10 Ways To Get Better At Wrestling This Off Season
We are currently in the middle of summer but before you know it the start of wrestling season will be here and the question is, how prepared will you be when it starts? Using the off season to get better is so important. That way, when wrestling season actually starts, instead of coming in out of shape and spending the first half of the season getting back in shape and knocking the rust off your technique, you will be coming in well ahead of where you were when the season ended last year. Here are some ways to make the most of your off season.
Set Goals For Yourself
If you are serious about getting better at wrestling, setting goals and writing them down is very important. Be sure to set goals for the short term and the long term. If you are going to be a freshman in highschool and have only wrestled for one year a good short term goal might be to make varsity as a freshman and win half your matches. A long term goal might be to win a state title when you are a senior.
You don’t have to have just one goal, you can have multiple goals, but be sure to write them down in a journal or notebook. Studies have shown that people who write their goals down are more likely to achieve them. Once you have written your goals down, be sure to then write down the action steps you need to take in order to achieve them. If you have trouble with this, ask one of your coaches for help and be sure to read over your goals on a regular basis.
Get Stronger
The off season is the perfect time to get physically stronger. Spending time in the weight room now is one way to get an upper hand on people who are taking the summer off. Many athletic programs in high school and college have strength and conditioning coaches you can talk with if you need advice on off season strength training. There is also a great video series titled “1% Better Everyday Strength Building System by Ricky Lundell”. This video series is great for a wrestler who wants to learn how to maximize their time in the weight room.
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Work On Your Weaknesses
No matter what level you are in wrestling, you have areas of weakness. You might need to get better at shot defense or maybe you are terrible at front headlocks. Whatever the area is, the off season is a great time to really focus on getting better in these areas. Just like with the goal setting, write down areas or techniques you want to get better in. You may also want to talk with your coach or training partners to see what areas they think you need to improve in. Once you have figured out what you need to improve on, start researching and drilling the moves when you are on the mat. You may be terrible at them when you first start, but if you really focus on them you will be surprised by the improvement you will see by the time the season starts.
Watch High Level Wrestling
Another way to get better during the off season it to simply watch high level wrestling. You can watch literally thousands of NCAA matches and international freestyle matches for free on YouTube alone. By watching the best in the world, you can see how they are setting up there shots, how they like to defend shots, and pick up on the small techniques that have helped make them some of the best wrestlers in the country or even world.
Compete
Another way to get better is to compete during the off season. There are plenty of both freestyle and folkstyle tournaments available for you to compete it. A simple internet search will yield many results or you could ask your coach in they know of any places you can compete at during the summer. Competing is just like many other things, in that the more you do it, the more comfortable you get at it. Stepping out on the mat in singlet to wrestle a full match with a referee is much different than going live in a wrestling room with your teammates.
Cross-Train
Cross-training is when you participate in another activity or sport in order to get better at another, in this case, wrestling. Some examples of cross-training for wrestling might be swimming to build up endurance and back and shoulder strength. Another example might be play soccer to increase foot speed and agility. So pick one or two activities you like to do that can help you perform better on the mat and have some fun participating in them during the off season. Plus, it can be mentally refreshing to spend some time off the mat every once and awhile.
Rehab Injuries
If you are a wrestler, at some point you will have some injuries. There may not be a lot you can do about them during the wrestling season, but once the season is over, take the time to get healthy. If you had a nagging shoulder injury or neck injury that plagued you all season long, now that the season is over, really focus on getting better so it doesn’t become a recurring issue this coming season. You can talk with you athletic trainer, chiropractor, physical therapist, or doctor to get advice on the best course of action you need to take to resolve your injury.
Watch Videos Of Your Matches
If you have access to videos of your matches, you should definitely take the time to watch them. You may even want to watch them with a coach or with your training partners. Watching video of yourself compete can help you notice flaws in your stance or shots that you didn’t even realize were a problem. There is a reason that all high level athletes watch game film of themselves or their team and that reason is it helps them to get better. So if they are doing it, you should be too.
Train With New People
Use your time during the off season to travel around to different wrestling rooms and train with new people. You might be surprised at how much you can learn by being in a different wrestling room. Find out where the best people in your area train, then try to spend time there drilling and wrestling live with them. Wrestling with new people will force you out of your comfort zone and will expose weaknesses you might not have known you had.
Eat Clean
Most wrestlers only worry about their weight during the season, but eating healthy and keeping your body fat down during the summer will help you to focus less on dropping weight during the season. Doesn’t coming into season 10lbs over you desired weight class sound a whole lot better than coming in 25lbs over? You don’t need to try to stay a competition weight, but also don’t let yourself balloon up over the summer either. Make smart dietary choices and keep your weight down.
Hopefully this will help prepare you for the upcoming wrestling season. If you are interested in learning more about wrestling technique from some of the most elite wrestlers in the world, be sure to check out Fanatic Wrestling’s technique video series.
Ricky Lundell’s 1% Better Every Day Strength Building System gives you the road map to achieve your FULL POTENTIAL. No more Excuses, No more What-IFS. Now is the time to take charge, and Ricky will give you the road map.