Cutting Weight

CUTTING WEIGHT
BRIAN CARROLL
WORLD-RECORD POWERLIFTER
THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MAKING WEIGHT
FOR POWERLIFTING AND OTHER
WEIGHT CLASS SPORTS
CUTTING WEIGHT:
The Ultimate Guide to Making
Weight for Powerlifting and
Other Weight Class Sports
BRIAN CARROLL
Copyright © 2013, by Brian Carroll. All rights reserved. Original printing in USA. No
part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any way, nor electronically
stored, accessed or shared, without the prior written approval of the copyright holder,
except as may otherwise be allowed by applicable law.
Tis book is not medical or any other form of professional advice that requires licensing in
any jurisdiction. It is for scientifc and educational purposes only. Please consult a qualifed
health care professional for medical advice. Te author, any contributors, publisher, and
copyright holder(s) (and their successors) are not responsible for any adverse efects associ-
ated with any use of this book.
Where third party trademarks are used in this book reason- able eforts were made to iden-
tify the trademark owner where frst used, and in a customary manner. All such use is in an
editorial fashion with no intention of infringement. To be clear, all third party trademarks
are the property of their respective owners.
All photos by Ken Richardson and Ken Hicks. Cover and book design by Stephanie Bastek,
http://www.stephaniebastek.com
iii
CONTENTS iii
TESTIMONIALS............................................................. iv
ABOUT THE AUTHOR .................................................. vi
INTRODUCTION............................................................ 1
TO CUT, OR NOT TO CUT ......................................... 4
Decisions, Decisions.................................................... 4
My Cutting Progression................................................ 6
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR CUTTING WEIGHT........ 10
Consult Your Physician................................................ 10
Cutting For a Two Hour Weigh-In................................ 11
Restricting Carbs ......................................................... 12
Drink Copious Amounts of Water............................... 13
Cleanse Your Colon...................................................... 13
Salt Loading .................................................................. 14
Water Pills..................................................................... 14
The Sauna...................................................................... 15
What If You’re Ahead of the Game?........................... 17
Be Patient..................................................................... 18
The Recap...................................................................... 19
PUTTING THE WEIGHT BACK ON........................ 20
You Can Eat Again........................................................ 20
Bagging Up................................................................... 21
Take a Nap..................................................................... 22
Perform a Light Workout............................................. 22
Competition Day.......................................................... 24
CONTENTS iii
TESTIMONIALS iv
ABOUT THE AUTHOR vi
INTRODUCTION 1
TO CUT, OR NOT TO CUT 4
Decisions, Decisions 4
My Cutting Progression 6
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR CUTTING WEIGHT
Consult Your Physician 10
Cutting For a Two Hour Weigh-In 11
Restricting Carbs 12
Drink Copious Amounts of Water 13
Cleanse Your Colon 14
Salt Loading 14
Water Pills 15
The Sauna 16
What If You’re Ahead of the Game? 17
Be Patient 18
The Recap 19
PUTTING THE WEIGHT BACK ON 20
You Can Eat Again 20
Bagging Up 21
Take a Nap 22
Perform a Light Workout 22
Competition Day 24
CONTENTS
iv
TESTIMONIALS
“Brian Carroll’s guidance with making weight has made a huge diference
for me. I love his methodical approach. More importantly, I appreciate
the thoroughness of his protocol. He gave me the easiest time I’ve had in
cutting weight, and I maintained my performance as a result.”
—Al Caslow, world record holder in the squat at 165
“I was close to a meet, and 20 pounds over my weight class, so I called
Brian. Everything he said would happen, did. I think he has a crystal
ball that tells him exactly what I’ll feel, and when. I made weight right
on time, and was able to focus on the competition in front of me. With
Brian, this isn’t magic. It’s experience and knowledge.”
—Jesse Burdick, 821 pound deadlifter at 220
“Brian’s approach is simple: He’s no BS, straightforward, and refreshing.
Everything he says works, and he’s had me dialed in perfectly for my
weigh-ins. With his protocol, I was able to cut 12 pounds efortlessly and
earn an elite total at 165 pounds.”
—Allison Lockhart, Canadian elite raw and multi-ply powerlifter
“I’ve tried cutting weight on my own by doing it the old fashioned
way—sweating it out, with no method or plan. With Brian’s advice and
coaching, I went from 215 to 198 and set numerous world records in
the squat and bench, along with an all-time world record total of 2620 at
198 pounds. Brian made this easy, with no decrease in my performance.”
—Shawn Frankl, holder of multiple world records
v
“Brian helped me with my cut the last time I made 148. He laid out a
plan, I followed it, cut 14 pounds, and ended up setting world records in
the squat and with my total of 1930, which still stands today.”
