How Fighters Cut Weight and How You Can Use Their Approach to Lose Weight Fast

Losing weight can be a burdensome task. You will find that most of us think it’s a process that can take years, not months, let alone weeks. However, if you’ve ever seen how professional fighters transform over the course of a training camp, you may be shocked how quickly they accomplish it. You might say “well I don’t have 6 hours a day to workout” and you won’t have to. Instead, we can take the aspects of the weight cut that works and use it to our advantage. 

How to Lose Weight Like a Fighter 

What we don’t want to do is to try and lose 20-30 pounds in two to three weeks, because that’s hard to sustain, however, if you follow some of fighter’s guidelines, then you will be able to lose weight quickly, 1 pound or more a week, with relative consistency if you stay disciplined. Let’s dive right in. 

Eat Less 

The first, and perhaps the hardest to follow for a lot of folks living in 2020, is portion control. If you want to lose weight you have to reduce your portions drastically. This is the first thing fighter’s do when it comes to fighting. IF your workouts are of moderate to light intensity, then you will want to eat about 1,500 calories a day. If you don’t want to count calories, we’re taking 5 fist-sized meals a day. Outside of working their core every day, this is one of the main reasons boxers get their abs. 

Eat the Right Things 

The next step is to eat the right things. If you’re eating 1,500 calories worth of bread, you may find you’ll lose weight in all the wrong places and still look “doughy” as a result. You want a big chunk of your calories to come from proteins and vegetables. This can be done on a plant-based diet just as easy as a traditional diet. You can still eat your carbs, just stick to better carbs, try to steer clear of white bread and pasta. 

The next thing may bum you out, but it’s a must: stay away from cheat days. These will only set you back. If you must cheat, do a cheat meal and even then only eat until you’re full and not more. 

Do Your Cardio 

Many people shun cardio but in reality, it’s one of the best ways to stay fit and healthy. It’s also one of the main components of a boxer’s training routine. Cardio is great for fat loss especially if you do something that increases your heart rate sufficiently. However, if you’re strapped for time you may want to do something more time-efficient than a multi-mile run. 

One of your options is to jump rope. Jump roping can actually burn much more calories than running, in fact, 10 minutes of jump roping is equivalent to a 30-minute run. On top of that, it’s a low impact workout that can strengthen your legs and shoulders, which is why boxers do it every day. 

Another fun workout you can do that burns a ton of calories without the bore is punching the heavy bag. This is an intense workout that will work your shoulders, lats, and core, on top of providing a great cardiovascular push. 

Don’t Forget Strength Training 

While cardio is good, you also want to stay tone and keep muscle mass during your cut. For this, I recommend a high rep workout like a calisthenic circuit. 

Depending on whether or not you can handle it, start at 5 sets per exercise. If you can handle it, move it up to ten and do earache exercise to failure. Here is how the circuit will go: 

Pushups

Squats 

Pull-ups 

1-minute rest 

Pushups

Squats 

Pull-ups 

1-minute rest 

Do this 5- to ten times, with each exercise being to failure, and keep track of your overall reps. This is a hard workout and can be done every day 6 days a week or every other day. 

Consistency Will Be Key 

Like most things, consistency will be key. Give this a try for about 4 weeks and watch how many pounds you shed.