Suggestions for weight class

[u/cheesy_taco-]

Hi all! I (female, 36) have a meet coming up in Nov, Oct 24 is the last day to change weight class. Ideally I'd rather be in the class below me, less people and the weights I lift are more suited to that class. I'm currently in 100+kg class and 7ish pounds (3kilos) away from 100kg. If I change my class and don't meet that weight, I won't be eligible for awards. I've never attempted a cut before, but have been told I should be able to do it with no major issues.

Should I attempt to drop 7+lbs in the next 10 days and probably place or stay where I'm at and compete with the big girls?

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for posting to r/powerlifting. To reduce the amount of spam, troll, and low effort comments and add context to discussions, you must have a flair to post comments. Please select an appropriate flair from the sidebar. Check the wiki in the sidebar for further instructions: https://www.reddit.com/r/powerlifting/wiki/flair/

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Krossthiseye]

What date is the competition?

Since we're still in October it would be fairly easy to shed a few pounds with just a little calorie restriction (seriously, maybe a week or two of -500 deficit) and fasting the day of weigh ins (no real gut cut needed) unless if it's that first weekend. Keep your electrolytes and post-weigh-in food handy.

I think a lot of people in this thread are reading this as "I compete in two weeks" and now "I have two weeks to decide to change my class or not" which sounds more like you have a month or so to step on under 100kg.

[u/cheesy_taco- → u/Krossthiseye]

It's Nov 7, Oct 24 is the last day to change weight classes

[u/No_Faithlessness7411]

No you shouldn’t. Unless you’re at a level where you can place for best female lifter.

Something to also consider, you’re very light for the 100+ kilo class, that may help you place in that division. But honestly, you’d be better off coming in heavier with some excess bloat than come in light, especially if it’s a 2 hour weigh in and not 24 hour.

EDIT: I was reading more comments; OP do you know who you are competing against and what their totals and body weight is at?

[u/cheesy_taco- → u/No_Faithlessness7411]

I know a good chunk of the women in my weight class, there are 8 of us in total. Two are from my gym, 2 or 3 others are ones I've competed with in the past. They're all well above 250lbs and lift much more than I do by at least 50lbs. I'm honestly not likely to place unless half scrub out.

Meanwhile there's only one woman in the class below me

Also I've been told recently that 1st-3rd place potentially qualifies for The Arnold

[u/mrlazyboy]

I don't think your declared weight class matters unless you are going to a meet with a that requires a qualifying total.

[u/No_Gain_3012]

If it’s your first meet I’d suggest staying as is.

That being said if you do want to reduce down it’s not going to be very difficult as you could do a gut cut and a small water cut a few days before the comp to make weight

[u/cheesy_taco- → u/No_Gain_3012]

2nd sanctioned meet. I think I'm going to try it

[u/Chango99]

Weight manipulation is an extra variable and stress that IMO isn't worth it for casual competitors. My personal experience, my weight cuts just led me to shitty results on the platform.

Funny thing is, my 2nd to last meet, I would have taken 1st if I stayed in the heavier weight class, even with the same numbers. And I most certainly would have performed even better had I not weight cut.

My last competition, all I did was stop taking creatine the week before, eating a bit calorie dense food the night before and not drinking liquids in the morning until after weigh in, very minimal manipulation to maybe increase my DOTS slightly. I ended up 9/9 and setting PRs on every lift.

I don't care about my DOTS at this point, frankly. I just want to hit big numbers and best my previous PRs.

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for posting to r/powerlifting. To reduce the amount of spam, troll, and low effort comments and add context to discussions, you must have a flair to post comments. Please select an appropriate flair from the sidebar. Check the wiki in the sidebar for further instructions: https://www.reddit.com/r/powerlifting/wiki/flair/

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Due-Artichoke-1510]

You can do what they call a gutcut. No solid food, hit your protein n carb n calorie needed. For 1-5 days depending on how much I need based of bw%
For a 100+ 3kg isn’t much
You could do with 2days of it, then on the day before cut water around 6pm if you’ve got a morning session.
Search online for more specifics

[u/Sufficient-Term-7265]

I've safely and easily lost 2% of my bodyweight by cutting out carbs and eating protein and fat leading up to the competition (this is with a 24 hour weigh in). But I don't think 2% is going to get you the 7 pounds. I've also done a water cut and it really messed me up.

Also as a woman your cycle is going to play a big part in how successful a cut can be. If it's the wrong timing its near impossible.

[u/msharaf7]

Like some others have said, I wouldn’t cut. Diet down post meet & lift in that class for the next comp.

[u/FjarPhaeton]

When is your weigh-in? If you have 24 hours weigh-in it would be more plausible than for the regular IPF two hour weigh-in, as you would have more time to rehydrate.

[u/cheesy_taco- → u/FjarPhaeton]

Weigh in starts at 7am, lifting starts at 9

[u/jakeisalwaysright]

You've got your whole life to qualify for Nationals or whatever. Cut in the off-season.

