It’s said that success leaves clues. And in wrestling, there are few with more success than Jordan Burroughs. With a resume that includes multiple national championships and an Olympic gold medal, Burroughs is no stranger to hard work. The Jordan Burroughs wrestling workout is not for the faint of heart.
From grueling workouts that build strength and agility to a carefully balanced diet that fuels his performance, there is no stone unturned in his pursuit of excellence. Whether you’re a high-level wrestler or simply seeking to elevate your game, Burroughs’ winning formula will empower you to unleash your untapped potential.
So, sit back, relax, and enjoy as we uncover the tried-and-true training and nutrition plan that has propelled wrestling icon Jordan Burroughs to the pinnacle of the sport.
Table of contents:
- Who is Jordan Burroughs?
- A brief history of Jordan Burroughs’s wrestling career.
- What is the Jordan Burroughs wrestling workout?
- Jordan Burroughs training secrets.
- Jordan Burroughs diet plan.
- How you can train and eat like Jordan Burroughs.
- FAQs
Who is Jordan Burroughs?
Jordan Burroughs is a celebrated figure in the world of wrestling. Born on July 8, 1988, in Camden, New Jersey, he rose to prominence as an exceptional college wrestler before dominating the international stage.
During his college years at the University of Nebraska, Burroughs left an indelible mark with a collegiate record of 128 wins and 20 losses. His stellar performance earned him NCAA championships and solidified his reputation as a top-tier athlete.
However, his transition to the international stage truly cemented Burroughs’ legacy. He has won multiple world championships in freestyle wrestling, and in 2012, he reached the pinnacle of his career by capturing the Olympic gold medal in London.
Burroughs’ wrestling style is characterized by its explosiveness and tenacity. He’s known for his quick blast double leg and ability to adapt to various opponents and situations. His intense dedication to training, coupled with his mental fortitude, has contributed significantly to his success.
Off the mat, Burroughs is recognized for his sportsmanship, leadership, and positive influence on aspiring wrestlers. He’s actively engaged in promoting the sport and inspiring the next generation. Jordan Burroughs’ journey and accomplishments inspire wrestlers and sports enthusiasts worldwide, marking him an icon in the tight wrestling community.
A Brief History of Jordan Burroughs’s Wrestling Career
Jordan Burroughs has had a successful college and freestyle wrestling career. While competing for the University of Nebraska, he won two NCAA national championships in 2009 and 2011. In college, he had wins against prominent UFC fighters Gregor Gillespie, Michael Chandler, and Justin Gaethje.
After an undefeated season in 2011, he was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy as the most outstanding wrestler in the country. He graduated with 128 victories and 20 losses, 13 of which came in his first year.
Transitioning to freestyle, Burroughs achieved significant international success right off the bat. In September 2011, he won the gold medal at the FILA World Championship. However, his most notable achievement came the following year at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, where he won the 74 kg weight class gold medal.
Burroughs’ accomplishments in collegiate and freestyle wrestling have solidified his status as one of the best American wrestlers of all time.
What is the Jordan Burroughs Wrestling Workout?
Few sports require more out of the body than wrestling. With that in mind, the training program of a high-level wrestler must incorporate a wide range of modalities. Wrestlers must be strong, agile, mobile, and highly conditioned. To top it off, wrestlers need the discipline to train day in and day out, whether they want to or not.
Below is Jordan Burroughs’ training program. Keep in mind he hasn’t laid this out anywhere. This is my best guess of what he does, based on videos, interviews, and social media clips. Take it with a grain of salt. Either way, following this routine will help you get into better shape and improve your performance on the mat.
Day #1
Day one starts like most of Jordan’s days, with some mobility work in the morning. Mobility work involves doing exercises and movements to help your body move better. A consistent mobility routine can help you feel less stiff and more comfortable when training, competing, or just moving around in your everyday life. As you get older, quality movement practice becomes more critical to success.
