight.

Q - How did you change things nutritionally when you transitioned to“in-season”?

A - When I was in season I tried to significantly cut portion sizes. Ialso tried to stick solely to protein. I think these are part of thereasons why I experienced the need to binge at night sometimes isbecause I was starving my body.

Q - What tactics did you utilize to get your weight down when it wasparticularly challenging?

A - Limit my food and water intake and putting in extra cardioworkouts. If I needed to get my weight down I would more than likelynot fully rehydrate after my workouts.

Q - What impact did poor fueling have on your body and/or yourperformance?

A - Psychologically the year was not very enjoyable. I often wasirritated and found the season to keep dragging on. Also in practicesI found myself worrying more about how much weight I would loserather than focusing on actually getting better in wrestling. Inmatches I often got fatigued even when I was in great shape.

Q - What changes did you make mid-season to improve yourfueling?

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A - Towards the end of the season I started adding more extracardio sessions. These sessions were strictly to shrink the size ofmy body and burn calories, not to cut weight. After I started doingthis I noticed my body weight becoming closer to my weight classleaving less for me to cut last minute. I also actually started eatingmore throughout the day in order to prevent my late night eating. Iwould move my calories to the start of the day that way I hadenergy for my workouts and my body didn’t feel like it was runningon “E” (empty) so I did not get those urges to eat a lot at night.

Q - What impact did you notice when changing your fueling?

A - I had more energy for practice and cardio sessions. This led tothem being more productive and useful, which also led to meburning more calories and shrinking my body down closer to size.This benefited my performance on the mat as well.

Q - Please note any other thoughts or reflections on this WeightManagement process...

After the past two seasons I feel like the key is to put in the workearly. Get your body down to a comfortable “cutting range” (i.e.Target Weight), where your performance is not hindered, before theseason starts through proper dieting and cardio workouts. By doingthis you do not have to try and do anything radical with your diet inthe middle of the season. You can just properly fuel your body foryour workouts and competitions.

Weight Repletion and FuelingCompetition:

Making weight alone does not win any matches; it only earns awrestler the right to compete. After making weight, weight must berestored and nutrients provided to fuel the impending matches.

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An effective weight cutting plan results with the wrestler competingat their target weight; this requires strategic weight restoration tofacilitate regaining the weight lost. Having a strategic refueling planto provide the body with essential fuel and fluids for competitionpost weigh-in is critical. Inappropriate and undisciplined weightrepletion can be the single-most debilitating aspect of the entireweight cutting process. Over-consumption when refueling can leadto bloating, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, which is not exactly arecipe for peak performance.

Upon making weight, there are two immediate concerns: rehydrationand glycogenesis (glycogen re-synthesis). Both can be initiated withthe consumption of a sports drink (Gatorade, PowerAde,Accelerade, etc.) as these drinks contain water, electrolytes andsugar. Including protein and longer chain carbohydrates (i.e.oligosaccharides) in the beverage improve its absorbability, meaningthey will cause less distress to the stomach when consumed afterweigh-ins. The sugar in the beverage consumed post-weigh-ininitiates glycogen re-synthesis and muscle repair (if protein isincluded) while the electrolytes (i.e. salt) help restore hydration. Adrink with salt, sugar, carbohydrate and protein can be consumedthroughout a day’s competition to complement any foodconsumption.

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The body’s glycogen levels become depleted from working down toweight while curbing both carbs and fluids in the final day of theweight cut. Consume high carbohydrate food to further supportglycogenesis. Including salty foods will further improve rehydrationefforts, which will improve muscular strength and endurance. Fat andfiber should be kept to a minimum due to their delaying effect ondigestion, which causes GI upset when the body starts exercisingand blood is shunted from the stomach to the muscles. Semi-processed breads, grains, and fruit (whole or processed) can fit thisneed. Processing food adds added sodium and quickly absorbedstarches, which under normal circumstance would be unwanted, butin this post weigh-in scenario is optimal.

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Tournament Fueling

If competition extends beyond a single match, as would occur in atournament, consistent fueling and hydrating between matches iscritical for extending performance to the later matches.Carbohydrates are the most valuable to fuel the day, as energystarches are what fuels the physical exertion of the match. The bestoptions for between matches are similar to those recommended for

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post weigh-ins; somewhat processed carbs provide easy to digestenergy with low fat and fiber. If a longer gap can be foreseen duringthe competition day, that would be an opportunity for a meal orbigger snack that includes a higher protein option along with thecarbs to also support tissue repair needs.

The consistent fueling of carbohydrate rich foods between matchesprovides energy for glycogen re-synthesis and to fuel upcomingcompetition. These foods should remain low in fat and fiber in orderto keep the food lighter on the stomach and better tolerated comematch-time.

