Given that wrestling is one of the few sports that pairs opponents based on weight for competition, many wrestlers focus on shifting their weight strategically to make sure they’re in the optimal weight class for them to do better in competitions.

According to wrestling coach Larry Sidiropoulos, cutting weight in wrestling used to be so encouraged that the sport became more about losing weight than wrestling itself. However, as years have gone by, cutting weight stopped becoming so encouraged.

“Back in the days when [I wrestled], you were encouraged to lose a lot of weight to wrestle, but we don’t encourage that anymore,” Sidiropoulos said. “Now, we believe that if you wrestle your natural weight, you’re stronger and have the advantage of being stronger versus being bigger and weaker when you lose weight.”

Because of this shift in thinking, this generation of wrestlers have been able to experience a culture where there’s no forced cutting or gaining weight.

“It’s all personal, there’s no pressure from the coaches or anything like that,” second-year wrestler Chris Phung (12) said. “You could choose if you want to or not and [with] cutting, you have an advantage against your opponents.”

Although some wrestlers focus on cutting weight, others try gaining weight to get into a higher weight class. One of those people is first-year wrestler Wyland Horgan (9). Although his previous goal was to lose weight, he’s now trying to gain more muscle mass for the season. To do that, he’s started to change his diet, replacing unhealthy snacks with healthier, high protein foods. In addition, Horgan has been exercising more with motivation from his teammates.

“If you’re 0.1 pounds over, then you can’t wrestle at that weight and you have to move up, so that’s hard, but you have to stay motivated to get [to optimal weight class],” Horgan said.

There are two ways to win a wrestling match. The first one is to pin down your opponent, and the second is to earn a high score by doing different moves throughout the match. Although technique is ultimately what matters most in those matches, having a low body fat percentage, a strong body, and a heavier weight than their opponent helps. In order to gain that advantage, many wrestlers cut weight to lower their body fat, in addition to exercise.

“You have an advantage if you lose the weight through exercise and eating proper nutrition [and] eating healthier versus starting or dehydrating yourself,” Sidiropoulos said.

After Thanksgiving break, Phung decided to cut weight in order to get back into the weight class he was in before.

“I watched my calories and ate less than I would usually,” Phung said. “I would usually eat around 2,500 calories, but I cut it down to 1,500.”

Phung said that taking so many calories out of his diet affected him emotionally.

“I would be more grumpy every day,” Phung said. “I wouldn’t want to hang out [with] some friends. My mood would be way different. [But] I think it was worth it. The whole experience made me tougher mentally.”

To help with weight management and to make sure that wrestlers don’t lose an unhealthy amount of weight, the wrestling team has doctors come in to measure their body fat percentage and give them the fastest and healthiest way to cut weight, should they choose to do so.