[u/option-13]

My hottest powerlifting take is it’s never worth it to cut unless there’s money or nationals on the line.

[u/Arteam90 → u/option-13]

I think you're mostly right but that's literally an ice cold take :p

[u/GGudMarty → u/option-13]

7lbs in the next 10 days at 103.5kg isn’t a true water cut. That’s my hot take.

No carbs for 3 days and there are your 7lbs

[u/option-13 → u/GGudMarty]

does it even matter? she's a 300 dots lifter there's nothing on the line.

[u/GGudMarty → u/option-13]

What’s the point of even competing then if your total to weight class ratio doesn’t matter? Just don’t even compete

[u/option-13 → u/GGudMarty]

a bigger total to beat the other people in that weight class

[u/GGudMarty → u/option-13]

Losing 7lbs when you’re a 100kg female isn’t gonna effect your total man lol

[u/No_Faithlessness7411 → u/GGudMarty]

You cannot guarantee that. You don’t know their diet, average calories, or macros. A diet change 10 days out from a meet is not ideal if you don’t know what effect it will have on your body.

[u/GGudMarty → u/No_Faithlessness7411]

Listen man, 103kg female is a huge person. I’m like 108kg as a 6’1 muscular dude.

I’m not talking about an actual cut. You can cut out carbs completely for 3 days and lose 10lbs insanely easy at this bodyweight. It’s just flushing glycogen.

I’ve cut from 240 to 220 without any sweating. Just macros manipulation, not even calorie restriction and magnesium citrate. THAT would be very hard for a female cause we have different amounts of muscle mass and it’s really the muscles your deflating of glycogen, however cutting under 10lbs of water at 220lbs could be done by accident from just undereating a couple days being this big.

If you’re like 180lbs that’s like waking up 3-4lbs lighter just cause you underate.

I’ve seen drug tested USAPL guys cut 7lbs of water (2hr weigh ins) at like 170-180 range. 0 effect on numbers. You weigh in, drink 2-3 Gatorade’s relatively slowly maybe some other cookies or easy cals and regain the weight.

Again to say “what’s the point? You’re not winning money?” Ok well then what’s the point of even competing then? The idea should be to do as well as possible within reason. And I think

[u/No_Faithlessness7411 → u/GGudMarty]

I can agree that it’s doable for everyone, but not easy for everyone.

Yes I could cut 7lbs in a week. Hell I cut 4 pounds for my meet and I wasn’t even trying. Just had limited food options so I drank shakes and MRE supplements all week and worked 60 hours. But im a male, and she is a female. Our lack of estrogen allows us to shed water and excess glucose faster. Estrogen does not allow that. Different hormones in different bodies.

And 103 at 170cm is different from 150.

[u/Eblien]

A lot of people I see online vastly underestimate the negative effects of cutting something like 3 kilos for a 100kg lifter - from my opinion and experience. Sure it can be done without performance tanking too bad, but there is no way for it not to negatively affect the lifter compared to not cutting those 3 kilos. And the risk of it going poorly is also significant. It sounds like you have a few weeks before the meet, so I would at least try to diet off a kilo or two so that you have less weight to cut with water/gut content.

[u/v0idness → u/Eblien]

I would just not cut. Have a good breakfast, go up to weigh-ins knowing you won't have any issues, leave the cut for the off-season. It's really not worth the mental stress of "will I make the weight day of", in addition to the physical toll of both a diet and a previously untried acute weightloss strategy.

[u/Coyote107]

I have been going through the same thing just on the smaller end of the weight class spectrum. I cut from the bottom of the 65/67.5kg class to the bottom of the 60kg class earlier this year. Weighed in for my summer meet at 57kg and thought to myself "it is stupid for me to stay in this weight class." So I turned around a 5lb cut in about 2 months (actual cut time 6 weeks) before my next comp. It was a great idea for me personally. I would have hit QTs I needed either way because they are low in USPA for lightweight women (it seems to me anyway), but it made my DOTS go up a lot and I barely lost strength if at all. Bench felt a little weaker during comp prep and I missed an attempt that was solid for me during the prep for July but squat and deadlift did not suffer.

I think you have two options: send it and try to cut like, 5lb, or plan to do it for next time as people have suggested. Whatever will make you less stressed out/more excited is what I would do. If you like the idea of a challenge before your meet, I say go ahead and try it. But if the timing would stress you out, take this weigh in as an opportunity to make note of how much weight you lose when you safely dehydrate and then cut for next time.

I know some people here are against cutting. And they are right that you really don't have to, and it might make you enjoy the sport less or feel weaker. But ultimately this is your journey and you get to decide the goals. If you want to see how strong you can get relative to your bodyweight, as opposed to going for absolute strength, that can be a good reason to cut a weight class.

[u/Arteam90]

This isn't your first meet.

