Wrestling: What NOT to Do in Pre-Season

This is a guest post by Hunter Hautz. Hunter is a coach intern at SAPT with an extensive background as a wrestler.

Ah, wrestling. The start of the season is just around the corner. All the high school and college athletes have been plugging away with lifting and conditioning and are preparing for live drilling that will start soon.
Whenever I think of pre-season for wrestling, I remember feeling the same way for every single
one: TIRED. We always trained too much during this time, never really knowing what we were
doing, just doing as much as we could to get ready - always operating under the guide of MORE IS BETTER.

We know better now, much better. More is NOT better. In fact "more" only for the sake of itself, can be very destructive. My most successful came after not falling into that trap and when I started learning how to work smarter, not harder.

With that in mind, here are a few tips for to optimize success during pre-season preparation to keep you or your wrestler strong and healthy.

1. Setting Priorities

The most important things to focus on at this point are your wrestling skills. Let me repeat that in
case you’re like me and got slammed on your head too many times. THE MOST IMPORTANT
THINGS TO FOCUS ON CLOSE TO AND DURING THE SEASON ARE YOUR SKILLS. Don’t
forget your goal for all of your training is to become a better wrestler. This means that the most
important thing to focus on is…….. Wrestling.

2. Start Losing Weight Early

If you’re a high school wrestler and are 15 pounds or more over your desired
weight class and don’t have much fat on you, move up a weight class. If you want to move down
a weight class, and are in a healthier range (5-15 pounds max), you need to start losing that
weight starting during the summer. Eating a little less and losing as much bodyfat as you can
will make you a lot healthier and happier come time for the season to start. Planning that far
ahead means you will have to cut much less weight, if any at all when the matches start.

3. Cut Weight Smarter

Ideally there would be no need for cutting weight in wrestling, as it decreases performance and
increases injury risk. However, for now it is a part of the sport so we want to make it safe as
possible for the athletes. I will say again, if you are over your weight class by more than 10-15
pounds, just move up a weight class. Losing more than this will affect your health, if
not now than later - as in my case.

If you are in a “healthier” range, the safest and easiest way to cut is to use water-loading and sodium management. This method doesn’t require any extra training, which when done in a dehydrated state can cause more damage to the body and there is a potentially higher risk for injury.

A sample template for dropping weight via water loading would be 5 days in length and would vary slightly depending on whether the match was during the week or a weekend tournament. Five days out from a match, the wrestler will start drinking 1.5-2 gallons of water a day depending
on their weight. This is done 5, 4, and 3 days out from the match. Two days out they drink half of
the amount from days 5, 4, and 3.

The day before they will just sip a little bit of water throughout the day, to drop the final ounces of weight before weigh-ins in the morning. Sodium would be limited the last 3 days before so as to not retain water. After weigh-ins have the athlete drink a sports drink or electrolyte replacement drink to help rehydrate the water they lost from their cut. After the initial 32-
48oz of a sports/electrolyte type drink they can switch to a 1:1 mixture of this and water so as to
not upset their stomach and cause too much bloating.

4. Don’t stop training

Some wrestlers stop lifting close to and during the season because they don’t want to get
injured or are too lazy because practice is so hard. This is almost just as dangerous as
training too much. All the strength and conditioning that was gained during the offseason that can help prevent injuries will be lost very quickly if training isn’t maintained.

The great thing about this is that maintaining strength, conditioning, power etc. is much easier once you already have it, than it was to build in the first place. Training 2-3 times per week at a lower intensity and volume will help the athlete hold onto the improvements made during the offseason and let that work transfer over into the postseason.

Common Sense

Just because wrestling is insanely hard, does not mean the sport gets a pass to foster poor decision making and the development of damaging habits. Keep your head on straight while you are training and if it doesn't feel like a solid decision, it probably isn't, so change course a bit.

October is Depression Awareness Month

5 Ways Exercise Helps Beat the Blues

If this topic hits close to home, please check out my interview on the topic here.

Add this to your warmup ASAP

Have you ever spent 10-minutes thoroughly warming up your entire system: mind, body, and even soul only to still feel deflated as you walk over to the barbell to start your workout?

You're not along. Often we get so wrapped up in increasing blood flow, mobilizing joints, and carrying out our injury prevention protocol, that one of the most important components of the warmup gets swept under the rug.

CNS Activation

I think we can all agree the central nervous system is truly the foundation of any training session - without its responsiveness not much is getting done. But does it have degrees of responsiveness? Degrees of readiness? Or is the nervous system always ready to fire at 100% efficiency and effectiveness? 

Exciting the Central Nervous System is a crucial final component to anyone's warm-up. It turns out, the CNS is NOT always ready to go and needs some "priming" of its own.

A bit of proper CNS activation is the final step to warming up that will allow the athlete to feel ready to go - reactive, fast, excited. 

