Why this site exists

Most of what athletes know about making weight gets passed around in locker rooms, group chats and forum threads. Some of it is good. A lot of it is dangerous, and almost none of it is written down properly.

Fight Prep Lab exists to fix that. We write about weight cutting, nutrition, strength and recovery for combat athletes, from someone who actually competes and has to make weight.

Who writes this

I’m Victor, a competitive wrestler based in Spain. I’ve been training and competing since 2024], at national level participating in the spanish national championship. I’ve made weight more times than I can count, and I’ve made most of the mistakes I write about here, including the ones I’d rather not repeat.

I’m not a doctor and I don’t pretend to be one. What I have is direct experience of the problems this site covers: the week before a weigh-in, the scale that won’t move, the refuel that goes wrong, the training block where you try to get stronger without moving up a class.

Where an article touches on medical ground, I say what I did, what the research says, and where you should talk to a professional instead of listening to me. Where an article has been reviewed by a qualified professional, their name appears on the page.

What we cover

Weight cutting and making weight. How to get to your class without wrecking your performance, how to rehydrate after a weigh-in, and what the real limits are.

Nutrition. How to eat through a camp, around training, and between matches.

Strength and conditioning. Getting stronger and building muscle inside a weight class, and conditioning that transfers to the mat, the cage or the ring.

Injuries and recovery. The injuries combat athletes actually get, and what helps prevent them.

Gear. Honest assessments of the equipment we use and how to choose it.

Competition and rules. Weight classes, weigh-in procedures and federation rules, explained clearly.

We cover wrestling, BJJ, MMA, boxing, muay thai, kickboxing and judo. The sports differ; the problems mostly don’t.

How we write

Every article starts with a question athletes actually ask. We answer it in the first few lines, then explain the reasoning. We cite sources where numbers are involved, and we say when something is personal experience rather than established fact.

We don’t publish advice we wouldn’t give a training partner. On weight cutting in particular, we take the safety side: this site will never tell you to dehydrate yourself, exceed your federation’s limits, or push past what your body can handle.

A note for young athletes and parents

Much of what you’ll read here is written for adults. If you’re a school or youth competitor, your federation’s weight certification rules and your coach’s guidance come first, always. We’ve written a specific guide for parents of young wrestlers, and we’d rather you read that one.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections, or something we got wrong? Write to fightpreplab@gmail.com . Corrections are welcome and we publish them.