Powerlifting for Wrestling Strength

Bigger Stronger Leaner
1

Hey, I am a collegiate wrestler (D3) and was wondering what guys thought about the carryover of powerlifting styles of training for wrestling. Generally, I have figured that powerlifters have to train for strength within their weightclass, which is very similar to the goals of a wrestler.

Also, squatting wide like many powerlifters do will engage more of the hip adductors/abductors. This would seem to benefit wrestlers due to the fact that they tend to move side to side rather than directly forward like track runners, etc.

What do you guys think?

2

This is strange if it’s accidental.

Article today over on elite.

http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/strength-training-for-wrestling-max-effort-carryovers/

3

…I don’t go to elitefts as much as I should - it was completely accidental.

It is pretty ironic though, ha ha

4

[quote]TheDozer97 wrote:
…I don’t go to elitefts as much as I should - it was completely accidental.

It is pretty ironic though, ha ha[/quote]

The powerlifting gods smile upon you today.

5

I’ve heard a few times, particularly when I had an interest in wrestling, that olympic lifting can be very beneficial for wrestling.

It makes sense too, I guess, what with the explosiveness and power.
…Not that you can’t get power/explosiveness in powerlifting, but it is what it is.

6

[quote]TomVZ wrote:
I’ve heard a few times, particularly when I had an interest in wrestling, that olympic lifting can be very beneficial for wrestling.

It makes sense too, I guess, what with the explosiveness and power.
…Not that you can’t get power/explosiveness in powerlifting, but it is what it is.[/quote]

I was going to say something similar. Learning the full lifts might not be worth your time unless you are interested in them (as it does take a lot of time and effort and definitely requires coaching to maximise the benefit) but I would say powersnatches would definitely help with explosiveness.

Powerlifting’s definitely going to help with strength and power as well though , neither is your discipline so you can mix and match as you like.

If powerlifting interests you I would do that and add in powersnatches!

7

With out starting a discussion about what exercises are best, or methodology
or the hierarchy of where strength training in the weight room falls for a wrestler,
Just remember that any strength training program would be beneficial, if well laid out.
Particularly in the beginning any program will show some progress.

would PL training help more then a program designed around hypertrophy
with athletic performance , yes.

PL training can be great- but I sometimes find it hard on the joints-
shoulders and hips, just find a good balance with your strength training
so it does not impair your recover and skill work

I wrestled in college- from D3 to D1 all the way to post college Greco Roman international circuit.
what we did then is different from what is possible now, lots of coaches where not
big on weight training at all - and only in D1 and post college did we train at all with weights.

I did get the opportunity to train with some excellent S&C people at various camps, clinics
and see some very different things the few times I got to train overseas.

Most of our work involved using weight training conditioning.
we concentrated on power cleans pull ups lots of unilateral leg work and jumps
Lots of clean pulls,rows, rows, rows, and some O-lifts, and plenty of Barbell complexes
If we did squat it was front squats, if we did pull or deadlift it was snatchgrip.

Take that with a grain of salt- as I was a smaller athlete for the most part below 140lbs
I do know for the larger 200 to 285 sized athletes their strength work was different
and focused more on the squat, dead, and bench and this was over 10 years ago.

There are some very good Defranco and Eric Cressey programs that
are PL based but geared toward atheletes where strength training is not
their sport or primary activity.
the WSFSB III has a program for in season athletes that is excellent

Wendlers 531 program is excellent and simple to follow
Its open structure allows allot of flexibility in what you pick to support the main lifts.

Personally I am a huge advocate of Prilepin’s table
and working in those rep and set ranges with percentages.
I also am a big fan of using high rep training for accessory work
to offset some of the joint strain I feel on the bigger lifts working in higher percentages.

Im’ not a big fan of the barbell bench for wrestler/grapplers- I can not deny its a great
builder of strength for the upper body , but I think there are better things out there
like db work floor presses, and weighted dips.

8

I’m currently using 5/3/1 and always believed on PL carryover to wrestling, it made a huge difference on my game, because now i’m able to go toe-to-toe strength regard with lot of people, before PL i always had a huge disadvantage in strength terms and had to rely much more on conditioning to tire the other wrestler out.

