If you are a high school or college wrestler, build your training program around my ten favorite strength exercises for wrestling.
Everyone has their list of favorite exercises. I’m not here to tell you mine is the best. There is no such thing. Exercises are like tools in a toolbox. Each one has a purpose. Some work better than others, but it comes down to picking the right tool for the job.
Before creating a list of exercises for any sport, you need to outline what is required for success. Put another way, what physical qualities do the best athletes in the sport have?
Sport-specific training is different from what many believe it to be. We don’t need to make our workouts look like our work in the wrestling room. In terms of specificity, nothing compares to drilling and live wrestling. The gym can’t compete with that.
However, a number of movements can help fill in the gaps. For wrestling, there are ten core competencies we can train to make you a better athlete: Dynamic Grip, Static Grip, Neck Extension, Lower Body Power, Lower Body Strength, Pulling Strength, Shoulder Stability, Core Strength, Posterior Chain Strength, and Hard Conditioning.
The best part is that you can do many of these exercises on your own and outside of the gym.
Dynamic Grip: Rope Climb
Dynamic grip strength is the ability of your hand and forearm muscles to apply force while in motion. Unlike static grip strength, where you hold a position without movement (more on that next), dynamic grip strength involves gripping while performing actions. Dynamic grip strength is an asset in wrestling.
My favorite dynamic grip strength exercise is rope climbing. In addition to being an excellent grip movement, it incorporates elements of pulling strength. The only issue with rope climbing is access. Unless you train at a CrossFit gym, you probably won’t have one available. The good news is that you can pick one up pretty cheap for your backyard. Another option is to do towel pull-ups.
I recommend putting grip exercises at the end of your workout to prevent them from negatively impacting the rest of the workout. Once you lose your grip, everything becomes more difficult.
Alternate Options: Towel pull-up or hand-over-hand sled pull
Static Grip: Farmer Walk
Static grip strength is the ability to hold onto something without moving, like gripping a bar or carrying a heavy object. It’s about maintaining a strong grip for an extended time without changing hand position or releasing the grip. An element of muscular endurance is needed.
My favorite exercise for static grip strength is the classic strongman exercise, the farmers’ walk. To do it, pick up a pair of heavy dumbbells or kettlebells and walk for a distance. It’s pretty simple.
Farmer’s walks are great for static grip strength because you have to hold heavy weights in each hand for an extended period. The weight constantly shifts as you walk, forcing your grip to adjust dynamically. This forces your grip to stay strong and steady, improving your ability to maintain a hold under pressure, which is helpful for many physical tasks and sports like wrestling.
Alternate Options: Heavy Dumbbell Holds or Dead Hang From Pull-up Bar
Neck Extension Strength: Weighted Neck Extension
Aside from grip strength, neck strength is arguably a wrestler’s next most impactful quality. Your neck constantly gets yanked on as your opponent tries manipulating your head. And where your head goes, your body will follow.
With neck strength, we have two main movement patterns. Neck flexion is the ability to bend your head forward, while neck extension is the ability to tilt your head backward. Both are important for protecting your neck and improving stability, especially in wrestling. However, we want to focus on neck extension.
To do a weighted neck extension, lie face down on a bench with your head hanging off the edge. Place a weight plate on the back of your head and hold it there. Slowly raise your head by extending your neck upward and lower it back down in a controlled motion. I like to wear a beanie when doing these to make my head more comfortable. But that’s just me.
You don’t need any equipment to do these, but some people find a neck harness is more effective. You can pick one up pretty cheap on Amazon.
What about the classic bridge? Although bridges are effective, they involve supporting your body weight on your neck, which puts unnecessary compression on the spine. In contrast, weighted neck extensions focus specifically on strengthening the neck muscles in a safer, more controlled range of motion. Plus, they are easier to progress. Just add weight.
Alternate Option: Neck harness weighted neck extensions.
Lower Body Power: Single Leg Box Jump
Next is lower body power. Lower body power refers to the explosive strength of your legs and hips, which helps you perform takedowns, quickly change directions, and explode off the bottom.
We have many options for working on lower body power, including various jump variations. There is no right or wrong answer. That said, I like the single-leg box jump. It’s relatively easy to learn and has the added value of being a single-leg movement. Wrestlers should include unilateral lower body movements in their program since you need to balance and drive off one leg when shooting for a takedown or defending against one.
To do a single-leg box jump, stand on one leg in front of a box or platform. Bend your knee slightly, jump up using only that leg, and land softly on the same leg on top of the box, then step down and repeat.
Do these at the beginning of your workout. The goal is not to jump on the highest box possible. Pick a challenging box height that you can consistently make. Probably around 80-90% of your best.
Alternate Options: Standing Long Jump, Squat Jump, or Power Clean.
Lower Body Strength: Front Squat
Your legs need more than explosiveness; they also need some absolute strength. Let’s not overthink this one. When it comes to lower body strength, the first exercise that should come to mind is squats. The only question is, what variation?
I like the front squat for wrestlers. While it limits the load you can use compared to a back squat, it challenges the upper back more and puts less strain on the lower back.
Heavy goblet squats are a good option if you can’t maintain an upright position on a front squat. If you have access to a Safety Squat Bar, that’s great, too.
Alternate Options: Dumbbell Goblet Squat, Safety Squat Bar, Lunges, or Split Squats
Posterior Chain Strength: Barbell Deadlift
As a wrestler, if you only care about how much weight you lift on one exercise, it should be the deadlift. The deadlift is one of, if not the best, barbell exercises that translate to strength on the mat.
