Tid bits and weight control article

It’s Time

 

We will be beginning practice Next week, as well as, lifting 4 days a week at 6:30am. We will do this thru the month of October. What is behind that is once practice begins, lifting often takes a back seat. We want to keep lifting all the way until a few days before the conference and NCAA tourney. There is a HUGE correlation between the guys who lift and win Strength training is injury prevention, insuring the ability to execute and counter and best of all Confidence. I can’t think of one person who does not need this.

 

We AM lift to get guys up in the morning, healthy routine, preparation for future success, injury prevention and rehabilitation, get their metabolism going, burn calories, maintain or increase muscle mass, as muscle is your bodies most effective fat burner, eat breakfast, give them energy for both academics and training, go to class and just have a better over all sense of being throughout the day. Hopefully it gets them to bed earlier as well. We will only be on the Mat 4 days a week thru October. We will take Wednesdays off totally. This will be somewhat of a recovery day. And also give guys sometime to spend outside since we will be inside training until early March. Our season is very long, a good 5 months, so you have to be smart. Our concern is, always has been, and will continue to be, being ready at the end of the season. We are not really tied up in our win loss record. We compete to win every time period. We want All- Americans and National champions. We have made an adjustment to our schedule this year in which we likely will process us in VS diving in full fledge like we have in the previous 3 seasons. Last year we started out with ISU, Harold Nichols open, Omaha open, UNI open. These are all D1 competitions. We want to wrestle the best and it’s good for us. But last year it was very hard on the whole program and I take the blame for that. This year we are going to some different tourneys that are still tough but not D1 dominated.

 

We will focus mostly on core skills thru the month of October. Our idea here is it’s not about wrestling moves. I don’t think I even know any wrestling moves. It’s more about position and skills; you can hardly score or defend if you’re not in good position. The other thing is you do not expend as much unnecessary energy when in position, lots of a wrestlers energy is spent by being wreck-less and out of position. And they use all their energy trying to get back in position. Should I say position a few more times? So if you stay there all the time “In position”, it’s highly to your advantage. We are going to keep hammering this until everyone of our athletes buy in.

 

 

Open Practice Saturday October 6^th.

 

We will be having an open practice to the public this Saturday / homecoming, in the field house at 10:00 am. It will only be our 3^rd day of practice. But it’s good to get the guys out in front of different people in training situations. We may do it again later in the month pending on how it turns out. It will not be a “break em down” practice. It will be more drilling, skills, and some live wrestling. Everyone is welcome to come watch how we run an early season practice.

 

Assorted but on track

 

 I just got back from the world championships and once again basics win. Good stance, head and hands for defense, square hips on leg attacks, lead management, head inside and outside attacks and finishes. We believe in what we are doing from a wrestling stand point. Obviously there are many other aspects to running a program. And having a program is just as important as results are to us this year. What do I mean by program? A system of training, a style, pride in ourselves and BVU wrestling, Leadership, Making academics #1, responsibility, alum involvement, parent involvement, fund raising, a wrestling camp, possible training site, having fans support us and wearing Navy and Gold, team building throughout the year, both coaches and athletes having well thought out written goals, team unity, a sense that this is much bigger than anyone of us, and coming into and at this thing together will give us a much better experience and opportunity for success. I will flat out admit I have made many mistakes. The transition has not been easy. There are many hats that need to be worn and have little to do with wrestling. But a lot to do with program success. And that is where the concern is this year. We are working on being: organized, decisive in decisions, and Anti-procrastination. This will be like oil on a chain and give our program a bit more fluidness that is has been lacking. It is not about perfection right now, it’s about progress, although we will keep raising the bar.

