Badger Line Up Going Forward

[Ghetto]

I think we are going to be very happy with Jiminez. I think he's ready now. He also will put on a little more muscle and fill out the weight. Thornton lost his wrestle off, and isnt the guy at 125 at Purdue right now. I wish him the best, but I think JJ has more upside.

[vsmf2010]

You have a problem with 8.47% body fat?

Not at all. I think 8.47% is a good place to be. My point is that the idea that every wrestler should push down to 5% body fat for optimum performance may be flawed. I think there is a lot more to it then just go down a weight class and you will do better. Our sport would have more participation, more support from non wrestling families, and be a healthier place without the constant pressure on athletes to go down as far as possible.

[whatever]

My point is proven every day.  Yours is not.
Simply go back last year to Graff.... how did his experiment go when he went up a weight?  You either are not that in tune to wrestling or you are denying reality.
Wrestlers are certified for a safe weight.  Some do not handle weight management a well as others just the same as if they don't handle other parts of the sport.

You are full of inappropriate term12.

I've done a bit of "research" that will show there are PLENTY of guys who were AA's at a lower weight and moved up and WON NATIONAL TITLES.  You would be surprised how many have done this.  There aren't just  few "Kyle Dakes" that are exceptions, either.

[MNbadger]

Names, remmeber most do what I describe.

As far as 5% NO one should go that low.  As an example Lubeck is no where near 5% at 141.  Look at pics of individuals at 5%, no comparison.
I would suggest that most retlers would be most successful around 8% (which is precisely why the data ends up being this).  Wrestlers naturally find the most beneficial % body fat.

[Kileyk]

IMO I wouldn't count TJ out either at 49.  He had a bad 3rd period at rider but wrestled well at Wyoming (win,tech,major,pin) beating 2 crone lost to and wrestled a good match at navy before getting hurt.  May not be a given for RL.

[bigoil]

Names, remmeber most do what I describe.

As far as 5% NO one should go that low.  As an example Lubeck is no where near 5% at 141.  Look at pics of individuals at 5%, no comparison.
I would suggest that most retlers would be most successful around 8% (which is precisely why the data ends up being this).  Wrestlers naturally find the most beneficial % body fat.

You argue that every one should be down to 5%, then say they should be where they find the most comfortable. Which is it?

Also, saying Lubeck isn't no where near 5% @141 is crazy.

[digimon]

Napolean D - You can make that statement about Becker in Badger Red, but the Badgers will not sign or get everyone to wrestle for the Badgers from the Badger State. To predict NCAA success following high school is no easy feat. I wish Becker all the best at Parkside and competing at the D2 level. The Badgers will need to go to war with what they have for 2014-15. The future does look brighter for the Badgers, but it will be an uphill battle with the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, Minnesota, and Iowa continuing their Big10 and NCAA tournament success.

[MNbadger]

Bigoil, Google what 5% looks like and you'll agree.  As I stated, in practice 8% is where wrestlers do their best.  I am telling you that none of the struggling Badgers look anywhere near 5%. 

[Ty Clark]

There are probably no more than half a dozen (and it wouldn't surprise me if it were zero) wrestlers out of the 330 at the NCAA tournament that are truly at/below 5% body fat. I don't think people realize how sucked down one has to be to see <5% BF numbers, and to get there leaves one in no condition to optimally compete in any sport (outside of bodybuilding).

The human body doesn't allow itself to be without energy reserves for 4-5 months (wrestling season). After the body realizes what is going on (cycles of feasting and fasting), during each weight cut, the body becomes more efficient at sparing its energy stores (fat) while wasting protein from muscle tissue for energy. During each rebound, the body becomes more efficient at storing as much energy (food) as possible as body fat to prepare for the imminent fast, instead of repairing damaged muscle tissue (at least not to its best ability). The body is more interested in having the necessary energy to keep its brain and organs functioning than it is with being able to wrestle a seven-minute match. This is why after a wrestling season, you see so many wrestlers get fat. Wrestlers return to "normal" eating habits, but their bodies take some time to get back to a normal state of using dietary fat and carbohydrates for energy instead of storing them as body fat for a rainy day.

Through the dozen or so cycles during a season, a wrestler's body fat will actually rise and muscle tissue will be left unrepaired and injury-prone, not to mention the havoc wreaked on the body's chemical balance that will leave the wrestler in sub-optimal physical, mental and emotional states.

Here is a great compilation of images comparing body fat percentages:

http://cdn.builtlean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/body-fat-percentage-men.jpg

[crossface21]

Good post Ty.

