<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>dieting – PowerliftingToWin</title> <atom:link href="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/tag/dieting/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://www.powerliftingtowin.com</link> <description>Train To Win</description> <lastBuildDate>Wed, 09 May 2018 19:38:23 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2</generator> <item> <title>Nutritional Strategies for Powerlifting</title> <link>https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/nutritional-strategies-for-powerlifting/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Izzy T]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2014 22:31:55 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Diets]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[carb backloading]]></category> <category><![CDATA[carb nite]]></category> <category><![CDATA[dieting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[intermittent fasting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ketogenic]]></category> <category><![CDATA[low carb]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nutrition]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/?p=2939</guid> <description><![CDATA[For whatever reason, people get very adversarial about their programming plans. As you all know, we just HAVE to have those debates about what is better: 5/3/1 or Cube, Sheiko or Smolov, and PNP vs Starting Strength. This somewhat makes sense. After all, if you’re doing one program, you can’t be doing another. There’s a worthy… <span class="read-more"><a href="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/nutritional-strategies-for-powerlifting/">Read More »</a></span>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For whatever reason, people get very adversarial about their programming plans. As you all know, we just HAVE to have those debates about what is better: <a title="531 Review" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/beyond-531/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5/3/1 </a>or <a title="Cube Method Review" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/the-cube-method/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cube</a>, <a title="Sheiko Review" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/sheiko/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sheiko</a> or <a title="Smolov Review" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/smolov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smolov</a>, and <a title="PowerliftingToWin Programs" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/ebook-programmingtowin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PNP</a> vs <a title="Starting Strength Review" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/starting-strength/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Starting Strength</a>. This somewhat makes sense. After all, if you’re doing one program, you can’t be doing another. There’s a worthy opportunity cost to discuss.</p> <p>What confounds me the most, though, is that this same pattern tends to play out when we discuss nutrition. What is the “best diet”? IIFYM? Paleo? “Clean eating”? Intermittent Fasting? Keto? GOMAD? The “See Food” Diet? The reality is that, in my opinion, every single one of these nutritional strategies can be successfully used to improve body composition and strength… given the right circumstances.</p> <p>If you’d rather watch than read:<br /> <iframe title="The Powerlifter's Diet Tool Box" width="665" height="374" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MD8QE7N3RgY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <h2>Counting Your Macros</h2> <p>Look, all nutritional strategies do essentially the same thing: they attempt to modify how much you eat. Now, typically, a nutritional strategy will accomplish this task by modifying either what you eat, when you eat, or both simultaneously. In the end, the particular science behind the diet and whether or not it is truly “optimal” is sometimes a secondary consideration. Let me explain.</p> <p>In my opinion, the “most optimal” nutritional strategy is macronutrient counting with planned meal times. Why? Because you’re in (nearly) precise control of what you eat and when you eat it. You know your intake down to the gram (or so).</p> <p>That said, macro counting is not a sustainable lifestyle for everybody. That’s right I said it. Flexible dieting and macro counting simply does not work for everybody. Even if a strategy is theoretically optimal, if it is not sustainable, if the individual cannot comply with the plan, it is worth less than the paper it is written on. Worse yet, the inability to comply, often due to unalterable lifestyle factors, tends to make people feel like failures. If this is the case, you need to realize alternative strategies exist and, despite being “less optimal”, may actually be more effective in the real world.</p> <div id="attachment_2942" style="width: 485px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/food-scale.jpg"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2942" class="size-full wp-image-2942" src="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/food-scale.jpg" alt="Not everyone can stomach the idea of weighing everything they eat." width="475" height="475" srcset="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/food-scale.jpg 475w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/food-scale-150x150.jpg 150w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/food-scale-300x300.