—Brian Schwab, holder of multiple world records
“Brian’s cuts work well for me because we both squat big, and we both
like to cut a lot of weight. His protocols work. I’ve gone through them
with him, I’ve experienced his results, and they work. For our last cut to
198, I hit a world record 1050 pound squat.”
—Sam Byrd, holder of multiple world records
vi
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Carroll has been a competitive powerlifter since 1999. Since fn-
ishing second (as a junior) in the open class at the 2004 WPC Worlds
(totaling 2000 pounds), he’s been one of the most accomplished and
consistent lifters in the history of the sport.
Brian holds, and has held, multiple world, national, and state records
in the 220, 242, and 275 pound weight classes, and he’s one of a select
few to ever hold a pro total in three diferent weight classes. Addition-
ally, he’s one of few lifters in history to be ranked in the top-ten in three
diferent weight classes at the same time. He currently lifts in the 275
pound class, where he’s ranked second in the world with a total of 2730
and a historic then-world-record 1185 pound squat.
A member of Team Samson Powerlifting in Jacksonville, FL, Brian is a
self-employed personal trainer and licensed massage therapist. His life-
time powerlifting highlights are as follows:
• 220 Class: 1030 squat, 633
bench, 755 deadlift; 2375 total
(10th best of all time)
• 242 Class: 1064 squat, 785
bench, 771 deadlift; 2570 total
(5th best of all time)
• 275 Class: 1185 squat, 785
bench, 800 deadlift; 2730 total
(3rd best of all time)
1
INTRODUCTION
I frst started cutting weight for powerlifting competition about ten
years ago. Since then, refning my weight-cutting process has entailed a
lot of experimentation and a lot of conversations with people who know
what they’re doing. After a long career in this sport, I’ve found some
techniques that really work—and will continue to work every time you
use them. I started with a fve-pound cut that frst time out, but since
then, I’ve cut as much as 35 pounds to make weight, and I’ve fgured a
few things out along the way that I believe can help you optimize your
full potential as a lifter.
After doing this successfully for myself quite a few times over the years,
I’ve become something of an authority on the subject, advising multiple
world record holders and coaching them to successful cuts. Tese lifters
include:
• Brian Schwab: All-time world record total in the 148 pound class.
• Shawn Frankl: All-time bench and total world records in the 198
pound class.
• Al Caslow: All-time squat world record in the 165 pound class.
• Sam Byrd: All-time squat world record in the 198 pound class.
Additionally, I’ve made cuts and set world records in the squat in both
the 220 and 275 pound classes, in addition to several other cuts where
I’ve won competitions and set both national and world records. I’ve also
helped dozens of other competitors, both male and female, successfully
cut weight for local, state, and national powerlifting meets.
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What You’re Getting Here
Every cut is diferent, for every lifter. Some of the easiest cuts I’ve seen
have happened when the lifter least expected them. Conversely, some of
the most difcult cuts I’ve ever seen were supposed to be easy ones. Your
body is constantly changing, and it’ll respond to weight cutting in dif-
ferent ways, with a lot of diferent variables in play. One thing, however,
never changes:
By taking care of everything you can control—meaning the things you
absolutely have 100 percent control of—you can really help your chances
for success. And by 100 percent control, I’m referring to what you put
into your body.
Te framework I’m going to share with you in this eBook is more than
just a simple guide. It’s also not a bunch of ridiculous bro-science of
the type you’ll see all over the internet. Instead, this is a proven method
for cutting up to ten percent—or more—of your bodyweight while still
maintaining the ability to perform at a high level. In fact, if you use my
methods, I believe you’ll perform better than you ever have in your life.
One thing you’ll need to keep in mind is the fact that there are risks
involved here. Tings can go horribly wrong over the course of any weight
cut. You can get sick, you can pass out, you can overheat and be worth-
less on competition day—or you can even fail to make weight.
Tere’s no greater feeling, however, than the one you’ll have when you’re
sitting at the rules briefng weighing 20 pounds heavier than anyone
in your weight class—with your muscles popping with fullness. You’ll
know you’ve defed logic at that point, and you’ll be competing in what
rightfully should be a class below you.
My main goal in writing this eBook, then, is to help guide you and
improve your chances to succeed in the best and most efcient way pos-
sible. I’ve learned how to do this the hard way, and because of that expe-
rience, I know exactly how to teach you what to do, what to avoid,
when to let up, and when you have to push yourself. I know the tips and
3
tricks that will keep you ahead of the curve, and I’ll use lessons from my
own career to show you how to avoid the pitfalls and dangers of cutting
weight.