 

Cael Sanderson and BVU fall Wrestling Clinic

 

Cale Sanderson will be in for our fall clinic on Saturday November, 3^rd from 11:00-12:30. We have adjusted the price to$35 if pre-registered by Friday October 26^th. This price stands for individuals and teams. We will accept walk-ins but its $45 per person and $40 if with a team. Sanderson is probably the biggest name in wrestling right now. And has shown he can coach as well with ISU finishing runner-up in last years NCAA tourney in Sanderson’s first year at the helm. He was also undefeated in college, which I doubt will be done again, 4 NCAA Championships and an Olympic gold. We are so fortunate to have him here on campus doing our clinic. We hope all wrestlers and coaches take advantage of this.

 

Baku

 

World championships: I just have to say a few things about this. First off I have seen lots of negative / derogatory comments toward our team and even the coaches. Obviously the USA did not get there desired or capable results. People are certainly entitled to their opinion. The thing I would ask is how many world teams have you been on? The next question is do you really think these guys did not train and plan to win? The answer is they did train and plan to win but the room for error in a tourney like this is very very small. To take shots at guys when you likely never made it close to this level is ridicules. Have you ever intentionally sabotaged your results, tried to lose? Maybe you did. Guys who sit behind their computer and hammer those with nothing but negative comments are cowards in my opinion. There are some things that need to be addressed and for the most part I believe most really do want to see the USA team to do well and are solution oriented.

 

Solutions in my opinion

I would say more international matches would be at the head of the list. These foreigners have a totally different feel, if you have ever wrestled one you know what I am talking about, it’s not like grabbing a guy in the USA, the feel and the reactions are totally different. The other thing is guys training year around. The problem is money. Very few go to the OTC as a resident, most need to work and many just plain want to coach at what ever university they are affiliated with. If you’re questioning Terry Brands you better re calculate. He is a GREAT coach and extremely effective. He puts in more time in one month than most do in an entire year. And remember he knows a thing or two as he was a 2x World champion. Kevin Jackson & Brands are a very good combo. Someone mentioned USA wrestling needs a guy like Sergei Beloglazov; they had him, ask the people that were there what they thought.

 

Just to make the USA team is a lifetime feat. I see lots of talk about the rules and our guys just standing around. First off USA does not make the rules, Fila does. And the strategy is not so much about actual wrestling any more. I don’t like it either. The coin toss is just UN believable. But don’t blame the guys for wrestling to the rules; blame Fila, you should let them know. But than maybe you will have to have your neighbor start your car. If you watch matches from the tournament the theme is waiting until about 1:40 in the 2:00 minute period, than they go and get their 1 or 3 pt hold and that’s it. It is just so amazing that we have so many experts with solutions who are not out there taking the risk. Although I do have a suspicion that a few of the guys may have been on past world or Olympic teams. If so, than go right ahead, you earned the right to criticize. Everyone is entitled to voice their opinion just as it is my right to take offense or disagree with the statements. So who is right? Maybe everyone is. My last opinion is just because you mowed a few lawns do not make you a landscaper.

 

Predicament weight control article

 

People often ask about a nutrition or weight loss plan pertinent to wrestling. What I have found is most people already know what to do; they have enough information to get better results right now. Even if one just uses the most basic / general nutritional information, they would make a significant improvement. I am always 100% for expanding knowledge. In this case I see it wise to take what you already know and apply it. It is very similar to talking about going the extra mile. Forget the extra mile until you go the required mile, kind of like fonzie trying to jump 15 garbage cans before he jumped 10. Maybe that’s why he crashed into Arnold’s chicken stand. This article is more about the thinking that goes with a wrestler in regards to weight loss, tendencies, what to look for, be aware of, and just a general outline to benefit your season. I don’t really include what to eat as much as when to.

