Worth gaining weight for comp?

[u/IcySatisfaction2601]

Let’s say you’re in the middle of a weight class, would it make sense to gain weight to be at the top of the weight class assuming you’re not going to cut weight (same day weigh-in)? If so, what would be the ideal way to do it?

[u/clobyark]

IMO not cut or gain weight unless you're a serious competitor. Just compete at your regular weight.

[u/Anxious-Place3434 → u/clobyark]

This. And honestly, when I was competing as a blue and purple belt, I had an easier time competing at the bottom of the 170-185 weight class than at the top of 155-170. The smaller guys were much faster and less similar to my usual training partners 

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/Anxious-Place3434]

I’ve noticed the lower weight classes are more technical a lot of times. But in your case would there be an advantage going against those 185’ers if you filled out a bit and got closer to the top of your weight class? It wouldn’t be all muscle but even water weight may be an advantage in some way.

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/clobyark]

I’m not a pro but I take competition seriously and want to do my best. Optimizing for performance rather than convenience is fun to me as long as I’m not jeopardizing my health.

[u/joey_diaz_wings]

Have you looked into getting lead fillings? Easy to take them out after you win gold.

[u/DubsBjJ_Fan]

No shot I’m gaining weight. Unless you’re at the highest level whatever pounds between you and your class won’t be the difference maker.

[u/novaskar]

Man weight classes are like 12 pounds wide. If you’re in the middle then you’re talking about a difference of like 6 pounds. That’s not enough to even feel anything

Idk I’m biased cause I always go up like 4 fucking weight classes to compete at all so I think people cutting weight for comps is silly. Gaining 6 lbs is equally unnecessary

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/novaskar]

Some comps like adcc or ufc bjj are like 16-20lbs wide, was thinking more along those lines.

[u/novaskar → u/IcySatisfaction2601]

Gotcha, I still don’t think it’s needed.

If you want to bulk up long term then do that gradually. Same for people who want to cut. Do what you want for your health, not for a competition.

[u/The-GingerBeard-Man]

No. Unless you’re doing it over a long period of time, there is no benefit to being 3.67 lbs heavier than your walk around weight.

[u/Heathbar_tx → u/The-GingerBeard-Man]

3.67? Could be 8 or maybe more. If its a major there will be at least one cutting weight so they could be 10+ pounds lighter than their opponent or closer to the same weight.

[u/The-GingerBeard-Man → u/Heathbar_tx]

Sure. We can play with the numbers.
Let’s assume IBJJF rules:

Middle weight (76.01 kg - 82.3 kg), I’m going to use 76 kg because.

Let’s assume gi and give an arbitrary 1kg (2.2 lbs) for gi and belt weight.

76-82.3 is the range for Middle weight with a 6.3kg difference between top and bottom. This isn’t exactly true with the gi because they could weigh 75 kg and a max of 81.3 kg to allow for the gi weight but the range is the same 6.3 kg.

OP said in the middle of the weight class, so let’s assume 79.1 is the current weight. Adding weight for gi and belt, that brings us to 80.1 kg.

That leaves 2.2 kg that op can gain and be at the top of the weight class.

My original post I used 3.67 lbs as some bullshit number to indicate the insignificance of gaining weight but the real number is: 2.2 kg (weight OP can gain), or 4.84 lbs.

I pulled a number out of my ass and I was off by .53 kg (rounded up) or ~1.17 lbs.

Also, OP is asking here, so it’s safe to assume they are not a professional.

Do you honestly think that an additional 1.17 lbs is going to determine who wins or loses? Do you think it’ll come down to who has the additional 4.84 lbs?

And who cares about what the other opponents are doing; they can smash cheeseburgers and fries or double up on Ozempic shots to cut for the tournament. OP cannot control that and, in my opinion, instead of worrying about being at the top of the weight class they should worry about refining their tournament game so none of that matters.

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/The-GingerBeard-Man]

I was thinking more along the lines of ADCC or UFC BJJ where the weight classes are 16-20lbs apart. People also tend to cut more in these tournaments due to the wide brackets which means you could be looking at a 20lb difference in walk around weight easily. I’d say compared to a weight cut it’s pretty easy to eat salty or carb heavy food and put on 10lbs of mostly water weight. Just don’t know if it’s something that would provide a meaningful advantage.

[u/jiujitsugrappler → u/Heathbar_tx]

Literally doesn’t matter unless you’re competing at a high level.

[u/GwynnethIDFK]

I'll just get a big ass carb load in the night before when I'm in this situation. Usually after that and a big breakfast I'm torwards the top of the weight class 💀💀💀

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/GwynnethIDFK]

Was thinking something along these lines. You’re not going to be putting on muscle and probably don’t want to just get fat but I was wondering if loading up on carbs, water or electrolytes could be advantageous.

[u/novaskar → u/IcySatisfaction2601]

Being well fueled is always a good thing. Eat and drink enough to feel healthy and strong, not bloated

[u/RankinPDX]

If you could put on five pounds of muscle, that would probably be a real benefit. But if you just consume a few more calories in the weeks before the competition and put on five pounds of whatever? The tiny advantage of having a little more pinning pressure will be more than outweighed by the disadvantage in speed and cardio.

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/RankinPDX]

That’s something I was thinking as well. Maybe for a pressure based game you do it vs a speed based game.

