For fighters, strength is secondary in the list of important skills needed to improve their game. In wrestling and competitive wrestling, training should focus first on technique and conditioning, then speed and agility, and finally strength. After skills training, sparring, sparring, and conditioning, there is hardly any time or energy left to even consider strength training in most programs. Some coaches feel their athletes will get as strong as they need to with the skills training/conditioning they do and reject pure strength training because they fear it will make their athletes bigger and therefore harder to maintain at a weight. certain. Some coaches also feel that weight training should be avoided, as they fear it will make their athletes bulkier and slower. However, when done correctly, this couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many situations in wrestling when strength is the main attribute used, where the stronger athlete definitely has the upper hand.
As a beginner, just practicing and learning how to wrestle will significantly improve your overall strength and even more so for specific movements performed repetitively on the mat.
However, improving the strength of certain muscle groups used in specific moves during fighting will take your game a step further and allow you to dominate your opponents when performing those moves. For example, training your lats, arms, and grip will make you stronger by the time you’re pulling your opponent’s head down with a head snap. Strong lats and grip are also very helpful when you’re going in for a single-leg takedown and your opponent is sprawled. If you still have his leg on and are strong enough, you can continue to pull his leg towards you and complete the takedown for two points. In the reverse of this situation, if your shoulders and arms are strong enough, you will be able to successfully avoid your opponent’s takedown attempt by thrusting your hips after stretching despite your attempts to drive your leg in.
Strength training for wrestling is not only a great way to gain a performance advantage on the mat, but also an important aspect of injury prevention. There is a lot of information written about the positive effects (on both performance and injury prevention) of posterior chain development. This is the group of muscles that runs along both sides of the spine, from the base of the skull to the back of the knees (including the trapezius/neck, mid and lower back muscles, glutes, and the hamstrings). Training the posterior chain does wonders for protecting athletes from spinal and neck injuries, particularly in contact sports. There are many positions common to wrestling that can compromise the spine if the posterior chain is weak. The wrestler’s stance leans forward into a crouch to stay low for both offense and takedown defense; this calls on the athlete’s posterior chain to maintain this position. A fighter with a super strong backchain can either bow out of cradle attempts or hold their bow longer to avoid getting pinned. Along with the emphasis on the posterior chain, a fighter will also benefit greatly from developing his core. Training the abs and obliques with weights, timed (sustained contractions/isometrically) and rotationally has great performance when it comes to escaping or lifting/throwing your opponent.
If done correctly, weight training will also make a fighter much faster. When lifting weights using only the repetition method (eg 3 sets of 12) as bodybuilders do, the only result is increased size without an improvement in speed. However, there are many other techniques to use when lifting weights that will greatly improve both speed and explosiveness, no matter the sport. One method of improving speed is to lift submaximal loads (<50% max) explosively for 1-3 reps per set. To get the most benefit, this should only be done with compound exercises (of the double or triple extension type), such as squats, power cleans, snatches, bench presses, and even bench presses/push presses. Depending on the exercise, adding bands or chains is also helpful for increased explosive production (best for intermediate and advanced lifters, though). Mixing plyometrics with a properly balanced strength training program is also very helpful for speed development and is used by many high level/professional athletes and wrestlers.
Weight training is also very beneficial for fighters when they have to cut weight. It is true that building muscle will add pounds to a fighter’s frame and can cause discomfort with the weight class in which they compete. However, the benefits of building new muscles include more power and explosiveness that will directly impact your performance on the mat. A higher lean body mass built from lifting weights will also increase the body’s metabolism, making it easier to burn body fat. While weight loss for wrestling often has more to do with reaching a certain body weight to get a spot on the team, limits should be set based on a current lean body mass measurement to ensure weight loss weight stay healthy. Under no circumstances should an athlete choose a weight class below their LBM measurement, forcing them to lose muscle to reach their desired weight. Having said that, it is advantageous for an athlete to target a lower weight class, barely make the weight and then bulk up/rehydrate to get back on track to ultimately be the biggest athlete in the class. The enhanced muscle development of weight training ensures greater strength no matter what weight class you enter, as long as the weight cut is healthy.
While most of the NCAA’s top high school and college wrestlers train up to 6 or more days a week, it can be challenging to add weight training to an already packed schedule. Fortunately, you don’t need to look for a 2 hour block of time 3 times a week to exhaust yourself with weights to see big gains in strength to get an edge on the wrestling mat. During your season, keep wrestling and conditioning as the main workout and only add strength-building sessions as an afterthought. You can achieve significant gains by adding just a few strength exercises at the end of practice 2-3 days a week. Choose two exercises that focus on specific movements that you do on the mat during a day; choose two different exercises for another. Do these same exercises after practice for no more than 3 weeks and then switch to something else. Keep these sessions intense but no more than 15-20 minutes maximum. Decide on the day if you have enough left in the tank after practice and skip weight training after particularly hard practices or when you cut weight. With that said, consistency is key to improving strength with weightlifting.
Today’s playing field is very different from that of yesteryear; There has been a lot of development and advancement in training systems and ideas of what it takes to become a champion. Proof of this is the fact that athletes are bigger, faster and stronger than ever. With high-level competition, no attribute can be ignored. Add weightlifting to your wrestling program and improve your confidence as you intimidate your opponents like never before. When done correctly, lifting weights will improve your strength, power, explosiveness, and speed, resulting in a much more well-rounded athlete. Design a program that strengthens specific moves on the mat so you can dominate and dominate your opponents when the opportunity arises.