As a wrestler in high school for three consecutive years, it is certain from firsthand experience that the efforts to end wrestling’s number one adversity are often neglected. I myself participated in over half of the illegal procedures to reach my weight class because even though the new rules served as some deterrence, they had little authority over my actions on nights before matches and tournaments. I asked my coach if he ever did anything similar when he wrestled in high school, and he said that sometimes he wouldn’t go home after practice because his mom might have forced him to eat. The nights before a match were even worse in that, despite his disciplined fasting, there was always some six pounds he had to shed. It was on nights like those that he taped trash bags around his stomach, waist, and ankles with layers of sweat suits pulled over top before running in an unventilated shower room with the heat on every faucet turned all the way up. He knew he had lost the six pounds when the bags had collected sweat from his ankles, all the way up to his knees (Curling). His story is not unlike the trials that countless others faced everyday in an effort to maintain weight in order to compete.
The wrestling tradition is changing. It is obvious, however, that it is a change still fighting repudiation. There will always be those people who must push themselves past their limits to conquer not only their physical battles, but their mental ones as well. Losing weight is, without a doubt, as much a mental struggle as it is physical. The past seems to have forged this weight drain doctrine into the wrestling culture, so that now simply winning seems mediocre in behalf of previous wrestlers who performed the same acts of athle...
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...restlers, the unchallenged cult of wrestling. It has evolved into a tradition that, until recently, was regarded as not only productive, but void of any extensive harm as well. Only after three collegiate deaths did the nation realize how hazardous a situation the weight-cutting dilemma imposed. The immediate installment of new rules and regulations following the three deaths was a much-needed revolution for the sport, though it has proved insufficient in its effort to address the problem as a whole. Wrestlers are still dying, even if it is a couple decades after their wrestling careers have ended. This will always be unless coaches directly confront the problem by properly hydrating and nourishing their team. It is evident that there are many other possible solutions to the weight loss menace, though none prove as promising as the potential of nutrition.
In conclusion, wrestlers should not cut weight rapidly or starve themselves. It can lead to psychological damage, damage to the wrestler’s current body, and their future health. They are willing to risk their lives, but we all should want them to rethink before they do such a thing. We need to show our care and compassion for saving a life. Coaches could take the next step and punish a wrestler for loosing weight too fast and make them sit out. Coaches should also educate the team on how to eat nutritiously and safely. All in all, the behavior of wrestlers has improved in the past twenty years, but there is more that everyone can do to help stop the cutting of weight.
According to the Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review’s article on the female athlete triad, in the past forty years, American women have become increasingly involved in athletics as a result of laws allowing them to participate in sports. (Lebrun and Rumball) For instance, Cathy Rigby won eight Olympic gold medals in gymnastics during the ‘60’s and 70’s when these laws were just coming into effect. (Brunet) Nevertheless, there is an ugly hidden underbelly to the many benefits of women’s increased participation in sports. Many sports have very high standards for body image, which has led to the increasing prevalence of three “separate… but interrelated conditions” collectively known as the female athlete triad. (Lebrun and Rumball) Despite Cathy Rigby’s aforementioned success, an article by Dr. Michael Brunet reveals that she was severely affected by the most well-known of the female athlete triad: the eating disorder. This eventually caused her to suffer cardiac arrest twice. (Brunet) These effects are not limited to elite athletes, however; high school athletes are also affected by the triad, particularly those participating in sports “in which leanness is perceived to optimize performance” or which use “specific weight categories.” (Lebrun) The three components of the triad, osteoporosis, amenorrhea, and disordered eating, are increasingly becoming an unfortunate effect of distorted body image on sports.
This memo is to address the current conversation regarding the possible termination of the sport of wrestling in the upcoming Olympic Games. By examining the significant history of wrestling in the Olympics we can comprehend why so many people are passionate about the sport. Wrestling, being a non-revenue sport, does not have the same financial benefits as professional sports. Regardless, the sport still has a substantial fan base and should be continued.
Bodybuilding is a sport that tests both the body and the mind. For thousands of years, people have used it. However, only for a little over a century has it been popular. A big question asked by many in the sport is, how much has bodybuilding really changed from the silver era (the 1940s)? The answer is a lot, since the 1940s many changes have occurred. Some of these are steroid abuse, competition categories and ranks, and money (Robson). Modern-day bodybuilders have incredibly large “stacks” (slang for the steroids they use on their cycle), more opportunities to compete than they did in the 40s and even more ways to market for money. The sport of bodybuilding has been around for thousands of years and has changed more than ever in just
Abstract: Since the beginning of sports competition, athletes have always looked for some kind of an edge over their competitors. They will do whatever it takes to be one of the elite and that includes injecting supplements into their bodies to make them bigger, stronger, and faster. Steroid use is probably one of the most common drug misuses in sports competition. Athletes found that with anabolic steroids one could become a better athlete twice as fast. Not until 1975 was the drug first banned from Olympic competition because of the health risks it produced. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the sports world did not allow anabolic steroids as well. With the use of steroids no longer permitted athletes began to look for other alternatives. On the rise is two substances called creatine and androstenedione, both of which are sold over the counter. These two performance enhancers have only had minimal testing done on them, excluding the long-term effects, simply because they haven't been around long enough. Creatine and androstenedione have been said to produce results like steroids without the side effects. The truth is they do produce side effects and irregular muscle growth. By banning the use of performance enhancing drugs, just like steroids, sports competition will have a much healthier and fairer environment to participate in.