 

Use what you already know, more knowledge will not help if there is no action. If you’re not sure what you know than get a paper and pen and begin to write ideas down. I bet you will be surprised how much you really do know. Any weight loss program begins with making better choices. You don’t have to change everything in one day, if you attempt; it’s very likely you will drift back into old ways quickly. What we suggest is that you start a good 6-8 weeks before wrestling begins. It does not matter if you’re playing football. We are not talking about cutting weight at this point. We are talking about making better choices. If you start just 6 weeks before you’re first competition, which is roughly 42 days. By making 1 better decision a day, which is bare minimum, you will have 42 better decisions. You can do this and not miss anything, except you will probably feel better. Now make 2 better nutritional decisions a day, which is very reasonable, now you have 84 better decisions. And that will have profound effect on your body composition, your attitude, energy level and confidence. You can see how the decisions add up and the more wise choices, the more YOU benefit. If you wait until the week before your first competition than what ends up happening is you just dehydrate and starve and that is nothing more than self sabotage. It’s always been said our biggest enemy or friend is under our own hat.

 

 The class I teach this semester is Health / Wellness related emphasis. These students already possess the necessary knowledge to make beneficial H & W changes. What we are striving to do this semester is the same thing we will attempt to do here in this article. Create Awareness-get a Plan on paper- get into Action/ behavior change. Also keep things basic and simple. If you get to scientific most students both HS and College, will lose interest. It will appear over whelming and they will not follow it or even start. Many say they want a plan. But often what they really want is top results without having to be uncomfortable. King Discipline is a huge part of our sport. With discipline you get favorable results, confidence, prevention and preparation, respect in other words success and satisfaction. Without discipline you get lazy-ness, excuses, lack of preparation, little to no confidence, no respect, in other words un-fulling results. Yes, discipline may be the toughest guy around, square jaw, square shoulders, and can submit or knock you out with one punch. In this day and age you can purchase most anything. But discipline is not something you can put on a credit card; it has to come from within.

 

Why do some seem to have discipline and others don’t? Is it like green eyes or little grey / brown teeth that you just wake up in your life and its part of your make up? Is it something you have no control over so you cannot be faulted or praised? I don’t think so. In my opinion it is a character trait that is developed. I talk about discipline here because obviously it is a staple to our great sport. Remember you choose a tough sport and it has its demands, but lifetime rewards. I like the saying “if it were easy everyone would do it, it’s not, and they don’t.”  Anyone can talk tough. But the real measure is what we do when things get tough, when were tested, when adversity sets in. We all get knocked down and there is no shame in that, making mistakes and falling short is inevitable, it’s all part of life. Sometimes we do better with it than others. But there certainly is a theme that runs within each one of us. And we are all revealed in time. Time is the great and only 100% accurate tattle tale. The tragedy is when we give up too soon, before we reach our potential or before we give in and surrender to temporary discomfort. We all have and will face it at times and it’s never easy.

 

What we want to focus on here is about losing weight while maintaining strength

 

Always eat breakfast: Prefer before 8:00am, you hear it all your life for a good reason. I would say ½ don’t do it. The perks are enormous for any human let alone a wrestler. If your going to skip a meal your AM fueling is not the one. I have seen numerous break downs of carbs, pro, fats. It gives effective guide lines. But what I have also found is few actually follow it. So now how do we reach the masses? First and foremost simply Fuel in the AM. Secondly just use Common Sense. I believe CS is manageable for anyone, and more likely if you’re keeping your fuel levels in check. The CS goes out the window when starving and massive dehydration takes place. So stay close to the concept of MODERATION. Another idea, TAKE YOUR TIME and actually taste your fuel. When you attack your fuel you WILL eat/drink more because the sense of fullness does not set in 5 minutes, it’s more like 20. Much of the time when we over fuel, it is converted to Fat. And we end up feeling sluggish anyway. No need to fuel until you’re full let your mind and stomach find their way to each other with patience and not haste. Once they do their union is like Donny and Marie, or Laverne and Shirley.

