Will I lose strength if I cut weight?

One of my students recently asked a great question concerning his weight. Basically, he is the strongest he’s been in 15 years and is around 235lbs. Once football season is over (which means less beer), he plans to slim down to around 205lbs. His worry is that he will lose all his strength when cutting down and wonders if it’s a good idea.

This is a problem dealt with when I was younger. If this is a question you have personally, I’ll share the same answer I gave to my student.

Meathead syndrome

In the not so distant past I used to be several pounds heavier. From around 2008-2010 my weight bounced around 215lbs and 255lbs. I fought at 205lbs in MMA and was obsessed with lifting heavy stuff. As much as I liked being a big boy my frame isn’t suited for the weight, especially since I was competing in MMA at the time. When I decided to drop the weight, the meathead inside me was worried about losing all the strength. When I started cutting down, I did so slowly, making sure not to drop too quickly. The good news was that I didn’t lose too much strength and I became more agile on the mat. The bad news is of course that I did lose some strength. I ended up settling down to around 205lbs as my walking weight and my dead lift was still in the low 500s with my squat down to low 400s and my bench down to just breaking 300. Even though I did lose some strength I never noticed the change when I was grappling or fighting. I was enjoying the improvement on the mat. Nowadays I rarely chase big numbers in the weight room. I’ll still lift heavy (relative to me) but I am not so fixated with the poundage.

Forget the weight room

If you’re like I was, don’t get too hung up about your weight room performance. Remember, what you are looking for is improving your Brazilian Jiu-jitsu and competition in combat sports, right? Let’s say your lifts dropped by half (a huge number) but your success on the mat went up markedly (winning tournaments and being one of the top guys in the academy). Wouldn’t this be a desirable outcome? Who gives an expletive if you can move a house, if you can out grapple someone, isn’t that what matters for BJJ player? Granted, if you slim down correctly with a good diet you won’t lose half of your personal bests. And taking part in some sort of strength and conditioning regime is very important and something all grapplers should consider.

Going back to dropping the weight, it’s important to understand that you will lose some strength and that’s ok. By slimming down to a more appropriate weight for your frame you will improve your chances of being the big guy in the division and you will probably experience improved endurance on the mat since you’re not lugging that extra weight around. So you’ll be bigger for your weight class and with the added endurance you will be able to maintain your level of strength on the mats longer.

If the lifts are more important

If BJJ is more of just a hobby and you don’t plan on competing or if your personal records in the gym are more important than your Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. Then I advise you to stay away from cutting. Dropping a few pounds probably won’t hurt but any sort of sizable drop will affect your lifts negatively.