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 475px) 100vw, 475px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2942" class="wp-caption-text">Not everyone can stomach the idea of weighing everything they eat.</p></div> <p>Now, with the context set, let’s take a look at a few popular diets and see when they might be appropriate.</p> <h2>Low Carb and Ketogenic Diets</h2> <p>Let’s first consider a “low carb” diet. A true low carb diet, a diet that produces a state of ketogenesis, is one of the most powerful and effective fat loss diets in existence. Now, there is a monstrous amount of underlying science here. You can read all about it in <a title="Get The Ketogenic Diet" href="https://store.bodyrecomposition.com/product/ketogenic-diet/?affiliates=22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lyle McDonald’s “Ketogenic Diet” book</a>.</p> <p>That said, the most important take away is that when you put people on a low carb diet, they can often spontaneously consume ~50% less calories. That is, while still feeling full, and eating whenever and however much they want, they can consume up to 50% less food. For someone who feels neurotic when they count, or for someone who wants to occasionally eat out without worrying about keeping track, a targeted ketogenic diet with a few cheat meals can produce amazing fat loss results.</p> <p>Now, if you’re someone trying to gain weight and build muscle, does it make any sense at all to eat a low carb diet? Probably not. Most people won’t eat enough to get a decent surplus in using this strategy.</p> <p>If you’re paying close attention, I’ve basically described one of the key reasons why John Kiefer’s Carb Night Solution and Carb Backloading diets are so successful for many powerlifters. During the majority of the week or day, they eat a no carb diet. This greatly reduces their overall intake during these periods. This can allow them to then eat “cheat” meals without amassing and exorbitant amount of calories at the end of the day. Again, this may not be as optimal as counting, but, if the individual can keep the cheat meals reasonable, it may allow them far more social freedom with their eating and it may be more sustainable in the long run.</p> <div id="attachment_2943" style="width: 811px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kiefer-backloading.jpg"><img decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2943" class="size-full wp-image-2943" src="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kiefer-backloading.jpg" alt="John Kiefer is the man behind Carb Backloading." width="801" height="545" srcset="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kiefer-backloading.jpg 801w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kiefer-backloading-300x204.jpg 300w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kiefer-backloading-60x42.jpg 60w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/kiefer-backloading-665x452.jpg 665w" sizes="(max-width: 801px) 100vw, 801px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2943" class="wp-caption-text">John Kiefer is the man behind Carb Backloading.</p></div> <h2>Intermittent Fasting</h2> <p>Another diet strategy that was incredibly popular at one point in time was intermittent fasting. Now, for those unfamiliar intermittent fasting is simply a protocol by which you eat all of your calories for the day inside of a certain window of time. A typical intermittent fasting diet calls for 16 hours of “fasting” per day with an 8 hour feeding window. Again, similar to ketogenic diets, there is a massive amount of underlying science which may or may not suggest that there are fat loss benefits, above and beyond calorie manipulation, to eating in this manner. And, again, this is irrelevant for most practical purposes.</p> <p>What really matters here is that IF, by restricting when you can eat, tends to allow people to eat bigger, more satisfying meals without amassing a ton of calories by the end of the day. After all, if you only eat twice per day, even two big meals probably won’t add up to a huge amount of calories based on your appetite.</p> <p>Interestingly enough, to go back to Kiefer’s popular diets, his strategy employs both intermittent fasting AND low carb dieting. When combined, they help battle hunger and control calories extremely effectively. That is really my entire point here. You can mix and match these strategies to achieve whatever effect you’re trying to get.</p> <p>But what if you’re a guy with a fast metabolism who is already having trouble eating enough? Does IF make sense? No, probably not. Smaller meals spread out throughout the day often make consuming more food much easier.</p> <h2>Clean Eating</h2> <p>What about something as hated as “clean” eating? Well, the same situation plays out again. Everyone gets caught in the minor details. People vigorously debate if there is any scientific benefit to “eating clean”. People vigorously debate if there is even an appropriate way to define “clean eating”. At the end of the day, it isn’t that important in practice.