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 #8

Explosive Drills/Anaerobic Drill

These two drills together can be a workout on its own, or it can be added to a lift or wrestling practice.  The explosive drills should be done at the beginning of a workout so that your body is fresh for each explosion.

Explosive drills:

-starts: explode off the line as if you’re running the first 5 yards of a race, then take a few yards to slow back down-do this 6 times, it should take less than one second for the burst

-starts from your wrestling stance: explode forward and sprint 10 yards-do this 6 times, it should take less than 1.5 seconds for each sprint

-starts from your wrestling stance: explode forward and sprint 20yards-do this 6 times, it should take less than 3 seconds for each sprint

Anaerobic Drill: 300 yard shuttle

-sprint 50 yards and back 3 times-do this 3 times, it should take less than a minute for each set of sprints