For those of you who don't know me, my name is Chas DeVetter. I am a personal trainer and fitness bootcamp instructor as well as former wrestler. I also coach at the high school level in Omaha, NE, although I do not consider myself a wrestler anymore. This blog discusses some of the things that wrestlers know and do that you could learn from in your weightloss pursuits.
Let me start by saying that I think that wrestling has received a bad wrap from the media for the drastic measures that it's athletes will go to to make weight. Wrestling has promoted some unhealthy practices that have lead to injury, illness and even in a few cases death. However, before you dismiss the rest of the article because of the negative image that the sport has, you should know two things. First know that those who make the rules, the coaches and the athletes have come a long ways in terms of safety for the athletes. Second and finally wrestlers practice many affective weight loss principals that could help you in your weightloss pursuits.
Let me start by saying that I think that wrestling has received a bad wrap from the media for the drastic measures that it's athletes will go to to make weight. Wrestling has promoted some unhealthy practices that have lead to injury, illness and even in a few cases death. However, before you dismiss the rest of the article because of the negative image that the sport has, you should know two things. First know that those who make the rules, the coaches and the athletes have come a long ways in terms of safety for the athletes. Second and finally wrestlers practice many affective weight loss principals that could help you in your weightloss pursuits.
Wrestlers know how to lose weight! Granted, some of the weight that a wrestler loses is water 
weight with in a day(s) or hours of their weigh-in, with the intention of drinking that water weight back on after the weigh-in. That to me is a good reason why weight is not as good of a measure of over all health as are circumference and body fat levels, but that is a later blog topic! We are talking weight loss, so like I said before wrestlers know how to lose weight. After many practices, I for example, would leave 8 pounds lighter than when I started! Rarely did I lose less than 4 or 5 pounds in a practice. Don't get me wrong, most of it was water weight, even though I drank liquids through out practice. In fact I once lost 5lbs in 30 minutes (all water weight), which I am not recommending. The point is, if you are working so hard that you cannot peel your shirt off after a work out, imagine how many calories your body is burning. Image also, if you would, doing this day in and day out for weeks and months. Your body has no choice but to adapt. In fact, I could not eat enough calories to keep my weight up even when I was eating everything in sight to maintain weight. I would lose over 10lbs of body fat (as well as some muscle) and got down to around 5 percent body fat in the months preceding the start of the season, with out even altering my eating habits. This was pretty typical of my teammates as well.I must let you know that these practices were not easy. To quote Terry Brands, a 2 time National Champion for the Iowa Hawkeyes, "We do things that would make a billy goat puke." It sounds crazy and extreme. It was! At the time, I just knew that these crazy, extreme work outs were necessary to accomplish the goals that I had set for myself. Not only did I believe it was worth while to work as hard as I could for the two to three hour practices, but I even went to work out at least three times per week in the mornings as do many wrestlers who are "watching their weight". The common thread that can be found woven into this story and the story of many people reading this blog is that there is a very important goal at stake, one that is worth taking drastic measures. I think that it is important to work smart as well as hard and I would never recommend any one starve themselves to lose weight (this practice is nearly gone from what I see in the sport of wrestling). I do reccomend, if you are having trouble reaching your weight loss goals, or any goals for that matter- ask yourself this question. How important is this goal to me? Will you spend the time, effort and often money that it takes to achieve your goals? Will you pass up the beer, cake, pop... that will keep you from getting where you want to go (wreslters have to eat smaller portions during the holidays and often skip sweets)? Sometimes it is good to ask the tough questions. If you are wondering what sacrificing to lose weight looks like, perhaps you should ask a wrestler.
If you have questions or comments you can also get a hold of me at info@devetterfitness.com or go to http://www.devetterfitness.com/ to find out more about fitness bootcamps or personal training in Omaha, NE.
weight with in a day(s) or hours of their weigh-in, with the intention of drinking that water weight back on after the weigh-in. That to me is a good reason why weight is not as good of a measure of over all health as are circumference and body fat levels, but that is a later blog topic! We are talking weight loss, so like I said before wrestlers know how to lose weight. After many practices, I for example, would leave 8 pounds lighter than when I started! Rarely did I lose less than 4 or 5 pounds in a practice. Don't get me wrong, most of it was water weight, even though I drank liquids through out practice. In fact I once lost 5lbs in 30 minutes (all water weight), which I am not recommending. The point is, if you are working so hard that you cannot peel your shirt off after a work out, imagine how many calories your body is burning. Image also, if you would, doing this day in and day out for weeks and months. Your body has no choice but to adapt. In fact, I could not eat enough calories to keep my weight up even when I was eating everything in sight to maintain weight. I would lose over 10lbs of body fat (as well as some muscle) and got down to around 5 percent body fat in the months preceding the start of the season, with out even altering my eating habits. This was pretty typical of my teammates as well.I must let you know that these practices were not easy. To quote Terry Brands, a 2 time National Champion for the Iowa Hawkeyes, "We do things that would make a billy goat puke." It sounds crazy and extreme. It was! At the time, I just knew that these crazy, extreme work outs were necessary to accomplish the goals that I had set for myself. Not only did I believe it was worth while to work as hard as I could for the two to three hour practices, but I even went to work out at least three times per week in the mornings as do many wrestlers who are "watching their weight". The common thread that can be found woven into this story and the story of many people reading this blog is that there is a very important goal at stake, one that is worth taking drastic measures. I think that it is important to work smart as well as hard and I would never recommend any one starve themselves to lose weight (this practice is nearly gone from what I see in the sport of wrestling). I do reccomend, if you are having trouble reaching your weight loss goals, or any goals for that matter- ask yourself this question. How important is this goal to me? Will you spend the time, effort and often money that it takes to achieve your goals? Will you pass up the beer, cake, pop... that will keep you from getting where you want to go (wreslters have to eat smaller portions during the holidays and often skip sweets)? Sometimes it is good to ask the tough questions. If you are wondering what sacrificing to lose weight looks like, perhaps you should ask a wrestler.If you have questions or comments you can also get a hold of me at info@devetterfitness.com or go to http://www.devetterfitness.com/ to find out more about fitness bootcamps or personal training in Omaha, NE.
Posted by devetterfitness at 12:29 PM 0 comments
Labels: sacrafice, weightloss, wrestlers
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