</p> <p>If we define clean eating as limiting your sugar intake, eating a good deal of fiber, keeping the fat intake down, and eating primarily single ingredient foods, there are numerous practical benefits. For example, without a ton of “junk food” in your diet, you won’t reinforce unhealthy food reward patterns. You’ll be able to eat less and still achieve satiety. You’ll spontaneously put together a pretty good macro profile most of the time (without counting). In other words, you’ll likely improve your body composition without “trying” (in a manner of speaking). This is often a fantastic strategy for people who are dieting but still want to feel full and/or people who are trying to gain weight but gain far too quickly when they just eat whatever they want.</p> <p>With that said, some people with fast metabolisms, who tend to be naturally lean, cannot eat “clean” while gaining weight effectively. It just requires a volume of food that is enormous. For these people, diets like the “See Food” diet can be effective. You see food, you eat the food. For these people, in extreme cases, even something like drinking a gallon of whole milk a day can work fairly well. Is it optimal? Perhaps not. Will it work fairly well in the right case? Yes. Should a fat guy with a slow metabolism do GOMAD? Hell no.</p> <div id="attachment_2945" style="width: 614px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gallon-of-milk-a-day.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2945" class="size-full wp-image-2945" src="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gallon-of-milk-a-day.jpg" alt="Gallon of Milk A Day! (GOMAD)" width="604" height="327" srcset="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gallon-of-milk-a-day.jpg 604w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/gallon-of-milk-a-day-300x162.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2945" class="wp-caption-text">Gallon of Milk A Day! (GOMAD)</p></div> <h2>Use the Right Diet Tool for the Job</h2> <p>What is my real point in all of this? Nutrition plans need to take lifestyle into consideration and make it the most important consideration. Yes, it is absolutely true that, in my opinion, counting your macros year round is going to lead to the most optimal body composition results. That said, just as in programming, “optimal” does not mean “necessary for progress”.</p> <p>I have friends who can maintain ripped abs on a see food diet. I have friends with a metabolism so shitty that if they don’t do some form of low carb dieting or calorie counting, they’re back up at 20% body fat within 3 weeks. I have friends with monster appetites who can get truly fat on a clean diet. I have friends with the appetite of your average baby squirrel who can’t even get fat drinking a gallon of milk a day.</p> <p>You have to take into account what your preferred lifestyle is, what your goal is, and what your genetics allow for when formulating your personal nutritional strategy. Whether your strategy is optimal matters a lot less than whether you produce sustainable results. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. <a title="PTW Coaching Services" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/powerlifting-coaching" target="_blank" rel="noopener">As a coach</a>, I work with people from a zillion different types of backgrounds. If you try to make them all do the same thing, it just doesn’t work.</p> <p>Nutritional zealotry is stupid. There is a time and a place for everything.</p> <h2>Like this Article? Subscribe to our Newsletter!</h2> <p>If you liked this articled, and you want instant updates whenever we put out new content, including exclusive subscriber articles and videos, <a title="Newsletter Sign-up" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/newsletter">sign up to our Newsletter</a>!</p> <h2>Questions? Comments?</h2> <p>For all business and personal coaching services related inqueries, please contact me:<br /> [contact-form-7 id=”3245″ title=”Contact form 1″]</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>When Should You Move Up A Weight Class In Powerlifting?</title> <link>https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/when-to-move-up-a-weight-class/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Izzy T]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 15 Aug 2014 17:46:18 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Nutrition]]></category> <category><![CDATA[cutting weight]]></category> <category><![CDATA[dieting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[move up a weight class]]></category> <category><![CDATA[powerlifting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[water cutting]]></category> <category><![CDATA[weight class]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/?p=2898</guid> <description><![CDATA[In the first articles in the nutrition series, we established that Powerlifting Nutrition primarily serves two purposes: performance enhancement and weight management. In this particular article, we’re going to hone in on the topic of weight management. Previously, we discussed the idea that a lifter is going to be at an advantage when he weighs… <span class="read-more"><a href="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/when-to-move-up-a-weight-class/">Read More »</a></span>]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>In the first articles in the <a title="Powerlifting Nutrition Series" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/powerlifting-nutrition" target="_blank" rel="noopener">nutrition series</a>, we established that Powerlifting Nutrition primarily serves two purposes: performance enhancement and weight management. In this particular article, we’re going to hone in on the topic of weight management.