Meet Week Weight Cutting Overview | Powerlifting Tips

Meet Week Weight Cutting Overview | Powerlifting Tips

In this video, I do an overview of cutting weight the week of a Powerlifting meet. In many weight class sports, including Powerlifting, athletes manipulate their bodyweight the week of a competition in order to compete in a lower weight class. This can be done by removing water and food from the body, as well as other methods.

To start off, I go over why a lifter shouldn’t do a water cut. If it’s your first competition, then you shouldn’t water cut. There are already a number of variables involved in going from training in a gym to competing in a competition, so you can better set yourself up for success by eliminating this variable. In addition, if you’re still at the beginner level competing at local-level meets, then you may not want to water cut either. Water cutting isn’t fun and it can be dangerous, so it may not be worth it to you. And if you’re an elite-level lifter but doing a meet for fun or a meet where you don’t have to cut, then you might as well not cut and save yourself the hassle.

Next, I got over why a lifter should do a water cut. For those elite-level lifters trying to win a National and World Championship, every little thing can make the difference. Being able to walk around at a heavier weight will allow you to have more muscle mass and train with heavier loads than if you walked around inside the weight class limit. So doing a water cut can help make you more competitive in the lower weight class.

When it comes to the water cut, there are a few different time periods to consider. In the video, I break it down into the days leading up to weighing in, the few hours prior to weighing in, and immediately after making weight. During these times, you’ll be doing different things in terms of water and food intake so it’s important to do everything correctly.

In addition, there are some important factors to consider depending on the location of the competition. While you may have easy access to things like Gatorade, Pedialyte, and bathtubs in your country, it may not be the same in another country. So when traveling internationally for a competition, it’s important to figure these things out beforehand and prepare accordingly. In addition, flying can affect hydration due to the change in pressure and humidity. So it’s important to figure out how many hours you’ll be flying and how much water you’re supposed to drink in that time in order to stay hydrated and not ruining the water loading process.

And finally, once everything is completed and you’ve competed, it’s important to go back and review everything. Analyzing your performance and every step in the process can help you figure out what things you did right, what things you did wrong, and what things can be improved upon next time. This can make you more effective with your water cut which will lead to a better performance on the platform. And if you want to learn more about how to be better on the platform, then be sure to check out my video linked below that shows a step-by-step guide on how to build an attempt sheet template so that you can go into competitions with a good game plan. In addition, I have a Powerlifting Tips playlist where you can learn all kinds of additional tips and tricks.

Attempt Sheet Template Tutorial:

Powerlifting Tips Playlist:

Timestamps:
0:00 Powerlifting Meet Week Weight Cut Overview
1:40 Why you shouldn’t water cut
3:50 Why you should water cut
5:55 The days leading up to weigh-ins
8:39 Final hours leading up to weigh-ins
12:58 After making weight
14:52 Considerations
19:10 Additional gains

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My name is Arian Khamesi and I’m a Powerlifting Coach under The Strength Guys. In addition, I’m involved in the sport of Powerlifting as an athlete, meet director, referee, scoring manager, committee member, and more. On this channel, I produce videos that are beneficial for Powerlifting athletes, coaches, meet directors, and referees. The videos will be most applicable to those involved in an International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) affiliate, like USA Powerlifting (USAPL). But many of the tips and tricks can also be used for those involved in other Powerlifting federations.

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6 Comments

  1. @EmilioMendiolaJr on April 8, 2025 at 8:55 pm

    Thank you definitely using these tips for my meet in May

  2. @iamjoker11 on April 8, 2025 at 9:01 pm

    Hey Coach, can you please create a video on guidelines of how much should we weigh x weeks and/or days before the meet? Probably for beginner-intermediate level who wants to do a water weight cut but not too drastic. Just so we know when we should stop eating them cookies, cakes and ice cream 😅 thank you!

  3. @gorohuganiga4268 on April 8, 2025 at 9:05 pm

    thank you for this video coach Arian

  4. @CoachArian on April 8, 2025 at 9:14 pm
  5. @dylanaronson9576 on April 8, 2025 at 9:22 pm

    Great video, combining this with a gut cut can easily make you lose 15lbs

  6. @Sorriah42 on April 8, 2025 at 9:34 pm

    I think we should test out this theory…how about you give me a mil a day for a couple days and then stop and we’ll see if you’re right! 😉 (I actually took notes of some things to do – great video). Meet day nutrition still eludes me.

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