Wresting is perhaps one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. As someone who trains wrestling regularly, I can attest that it takes great technique, amazing cardio, extreme strength and power, and most importantly, mental fortitude to be REALLY good at it. In this article, I will focus on the strength and power aspect needed in wrestling, and how to maximize it to become top of your weight class, and dominate competitors with your superior strength and power.
More Isn’t Always Better
In the wrestling world, coaches often encourage their athletes to “leave it all on the mat” and to “push your body to it’s limits.” While this might be true for live wrestling and technique practice, when you move to the weight room, sticking to the most basic exercises and keeping it simple will yield to better results, especially in season when you don’t want to burn your body out.
Weight Training Frequency
As an athlete you do NOT want to train like a bodybuilder. Training in a fashion where you focus on individual bodyparts each day of the week is useless for a wrestler. The best way to train is full body workouts, with big compound movements. In terms of frequency, training more than three days a week is not necessary for an athlete, and will hinder progress due to lack of recovery. Plus when you add actual wrestling practice to the equation, three days a week is PLENTY.
Exercise Selection
When picking exercises, more is not better as an athlete. Too many people make this way too complicated. You do NOT need one million different exercises to get bigger and stronger. The basics will do the trick. Below I will outline the top exercises wrestlers should be training. They will be separated into Bodyweight and Free Weight exercises. Athletes should stay away from machines at all costs.
Bodyweight Exercises
The chin-up is the king of bodyweight exercises, and one of the best exercises an athlete can be doing in general. This will specifically help wrestlers build the back and arm strength to have strong grip, ability to control the tie ups, pulling strength when shooting for takedowns, as well as dominance in the top position when pulling the opponent for gut wrenches and similar moves.
Such a simple movement, but so powerful for building a strong, powerful body. The push-up will build the triceps, shoulders, and chest to allow a lot of strength to push forward to setup a lot of attacks, as well as the ability to push the opponent away as he tries to advance on you.
Similar to the push-up, the dip will build incredible strength in the triceps, shoulders, and chest. The benefit to dips is that they will help build shoulder flexibility and give you pushing strength from a different angle. This should be a staple in any wrestlers program.
Box Jump
Nothing builds leg power like the box jump. Strong and powerful legs are arguably the most important aspect of wrestling. Every single takedown is initiated from the legs. Every sprawl to defend comes from powerful legs. The box jump will undoubtedly build the needed strength and power for wrestling.
Hill Sprints
Want to build strong legs while building superior cardio at the same time? Look no further than the hill sprint. This exercise will build extreme leg strength, strong cardio, and really challenge the mind. Every wrestler should be doing these.
Free Weight Exercises
The squat is by far the most important exercise on this list. The squat is the best functional movement a wrestler can do. Nothing will build total strength and power the way a squat can. This exercise alone will build a strong wrestler. Don’t be afraid to do variations of this movement. Back squat, front squat, zercher squat, squat with dumbbells, squat with kettle bells. They all work, and they are all excellent. This will build strong legs, a strong back, and strong glutes, which are absolutely essential as a wrestler.
Just as powerful as the squat, the deadlift is the king of posterior chain exercises. The whole back of your body will be built from head to toe doing this movement. You will be an immovable object to your opponents. This movement will primarily build the hamstrings, glutes, and upper back to a very large degree, making takedowns and top control very effective against opponents.
Vertical pressing is a great way to build functional upper body strength as a wrestler. This is a great exercise for building the shoulders, triceps, and upper chest while learning to keep your core activated and braced, which is something you can get lazy on with the traditional bench press.
Olympic Lifting
The clean, snatch, and jerk are some of the BEST power and strength building movements a wrestler can include in his training. These alone can build an entire program. They teach you how to deadlift, squat and press all in one, making them probably the best exercises to combine both strength and explosive power.
Volume VS Intensity
This part is pretty simple. You want a good balance between volume and intensity. When doing the bodyweight exercises, volume can be much higher, because they are naturally not as taxing on your nervous system. Go as high as you want on reps and sets with bodyweight movements. When dealing with free weight exercises, don’t kill yourself. They are much harder to recover from, and the main goal should be to get stronger, not to destroy your muscles. Keep the weight higher and volume lower on these. Simple rule: if the reps are higher, sets should be lower. Example: 3×8. The opposite is also true. The higher the sets, the lower the reps. Example: 6×2. As a general rule though, when training for strength, don’t go higher than 6-8 reps max. Follow these guidelines, and you will be well on your way to success as a wrestler.
Application
As a wrestler, strength training should be supplemental to your wrestling. You are a wrestler first, not a weight lifter. That being said, the greatest wrestlers in history have always been the ones that prioritized strength training as part of their weekly routine. Keep it simple. The basics are ALWAYS the best. Cary Colat posted a video explaining how he went to a weight room in Cuba and all they had were some rusty barbells and chin-up bars, yet these guys were some of the strongest in the game. Why? Because they got REALLY good at the basics. You don’t need the fancy bells and whistles. You just need some basic exercises and a winners mindset. Pair those and you’re well on your way to becoming a strong wrestler. Good luck.