I’ve said it many, many times… the Preseason is the time to ‘flip the switch’ from getting strong from your Offseason and turning it into ‘fast strength.’

‘Fast Strength’ is what a wrestler wants… strong muscle that is capable of generating power and speed on the wrestling mat.

Building ‘Fast Strength’ for wrestling is best accomplished with the following tips from the Ultimate Wrestling Strength program:

1. 3 Nonconsecutive Strength Training Workouts Per Week Don’t make the mistake of strength training 2 days in a row. Muscular strength is increased while you rest, not when you are training. The rest day after a strength training session will allow you to recover from the training and increase your strength.

I like to split the body into an ‘A’ and ‘B’ workout. They are then alternated each training day. That means that you would perform each workout 3 times over two weeks.

2. 7 Exercises Per Training Session 7 is the magic number when it comes to increasing your strength and speed during the preseason. I’ve tried all sorts of variations, volume of exercise etc. but this is the number that has worked best for overall performance increases. Anything more is overkill… in fact, if you can do ‘more’ than you’re not working hard enough.

The other reason I really like 7 exercises is because this is the number that allows you to complete the most work within your ‘hormone window of opportunity.’ This is the short amount of time (up to about 35 minutes) where you can get a Testosterone and Growth Hormone surge. Training longer is actually counter-productive, especially when you consider all of the other physical demands that are placed on a wrestler.

3. Full Body Training Sessions The entire body is trained in each of the training sessions, either directly or indirectly.

You decide…

Those 7 exercises can be a full-body training plan or half of your body at a time… it’s up to you, and how well you recover. I personally like using an ‘A’ and ‘B’ split as mentioned above. It really allows for maximal recovery during the Preseason.

4. Combine Plyometrics, Olympic Lifts and Traditional Strength Exercises In order to get the best results from the Preseason training plan, we will have the wrestler do a combination of plyometrics to build power, Olympic lifts to increase speed output, traditional strength exercises to continue absolute strength development.

A Youth Wrestler won’t need to get so involved with the hardcore powerlifts and Olympic lifts. Youth wrestlers benefit more from developing ‘form’ so that they can work on function as their bodies develop. This means that you can do Deadlifts or other traditional barbell exercises with lighter dumbbells. Work on developing basic movement patterns that allow the younger wrestler to develop a neuromuscular connection that becomes ingrained in them, just as they learn wrestling moves.

5. Give Yourself 6-12 Weeks In my Ultimate Wrestling Strength program I have a yearly program set up that gives you an 8-12 week training program… which is ideal. If you are just starting to think about getting ready for the season you can get away with 6 weeks of hard work using a Preseason plan and build quick strength and speed.