</p> <p>Previously, we discussed the idea that a lifter is going to be at an advantage when he weighs the maximum amount allowed in his weight class. This is going to both maximize the amount of muscle he carries going into that class. Weighing the max is also going to allow him to eat the most food possible which will enhance his performance.</p> <p>Now, we also established that a lifter wants to enter a weight class at a competitive body fat percentage. As discussed previously, for most people, this is going to be somewhere between 8-15% body fat.</p> <div id="attachment_2899" style="width: 235px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dan-Green-Example.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2899" class="size-medium wp-image-2899" src="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dan-Green-Example-225x300.jpg" alt="Dan Green is a perfect example of maximizing your competitiveness via weight management." width="225" height="300" srcset="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dan-Green-Example-225x300.jpg 225w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Dan-Green-Example.jpg 480w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2899" class="wp-caption-text">Dan Green is a perfect example of maximizing your competitiveness via weight management.</p></div> <h2>When Should You Move Up A Weight Class?</h2> <p>When you take all of this data into consideration simultaneously, it raises an interesting question: when should a powerlifter consider moving up a weight class?</p> <p>At first glance, the answer might appear to be that the lifter should move up a weight class when they can no longer stay above their <a title="More on Competitive Body Fat" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/cutting-and-bulking-for-powerlifting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“minimum competitive body fat”</a> threshold while still making weight. While this answer is close to correct, it doesn’t take into account one of the most prominent competitive practices of all powerlifters: cutting weight for a meet.</p> <h2>What is Cutting Weight?</h2> <p>“Cutting Weight” describes a combination of practices that are designed to temporarily manipulate body weight in the short term. In part, these practices include manipulating carbohydrate intake, sodium intake, and water intake to produce short term dehydration and a decrease in overall water retention. These practices can also include, but are not limited to, emptying the gut via liquid diets and laxatives; sweating weight via saunas, steam rooms, and hot baths; and taking natural (caffeine and dandelion root) and/or prescription diuretics (such as Lasix).</p> <div id="attachment_2900" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Hot-Bath.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2900" class="size-medium wp-image-2900" src="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Hot-Bath-300x199.jpg" alt="This is a hot bath. Typically only the mouth and nose are out of the water." width="300" height="199" srcset="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Hot-Bath-300x199.jpg 300w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Hot-Bath.jpg 620w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2900" class="wp-caption-text">This is a hot bath. Typically only the mouth and nose are out of the water.</p></div> <p>Simply put, powerlifters, and other weight class athletes, often use various “tricks” to cut as much as 10-15% of their bodyweight in a 24 hour period. While many of these practices can be unsafe if performed incorrectly or taken to extremes, they are nevertheless highly effective. In the famous case of Matt Kroc, an elite powerlifter, he once lost 35lbs to make weight for a meet.</p> <div id="attachment_2901" style="width: 385px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Matt-Kroc-Weight-Cut.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2901" class="size-full wp-image-2901" src="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Matt-Kroc-Weight-Cut.jpg" alt="Matt Kroc cut from over 250lbs to make the 220lbs weight class." width="375" height="500" srcset="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Matt-Kroc-Weight-Cut.jpg 375w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Matt-Kroc-Weight-Cut-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 375px) 100vw, 375px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2901" class="wp-caption-text">Matt Kroc cut from over 250lbs to make the 220lbs weight class.</p></div> <h2>How Much Weight Should You Cut?</h2> <p>How much weight you should cut depends on a variety of factors.