PTA: Pain Torture Agony

Lessons on weight loss from Wrestlers

Cited in John Jesse’s wrestling encyclopaedia, Donald Cooper is quoted from Medical Aspects of Weight Control

“One thing I have learned in these past few years of reading, talking, calling and visiting with literally dozens of people connected with the sport of wrestling and especially those who are successful, is that plain old hard work and a balanced diet- possibly reduced in quantity but balanced with adequate fluid intake- is the best way to get weight down to its proper level.

I have had the pleasure of visiting with Olympic champions from this country and Japan, and in every case these men followed a balanced diet, small in quantity but balanced in every sense of the word, and they took some fluids as they worked out. they all said there was no substitute, no short cut, no way to escape hard work. A few years ago, I heard it expressed another way as PTA: Pain Torture and Agony.”

(Proceedings of the Eighth National Conference on the Medical Aspects of Sports, 27 Nov 1966).

What works with our athletes

One player I am training has lost 5kg in 4 weeks- the method? I suggested that every time he ate some junk food at the weekend he did 100 burpees.

This seemed to do the trick, he has cut out the comfort eating when bored. Won’t work for everyone, but you have to know your athletes.

Another one has lost 3kg- how? Just by completing a food diary and showing it to me on Mondays, this way he is paying more attention to what he eats. Not amazingly scientific, but it is what works in practice and for the individual that counts.

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