If you like the sound of trying something new then go for it. Accepting that you might end up lifting a bit less than expected and/or introduce this new variable. If you're okay with that, why not?

[u/pigandpom]

Lift in the class you are strongest in. Look at dropping the weight post meet in a sustainable manner and keeping the weight off and coming in at your next meet/season in the lower weight class

[u/Scary-Cartographer61]

I am also a mid tier 36F. My meet is on 10/24!

Don’t cut weight. It’s way more fun to eat whatever makes you feel good and lift big on the platform. Yes, it’s a bummer to be the weakest person in your weight class, but I don’t think it’s worth it given your timeline.

[u/This-Flamingo3727 → u/Scary-Cartographer61]

Chiming in as another mid 36F (there are 3 of us?!?) and I say don’t cut. I walk around at 86-87 and compete as a 90 so I don’t have to worry about cuts.

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for posting to r/powerlifting. To reduce the amount of spam, troll, and low effort comments and add context to discussions, you must have a flair to post comments. Please select an appropriate flair from the sidebar. Check the wiki in the sidebar for further instructions: https://www.reddit.com/r/powerlifting/wiki/flair/

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/PookyMcMailman]

I would say it depends on your goals. If this is your first meet, or it's a meet where you aren't shooting for a Qualifying Total, you could stay in 100+ and there'd really be no consequence. But if you are trying to be more competitive, 3ish kg is certainly doable to cut. If you haven't cut into a meet before, but want to try, I'd suggest not dropping your calories by a ton, and keep protein high (~2g/kg BW). Do a moderate cut, and then gut cut the rest the week before. This would entail eating easily digested carbs (rice, oats), regular servings of veggies, and switching your protein source away from solids to things like plain 0% Greek yogurt, protein power, milk, or cottage cheese (there may be different options if you're lactose intolerant). Try to keep your macros similar, you don't want a huge shift in calories or macros the week before you compete. Also, not too much fiber, because you'll end up holding onto more water. Get what is normally recommended for your body weight or a bit less. Then have something low sodium and high in carbs 16 hours before weigh in. My go-to is a vanilla milkshake. You can likely cut around 1-2kg in 5-7 days this way without sacrificing much energy.

I realize I suggested a lot of dairy, but I have the benefit of not worrying about lactose lol.

[u/cheesy_taco- → u/PookyMcMailman]

This is my second sanctioned meet, if I place I could qualify for bigger meets (nationals etc). I'm not going for records, I just feel I don't lift enough to compete in 100+. I move decent weight, I'm just nowhere near competitive.

Thanks for the food suggestions! I'm always looking for better food options

[u/shadowblades_ → u/cheesy_taco-]

It depends. If your also carrying a lot of fat it's far easier to cut a few kilos than if your peeled so If you think it won't affect your strength much and you will most likely be able to qualify for a bigger meet in that lower weight class then definitely cut the few kilos.

Worrying about weight cuts are a thing for when your already lean asf and are going for a record at the expense of your short term health. This doesn't seem to be the case for you so I'd just assess your personal situation and see fit.

For me I generally walk around 70kg lean and can bulk a few kilos to 74 and cut back down to 70 no problem within a matter of weeks one way, however the cut from 70 to 66 is a different story so take that as you will.

[u/PookyMcMailman → u/cheesy_taco-]

Yeah, that's fair. For your second meet, I don't know that I'd stress about it unless your on the cusp of a QT. I'm not sure what the exact QTs are for your class, but if you don't expect to be hitting them this meet, or if you could hit them for 100+, I wouldn't worry about cutting.

As for food, it takes some experimentation to find what's right for you, but what I outlined may provide a starting point.

[u/laketeeeeeeeeee]

Are you setting records? If no, don’t cut, you’ll be happier and perform better.

[u/cheesy_taco- → u/laketeeeeeeeeee]

Records no, but this if I place, I could qualify for bigger meets. As it stands, if I stay in 100+ I'll be competing against 7 other women who almost definitely lift more than me

[u/v0idness → u/cheesy_taco-]

There will be other meets in the future, you don't need to qualify now. You can do that next time. The timeline to drop the weight while also peaking and trying to come in strong is just too tight. If you want to lose a few kilos, do so in a sustainable manner further from a competition. Just get some good experiences, enjoy training and competing, don't stress yourself out with another factor.

[u/jlude90 → u/laketeeeeeeeeee]

This is how I approach my meets. I want to go down a weight class so I'm making that my new normal weight so I don't have to cut into it

Awards are cool but if you leave kgs on the platform, I'd prefer to be a little heavier

[u/AutoModerator → u/[deleted]]

Thank you for posting to r/powerlifting. To reduce the amount of spam, troll, and low effort comments and add context to discussions, you must have a flair to post comments. Please select an appropriate flair from the sidebar. Check the wiki in the sidebar for further instructions: https://www.reddit.com/r/powerlifting/wiki/flair/

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.