A strong posterior chain—lower back, glutes, and hamstrings—helps connect the upper and lower body. It’s obviously critical when picking things up, but it also allows you to drive your hips forward when finishing or defending a shot. Have you ever heard a coach say a guy has strong hips? He means strong hip extension, expressed from the posterior chain.
I’m not picky with deadlift variations. Pick the one you can maintain good form on. The primary options are conventional, sumo, or trap bar.
What about power cleans? The power clean is an excellent movement if you know how to do it. It’s a two-for-one strength and power movement. However, it is a little more technical than a deadlift, so it’s more likely to be done incorrectly. Feel free to do power cleans if you feel confident in your technique. However, if not, stick to deadlifts.
Alternate Options: Trap Bar Deadlift, Power Clean, Romanian Deadlift
Pulling Strength: Pull-ups
Pull-ups are one of my favorite exercises. In addition to being an excellent muscle builder, they’re also great for upper back and grip strength. Plus, any time you can improve your relative strength (strength-to-body weight ratio), it will help your wrestling game.
If you are a high school or college wrestler, buy a doorway pull-up bar for your room and bang out reps throughout the day. This method is called greasing the groove. Set a goal for the number of reps you will perform during the day, let’s say 50. How you get there doesn’t matter. For example, you can do five reps every time you walk under the pull-up bar. If you did this, it would only take ten times before you hit your 50 reps for the day. Do this three or four days a week, and your ability to do pull-ups will skyrocket.
Alternate Options: Lat Pulldown, Dumbbell or Barbell Row, Chest Supported Row.
Shoulder Stability: Handstand Pushups
Shoulder stability refers to the ability of the muscles and joints around the shoulder to maintain control and support during movement. In wrestling, having strong shoulder stability is essential for maintaining a strong base when you’re on the bottom. There are many ways to train shoulder stability, but my favorite is handstand pushups (HSPU).
The HSPU is highly specific to what we are trying to do. It gets you comfortable with a lot of weight on your hands, and it’s another exercise you can do at home.
You can build up to walking on your hands when you get good at handstand pushups.
Alternate Options: Pike Pushups, One-Arm Dumbbell or Kettlebell Snatch, Turkish Get-ups, and One-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Press.
Core Strength: Ab Wheel
Wrestlers are known for having shredded midsections. And while that’s impressive, having a strong core is much more functional on the mat. You need to do more than endless crunches to develop a strong core. We need some resistance, and in my opinion, nothing is better for wrestlers than the ab wheel.
It’s not intentional, but the ab wheel is another exercise you can do at home. Ab wheels are inexpensive and highly valuable. I recommend everyone pick one up.
A strong core provides the foundation for balance, stability, and power during matches. It also allows you to transfer force from your lower body to your upper body more effectively, improving your ability to lift, push, and resist your opponent.
If the ab wheel gets too easy, you can throw on a weight vest or attach a band.
Alternate Options: Hanging Leg Raises or Weighted Sit Ups
Hard Conditioning: Hill Sprints
Last but not least, hard conditioning. While conditioning is not technically for strength, hard conditioning has a strength element. Besides, I couldn’t write an article about my favorite exercises for wrestlers without including some cardiovascular work—as anyone who has wrestled knows, strength and power offer little benefit if your tank is empty late in the third period. The legs feed the wolf.
We have many conditioning options, including long, slow distance (LSD) road work, lactate threshold training, Fartlek training, and various interval methods. They are all beneficial. However, if I had to narrow it down to only one thing (aside from the work you do on the mat), I would pick sprints. Sprints are my definition of hard conditioning. It’s an all-out effort.
Any type of sprint is excellent, but hill sprints are the best. For one, they are brutally hard. It takes some mental toughness to run hill sprints consistently. But, from a practical standpoint, hill sprints are easier on the joints and hamstrings than regular sprinting.
If you don’t have a hill nearby to sprint up, stadium steps, the exercise bike, or the prowler/sled work well.
Alternate Options: Exercise Bike Sprints, Prowler/Sled Sprints, Stair Sprints.
Two Sample Workouts
Let’s put this all together in two sample workouts. The sets and reps would change a bit depending on the time of the year, but this will give you a general idea of how to program the exercises. For more information about how to program a full year of wrestling workouts, check out this article: https://kylehuntfitness.com/wrestling-workouts-a-full-year-of-training/
Workout #1:
Single Leg Box Jumps: 3 sets x 3 reps
Front Squat: 5 sets x 3 reps
Rope Climb: 5 climbs
Handstand Pushups: 40 total reps in as few sets as possible
Ab Wheel: 3 sets x 10-20 reps
Workout #2:
Deadlift: 5 sets x 3 reps
Pull-ups: 50 total reps in as few sets as possible
Weighted Neck Extensions: 3 sets x 10-20 reps
Farmer Walk: 3 sets x ~20 yards
Hill Sprints: 8-10 sprints (rest 2-3 minutes between sprints)
Get the Complete Off-Season Wrestling Training 28-Week Program
Well, there you have it—my ten favorite strength exercises for wrestling. It’s not an exhaustive list—a well-constructed program should include more exercises than this, but if you do these ten exercises consistently, you will be in good shape.
If you want a complete, done-for-you program, I have it. Check out my 28-week off-season program at the link below.
