The time has come for this blog, as well as my other, and it's era to end. However, a successor has been named and the sharing of information and experiences shall continue for many posts to come. Check out the new blog, new title, and new lay out at "Confessions of an Open Source Athlete." Of course I am still the only one writing and it is my life and my experiences that inspire the posts. Please read the first post in the new blog for a more detailed explanation for the change.
Thanks for reading guys and gals, its been fun!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
4 Hour Body Experience: Week 8 Summary
Does the End Begin or Does the Beginning End?
Competition Week - Week 8: 2/27 - 3/3/12
Data:
*Morning Prior to the Competition (3/2/12)
Weight: 168
BMI: 26.31
PBF (old): 4.8
PBF (new): 6.82
Blood Pressure: 138 / 78
Heart Rate: 66
Neck: 16
Chest: 40.75
Waist: 30
Hip: 31
*Prior to Dehydration (6 PM, 3/2/12)
Weight: 167.5
BMI: 26.2
*Before Bed (9 PM, 3/2/12)
Weight: 165.5
BMI: 25.9
*Morning of Competition (5:30 AM, 3/3/12)
Weight: 161.5
BMI: 25.29
Waist: 29.5
PBF (old): 4.1
*Competition Day
Arrival Weight (TIME): 163
Official Weigh In (TIME): 161.5
Training Schedule:
Monday - 2 hours BJJ (moderate intensity)
Tuesday AM - 1 hour BJJ (light intensity)
Tuesday PM - 30 min Meditation
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 1 hour BJJ (drill frequently used techniques)
Friday - 30 min Meditation
Saturday - Competition
Total Training Hours: 5 Hours
Cold Shower Procedure:
Monday - Contrast Shower, 1 min intervals, 7 min total
Tuesday - Thursday - 7 min cold shower
Friday - Hot Bath with Epsom's Dalt
Strength and Conditioning:
None
90 Second Morning Exercises:
Weight Cut Procedure (Official):
Diuretic Spices: (In any combination; one serving of each per day)
Lemon Juice
Cayenne Pepper
Parsley Flakes
Apple Cider Vinegar
Ginger
Garlic
Cumin
Supplements:
Muscle Pharm Combat Powder (Whey Protein) - one 38g scoop per day
Equate Men's One Daily (Multivitamin) - one tablet per day
NOW Slimula (Green Tea + Yerba Mate supplement) - 4 capsules per day
Universal Animal Flex (Joint Supplement) - one pack per day
Cut Progression:
5 Days Out - High Sodium Diet for 2 Days, 1500 cal
3 Days Out - Moderate Sodium Intake (one day), 1500 cal
2 Days Out - Low Sodium / Low Carb Diet, 1200 cal
Day Before - Low Sodium / Low Carb Diet, 1200 cal, Stop Water Intake 3 hours before bed, Hot
Bath with Epsom's Salt before bed, 8 hours of sleep
Morning Of - Breakfast = Protein Cake (liquid eggs + whey), slowly rehydrate as weight allows
Arrival On Site - MetRx Big 100, Pasta & Fruit, 5 Hour Energy Extra Strength
Every Hour - one Power Bar, water as weight allows
As Needed - Kashi GoLean
One Hour Before Weigh In - MetRx Big 100, water as weight allows
After Official Weigh In - Water
Weight Cut Log (Comparison of Practice and Official):
*The IBJJF weight class I compete in is 167.5 lbs (76kg), must weigh in while wearing gi and belt
Weekly Notes:
No Stool Softener / Laxative - as you can see for the above summary I opted to NOT take any kind
of supplemental diuretic pill. Call it what you will, but I demand to retain some integrity and
ethical practice in my athletic preparation regardless of legal flexibility and if drug tests are or
are not part of the competition regulation.
