Wrestlers, coaches and parents want to know:
- How to get into condition for wrestling
- How to get stronger for wrestling
- How to get faster for wrestling
I often get asked how to get wrestlers stronger, faster and better conditioned with just bodyweight too.
So... I created this system I call '6 minute conditioning.' Here's what it's all about...
In order to increase your strength for wrestling you must consider these factors:
1. There must be progressive resistance, demanding more stimulus from the muscles with successive workouts.
2. Multi-joint exercises are best when trying to increase overall body strength.
Wrestlers should have some component of 'static contraction' training in order to get strong for the mat. This means they should have exercises where the muscle is 'held still' while contracting. This is often what occurs during a match.
3. Muscular strength is developed quickly by occasionally training a muscle to momentary muscular failure.
In order to increase your speed/power for wrestling you must consider these factors:
1. Plyometric exercises are great for speed but only when used on muscle that you've already gotten stronger.
2. Jumping exercise is crucial to increasing takedown and foot speed.
3. Frequent low-repetition sets of low intensity/high velocity exercise increase speed.
In order to increase conditioning for wrestling you must consider these factors:
1. Wrestling is anaerobic, not aerobic, so low intensity distance jogs will not get you in shape overall.
2. Circuit training relies on using short bursts of cardio followed by numerous different strength training exercises for a certain amount of time. This is inefficient both for strength AND for wrestling conditioning.
3. The best ways to condition for wrestling are wrestling itself, and anaerobic training that is similiar in terms of duration and intensity to a wrestling match.
With this in mind, I created a 6 Minute Conditioning (TM) that will take all of these factors into account, and help any aged wrestler develop these wrestling MUSTS at the same time.
Here's an example of what you do:
Use a stopwatch or a wristwatch with a second hand. Set the time for 6 minutes.
Use a multi-joint bodyweight exercise AND a static contraction exercise for the workout. In this example I'll use a Pushup and a Lunge.
Start the stopwatch and immediately crank out 5 perfect pushups.
With no rest, go immediately into a Plank for 20 seconds.
After 20 seconds, immediately perform 5 more perfect pushups.
Follow this with the Plank for 20 more seconds... etc.
This is done until 6 minutes are up, or you can no longer finish the workout.
Make sure that you do the entire workout for longer time the next time (if you failed before the time was up) or add a second combination of exercises for an increased workout.
This workout is going to get you stronger because you train until failure (cripes... I see 400lb bench pressers struggling to squeeze out another pushup after only 4 minutes on this one).
It gets you more powerful and faster because of the frequent 5 rep sets before fatigue sets in. Your power is developed first, followed by strength in this workout... but they work in combination.
It gets you in ultimate condition because you are on a 6 minute schedule (similiar to a wrestling match). The static contraction exercise is brutal because it forces you to really work the core as you are really starting to breathe heavy.
Give this sample program a try with a Pushup and Plank. I've created a 7 day program with some very unique and effective bodyweight exercises to get the most out of your wrestling this season.
More to come...
PS. You can access the entire 6 Minute Conditioning Program when you're a member of Wrestling Performance - The World's #1 Resource for Wrestlers, Coaches and Parents Seeking Cutting Edge Strength, Conditioning and Nutrition Information For Improved Mat Performance!
No comments:
Post a Comment