Gymnasts are more vulnerable to the onset of distorted eating than other teenagers in society, due to the very nature of what makes for athletic success in the sport. Gymnasts’ bodies have to be young, healthy, petite and muscular, therefore they have to do large amounts of conditioning and eat the proper amounts and type of food. The main factor to gymnasts being vulnerable to distorted eating is because they are at very young ages when they excel in the sport. Gymnastics is structured around young fit bodies, so these athletes are facing a lot of pure pressure and big decisions at young ages. They may start to restrict their diet because, in the sport, it is expected for them to have petite and fit bodies and they are receiving pressure from their coaches and others opinions. A Canadian study of youth gymnasts at an average age of 13.4 years old, reported that 10.5% saw themselves as overweight, 27% were worried about the way they looked and 39% reported dieting behaviors (momsteen.com). When gymnasts restrict their food intake it will not enhance their performance, instead it will harm it because of their weakened bodies condition. They decide to reduce their food intake because of what their body, as a gymnast, is supposed to look like. With the average age of gymnasts being 13.4 years old, they are at the age where it is very easy to feel insecure about their body due to others around them, but it is very unhealthy for high-level gymnasts to not be fueling their body with the proper foods thy need. The sports nature also plays a large role in how far the athletes will go for success. Gymnastics is a very involving sport that requires very long training hours for the young athletes. The proper amount of training hours for the ...
sport, the UFC is making progress of cleaning up the sport from what it used to be.”(Smith 1).
In the American Culture we have adapted many ways of the Greek and Roman Empires. Our society has the laid back lifestyle of the Greeks and the physical fitness of the Romans. Statistics show 45 percent of Americans set a goal every year to achieve weight loss/fitness. Of that 45 percent, and just under half of Americans still maintain their New Year’s Resolution (Hub Pages). The question is why is weight-loss so important in America? There are many answers and factors that play into figuring out the equation. One factor is the increase of obesity in our country year in and year out. Other key factors is the impact of media on our culture to look slim and be sexy, and even children’s toy figures have become more masculine and unrealistic. Although our society is becoming more accepting that not everyone can be a Barbie and Ken or resemble characters from our favorite action figures, the combination of these major factors help answer the equation to why weight loss has become so prevalent in our society today.
The female athlete triad consists of three parts; disordered eating i.e. anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. “Originally termed ‘female athlete triad,’ the name was derived at a meeting led by members of the American College of Sports Medicine in the early 1990s” (Kazis & Iglesias). The meeting was held due to an alarming increase in stress fracture rates, decrease in bone mineral density, and menstrual dysfunction. In 1972, the passage of Title IX was passed that mandated equal athletic opportunities for men and women. Since then, there has been a record high of almost 2 million female athletes participating in high school and college level sports. With the increase of female athletes, there is also an increase of competition whether it is to be the fastest, strongest, or skinniest. Athletes either at a collegiate level or an elite level, have unrealistic expectations placed on them to maintain a low body weight. Pressure to attain a perfect body can come from all different outside forces, such as: coaches, teammates, parents, siblings, and the athlete herself. The obsession to achieve this goal can lead to other health-relating problems such weakening bone density which will lead to stress fractures and irregular menstruations which can possibly lead to fertility issues in the future.
Wrestling is more than just a sport; it is a way of life. And for those who enjoy its opportunities, it is something that takes the mind off of all of life’s troubling times, and puts one man against another to get their hand raised. Competition makes everything evolve, and there is no other sport that epitomizes what competition truly is. Wrestling spans the entire globe, and although it incorporates several different styles and many National and World events, remains overlooked by most.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has always been negligent when it came to wrestling in the past, but in 1997 when three college athletes died due to cutting weight in extreme conditions enough was enough. N.C.A.A set forth weight loss rules the following year. Each wrestler had to take a urinary test to see how much water they were drinking and they also did body fat test. After all that they calculated your minimum healthy weight and that 's as low as you could go without getting disqualified. On top of that you were only aloud to lose two pounds a week, so for ex...
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, echoes through my head as I walk to the middle of the mat. "At 160lbs Aidan Conner of La Junta vs. Rodney Jones of Hotchkiss." All I can think of is every bead of sweat, every drip of blood, every mile, every push up, every tear. Why? All of this: just to be victorious. All in preparation for one match, six minutes. For some these six minutes may only be a glimpse, and then again for some it may be the biggest six minutes of their life. Many get the chance to experience it more than once. Some may work harder and want it more than others, but they may never get the chance. All they get is a moral victory. Every kid, every man comes into the tournament with a goal. For some is to win, for some is to place, others are just happy to qualify. These six minutes come on a cold frigid night in February at a place called the Pepsi Center. Once a year this gathering takes place when the small and the large, the best of the best, come to compete in front thousands of people. I am at the Colorado State Wrestling Championships.
"Cutting weight" is a term that refers to a wrestler's attempt to lose a certain amount of weight in order to compete in a particular weight category in wrestling competitions. Some wrestlers choose to lose weight so they can find a spot on the team, said Keith Healy, varsity wrestling coach of the nationally ranked team at Smallville High School.
Athletes would train in gymnasiums, using various sized stones as weights to increase their muscular physique and physical abilities for the Olympics. By the 11th century in India, people were using dumbbells made of stone to increase their health and overcome the challenges of daily life. It wasn’t until the 1890s that bodybuilding reached a level of popularity. This marked the first time that weightlifting was used as a method of entertainment purposes and the beginning of the culture. At the start of its popularity, bodybuilding had the intention of thrilling crowds with amazing feats of strength instead of dazzling with a gleaming frame. Then, in the 20th century, Eugene Sandow bridged the gap between overweight strongman and bodybuilders as we picture them today. Known as the father of modern bodybuilding, Eugene became a phenomenon with his combination of muscle quality and strength. He would travel the world, outdoing all other strongmen and promoting his muscular physique.