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Sodium

Sodium is the key nutrient in regulating fluids and electrolytes tosupport fluid balance and muscular performance, which isparticularly important for wrestlers who are purposefully partiallydehydrating themselves. Under normal circumstances, consumingsodium (i.e. salt) helps the body remain hydrated while training andcompeting. For wrestlers that are cutting weight however, sodiumcan force the body to resist the fluid shift required for an effectiveweight cut. Salt should be moderated for the three days precedingweigh-ins that corresponds to the super-hydration period. Tominimize salt intake avoid processed foods such as packagedcarbohydrate snacks, canned foods, fast food and deli meat.

Sodium can also be found in other forms as well, especially whenfound in hydration supplements. Sodium citrate and sodiumbicarbonate (i.e. baking soda) are used to pre-hydrate beforecompetition and has the added value of helping buffer the blood andincrease work capacity. Both sodium citrate and sodium bicarbonatecan be found in Pedialyte and NSF Certified supplements Osmo:Pre-Load and The Right Stuff. These products will help hyper-hydrate the body for the day’s competition, and will help delay thebuildup of lactic acid. If sweating throughout the day, the sodium and

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water retained from consuming them will be cleared from the bodywithin 12-16 hours[10] of its ingestion, but will leave behind thecitrate and bicarbonate to buffer the blood. The use of a hyper-hydrating product should be well practiced before using in acompetition that has an upcoming weigh-in (i.e. two daytournament, Friday/Sunday duals, Wednesday dual/weekendtournament).

The very large amount of sodium in these products may causesome GI upset, as may any of the rehydration products. Be sure totest any rehydration strategy during a hard practice prior toimplementing one in an important match.

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Conclusion:

While at times it can seem like overkill to put such focus on weightcutting and Weight Management, utilizing a scientific and systematicplan will drastically decrease the amount of effort and anxietyrequired to make weight. Be appropriate, proactive and professionalin your approach to managing your weight and it will become secondnature, allowing you to focus on the fun part of the sport…wrestling!

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References:

Alderman, B. L. (2004). Factors related to rapid weight losspractices among international-style wrestlers. Medicine and Sciencein Sports and Exercise (36), 249-252.

Barbas, I. E. (2011). Physiological and performance adaptations ofelite Greco-Roman wrestlers during a one-day tournament. Eur JAppl Physiol, 111, 1421–1436.

Berardia, J. and Fry, M. (2005). The Grapplers Guide to SportNutrition. Advanced Sports Fitness.

Buford, T. R. (2006). The Effect of a Competitive Wrestling Seasonon Body Weight, Hydration, and Muscular Performance In CollegiateWrestlers. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 20 (3),689–692.

Choma, C. W. (1998). Impact of rapid weight loss on cognitivefunction in collegiate wrestlers. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc, 30, 746-749.

Choma, C.W. (1998). Impact of rapid weight loss on cognitivefunction in collegiate wrestlers. Medicine Science in Sports andExercise, 30, 746-749.

Dale, K. S. (1999). Weight control in wrestling: eating disorders ordisordered eating? Medicine Science and Sports Exercise, 31,1382-1389.

Frankenfield, D. et al. (2005). Comparision of predictive equationsfor resting metabolic rate in healthy nonobese and obese adults: a

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systemic review. Journal of American Dietitic Associaiton, May 105(5), 775-89.

Hawley, J. &. (1998). Peak Performance: Training and NutritionalStrategies For Sport: Art and Science of Making Weight: a RealWorld Guide to Making Weight. . New South Wales. Allen andUnwin.

Ivy, J. K. (1988). Muscle glycogen synthesis after exercise: Effect oftime of carbohydrate ingestion . J Appl Physiol, 64, 1480–1485 .

James, L.J. et al. (2013). Effects of varying the concentrations ofcarbohydrates and milk protein in rehydration solutions ingestedafter exercise in the heat, British Journal of Nutrition, Oct. 110(7):1285-91.

James, L.J. (2012). Milk protein and restoration of fluid balance afterexercise, Med Sport Sci., 59: 102-6.

Jeukendrup, A. E. (2004). Carbohydrate Intake During Exercise andPerformance :. Nutrition (20), 669 – 677.

Kerksick, C. et al (2008). International Society of Sports Nutritionposition stand: nutrient timing. Journal of International Society ofSports Nutrition. 3: 5-17.

Koral, J. (2009). Combination of gradual and rapid weight loss:Effects on physical performance and psychological state of elite judoathletes. Journal of sports sciences (0264-0414)-, 27 (2), 115.