Changes From Practice Cut - Sodium Intake - as you can see from the Cut Progression Diet, my
sodium intake was a bit (20mg) less than the practice cut last week. Carbohydrates - were
significantly reduced from about 19% of my daily calories to about 11%. I think a
combination of these things as well as the "moderate sodium" day between the high and low
intervals assisted and reducing my body's water retention. The perceived loss is a noticeable
one rather than fairly negligible as was the case during the practice run. Diuretic Spices -
seemed to have a greater effect this time around compared to the practice run. I am unsure of
the cause of this, but I suspect that it is a joint effort between the spices and the previously
mentioned factors. It should also be mentioned, I believe it was in last week's post also, that
several of the faucets in my home contain softened water. That is, water that has had minerals
filtered out of it by a sort of diffusion property that sodium has. That means that some of the
tap water in my home contains somewhat salted water. These contents were not included in
my notation of "average" sodium intake. However, during the Low Sodium / Low Carb
intervals I still allowed myself to drink as much water as I desired, but NOT from these faucets.
Day Before Meal Schedule - In last week's practice cut I still ate as I normally do (first meal within
30 - 60 min of waking, one meal ever 2-4 hours, last meal about 2 hours before bed) on the day
before the mock competition / workout. For the real deal I will still have breakfast at the
normal time, eat meals about every 2 hours, and try to consume all but one of them prior to
my water restriction / depletion procedure. I will save one small meal for later in the evening.
I do not want my metabolism to slow too much (though at this point calories are irrelevant and
weight is more a matter of literal grams of food and water in vs grams of waste [perspiration,
urine, and feces] out). In the same right I do not want to be tempted to drink anything during
the meal when I am trying to drain most of non-vital water out of my body. Thus, I will
consume most of my meals prior to the start of dehydration (apx. 6 PM) and have one meal
between then and my scheduled 9 PM bed time.
Sleep - Due to my work schedule my biological clock (circadian rhythm) did not agree with the
intelligent plan I had set forth. That is a fancy way of saying I couldn't fall asleep the night
before the tournament. As a result I got about 5 hours of sleep before getting up to hit the
road, could not sleep in the card, and barely caught 40winks with bright lights and loud
speakers at the tournament.
The Final Cut - There were some changes to my planned competition day cut schedule. I wanted
to wake up in the morning on weight so that I could re-hydrate on the drive to the
tournament. All things went according to plan so far, I woke up on weight. I had a small
breakfast (my protein cake that I had cooked the day prior had gone stale) consisting of
peanut butter on toast with about 4oz of venison. On the way to the tournament I drank two,
16oz cups of coffee and a 20oz Powerade upon arrival. I am not sure if I was having trouble
adjusting to their scale or not, but I was not able to eat anything other than two Power Bars
between arrival and the competition start because I had to keep a close watch on my water
weight.
Competition Results:
I lost in the first round via armbar from a triangle in the closing seconds of the match. There is some speculation as to the match running longer than it should have. However, I will not start down the list of excuses that could include: my work schedule didn't let me sleep much the night before, I have a lot going on between school, preparing for graduate school, and work-place politics.... etc, etc. None of that matters. When I woke up the morning of the competition I knew all of that and I still got in the car with my teammates and drove to the tournament. Call it as you choose to see it, but the bottom line is that I was up on points and got caught and lost. One and done. Live and learn.
Follow Up Strength Test:
There are no plans for a follow up strength test at this time. Though I tracked my weight training goals and workouts the focus of my physical training is NOT strength or endurance. Rather it is better performance in my choice of recreation / competitive sports. Weight training is something that is purely supplemental to these things and hardly a replacement for or equal to. Strength training workouts will continue o be logged in the future (though not necessarily on this blog) as my training camp schedule dictates. At this time I do not have plans to compete in a strength event or train specifically for a "strength test."
Where Do We Go From Here?
