Vardaan Turna is a sophomore in boys wrestling from Penn High School and has been wrestling since preschool. He is planning on going Division I for his sport in the future, and says nothing will stand in his way.
Turna’s dad was a top wrestler in India, winning nationals and state for all four years in high school and college. This is what first got Turna into wrestling and he plans to follow in his dad’s footsteps.
Turna’s daily routine is packed with practice inside and outside of school. Firstly, he wakes up at 4:45a.m. everyday and goes for a run at 5:00a.m. for 45 minutes. After getting ready for school, he goes to optional morning practice which is from 6-8a.m. Turna goes to zero hour when practice occasionally ends early. After school, he has indoor practice from 3:30-6 p.m., and stays 30 minutes after for extra practice. He gets home at around 7p.m. and works out for another hour and a half. After his workout, he has dinner and family time, and finishes up his homework until 10p.m. He finally sleeps at 12a.m., getting only a couple hours of sleep.
During wrestling season, Turna must cut weight, which is what he specializes in. His record cut was cutting 18 lbs. in 2 hours. He has a special strategy for cutting weight, which is putting on as much clothes as possible, to sweat more. He wears a sauna suit, 2 long sleeve shirts, 2 hoodies, 2 pairs of sweatpants, 2 pairs of pajama pants, and 2 pairs of gloves. For his workout when cutting, he uses his treadmill, indoor bike, and jump ropes until failure with 10 minute breaks in between each workout.
On the other hand, Turna bulks during the off-season. For bulking, he does regular workouts and eats whatever he wants to gain weight.
None of this would have been possible without his dedication which started when he was in 4th grade, when he hurt both of his ankles. His only choice was to quit all sports for two years. After two years, Turna had to start over and relearn everything. Although this was a huge obstacle in his way, this wasn’t going to stop him.
“It’s all discipline, you have to do it, there’s no other option, otherwise, you won’t be successful,” says Turna.