Jordan’s training schedule involves a strength and conditioning session mid-morning and wrestling practice in the afternoon. Remember, strength and conditioning is specific. The best exercise for wrestling is not squats, deadlifts, plyometrics, or running – it’s wrestling. The work you do in the gym must supplement your sports practice, not take away from it.
The workout starts with air-dyed sprints of 20 seconds of all-out effort followed by 40 seconds of recovery. From there, Jordan moves on to some pullups and band work. Everything is done in a circuit fashion, back to back, with little rest.
The band work he does is unique. It mimics movements you would see in a wrestling match. In fact, he layers a lot of sport-specific work into this particular workout. Toward the end of the session, he throws in stance and motion work along with some drilling.
The Workout:
Air Dyne Sprints: 10 rounds of 20 seconds all-out effort / 40 seconds recovery
2 Rounds
1a: Pullups x 20 reps
1b: Band Step and Press x 30 seconds
2a: Chin-ups x 20 reps
2b: Band Snap Downs x 30 seconds
3a: Battle Rope Alternate Steps x 30 seconds
3b: Battle Rope Double Slams x 30 seconds
4: Stance and Motion (multiple 30-second rounds)
5: Wrestling Execution Drills (multiple 30-second rounds)
Day #2
Club training is a new addition to his workouts over the past couple of years. He uses the Weck Method Clubs, which are unique clubs with shifting weights. This style of training is highly versatile. You can do unconventional exercises for rotation, explosion, and other functional movements.
Every exercise in the workout is paired with another exercise as a superset. Perform one movement and immediately move to the second exercise in the group. Once you have done both exercises, rest for 60 seconds and do another set.
The Workout:
1a: Burpee Jumping High Pull with Dumbbells: 3 sets x 5-10 reps
1b: Plank Driver with Club: 3 sets x 5-10 reps on each side
2a: Dumbbell Deadlift: 3 sets x 10 reps
2b: Low Swipe with club: 3 sets x 10 reps on each side
3a: Single Arm Coiled High Pull with Dumbbells: 3 sets x 5-10 reps each side
3b: Bailer: 3 sets x 10 reps on each side
4a: Hinge Curls with Dumbbells: 3 sets x 10-15 reps
4b: Lateral Mills with Club: 3 sets x 10-15 reps on each side
Day #3
The third workout is the longest of the week. It’s a high-volume training session with a mix of strength and plyometric work.
He starts the session with jumps. The first is a kneeling jump with a Bulgarian bag draped across his shoulders. Jumping from a kneeling position is a sports-specific movement to help generate power off the bottom in wrestling.
After the jumps, he moves on to sled drags coupled with a chest-supported row. Sled drags are highly versatile. You can do them for strength, speed, or explosiveness. The chest-supported row works on pulling strength. Having strong lats is critical for wrestling.
Next is a leg complex of various lunges and jumps. The lunge is a fundamental movement pattern for a wrestler. Think back to one of the first wrestling practices you ever had as a kid. Do you remember what you did? If you do, chances are you learned how to do a drop step. A drop step looks very similar to a lunge.
The Workout:
1: Kneeling Bag Jumps with Bulgarian Bag: 4 sets x 3 reps
2: Kneeling Box Jump: 4 sets x 2 reps
3a: Sled Drag Lunges with Bulgarian Bag: 4 sets x 8 reps
3b: Chest Supported Row: 4 sets x 8 reps
4: Leg Complex 3-4 rounds
- 3 Lunges with Bulgarian Bag
- 3 Lunge Jumps with Bulgarian Bag
- 3 Bodyweight Lunge Jumps
- 6 Squat Jumps
5: Weighted Pullups: 3 sets x 5-10 reps
6a: Battle Rope: 3 sets x 20 seconds
6b: Medicine Ball Slam: 3 sets x 5 reps
7a: Dumbbell Pummel Curls: 3 sets x 10 reps
7b: Slider Side Lunges with Kettlebell: 3 sets x 5 reps on each side
Day #4
Coming off from the high volume day three workout, day four is more manageable. That said, don’t mistake this for an easy session.
