Tips for Maintaining Healthy Weight in the Offseason

Late summer is the time of year where the best wrestlers make gains for next season.

But not in weight.

"An athlete’s offseason nutrition and training program is just as important as their in-season program,” says Matt Pikosky, the National Dairy Council’s resident Sports Nutrition Expert. This time of year provides a great opportunity for wrestlers to focus on gaining muscle, improving strength, endurance, quickness and agility by following a balanced nutrition and training program, without the stress of trying to make weight for competition, he adds.

The best way to maintain a healthy weight is by making good food choices and staying active, says Chad Beatty, head wrestling coach at Forest Grove High School in Forest Grove, Oregon, and a former University of Iowa wrestler. "You have to stay in tune with your body’s needs,” he notes. “Eat real food, stop eating when you are 80-percent full, stay hydrated, and find healthy ways to handle stress."

But when you're dealing with busy, active and growing teenage boys and girls, who are not always disciplined, that’s easier said than done. Beatty knows that first-hand. Throughout high school and college, Beatty learned the hard way that nutrition matters. "I've been to both extremes, undereating and overeating, and struggled with inflammation and injuries due to poor eating habits at both ends of the spectrum," he explains. "I was not providing my body with the appropriate amount of nutrients necessary to support my training."

During the offseason, it’s important to continue to eat healthy and stay active in order to minimize large gains in body weight and more specifically body fat, Pikosky says. This is particularly true in a weight class sport such as wrestling where getting too far outside one’s competition weight out of season can lead to unhealthy practices in-season.

Focusing on a balanced, nutrient-rich diet consisting of the following should really be viewed as a year-round process, Pikosky says:

1. High quality proteins (lean cuts of meat, eggs) and dairy foods (milk, cheese and yogurt), to help build and repair muscle.
2. Complex carbohydrates, (primarily whole grain sources such as 100% whole-wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, whole-grain breakfast cereals) to provide the fuel/energy to support training.
3. Fruits and vegetables to provide additional needed vitamins and minerals.
4. Sufficient fluids to support hydration.

Coaches and parents need to remember boys and girls are going to grow, naturally, during their middle and high school years.

"They will add height, they will add weight, and that's something we should not try to get in the way of," says Jake Clark, six-time member of USA Wrestling's Greco-Roman National Team, who now runs the wrestling program at Takedown Gym in Brainerd, Minnesota. "As a young wrestler is growing into their new body/frame it's important they learn how to use, and control their body during those years."

Instead of concentrating on weightlifting or "bulking up" wrestlers should focus more on body control, movements, and agility by doing things like tumbling and drilling. 

While practicing in the late summer months wrestlers should be lifting, pushing, and pulling their partners, and that alone will develop wrestling strength, which is more important than weight room strength, Clark says. "Time spent in the weight room is time that could be better spent on the mat."

"Technique is more important than strength,” Clark often tells his wrestlers. "I've been to around 30 different countries for wrestling, and not once have I ever seen the foreign wrestlers in the weight rooms, or using weights. I always see them drilling with partners and fine-tuning their technique on the mat.  They're often doing drills where they lift each other in wrestling specific positions, climb ropes, working on body control in tumbling/gymnastics, and basic calisthenics that have been around forever."

Michelle Harreld, who has a Master of Science in Nutrition, works closely with the Forest Grove High School wrestling team. Eating real food is important, Harreld counsels them, because all calories are not created equal.

"Balance protein, healthy fats, and fiber from nutrient-dense, whole foods rather than counting calories," Harreld advises. "Eat a variety of foods, but focus on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. These foods will keep you feeling fuller longer, provide more sustained energy, and help your body recover from training." Eat every two to three hours to keep your metabolism going. And stay hydrated.

 "Dehydration leads to decreased muscle strength and endurance, and is the primary cause of decline in athletic performance," Harreld explains. "Proper hydration helps regulate metabolism, hormones, and the delivery of essential nutrients to your muscles and organs."

Stay away from soda (including diet soda), energy drinks, coffee drinks, and the many sports drinks that make it too easy to consume extra calories, sugar, and other ingredients that will set you back.

A change in one’s mental approach to weight maintenance can also be beneficial.

"We have to change our thinking," says Lee Pritts, assistant wrestling coach at Arizona State University. "Don't think of being ‘in-season’ our ‘out of season.’ Instead, take it day-by-day, and look at each day as a chance to improve mentally and physically."

The same can be said about the language we use to describe maintaining weight. "The word ‘diet’ is often associated with losing weight. But when you think of your diet, it's more about overall wellness. That's where an athlete’s focus should be, no matter what time of year."

Parents and coaches are encouraged to help wrestlers develop what is called a performance plate, Pikosky says. This is a plate full of those nutrient-rich foods that can quickly be put together during the season when the stresses of practice, school, and a social life can take away from the discipline needed to eat right. Getting into these habits now lays the foundation for success later, he notes.

“As a sports nutritionist I always like to tell athletes that the offseason is the best time to lay a strong foundation of proper training and fueling to set the stage for success during the season," says Pikosky. "What an athlete eats can make a difference, especially in the young athlete. By working with them to develop a series of impactful yet reasonable goals to achieve, they have more of a chance of succeeding. A number of small changes can collectively lead to big results."

Beatty encourages all of his athletes to play multiple sports year round, stay active, and focus on being an overall athlete first. That means, staying flexible, strong, and energized. “If my athletes focus on those things, the likelihood of them maintaining a healthier, natural body weight drastically increases.”