Wrestling Workouts For Hard Working Wrestlers

Dickie standing beside one of his clients, professional MMA fighter Tamdan "The Barn Cat' McCrory.

Who Is Dickie White?

Yep, that’s me above. I’m the short guy…ok very short guy (at least in comparison to “The Barn Cat” who’s 6’4″!) on the left doing my best to appear tough. I’m surprised you haven’t left the page yet with how intimidating I look!

The truth is I’m one of the most easy going guys you’ll ever meet, unless it comes to my beliefs on how to get ridiculously strong for wrestling through the use of specific wrestling workouts. You see, I’ve had the pleasure of wrestling for a long, long time and have also had the opportunity to strength train with some of the best wrestlers in the country.

We’re talking World Team Members, Division 1 National Champions, and All-Americans all the way from Pee-Wee to the U.S. Men’s Open level. All levels of wrestlers have used my wrestling workouts with great success.

But before I go off on a tangent about all of the good, bad, and ugly that I’ve encountered in regards to strength training for wrestling and wrestling workouts, let me introduce myself to you a little bit more by first sharing a more recent photo of myself…

Standing next to UFC Welterweight Champ, GSP, after a Fall 2010 workout at TriStar Gym!

Wrestling Workouts- The Very Beginning

For as long as I can remember, I have always been intrigued by one on one sports.  Like most kids, I tried them all, but for whatever reason, I just couldn’t get away from wrestling.

My first experience with it was in 4th grade.  I had been after my parents for a while to sign me up for the pee-wee team but they were reluctant at first.

My dad had wrestled in high school and college, and although I’ve never gotten the full story on his wrestling career, he has admitted to me that he got the “go out there and don’t get pinned” speech given to kids that basically fill the line up. So I can’t imagine that he had a really enjoyable and successful time during his career. If only he had access to the wrestling workouts I’ve used with guys like Troy Nickerson and J.P. O’Connor!

I remember really enjoying wrestling 3-4 months of the pee-wee season even though I kept managing to get out muscled by one of my practice partners, who just happened to be a girl (man did I wish I knew about proper wrestling workouts then!!)!  None the less I kept a good attitude and even went to a couple of tournaments.

I remember my first one at Vestal High School.  I took 4th place and earned myself a trophy for my efforts.  Let me tell you- I was on top of the world! But as great as a moment that was in my young life, that would be the last of my wrestling until 7th grade year.

Both years after I would ask my parents if I could do the pee-wee program again and both times they said things were too busy for them at the time.

I know we moved during that time to their “dream house” that they built during my 4th grade year and now that I’m out on my own and running my own house, I could imagine that they were pretty busy.

Either way, other than a few months during my 4th grade year in school, I never really became a wrestler until 7th grade when I joined the modified team.

My modified coach was awesome.  He worked us hard, taught us the fundamentals, and would yell like crazy when he was in your corner…everything you could want in a coach!

I remember ripping headlocks out of no where and putting kids on their backs and he’d be jumping and screaming at me to post and squeeze. He always made sure to pair me up with the toughest kids around too.

“No cheeseballs for you Rich,” is what he’d always tell me after we would have a team meeting the morning of the Saturday matches we’d go to (I was known as “Rich” until about 10th grade).

I had a great couple of years learning the basics and even joined a Freestyle and Greco club my 8th grade year.  That’s what officially began my transformation from someone who wrestled into a wrestler.  That year I went to a few tournaments, but nothing overwhelming.

However, I began to get an idea of who the good kids were around my area and could see their work ethic in the practice room in the spring and summer when very few people were around.  I started to learn quickly that if I were to be as successful as I dreamed of being, it would take a lot of hard work and dedication and so that’s what I did.

Wrestling Workouts- The Next Phase

That fall I didn’t go out for football (let’s face it, I was 105 lbs of slow, weak athlete).  Instead I prepared for the season by running.  After a somewhat productive 9th grade year, I took the final plunge to becoming a full time wrestler.

I started practicing 4-5 nights a week during the Freestyle/Greco season and I hit up every tournament that my team was going to.  I ended up qualifying for Fargo that year at both Cadet 103.5 in Greco and Junior 98 in Freestyle.

I remember everything about that first trip to Fargo. The training camp for Team New York held right in my back yard.

Having to walk up that damn hill twice a day, everyday to get to Johnson City High School to practice.

Having to control myself at dinner at Ponderosa every night (that wasn’t much fun as you all know!).

Getting up a 3:30am to begin our trek to Nationals.

The wonderful smell of cow shit in Fargo when you first get off the plane.

The first time I stepped foot in the FargoDome.

Running in 90+ degree temperatures to make weight.

I remember all of it, especially this next moment…

After a disappointing end to the week of wrestling, one of my national team coaches came up to me and asked me how I felt.  I said that I was alright; disappointed, but alright.

He asked if I thought I could wrestle another match and I responded that of course I could, but wondering why he was asking me such a question knowing I was out of the tournament.  He said that was good to hear and then told me that I had just enough points and that I was going to be an All-American!

I almost lost my mind with excitement and immediately ran into the dorms to call my parents!  The next day in the 7th place match I built up a 4 point lead against the kid in the first period (back when it was 2 3-minute periods) who won the Greco National Championship earlier that week.

