Monday, June 6, 2011

Do boxers dehydrate themselves to lose weight?

I saw on a boxing special on HBO recently in which they were talking about how it was hard to get blood/urine samples for drug testing because boxers were so dehydrated in order to lose weight. This got me thinking...



My question is do boxers dehydrate themselves to lose weight? I don't mean to make minute weight changes to make a weight class; because at the time they had this dehydration problem they were WEEKS before the weigh-in. So there would be no reason to attempt to make weight. If boxers do dehydrate themselves to lose weight how much weight can someone lose doing so?



Also I know that boxers do sweat off weight intentionally in a sauna, garbage bags, etc., to lose weight quickly... but that's not my question. My question is if boxers use it as a sustained-weight-loss program.Do boxers dehydrate themselves to lose weight?
NO, they just eat very little, and extremely healthy foods, and drink PLENTY of water!Do boxers dehydrate themselves to lose weight?
No, its not a dieting regiment and it is unhealthy! Most fighters make weight via dehydration as a last result ONLY because in doing so they they risk the chance of under-performance, mental lethargy, and over compensation to the body after the fight.
I am under the impression that they do before the weigh in. Not during training but before the weigh in. This wouldn't be always just if they were struggling to make the weight. I could be wrong, just what I have heard.



In terms of before weigh in I can't see why. Maybe they sweat out so much and even tho they drink it doesn't asorb as much into their muscles as they lost.



Just a guess, sorry I couldn't be more help;
Dehydrating is definatley last resort for weight loss and is only really to shed that .?? on the scale. any type of boxing training is gona make you loose fluid but it is essential for being able to stay upright when taking a punch. So i guess what im saying is it is deliberate for last minute weight loss but not for ongoing weight managment. Also when you see guys on TV with sweat suits etc you have to remember that thats there full time job and they train twice a day 7 days a week so it may be 1 or 2 sessions that they do it for weight balance.

Hope that helps bro.
Yes, certain boxers dehydrate themselves to make weight for a fight but it is usually not weeks before the weigh-in, it is usually days before the weigh-in unless the boxer enters training camp extremely heavy.



Many times, boxers will be literally bone-dry in order to make weight, which is why fighters sometimes gain in excess of 20 pounds from the day of the weigh-in to the night of the fight- you'd be surprised how much weight you can gain in 1 day if you are severely dehydrated. Most boxers walk around at a significantly higher weight than where they fight at, so when they begin training camp, depending on how much they weigh before the training camp started, many of them will have to dehydrate themselves for a long time before the weigh-in- they obviously still drink water but not as much as they should and for the few days before the bout, they won't drink anything at all, except for maybe chewing on a few ice-cubes. Some boxers look very frail and some even look as though they may faint at the weigh-in and the majority of the time, those boxers don't win the fight because they've spent too much energy on cutting weight and they can't regain enough of that energy before the fight starts.



Some boxers will also actually inject themselves with IV's to get nutrients that the body needs after they've cut so much weight and have dehydrated themselves for such a long period of time- before Oscar De La Hoya fought Manny Pacquiao, he did just that because he spent so much energy on making weight that after the weigh-in, he injected himself with the nutrients to try and regain the needed energy but it obviously wasn't enough for him that night since he got pummeled.
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