When it comes to competition, an athlete’s physical condition is essential. Players here on campus spend hours conditioning themselves to be at their top performing shape at all times.
But as much as good nutrition and safe training are encouraged, especially among collegiate and professional athletes, one sport has a reputation as being unhealthy for its athletes.
The name of the game is wrestling, and the price to participate was once notoriously unhealthy, and, in extreme cases, deadly.
In wrestling, size matters. In the past, before rules were established for safe weight management, on average most members found themselves trying to fit in a weight class that was two groups down from what was considered healthy for their body type. That statistic comes from the National Wrestling Coaches Association (BWCA), an organization that was created in 1997 when three collegiate wrestlers died because of unhealthy weight loss activities. It is the association’s mission to stop such tragedies which still happen today, although not as frequently.
In the past, one of the most common methods for athletes to lose weight was starving themselves. Anorexia was a common term thrown around in the wrestling realm 15 to 20 years ago. Often wrestlers who were trying to achieve their desired weight-class would push themselves past their breaking points, creating voracious appetites and hunger pains that consumed athletes.
It also was not uncommon to see competitors doing whatever they could to sweat as much as possible during their workouts. Wrestlers reported that they would put on trash bags saran-wrapped to their bodies, followed by layers of sweatshirts and sweaters to sweat off any excess weight. Though they were losing water weight, athletes would become extremely dehydrated creating alarming health issues.
“When I wrestled in college, it was back before the NCAA established the rules they have in place today,” UW Wrestling Head Coach Mark Branch said. “I remember being on the team with a guy who would lose so many pounds in the matter of a couple of hours. It wasn’t uncommon for guys to lose 10 pounds or more in just a day. It wasn’t healthy and something surely needed to be changed, especially because of all the health concerns that happened during that time.”
Since then, the NCAA has created strict regulations that wrestlers today have to follow in order to compete. Wrestlers are no longer allowed to jump up and down from different weight classes. When the season begins, they are given a plan according to what’s best suited to their bodies after performing tests for body fat, hydration, etc. They are also no longer allowed to cut large amounts of weight in a few days. Generally, they are allowed to cut two pounds max per week.
Wrestlers from the University of Wyoming have reported that their weight loss methods include extra workouts and watching what they eat while still getting the nutrition they need.
“My biggest concern for my team is to make sure that they stay hydrated and follow healthy diets,” said Branch. “At the beginning of each season we set reasonable goals for each athlete. We also have a team nutritionist that keeps track of our athletes and makes sure they are maintaining good health.”
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