Over this past weekend I was talking with an athlete about potentially doing their first competition. One of the questions he had was about weight-classes in the Novice division. It is a common topic to come up in conversation with someone looking to compete the first time, so I thought I’d lay out my thoughts on the topic here for anyone thinking about cutting weight for their upcoming Strongman competition or Powerlifting meet.
The rule of thumb I like to use is that an athlete can cut the number of pounds equal to the number of competitions they have competed in. So, if you have competed in zero competitions at this particular date you can cut zero pounds. If you have done five, you have the latitude to cut five pounds. I’m not exactly sure why so many people want to cut weight for their first few competitions, but I have had that conversation with nearly all my beginner athletes. It is a part of DNA I guess but whatever the reason I give this recommendation.
As a beginner doing your first event, I want you to have as good a time as possible. I want you to feel as strong as possible and be your strongest and fittest to date when you walk out onto the lifting platform. Before you compete the first time you don’t even know if you enjoy the sport or competing. Removing the stressor of body weight allows an athlete to eat by going into their competition and fuel for performance and having some fun going into it. Your first competition should be about having fun and seeing if the sport is something you might want to do more than once. If you have a blast your first event, hit PRs left and right, and discover that you are even stronger than you thought there is a much better chance that you will stick around the sport longer and ultimately get more out of the experience.
Doing your first competition is a big deal, you’re putting your work on the line and literally performing before a judge. That is nerve-wracking to say the least. It takes a lot of courage to show up on game day ready to see where you are, so I do not see the benefit of adding an additional thing to be stressed out beforehand. If done incorrectly, people will experience a drop in strength when they cut weight, and this can make training frustrating in the last few weeks as weights from training already do not feel the best from accumulated fatigue. Set yourself up for a good day by training as hard as you can leading up to your first competition, eating well to fuel your training (mostly healthy foods with a few treats here and there to make sure you’re getting enough fuel), and have as much fun as you can. The community will embrace you for putting yourself out there and will be there to help you more than you would expect.
Once you have gotten some experience competing and know where you are as an athlete and know where you want to go then you can start thinking more about weight classes and dialing in your bodyweight to where you compete best. This happens over time and with experience, so as you build those reps and find out more about yourself as an athlete you can make those choices with open eyes and clear intent behind them.
