Are “Dry Outs” real?

Discussion in 'Boxing Training' started by SonnyListon>, Jul 3, 2024.


  1. SonnyListon>

    SonnyListon> #1 Sonny Liston fan Full Member

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    If you dont know, dry out is a theory with no scientific basis whatsoever, its basically when someone does weight control so intense they gain tightened senses.
     
  2. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist Full Member

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    It would raise cortisol levels (because it’s a stressor) and acutely raised cortisol does increase alertness and have other effects which would generally benefit athletic performance.

    An issue is that if cortisol levels remain high, it’ll have all sorts of negative effects that contradict athletic performance. So it would need to be done over a relatively short period.

    Yes, there is a scientific basis, but I doubt any of the trainers who used to encourage it actually knew what that basis was.
     
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  3. Melankomas

    Melankomas Prime Jeffries would demolish a grizzly in 2 Full Member

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    Jeffries used to dry out before his matches, I think it was due to that same belief. I’d life to see the take of someone more educated on it though
     
  4. Journeyman92

    Journeyman92 Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    As did Jack Johnson
     
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  5. Saintpat

    Saintpat Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

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    Hallucinations due to dehydration are super powers so yes.
     
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  6. thistle

    thistle Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    All I know is, it is can be extremely dangerous where rapid weight loss is demanded of a fighter over just a couple of days...

    there was a Big Article written & circulating about it a few years back, explaining many biological problems & the Brain Damage than can occur as a result of it! Not good for those fighters who have lived with the perilous outcomes of it.
     
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  7. Rollin

    Rollin Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Mostly bollocks, I'd say. Foreman did the exact opposite during his second career, drinking water plenty. Edwin Haislet's On Boxing p107:

    Drying out — is abstinence from liquids for a period of twenty-four hours before a bout. It is not a method of "making weight." It is used to increase speed and endurance. A pound or so of weight will he lost in the process, but that is incidental and not the reason. Physiologically, drying out is increased ionization of the body which means increased electric conduction of nervous energy. The body is like a storage battery It must have water to operate. In the body, as in the battery, there is a certain possible ionization. Up to a degree, the less water, the greater the ionization. The result is an increase in endurance, power, and speed.

    It is advisable for all athletes to abstain from liquids twenty-four hours before a contest. Thirst may be relieved by washing the mouth
    out, or by sticking a lemon. No actual liquid should be taken from the time the drying out process starts until after the contest.

    Making weight by the process of dehydration is not a desirable procedure in any sport. Every person has a natural weight for best performance. This weight can be reached through regular conditioning methods. A weight other than that which is natural is detrimental to a boy's health and should not be allowed. It defeats the whole educational purpose of the activity. It is the game that is important, not the winning, and the individual rather than the activity, therefore be sure that every boy understands the purpose of dehydration.
     
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  8. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist Full Member

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    Pretty bold to be talking about "ionization" when science and medicine completely missed out on the concept.
     
    Last edited: Jul 4, 2024
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  9. Rockin1

    Rockin1 Member Full Member

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    I don't know of the affects but drying out, to make weight, certainly is real.

    You need to drop some quick weight.... dry out for a day.

    I remember seeing Vision Quest, dropping to the weight below me and fighting the National Champion.

    I was 15, still a junior boxer with 5 bouts under my belt.

    Lol, I didn't know any better.

    I remember the weight drop being tough but I made it.

    I didn't beat the kid but I gave him a tough time and I didn't bag that hot chick (like in the movie), but by doing this I greatly gained in confidence.

    Drying out is real; you go into the bout weakened from the dry out doe if weigh-ins are same day doe.

    Not a good idea to do this as an amateur
     
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