Strength and Conditioning | Wrestling
Wrestlers love hearing the referee slam the mat indicating they have pinned their opponent. The need to be explosive enough to pin an opponent or get opponents off balance requires power and endurance. If the wrestler is moving in slow motion he will never gain the advantage over his opponent. Endurance is extremely crucial in junior high wrestling, high school wrestling, and college wrestling. The need increases with each level. If a wrestler is winded or in worse shape than his opponent, then that wrestler will most likely lose. Watch the following video to learn more about how to become more explosive.
Kbands Enhance Strength and Conditioning
Kbands resistance will help increase core strength and muscle stimulation. Every movement in Kbands fires a wrestler’s glutes, hips, and core. The added resistance of Kbands, leg resistance bands, will increase explosiveness when the Kbands are taken off. Kbands help strengthen the smaller neglected muscle groups that are needed by wrestlers to have explosive power in their moves. They allow wrestlers to work at 100% intensity for optimal results with resistance in sport specific activities.
Explosive Power | Star Jumps
Wrestlers will get in a neutral squatted position. They will explode up by jumping with the legs and arms flying out wide in a Star position. As the wrestlers hit the ground they will jump up immediately trying to spend the least amount of time on the ground as possible. This is a plyometric exercise. The less time spent on the ground the better. Complete the sequence for as long as the wrestlers can handle. It's important to take wrestlers to their maximal effort to increase endurance, but it is also important to maintain 100% intensity. Coaches, trainers, or fathers working with their kids at home must push them to the point where their body begins to fade and have them move to the next sequence.
Core Strength | Wrestlers Body Control
This portion of the drill should be packaged within an upper-level plyometric move like the star jump. As soon as athletes begin to fade during an explosive jumping movement it is time to move into the 4 point position. The body will be bridged with the shoulders above the hands and the legs back. Wrestlers will begin to jump from side to side with their feet together and their hands out front. The wrestler will take both feet up towards the left hand, then back down to the middle straight legged position, and then finish on the right side working to get even with the hands. Continue this motion until the trainer or coach instructs to stop. Wrestlers must squeeze their abdominals and obliques while maintaining body control to complete this sequence of movements at a fast pace. Wrestlers should be working to move as fast as possible while maintaining correct technique. This drill is great for increasing core strength and body control. Complete the sequence for 15 to 30 seconds depending on wrestlers conditioning levels.
Knee Up's | Plyometrics
Knees Up Double Foot Hops: Knee ups are a plyometric exercise that is great for building hip flexor explosiveness. As the wrestler jumps the knees should move slightly outside of the linear position. When using the lower Kbands the wrestlers will not be restricted at all. They will maintain full range of motion but will increase glutes activation. The great thing about Kbands is every single time a wrestler lands, their glutes will be firing to maintain proper knee alignment when landing. Weaker athletes often show weakness in their legs during plyometrics and jumping drills. Wrestlers with weak glutes will show buckling in the knees. This is very dangerous for athletes and may cause ACL tears. Coaches and trainers often work to strengthen these muscles in their wrestlers so that they will not hurt their knees. By using Kbands and completing jumping exercises, athletes will notice that their knees will stay out due to the resistance pulling in. The muscle activation will cause the body to work against the resistance rather than buckling.
Wrestlers will begin standing with their feet shoulders width apart and their arms by their sides. They will jump to bring their knees up to their chest and as soon as their feet hit the ground they will immediately jump up again. The less time wrestlers spend on the ground during this drill the better. Wrestlers must work to keep their chest high so that the body does not crumble in the middle. Wrestlers want to work on strengthening their abdominals by pulling their knees up rather than buckling towards the ready position. Complete this section of the drill for 10 to 15 seconds. Knee up’s are high-impact and very taxing on the body, so going over the 10 to 15 second window will defeat the whole purpose of the drill.
Body Control | Leg Flips
This drill is called Bridged Leg Flips. The wrestler will start in the four-point position. In the four-point position, wrestlers will jump to the side either with the left or right hand depending on which direction they go. Wrestlers should only land on the inside foot while the outside foot flips outwards to increase muscle activation with the lower Kbands. The wrestler should then jump back to the 4 point position and flip to the opposite side landing on the inside foot reaching outwards with the outside foot and again increasing muscle activation with the Kbands. This is a modification drill of the above core strength drill. It is great for increasing body control and core strength for wrestlers of all ages.
Step It Up!
It takes strength, work ethic and determination for wrestlers to stay a step above the competition and advance to the next level. In order to compete with the best, wrestlers are able to have a professional level camp right at home or at their own practice facility by using Kbands training Athlete Performance Pack. The Athlete Performance Pack offers workouts with a professional to build speed, agility and core training. Included in the Athlete Performance Pack are a set of lower resistance Kbands and a video highlighting speed, agility and core training. The Athlete Performance Pack is affordable, and small, and light to put in a gym bag.