3 Training Tips to Prepare for Your Season FAST!

Wow... just like that the summer is just about gone and school is beginning everywhere...

But you know what that means... wrestling season is just around the corner!!

With that in mind, I wanted to give you 3 'immediately-usable' training tips that you can use to get 'functionally-strong' fast for the upcoming season:

Do 1-Leg Strength Exercises Whether you've been strength training this summer or not, you need to include some strength exercises that require 1 leg at a time. Wrestlers need to have adequate development in the Adductor/Abductor muscles in the legs. These muscles work to stabilize at the knee joint and help develop more mat speed. You can build a lot of 'wrestling-specific' leg strength between now and when the season begins by including exercises such as:

One Leg Pistol Squats
One Leg Pistol Box Squats
Reverse Dumbbell Lunge from 6" Box
Lunge onto 6" Box
One Leg 'Opposite Hand' RDL's

These are some of the best exercises for developing power on the mat as well... and that means faster takedown speed. Try to get stronger on each of these exercises for the next 6 weeks and you'll be amazed at the difference on the mat. The best part is that youth wrestlers, high school wrestlers, and college wrestlers can gain a lot of benefit from them! You can see how I incorporate these in programs for wrestlers in my Ultimate Wrestling Strength Program.

2. No Crunches or Situps That's right... I want you to stop doing crunches or situps for the next 6 weeks so you can work on core stability work that is more 'mat-specific.' In wrestling you need to have core stability before you learn how to incorporate the Internal Oblique muscles for fast wrestling on the mat. Every time you are tied-up on the mat and are going for points, trying to escape, or even reverse your opponent, you need to use the muscles in your core that allow for rotational movement. Try training the following types of core stability exercises 3 times per week for the next 6 weeks to get a jump-start on your competition:

Planks
1-Leg Planks
Bird-Dogs
Pallof Presses
Static Woodchop Holds
Static Reverse Woodchop Holds

Do the same thing here... Choose one or two of the exercises and do them 3 non-consecutive days per week for the next 6 weeks. The results on the mat will be impressive!


3. Do Myofascial Massage Every wrestler knows that in order to be successful on the wrestling mat you must have flexible muscles. You can out-muscle opponents who aren't very good wrestlers, but when the competition gets tougher, your flexibility becomes even more important. Every wrestler knows that your muscles have to be able to stretch. But few wrestlers realize that in order to have the most flexible, most-efficient muscles that allow you need to work on the quality of the muscle. This means that you should work on getting rid of those 'knots' in the muscle so that you can become stronger, more flexible, and reduce injuries.

How do you do it?

Simple... Use a Foam Roller!

I recently discovered these because I was trying to work through a couple of old powerlifting injuries. The roller allows you to give yourself 'the world's cheapest massage' and it takes about 5 minutes before you train. You put the roller on the floor and glide whatever muscle group you are working on over the roller for 20 seconds. After 5 minutes you'll be done and feel prepared for all-out training or practice. They are amazing! Just do a google search if you want to check them out.

That's all for now!

Eat junk food and still make weight for wrestling!

Many of my members at Wrestling Performance like the benefit of having me design meal programs for them so they can gain weight, cut weight or keep their weight the same for wrestling via the members forum...

The meals plans are usually based around whole, natural foods, combined in specific ratios to meet nutritional needs while fulfilling the body weight goals that are desired...

Let's face it... eating perfectly is difficult sometimes... in fact it can really suck to have to eat 'clean' while you watch your friends and family chow down on really tasty desserts, pizza, fast-food etc.

If you're one of those guys who hates to prepare meals and hates to eat like a bodybuilder I have a solution for you...

MEAL REPLACEMENT DRINKS!!

You can drink between 2-4 of these a day (depending on your body weight) and meet your nutritional needs with low calories... then you can eat whatever you want the rest of the day!!

The key is to make sure that whatever foods you consume the rest of the day don't put you over your caloric limit for the day...

For example, let's say I want to cut weight and can have up to 2800 calories per day to allow me to cut weight.  I would drink 3 meal replacement drinks in water for a total of 810 calories.  This would leave me with 1990 calories that I can eat from any source I want to, while still being able to cut the weight without losing strength or energy!  I could eat the pizza I love, and maybe a chocolate milk shake too... without guilt or remorse.

The first thing you'll need to do is find out how many calories you need, and then go from there...

It worked for me back in the early 90's when meal replacement drinks were first created, and it will work for you now!!

Are Box Squats Hurting Your Wrestling Performance?

Before I tell you why I NEVER include Box Squats in the programs I design for wrestlers I want to start with something else...

Be careful who you take advice from...  Just because a guy was a good wrestler doesn't mean he's necessarily a good Strength and Conditioning Coach.  He might have bragging rights to winning a lot of matches, but if he's lacking knowledge and experience in how to train wrestlers correctly he may just be giving you the same inefficient program that he used to do.  Egos are sometimes the biggest obstacle to a guy becoming a great Strength Coach!

Ok... on to the Box Squats...

Box Squats are a method of performing a Barbell Squat and actually sitting down on to a box or bench, and then blasting back up to a  standing position.

