Cutting weight without losing strength is a priority for many sportspeople before a tournament. There are scores of methods of losing weight. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough to try them all. Before we pick a method, it’s worth to evaluate if it will be good for us, because not all methods fit all people.

How do armwrestlers cut weight? What is the general method, and what are the exceptions? A multiple champion of Tiumenia , Russian championships and a Master of Sports, Mikhail Shavaleev, had to cut weight many times. He found the best way.

I learned from experience that it makes no sense to cut more than 3 – 4 kg – you lose too much strength – says Mikhail. – in the past, I used to take herbal diuretics 2-3 days before the weigh – ins, I cut nearly all water from my diet. I cut up to 8 kilos, but I felt really bad at the weigh-ins. Then I ate, drank, tried to normalize my condition. Thus, at the day of a fight, I was pumped full of water.

Nowadays, before a contest, I try to moderate my eating, I keep steady weight, and so I don’t really have to cut. If I have to cut 2-3 kg, then I limit my eating and drinking a day before. That usually helps.

The Master of Sports international class, Vadim Akperov, limits salty and sweet foods, which helps him get to chosen categories. A junior world champion, Artem Smirnov, diets on fruit and vegetables – he swears that diet combined with proteins minimizes strength loss due to cutting. Many sportsmen that I know prefer to run in warm clothes to lose weight quick. But the most successful option is the one preferred by Ivan Dobrorezov, PR specialist for RAA. He and his students use a legal, but little known method, that helps cut weight without losing power. He has agreed to share this method with us, which he in turned borrowed from a well-known specialist in sports nutrition from the USA.

More on the creative and effective ways to cut weight in the next article, “When you lose weight, lose it efficiently”, on armpower.net. Don’t miss it!

Artur Grigoryan