</p> <p>First of all, how old are you? If you’re still developing physically, I’m going to recommend that you don’t cut at all. Some research suggests that drastic bodyweight manipulation, such as cutting weight, can inhibit growth and maturity in youth athletes. As such, I cannot in good conscience recommend these practices to those of you who are still teenagers.</p> <p>Second, is this your first powerlifting meet? If it is, I’d highly recommend that you skip any drastic weight cut. If you’re only going to lose a few pounds then fine. Otherwise, you do NOT need this stress in addition to the already overwhelming experience of doing your first competition. Wait until you’re comfortable with the actual meet process before attempting to do a significant cut.</p> <p>Lastly, and to finally answer the question, how long do you have between weigh-ins and when you need to be on the platform? In Powerlifting, there are two typical scenarios: a 24 hour weigh-in and a 2 hour weigh-in.</p> <h2>Cutting for a 24 Hour Weigh-In</h2> <p>While I’m going to wait for the next article to provide a full protocol for actually cutting weight, I do want to discuss the basic overview in this article.</p> <p>With a 24 hour weigh-in, an athlete can be far more drastic in their weight cut attempts. In fact, cutting about 10% of your bodyweight is not unheard of and, in most cases, can be done both relatively easily and safely. In fact, when prescription drugs, IVs, and other risky measures are undertaken, elite powerlifters have cut as much as 15% body weight.</p> <p>Now, I personally cannot recommend the use of these practices and I will not be teaching anyone how to do it. If you’re interested, you’re going to need to seek out professional help. And you’ll be glad you did. Cutting more than 10% bodyweight without guidance is a fool’s errand.</p> <div id="attachment_2902" style="width: 675px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Big-Weight-Cuts-Powerlifting.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2902" class="size-large wp-image-2902" src="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Big-Weight-Cuts-Powerlifting-1024x691.jpg" alt="Big Weight Cuts are not uncommon on 24 hour weigh-ins" width="665" height="448" srcset="https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Big-Weight-Cuts-Powerlifting-1024x691.jpg 1024w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Big-Weight-Cuts-Powerlifting-300x202.jpg 300w, https://www.powerliftingtowin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Big-Weight-Cuts-Powerlifting-665x448.jpg 665w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 665px) 100vw, 665px" /></a><p id="caption-attachment-2902" class="wp-caption-text">Big Weight Cuts are not uncommon on 24 hour weigh-ins</p></div> <h2>Why You Can’t Cut As Much for 2 Hour Weigh-Ins</h2> <p>Cutting anywhere near 10% for a 2 hour weigh-in is foolish. Most athletes will experience SIGNIFICANT performance detriment due to dehydration.</p> <p>The reason that athletes with a 24 hour weigh-in can cut more weight is primarily due to two factors.</p> <ol> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li>Hydration</li> </ul> </li> </ol> <p>The first is that much greater degrees of rehydration can be accomplished in 24 hours than can be accomplished in 2 hours. In other words, you can sweat out a whole lot of water weight via saunas, hot baths, or other water cutting practices and still have plenty of time to gain all that water back. That simply isn’t the case for a 2 hour weigh-in. Significant dehydration can decrease anaerobic performance by more than 10%. Dehydration simply isn’t acceptable for elite powerlifters.</p> <ol> <li style="list-style-type: none;"> <ul> <li>Glycogen</li> </ul> </li> </ol> <p>The second reason has to do with glycogen replenishment. In an oversimplified version of the physiology, dietary carbs are stored as glycogen. A single gram of glycogen requires 3-4g of water to be stored. Most athletes will require approximately 8-10g of carbs per pound of LBM to completely replenish glycogen. This means a typical powerlifter might have 1-2kg worth of glycogen in their system which comes with an additional 3-8kg worth of water. All in all, we’re likely talking about anywhere from 10-20lbs of water that can be shed through dietary manipulations for a male powerlifter.</p> <p>Your body uses glycogen for a variety of processes. They are too innumerable to list. If you’re interested in the subject to a greater degree, <a title="Learn More About Ketogenic Dieting" href="https://store.bodyrecomposition.com/product/ketogenic-diet/?affiliates=22" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lyle McDonald’s “The Ketogenic Diet”</a> is pretty much the Bible of glycogen in terms of a scientific reference.</p> <p>In any case, of most importance to consider is that glycogen is one of the primary sources of fuel for ATP production. In other words, glycogen fuels your performance on the platform. A full glycogen tank means high energy and it also means that your muscles are “pumped” and “full” – this improves leverages for lifting heavy weights.</p> <p>By ceasing the consumption of dietary carbohydrate intake, one can “deplete” glycogen. With complete cessation of carbohydrate intake, one can enter a state of ketosis within a matter of days. Glycogen can be fully depleted inside of a week with relative ease.