Mackinnon, L.T. (2000). Special features for the Olympics: effects ofexercise on the immune system: overtraining effects on immunityand performance in athletics. Immunol Cell Biology, Oct. 78(5), 502-9.

Marquart, L. &. (1994). Weight loss beliefs, practices and supportsystems for high school wrestlers. Journal of Adolescent Health

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(15), 410-415 .

Oppliger, RA et al. (2006). NCAA rule change improves weight lossamong national championship wrestlers. Medicine and Science inSport and Exercise, May 38(5), 963-70.

Saarni S, R. A. (2006). Weight cycling of athletes and subsequentweight gain in middle age. International Journal Of Obesity, 30 (11),1639-1644.

Sequra-Garcia, C et al (2012). Orthoexia nervosa: a frequent eatingdisordered behavior in athletes. Eat Weight Dis., Dec 17(4), e226-33.

Stacy, T.S. et al (2007). Sodium loading aids fluid balance andreduces physiology strained of men exercising in the heat. Journalof American College of Sports Medicine, 123-130.

Turocy P.S. (2011). National Athletic Trainers’ Association positionstatement: safe weight loss and maintenance practices in sport andexercise. . Journal of Athletic Training, 46 (3), 322-36.

Williams, M. et al (2003). Effects of recovery beverages on glycogenrestoration and endurance exercise performance. Journal ofStrength and Conditioning Research, Feb 17(1): 12-9.

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Appendix 1

Sample Meal Plan To Support Weight Maintenance

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Daily Caloric Balance

Daily Caloric Breakdown

Waking Daily Caloric Balance

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Appendix 2

Sample Meal Plan To Support Weight Management

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Daily Caloric Breakdown

Daily Caloric Balance

Waking Daily Caloric Balance

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Appendix 3

Sample Meal Plan To Support Weight Gain

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Waking Daily Caloric Balance

Waking Daily Caloric Balance

Waking Daily Caloric Balance

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Appendix 4

Sample Meal Plan To Support Weight CuttingUtilizing A Low Residue Diet

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Wrestling Nutrition Definitions

Accidental Eating

Eating based on convenience and consumingwhatever is most accessible. Typically this resultsunder fueling most of the day and overconsumption in the evening hours.

Activities Of DailyLiving (ADL’s)

Basic daily tasks like walking to class, studying,and doing chores

Amino Acids The building blocks of protein.

Anabolism The growth of muscle tissue.

Basal Metabolic Rate(BMR)

The amount of energy that an individual needs tosimply sustain basic life function

Catabolism/catabolic The breakdown of muscle tissue.

Energy of ExerciseRequirement (EER)

The amount of energy used to fuel a bout ofexercise

Energy NeutralTraining

Targeted fueling of training providing 100% of theexercise’s energy expenditure within 60-minutespre-workout and post-workout.

Energy Of Exercise(EE)

Fueling balance refers to the distribution ofenergy and nutrients throughout the day

ExtracellularHydration

Also known as Vascular Hydration. Affected byplasma volume and results in cardiac risk whenlow.

Fluid Inertia

The momentum of fluids through the body thatcontinues once fluid intake is discontinued andenables the body to allow fluid loss for weightcutting despite fluids not being replaced.

Fuel-Types (I.E.Macronutrients)

Protein, carbohydrates, fat and fruits andvegetables

Fueled & HydratedProviding the body the energy and fluids that itneeds to maintain normal metabolic, and fluidmanagement functions.

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Fueling Balance The distribution of energy and nutrients withinmeals and snacks and throughout the day

Fueling ConsistencyFueling balance within days (i.e. daily fuelingbalance) and between days (i.e. weekly fuelingbalance).

GlycogenOur bodies’ storage (i.e. gas tank) form ofcarbohydrates in the muscle

Hypo-Metabolism“Slow-metabolism” typically a result of sustainedenergy deficit

IntracellularHydration

The perfusion of water into cells. Affected byglycogen level

Meal

An effective meal requires a combination of allthree fuel types and should also be more caloricthan snacks providing approximately 20-30% ofthe BER

Metabolic EquivalentOf Task (METS)

A measure of the energy cost of any specifictask. 1 MET = 1 kcal burned / 1 hour of activity *kg BW of the individual.

Metabolic Syndrome

A complex disorder of metabolic systems thatincludes diabetes and insulin resistance thatdrastically increases risk of chronic disease likeheart attack and generalized organ failure.

Negative feedbackloop

A self-regulating system that senses fluctuationand adjusts accordingly.

Nutrient TimingThe strategic timing of meals, snacks, pre andpost workout fueling to support metabolism,training and recovery.

