ACUTE WEIGHT-GAIN AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SUCCESS IN HIGH-SCHOOL WRESTLERS

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate 1. the extent of weight gain by high school wrestlers between an evening weigh-in an d the first round of wrestling the next morning and 2. the relationshi p between weight gain and wrestling success. Methods: Body weights of competitors (N = 260) in a high school wrestling tournament were recor ded at official weigh-in and again, about 12 h later, immediately befo re the first round of wrestling. Data for the heavyweight class was ex cluded. Weight gain (WG in kg), relative weight gain (RWG in %), and w eight discrepancy between opponents (WD in kg) were calculated from da ta obtained at the weighings. The mean WG for all wrestlers was 1.3 kg +/- 1.1 with a range of -2.0 kg to +4.4 kg. This corresponds to RWG o f 2.2 +/- 1.7% body weight Results: WG in the lower weight classes was statistically larger than that seen in the highest weight classes (P < 0.05). The smallest RWG was seen in the 189-lb. class (1.1 +/- 1.9%) , and the largest RWG was seen in the 112-lb. class (3.0 +/- 2.1%). Av erage WD between competitors was 1.7 +/- 1.5 kg (range 0-7.5 kg.). Ave rage WD was largest in the two heaviest classes. Average WG was 1.5 +/ - 1.1 kg for winners and 1.2 +/- 1.0 kg for losers. RWG was 2.4 +/- 1. 8% for winners and 1.9 +/- 1.6% for losers. Conclusions: The differenc e in WG and RWG between winners and losers was significant (P < 0.05). In 74 of the 130 bouts (57%), the heavier wrestler was successful. (N S).