Wrestling Strength Training

[Uri Shatil]

I have a question to wrestlers.

See, the wrestling team at my high school (Brookline High School) has many sports (44, I believe). The Cross Coutnry team is number one in the state, and number five in New England. Of these fourty four sports, there is a concensus that wrestling has the second most intense practice regiment. Every week day is practice, most saturdays (pretty much ever Saturday for Varsity wrestlers) we compete, and we also often have practice on Sunday. Pretty much every practice one kid cries, vommits, or bleeds. And for every practice when noone cries, vommits, or bleeds, there's a practice where two kids do. Pre-season doesn't start until October, but I'm looking to get a headstart to avoid being the crying/vommitting/bleeding kid.

I'm doing running, and a lot of low-weight high-rep strength training. What I'm concerned about, and wrestlers, I need your advice, is if anyone knows what muscles are important for wrestling? Pectorals? Biceps? I've been working everything, but I was wondering if anyone knows what muscles to pin-point. After live wrestling for fourty five minutes, the muscles that are most sore are my upper back and pectorals. Does anyone have any advice on which muscles I should work? It would be much appreciated.

[UpaLumpa]

While I never competed in wrestling, lunges with weights (effectively shooting with a barbell on my shoulders) always seemed to help considerably during takedowns.

[War Wizard]

Man, cut that low weight high rep crap out. Hit the Big 3: deadlifts, squats, benches (esp. deadlifts). Throw in some presses, as well. Since you've got so many sport programs I imagine there's a weightlifting team, right? Well get the coach to teach you the Olympic lifts (clean, snatch, jerk, etc.) to get explosive movements into your routine. Lift heavy & lift hard!

[RoninPimp]

Hitman is mostly wrong imo. Save the heavy lifting for the off season. Though I guess you could sneak in a a few weeks of pure strength training which is what the big lifts with heavy weights are.

To develope the conditioning needed for wrestling you need to do "metobolic conditioning circuits". These can be designed using whole body weightlifting movements just done faster with lighter weights. Or they can be body weights exercises. Or plyometrics. Or kettlebell exercises. Or a combination of all them. Or...

These workouts fucking hurt though...

[Uri Shatil]

Man, cut that low weight high rep crap out. Hit the Big 3: deadlifts, squats, benches (esp. deadlifts). Throw in some presses, as well. Since you've got so many sport programs I imagine there's a weightlifting team, right? Well get the coach to teach you the Olympic lifts (clean, snatch, jerk, etc.) to get explosive movements into your routine. Lift heavy & lift hard!

Low weight high reps build speed, which is what I need. Brute strength doesn't matter too much, as I'm only going up against people my weight, and too much muscle weighs me down.

Hitman is mostly wrong imo. Save the heavy lifting for the off season. Though I guess you could sneak in a a few weeks of pure strength training which is what the big lifts with heavy weights are.

To develope the conditioning needed for wrestling you need to do "metobolic conditioning circuits". These can be designed using whole body weightlifting movements just done faster with lighter weights. Or they can be body weights exercises. Or plyometrics. Or kettlebell exercises. Or a combination of all them. Or...

These workouts fucking hurt though...

Yeah, workouts hurt. I worked out Tusday for about two hours, next morning I was comlpetely sore. Wednsday I did an hour and a half of live wrestling (open mats), and I only stopped being sore yesterday morning. And today, I'm going back to the gym again.

Could you be more specific? Give me a link or something? Thanks.

[ironlurker]

Glad you're wrestling. Those practices are truly intense.

Here's a wrestling workout from Oklahoma State University that you could use with some of the great circuit ideas mentioned earlier. You could adjust the reps as necessary.

http://www.strengthcats.com/classicwrestling.htm

GPP workouts are something else for you to consider:
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/ge...eparedness.htm

Javoreks is a Romanian coach whose complexes/circuits have become extremely popular:
http://staff.jccc.net/ijavorek/bookdb.html

Javorek's Barbell Complex 1 Exercise:
Barbell Upright Row x 6
Barbell High Pull Snatch x 6
Barbell Behind the Head Squat Push Press x 6
Barbell Behind the Head Good Morning x 6
Barbell Bent Over Row x 6
Perform in a non-stop, continuous order as listed above :
- 5 exercises x 6 repetitions = 30 repetitions/set. The number of
repetitions can be changed in order to satisfy different goals. Long
distance runners, skiers, bikers, wrestlers could gradually increase the
number of repetitions and the weight, to achieve a higher quality
specific endurance and power in domain of endurance. On the beginning
should be practiced just partial or the integral Complex 1 but with
less repetitions. Is up to the coaches decision to practice the full
exercise and to increase the weight also.

He has a specific book written for wrestlers you could look into as well.

http://www.grapplersgym.com/products/item31.cfm

[ah_dut]

Alwyn Cosgrave has written some good articles on using barbell complexes on T-nation. Look them up on google.

[Uri Shatil]

http://www.strengthcats.com/classicwrestling.htm

This is more or less exactly what I was looking for. The 10 Commandments one is also very helpful. Thanks.

[War Wizard]

Ah **** I forgot, you'd probably be in season now. Yeah, save what I mentioned for the off season. The big lifting would probably cause enough CNS drainage that it would affect your wrestling performance. The other stuff mentioned here (various lactate inducing workouts) would be much better suited to what you needed in season.

[SunTzu]

Try this.