9

[quote]TomVZ wrote:
I’ve heard a few times, particularly when I had an interest in wrestling, that olympic lifting can be very beneficial for wrestling.

It makes sense too, I guess, what with the explosiveness and power.
…Not that you can’t get power/explosiveness in powerlifting, but it is what it is.[/quote]

nods

10

Its pretty much common sense, the best thing you can do for wrestling is wrestling. The best thing you can do for max strength, is max strength style lifting. Heavy sets, Squats/Deadlifts/Oly Lifts, all the staples. Even if it doesnt carry over, youll learn how to turn it into throws and shots real quick.

When I did more weights, my main focus was always deadlifts/power cleans. Liked the 5x5 set up a lot for in season training 2-3x a week. Honestly I didnt do a lot of leg work because I found it took away too much from getting in quality technique/scrapping but to each their own.

11

[quote]TheDozer97 wrote:
Hey, I am a collegiate wrestler (D3) and was wondering what guys thought about the carryover of powerlifting styles of training for wrestling. Generally, I have figured that powerlifters have to train for strength within their weightclass, which is very similar to the goals of a wrestler.

Also, squatting wide like many powerlifters do will engage more of the hip adductors/abductors. This would seem to benefit wrestlers due to the fact that they tend to move side to side rather than directly forward like track runners, etc.

What do you guys think?
[/quote]

another thing to look at is West Side for skinny Bastards ( or WSFSB ), which is easily adaptable for athletes. plus, i think the power and sprint work is a good addition, vs. just powerlifting…

12

Olympic lifts are beastly for greco roman. Enough said…

13

rumor has it that karelin would do zerchers which I could see helping.

14

zerchers, bulgarian squats and i heard he used to carry fridges by the stairs to his apartment.

15

Nothing like bulgarian squats to turn an ordinary happy person into a terrifying monster like Karelin

16

just my two cents and couple personal stories here…
My friend started wrestling his senior year of high school. He had been powerlifting for a couple years and without any experience went .500 his first year ever, he said he relied on strength to execute a few simple moves (front headlock, lift and return) and with that and good conditioning he was able to beat some solid kids. Fast forward three years he is a college starter with limited technique (albeit growing) and has placed in a very tough conference last year and is a contender to take the whole thing next year, he credits much of his success to the strength gained from following a rigorous raw powerlifting program.

My own story, I started wrestling as a sophmore in college (D3 walk on). I had no wresltling experience but I was eager to learn and I had some decent strength from previous powerlifting experience. After one year of taking my beatings and learning some basics my second year of wreslting (junior year of college) I was able to win matches and even beat a kid who had been an all-state champ in high school. I credit alot of this to the strength gained from powerlifting style training.

I will say that nothing is more important than technique and conditioning, however for my friend and I strength gained from heavy training has been and continues to be an extremely valuable tool. I think every wrestler could benefit from the addition of heavy squats, deadlifts, and presses into their program.

17

[quote]datx21 wrote:
just my two cents and couple personal stories here…
My friend started wrestling his senior year of high school. He had been powerlifting for a couple years and without any experience went .500 his first year ever, he said he relied on strength to execute a few simple moves (front headlock, lift and return) and with that and good conditioning he was able to beat some solid kids. Fast forward three years he is a college starter with limited technique (albeit growing) and has placed in a very tough conference last year and is a contender to take the whole thing next year, he credits much of his success to the strength gained from following a rigorous raw powerlifting program.

My own story, I started wrestling as a sophmore in college (D3 walk on). I had no wresltling experience but I was eager to learn and I had some decent strength from previous powerlifting experience. After one year of taking my beatings and learning some basics my second year of wreslting (junior year of college) I was able to win matches and even beat a kid who had been an all-state champ in high school. I credit alot of this to the strength gained from powerlifting style training.

