Crossfit & Wrestling

[David Heyer]

Coach and/or others,
I would like some advice for the upcoming season. For a wrestling coach, I assume you would advise having the wrestlers follow the WOD during wrestling season?
If so, do you perform it after practice, before practice, or at a different time during the day? I would think that it should be done after practice, or at a different time altogether.
Is the 5/2 schedule more appropriate since that is usually the practice schedule, or should the 3/1 schedule continue to be utilized? If the 3/1 schedule is utilized, is active recovery (easy sports, yoga, etc.) the prefered method of recovery after practice for those days?
Thank you for the advice,
Dave

[Roger Harrell]

I'm not a wrestler, but I've never been a proponant for pre-training conditioning. Sometimes some basic warm up conditioning, or the occasional hard pre-training conditiong to learn how to handle competing under major fatigue, but in general I feel it reduces performance and increases risk of injury. If you have the oportunity for a separate session in the day, that's great. Then you can go harder during the training session, and recover a bit and go hard during WOD (though the possibility of overtraining is increased, just be aware).

[Robert Wolf]

I second what Roger said. To avoid overtraining make sure to have your athletes start easy and gradually build intensity (keep in mind that in the beginning simply finishing a WOD under ANY conditions is going to be demanding).

A week prior to meets really taper the WOD using it as an active recovery. The conditioning base should already be well established and mat time will prevent any detraining.

Coach is developing quite a number of team oriented WO's. Perhaps approaching these as a team will help address the 5/2-3/1 question.

Keep us posted on your progress!
Robb

I have trained olympic and collegiate wrestlers, at Arizona State University, in strength and conditioning. Wrestlers and their coaches are known to overtrain. I am assuming you are a high school coach. You need to be careful with using the WOD, as a be all strength and conditioning program. The workout you use depends on your wrestling competition schedule.

[David Heyer]

Kenneth,
What type of strength/conditioning would you recommend for the high school wrestling coach to give athletes?
I have been involved in wrestling for many years, and I feel crossfit is a well-rounded approach. It seems that most other programs that I have seen push more bodybuilding type exercises. What is a more effective approach?

Thanks,
Dave

David,
Please, give me a general idea of how many days your wrestlers train and compete, per week. How many hours a day do your wrestlers wrestle?

The WOD is a good general program; however, you need to be specific for wrestling.

Always, I am willing to help the youth of this country.
I may not get back to you, immediately. I will reply.
My schedule is busy training collegiate athletes

[Coach]

David,

Your instincts are spot-on! I'd have them do the WOD after their wrestling workouts. I'd also keep the WOD days away from any tournament. You'll have to learn to modulate the intensity of the WOD based on the rigors of the wrestling workouts and the energies of your athletes.

Kenneth,

While we've admittedly limited experience with amateur/college/high-school programs we are very often the program of choice in the realm of the professional and sport combatant - most will tell you we've no peers in combat PT. In this world, where lives and livliehoods depend on fitness, we are not taking very many second places, and I'm going to venture to guess that your "collegiate athletes" would similarly benefit from CrossFit.


Sincerely,

Coach Glassman

Coach Glassman,
When I was at Arizona State University, one of the strength and conditioning assistants was a USAjudo strength and conditioning coach, at the Olympic Center, in Colorado Springs.
Also, I am a avid martial artist. I am a military reservist who was in a special operations unit.
Coach Glassman, you have some some great points; however, I prefer to you use a periodization method for athletes.

By the way, I studied judo and greco roman wrestling with a National Yugoslovian Coach.
Different strokes for different folks!
No disrespect to anyone

[Robert Wolf]

Kenneth-

The periodized conjugate method approach is hugely succsessful...there is no doubt it works. The ascertation of Crossfit is that training in a mixed modality situation works better if ones goal is fitness in combat.

The cutting edge of periodization theory is headed towards fractals in an effort to optimize stimulus and recovery. This is essentially what Crossfit does with the addition of mixed modality training.

If you have the opportunity, give the WOD a try for a month and let us know how things go
Robb

Coach Glassman and Mr. Wolf,
I do not want to offend anyone. I believe Crossfit's WOD is a great program for military personnel and the general public, who do not have the benefit of exercise science and physiology knowledge. Also, Crossfit is great, in the abscence of a strength and conditioning coach, especially for 'Military PT Studs', who believe they are physically combat ready because they can max a military PT test.
As for me trying the WOD, I am avid olympic weightlifter and martial artist, who does a small amount of agility drills and anaroebic conditioning. Actually, I do more olympic weightlifting, than martial arts. I have no doubt in the benefits of the WOD; however, the WOD would hinder me in my personal olympic weightlifting goals.

Kenneth