"Could be dangerous" - Milos Sarcev on the risks of dehydration in top-notch conditioning pursuit

Former IFBB professional bodybuilder Milos Sarcev has become quite the name in the sport as a well-rounded coach. Earlier this month, Sarcev's star athlete Samson Dauda won the Arnold Classic in a heated battle against Nick 'The Mutant' Walker.

The main topic of conversation since the culmination of the 2023 Classic has been about the conditioning presented by Walker on stage. The Mutant's conditioning was clearly the best on stage, but he lost out to Dauda's completeness. In a recent episode of Muscular Development's Global Muscle, Sarcev opened up about the dangers of dehydration in pursuit of conditioning:

"The most logical thing would be to stop drinking. ... There are other ways. I’m sure like overloading, drinking water like a maniac and then stopping. This could be dangerous as well. Even those methods are dangerous. How many times have you seen people cramp backstage? Have medical intervention, under tongue water massages, and all? Sometimes pulling out of contests, not making it."

A variety of sports such as boxing, Muay Thai and powerlifting require athletes to cut water in preparation for competition. However, this is more pronounced in bodybuilding as athletes compete in a near-dehydrated stage.

Sarcev added that while top-notch conditioning allows athletes to boast better physiques on stage, it comes with severe risks:

"You have to go with what you believe, you want to see that bone dry super ripped look, we all want to see that. Well, that comes with a cost and with danger."

Diuretics have become common in the world of bodybuilding, but uncontrolled use of these drugs can be detrimental to health.

Sarcev recalled a time when a certain bodybuilder he was coaching took 10 pills against his advice:

"I have a guy who took 10. This 10 should kill a horse and the guy survived. I didn’t advise him to do that. He did it on his own. You put yourself in this position. I said, 'Okay, I can’t coach you anymore.'"

---

"Consider a healthy level" - Milos Sarcev wants the IFBB to regulate dehydration in the sport

Dehydration up to a certain point can definitely help the athlete showcase their musculature on stage, however, beyond that point, it can be life-threatening. According to Sarcev, the bodybuilding community must set levels beyond which athlete-dehydration is discouraged:

"We have to consider a healthy level of dehydration and what you expose the athletes to. If you’re going to get them dehydrated, dangerous, but there’s a next day show again. They have to do two shows back to back. I’m not trying to make trouble for anybody. I want to open debate and analyze it."

Sarcev wants the federation to set dehydration thresholds and uphold them:

"Let’s just focus on what can the federation do, what can the athletes or promoters do? My idea is have assessment a level of dehydration that you know is not dangerous or the highest level that we can accept of a danger that we want athletes to expose themselves."

It is unclear whether Milos' opinion on dehydration is a result of criticism from people who believe Walker's conditioning should have won him the 2023 Arnold Classic title. However, the fact that dehydration can be fatal cannot be denied.