5 Best Exercises Wrestling Athletes Do To Get Strong

Try exercises to get better at wrestling. (Image via unsplash/Chris Chow)
Try exercises to get better at wrestling. (Image via unsplash/Chris Chow)

Wrestling is a sport that requires full body strength and quickness. You must exercise to stay fit to be at the top of your game.

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You have to be able to move around the ring quickly but also need to hold your opponent down for extended periods. That makes wrestling an extremely demanding sport on the body, requiring athletes to train hard if they want to perform at their best.

Wrestlers know that better than anyone else, so they put in extra work during training sessions to get stronger and faster than their opponents.

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Exercises For Wrestlers To Get Stronger

Here are five exercises wrestlers do that can help make you stronger too:

#1 Clean and Press

Clean and press is a full body exercise that can help build power and explosive strength in the shoulder. It's also a good way to strengthen your back.

To do it:

  • Start with a barbell resting on the ground in front of you.
  • Lift the barbell up to your chest, and bend your wrists out in front of you.
  • Press it up over your head before bringing it back down for another rep.
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#2 Squat

The squat is the king of all exercises and for good reason. It's a full body movement, compound exercise and multi-joint workout that helps you develop strength in your lower body and core.

Whether you're doing front squats or back squats, you can build muscle mass in your quadriceps (front thigh) while also working out other muscle groups like glutes (backside), hamstrings (back thigh), heart and lungs.

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The squat is a basic move but takes time to master, so start with small weights first before progressing to heavier ones.


#3 Single-leg Squat

Single-leg squats are a great movement for developing the strength and balance of your lower body.

To perform this exercise:

  • Stand on one foot with your back straight and shoulders pulled back.
  • Your arms can be raised in front of you or extended at your sides as you hold onto dumbbells or other weights, if desired.
  • Slowly bend at the knee till it reaches 90 degrees while keeping an upright posture throughout (you should not lean forward).
  • Return to the standing position, and repeat on the other leg.
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When done correctly, this movement works all the muscles in the hips, quads, hamstrings, calves and even abs.

It also strengthens balance by increasing proprioception—the body’s ability to coordinate itself without help from visual cues.

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That's something wrestlers need a lot of when they’re in the ring.


#4 Barbell Roll-out

The barbell roll-out is excellent for the core, lower back, shoulders and glutes. Here's how to do it:

  • Lie on your back with your knees on the floor and a loaded barbell placed directly in front of you.
  • Slowly roll out till you can't go any further, and return to your starting position.
  • Start with light weights, but keep rolling out till the plate touches just past your toes (or if you're using a barbell touch just past where it would hit if you were holding it at eye level).
  • Hold this position for ten seconds before returning slowly to the starting position.
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#5 Farmer's Walk

The farmer's walk is a great movement that can help you build immense leg and core strength, which are invaluable in the ring.

Here's how to do it:

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and hold a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand, palms facing in towards your body.
  • Keeping the weights close to your body, walk forward for 30 seconds and back for 30 seconds (or as long as you can). If you want to make it more challenging and increase endurance, try walking sideways instead of forward and backward.
  • Try doing this exercise with two light dumbbells at first if you're having trouble keeping good form with heavier weight.
  • Always use proper form when lifting anything heavy.
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Takeaway

The aforementioned exercises are some of the best for wrestlers. They can help you get stronger, faster, and more powerful, which is very important in wrestling.

These workouts will allow you to be more explosive, which can help you outclass your opponents in the ring. You should also remember that these exercises are just a small part of your training programme.

You should always focus on improving your technique and conditioning as well to stay injury-free in competitions.

Edited by Bhargav
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