Wrestling
Nutrition plans are a crucial part of many sports. Wrestling requires you to stick to a strict plan throughout most of the year. You have a preseason diet and an in-season diet. Although this sounds tricky it’s surprisingly enough easy to stick to once you get into a routine. Staying on these plans and eating the right things help wrestlers compete much better and achieve the most success.
Preseason diets are very important to get your body back into wrestling shape. During this time, you want to lean your body out and get down to the weight you can best perform at. The first thing is cutting out junk food and pop or any other junk with additives and sugars your body doesn’t need. You need to be fueling your body with the right things to give it the best results. In the morning some eggs with some sort of meat to get your protein, preferably lean white meats. For lunch a salad or wrap with lots of vegetables. You can have chicken, lettuce, spinach, green or red peppers, broccoli, cucumbers, carrots and try to stay away from dressings. Dressings are filled with lots of fats which is what you are trying to get rid of. For dinner grilled chicken breasts, grilled potatoes, and more vegetables. These meals will give you good nutrients and energy while also cutting out the bad stuff your body doesn’t need. You should also drink a ton of water throughout the day. Water is a natural diuretic that will clean out your body of bad crap and keep everything moving through you. Additionally, you should get a few workouts in throughout the day to start leaning your body out and getting rid of extra fats you put on during the off season. A run in the morning is a great way to get your body up and going. Then a practice or workout in the afternoon is good for this.
During the season your diet doesn’t change too much from preseason. Your body should be in better shape now and down close to your competition weight. The real trick is to keep up on your diet and workouts, so you don’t fluctuate your weight so much during each week. Ballooning your body up after a weekend weigh in and then cutting 10 or more pounds every week is harsh on your body. Eggs in the morning with some spinach mixed in is a great first meal of the day. For lunch a salad just like the preseason, maybe a little smaller portion though. In the evening some chicken breast and veggies are a perfect recovery meal if your weight is where it needs to be. The most important part of the diet during wrestling season is probably water. You need to get your body plenty of water, so you have energy and your body keeps working properly. Some people cut out their water too early and get very bad cramps or plateau their weight before they are at their competition weight. A good starting point is a gallon a day until the day before weigh ins. If you decide to water load your body correctly it works very well. A commonly used water loading schedule for a normal week is simple. Say weigh-ins are on a Saturday, drink two gallons Monday, a gallon and a half on Tuesday, a gallon on Wednesday, a half-gallon on Thursday, and a quarter gallon on Friday. During the season most wrestlers will get a morning workout in whether it be a short run, quick lift, or something else. The morning workout to get your body going is crucial when cutting weight. They also have practice in the afternoons and then a workout in the evening, usually a run. Another great thing to help your body and mind during the season is visualization matches in your head. Preparing your mind is important to help you gain confidence in your wrestling skills. When laying in bed at night close your eyes and visualize wrestling an opponent and the moves you will do. Visualize winning the match. These are the things wrestlers do in season to be in the best possible position for success.
Wrestling is a very hard sport but doing the right things can help make it easier. Fueling your body and mind with the right things makes cutting weight and being ready to compete so much easier. Therefore, wrestlers start with preseason diets and stick with them during the season. These are a few keyways to perform the best while having your body feeling the best.
Works Cited“Wrestlers Diet.” Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, http://www.mpssaa.org/assets/wintersports/wrestling/Wrestling Diet Guide.htm.
Matt Frost 