Offseason program for wrestling

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

I’m a college wrestler and this is the workout split I came up with from past experience as well as reading lots of T-Mag articles:

Monday: Power cleans, squats, push press, one-leg squats, calf press, lateral raise (shoulders)
Teusday: Flat bench, Dips, Incline flys, pullups, bent-over barbell row, dumbell pullovers
Thursday: Snatch, Deadlift, Overhead squat, one-arm cleans, dumbell jump squats, grip excercises (wrist curls and plate holds)
Friday: Incline Bench, Close Grip Bench, pull ups, cable rows, ab training (crunches, hanging pikes, sandow side bends)

How does this sound? I am no expert so any and all advise is welcome. I am a heavyweight, so maintaining weight is not an issue for me as it is for other wrestlers, in fact I am trying to put on a good deal of size. What would be a good rep scheme over the course of the summer for optimizing mass and strength? Thanks.

2

You should also work on taking chair shots and come up with a good catch phrase and entrance music.

3

I hope everyone has seen that Sportscenter commercial with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dan Patrick. It’s hilarious.

4

If I were you, and basically wanted to keep the framework you’ve set-up, I’d modify this routine slightly as follows:

Reps
Compound Lifts: 75-85% 1RM (Whatever the number of reps that works out to, DO THAT)
Isolation lifts: 60-70% 1RM (Whatever the number of reps that works out to, DO THAT)

Sets
Stop at ‘critical drop-off point’. I believe Poliquin said it was 6-7% reduction in performance. In real world application, lets just say its when the number of reps per set begin to diminish comparitively to first set.

Monday:
A1: Power cleans 60sec rest
A2: Squats 60sec rest
A3: Push press 60sec rest
A4: Right leg one-leg squats 60sec rest
A5: Left leg one-leg squats 180sec rest

Calf press
Lateral raise

Wednesday:
A1:Flat bench 60sec rest
A2:Bent-over barbell row 60sec rest
A3:Dips 60sec rest
A4:Pullups 180sec rest

Friday:
No circuit today
Snatch 120 sec rest
One-arm cleans 120 sec rest
Barbell NOT dumbell! jump squats 120
sec rest
Deadlift 120 sec rest
Overhead squat 120 sec rest
Grip excercises Thick Towel Hangs(Bodyweight,hold on for dear life) Farmer Walks(One set, 5 minute walk)

Note: A few sets of abs should be added in at the end of every workout.

You should also add 1-2 sessions of sprints throughout the week.

5

Renegade Training for wrestling or MMA athletes would suit you well.

6

I thought abs were supposed to be trained like any other part of the body, why is doing a few sets of abs recommended after each workout?

7

It’s a general concensus that the amount of time to recuperate from mild to moderate volume, low intensity ab training occurs faster than moderate-high volume, high intensity compound lifts performed explosively.

It was also a recommendation found in Christian Thibaudeau’s HTT program, which has worked out very well for me.

8

Yeah, Renegade Training for wrestling/MMA sounds intriguing. The problem is that I looked at the Renegade website and those books are something like $95. Thats a ridiculous amount to pay for a book, especially when I have no clue how effective it is. If I was given a sample of what a week or so in a renegade program for wrestling/MMA would be and I did it and liked what I saw, then I’d be much more inclined to dish out the loot and get the book (keep in mind I’m in college, so available money is few and far between).

9

It’s not a book, it’s a training program laid out perfectly for you. For $95, you get a full eight weeks of training. If you “splurge” and buy a full Alpha phase, you basically buy three 8-week programs and get the fourth one free. It’s well worth the money. Trust me. I’m on the Renegade Mass program, and I purchased a full Alpha Phase. A friend of mine did the MMA program and another friend has done the tennis program. You will get good results.

If you have money to spend on beer, pizza and other needless crap, then you definitely have money to purchase a program. If that’s still too much, I would suggest Coach Davies’ book “Renegade Training for Football.” There, you will learn the different components of Renegade Training and have photos of the various exercises. If you look at Fat to Fire or Renegade Bodybuilding, you will have a pretty good idea of how to set up your own program.

If you find that it works well, save up some money and purchase a program. Then you will have a periodized plan that will work well.

If that is still too much, then follow something along the lines of Christian Thibedeau’s programs, since he incorporates many Olympic lifts (along with his running man article) to stay athletic and strong.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

10

Program looks good. You might want to put your squats on their own day, maybe making your Friday more of a pure legs day, instead of a second push day. Most contemporary programs involve full push, pull, and leg days with 3 working sets of about 5 exercises. Rep schemes stay in the 10-6 range. USA wrestling offers some really effective programs used by Olympians for free. What college do you wrestle for? Your coach or school’s strength and conditioning coach should also have some good programs.