Tanks for purchasing this book. Use it in good health.
Respectfully,
Brian Carroll
St. Augustine, Florida
4
TO CUT, OR NOT TO CUT
Decisions, Decisions
Now that I’m over a decade into my powerlifting career, I look at things
a lot diferently than I used to. After several years of cutting weight for
every meet, it’s not worth it to me to do this anymore. In fact, the only
time I suggest cutting is if you’re looking to compete against a particular
lifter in a specifc weight class, you have some kind of unfnished busi-
ness in a weight class, or if you’re going for a world record—a true world
record, and not some cheesy federation record.
Wait. Tis is a weight cutting manual, right? So why am I telling you
that it’s not advisable to cut weight in the frst place? Well, frst of, I
meant what I said. Tings can go horribly wrong for you, both mentally
and physically, if you don’t do everything right. You can have a great ff-
teen-week training cycle—along with a lot of money and a big opportu-
nity—go down the drain just because you did a bad job of cutting weight.
Te key? Pick your spots. If you’re going to do this, do it at the right
time, do it carefully, and don’t take it lightly. I say this because one of the
major reasons why I suggest that lifters not cut is the fact that it becomes
an all-consuming process while you’re doing it.
Once you have some experience under your belt, don’t cut for smaller
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Do not attempt to cut more than 5 percent if you’re mentally weak
and have no heart.
1
5
meets. Save your cuts for the big ones. With that said, however, I wouldn’t
suggest trying your frst major weight cut in the biggest meet of your life.
If it’s your frst time, try it out in a meet that doesn’t have a world title
on the line.
When I was making ten per-
cent cuts, it was all I could think
about. It was really the only
thing on my mind during meet
week—and then, once I actu-
ally made weight, I needed to
get obsessed with recovering so I
could have some decent strength
on the platform. Te problem
with this was that I wasn’t able
to fully focus on competition
day and the things I had to do. I
was always distracted, and things
that could have helped me were
put on the back-burner. Some-
times this was a good thing, but
in general, I wouldn’t suggest
being distracted like this on com-
petition day—especially when
the distractions are avoidable,
and even more so if you’re not a
highly experienced competitor.
It can seriously beat you down
after a while. I remember always
worrying about what I was eat-
ing, and always being obsessed
with whether my weight was up
or down a pound or two—and
I’d be pissed if I’d gained any-
Te meet doesn’t start until the
bar is on the foor, but a bad cut
can end your day a lot sooner.
6
thing when I didn’t want to. Tis type of thing can make you feel like a
supermodel instead of a powerlifter, and that’s bad. I wasn’t able to enjoy
myself, and constantly starving and dehydrating myself down to nothing
wasn’t worth competing in a lower weight class after doing it for so long.
I don’t suggest cutting more than 8-10 percent of your body weight
more often than twice per year, because it’s so very taxing, both mentally
and physically. When you do it right, you can still perform at 100 per-
cent and look like you belong two weight classes higher, but it takes a lot
out of you. Use extreme caution, and do this sparingly.
My Cutting Progression
For my frst meet, I didn’t necessarily “cut weight,” at least in the strict
defnition of the term. I did, however, fast for some of the day to make
sure I came in under 220 pounds. I was always on the bubble, and I
knew it would be close, so I didn’t want to take any chances. For my sec-
ond meet, my weight was up to 235, so—being the experimenter that
I am—I played around with some carb manipulation techniques and
cut down to 220 within two weeks. Te problem with this was that it
happened two weeks before the meet, and it screwed up my training for
those last two weeks. As a result, the meet didn’t go as well as it could
have, or should have, and my bench and squat sufered.
After two years in the sport, my weight was starting to creep up to
about 240, but I was getting more and more solid. Tis is where things
open up for a bit of debate. Tere are experts who say that guys with
more muscle can lose water more easily, while others will say that “soft”
guys can do this faster.
I’m not sure which side of this argument I’m on, but I can tell you that
after cutting almost 10 percent of my body weight, I needed some help
with rehydration. I contacted a friend who could get IV bags, and I had
him show me how to hook them up. Since 2006, I’ve “bagged up” for every
meet for which I’ve had to cut more than fve percent of my body weight.
7
Tis changed everything with regard to the way I go about cutting,
because it allows me to recover almost to feeling 100 percent within the
frst hour of the start of bag therapy. Having this as an option also made
me want to push the cuts harder. I knew I could tolerate the sufering
from the cut if it meant getting bigger and cutting more weight, because
the option of immediately bagging up was now available to me.
