Pin down better fitness

Have you been wrestling with the desire to get healthier and fitter throughout 2011? Well if so, why not quite literally wrestle your way to better health and fitness in 2012?

One misconception I’m sure practitioners of Olympic wrestling are tired of frequently dispelling is that wrestling must involve masks, colourful costumes, bleached-blonde divas and corny entrance music- Matthew Muscat Inglott

Or more specifically rather, wrestle others with those same aspirations; confused? While extending my best wishes for the festive season and welcoming you to another year of health and fitness features, I urge you to read on.

If you still haven’t found your passion for exercise and fitness, this just might be your year.

Improving your physical condition need not involve the more traditional options we all know and dread. Taking up jogging or joining a gym are all well and good, but if these routes have never tickled your fancy before or failed to hold your attention for very long even if you’ve tried them, then experimenting with competitive sports might be just the thing for you.

We have explored many such pursuits on this page before, but today we will look at something unlike anything we have discussed before.

However,before you dismiss competitive sport for lack of enthusiasm in the element of competing itself, keep in mind there exists no rule that says you can’t attend training sessions of a given sport in pursuit of superior fitness for its own sake.

You don’t need to stand toe to toe from the outset, or not until you’re ready that is. When you are ready for it, a little competition often means nothing more than putting those skills and physical abilities you practise so hard for in training to the test against somebody else in exactly the same situation as you.

Competing with others is to strive together in motivating ourselves to improve our own pic tooabilities.

So let’s move on to this week’s sport of choice. As a keen enthusiast of all things local, I enjoy watching live events whatever the game or standard. The last such event I attended in 2011 was held at the Mcast school in Naxxar, and actually turned out to be even more entertaining than I ever expected.

I had the pleasure of attending a wrestling tournament between the Malta team and several clubs from all over the UK.

Wrestling? Is that the stuff we see on TV involving lycra-clad mountains of muscle and more drama than an episode of Eastenders?

One misconception I’m sure practitioners of Olympic wrestling are tired of frequently dispelling is that wrestling must involve masks, colourful costumes, bleached-blonde divas and corny entrance music.

As much as we might enjoy watching big men smash chairs on each other and hurl themselves around a prize fighting ring, Olympic wrestling entails no such antics, and ironically far more action.

Olympic wrestling, known locally as ‘lotta’, is the real deal; highly trained athletes in peak physical condition engaging in a battle of skill and guile.

Wrestlers must employ strategy, technical proficiency, reflexes, and physical conditioning to prevail in an artistic form of muscular chess that is fun to watch, while sparing us the more brutal aspects of other popular combat sports. Success on the wrestling mat depends on perfecting the balance of that age-old adage of brains and brawn.

The rules are simple enough to pick up after watching your first couple of bouts, the most notable of which is that a pin ends the match outright. A pin involves forcing your opponents’ shoulders flat on the mat, saving which the match may go the distance of three rounds and be decided on points.

From a fitness perspective, wrestlers pretty much tick all the boxes; requiring a lethal mix of speed, strength, flexibility and endurance. Avid participants in the light- to middle-weight classes display the type of physique you might expect from an Olympic gymnast; well-muscled and lean.

To achieve such conditioning, wrestlers train in a disciplined environment, exploiting an inventive, rich and varied selection of bodyweight exercises I’m sure the mainstream fitness industry will one day soon cotton on to. Our local boys are no pushovers on the international scene and there is a wealth of knowledge to be benefited from among the local coaches and officials.

A close friend of mine has been recently been bitten by the wrestling bug and assures me his new training sessions are unlike anything he has ever tried before.

You might be thinking by now this fascinating sport is the sole reserve of male competitors, however, this is far from the truth. Among the UK visitors attending the December tournament were women not at all afraid to draw hands with some of our younger local men.

Ladies, if you’re tired of aerobics, stationary bikes, and above all, gender stereotypes, then wrestling is a great way for you to get in shape, stay motivated to exercise, build confidence, and master an effective no-nonsense form of self-defence.

The Malta wrestling team hold regular training sessions every week and can be found with a quick internet search if you would like to learn more about times and locations.

If your curiosity has at all been aroused then why not attend a tournament as I did and see exactly what Olympic wresting might hold in store for you. I witnessed a colourful array of characters who did not need capes or choreographed signature moves to captivate the audience. If nothing else, you are guaranteed a memorable day you definitely won’t regret.

info@noble-gym.com