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The video is of our work out.  Enjoy =D

Halloween is a time for trick-or-treating, not for wrestling. There is no break in wrestling, but there is time to joke around.  Every year the wrestling team has a Halloween work out. After a long and difficult hell week, we still have time to dress up and have a good time. But in all seriousness, we still got a good work out in too.

The practice consisted of pictures and being judged by the indoor track team. The categories we were judged in were overall best costume and best group costumes.

We then ran around campus and in all the academic buildings to show ourselves to Mount Union’s faculty and staff members to brighten their day. They definitely appreciated seeing everyone in ridiculous costumes. This year’s costumes consisted of Sasquatch, Wayne’s World, White Chicks, The Village People, marching band leader and a sexy female nurse. I was Jacob Black from Twilight, and even our coaches were a bunny and a black cat.

After all the judging and running, we eventually would run our way to Gulling and do a circuit lift. The baseball team was ending their work out in there and they just had to put a smile on their faces. Usually people would say this is just crazy, but everyone gets a good laugh out of it.

If you would like to see more pictures, check out the Purple Raider Wrestling page on Facebook.

What’s the purpose of this?  Our coach likes to have a good time just like any other person, but he takes things seriously too. We are trying to be the best. How can you be the best if you can’t laugh at yourself once in awhile? It’s a perfect balance and it shows that we can still be the best and have a good time.

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Wrestling is a sport that demands every aspect of athleticism, from pure strength to the most refine technique.  It was the first sport ever, and the purpose of it back in the day was to literally kill your opponent while competing naked in oil. Today there is a different reason why it is popular and for me, it is an addiction. I can’t quit because I need it to function normally, but at the same time, I can get so tired I question myself “Why am I doing this to myself?”

Hell Week is what it sounds like … hell! Football has two-a-days, but our coach went one step further and is doing three-a-days. One practice at a time isn’t bad, but it is the continuous practicing three times a day for five days of the week that will get to you.

This week consist of 6 a.m. cardio/sprinting for about 45 minutes. During this time, the sun isn’t even out yet and you can see the stars, Jupiter and shooting stars. After class and maybe a few naps, we have 4 p.m. practice for two hours in a constant 80 degree wrestling room. This consists of drilling, live wrestling and you guessed it, more sprints, which can easily be added on for people who are late, not wearing their headgear and other various reasons. It’s pretty simple, if everyone does what they are supposed to do and not what they aren’t supposed to do, then no sprints.  That’s never the case, so we run more.

After dinner, there is a little over an hour that I am able to get homework and studying done until an 8 p.m. lift.  These lifts aren’t meant for the weak, they’re meant for the insane. I mean, 3-4 sets of anywhere between 1-20 reps, and why not, let’s just throw in 100 pull ups in the middle of the lift to add a little flavor. By the end of the day, you’re ready to pass out and just enjoy your sweet dreams…until they are disrupted by your alarm telling you to wake up to go run.

This week sounds bad, because it is.  But in the end, you feel like you’ve accomplished something the average athlete would never want to do.  It is obviously a little harder since you have to worry about studying, homework and tests, but that’s just a part of being a student-athlete.

I have respect for all college student-athletes. Everyone puts in their effort because everyone wants to be the best. I still keep hearing from athletes that they think wrestlers are crazy and they could never do it. I always thank them for that compliment (yes, being called crazy is a compliment sometimes) because you have to be a little crazy if you want to be a good wrestler.

Hell Week is an animal that chews on you.  It is an animal that swallows the weak but spits out the strong at the end of the week, and if you are able to withstand it then you are able to withstand any other challenge put in front of you. After just one week, you’re more conditioned, stronger, smarter and you know your physical and mental limits.  And there is a reason why Hell Week is at the end of October … Halloween Work-Out.