*My Apologies for Getting a Bit Windy Here :(
Failure. It is something that we will all have to learn to deal with sooner or later. Our lives are not lush smoothly paved roads. They are full of potholes and dry spells. This marks the second tournament in a row that I have lost in the first round at (regardless of circumstances, more on this later). I could wallow in my self-pity or hang my hat on past deeds but I refuse to accept contention with those things. Where I go for here is to analyze previous experiences and apply that wisdom to future training camps and competitions. I get back in the gym, I keep training, I re-examine a few things as a time, and I keep going. I am 23 years old. I could realistically be competing in this sport (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) for the next 15 years, easily, and possibly for 20+. You don't have to be a math genius to figure out that that is whole lot of tournaments that I have yet to compete in.
The next competition that I am planning on taking part in is scheduled for the 9th of June 2012; it is another BJJ tournament. Initially I wanted to attempt an amateur boxing debut in late April before this tournament. However, I think that this will be removed from the docket. This makes two chips on my should from jiu jitsu tournaments that have left a bad taste in my mouth (whether it be my own fault or not).
Weight. This is a big one, as in 8 weeks of neurotic data collection "big." The topic of "cutting" weight comes up a lot in fighting. It is no surprise that different methods of extreme, rapid, and usually dangerous, methods of weight loss have been used for making weight in fighting sports. What is sometimes overlooked is that this method can, and should, vary depending on the sport of competition. For example, consider the time interval between the official weigh-ins and the actual commencement of the competition for a few different sports. In Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) there is about a 20 hour window to rehydrate and refuel, in wrestling there is about an hour, and for jiu jitsu (IBJJF tournaments) there is about 5 minutes. How do you think I would feel or perform if I cut as much for a jiu jitsu tournament as I did for a MMA bout? I'd get massacred because I would be running on literally fumes and have squelched all but the vital water out of my body right? How do you propose one get all of those nutrients, fuel, and liquids back into the body in a matter of single digit minutes? Sure you could chug a gallon of water, but would you feel bloated, or like puking, or like your about to crap your pants when you have to be at your apex seconds later? The point is that there are limitations to weight cutting as the Risk/Reward scale is balanced (or not). I feel that in my previous jiu jitsu tournament last fall that I absolutely did "gas" or run out of energy midway through the first match. I am not blaming the loss on this, but it is something I can learn from. So I took what I thought a wiser approach this time around. I did not feel "as gassed", but this is hardly acceptable. Perhaps chance or fate just screwed me over and I "just got caught" as some will say. But the bottom line is that I lost and at several points in the bout I felt like I would be content to just "hang on" and ride it out (stall and win on points) rather than attempt to finish (submit) my opponent. I never... let me say that again... NEVER want the thought of satisfaction with contention to cross my mind during a competition again. As Jim Rome once said; "trying not to lose will get you beat every time".... and it has.
Why bother? What makes this whole weight cutting issue particularly interesting in regards to jiu jitsu is that typically athletes cut weight so that they can be bigger and stronger compared to their opponents in the same weight class. Of course, but the same logic, smaller opponents will also be lighter and faster. The interesting part is that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was designed specifically so that smaller and weaker people could defend themselves against bigger and stronger opponents. If you have trained more than one day of BJJ in your life, you know that in this sport technique and timing reign infinitely supreme over quaint and trite qualities such as speed, power, and strength. The question, then, to ask is how could you improve your technique just a little bit to give you the same advantage (as if it were all as simple as a game of probabilities and cards) as you're anticipated strength advantage from cutting weight? Before you even bother to answer that question consider that improving your technique will have NONE of the negative aspects or risks of cutting weight and the potential benefit will be greater since the sport is centered on technical ability anyway! Of course you could always get stronger by weight training and manipulating your diet to stay at the same, natural weight. The point here is that, I believe and many others would agree, you are better off in a jiu jitsu tournament competing at a weight where you are comfortable, feel natural, and relaxed, and are technically savvy and physically lucid. Why the heck would you want to cut weight then?