I worked like this until 2007, which was when I competed at 220 for
the last time. For that meet, I came down from a body weight of 255.
Tis was one of the hardest cuts I ever had to make, and my performance
defnitely sufered. At that point, I knew it was the right time to move up
to the 242 pound class.
One major thing I noticed
here was that every time I cut
down from over 240 to make
the 220 class, each cut seemed
to get more difcult—and
I became noticeably larger
every time I bounced back
to my normal weight. Part
of this was the gorging I did
once I made weight, as my
body grew from all the depri-
vation because of all the extra
calories that were suddenly
available to me.
By 2008, after only one
year of lifting as a 242, I was
already up to 260. My body
was now growing like a weed,
and each cut was yielding
about two pounds of mass
growth that stayed with me
for the following training
About to put on a show for the
cameras at the EliteFTS S4
Compound.
8
cycle. It wasn’t long before I was cutting 10 percent of my body weight
again to get down to 242, and it was getting old. Fast.
When 2009 rolled around, I knew my days of lifting in the 242 class
were behind me. I had grown to over 270, and my body was obviously
trying to tell me something. I made my debut at 275 in October 2009,
weighing in at 270 without cutting any weight at all. Te following year,
at the same meet, I had to scramble to cut ten pounds from 285 to 275.
I did this with no water or carb prep, just managing to use some dande-
lion root and spitting techniques to drop the weight with minimal efort.
Since 2009, I’ve competed at 275 for every meet but one. In 2011, I
decided to make one fnal cut to 242, because I thought I had some of
that aforementioned unfnished business down there. Te day, and the
meet, didn’t quite go the way I’d planned, and everything was very disap-
pointing. I didn’t bomb, but it took everything I had to get down under
242—and I had to use every trick in the book (or this book, actually)
to make it happen. In that meet my strength sufered badly, and it was
obvious to me which class I needed to lift in from then on.
My last meet took place in 2013. I cut from 290 to 275 using just a
simple low-carb diet for the fnal week. With a little bit of water loading,
I stepped on the platform at 295. In fact, the most amazing thing about
this was that I was as strong on that platform as I was in my training
cycle, if not stronger (my squat was bigger there than it was in training).
I bagged up for this meet even though the percentage of my cut was
fairly small, and this just happened to be the frst meet I’ve ever com-
peted in where I didn’t have a single cramp for the entire day—or that
night. It was an amazing experience, and one I’d like to repeat for every
meet from now on.
Te most important thing to keep in mind here is that you have to be
mentally prepared to do this the right way. Tere are so many pieces of
the puzzle that come into play that you have to be ready for anything,
at any time. In the next section, I’m going to get into the real nuts and
bolts of cutting weight, ofering my best tips and suggestions for how to
get the job done properly. Depending on how much weight you have to
9
cut—and how much time you have between the weigh-in and your com-
petition—some of these suggestions will be needed in full. For smaller
cuts (2-5 percent of your total body weight), you’ll be able to get away
with doing less, and other tips and tricks won’t be necessary. Just know
what you’ll need to do, and prepare yourself psychologically to do it.
Trust me: Tis is the last place in the world
you want to be worried about your weight cut.
10
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR
CUTTING WEIGHT
In this section, I’m going to get into specifcs regarding how I perform
my weight cuts, and how I program this for other lifters. I’ll be jumping
around a bit from topic to topic in this chapter. Te reason for this, as I
said at the end of the previous chapter, is that you may or may not need
all of these tips. Some will describe your situation perfectly, and some
may not apply to you at all.
Te frst thing you’ll need to do, then, is assess your situation. Know how
much weight you’ll need to cut, know what type of meet you’re compet-
ing in—how much time do you have for your cut, and how much time
will you have between the weigh-in and the meet?—and know what your
physical situation is. From there, use this section as your guide, utilizing
the various methods I’m outlining here to customize your own personal
weight cutting regimen. Everything here works, and it’ll all work like a
charm for you, but you don’t want to overdo it and leave yourself weak
and unmotivated on competition day.
Consult Your Physician
I’ll preface everything here by saying the following, and you need to
listen to me carefully: Call your doctor if you have any questions or concerns
regarding how cutting weight will potentially afect your heath. I don’t sug-
gest using diuretics or taking any extreme measures for any of this. If you
get overheated, or you end up dehydrating yourself too much, serious
2
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR
CUTTING WEIGHT
11
medical situations can arise and you can be setting yourself up for trou-
ble. Seek medical attention immediately if you can’t keep fuids down, or
your heart rate elevates for an extended period of time.
