Is wrestling harder than cross country?

Staying in shape year-round is not dangerous. If someone maintains a low weight, he will not lose health or fitness because he's replenishing all the calories he burns. Sure, they can gain weight after the season, but they should not come into the season overweight. That is like a runner coming into a season without base fitness.

I don't know the specifics of the highest levels of competition in wrestling, but many of the top guys I've seen are nowhere near a significantly unhealthy weight. I will admit that runners have the huge privilege of doing what they love for nearly every part of training. Lots of the stuff wrestlers do for training does not look enjoyable at all.

Yes. While in HS wrestling, I ran a 5:10 mile in wrestling shoes in gym class, I think it was the presidential physical fitness test..back in the day. This was with no "running" training. Not great, but that time would have got me on the team. I'd like to set a track/CC person walk onto a HS wrestling team and "compete"..not even their cardio would keep up. The only thing I have come across tougher (cardio wise) than wrestling is motocross, really!

Did both.

Wrestling is MUCH harder.

You exhaust your entire body in less than 9 minutes.

You are forced to eat as little as possible, run stairs with someone on your back, and you tire-out your arms, legs, sore backs, necks. Forget it.

Wrestling made running a marathon seem easy.

How has this thread gotten this far without some Brandan Moen(?) photos wearing the wrestling uni?

It is amazing that the letsrunners are actually admitting that something is as tough or tougher than their own sport. Usually other sports are condemned.

I've never wrestled, but have watched a lot of HS wrestling. It is tough!

In cross country, you can be absorbed into the race, finish in the middle of the pack and no one really cares that you didn't win the race. In wrestling, you are either first or last, and everybody in attendance knows it.

this is like comparing apples and oranges but whatever, my take is that at least in running you don't have sweaty junk shoved in your face. I don't care how tough it is, I'd rather keep my dignity.

you have no dignity - cross country is for band rejects and losers.

jamaicanmecrazy wrote:

this is like comparing apples and oranges but whatever, my take is that at least in running you don't have sweaty junk shoved in your face. I don't care how tough it is, I'd rather keep my dignity.

Wrestlers are freaks! They are very disciplined and go through crazy stuff to maintain weight and be in top physical condition.

grammarman wrote:

Real running success requires dedication almost every week of the year. You have to stay healthy, thin, and fit constantly. Wrestlers are tough as hell during the season, but they do not know the dedication that highly competitive running requires. If they really cared that much, they'd lose weight before the season so they could improve more effectively instead of training on zero energy.

What season? I don't remember there actually being a 'wrestling season' when I was wrestling. We trained the entire year. Sure most of the tournaments are in the winter and spring, but world championships and Olympics were in the summer and fall, and there was always someone going, so we all had to train just as intensely as they were.

I am surprised and happy that on a running message board that most of you know the correct answer. They are both tough when done correctly however when you wrestle in a match you can't let up or you will end up losing. Just remember they are both probably the toughest sports and take great dedication so give both their props!!!

I am not a wrestler. I have no perspective. But I raced platt a few times in college, we had a few good battles, and I know he is tough as nails. I will trust his opinion on this and I also grew up around wrestling and I do know that there is no such thing as an easy day.

There are also some elements of a race where you can back off and cruise. Do that in a wrestling match and you are pinned.

Josh McAdams was a wrestler as was D3 multiple champ Cooper from Mount. I'm sure those guys would echo platt's comments.

Wrestling is harder than cross-country. Much harder.

Wrestling is one of the few (other) sports to which runners consistently give props.

Racewalk is harder than running, too, and yet...

Or Cael Sanderson?

Wresting is very very difficult. It requires stamina, strength, agility, technique, and speed. XC heavily dependent on stamina and speed and thats it.

Plus it man v man, where xc is a group activity. So when you get your @ss handed to you it's very easy to hide and blend into the back ground.

I wrestled from fourth to eighth grade and started running in high school. Both can be very difficult in different ways. One thing about wrestling is that you never know when the “finish line” is. There are a few moments to catch your breath between periods though. In a race you pretty much know how bad it will hurt and for how long. Wrestling is pretty much all out from the start – there is no pacing. Giving up on yourself in both a wrestling match or race can be both be very demoralizing.

There are no weather variables in wrestling and you will probably not get hit by a car. On the other hand acute injuries are more common in wrestling and overuse ones probably more common in running.

I remember being very nervous before wrestling matches and races. In both sports you are out there competing individually but a team is counting on you. To me it is pretty much a tie as to which is more difficult with the tie breaker being the weight loss issue. This is why I started running in high school.

You know, weight loss isn't mandatory. You can just wrestle at your natural weight if you are tough enough.

Wow. Brings back a lot of memories. I wrestled for 2 years and ran for a lot more than that. I gotta go with wrestling in terms of disclipline, cutting weight, mental toughness, all around agility and athletic ability.

Racing competitively is no picnic, but there is simply nowhere to hide on the mat mano y mano. In an xc race you can slip into the pack and claim you just did not have your best stuff on that particular day. On the track, there are usually other competitors you will beat even when performing poorly. On the mat, you are 100% exposed if you don't give it all you got. Yeah, wrestling gets the nod here.

Oh and one more thing, don't ever fight a guy who knows how to wrestle. It will not end well for you.