A few points on this particular cut should be addressed. My body in particular carries an abnormally large amount of water. By this I mean that I could probably lose about 5 lbs of urine in two trips to the restroom over the course of 5 hours; or drop the same 5 lbs of water weight and have my urine still look like lemonade (not at all like apple juice - *urine color can be indicative of level of hydration). However, contrary to previous practice, this should not be used as an excuse to cut large amounts of water weight. Why? My body is conditioned to function with that much water in it. Cleaning up your diet is one thing. Losing <5% of you body weight in water to compensate for the weight of your uniform and "just for good measure" is acceptable I suppose. But 9 lbs of water that my body is used to functioning with and suddenly having to achieve a zenith with less than sufficient materials.
What to do, what to do? I am planning to compete in the next higher weight class for my up coming competition. That would be Middle Weight (181.0) rather than Light Weight (167.5). I feel that at this weight I would be closer to my natural body weight. Actually, I would still need to keep a strict diet. Why? Because my plan for the future three months is to gain back some muscle mass that will put my weight closer to its natural set point while still maintaining as low percentage of body fat that I carry now (calculation before any type of "cutting" other than a carefully planned and delicate diet). The point is that I have no qualms about balanced and informed dieting. Cutting on the other hand, for jiu jitsu purposes, has gotten me no where. When I was on a good diet and fought at a natural but lean and managed weight I won silver medals in both of those tournament. When I cut to make the official IBJJ weight class below, I lost in the first round of both of those tournaments. This leaves me two option, go up or down. Since my body fat (before any type of cutting) was around the 5-6% range this is beyond the realm of "good dieting". Veto the "losing the rest of the weight in a healthy manner" option. And thus that leaves me with the goal I stated above.
It is a goal of mine to assimilate this 8 Week Experience with a couple others to write one large eBook. That is to say that rather than having to read dozens of lengthy blog posts, one can click to the "BOOK" one and have it all sitting in front of them in one place. Ideally there will be a "lose weight" section, a "build mass" section, and possibly a cutting weight section should I return to the octagon prior to the completion of the book. Of course I am not a doctor and you should consult one before doing anything you read here, but if you're reading this you should already know this. I want it to be an encyclopedia of dieting not only for my readers, but for myself. If I want to know what I looked like at any point in time of my life, it is on my computer AND my blog as well as a detailed plan of how I got there.
My most sincere thanks go out to my instructors Jack McVicker and Brad Peplow, as well as Vicki Boisvert and Ryan Blackorby, my friends who have supported my training, my readers and clients for keeping me motivated, my teammates at Peoria Athletic Club who kick my butt ever day, especially Ryan Prouty and Will Link for sharing some truly invaluable wisdom (that can only be earned through coming of age) with me after a tough loss. The working title for the eBook is "Chronicles of an Open Source Athlete: A Comprehensive Case Study." If you've been keeping up with my weekly posts, now you know how I lost weight. Stay tuned to figure out how I gain it (the good kind), and where I go after that. As Neil Young put it; "I'ma keep on rockin' in the free world."
