Folkstyle season is coming up soon, and it's time to evaluate how prepared your child is to get the most out of their tournaments! To be successful, a wrestler requires strength, flexibility, and lots of anaerobic and aerobic conditioning throughout the competitive season. It's been awhile since their last practice for many of our kids, so its time to start getting ready, since those tournaments can creep up very quickly!
For an elementary-school aged wrestler, strength and conditioning work can start with cross-training in other sports such as football and basketball, with some bodyweight calisthenics in the offseason. The focus for the young kids is to not make strength and conditioning seem like work, but rather play. The older junior wrestler can consider beginning weight training, sprints, plyometrics, and modest runs for aerobic endurance. Considering the short duration of the junior wrestler's match, conditioning training should be primarily anaerobic, which means long runs are not as necessary as exercises that require short bursts of power, such as interval training. 4-12 intervals of 200-800 meter sprints are great for developing the stamina a wrestler needs to last into that third round of the match. You can also substitute jump rope or jumping jacks, provided the intervals and rest periods are similar to that faced in competition.
Burpees are a great exercise to get kids in shape for wrestling, as they promote agility, power, and endurance all in one exercise. To perform this movement, start from a standing position. Squat down and place your hands on the floor, then kick your feet back so that you are a pushup start position. Drop your chest to the floor, then as you come back up, return your feet to the squat position. Without pausing, immediately jump up as high as you can, then start over. Start with 10 reps, and as you improve, focus on how fast you can complete them with good form. A great standard is completing 100 in under 8 minutes.
Strength and conditioning is important for success in any sport. But it is even more so for wrestlers.
All the best,
Ken Koontz, MS, CSCS
www.upandrunningatl.com
