Grappling strength program

omgitsrick

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So here I have a question on a theoretical striking/mma in general routine. From what I've learned the best exercises for real functional strength are squats, deadlifts, cleans, and other such exercises. And while upperbody stuff is great, those are even more important in terms of generating power. Now I wanted to try my hand at competitive wrestling at school. It's obviously in weightclasses and I thought to myself what kind of lifting would help me most with this. So heres the question.

Could I do just mainly squats, deadlifts, cleans, and core work for lifting, and not really lift for upperbody. To me it seems that you can't NOT lift for your legs because they are so important (as is upperbody, don't get me wrong), but your upperbody benefits alot from just wrestling practice in general. This way I wouldn't gain any bulk on my upperbody and remain as low a weight as possible. This might be retarded, and I honestly don't know, I'm a novice to wrestling and I'm gonna ask the coach too, I just thought of this randomly. If anyone is an experienced wrestler here could they maybe give some insight to if this idea is good or not?

So basically it could be something like this:

Monday: Squats and Cleans, upperbody calisthenics (variations of pushups, pullups, clap pushups, burpees, etc)

Wednesday: Deadlifts and core work, upperbody calisthenics again

Friday: Dynamic day, lunges, plyometrics, etc etc.

Also we do running and a grueling practice everyday at wrestling so keep that in mind.

Also I DID post this in S&P as well so please dont move this saying it should be in the S&P, I posted it here as well to get the opinions of both sides of the spectrum. S&P are mainly pro-lifting regardless of sport/activity and I'm willing to bet the overwhelming majority will be pro upperbody lifting, whereas there are probably posters here who don't lift at all. I just want the input of both sides so to speak.
 
Check out the S&P forum. Also google Justin Chim Chim Garcia's "The Chim Chim Workout." Good luck with wrestling.
 
Check out the S&P forum. Also google Justin Chim Chim Garcia's "The Chim Chim Workout." Good luck with wrestling.

Already did, thought I included it in the post. Checking out the Chim Chim program as I type this.
 
Already did, thought I included it in the post. Checking out the Chim Chim program as I type this.

So you did, sorry didn't read the whole thing. Weight gain for the most part has to do with diet more so than weight lifting. You're young and probably still growing, eat well, lift, wrestle and try not to worry too much about your weight.
 
So you did, sorry didn't read the whole thing. Weight gain for the most part has to do with diet more so than weight lifting. You're young and probably still growing, eat well, lift, wrestle and try not to worry too much about your weight.

Yeah I just don't life all that much so gains would probably occur at first and then stop/slowdown. Thing is I'll be in lower weightclasses and here alot of guys don't even lift weights, so I'm thinking, "well they don't life at all so they can stay light, if I only lift squats/deadlifts/cleans I can minimize gains and I'll (hopefully) be better off than them."

Thats the whole point of it basically, still don't know if its a bad idea or not.
 
Most of the guys in the S&P forum aren't necessarily all about upperbody lifting, most will just tell you that if you're not doing deadlifts, squats, cleans, snatches, or standing over head presses that you're lifting wrong. Most of the guys there wisely know that developing good core, lowerback, glute, hip and hamstring strength is very important.
 
Most of the guys in the S&P forum aren't necessarily all about upperbody lifting, most will just tell you that if you're not doing deadlifts, squats, cleans, snatches, or standing over head presses that you're lifting wrong. Most of the guys there wisely know that developing good core, lowerback, glute, hip and hamstring strength is very important.

Of course, I never said they were all upperbody lifting. I just said since alot of them are more lifting oriented I'd probably have majority of the responses telling me I need to still lift upperbody, whereas here I'm hoping I'll get more diverse responses. Of course this doesn't mean I'm set on not lifting upperbody, this whole routine is all theoretical and I've no idea if it should be done or not.
 
OP, if I were you I'd just put together a good comprehensive workout plan. Focus more on your lower body and core more than your upper body if you'd like. A few great movements are Squats, Deads, Cleans, Rows, Overhead Press, Pullups and Bench. Possibly even in that order.
 
Like Chris said, doing OH Presses, Bench Presses, Pull/Chin ups, etc is a good way to build upper body strength, and there really isn't a reason to just focus on lower body.
 
If you were pressed for time, you could literally hit your entire body by just doing DLs, pull-ups and dips.
 
it all depends on how far along your body is in terms of weightlifting.

you've got most of the important exercises in, but also look into more olympic lifts. full cleans, split jerks, clean and jerks, and the almighty snatch (teehee).

once you've got those down, the next most important thing is to under stand reps and rep ranges.
 
Looks like a solid program, but keep in mind that's a LOT of work to be putting your body through, so be sure to eat a LOT and get plenty of sleep.
 
have you seen how GSP has been supersetting strength exercises with plyometrics? i bet that's fucking baller.

good call on the full-chain motions. don't deny little things though. don't be a meathead spending the entire hour at the bench, but don't deny isometrics either. if you can curl a decent amount, that's more crushing power for your rear nakie.

lastly, and this sounds gay, but you know the spread-eagle machine the chicks use at the gym? i go to town on that thing. when i close my guard, i CLOSE my guard, if you get what i mean.
 
Bench and curl.

my-partner-mcnutty-is-not-amused.jpg
 
Deadlifts, Squats, Over head press

All that you need for your power days. 2x a week


2x a week- Pull ups, Bent over Rows, Dips, Benchpress

Then for cosmetic ill do one set of curls, and one set of pushdowns. 1 x a week added in whenever on my other days.
 
Deadlifts, Squats, Over head press

All that you need for your power days. 2x a week


2x a week- Pull ups, Bent over Rows, Dips, Benchpress

Then for cosmetic ill do one set of curls, and one set of pushdowns. 1 x a week added in whenever on my other days.

He said he wasn't worried about aesthetics...
 
Not to hijack this thread, but I am unable to actually post a new thread for some reason, and this closely relates to the one i have been wanting to make :]


I'm sure this has been asked a few times, but I couldn't find an answer for me through search...

I am 165 or so pounds and am 6'0". Speed and flexibility are my two most valuable assets. I am not quite sure what kind of set/rep load I should be doing to help me get stronger. I know 10-12 gets into pure endurance, and i've read that 1-6 is generally strength and speed. When I used to lift before jiu jitsu, I was doing a lot of 8x3 lifts and that got me a lot larger (up to 180), but that might have been largely due to the caloric increase.

So what I am asking is this: What kind of load for my exercises should I do to get me stronger, but not hurt my muscle endurance?
 
have you seen how GSP has been supersetting strength exercises with plyometrics? i bet that's fucking baller.

good call on the full-chain motions. don't deny little things though. don't be a meathead spending the entire hour at the bench, but don't deny isometrics either. if you can curl a decent amount, that's more crushing power for your rear nakie.

lastly, and this sounds gay, but you know the spread-eagle machine the chicks use at the gym? i go to town on that thing. when i close my guard, i CLOSE my guard, if you get what i mean.[/QUOTE]

Bro that machine is off limits for guys, no matter how good it is for the close guard. :icon_lol:
 
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