The last workout of the week consists of more jumps and pulling. See a theme? Wrestlers need to be explosive in the lower body with strong pulling muscles.
The goal of this workout is to get through the four super sets in about forty-five minutes. Get in and get out to start the recovery process for another hard week of training.
The workout:
1a: L-Sit Pull-up: 3 sets x 10 reps
1b: Split Jumps: 3 sets x 5 reps each leg
2a: Dumbbell Clean and Press: 3 sets x 5 reps each side
2b: Tuck Crunches: 3 sets x 20-30 reps
3a: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets x 10-12 reps
3b: Split Hinge Pulse: 3 sets x 10-12 reps each side
4a: Dumbbell Renegade Row: 3 sets x 10 reps each side
4b: Sprinter Drills: 3 sets x 30 seconds
Jordan Burroughs Training Secrets
Even if you can’t devote your life to training full-time, many lessons can be learned from an Olympic Gold Medalist like Jordan Burroughs. Write down these three training secrets if you take nothing else from this article.
Circuit Training
Jordan’s workouts are set up as circuits and super sets. This has two significant advantages. The first is training density. Density refers to how much work you get done in a period of time. Circuits and super sets allow you to do more work in a shorter period, as little time is wasted between exercises. Although Jordan is a full-time athlete, he is also a husband and father. He doesn’t want to spend any more time in the gym than he has to.
Secondly, high training density also improves conditioning. Getting a lot of high-quality work done quickly transfers to enhanced performance on the mat.
Wrestling-Specific Movements
Sports-specific training is often misrepresented. A quality training program can be effective without mimicking what you do in your sport. In fact, sometimes that can be a detriment. However, mixing in some stance and motion work, band snap downs, kneeling jumps, and lunges will directly carry over to what you do on the mat.
Consistency
When studying the Jordan Burroughs wrestling workout, one thing stands out – consistency. Success is hard, but lasting success is almost impossible. To be at the top of your sport for over a decade requires a level of day-in and day-out consistency that few can match. It’s not about having one good workout or even a good week of training sessions. A decade on the top of the mountain requires a relentless pursuit of daily consistency. Focus on the daily habits necessary for success, and do it every day.
Jordan Burroughs Diet Plan
One of the aspects of wrestling that makes it such a demanding sport is the weight element. As a high-level wrestler, you need to control your body weight. Jordan typically only walks around 7-8 pounds over his weight class, which requires a high level of nutritional discipline.
Here is a breakdown of Jordan’s pre-competition diet when he needs to decrease his weight.
Meal #1: Breakfast / Pre Workout
Jordan’s first meal of the day also serves as his pre-workout meal. He wants to get a solid protein dose without feeling too full for his workout. A protein smoothie fits the bill.
The protein drink consists of a plant-based protein powder, almond milk, spinach, avocado, almond butter, chia seeds, and turmeric. It contains protein, healthy fats, micronutrients, and turmeric to reduce inflammation.
- 2 scoops of plant-based protein powder
- 8oz almond milk
- Handful of spinach
- ½ Avocado
- 1tbs almond butter
- 1oz of chia seeds
- Dash of Turmeric
Meal 1 Nutrition Breakdown: 50g of protein, 30g of carbohydrates, 32g of fat [608 calories]
Meal #2: Lunch / Post Workout
Burroughs’ next meal comes around lunchtime after his mid-morning workout. He keeps this one simple with a veggie omelet and berries. When you are in a weight loss phase, calories will be low. With low calories comes hunger. A diet high in protein, veggies, and fruit is the best way to mitigate hunger. Vegetables and fruit are great when dieting because you can eat a lot of them without consuming many calories. Berries, in particular, are some of the lowest-calorie fruit there is.
- 3 whole eggs
- Mushrooms, onions, and peppers
- Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries
Meal 2 Nutrition Breakdown: 20g of protein, 30g of carbohydrates, 15g of fat [335 calories]
Meal #3: Dinner / Post Practice
The last meal of the day comes after his daily wrestling practice. It’s his largest meal, and he sits down with his family to enjoy it.
