Controlling and dominating the hand fight in wrestling is a sure-fire way to wear your opponent out and break him mentally so using specific wrestling exercises in your program to help you accomplish this is of the utmost importance.
Controlling the hand fight helps maintain good position to prevent your opponent from shooting and also allows you to open up attacks of your own.
When choosing exercises to put into a training for wrestling plan, you must first identify what’s going on from a muscular standpoint in the hand fight.
First and foremost, having a strong grip will greatly improve your chances of dominating in this situation, so making sure this is a key focus of the exercise is very important.
While I have used more isolation-type grip exercises in the past (and still do from time to time) such as grippers, plate pinches, various holds, etc., I’ve really been favoring more indirect and dynamic wrestling exercises like the two I’m going to detail soon.
I feel as though in a match you’re very rarely just looking to hold on, unless you’re in on a shot with short time left and you’re winning by a point. Instead, you’re looking to move your opponent by gripping on to his wrists, forearms, head, or shoulders and then pushing and/or pulling.
So because of that analysis I began favoring complex exercises that had a grip component to them instead of just simply holding on to an object.
In addition to the grip being a key element, there’s a lot of upper body strength needed to dig for under-hooks, apply pressure to your opponent’s head, and effectively use 2-on-1s to move and control your opponent.
So make sure the wrestling exercises you implement into your routine help to develop this as well. Or you could just be “lazy” like me and kill two birds with one stone…
Wrestling Exercises To Dominate The Hand Fight
Here are two quick pictures and a video of me performing a Curl Press with the Fat Gripz attachments. If you don’t have a pair of Fat Grips, you can purchase them at EliteFTS.com.
They are super versatile and will transform any standard sized handle or barbell into a much thicker version in no time. They’re easy to transport and I believe they should be in every wrestlers’ gym bag.
Here’s the starting position of the Curl Press- hands at your sides with DBs as the same way you’d start if you were going to perform a curl
Here’s the midway point after completing the curl. You can keep your hands facing one another and perform this as a hammer curl, or rotate your palms up so that they are facing your shoulders. Both variations of this wrestling exercise are good.
Here’s the top of the Curl Press.
As you can see, it’s simply two exercises rolled into one. I really like this exercise for wrestling because from a hand fighting perspective it works everything you’ll need to be successful and dominate the position- grip, biceps, and shoulders.
So regardless of whether you have a pair of Fat Gripz or not, I’d definitely start implementing a DB Curl Press into your wrestling exercise program immediately.
On another note, while I do think using strict technique on lifts is important, especially for big compound lifts like the bench, squat, explosive lifts, and others, for wrestling exercises that you may be using for high rep conditioning, I’m not too concerned if you use your hips a little to get the weight up.
Safety is important and injuring yourself in the weight room because you’re using improper technique is never something you should do, it’s also important to push yourself and on exercises like the Curl Press, you’re able to without much fear of suffering an injury.
Here’s a great video of the Iowa wrestling strength coach explaining his thoughts on lifting, technique, and how it all applies to wrestlers. This specific part starts at about 6 minutes in, but I’d watch the whole thing; believe me, it’s worth it.
Finally, one of the other wrestling exercises I like to use when looking to improve a wrestler’s hand fighting ability is the Gi Chinup.
Again, this is an exercise that challenges the grip, but requires lots of upper body pulling strength as well to perform it. Developing pulling strength when maximally engaging your hands is super functional for wrestling.
Think about it… When you have a body lock you’re gripping your hands tight together as you pull your opponents body to you. When you have a 2-on-1 you’re gripping your opponents arm and pulling it to you. When you’re digging for under-hooks you’re gripping and pulling your opponents shoulder.
Wrestling is a sport of pulling and in order to effectively pull your opponent to the position you want him, you better have a good grip on him, so choose wrestling exercises that simultaneously develop your grip and upper body pulling strength to get the most out of your training!
Here’s a quick video of me performing what, in my opinion, is one of the best wrestling exercises you could do- the Gi Chinup.
Wrestling Exercises For Hand Fighting Conclusion
So in a nutshell, the exercises you choose to work in to your wrestling training program to improve your hand fighting ability should develop and improve your grip, bicep, and shoulder strength.
Because hand fighting can be exhausting I have the wrestlers that I train perform exercises like the Fat Gripz DB Curl Press and the Gi Chinup for lower reps (usually around 6 give or take a couple reps) with heavier weight to build strength and higher reps (15-20 range or for time) with light DBs or bodyweight to help better conditioning the muscles for the 3rd period when they’re needed most.
Regardless of whether you’re dominating the hand fight against everyone you wrestle or not, I’d still look to work these into your plan this season.
Stay tuned for the next post in the Wrestling Exercises series where I’ll cover a couple exercises that will help you get in on shots quicker.