Cutting For a Two Hour Weigh-In
Tis is a difcult situation, and it’s sort of a controversial subject for
me to tackle. Te issue with two hour weigh-ins, obviously, is time and
timing. It’s very difcult to cut more than a couple of pounds, then put
them back on and feel comfortable in time to lift.
Te best way to do this is to use IV bag therapy immediately after you
weigh in. Don’t waste any time in getting this underway. IV bags are not
a drug, and they’re not illegal. What you need to do here is fnd a medical
professional to hook you up, because you want this to be done properly.
Hooking up an IV bag isn’t exactly brain surgery, but it’s not something
you’ll want to play around with, either. Find someone who knows how
to do it, then bribe them, take them out to dinner, or change the oil in
their car for them after the meet.
Sticking to a low-carb diet the week before a meet has been shown to
not totally kill strength. What kills strength, then, is dehydration and
losing fve percent or more of your bodyweight, then not being able to
put it back on. When you have a two hour weigh-in where you’ll be cut-
ting approximately 2-4 percent of your bodyweight—I don’t recommend
trying to cut anything over fve percent under these circumstances—the
following methods and guidelines are advisable:
• Stick to a low-carb diet (under 20 grams per day via green veg-
etables and protein shakes) for three days before the weigh-in.
• Drink two gallons of water for three days, until the day before
the weigh-in.
• Drink one full bottle of magnesium citrate 36 hours before you
12
weigh in.
• Te day before the weigh-in, limit your water intake to one liter
all day, with only protein for food.
• Sweat some right before the weigh-in if you’re still over, and
have your IV bags ready for use immediately afterward. Time is
of the essence here, and every minute counts, so use a sauna suit
for rapid sweat loss and quick results. You can also “run” in the
sauna or on a treadmill.
• Eat a full breakfast and have lots of salty snacks and carbs avail-
able for consumption during IV time.
Restricting Carbs
Going low carb during the last
week before a big cut is one of the
most important things you’ll have
to do. Limit your carb intake to
under 20 grams per day of just
green vegetables—along with
(maybe) some cottage cheese,
Greek yogurt, and protein shakes
made with water. Tis will prime
your body for the cut—and,
for some people, it’ll actually be
enough to shed the pounds of
water you need to lose.
Proteins are crucial here. You’ll
need to consume low-carb shakes,
red meat, turkey, chicken, fsh,
bacon, eggs, sausage, and other
forms. What you’ll really want to
do here is eat enough without try-
When I stare at the chalk bowl
hard enough, donuts appear.
13
ing to starve yourself early in the week. Eat normal portions. Just skip
the carbs.
Also, make sure to keep the fats high. Use coconut oil and fax oil along
with your bacon and sausage. Cafeine is also a must at this point in
order to keep your energy up, especially once you get to the middle of
the week.
Drink Copious Amounts of Water
If your weigh-in is taking place on a Friday, your water loading starts
on Monday. Tis is especially important if you’re doing a low-carb week.
Beginning on that Monday, you’ll load two gallons of water every day
until Tursday, the day before the weigh-in. I prefer to use distilled water
for this purpose, because it seems to take more weight of me. Tis prob-
ably has to do with the lack of minerals usually found in spring water.
Ten, once Tursday rolls around, you’re limited to what I call “sippy
time.” Every time you urinate, you can have a couple of ounces of water,
but not until then.
During these combination low-carb/water loading weeks, I’ll typically
lose 1.5-2 pounds each day until the point where I cut of water alto-
gether. Tis would be typical for lifters from 220-275, as well. Tis adds
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The week before you start a major weight cut, don’t gorge on bad
foods that will make you hold water for an extended period of
time. This will just make the process more diffcult. For the 2006
WPC World Championships, I thought it would be a good idea to
eat a whole French silk pie two days before I started my low-carb
routine. This was not part of my normal diet, and it really made
things diffcult for the cut. The water load actually worked against
me because I was so flled with carbs, and this almost prevented me
from making weight.
14
up, and can be a ten pound weight loss just from the water loading and
the lack of carbs alone. For some lifters, this can be enough to simply
coast right into the meet.
Cleanse Your Colon
36 hours before your weigh-in, clean out your colon by using a mag-
nesium citrate product. Te key to this is to do it before you cut of your
water.
Why magnesium citrate? It’s gentle on your stomach, and won’t cause
cramping the way other products like Ex-Lax and Dulcolax tend to.
For example, if your weigh-in happens on a Saturday, you’ll want to
drink the magnesium citrate on Tursday evening. Tis can sometimes
drop 3-4 pounds by itself. When you wait to use the magnesium citrate
after you cut of your water, you’re holding onto 1-2 pounds of addi-
tional weight from the product itself.
