The Untold Truth About Wrestling

Wrestling is a grueling, time consuming, and draining sport that requires a massive amount of dedication to succeed. One of the hardest things in wrestling is cutting weight. Cutting weight is doing anything it takes to lose weight in order to be allowed to compete in a specific weight class. 

When talking to Julianna Montoya, one of the most interesting things she mentioned was that they try to sweat as much as possible when working out to lose as much water weight as they can. She said, “When running I wear sweats and a hoodie to make myself as hot as a can to sweat as much as I can.” Another shocking statement that Montoya mentioned was, “When I run at home I will wear a trash bag around my body to create as much heat as I can, and sweat a ton.”

Eating healthy meals is a big part of losing weight, and all wrestlers make it a habit to not eat junk food and eat balanced meals. Montoya stated that, “we try to get as healthy as we can, but the day before a tournament we do not eat anything as well as the morning of the matches.” This is dangerous for wrestlers due to the reason that they need the energy to be ready for their match, but the wrestlers also need to be below a certain weight to compete in the first place, which puts them in a tricky situation if they should avoid eating or get the energy they need for a match.

Wrestling is a dangerous sport when competing. It is a challenge to meet requirements outside of practices, and tournaments. With everything wrestlers do to cut weight and be allowed to compete, it can often be dangerous for their health. Coaches do not support or require them to cut weight but as Montoya said.