Sumo Wrestlers
Sumo wrestling is the only sport I watch.
I consider it the mostly unique sport in the world. It is culturally unique to Japan, yet open to any foreigner who wants to come enter the sumo world.
Wrestlers live in stables, for their entire career. The life of a wrestler is highly regimented, and at the top wrestlers are considered living symbols of Japan itself, with the Yokozuna (grand champion) being an embodiment of Japanese virtue.
Wrestlers compete 6 times a year. The top two division, Juryo and Macuuchi, they compete in 90 matches a year, 15 per tournament.
At the highest level, the Macuuchi divison, there are only 42 wrestlers.
Japan has a population of 124,000,000 people.
That is 0.0000003%
For comparison, the NFL has 2,240 players under contract during any given year.
That is 0.0006% of the USA population.
The top Sumo wrestlers are genetic freaks amongst freaks
They are the 1% of the 1% of the 1% of the 1%
Sumo Wrestlers are the most muscular athletes in the world
Fat Free Mass Index is a measure of fat free mass to height.
The best natural bodybuilders have an FFMI of about 25-26
Macuuchi divison wrestlers have an FFMI of 30
Said simple, they carry an extraordinary amount of muscle, on par with what you would see in professional bodybuilders on steroids.
Except they are NATURAL
Sumo has strict drug testing. Anabolics will get a wrestler banned for life. There is no drug use in the sport.
The top wrestlers are so muscular because the sport competitively selects for the largest, strongest, most muscular, most durable, most explosive athletes
Only 42 men at any time meet this criteria
They have lots of bodyfat, no doubt.
But they are shockingly athletic
Sumo wrestlers build their physiques through 6 day a week daily training, heavy lifting, and copious eating.
wrestlers consume 6000+ calories a day. They foot stomp 500-1000 times. They drill for 2+ hours
Then they eat, and nap.
many of them go lift weights in the afternoon. And then eat some more.
What can we learn from Sumo wrestlers?
The power of routine. Wrestling training has not changed much in centuries. They know what works, and they execute daily. We should all strive to have such a powerful habits.