Keep in mind that this stuf is disgusting in terms of taste, and you
won’t want to drink it when you’re dehydrated. You need water in your
colon to excrete waste, and your colon won’t work properly when you’re
not hydrated. From 36 hours in, the amount of food you’ll be consum-
ing will be very low, so don’t worry about the weight of your food after
the cleanse. It’s minimal.
Salt Loading
Also apropos to discuss right now with regard to the low-carb/water
loading strategy is salt loading. What you’ll want to do during this period
is load up on salt with all of your meals. You don’t have to use stupid
amounts here, but put some salt on everything. Tis will help you to
become hyper-hydrated—and that becomes very important when you
cut of all your water the day before your weigh-in.
15
Water Pills
Water pills are always a staple of my weight cuts. After I’ve done all
of the things I’ve mentioned previously, I’ll take water pills (responsi-
bly) throughout the day before weighing in. Tis is usually guaranteed
to drop ten pounds or more. I’ll cut water of at 10 AM, then start my
diuretics around noon. I’ll then take them every 3-4 hours or so, moni-
toring my weight whenever I do so.
Dandelion root works well. Take 1000-1500 mg every three hours as
you monitor weight, starting at noon. Note that this is also used as a lax-
ative, and it has a host of health benefts. Tis is a much more moderate
approach, designed for times where you just need to get a last little bit of
weight of.
For more extreme cuts, you can go with the prescription diuretic Lasix.
I really like Lasix for a variety of reasons. It’s fast-acting and it won’t stay
in your system for a long time. Tis is advantageous because once you
start to approach your goal weight, you don’t want something in your
system that will keep working for hours on end, like Spironolactone or
other longer-acting diuretics.
Tere are side efects with this, but that’s what happens when you cut
large amounts of weight. For a 220-275 pound lifter, take 60-80 mg
every four hours. For lighter lifters, reduce this to 20-40 mg. If your cut
is small, you’ll only need a dose or two. Along with each dose of Lasix,
IMPORTANT NOTE:
I’ve experienced times when diuretics didn’t work, and I’ve had to
drink a lot of water—up to a half gallon—to get them going. This was
caused by waiting to long to start them. At this point, my body didn’t
want to release any water. After three doses, the water kicked them
in, and I urinated like crazy. I don’t recommend this, which is why I
suggest starting your diuretics at 12 PM.
16
a 220-270 pound lifter should also take 500 mg of potassium, 1000 mg
of calcium, and 400 mg of magnesium. If you weigh less than 220, these
dosages will be fne, but you can scale this if you want to.
Additionally, one of the great things about using Lasix is that it’ll help
you avoid sweating most of the time. I don’t know about you, but I’d
rather urinate than sweat when it’s 100 degrees outside. Te more you
urinate, the more you can drink—and I’ve had people take Lasix and be
able to drink water and be comfortable all day.
The Sauna
When you’re cutting weight, it’s extremely important that you have
access to a sauna. Sometimes, the last few pounds of a cut can be stub-
born, and the only real way to get them of is to sweat it out.
My technique for this is to use a 10-minutes-in, 2-minutes-out inter-
val. Tere are two things you should keep in mind for the sauna: First,
make sure you have an ice pack at the ready to put on your head between
sauna bouts. Next, keep towels ready to wipe of your body once you’re
outside, because you don’t want to chance any water going back into
your skin. Tis isn’t likely, but I like to cover all my bases and make abso-
lutely certain.
Finally, if you’re taking diuretics, don’t start sweating in the middle of
the day. Wait for your diuretics to work, and don’t go into panic mode
at 3 PM. Every minute counts during a cut, but you need to give each
individual technique a chance to work. Wait until the evening before
you start to sweat. Here are some additional tips:
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Lasix can be very dangerous, so consult your doctor before you use
it.
17
• Bring someone with you to monitor you in the sauna during
your cut. If possible, have someone cut weight with you.
• Eat ice in the sauna once you start to become overheated.
• Take a break from the sauna if you’re getting too overheated. If
you exceed your threshold of heat too early in your cut, you’re
done. Take your time, and don’t panic.
• Sour gum is a very useful product that can come in very handy
when you need to spit, and hard candy can come in handy during
bouts in the sauna where you need to keep your spirits high.
• I suggest purchasing a sauna suit and using it for your cut. Tis
will help your body temperature rise faster, and it’ll bring on the
sweat faster.
• Steam rooms work very well. You can also turn your hotel bath-
room into a steam room. Block the air cracks around the door,
hope that your bathroom doesn’t have an automatic fan, then
crank the shower all the way up. Many hotels have extremely
hot water, but some don’t. Make sure yours does.