Competition Week - Week 8: 2/27 - 3/3/12
Data:
*Morning Prior to the Competition (3/2/12)
Weight: 168
BMI: 26.31
PBF (old): 4.8
PBF (new): 6.82
Blood Pressure: 138 / 78
Heart Rate: 66
Neck: 16
Chest: 40.75
Waist: 30
Hip: 31
*Prior to Dehydration (6 PM, 3/2/12)
Weight: 167.5
BMI: 26.2
*Before Bed (9 PM, 3/2/12)
Weight: 165.5
BMI: 25.9
*Morning of Competition (5:30 AM, 3/3/12)
Weight: 161.5
BMI: 25.29
Waist: 29.5
PBF (old): 4.1
*Competition Day
Arrival Weight (TIME): 163
Official Weigh In (TIME): 161.5
Training Schedule:
Monday - 2 hours BJJ (moderate intensity)
Tuesday AM - 1 hour BJJ (light intensity)
Tuesday PM - 30 min Meditation
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - 1 hour BJJ (drill frequently used techniques)
Friday - 30 min Meditation
Saturday - Competition
Total Training Hours: 5 Hours
Cold Shower Procedure:
Monday - Contrast Shower, 1 min intervals, 7 min total
Tuesday - Thursday - 7 min cold shower
Friday - Hot Bath with Epsom's Dalt
Strength and Conditioning:
None
90 Second Morning Exercises:
| 2/27/2012 | 30 sec chair dips |
| 30 sec chair pull ups | |
| 30 sec squat | |
| 2/29/2012 | 30 sec push up to plank |
| 30 sec bent over fly | |
| 30 sec vertical pull | |
| 3/1/2012 | 90 sec jumping jacks |
Weight Cut Procedure (Official):
| Competition Cut Diet (Low Sodium, Low Carb) - Week of Competition | |||||||
| Monday & Tuesday: | |||||||
| Daily Intake - Regular 1500 Calorie Diet w/ high sodium options | |||||||
| Wednesday: | |||||||
| Daily Intake - Regular 1500 Calorie Diet w/ average sodium intake | |||||||
| Thursday & Friday: | |||||||
| Daily Intake (1200 Cal) | |||||||
| Meal / Time | Cal | Protein (g) | Fat (g) | Carb (g) | Sodium (mg) | Descrip. | |
| 1 / 8 am | 150 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 150 | Whey | |
| 2 / 10 am | 178 | 17 | 10 | 5 | 50 | Tofu | |
| 3 / 1:30 pm | 156 | 30 | 4 | 0 | 70 | Fish | |
| 4 / 3 pm | 174 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 190 | Nuts | |
| 5 / 5 pm | 135 | 23 | 3 | 4 | 90 | Vegetable + Chicken | |
| 6 / 7 pm | 149 | 22 | 5 | 4 | 80 | Vegetable + Turkey | |
| 7 / 9 pm | 114 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 90 | Vegetable + Chicken | |
| 8 / 10:30 pm | 174 | 6 | 14 | 6 | 190 | Nuts | |
| Total | 1230 | 151 | 54 | 36 | 910 | ||
| 49.11% | 39.51% | 11.71% | |||||
Diuretic Spices: (In any combination; one serving of each per day)
Lemon Juice
Cayenne Pepper
Parsley Flakes
Apple Cider Vinegar
Ginger
Garlic
Cumin
Supplements:
Muscle Pharm Combat Powder (Whey Protein) - one 38g scoop per day
Equate Men's One Daily (Multivitamin) - one tablet per day
NOW Slimula (Green Tea + Yerba Mate supplement) - 4 capsules per day
Universal Animal Flex (Joint Supplement) - one pack per day
Cut Progression:
5 Days Out - High Sodium Diet for 2 Days, 1500 cal
3 Days Out - Moderate Sodium Intake (one day), 1500 cal
2 Days Out - Low Sodium / Low Carb Diet, 1200 cal
Day Before - Low Sodium / Low Carb Diet, 1200 cal, Stop Water Intake 3 hours before bed, Hot
Bath with Epsom's Salt before bed, 8 hours of sleep
Morning Of - Breakfast = Protein Cake (liquid eggs + whey), slowly rehydrate as weight allows
Arrival On Site - MetRx Big 100, Pasta & Fruit, 5 Hour Energy Extra Strength
Every Hour - one Power Bar, water as weight allows
As Needed - Kashi GoLean
One Hour Before Weigh In - MetRx Big 100, water as weight allows
After Official Weigh In - Water
Weight Cut Log (Comparison of Practice and Official):
*The IBJJF weight class I compete in is 167.5 lbs (76kg), must weigh in while wearing gi and belt
| Trail Weight Cut | Date | Weight w/ Gi | |
| Before Cut | 2/23/2012 | 171.5 | |
| Night Before Workout | 2/25/2012 | 174 | |
| Morning of Workout | 2/26/2012 | 169.5 | |
| 20 min Before Workout | 2/26/2012 | 167 (164) | |
| Official Weight Cut | Date | Weight w/ Gi | |
| Before Cut | 3/1/2012 | 171.5 | |
| Weight Check (Friday 7am) | 3/2/2012 | 168 (w/o gi) | |
| Pre-Dehydration (Fri 6pm) | 3/2/2012 | 170 (167.5) | |
| Before Bed (Friday 9pm) | 3/2/2012 | 168 (165.5) | |
| Morning of Comp | 3/3/2012 | 164.5 (161.5) | |
| Arrival Check In | 3/3/2012 | 166 | |
| Official Weight In | 3/3/2012 | 164 | |
Weekly Notes:
No Stool Softener / Laxative - as you can see for the above summary I opted to NOT take any kind
of supplemental diuretic pill. Call it what you will, but I demand to retain some integrity and
ethical practice in my athletic preparation regardless of legal flexibility and if drug tests are or
are not part of the competition regulation.
