Stuck between weight classes. Should I go up or down?

I went through this in boxing. It was frustrating. I had an old-man really old school coach who was obsessed with people being as light as possible. I was 16, had pretty good muscle built up, and was at 9% body fat and he wanted me to lose 12lbs. I told him that I felt really comfortable at my weight and if anything I would rather put on some more muscle and go up a weight class and he basically disowned me and wouldn't train me directly anymore. It was a really disheartening experience being that I was an impressionable teenager.

Cut weight but don't skip meals or liquids Even as a kid in peewee wrestling I knew that I needed caloric fuel to win, and watched in horror as fellow wrestlers self-starved for weeks and were defeated by a well fed opponent

I would go up in weight as well, like Ramsey said it's an amateur competition and you can be much more relaxed in your pre-fight preparations

Off topic to this video but watching it made me realize something: We’re quarantined so I can’t go out. That means nobody will see me. That means for the first time ever, I can try to grow out my beard a little bit and see if it’ll look as cool as Ramsey’s. Hmmmm wish me luck

Thank you Ramsay, a fountain of knowledge as always ❤️

I think this highlights an overarching principle that I think a lot of people ignore. Strategically, it's best to take the hard road - i.e, training consistently and diligently. Tactically however, the easy road is usually the best, i.e - reducing anxiety by going up a weight class in this instance, using smart technique over brute force when possible (which usually makes it easier to pull off) etc.

amateur level olympic weightlifter here - have competed locally in Malaysia as well as in Singapore where I got 2nd place at the Singapore Weightlifitng Open in the U61kg weight class. I will generally cut about no more than 2 kg prior to any competition i take part in now. My very first weight cut was when I was competing as a U56kg and I was about 58kg normally. Losing that 2kg took me about a month and it was TORTURE. My last night i had to go to a sauna, and i generally didnt eat any rice or bread type carbs fo r a month .I suppose WL is kinda of different because you only make six lifts and it's not an endurance sport, so you can afford to be a bit more aggressive in your weight cut. Even if you do lose strength, you do actually feel faster and in some ways more energetic having lost weight. Usually now i float around 62kg and will cut quite easily to U61kg over the course of the two weeks leading up to the competition by just substituting rice for green vegetables and cutting out my usual cakes and desserts that i do love so much. I do see people try to do really aggressive and stupid weight cuts and see them on the rower in a hoodie on the day of the competition. They dont always make it and if they do they are so exhausted that they usually do terribly. I feel that at amauteur level, it really doesnt matter too much about being a +- 1 weight class up or down. I see people in lighter weight classes outpreform heavier dudes all the time. It's best just to preform in the set of skin you feel best in.

i would go up as well that way the other guys were depleted from wightcutting and i could weaponize pace

Ramsey do a backflip. I'm not going to stop haha. Love your videos. Keep them coming bud

I feel like it's easier to eat less and lose weight and fat by simply working out hard and being in a caloric deficit. Building up more weight in terms of just muscle is harder, unless you're on performance enhancing drugs

Not really into martial arts, but I enjoy your content 👍

As a wrestler the 145 guys were too fast for me, so I went up to 152 and it worked out great, I was faster than them and strong enough to handle them. The 160 guys were just too big for me. However something I noticed is that 145 is still kinda skinny, 152 the guys are legitimately strong, and then 160 guys are a little bit overweight.

I guess I'm lucky here, because making 265 is the only one I'll ever realisatically make. The choice is easy for me.

I'm in the same predidiment I'm a muay thai fighter I fight at either 83kg 84kg and 85kg

The one who will win the fight is the one who can eat the most

In my competition they where not strict at all. I was 93kg at the time and its either competing against 95+ kg guys or cut down to 88kg. I was 18 years old at the time and made the stupid decision to cut down. It was a competition that used adcc rules. So on competition day i stepped on the scale and made exactly 88kg. 4 other guys also made weight but there was the last guy. I remember it as it was yesterday. He was 92,7kg. They did not say a word. We all were eligable to compete. I won my first match by a darce choke and lost the second match to exactly this guy. The weight cut fucked my stamina up. I gassed so damn quick. After every scramble i was breathing heavy. Next time i will make sure that i step in with my actual weight that is for sure. Lesson learned i guess

It really depends on how far you are from the weight limit, and how easily you found a way to cut. You should never cut in an uncontrolled way, but following the advice of a doctor. No starving, dehydrating, ecc, that's suicide wish. I mean, if you're just 1-2 kilos (2-4 pounds) over the limit of the weight class, it's MUCH easier to lose those 4 pounds, rather than fighting people who are 10/15 pounds heavier, or bulking up 15 pounds yourself, wich might prove difficult to some people. Generally speaking, it would be healthier to lose 4 pounds and then be relatively the heaviest of the lower division, but quicker than your normal self, than the other way around. However, trouble starts when you're really halfway between weight classes with much difference between each other. Ramsey is right, in that perspective, it could be better to go up a weight class than starving yourself hoping to fight easier opponents

Here's my two bits. Train as hard as you can. Don't weigh yourself until its time to enter. Then enter in whatever weight class you're at

Eat a slight caloric surplus. Hit your macro-nutrient needs. Train, train, train. Weight be damned, it'll take care of itself. That said, if I had to choose, I'd move up. It absolutely sucks cutting weight and losing strength and potential.

Love the content. Fuck yeah!