Wrestling is often a sport that is associated with weight loss. A wrestler will regularly lose weight as part of a training regimen because he is doing strength training and cardiovascular work. That, along with eating the proper foods, causes a wrestler to lose weight as he prepares for his sport.
Function
In order to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. The average male burns 2,500 calories per day and also consumes 2,500 calories per day. A wrestler can drop weight by working out harder and longer than the average person and dropping a few calories in terms of consumption. If the wrestler burns an extra 500 calories per day in his workout and takes in 500 less calories per day, that's a deficit of 1,000 calories per day. Over the course of a week, that's a deficit of 7,000 calories. It takes a loss of 3,500 calories to lose one pound, so a wrestler can drop two pounds per week with a reasonable change in diet and exercise.
Preseason Training
Don't wait for the week before your match before you try to lose weight. Under most circumstances, you will know which weight class you will be in before the start of the season. Once you know where you stand, you can work out a training program that will help you lose the weight without having to take drastic measures. A strong weight-loss plan will include cardiovascular exercise, strength training and a healthy diet.
Features
A wrestler's weight-loss program must include strength training. Most wrestlers make weight training a regular part of their program. However, when trying to lose weight, they may eschew the weightlifting because they may be under the mistaken impression that "muscle weighs more than fat." Lifting weight and building strength burns fat and it will accelerate the weight-loss process.
Misconceptions
A wrestler may find himself at or near his weight limit as a match looms on the horizon and he may be tempted to go to extreme means to drop weight. This behavior should be avoided. Some of these techniques including spending significant time in a sauna, wearing heavy-duty plastic or rubbersweat suits to induce perspiration, taking diuretics and inducing vomiting. All of these techniques are dangerous and should never be used.
Expert Insight
One of the biggest problems in the wrestling community when it comes to weight loss comes from coaches who have win-at-all-cost attitudes and pass this along to their wrestlers. Dan Gable, a Hall of Fame college and Olympic wrestler and coach, believes rules enacted by the NCAA to ban rubber suits and saunas over 79 degrees will help keep wrestlers healthy. "If the coaches take the responsibility that they should take, it will be enforced," Gable said. "If they think it's a knee-jerk reaction, we have a problem. And I think most of the coaches are taking it seriously, but a few of them aren't. You have to have ethics in this sport."
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