Changes From Practice Cut - Sodium Intake - as you can see from the Cut Progression Diet, my
sodium intake was a bit (20mg) less than the practice cut last week. Carbohydrates - were
significantly reduced from about 19% of my daily calories to about 11%. I think a
combination of these things as well as the "moderate sodium" day between the high and low
intervals assisted and reducing my body's water retention. The perceived loss is a noticeable
one rather than fairly negligible as was the case during the practice run. Diuretic Spices -
seemed to have a greater effect this time around compared to the practice run. I am unsure of
the cause of this, but I suspect that it is a joint effort between the spices and the previously
mentioned factors. It should also be mentioned, I believe it was in last week's post also, that
several of the faucets in my home contain softened water. That is, water that has had minerals
filtered out of it by a sort of diffusion property that sodium has. That means that some of the
tap water in my home contains somewhat salted water. These contents were not included in
my notation of "average" sodium intake. However, during the Low Sodium / Low Carb
intervals I still allowed myself to drink as much water as I desired, but NOT from these faucets.
Day Before Meal Schedule - In last week's practice cut I still ate as I normally do (first meal within
30 - 60 min of waking, one meal ever 2-4 hours, last meal about 2 hours before bed) on the day
before the mock competition / workout. For the real deal I will still have breakfast at the
normal time, eat meals about every 2 hours, and try to consume all but one of them prior to
my water restriction / depletion procedure. I will save one small meal for later in the evening.
I do not want my metabolism to slow too much (though at this point calories are irrelevant and
weight is more a matter of literal grams of food and water in vs grams of waste [perspiration,
urine, and feces] out). In the same right I do not want to be tempted to drink anything during
the meal when I am trying to drain most of non-vital water out of my body. Thus, I will
consume most of my meals prior to the start of dehydration (apx. 6 PM) and have one meal
between then and my scheduled 9 PM bed time.
Sleep - Due to my work schedule my biological clock (circadian rhythm) did not agree with the
intelligent plan I had set forth. That is a fancy way of saying I couldn't fall asleep the night
before the tournament. As a result I got about 5 hours of sleep before getting up to hit the
road, could not sleep in the card, and barely caught 40winks with bright lights and loud
speakers at the tournament.
The Final Cut - There were some changes to my planned competition day cut schedule. I wanted
to wake up in the morning on weight so that I could re-hydrate on the drive to the
tournament. All things went according to plan so far, I woke up on weight. I had a small
breakfast (my protein cake that I had cooked the day prior had gone stale) consisting of
peanut butter on toast with about 4oz of venison. On the way to the tournament I drank two,
16oz cups of coffee and a 20oz Powerade upon arrival. I am not sure if I was having trouble
adjusting to their scale or not, but I was not able to eat anything other than two Power Bars
between arrival and the competition start because I had to keep a close watch on my water
weight.
