Sumo fighters must undergo a rigorous training period before achieving success in the competition. Their diet is also arranged in a scientific way to have a reasonable weight. So, the sumo wrestler’s meal is special like?
Coach Tetsuhiro Matsuda said that starting a new day with an empty stomach is considered one of the secrets of the training process. “You can not be agile with a full stomach. Sumo training is really more stressful than you think”, Matsuda said.
Takasago Sumo was once the training ground of the Mongolian champion Yokozuna Asashoryu and the top wrestler Asasekiryu. Previously, the manager of this Sumo furnace, Mr. Matsuda also had a career here but now the boxer has retired.
A day of Sumo fighters starts at 5am with a morning exercise. Matsuda says exercising with an empty stomach will help them gain weight. This also helps the body’s nutrient metabolism slows down and calorie consumption becomes more difficult.
Around 11 o’clock is the meal of the first sumo wrestler of the day. In fact, anything can be added to cook chanko. Various types of meat, vegetables and fish are cooked together in a pot of chicken broth.
Matsuda manager revealed, “The chanko originated in the Meiji period. It is easy to prepare and cater to a large number of wrestlers. The cost of cooking this dish is also economical. Compared to other ovens, in Takasago, we eat a lot of salads or other side dishes with chanko.” A sumo wrestler’s meal is also abundant, right?
Mr. Matsuda recalls, many wrestlers can eat 5 kg of meat, 10 bowls of rice at each meal. This is also considered a rigorous exercise for the Sumo.
Immediately after eating the first meal, the boxers will go to the bedroom and take a nap until noon. This helps the whole food to accumulate into fat. After that, these “giants” will return to the dinner table at 6pm or 7pm. The sumo wrestler’s meal is really important because they must create a safe fat for them.