</p> <p>However, glycogen resynthesis takes significant amount of time. Depending on the size of the athlete, you’re looking at rates of approximately 50-150g per 2 hours. Additional intake will not increase rates of glycogen resynthesis because this process can only move so fast.</p> <p>In practical terms, what all this glycogen talk means is that your average powerlifter on a 2 Hour Weigh-In cannot afford to do very much in the way of carbohydrate manipulation. They simply don’t have the time to resynthesize any significant amount of glycogen.</p> <h2>Cutting For A 2 Hour Weigh-In</h2> <p>So, the question then obviously becomes… How much SHOULD you cut for a 2 hour weigh-in? This is a highly individual question, but I’ll attempt to give what I believe to be a reasonable answer.</p> <p>Because you’re not going to be able to do any significant sweating or glycogen manipulation, for a 2 hour weigh-in, you’re limited primarily to water loading, sodium manipulation, and method which “empty the gut”. In most cases, this combination of practices is going to not going to net you more than 5% of your bodyweight which, frankly, is already pushing it.</p> <p>Personally, I’d recommend staying within about 3kg of your weight class for a 2 hour weigh-in. If you’re 5% above the limit about a month away from your meet, I’d suggest a mini-diet going into the meet which will allow you to lose a few pounds of fat and make the actual weight cut more tenable.</p> <p>All in all, there just isn’t much you can do safely while maintaining performance when you only have a 2 hour weigh-in.</p> <h2>Answering The Ultimate Question…<br /> When Should I Move Up A Weight Class!?</h2> <p>After going through all of that information, we can finally answer the initial question to the topic at hand: when should you move up a weight class?</p> <p><strong>You should move up a weight class when you can no longer cut enough bodyweight (5-10%) while staying above your minimum competitive body fat threshold (8-12% BF) to make the weight class you are aiming to make.</strong></p> <p>After about three to five years of training, you’ll settle into more of a long term weight class. At that point, it will be more about recomposition that true cutting or bulking. Instead of bulking and cutting through a body fat range, you’ll start bulking and cutting within a weight range. That weight range will be your weight class + 5-10% depending on how long your weigh-in is.</p> <p>I hope that sufficiently answered the question of WHEN to move up a weight class. In the next article, we’re going to talk about HOW to actually cut weight.</p> <h2>Did you enjoy the Powerlifting Nutrition Series?</h2> <p>If so, I highly recommend you check out our eBook: <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/EatingToWin-eBook">EatingToWin</a>. The book contains absolutely everything you need to know about how to set up the optimal diet for YOU personally as a powerlifter, how to identify the right weight class to maximize your competitiveness, how to cut weight like a PRO so that you can drop a weight class without performance loss, and, of course, an entire section on recommended supplements with the supporting evidence behind each recommend. <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/EatingToWin-eBook">Grab your copy now!</a></p> <h2>Like this Article? Subscribe to our Newsletter!</h2> <p>If you liked this articled, and you want instant updates whenever we put out new content, including exclusive subscriber articles and videos, <a title="Newsletter Sign-up" href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/newsletter">sign up to our Newsletter</a>!</p> <h2>Questions? Comments?</h2> <p>For all business and personal coaching services related inqueries, please contact me:<br /> [contact-form-7 id=”3245″ title=”Contact form 1″]</p> <h2 id="TOC">Table of Contents</h2> <p><a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/how-to-pick-your-weight-class/">Powerlifting Nutrition: How To Pick Your Weight Class</a><br /> <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/cutting-and-bulking-for-powerlifting">Powerlifting Diet: Cutting and Bulking</a><br /> <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/the-best-way-to-measure-body-fat-for-powerlifting">The Best Way To Measure Body Fat For Powerlifting</a><br /> <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/when-to-move-up-a-weight-class">When To Move Up A Weight Class</a><br /> <a href=" http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/cutting-weight-for-powerlifting">How To Cut Weight For Powerlifting: 24 Hour and 2 Hour Weigh Ins</a><br /> <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/how-to-diet-for-powerlifting/">How To Diet For Powerlifting: Calories, Reverse Dieting, and More</a><br /> <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/powerlifting-macros/">Setting Up Your Powerlifting Macros</a><br /> <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/meal-frequency-and-nutrient-timing">Meal Frequency and Nutrient Timing in Powerlifting</a><br /> <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/eating-healthy-powerlifting">Eating Healthy for Powerlifting</a><br /> <a href="http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/best-powerlifting-supplements">Best Powerlifting Supplements</a></p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> </channel> </rss>