• Hot baths can be very efective. Fill the bathtub to cover your
whole body with water that’s so hot that it burns you if you move.
Every bit of you has to be covered. You’ll sweat in the water, and
you’ll continue to sweat when you get out—just like the other
sweating methods we’ve covered—as your body attempts to cool
of. Use the 10-minutes-in, 2-minutes-out interval.
• Don’t take a shower or jump in a swimming pool until after
you’ve made weight. Your body will want to get hydrated any
way it can. Don’t let it. Stay stinky and look forward to feeling
much better the next day, once you’ve made weight.
What If You’re Ahead of the Game?
Once in a while, you’ll make weight way ahead of schedule, hours before
you’d planned to. If this happens to you—and there are a lot of reasons
18
it can—don’t continue cutting weight. Get yourself some water, have a
few sips of a sports drink, and procure some snacks, because there’s no
need for you to sufer and stay dehydrated any longer than is absolutely
necessary.
It’s times like this where you realize how important it is to both pace
yourself and constantly check your weight. Tere’ve been many occasions
where I’ve had clients drop weight much faster than we expected. With
some of these, we’ve even eaten a full dinner the night before weigh-ins,
and they’ve made weight with no problem the next day. Te last thing
you want to do to yourself is overshoot your goal weight and be misera-
ble for no good reason.
Be Patient
With that said, however, it’s very important that you not make weight
too early. If you’re only two pounds over weight, and you have a 24 hour
weigh-in, you’ll want to take your time and wait until the evening—or
night—to shed these last two pounds. Te best case scenario in this case
is to be just a touch over at bedtime. When you do it this way, the idea
is to wake up early and check your weight frst thing in the morning. If
you’re still over, you can take the rest of it of right before the weigh-in.
Tis way, you’ll be keeping the time you spend in a state of dehydration
to an absolute minimum.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Plan your trips so you arrive early to the meet city, and don’t count
on your fight showing up on time. Get in a day or two earlier than
necessary. I once had to cut weight in an airport, then sprint to the
meet weigh-in. I once also almost missed the time slot for my weigh-
in for the 2006 APF Seniors because my fight arrived 24 hours later
than scheduled.
19
The Recap
Let’s take a look at what we’ve got so far. For a Friday weigh-in:
• Purchase a meet-like scale, and
check your weight every day.
Get accustomed to using it,
and bring it with you to moni-
tor your weight all week—and
before the weigh-in.
• Start your low-carb dieting on
Sunday of meet week.
• On Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday, you’re going to
drink two gallons of water
each day and put a moderate
amount of salt on each meal.
• On Tursday, cut of your
water around 10 or 11 AM,
then take water pills (if neces-
sary) every three hours. Don’t
use the sauna until the evening.
• I always keep sour gum on hand
to spit weight if necessary. Tis
may sound ridiculous, but I’ve
spit 3-4 pounds of weight of
in previous cuts.
• Do a light, high-rep work-
out on Monday, Tuesday, and
Wednesday of meet week to
fush glycogen out of your
muscles.
A few days of improper cutting
can ruin months of intensity in
training.
20
PUTTING THE WEIGHT
BACK ON
You Can Eat Again
Tis section is about eating. It’s about what to do once you’ve made
weight. I’ve seen many lifters successfully cut tons of weight of their
bodies, only to screw up the entire process by mishandling what happens
afterward. How you put the weight back on can be as important—or
even more so—than how you got it of in the frst place.
As I did in the previous chapter, I’m going to jump around a bit here
and give recommendations for what I typically do. You’ll probably need
quite a few of these. Others, you may not. Either way, these are all proven
methods for optimizing your performance on competition day, once
you’ve made weight.
Okay, so once you’ve actually made weight, carbs are your friends once
again. I’m not giving you carte blanche to eat nothing but junk, but it’s
okay to have some at this point. When I’m putting weight back on, I’ll
typically eat pasta, potatoes, granola bars, peanut butter, and some salty
carbs—and I’ll have dessert with every meal. Fruits and fruit juices are
also very good carb sources.
You’ll obviously want proteins to be part of your intake, too, but carbs
have to be your number one priority here. Te best way to look at this is
to not drift too far away from the things you’d typically eat. Sometimes
this is difcult, especially when your diet has been so diferent from
normal for a while during your cut, but do your best. Also, have some
3
21
Immodium AD ready, just in case. Te last thing you want is for all your
hard-earned weight to come out the other end.