Omega 3 Fatty AcidsAnti-inflammatory oils found in fish and otherseafood as well as some seeds, nuts and eggs.

Over TrainingSyndrome

The phenomenon of decreasing strength,stamina and motivation despite continued andoftentimes increasing training.

The time leading up to the competitive season

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Pre-Season during which training includes a combination ofstrength and conditioning, technique and weightmanagement

Saturated FatsTypically animal fats that are solid at roomtemperature and have a pro-inflammatory affecton the body.

Sleep EfficiencyA combination of time to fall to sleep andrestfulness of the sleep

Target Weight

The body weight that a wrestler should maintainin-season to allow a small buffer above theweight class to enable effective fueling andhydration for training

Third Part Testing

Supplement certification from an outside (3rd

party) company to analyze their product for batchconsistency, accuracy of labeling and absence ofany banned substances

Trans FatsPro-inflammatory fats that are generated throughpartial hydrogenation and are found in fried andprocessed foods.

Unsaturated FatsPlant sources of fat that are liquid at roomtemperature and have an anti-inflammatoryaffect on the body.

Weekly Weight Loss(Wwl)

The amount of weight that the wrestler can planto lose in body fat per week if fueling optimallyfor weight loss

Weigh-In MorningWorkout

The planned workout the morning of a weigh-indesigned to work off the last remaining water forweigh ins

Weight Certifications

Wrestlers must demonstrate that they can safelymake a specific weight class by being hydratedand within a specified amount of the weightclass.Also marks the transition from pre-season to in-season

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Weight Cutting The shifting of food and fluids for a short periodof time for the purpose of making weight

Weight Management Strategic weight loss or weight gain

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Table of Contents

Cover Page 1Title Page 2Disclaimers / Legal Information 3Notice of Liability 3Copyright Information 3Table of Contents 4a. Foreward 8b. Acknowledgements 9c. Introduction & Nutritional Seasons 10Part 1. Off-Season: General Sports Nutrition & HealthyFueling 12

a. Fueling Fundamentals 12Purpose 13Quality 14Quantity 17Timing 20Balance & Consistency 23Hydration 32

b. Fueling Purpose - What’s your purpose? 13Food Quantity - What is good food? NUTRITION BREAKDOWN:Helpful Nutrient Supplements 16

c. Food Quality - How much is enough? 17Athlete Energy Deficit (AED) 18d. Nutrient Timing 20e. Balance and Consistency 23Balanced Fuels 241. Protein 24a. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Recovery Nutrition 26

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2. Carbohydrates 263. Fruits and Vegetables 274. Fats 30Fueling Consistency 31f. Hydration 32

Part 2. Pre-Season: Weight Management 34a. Pre-Season Objectives 34NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Safe Weight Loss 35Target Weight 36NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Calculate Body Fat and Weight Loss 36Weight Management/Loss fundamentals 37NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: NWCA Optimal Performance Calculator 39NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Supplement Safety 39b. Balance 41Baseline Energy Requirements (BER) 42Energy of Exercise Requirement (EER)- METS 42NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Energy Neutral Training 44c. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Under/Over Fueling Pattern 45d. Athlete Energy Deficit (AED): The impact of restriction on long-termhealth and obesity 46

Part 3. In-Season - Weight Maintenance, Weight Cutting,Weight Repletion and Competition. 48

a. Fueling for Weight Maintenance 48Anti-Inflammatory Fats 50NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Weight Management In-Season 50b. Making Weight 51Weight Cutting 51Pros & Cons of Weight Cutting 52Regular Weight Fluctuations with Training 55NUTRITION BREAKDOWN- Don’t make weight cutting harder than itneeds to be 55

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Weight Cutting Fundamentals 561. Fueled and Hydrated 56a. Hydrated 57Intracellular Fluids/Hydration 57NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Fluid Inertia 58NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: What is Full Hydration? 59Super-hydration 60NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: “Day-before” weigh-ins: 61b. Fueled 62Fueling adjustment- Low Residue, low Glycemic 642. Commitment to Work 65a. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN- Empower your “Warrior Mindset” 66b. Weigh-in AM workout 67Improved Float 67Impact on Sleep 67Metabolism Support 68Enhanced Warm-up 68Relaxed Rehydration 68c. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Tournament Logistics 693. Faith In The Process: 69a. NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: A Case Study in Excessive WeightManagement and Weight Cutting 70

c. Weight Repletion & Fueling Competition: 73d. Rehydration 75e. Refueling 76f. Tournament Fueling 76NUTRITION BREAKDOWN: Sodium 77

Conclusion 79Appendix 1 83Appendix 2 87Appendix 3 91

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Appendix 4 95Wrestling Nutrition Definitions 97

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