 

What I would like to inject in this article is that just because it’s wrestling season and that you are losing weight, preferable fat, does not mean that you cannot eat foods that taste good. That is erroneous, so what we want to get across to the Student Athlete is to think in the terms of eating for both Taste and Performance. But Cousin Moderation needs to be present. In my opinion making a poor decision will not be the end of the world. And it’s better than not eating at all. When you fuel your body you will make better decisions. So eating foods that appeal to you are acceptable in moderation. But wise to eat for performance first.  

 

We are also looking in the direction of several smaller fuelings throughout the day VS 1 or 2 big feedings. Remember we want to keep fuel levels and cravings balanced and not from one extreme to the other. Stay away from EXTREMES, its like high voltage. This will also keep your metabolism active and you’re over all attitude more centered and stable. Remember your brain needs fuel as well and when not acknowledged it will give you more grief than the guy on cheaters. We want you staying up in your over all outlook so you can be effective in the Class room as much as in your training.

A very simple model to follow is to put a log on the fire before it burns out, every 3.4- 4hrs.

 

The time now is 11-12:00pm neighborhood. This meal, IMO, does not need to be a major feeding. If you fueled in the AM like you were advised to. You will not have the voracious appetite that so many do at this time. Look at this more as keeping fuel levels in check, thinking a bit more towards performance fuel, fuel that will benefit you later on in the day. But still not aborting all taste. Again moderation is key. A few things to keep in mind as to how much you take in is, where is your weight currently at? When is your first or next weigh in? One of the biggest mistakes I see made is the athlete starves the day before weigh ins. I know that if two kangaroos are fighting, one is being feed and other is not, my money is on the fueled kangaroo. If both are not fueled, well than you have 2 kangaroos with no energy. And this is a direct black eye to our sport. Understand that with anything in life we will often not feel comfortable, ideal or even good. You may have to wrestled for your State or NCAA title on a day you feel horrible, what than?

 

The “thing” about having fuel restricted is our senses become heightened. The more extreme, the more heightened. Anytime in life something is taking away we become sensitive to it, especially when it’s something we need for survival. That is why we stay away from extremes. If you’re on top of a 60 story building and Tony Soprano or the late John Gotti is coming your way, my guess is you’re not going to be standing by the edge, you will likely be in the middle, and it’s safer there. Same thing with this concept of Weight loss while maintaining strength, stay in the middle. This will assure your safety in you getting back on the ground without a disaster.

Portion size MUST be addressed. Our portions in the USA are wayyyyyyyyy more than needed. We have this idea we need to feel full all the time. There are millions of people who have never felt full and live their entire lives that way. Remember you choose a tough sport and all it’s really asking is to read the contract you signed carefully: be aware, have a plan, and turn it into behavior. IMO you already have a good idea what foods are for performance and what foods are for taste. Take a few minutes from your IM and Text activity, and do a little research. You will likely remember much better if you find some of the answers yourself. And the internet is steeped with helpful information for wrestling specific nutrition and weight loss plans.

 

2:30-3:00pm. in that ½ hr- 1 hr range before practice is a good time to have a small performance based snack. This often means you have to bring something with you to school and not hit a vending machine. If you’re following the plan your mind set will be functioning properly and you will make a solid nutritional choice.

 

Be advised to FUEL your body so you have energy to expend in your training. Being prepared for afternoon training is crucial. This is where much of your preparation and training will come from, at least from a wrestling standpoint.

I see so many athletes hit the wall during practice, run out of energy, and appear lifeless. This is not the sports fault. This is the result of poor choices, no plan and likely procrastination. This is often the result of many many meals prior in which you ate to the point of simply being stuffed. If you just have some awareness upfront you can benefit not only your weight, confidence, preparation, but over all health. Yes by eating correctly losing weight can be healthy. You will lose more weight at the end of the day by fueling sensibly than if you starve. With fuel you will be able to be more alert using training to improve your skills, conditioning, strategy, strength, and mind set vs. just a slot of time to crawl thru wishing to eek off a few pounds. Wishing and starving will get you no where. Fueling and discipline will get you improvement, which insures success. I believe you also owe it to your team to be a beneficial partner and competitor. But knowing and doing are often miles apart.