At the start of the second period I hesitated on a duck under and got head locked and pinned.  Not the way I wanted to finish up, but then again, as a 9th grader wrestling Juniors and thinking he was out of the tournament only to find out I had enough points, I was happy to be standing on the podium as one of only 2 All-Americans from New York that year.

Wrestling Workouts- The True Beginning

After Fargo is when I really started weight training for wrestling hard for the first time in my life. I remember the first wrestling workouts in my coach’s basement (isn’t that where we all start?!?!) 3-4 times per week doing traditional body part splits like a bodybuilder would.

I didn’t have a clue back then, all I wanted to do was lift the heaviest amount I could on any given day and make myself as sore as possible.  That mentality continued throughout high school.

But every year I would run into the same trap- I would perform weight training for wrestling workouts like a madman from August until November only to stop once the season started so I could more effectively manage my weight.  How many have you have done the same??

Every year I’d come out big and strong.  Pound for pound one of the strongest and leanest kids in the area.  And every year by the time the important tournaments at the end of the year would roll around, I would be fatigued, malnourished, and weak.

I couldn’t figure it out.

I thought I needed to work harder, go to more tournaments, do more cardio during my lunch period and before school, etc.  Turns out, I didn’t need to work any harder, I needed to WORK SMARTER!!

I went on to Ithaca College, a Division 3 school in Central New York.  I wrestled there for 2 years and compiled some pretty good wins, including a number of victories over national qualifiers my Freshman year, and a win in a Freestyle match at the Northeast Regionals over a guy who was a Division 1 All-American earlier that year.

By the time I reached my 3rd year I started to really get involved with my major- Clinical Exercise Science.  I was performing heavy strength training for wrestling workouts regularly and reading more and more, on top of taking some very challenging classes.  My grades started to slip a my Sophomore year and I started off my Junior year with similar difficulties.

I had academic scholarships that I needed to maintain and my passion was starting to shift from wrestling to strength training and the corresponding academics.  After a long decision making process, I decided to hang up my shoes and start devoting more time to my future.

I can remember telling my parents at dinner one night that I decided to stop wrestling.  I had tears in my eyes and they were visibly upset seeing me as torn apart by it as I was.  However, they supported me and stood by my decision and it’s their continued support that’s helped me to get where I am today.

Since that decision I have devoted my full energies to learning as much as I can about strength and conditioning and how I can apply it to the wrestling workouts I give to clients I work with.

My grades sky rocketed back up, I got tons of unique opportunities to meet and work with some of the best minds in the field, and I started to write wrestling workout programs for some of the high school wrestlers I knew back from around my hometown of Binghamton.

In fact, over the summer of 2005 I had an unbelievable opportunity to work with J.P. O’Connor, a wrestler who had just won his 4th NYS Championship. I had been writing wrestling workouts programs for him for a few years and wanted to do some one-on-one work with him before he went off to Harvard in the Fall.

I didn’t have the best set up in the world (a rack, power bar, dumbbells, back extension, glute ham raise, tire, sled, and some weights all in my parents basement!) but it certainly got the job done. In fact, I can remember our first wrestling workout together.

J.P. was not even halfway done with the workout when he looked at me as he was breathing heavily and said, “Holy shit Dickie, I had no idea this is how I was supposed to lift.”

The weight room intensity he learned that Summer through the wrestling workouts in my parent’s basement helped him to continue to make gains upon gains eventually leading him to his ultimate achievement- an undefeated senior year and a 2010 Division 1 National Championship. And let me tell you, his legs looked like tree trunks walking down that stage to be interviewed after his big win.

Watch J.P. earn a dominating victory in the 2010 NCAA finals.

Anyway, upon graduation from Ithaca College, I had a unique opportunity to begin to construct a gym/personal training business.  After a few years of building my reputation by providing wrestling workouts to local wrestlers with some pretty drastic results (check out the Testimonials Page) I had the opportunity to open my own gym.

Ironworks Gym opened on March 30, 2009 where I’ve spent the last few years working with some of the top wrestlers and MMA fighters on their quests to get bullishly strong and powerful for their respective sports.

Education/Certifications/Client List:

Undergradate- B.S. Clinical Exercise Science, Ithaca College, 2006

Graduate- M.B.A., Binghamton University, 2009

Certifications- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS)

Client List- A number of wrestlers use my wrestling workouts including NCAA Division 1 National Champions Troy Nickerson, J.P. O’Connor and a 2x champion who cannot be named due to NCAA compliance rules, All-Americans at all levels, a Junior Greco-Roman World Championship place finisher, State Champions, and State Placefinishers. I also has a growing list of amateur and professional MMA fighters including Tamdan “The Barn Cat” McCrory.

Additionally, for a few years I was a competitive powerlifter. Here are a couple of my best competition lifts.

I also have a few videos up on Facebook, so Friend Me to check them out!

If you’re interested in downloading and getting started on a workout (there’s over 750 available here!) check out Wrestling Workouts.

If you’re interested in personalized wrestling workouts check out Wrestling Training Program.

If you’re interested in downloading 2 Free wrestling workouts go to Free Wrestling Training Program.