Sonny Close

Nutrition is a weapon. It doesn’t matter if you are driving a Ferrari or a moped if they aren’t fueled, and what’s more, a properly fueled moped will outrun an empty Ferrari every time. But even that metaphor is insufficient, because nutrition is much more intricate than the fuel that powers an engine. Want to gain muscle? Lose fat? Maintain muscle and lose weight? There are recipes for all these ends, the only thing that stands between you and your ideal machine is the knowledge to do so. Sadly a lot of this knowledge is still a mystery to many. … Read More

There are a few qualities that are necessary for mental toughness, but are hardly ever mentioned in the same breath. A positive attitude is one example. It isn’t possible to represent mental toughness while complaining. Another example is consistency. Would you consider a person whose performance and attitude were constantly influenced by external factors to be mentally tough? These qualities are probably shortchanged because we tend to think of mental toughness as being revealed only in moments of heroism, which is very unfortunate because it leads us to see it as something rare and innate as opposed to something that … Read More

Any decent wrestling coach knows that there are no secrets to success. If you work hard, work consistently, and compete with pride, wrestling will give you as good a return on your athleticism as any other sport. There is no magic technique, inner circle, or secret to elevating an athlete. However this lack of secrecy has a dilemma. Many of wrestling’s core skills and most important concepts are so well known, that they have been reduced to cliche. Expressions like, “hips in”, “back pressure”, and “two moves” are repeated so often that they are essentially meaningless to most athletes, and … Read More