More things to consider. The season starts in a few weeks, I don’t even know the basics of wrestling. I doubt coach would take me in during season. Should I do off-season wrestling with them and then Sophmore year try our? Also there is not a single gym in my area that teaches wrestling.
It’s your decision, but I’d urge you to sign up.
You may not be starting in dual meets for the varsity team at 152 pounds this year, but there is a place on the team somewhere for you.
You’re a freshman, you’re not expected to be great. You just need to show willingness to work hard and desire to get better. It takes awhile to get good, so you don’t want to waste any Mat time.
You’re talking to strangers about wrestling. You’re rasslin’ around with your dad in the basement. You already have some passion for the sport, and desire to get better. Once coach and your teammates see that, you’re In.
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You are in for a rude awakening if you think you won’t lose any muscle while getting into wrestling shape. The conditioning demands are going to be downright hellish for you for at least the first few weeks because you have zero wrestling specific conditioning at present and the coaches have only a few weeks to try to “whip you into shape” (think boot camp in the military, only more intense).
Not trying to scare you away from wrestling, on the contrary, just trying to honestly prepare you for what you are in for. The amount of muscle you might lose from doing fasted cardio are going to be insignificant, unless your calories are extremely low, and if that’s the case wrestling practice is going to result on way more muscle loss anyhow.
I do agree with the above poster who said that morning fasted cardio is not magical like some would have you believe. That said, I do think it helps build discipline, mental toughness, allows you to get in some cardio during a time in your day when you probably aren’t doing anything else more constructive, and due to the glycogen depleted state is likely to convince your body to tap into its energy reserves (if that intensity isn’t too high). But if you are really scared about it and can fit in some steady state cardio elsewhere in your day, no reason you can’t do that instead.
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More than anything else, you need coaching and mat time. I only wrestled my senior year in high school and nothing really clicked for me until the end of the season. I went from complete dogshit to a reasonably competitive wrestler in that time frame. The conditioning will come naturally through practice. It’s going to suck, but that’s wrestling.
If you skip this season, I’d bet my ass that you’re right back here 12 months from now asking the same question, and you won’t have improved at all as a wrestler. Sign up, bust your ass, learn, become part of the team, and next year you’ll be light years ahead of where you are now.
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Some good advice in here - as always.
I have to ask - did you talk to the coach?
I checked out your log- your doing some good things.
And your strong
Im going to be direct.
and tell you
to find that coach ( and your parents)
and tell them you want to get on the team
that you want to start practice
and you are ready to work.
Its that simple.
there is no video
program with anacronisms
silver bullet of training
Just Get in there - and start having fun.
that being said -
there is nothing to worry about just do it.
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Would you advise ws4sb or athlete lean, athlete strong for wrestlers? I’m starting wrestling myself for the first time this year.
ws4sb
-4 days seems more reasonable than 7 days
-it was was “designed” for young guys who play sports. Athlete Lean, Athlete Strong is more for guys who aren’t athletes, but want to do athlete stuff in the gym.
-there are guidelines for an In Season template
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To go off what @FlatsFarmer said, the good thing about ws4sb as well is that it prepares you for other routes if you do not pursue wrestling forever. It gives you a beginner understanding of westside, enough accessory work to build a solid base of muscle, and jumps and such to build explosive athletic power. I’ve never tried the other two, but I would go ws4sb as well. Also, it can be tweaked for in season training. You’d go two days a week and still rotate movements just the same without dynamic days if I remember correctly. It’s a solid program for sure.
Thanks man
Congrats on joining one of the toughest sports! A little background on me… former collegiate wrestler and coach. Here are my thoughts…take them as you will.
Now a days people are specializing in sports over the states at an early age. I had a hard time recruiting students to wrestle when I coached high school because they thought it was “too late” for them. I have coached and wrestled with athletic students who came out later in high school and placed at states. I am from the mid west…arguably the second toughest wrestling area behind PA,NJ, etc.
Depending on where you are from, and how competitive your state is, the competition will vary(depending on division/section/conference/etc) I have wrestled against and seen state champs from some states who would not place at states in other states.
Anyways…
My advice to you is to focus on the technique and work on overall athleticism! Do not worry about cutting weight or weight classes. You will naturally lose body fat and weight throughout the season with the conditioning. Also, do not go on low carb diets, you will need the fuel to get through practice and keep up with your academics. The season gets long, and sometimes drags on! As a first year, your body is maturing, eat, have fun, and really learn about the sport. Start watching collegiate matches, spending time at tournaments and being involved.
One of the big things I saw when coaching high school is the desire to lift weights(bodybuilder) style rather than sport specific. I was the guy always body building and wrestling…which made my wrestling suffer. I could have been a way better wrestler if I trained more sport specific and focused on technique.
Many students get discouraged about the weight training involved with wrestling…many of the athletes I coached wanted to lift more weights…and spend less time wrestling. Most high school programs will focus on wrestling…some of the best high school programs have great lifting specific programs, but many do not.
Last thing, don’t get discouraged after a loss. Improve and take advice match to match. Also making the transition from performing in the practice room and being able to implement that in front of a crowd can be challenging. If your high school is not that big of a wrestling school, and there is a spot to fill at varsity…it’s your choice to take it but getting mat time and matches on JV will do you better if your wrestling someone similar skills…
If you learn to love the sport after this season, and want to excel at it, do freestyle/greco in the off season and some camps. Wrestling has opened a lot of opportunities for first gen college students and college students in general looking to further their education…
Always remember, Student athlete means student first! Keep your grades up!
Good luck!
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As a former wrestler and you want to gain conditioning for wrestling, you have to put one thing at top of list. You have to wrestle. Join a wrestling club. You will begin to learn the basics, and begin doing what wrestlers do. Offseason, depending where you live, the coaches and other wrestlers will give you info on where to train. But in order to get conditioned to wrestle, especially just starting, you need to wrestle. And in order to do that outside of school and your team, you need a club to train with. Especially if you can start prior to the season. Once the wrestling room doors close, it’s another world.
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