The Lift, The Result

In this post I’d like to detail 2 specific exercises for wrestlers. I’m also going to show you how it applies to an improved performance.

To get started, here’s a video of “The Barn Cat” performing a 276lb Log Clean.

Take special notice of the hip power he uses to blast this weight up while simultaneously extending his upper body to finish the lift smoothly.

Here’s the breakdown with the Log Clean. This and the Sandbag Loading are excerpts from my Strongman for Wrestling eBook which is part of all 3 of my program packages. Here’s a link to the Bronze package.

Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves, Low Back, Shoulders

Stabilizers: Core

Setup: Grab the handles, lift the log off the ground while maintaining a flat back and position it against your hips with your knees slightly bent and your hips driven back.

Execution: Drive your hips forward while simultaneously rolling the log up your chest. As the log reaches the top of your chest drive your elbows up toward the ceiling and stand in an upright position with the log resting on the top of your chest. Lower the log back to your hips and repeat for reps. Never bend at the back in an effort to complete a rep that you’re struggling with. This does nothing but put you at risk for serious injury.

Wrestler Usage: The log clean is great way to develop powerful triple extension. Because the weight you’ll be using is going to be considerably heavier than traditional jumps and medicine ball exercises, the speed at which you perform this lift will be a little slower. So the focus of this exercise will be more on strength-speed rather than speed-strength. As a result, the higher weights used for the log clean, it will help to train you to be explosive against large external resistances (ie it will help you be more explosive when looking to lift/throw an opponent).

Finally, here’s a nice snapshot of Kyle Dake doing his thing. Pay attention to the hip power used here. It’s very similar, don’t you think?

Sandbag Loading

Here’s a video of me performing a 150lb Sandbag Load onto a 45 inch box.

Pay close attention to the hips and the roll that they play in “popping” the sandbag up to the box.

Even though my upper body is active in directing the sandbag, the power that causes the external object to get to the box is coming from my hips.

Muscles Worked: Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads, Low Back, Lats, Biceps, Shoulders, Forearms/Grip

Stabilizers: Core

Setup: Load your sandbag up with the appropriate amount of weight. Position the bag in front of a Plyo Box, bench, or other machine/platform you may have available to you where you’re performing this exercise. Once you’re ready to go, stand over the bag, bend over while maintaining a flat back, and take a grip on the bag.

Execution: Pull the bag up to the top of your thighs by lifting it both with your legs and arms simultaneously. Once the bag gets to your thighs drive your hips forward and up while pulling the bag up with your arms (I like to quickly re-grip the bag before throwing my hips in). When the bag reaches a height above the platform you’re lifting it to, drive it forward onto the platform. After you’ve successfully loaded the Sandbag onto the platform, take it off and lower it back to the ground under control and repeat. You can also make a quick tweak to this exercise to perform a Rotational Loading. Instead of lifting it straight up while facing the platform, you’ll stand alongside the platform. Perform the same motion to get the bag up, only this time, when it’s reached a sufficient height for you to load it, rotate towards the platform and place it on the platform to successfully complete the exercise. Return the bag to the ground in the same manner and repeat for the desired number of reps before switching sides.

Wrestler Usage: Much like the Log Clean, the Loading exercise is effective at developing the same types of strength needed to help you dominate on the mat. The benefit of the Loading over Shouldering is that because you’re not lifting it to your shoulder, you should be able to handle more weight with this exercise.

Conclusion

So here’s what I need from you to make this work- if you find a video of a move on YouTube and want me to detail the best way(s) to develop the specific strength and/or power needed to successfully hit it, leave a link to it in a comment below.

If you can’t find a video but can describe the situation on the mat that you’re running into issues with then explain it in the comment box below and I’ll do my best to break it down.