You can’t go wrong with salmon, a sweet potato, and vegetables. This meal is loaded with protein, quality carbohydrates, fiber, healthy fat, and micronutrients.
- 8oz salmon
- 10-12oz Sweet potato
- Sautéed spinach and mushrooms
Meal 3 Nutrition Breakdown: 66g of protein, 82g of carbohydrates, 20g of fat [772 calories]
At the end of the day, Jordan’s weight-cut diet breaks down to 136g of protein, 142g of carbohydrates, and 67g of fat for only 1715 calories. Keep in mind, this is a diet he uses to help him get down to 163lbs for competition. During the offseason, he would eat more calories than this.
How You Can Train and Eat Like Jordan Burroughs
Digging into an Olympian’s training and diet plan is undoubtedly interesting. However, the key is implementing what we can into our routines.
Here are three things anyone can do to train and eat like Jordan Burroughs.
Do More Pullups
Pullups are Jordan’s favorite exercise. He does them in nearly every workout. Jordan says pullups are one of the most wrestling-specific exercises he does in the weight room. You are constantly pulling as a wrestler, so having upper back strength is critical.
One of my favorite ways to incorporate pullups into a training routine is by programming a specific number of reps to complete. For example, the goal might be 50 pullups in a workout. From there, you can break them up any way you want.
You can do five sets of ten to reach 50. Or, you can do two sets of twenty-five. For a strength challenge, do ten sets of five, but add a weight vest. The options are endless. Just make sure to include pullups into your training 1-3 times per week.
Prioritize Fruits and Vegetables
Incorporating fruits and vegetables into your diet offers many advantages for overall health and well-being. These colorful wonders are rich in essential vitamins and minerals that boost natural energy, the immune system and aid digestion. Not to mention, they help you stay full longer. Include a mix of fruit and vegetables every day.
Have a Life Outside of the Wrestling Room
One thing that often gets missed in Jordan’s athletic pursuit is his life outside the wrestling room. While some may assume having a family is an obstacle to success, it is a catalyst. Wrestling is a sport that can consume your life if you let it. It’s important to have interests outside of wrestling. Train hard and stay disciplined, but you need to unwind and have things to take your mind off from the sport.
I’m not saying you need to go out and start a family, but spend time with friends and family who are not wrestlers, have a hobby, and take time to relax. It will benefit you more than you know!
Jordan Burroughs FAQ
Here are some answers to common questions about Jordan Burroughs.
Q: What was Jordan Burroughs’ college record?
Jordan Burroughs had an impressive college record of 128 wins and 20 losses at the University of Nebraska.
Q: Who last beat Jordan Burroughs?
Jordan Burroughs’s last loss came to Chance Marsteller at Final X in 2023.
Q: How much does Jordan Burroughs get paid?
Jordan Burroughs’ earnings can vary from sponsorships, competitions, and endorsements. As a prominent wrestler, he has secured substantial income through various avenues.
Q: How many world and Olympic titles does Jordan Burroughs have? Jordan Burroughs has won six world championships and an Olympic gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
Q: Who is the greatest American wrestler of all time?
The title of the greatest American wrestler of all time is subjective and can vary based on opinions. However, the list often includes Cael Sanderson, Dan Gable, John Smith, Kyle Snyder, Kyle Dake, and Jordan Burroughs.
Success Leaves Clues
If you want to take your training and nutrition to the next level, following in JB’s footsteps is a great place to start. I can’t guarantee you will win a gold medal following Burroughs’ program, but it can help you get into the best shape of your life.
If you are interested in your own customized training program, check out the Hunt Fitness Off-Season Wrestling Training Program here: https://kylehuntfitness.shop/collections/programs/products/off-season-wrestling-training-program
The program includes 28 weeks of workouts.
Author: Kyle Hunt
Instagram: @huntfitness
YouTube: @HuntFitnessTV
Hire Kyle as your coach: http://www.kylehuntfitness.com/services/