We want athletes who can feel themselves improving, making gains and who look forward to competition rather than just wanting to get the weigh in over with. Who cannot sleep the night before from excitement vs. a dry mouth and empty stomach? I want to say it one more time that this is a tough sport and having to lose weight is never easy but not an evil. It’s the way it is carried out that is the evil. I know many many wrestlers who can / have lost a good amount of weight and were effective. Reason being they had a plan, stuck to it and DID IT OVER TIME. There were healthier at this point than when they were on full feed or should I say over feed?

 

Getting to the lowest weight is not always the answer. But sometimes it is the answer and also necessary. The team dynamics may present a situation that someone needs to go down so both athletes in question can be on the team. Some kids choose to go low because they feel they have a better chance at success, maybe they do. Maybe that is what the kid needs to have confidence. There are other ways to get confidence like competing in the spring and summer, strength training so you’re strong enough to compete at a higher weight, working on basic skills, correct repetition and rock solid position. I mean there are many variables here. Main point is you can lose weight with minimal effects if you just get a plan and put it into action. What is a plan? How about working backwards from your first competition and set target weights to be at along the way. This does not mean dehydration. This means a sensible plan like doing the things we have listed above and doing it over time, a 2 month period so you hardly notice it. We want to lose fat, not just weight. The weight / water can come off in the end and hydrated right back into your body.

 

Following your afternoon training session 5:30-6:30pm area. You need to fuel your body to replenish energy, muscle repair and preparation for your next training session. Post training fuel is crucial and sets up your future training periods. Things to remember here are follow the themes that you have all day. With added awareness that you will likely not be expending much more energy that evening. So take your time, eat slow, performance first, than taste in moderation.

 

8-9:30pm a little snack is feasible if you have been sticking to a plan & a cup of de caffeinated tea or hot chocolate is a nice evening touch. That is the perk of doing things right. Late night eating is a killer for most of us anyway. Many people take in more calories at night than they do all day. This is not only a weight hazard but a health concern as well. So staying light at night is a good lifetime habit to get into.

 

The plan stays pretty much the same thru the 6-8 weeks prior to your first weigh in, what may differ is the amount of intake. I understand that there are plans out there with much more specific and scientific information. But as I said, few will follow it. So by taking this general outline in this article and making it your lifestyle will work wonders in leveling the playing filed for those currently in front of you and distance you from those who are currently behind. If you get anything out of this article make Awareness, a written Plan, & Action or behavior change will make your like easier and results more favorable.

 

 In the future I will write about 3 days I consider crucial in the life of a wrestler. The day before weigh in, day of weigh in / competition, day after weigh in / competition. I will talk about how cycles are created to either enhance or defeat your purpose.

Posted by SchwabM [Wrestling] ( October 01, 2007 06:32 PM ) Permalink | Comments[2]

BVU Homecoming 5k

It's that time of year again. Time for the Alumni to come out of the woodwork for a weekend and show their colors. It's always an exciting time as I get to see old friends and meet many BVU Alumni. This year I am really trying to gain more interest in our Homecoming 5k fun run. It's a great time for students and alumni to mingle and mix it up on a fun run at twilight. This year we will be having the race at 7pm on Friday, October 5th. The race will start near the football stadium turn left on 4th Street heading west down the lake and follow an out and back format. Hopefully we can get more numbers each year and really turn this into a premier event for the homecoming week.

Besides that little plug for our 5k, the BVU Cross Country team will be heading off to Sioux City for the Briar Cliff Invite Saturday morning and will return just in time for kick-off. The Women's race begins at 10am and the Men's race will begin at 10:45am. The course is fairly flat and runs mostly in a wooded area. We should be able to continue the strides we made in Davenport. 

Posted by maasn [Cross Country] ( October 01, 2007 11:52 AM ) Permalink | Comments[0]