Many matches are lost at the table, not on the mat: crash weight cuts, unfamiliar food on match day, or hidden dehydration. Rule one of competition nutrition: nothing new in competition week.
Fueling the final days
Keep familiar, digestible carbohydrates in the final days so muscle fuel stores stay full. Suddenly cutting food to 'feel light' subtracts directly from your energy and focus.
Hydration — more serious than you think
Even mild dehydration lowers strength and decision-making. Light urine color is the simple home check. If you manage weight, the water-and-weight plan must be rehearsed with your coach weeks ahead — not on weigh-in night.
About weight cutting
Severe, rushed weight cutting — especially for youth athletes — is both dangerous and performance-destroying. If weight class matters for you, the road must be long-term, gradual, and supervised by coach and specialist. For teenagers, healthy growth is the absolute priority.
Match day
A familiar, light breakfast; simple snacks between bouts (banana, dates, bread and honey, fluids); and sipped water through the day. The stomach should be light and the mind calm.
These are general principles, not an individual prescription. Precise weight and nutrition planning differs per athlete and is part of season preparation at MHP — and for medical specifics, the physician and dietitian are the authority.
Related MHP program
Wrestling Academy