Wrestling Workouts: The Best Way To Build Strength In A Pre-Season Conditioning Program

Wrestling season is right around the corner, so if you’re looking to get in top condition before your first day of practice, you better start now. Fight training must serve several purposes to get your body in the condition it needs to be a top contender. These are some of the most important things you should be working on right now.

overall strength

To really give yourself an edge over the competition, it pays to be stronger than your opponents. There are a couple of ways to achieve this. The first form is a general weight training program with a variety of full-body exercises to help you achieve greater functional strength for your sport. Wrestling workouts should not be set up like a bodybuilding workout.

It is not important to really isolate each muscle for complete development as in strength training. It is better to do exercises that more closely simulate the demands of your sport. For example, if you’re looking to work your back muscles, it’s better to do standing dumbbell rows rather than seated cable rows. Grabbing a pair of dumbbells and bending over to perform rows will not only work your back muscles, but the many core stabilizers as well as your glutes and hamstrings. This pulling motion is much more functional overall than if you were in a stabilized position on a rowing machine. You’ll put more muscles into play and burn more calories.

Fighting workouts should use exercises that work multiple joints and multiple muscle groups at the same time, they are the best option. Deadlifts, squats, pull ups, dips are some great basic exercises for a general strength routine. They will build your body overall by putting on a greater stress load and the strength you will gain is more functional for the wrestling mat.

Low levels of body fat

Low body fat is another part of the equation to be stronger than your opponents. Unless you’re in the heavyweight classes, it pays to be extremely skinny. It is essential to lose the majority of your body fat in the preseason so that you can focus on maintaining strength and gaining stamina throughout the season.

Fighting workouts should be done to increase your metabolism so you can burn the majority of your fat from exercise instead of cutting calories. If you spend time during the season cutting calories, your glycogen levels will drop and your endurance strength will be very low. This could cost you the match against an opponent in better condition. Getting to single digits of body fat in the preseason will give you a huge benefit over your opponents.

So when you prepare for preseason, make sure you include plenty of full-body exercises in your wrestling workouts. One program that is perfect for fighters or mixed martial artists is John Alvino’s How to Get Ripped Abs. It includes strength conditioning, flexibility, heavy anaerobic conditioning and a nutritional program to get extremely lean. Following the program for 6 to 12 weeks before practice begins can give you a big boost in competition.