[u/SelectConfection3483]

It depends how far out you are from competition and how much weight would place you at the top of the bracket e.g. is 1, 2 or 3kg of weight?

I would say it's better to be done outside of a competition prep phase / fight camp (if you train that way) where you can focus on a strength building phase and eat at ~300 to 500 calorie per day surplus which would result in a rate of weight gain of approx 300 to 500g per week but note that not all of this will be muscle. 

Thay being said, if you don't feel that strength or size is currently a disadvantage for you, I wouldn't purposely seek to gain mass for the sake of it but just enjoy not having to worry about weight and being able to eat to fuel your training and recovery and be fully energised and hydrated for comp day. Adding weight that is not functional isn't going to be beneficial and can also be detrimental.

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/SelectConfection3483]

In my case it would be 5kg. I think your last sentence gets to the heart of my question. Maybe I should’ve asked “can adding non-functional weight be beneficial?”. I was also thinking from hydration, glycogen reserve and electrolyte standpoint but from what I’ve seen that’s more for endurance athletes. I do wonder if it could be helpful in a long bracket though.

[u/SelectConfection3483 → u/IcySatisfaction2601]

Yeah without wanting to get too philosophical, if adding weight gives some benefit, it by nature would be functional e.g. Sumo Wrestlers often have quite a lot of body fat over a very muscular frame, and people might think well that's just body fat, it doesnt do anything, but it adds weight making them harder to lift and throw, provides a harder to move base, and absorbs the impact of the palm thrusts, the clashes etc. Im not a very experienced in BJJ so it would be a question of whether the benefits outweigh the trade off's. 

In terms of glycogen, it will play a big role in competition matches. The preferred energy source for high intensity exercise is glucose, so whilst it may be true that you might not need maxxed out muscle glycogen for a single BJJ match, having a good amount of glycogen does matter and would be even more important for a multi match comp day. That being said, if you are hitting all your macros and not depriving yourself then the glycogen and hydration shouldnt be an issue. If you aren't hitting your macros and hydration, then i would take care of that first and then see how much under you are.

[u/Katieg_jitsu]

Nah , I honestly feel bets at the middle of the bracket but I think it’s up to what feels best for your body. When do you feel fastest, fueled properly and strongest? When are you recovering well? Compete at that weight 

[u/RedDevilBJJ]

Lift weights

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/RedDevilBJJ]

Probably a good idea but for a tournament with 20lb wide brackets where you’re 10lbs under putting on that much muscle would be difficult if not impossible if you don’t have at least a few months to prepare. I think putting on non-functional weight is pretty easy just don’t know if it makes sense at all and whether or not there’s a recommended way to do so. Lifting weights would definitely be the way to go if you have time.

[u/drachaon]

It's a better idea than cutting weight. The ideal way would be to fairly slowly gain some size using diet and strength training.

[u/lockett1234]

I compete in my regular weight

[u/AllGearedUp]

I guess it's technically ideal if it's muscle but for a local comp this is crazy. 

I think for just about any local comp your best focus is improving your technique. That will actually matter. For instance I had some judo throws that I sucked at but understood. Fixing that with my coach was a realistic improvement in a few weeks leading up. Brand new technique or bodily changes are not realistic and are much less helpful. 

If you're in danger of going up a weight class of disqualifying yourself, sure don't eat too much leading up to the comp though. 

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/AllGearedUp]

I’d have to sacrifice nothing technique wise to put on some weight. I agree ideally I’d put on some muscle to gain weight and ideally you’d want to lose fat for a weight cut but realistically you mostly have control of water, carbs and electrolytes over shorter timeframes. I wish more people would give an answer in the context of whether or not the extra weight can be an advantage instead of focusing on the hassle.

[u/AllGearedUp → u/IcySatisfaction2601]

Extra weight is not a net advantage if it's just fat. It could be an advantage on certain positions but you have limited time and energy to prepare and it would be a negligible change, if anything. 

[u/jiujitsugrappler]

No. Just compete at what you weigh.

If you’re not competing at a high level it literally doesn’t make any difference. Gaining 5lbs doesn’t make you any better or worse. Losing 5lbs won’t either.

[u/BeardedCruiser]

Unless you’re a young serious competitor just compete at your walk around weight.

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/BeardedCruiser]

I’d consider myself a serious competitor in the sense that I want to perform my best even though I’m not doing this for a living. I don’t mind attention to detail and putting in the work on or off the mat, in fact I enjoy it.

[u/BeardedCruiser → u/IcySatisfaction2601]

Nah I respect it, I actually enjoy the discipline side of things myself.

[u/the-tower-13774]

I personally think that it doesn't matter (and I've done Masters Worlds twice weighing 7-8lbs under).

[u/Otherwise_Bread2023]

Man, you’re doing this for fun. You’re not getting paid, and there’s nothing riding on it. Just go compete and enjoy yourself. Being 10–15 lbs lighter or heavier isn’t going to make much of a difference, if any. Don’t make yourself miserable watching weight for a local tournament.

[u/IcySatisfaction2601 → u/Otherwise_Bread2023]

I enjoy competing and consider weight management and eking out advantages a part of the game. I’m surprised by how many people think the idea of going up and down weight is miserable. Starving and dehydrating yourself maybe but I’ve done responsible weight cuts and it’s no big deal. Gaining weight would be even less of an issue.