Competition Results:
I lost in the first round via armbar from a triangle in the closing seconds of the match. There is some speculation as to the match running longer than it should have. However, I will not start down the list of excuses that could include: my work schedule didn't let me sleep much the night before, I have a lot going on between school, preparing for graduate school, and work-place politics.... etc, etc. None of that matters. When I woke up the morning of the competition I knew all of that and I still got in the car with my teammates and drove to the tournament. Call it as you choose to see it, but the bottom line is that I was up on points and got caught and lost. One and done. Live and learn.
Follow Up Strength Test:
There are no plans for a follow up strength test at this time. Though I tracked my weight training goals and workouts the focus of my physical training is NOT strength or endurance. Rather it is better performance in my choice of recreation / competitive sports. Weight training is something that is purely supplemental to these things and hardly a replacement for or equal to. Strength training workouts will continue o be logged in the future (though not necessarily on this blog) as my training camp schedule dictates. At this time I do not have plans to compete in a strength event or train specifically for a "strength test."
Where Do We Go From Here?
*My Apologies for Getting a Bit Windy Here :(
Failure. It is something that we will all have to learn to deal with sooner or later. Our lives are not lush smoothly paved roads. They are full of potholes and dry spells. This marks the second tournament in a row that I have lost in the first round at (regardless of circumstances, more on this later). I could wallow in my self-pity or hang my hat on past deeds but I refuse to accept contention with those things. Where I go for here is to analyze previous experiences and apply that wisdom to future training camps and competitions. I get back in the gym, I keep training, I re-examine a few things as a time, and I keep going. I am 23 years old. I could realistically be competing in this sport (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) for the next 15 years, easily, and possibly for 20+. You don't have to be a math genius to figure out that that is whole lot of tournaments that I have yet to compete in.
The next competition that I am planning on taking part in is scheduled for the 9th of June 2012; it is another BJJ tournament. Initially I wanted to attempt an amateur boxing debut in late April before this tournament. However, I think that this will be removed from the docket. This makes two chips on my should from jiu jitsu tournaments that have left a bad taste in my mouth (whether it be my own fault or not).
Weight. This is a big one, as in 8 weeks of neurotic data collection "big." The topic of "cutting" weight comes up a lot in fighting. It is no surprise that different methods of extreme, rapid, and usually dangerous, methods of weight loss have been used for making weight in fighting sports. What is sometimes overlooked is that this method can, and should, vary depending on the sport of competition. For example, consider the time interval between the official weigh-ins and the actual commencement of the competition for a few different sports. In Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) there is about a 20 hour window to rehydrate and refuel, in wrestling there is about an hour, and for jiu jitsu (IBJJF tournaments) there is about 5 minutes. How do you think I would feel or perform if I cut as much for a jiu jitsu tournament as I did for a MMA bout? I'd get massacred because I would be running on literally fumes and have squelched all but the vital water out of my body right? How do you propose one get all of those nutrients, fuel, and liquids back into the body in a matter of single digit minutes? Sure you could chug a gallon of water, but would you feel bloated, or like puking, or like your about to crap your pants when you have to be at your apex seconds later? The point is that there are limitations to weight cutting as the Risk/Reward scale is balanced (or not). I feel that in my previous jiu jitsu tournament last fall that I absolutely did "gas" or run out of energy midway through the first match. I am not blaming the loss on this, but it is something I can learn from. So I took what I thought a wiser approach this time around. I did not feel "as gassed", but this is hardly acceptable. Perhaps chance or fate just screwed me over and I "just got caught" as some will say. But the bottom line is that I lost and at several points in the bout I felt like I would be content to just "hang on" and ride it out (stall and win on points) rather than attempt to finish (submit) my opponent. I never... let me say that again... NEVER want the thought of satisfaction with contention to cross my mind during a competition again. As Jim Rome once said; "trying not to lose will get you beat every time".... and it has.
