Lift weights to become a better fighter

For fighters, strength is secondary to the list of important skills needed to improve your game. In wrestling and competitive wrestling, training should focus first on technique and conditioning, then speed and agility, and finally strength. After skill training, sparring, sparring, and conditioning, there’s hardly any time or energy left to even consider strength training in most programs. Some trainers feel that their athletes will become as strong as they need to be with the skill training/conditioning they do and reject pure strength training because they fear it will make their athletes bigger and therefore harder to hold a weight. certain. Some coaches also feel that weight training should be avoided, fearing 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 primary attribute used, where the stronger athlete definitely has the advantage.

As a beginner, just practicing and learning 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 for when you’re pulling your opponent’s head down by performing a head snap. Strong lats and grappling are also very useful when you’re lunging for a one-legged takedown and your opponent is spread-eagled. If you still have his leg attached and you 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 pushing through your hips after reaching out despite their attempts to push your leg in.

Strength training for wrestling is not only a great way to gain a performance edge on the mat, but also an important aspect of injury prevention. There is a lot of information written about the positive effects (both on performance and injury prevention) of posterior chain development. This is the muscle group 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, gluteals, and the hamstrings). Training the posterior chain does wonders for protecting athletes from spinal and neck injuries, particularly in contact sports. There are many common wrestling positions that can compromise the spine if the posterior chain is weak. The wrestler’s stance leans forward into a squat to stay low for both offense and takedown defense; this calls the athlete’s posterior chain to maintain this position. A fighter with a super strong posterior chain can either arch out of cradle attempts or hold their arc longer to avoid getting pinned. Along with the posterior chain emphasis, a fighter will also greatly benefit from developing the core of him. Training the abs and obliques with weights, for time (sustained contractions/isometrically) and rotationally pays off great 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 the repetition only method (for example, 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. For the greatest benefit, this should only be done with compound exercises (double or triple extension types), such as squats, power cleans, snatches, bench presses, and even bench press/push presses. Depending on the exercise, adding bands or chains is also helpful for more explosive output (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 reduce weight. It is true that building muscle will add pounds to a fighter’s frame and may cause discomfort with the weight class in which they compete. However, the benefits of building new muscle include more power and explosiveness which will directly impact mat performance. Greater lean body mass built from weight lifting will also increase the body’s metabolism, making it easier to burn body fat. While wrestling weight loss is often more about reaching a certain body weight for a spot on the team, limits should be set based on a current lean body mass measurement to ensure that weight loss weight stays 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 aim for a lower weight class, barely make weight, and then increase/rehydrate to get back on track to ultimately be the biggest athlete in the class. Enhanced muscle development from weight training ensures greater strength no matter what weight class you enter, as long as the weight cut is healthy.

While most of the top NCAA 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 find a 2 hour block of time 3 times a week to exhaust yourself with weights to see big gains in strength to have an edge on the wrestling mat. During your season, keep wrestling and conditioning 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 the practice 2-3 days a week. Pick two exercises that focus on specific movements you perform on the mat over 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 different. Keep these sessions intense but no more than 15-20 minutes max. Decide on the day if you have enough left in the tank after practice, and skip weight training after particularly hard practices or when cutting weights. With that being said, consistency is key to improving strength with weight lifting.

Today’s playing field is very different from 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 build your confidence as you intimidate your opponents like never before. When done correctly, weight lifting 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.