I will say that nothing is more important than technique and conditioning, however for my friend and I strength gained from heavy training has been and continues to be an extremely valuable tool. I think every wrestler could benefit from the addition of heavy squats, deadlifts, and presses into their program.[/quote]

weird…one of my buddy’s wrestled throughout HS and college, and said the lifting he did when he was younger kept him from learning proper technique. he said when he got to college, he got schooled by all the guys that had been wrestling based off technique…

that being said, i do agree that strength and conditioning are damn near as important as technique.

18

You friend probably just wasn’t very good.

19

[quote]cycobushmaster wrote:

[quote]datx21 wrote:
just my two cents and couple personal stories here…
My friend started wrestling his senior year of high school. He had been powerlifting for a couple years and without any experience went .500 his first year ever, he said he relied on strength to execute a few simple moves (front headlock, lift and return) and with that and good conditioning he was able to beat some solid kids. Fast forward three years he is a college starter with limited technique (albeit growing) and has placed in a very tough conference last year and is a contender to take the whole thing next year, he credits much of his success to the strength gained from following a rigorous raw powerlifting program.

My own story, I started wrestling as a sophmore in college (D3 walk on). I had no wresltling experience but I was eager to learn and I had some decent strength from previous powerlifting experience. After one year of taking my beatings and learning some basics my second year of wreslting (junior year of college) I was able to win matches and even beat a kid who had been an all-state champ in high school. I credit alot of this to the strength gained from powerlifting style training.

I will say that nothing is more important than technique and conditioning, however for my friend and I strength gained from heavy training has been and continues to be an extremely valuable tool. I think every wrestler could benefit from the addition of heavy squats, deadlifts, and presses into their program.[/quote]

weird…one of my buddy’s wrestled throughout HS and college, and said the lifting he did when he was younger kept him from learning proper technique. he said when he got to college, he got schooled by all the guys that had been wrestling based off technique…

that being said, i do agree that strength and conditioning are damn near as important as technique.

[/quote]

I can agree with you if you’re talking about freestyle or folkstyle, but in greco relative strenght is a must have. I’ve beaten guys technicly better then me just by outstrengthning them (Ofcourse any slob can’t do that, but you if you’re at a certain level strength will get you a long way) and lost to weaker and more technical guys in folkstyle when i wrestled in wisconsin (That was my first year ever trying freestyle\folkstyle so no wonder).

20

[quote]Andyyboy wrote:

[quote]cycobushmaster wrote:

[quote]datx21 wrote:
just my two cents and couple personal stories here…
My friend started wrestling his senior year of high school. He had been powerlifting for a couple years and without any experience went .500 his first year ever, he said he relied on strength to execute a few simple moves (front headlock, lift and return) and with that and good conditioning he was able to beat some solid kids. Fast forward three years he is a college starter with limited technique (albeit growing) and has placed in a very tough conference last year and is a contender to take the whole thing next year, he credits much of his success to the strength gained from following a rigorous raw powerlifting program.

My own story, I started wrestling as a sophmore in college (D3 walk on). I had no wresltling experience but I was eager to learn and I had some decent strength from previous powerlifting experience. After one year of taking my beatings and learning some basics my second year of wreslting (junior year of college) I was able to win matches and even beat a kid who had been an all-state champ in high school. I credit alot of this to the strength gained from powerlifting style training.

I will say that nothing is more important than technique and conditioning, however for my friend and I strength gained from heavy training has been and continues to be an extremely valuable tool. I think every wrestler could benefit from the addition of heavy squats, deadlifts, and presses into their program.[/quote]

weird…one of my buddy’s wrestled throughout HS and college, and said the lifting he did when he was younger kept him from learning proper technique. he said when he got to college, he got schooled by all the guys that had been wrestling based off technique…

that being said, i do agree that strength and conditioning are damn near as important as technique.

[/quote]

I can agree with you if you’re talking about freestyle or folkstyle, but in greco relative strenght is a must have. I’ve beaten guys technicly better then me just by outstrengthning them (Ofcourse any slob can’t do that, but you if you’re at a certain level strength will get you a long way) and lost to weaker and more technical guys in folkstyle when i wrestled in wisconsin (That was my first year ever trying freestyle\folkstyle so no wonder).[/quote]

well, i guess that kinda makes sense then, since he wrestled folk style.