I know a lot of coaches will hate me for this, but I know there are just as many wrestlers that will love me for it. I have never been a big fan of cutting weight. I wrestled 4 different weight classes in High School (103, 112, 125, 135) and another 4 in college (141, 149, 157, 165). As I grew, I was able to focus on developing as a wrestler, and not add the pressure of cutting too much. Think of this, when do wrestlers usually make the biggest gains in their abilities? Summer right? That's when you can eat good, lift and wrestle and drill with no limitations due to weight loss. I want to compete in wrestling, not The Biggest Loser.

Myth. The more weight you cut, the more successful you will be. That's a big misconception in our sport. Just because you cut a lot of weight doesn't mean you will be really good. It probably actually means you will be really weak. Dropping pounds doesn't equal success. I'm not suggesting you go up and eat like a pig. However, I don't encourage cutting from 120 to 106, when you could feel awesome at 113. You have to find a weight class where you feel comfortable. By comfortable I mean a weight where you don't have to skip any meals, although you still have to eat smart.

The less time you have to worry about your weight, the more time you get to worry about your skills. Those 2 days each week during wrestling season that you spend in sweats, running, jumping rope, riding the bike or running on the treadmill, can now be spent drilling and improving. It's easy to grow into a weight class, it's a lot harder to shrink into one. You now have time to grow technically, and while your opponent may be feeling a little worn from his weight cut, you will be feeling energized and refreshed, ready to wrestle hard.

Let everyone else do the weight cutting. Move up. Lift hard. Eat healthy. Get big and strong and focus on being a better wrestler. Who wants to workout in a 90 degree room with sweats and a hoody on? Not me. I want to be comfortable. Both physically and mentally. Be confident. At the end of the day, no matter how small you feel, or how big that guy across from you looks, when you step on the scale, you have to weigh the same.