The “What it Takes” Series

By Katie Downing

What it takes to excel in wrestling is a love of work, the will to expect more of oneself, and the drive to seek out new ways to push oneself above and beyond the workload that only gets a wrestler through the day. This series is designed for wrestlers who desire a little extra training to reach that next level. Some of these workouts are meant to be supplements to practices or team lifts. They can be done by a group of wrestlers during the season. Some of these stand on their own as workouts, and are meant to be almost the equal of team practices. Wrestlers can use these as a way to keep up their training over the summer when practice schedules are relaxed, or when they are traveling. All of these workouts are designed to require little or no equipment.

Workout #4

Ping Pong and Shuttle Sprint Drills

These two drills are conditioning drills. They can be workouts on their own as I have written them, or they can be lengthened to be more challenging, or shortened if you want to add them to a lift or a wrestling practice.

Ping Pong Drill

-set up 2 cones 30 yards apart

-sprint down and back as fast as you can, touching the cones each time, for one minute

-the goal is to make it down and back 5 times within the minute

-go 6 times for one minute each

Shuttle Sprint Drill (also known as suicides)

-sprint 10 yards and back, 20 yards and back, and 30 yards and back

*this is approximately from a basketball baseline to the free throw line and back, to the half court line and back, and to the far side free throw line and back

-do these sprints 8 times, with breaks-depending on your conditioning level, you should give yourself either the same amount of break time as it takes you to finish the sprints, or you can give yourself twice as long for the break as it takes to finish the sprints