Why bother? What makes this whole weight cutting issue particularly interesting in regards to jiu jitsu is that typically athletes cut weight so that they can be bigger and stronger compared to their opponents in the same weight class. Of course, but the same logic, smaller opponents will also be lighter and faster. The interesting part is that Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was designed specifically so that smaller and weaker people could defend themselves against bigger and stronger opponents. If you have trained more than one day of BJJ in your life, you know that in this sport technique and timing reign infinitely supreme over quaint and trite qualities such as speed, power, and strength. The question, then, to ask is how could you improve your technique just a little bit to give you the same advantage (as if it were all as simple as a game of probabilities and cards) as you're anticipated strength advantage from cutting weight? Before you even bother to answer that question consider that improving your technique will have NONE of the negative aspects or risks of cutting weight and the potential benefit will be greater since the sport is centered on technical ability anyway! Of course you could always get stronger by weight training and manipulating your diet to stay at the same, natural weight. The point here is that, I believe and many others would agree, you are better off in a jiu jitsu tournament competing at a weight where you are comfortable, feel natural, and relaxed, and are technically savvy and physically lucid. Why the heck would you want to cut weight then?
A few points on this particular cut should be addressed. My body in particular carries an abnormally large amount of water. By this I mean that I could probably lose about 5 lbs of urine in two trips to the restroom over the course of 5 hours; or drop the same 5 lbs of water weight and have my urine still look like lemonade (not at all like apple juice - *urine color can be indicative of level of hydration). However, contrary to previous practice, this should not be used as an excuse to cut large amounts of water weight. Why? My body is conditioned to function with that much water in it. Cleaning up your diet is one thing. Losing <5% of you body weight in water to compensate for the weight of your uniform and "just for good measure" is acceptable I suppose. But 9 lbs of water that my body is used to functioning with and suddenly having to achieve a zenith with less than sufficient materials.
What to do, what to do? I am planning to compete in the next higher weight class for my up coming competition. That would be Middle Weight (181.0) rather than Light Weight (167.5). I feel that at this weight I would be closer to my natural body weight. Actually, I would still need to keep a strict diet. Why? Because my plan for the future three months is to gain back some muscle mass that will put my weight closer to its natural set point while still maintaining as low percentage of body fat that I carry now (calculation before any type of "cutting" other than a carefully planned and delicate diet). The point is that I have no qualms about balanced and informed dieting. Cutting on the other hand, for jiu jitsu purposes, has gotten me no where. When I was on a good diet and fought at a natural but lean and managed weight I won silver medals in both of those tournament. When I cut to make the official IBJJ weight class below, I lost in the first round of both of those tournaments. This leaves me two option, go up or down. Since my body fat (before any type of cutting) was around the 5-6% range this is beyond the realm of "good dieting". Veto the "losing the rest of the weight in a healthy manner" option. And thus that leaves me with the goal I stated above.
It is a goal of mine to assimilate this 8 Week Experience with a couple others to write one large eBook. That is to say that rather than having to read dozens of lengthy blog posts, one can click to the "BOOK" one and have it all sitting in front of them in one place. Ideally there will be a "lose weight" section, a "build mass" section, and possibly a cutting weight section should I return to the octagon prior to the completion of the book. Of course I am not a doctor and you should consult one before doing anything you read here, but if you're reading this you should already know this. I want it to be an encyclopedia of dieting not only for my readers, but for myself. If I want to know what I looked like at any point in time of my life, it is on my computer AND my blog as well as a detailed plan of how I got there.
My most sincere thanks go out to my instructors Jack McVicker and Brad Peplow, as well as Vicki Boisvert and Ryan Blackorby, my friends who have supported my training, my readers and clients for keeping me motivated, my teammates at Peoria Athletic Club who kick my butt ever day, especially Ryan Prouty and Will Link for sharing some truly invaluable wisdom (that can only be earned through coming of age) with me after a tough loss. The working title for the eBook is "Chronicles of an Open Source Athlete: A Comprehensive Case Study." If you've been keeping up with my weekly posts, now you know how I lost weight. Stay tuned to figure out how I gain it (the good kind), and where I go after that. As Neil Young put it; "I'ma keep on rockin' in the free world."
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