Aman Sehrawat on no-sleep to Vinesh Phogat’s bloodletting: Weight-cutting for Olympics is an extreme sport of its own

Aman Sehrawat has brought up India’s medal tally to a grand total of 6 following his much-celebrated bronze victory, late on Friday, August 9. This came after a disheartening defeat during the semi-finals held on Thursday, August 8. Aman is now the youngest Olympic medal from the country, having won his first honour at just 21 years of age. Both Aman Sehrawat and Vinesh Phogat went through intense weight-cut sessions prior to their respective day-2 weigh-ins at the Olympics(Photos: X) However, the hours leading up to the horic win were quite tense for him and his coaches Jagmander Singh and Virender Dahiya. Following his semi-final match on Thursday, Aman was weighing in at 61.5 kilograms. This was exactly 4.5 kilograms over the permissible weight limit the wrestler was supposed to match, given that he was competing under the 57 kilogram bracket. This information in hindsight, appears even more daunting and dismal, given the unfortunate fate wrestler Vinesh Phogat met just a few days prior. The high of becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to make it to the Olympic finals met an abrupt crash when she was disqualified from the tournament on account of being 100 grams overweight during her day-2 weigh-in, given that she was competing in the 50 kilogram bracket. In the hours following Vinesh’s disqualification and Aman’s victory respectively, the internet was flooded with the meticulous measures both had taken to cut their weight before the morning of their weigh-ins. What has come to light is the absolute extremities athletes push their bodies to, to meet the demands of their sport. Hot baths and saunasHitting the mat for an intense workout session or taking to the treadmill in a last ditch attempt to shed the water weight and bloating may just be something you relate to if you’ve ever tried to suddenly whip yourself into shape for a big event. But this doesn’t even begin to cover the basics for an Olympian. Shortly after Aman’s victory, the steps taken him and his team to knock down the pesky 4.5 kilograms, was shared. Hot baths and saunas were a seminal part of his routine. While hot baths and saunas may seem like a leisurely activity, it’s all-business at the Olympics, especially when somebody is up for a weigh-in in less than 10 hours. Steeping in a hot bath essentially mimics for the body, the effects of a workout session, courtesy of the hydrostatic pressure. Your body temperature goes up leading you to feel hot and sweaty. This in turn subtly kicks up your heart rate. Just to be clear, hot baths alone will not help you lose weight, if that’s your goal. However, when done in congruence with a dedicated workout routine — which Aman was most definitely following, it can accelerate your fitness journey. Moving on to saunas, part of Aman’s routine also included a series of 5-minute sauna sessions. With his one-hour hot bath session out of the way, these sauna sessions ensured that Aman’s body got rid of every last bit of water weight it potentially could. While a crisp sauna session post-workout is known to boost recovery, strengthen the heart besides of course being relaxing, it is worth mentioning how it alone cannot lead to weight loss. MassagesA brief part of Aman’s quest to weight-cut, was receiving a massage. Part of weight-cutting routines for athletes, involve them functioning on minimal energy as their food and water intake is strictly monitored. Pushing your body then, to the extremities given the conditions, muscle soreness and fatigue is bound to set in. This is where a massage comes into play. Though there has been no specification on the kind of massage Aman went in for, certain variants, such as say lymphatic drainage massages, are known to help drain the lymph nodes and thus help release fluid build up and bloating all of which account for grams on the scale. DehydrationAs horrifying as it sounds, intentionally opting to undergo dehydration is rather commonplace at competitive events like the Olympics. Water accounts for a significant amount of body weight. Thus, to ensure that athletes make the cut on the mornings of weigh-ins, water intake is strictly monitored. The silver lining in this is, that soon after the weigh-in, so as to replenish the athlete’s depleted energy reserves, fluids, in measured quantities of course, are given to help them coast their way through the matches. This makes it more than evident, that competing at national and international levels is not for the faint of heart. BloodlettingHands down the most intense practice on this l is bloodletting. Bloodletting made its way into the mainstream conscience after it was revealed as one of the measures taken the wrestler, now-retired, to shed the excess 2.1 kilograms she was carrying following her victorious semi-final match. Very simply, bloodletting refers to drawing out blood from the body. It must be mentioned that this is seen as an extreme measure and is not all that rampant and with good reason. Bloodletting actually has the potential to lead to severe dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, iron deficiency and other such complications. Despite Vinesh’s extreme attempts throughout the night preceding her finals match, she still weighed-in a 100 grams over the permissible limit of 50 kilograms. What is your take on the extreme side-sport of weight cutting?