It’s still very important that you keep tabs on your weight, even after
your weigh-in. Sometimes it’s hard to put weight back on after a cut,
while at other times it fies back on to the point where you’ll have to pull
back the reins a bit. Have your meet scale ready to monitor your body
weight, the same way you did during your training cycle and your weight
cut.
During this rebound period, it’s also possible to become heavier than
the weight at which you trained during your training cycle. Tis isn’t a
bad thing, because these rebounds can occasionally yield awesome results.
Just make sure you don’t go overboard, especially if you’re lifting in gear
that has to ft properly.
Bagging Up
IV bags are the most important part of putting the weight back on
when you’re cutting over fve percent of your body weight. You have to
eat, refuel, and carb up, of course, but hydration needs to be your main
priority. It’s not that hard to have a medical professional around to help
you out. We all know someone who can do this, even if we have to pay
them for their time or fy them someplace. Here’s my guide to doing
this, for a 220-275 pound lifter (adjust accordingly):
IMPORTANT NOTE:
These recommendations are for a 220-275 pound competitor. Adjust
accordingly for your load and water loss expectations. For example, if
you’re a 132 pound female lifter, you can probably get away with one
gallon of water per day during your water load. You will also lose less
water during the week.
22
• 5% Cut: 2 Bags
• 7-8% Cut: 3 Bags
• 9-10% Cut: 4 Bags, and Lactaid Ringers
Tere are always variables, but here are some things to consider when
you’re using IV bags. You’re close to hydrated when:
• You start to feel good from the immediate hydration of the bags.
• Your veins come back and pop.
• You have the need to urinate more than just the initial time or
two after the weigh-in.
• You feel and see your face start to fll back out.
• Your eyes are no longer bloodshot from the diuretics and sauna.
Take a Nap
Make no mistake: Cutting weight is hard. It’s a very taxing process,
and you shouldn’t underestimate what it takes out of you along with the
pounds. On both your cutting and rehydration days, take a nap in the
early part of the day, and stay of your feet. Additionally—and this may
sound a little old-school, but it’s true—you need to abstain from sexual
activity, especially on the day of your big cut. Trust me, if you don’t do
this, you’re going to feel like crap when you get into the sauna to sweat,
and you’ll think your legs are about to give out. Sexual activity takes a lot
out of you, especially if you’re big, so save it for the next meet. Just rest
as much as possible, and relax.
Perform a Light Workout
I advise doing a light workout in your hotel room or gym—using
just bands—to pump your newly fueled muscles up once you’ve made
23
weight. I’ve done this numerous times, and flling out my muscles can
work wonders at this stage of the game.
Te frst time I ever saw this was when the Ukrainians came to Ohio
in 2007. Te squatted, benched, and did seated good mornings the day
before they lifted. Tey also kicked everyone’s ass.
After bagging up, napping, resting, and getting 3-4 meals in you, do a
full-body circuit that includes the following:
• Stationary bike, or a 10 minute walk.
• Bodyweight squats.
• Push-ups.
• Stif-leg deadlifts.
• Quad extensions.
• Curls.
• Triceps press-downs.
• Good mornings.
After you’ve done everything I’ve said to do, you’re going to be pretty
full and bloated, so this will help loosen you up a lot. It’ll also help cir-
culate and pump nutrients into your muscles, helping them fll out and
priming them for the work they’ll be doing the following day. I suggest
doing 3-5 sets of each exercise for 12-15 reps.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Never give up. Your body can do some very strange things. I don’t
know how to explain it, but I’ve seen people lose up to three pounds
overnight, just from sleeping. If you’re having a hard time cutting,
don’t panic, because it’ll make you hold more water. Pace yourself,
set goals for meet week and stick to the, and be ready to adjust.
24
Competition Day
On competition day, the idea is continue eating good sources of carbs,
to drink plenty of water, Pedialyte, and Gatorade, and to eat a good,
solid meal every 3-4 hours. Also, make sure you have plenty of bananas
around, as well as magnesium, calcium, and potassium, just in case. Force
feed yourself, but not to the point where you get sick.
For my competition days, I’ll start of with breakfast at IHOP. From
there, I’ll go with a burger and potato for lunch. If the meet is a long
one, I’ll do this again for dinner. My snacks will include fruit, trail mix,
granola bars, and peanut butter crackers. Tis is pretty much the same
stuf I eat on a regular basis. Make sure you’re smart about the way you
eat on this day. Again, the last thing you want on competition day is to
get the shits because you were too cheap to buy Immodium and didn’t
want to eat good food.
In the hole: Tis is where you’ll know whether you’ve done it right.
Copyright © 2013, by Brian Carroll. All rights reserved. Original printing in USA. No
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