At Power Plant Gym, we generally take a weight neutral approach. That means we don’t assume things about you based on your body size, and we avoid pushing weight loss. That being said, we coach athletes in sports that have weight classes, so the question of whether to cut or not comes up a lot. As with many things, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, but let’s talk about some factors to consider.
Is this your first comp?
For your first comp, it probably does not make sense to cut. You’ll have a lot of other things to figure out, and adding a cut to the rest of your challenges is likely to be stressful. Invest your time and energy into training. Eat well, but don’t do anything drastic with your weight.
How will a cut impact you mentally?
For some folks, cutting can have significant impact on your mood and might trigger other body image related challenges. If a cut is likely to negatively impact you mentally, it probably makes more sense to just work on getting stronger and compete in whatever weight class you show up in. Some people find strength sports after recovering from an eating disorder, and it might be really harmful to do a weight cut for competing. It is not worth jeopardizing your recovery for a sport that is really mostly a hobby.
How close are you to the next class?
If you’re very close to the next class down, cutting might be beneficial. In strongman, the next class down will mean lighter weights, and you might be more competitive weighing in at the high end of a class rather than the low end. What is “very close”? That kind of depends on you, on your current body composition, and on how easily you drop weight, but for most people, within about 5 pounds to 10 pounds is a fairly modest cut. We suggest working on a nutrition plan during your comp prep to help you lose enough weight for the next weight class down. While a water cut can be effective, they can also lead to you feeling like trash and performing poorly at your comp.
How important is this specific comp?
Are you trying to qualify for a larger competition? Are there other prizes on the line? Do you just really want to compete against a specific person? There’s not an easy answer for this question, but it’s worth considering how important it really is. If this is just for fun, and you’re not looking to qualify for something else, just show up and have a good time.
If you’re trying to qualify for something, is this the class you want to continue to compete in?
If you’re hoping to qualify for a national or other larger competition, some federations will require you to compete in the same class that you qualified in. That means you want to be able to maintain close to the weight you’re competing in. If you do some radical 50 pound cut to compete and qualify, and then don’t maintain that weight loss, you could find yourself having to do it all over again for the next competition. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, but consider whether this is viable for subsequent (especially higher level) comps.
For most folks, the best approach to cutting is a longer period of macro tracking at a modest deficit. It can sound weird to say we’re weight neutral and recommend this, but this is the nature of competing in a weight class sport. It is possible to approach weight classes and weight cuts in a way that is thoughtful to the whole person. We never push our athletes to cut unless they ask about it, and when people bring up cutting, the questions above are what guide our thinking. If you don’t want to cut, you never need to!