Powerlifters have used them for years... in fact, we used to include them in our training as far back as the early 90's...  Box Squats are good for Powerlifters who need to develop strength 'out of the hole.'  

But Box Squats have now made a re-emergence into the Sports world as the 'new' secret exercise for strength, power and speed.  

Unfortunately for those that blindly follow this assumption, this couldn't be further from the truth as it applies to wrestling...

Wrestlers need to have a lot of strength development throughout the core and posterior chain area.  This means that the hamstrings MUST be developed in a functional fashion.  The Box Squat does just the opposite.  When you sit down on a box with a loaded barbell you are actually 'de-activating' the hamstrings, resulting in an 'extension' when rising up from the box.  It becomes a quadriceps-dominated exercise when the hamstrings are negated...

Another thing that concerns me is when Box Squats are performed by Youth wrestlers.  The Box Squat adds pressure when most youth wrestlers are not strong enough in the core.  This can lead to pressure on the spine and injury as well.  Youth wrestlers should definitely avoid them.

Now, you could still do Box Squats and then simply perform more isolated resistance exercise for your hamstrings, but then you start working out like a bodybuilder instead of strength training for wrestling.

Another issue I have with using Box Squats for wrestlers is that the cervical vertebrae in the lower back are in a disadvantageous position when you are sitting down into a full squat.  This is when they are vulnerable to injury.  By resting a weighted load on a bench you are causing undue stress in this Lumbar area.

My answer?

Simple... Do Pause Squats where instead of sitting down on to a box, you simply squat down and hold in the bottom position for 3 full seconds before rising up to a standing position.  This requires you to use a lot more muscle than you would during a box squat too.

The other favorite of mine for wrestlers who want to generate more hip, and posterior chain power is to use a Sumo-Style Deadlift.

Sumo Deadlifts require you to pull with the hands inside the legs which are wider than shoulder width.  The back is kept flat, while looking straight ahead.  The key to this is to think about tightening up your hamstrings and glutes while lowering yourself to grab the bar.  This 'coiling' effect should feel as if you're compressing a spring and getting ready to release it.

My Protein Pancakes recipe

Ok... if you ever get a chance to come over to my house for dinner and my wife Michelle is cooking, you're in for a treat!  She can cook up some excellent meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks...

One of my favorite meals that we eat for breakfast (or better yet DINNER) is Protein Pancakes...

Traditional pancakes contain a lot of carbohydrates from processed sources, leaving little in the way of quality nutrition...

Protein Pancakes are LOADED with protein, complex carbohydrates from natural sources and vitamins...

Here is our recipe that tastes amazing and is easy for any wrestler to prepare...

Protein Pancakes Ingredients:

• 6 egg whites
• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 cup oatmeal (whole natural oats... not prepackaged crap)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp raw honey
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Place egg whites, cottage cheese, oatmeal, cinnamon and honey in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Heat a griddle to roughly 400 degrees.

Use non-stick spray on the griddle... then add contents from blender.  When done cooking both sides, place on plate.  Use a bit of 'natural' maple syrup to taste.

This is a great meal that you can use during wrestling season to help with repair of lean tissue as well as keep your muscles loaded with glycogen.

Jump-Start Your Takedown Speed!

If you've read my stuff or been a member of Wrestling Performance 

then you know I'm a big fan of using the Reverse Hyperextension with wrestlers and combat athletes in order to develop mat speed.

The Reverse Hyperextension is unique in that it works the posterior chain area without putting the lower back in a dangerous, compromising situation...

However... not all gyms are equipped with a Reverse Hyperextension machine.  Therefore, you can make your own to use anywhere...

All you need is a Stability Ball... Check it out below:

Hyper on Ball

Low back

Exercise Description: Hyper on Ball Classification: Low back Instructions: 1. Start by placing the ball on a small ledge or on the floor if the height is comfortable. 2. Lean over the ball and secure yourself to an object with your hands. 3. Slowly lift your legs up and back until your body is parallel. 4. Return to the starting position and repeat for the desired repetitions.

I was in a deep sleep...

I spent about 5 hours a couple of Sunday's ago going through each of the exercises for my new book Ultimate Wrestling Strength...  Anyway, we took over 250 exercises pics that afternoon.  Now I don't know about you but this was a lot of work for me.  In fact, I slept harder than I have in years... for about 11 straight hours (I'm normally up at 5 am every day and never sleep beyond 6-7 hours)...

It was all worth it!  The book has every exercise listed for Youth, High School, College Wrestlers as well as MMA Fighters.  The programs include Offseason, Preseason and Inseason...

It's amazing how quickly you can overtrain the body... especially wrestlers.  If you're burning the candle at both ends with not a lot of rest, long practices, matches etc you're going to reach a point of burnout and injury...

Get your rest... and be sure to eat clean, and often..

How To Develop Blazing-Fast Takedowns!

Check out this video clip to see how you can do 2 exercises back-to-back to increase your mat takedown speed and power!

Let me know how you do... Remember function follows form... Always use good form and a full range of motion when possible.