How to:

Any gentle rotational work, builder sprints, light plyometrics will do the trick. The key is to do a couple of sets of 3-5 reps and allow the body to build from about 70% effort to 90% or so. It is key to adjust effort based on how the athlete is feeling on that particular day. If the athlete can't get through this part and "wake up" you should take note as it is a sign the body is not be ready to train that day... but that's another topic.

Upper Body Days - my favorite way to get ready for an upper body training day is to finish my warm-up with a light medicine ball circuit. I tailor effort to how I'm feeling. Sometimes the throws stay fairly light and fast, while other times I end up close to 100% effort by the last couple of reps.

Lower Body Days - Box jumps are my favorite to prime for a deadlift or squat day. You can minimize the impact from landing quite a bit and that helps this feel easier on the body while still doing its job to fire up the CNS. Another great option are very small hops/jumps: side-to-side, front-to-back, and single leg hops are all great options.

Give your CNS some love the next time you warmup and see if you feel your readiness to perform on the field, court, or gym changes.

Sarah Walls Interview with Dr. Pam Peeke on RadioMD

I had the great opportunity to chat with Dr. Pam Peeke a couple weeks ago for HER podcast on RadioMD.

Dr. Pam has built an incredible resume over her career, but the part that struck me was this is a physician could talk-the-talk with me (as physicians can rarely do with fitness professionals). Plus, as a lifelong competitive athlete - now at the masters level - she has a great perspective on the process of competing or simply getting fit for the first time.

I highly encourage you download and listen to my episode on getting Fit & Fabulous - I go over some of my favorite exercises - plus, you'll learn about my tips on getting started and maintaining progress.

Coach Sarah Walls, founder of SAPT, is a professional performance development coach and personal trainer with over 15-years experience. SAPT offers athletic training programs for individuals of any age and background. Please contact us below if you'd like to learn more.

How to Dominate Off-Season Baseball Training

The best time of year to make major gains for baseball is in the fall and winter. For the serious (and still developing) athlete, here is a sample weekly breakdown that could be used to maximize the off-season:

Day 1: Plyometrics + Linear Speed + Lower Body Lift

Day 2: OFF

Day 3: Medicine Ball Drills + Upper Body Lift

Day 4: Plyometrics + Lateral Speed + Lower Body Lift

Day 5: OFF

Day 6: Medicine Ball Drills + Upper Body Lift

Day 7: OFF

This sample plan focuses on power, speed, and strength development (and, of course, injury prevention). There will be an appropriate and adequate cardiovascular conditioning effect through each session itself. If desired, extra low-level aerobic conditioning can be completed in the form of walking for 15-30-min at a time several days a week.

Within each individual training day, each drill/exercise that is selected should be chosen to specifically enhance the very specific needs of a baseball player. Position players will have different needs than pitchers and those needs should also be a major priority when planning each training day.

By following training plans that are safe, effective, efficient, and written to the individual’s needs, athletes will make significant strides towards their performance goals that will be directly transferred to the field.

Coach Sarah Walls, founder of SAPT, is a professional performance development coach and personal trainer with over 15-years experience. SAPT offers athletic training programs for individuals of any age and background. Please email Sarah below if you'd like to learn more.

• 
  SAPT

  Is Muscle Activation a Myth? https://t.co/qHB0cNjgwF

  Jul 10, 2019, 5:00 AM
• 
  SAPT

  Reasonable Warm-ups https://t.co/kCZ737pMSI

  Jul 8, 2019, 5:00 AM

Basic Power Development Drills for the Contact Sport Athlete

For sports that require explosive bursts of power against outside forces (like other athletes) you will want to look towards loaded plyometric movements to get the job done.

Most athletes and coaches think that the clean, snatch, and their variations are the only option for power development. Fortunately there are many alternative exercises that are both safe for athletes new to this type of training and extremely effective.

---

Medicine Ball Keg Toss

Good for: Beginners

Virtually any athlete can safely use this movement. The primary goal is to make sure triple extension of the hips, knees, and ankles is achieved on each toss.

---

Explosive Medicine Ball Push

Good for: Intermediate Skill Levels

For athletes that need explosive starts, this is a great option. You will need a medicine ball and something soft to fall onto.

---

Dumbbell Box Jump

Good for: Intermediate Skill Levels

Before adding weight to the box jump, the athlete should be able to demonstrate correct mechanics of an unloaded box jump. There is no need to select a high box for these to be effective. Instead focus on the box appropriate for the athlete to use about 30-40% of their body weight.

---

Hex Bar Jump

Good for: Advanced Skill Levls

Prior to using this movement, an athlete should be proficient in the barbell or hex bar deadlift. They must also be comfortable with hip hinge mechanics and be able to maintain a neutral spine. With this movement, start with about 50% of body weight and progress up as long as mechanics are maintained along with speed.

---

Try adding in one of these movements on your next leg day after the warm-up and before the main lift of the day. Keep everything crisp and fast to rack up the power production benefits.

Coach Sarah Walls, founder of SAPT, is a professional performance development coach and personal trainer with over 15-years experience. SAPT offers athletic training programs for individuals of any age and background. Please email Sarah if you would like to learn more!