So everyone, after looking at the link, where do you think you are?
I think I'm solidly in the 25-30% area these days

[littleguy301]

There are probably no more than half a dozen (and it wouldn't surprise me if it were zero) wrestlers out of the 330 at the NCAA tournament that are truly at/below 5% body fat. I don't think people realize how sucked down one has to be to see <5% BF numbers, and to get there leaves one in no condition to optimally compete in any sport (outside of bodybuilding).

The human body doesn't allow itself to be without energy reserves for 4-5 months (wrestling season). After the body realizes what is going on (cycles of feasting and fasting), during each weight cut, the body becomes more efficient at sparing its energy stores (fat) while wasting protein from muscle tissue for energy. During each rebound, the body becomes more efficient at storing as much energy (food) as possible as body fat to prepare for the imminent fast, instead of repairing damaged muscle tissue (at least not to its best ability). The body is more interested in having the necessary energy to keep its brain and organs functioning than it is with being able to wrestle a seven-minute match. This is why after a wrestling season, you see so many wrestlers get fat. Wrestlers return to "normal" eating habits, but their bodies take some time to get back to a normal state of using dietary fat and carbohydrates for energy instead of storing them as body fat for a rainy day.

Through the dozen or so cycles during a season, a wrestler's body fat will actually rise and muscle tissue will be left unrepaired and injury-prone, not to mention the havoc wreaked on the body's chemical balance that will leave the wrestler in sub-optimal physical, mental and emotional states.

Here is a great compilation of images comparing body fat percentages:

http://cdn.builtlean.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/body-fat-percentage-men.jpg

Very good post Ty.

Not sure if you competed in bodybuilding but from my knowledge it was very rare for any of the ones I knew to be under 5%. I once read that with the "extras" that some bodybuilders that there organs like liver, Heart and such they naturally had 4-5% fat in those 2 organs because of the size of those organs.

I remember 6-8% was pretty normal in the ones I knew but maybe FESTERS weight class of making weight for 5 seconds

[DocWrestling]

I just like to look at threads like this like someone outside the wrestling community would.

Who in their right mind would want to be a wrestler?

Who in their right mind would want their son to be a wrestler?

Cutting weight has many physical effects but even more importantly it can suck the fun out of it and mentally also affect academics.

I have always maintained that you have be a bit psycho and mentally ill to wrestle and stuff like this proves it!

What is the answer? Not to derail this thread but I have been a proponent of bumping HS weights up 4 or 5 lbs at least until like 185 which forces everyone to kind of grow into weight classes.  I think it is even more needed at the college level.  Having 4 weight classes under 150 lbs for college age kids is really tough.

With that said freshman should redshirt the great majority of time and get adjusted to college and college wrestling and focus on bulking up and getting bigger for once.  Problem is many freshman are needed to fill lineups due to scholarship limitations.  Imagine if wrestling had 20 scholarships and 40 kids in the room.  Their would not be forfeits and each team would have depth.

[MNbadger]

Doc, I respectfully disagree.  How has bumping the weights up changed anything in college wrestling?  All you did was eliminate some people from competing.
The same in HS. How would bumping them up 5 pounds help?  Wrestlers cut weight, weight lifters cut weight, boxers, etc. 
You can bump the weights up 10 pounds, wrestlers will still cut down to the 8% that they do now (this happens naturally as it seems to be where wrestlers are most successful).   
This is why I have never seen the need for crtification of any type. Wrestlers want to win, coaches want to win, parent swant their kids to win.  They cut until it affects performance (which again in college appears to be 8.4 % if I remember the average collegiate competitor percentage).

[npope]

Indeed, the immediate addition of seven pounds to each weight class (that took place in the wake of the wrestler deaths that were associated with weight loss decades ago) was simply a knee-jerk PR move by the powers that be; it only had an effect on those competing that year. And too, I don't remember a rule preventing a wrestler from dropping a weight class later in the season - as was not uncommon in the day. There were no body fat tests or anything, either. Weight cutting was still the Wild West at the time. That said, it was better than doing nothing in response to the deaths. And yes, I know that the story is that the deaths were technically found to be the direct result of other factors to which excessive weight loss contributed...they just happened to be incredibly sucked down when they died. A very bad spot-light to shine on the sport.

More than anything, I think the issue needs to be about coaches' education. They are the ones who manage the weight loss of wrestlers within their program.

[HMsDad]

I agree if I was just a person reading some comments on this subject I would think no way I let my kid wrestle. Some of these high school kids look like they need a commercial about "For just 19 cents a day you could help lil Timmy get the meal and nutrition he desperately needs." My kid walks around between 137-140 depending on what he ate that day yet certified to 126. He could hula-hoop with a Cheerio as it is now. There is no way he comes close to 126 but there are some that will starve to get to the lowest weight. That's a lot of weight for kids still growing.