Proud to be a Pehlwan!
Part 3
Diet is important in all sports, especially wrestling. Coaches and athletes often have specific foods or diets that they swear by. The Punjabi farmer in the photo was a strong wrestler in his youth. He told me to eat as many gooseberries as possible every day. After tough wrestling practices at the garadi manes the coach comes around with butter for each pehlwan. A yoga guru in Ladakh, who used to be a professional soccer player, advises papaya and sea buckthorn juice. A good friend of mine in the US who competes in powerlifting eats a sickening amount of tilapia every day. Pavel Tsatsouline, the founder of StrongFirst, says he has a coffee in the morning and a steak in the evening. I personally don’t think there’s any single superfood that is right for everyone and will garauntee the best results. Every person is different. If you are vegan, kosher, lactose intolerant, gluten free, or just plain picky, you can find a successful wrestling diet that is right for you. I tend to follow Michael Pollan’s diet, which can be entirely summarized in seven words: Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.
