W.W.P. Day 3, Superset 2

Pancakes with my brother after a fight…

In this post I’ll cover the second superset in Day 3. The workout below is part of a program that I wrote for a college wrestler I train via email.

Before you get started, I highly suggest you visit the original post: Wrestling Workout Program.

Here’s a quick look at the 3rd day of the program.

Day 3

Superset 1- DB Push Press (5×3) and Hanging Leg Raise (5×8)

Superset 2- Pin Pull (5×3) and Weighted Russian Twist (5×12)

Superset 3- DB Rack Lunge (3×6) and Ball Leg Curl (3×12)

Exercise Descriptions

The second superset on Day 3 begins with a Pin Pull. The Pin Pull is a Deadlift performed off pins in a Power Rack.

While I do sometimes adjust the pins based on the height of the wrestler, I typically stick to lower pins. Usually I set it up so the bar is about mid-shin in the starting position.

Here’s an old video of me explaining the Pin Pull.

The reason I chose to perform a Pin Pull here is quite simple- they are super effective for building this wrestler’s Deadlift.

Throughout the summer when he trained with me, all I had him do was rotate the Pin Pull for 3-5 reps and Deadlifting off the floor for 1-2 reps. Every 2-3 weeks I’d have him switch what he was doing and his Deadlift would go up every time.

At his peak he pulled a 510. At the time of writing, this is the heaviest Deadlift of any high school wrestler I’ve worked with.

The Pin Pull may not be the best exercise for you. However, it’s definitely worth a try. You never know what will or will not work for you until you try.

Training Principle:

That’s one of the key principles I try to follow- experiment with everything and only keep what works.

Bruce Lee said something along those lines and the former strength coach for the Cornell wrestling team, Tom Dilliplane, passed it on to me.

So keep that principle in mind. Always be open minded when it comes to your training program, or anything for that matter.

If it doesn’t work, who cares. You lost a couple weeks but learned something you can use for a much longer period of time.

Russian Twist

The other exercise in Superset 2 is the Russian Twist.

While the Russian Twist is not the most intense core exercise, it does train rotation. Rotation is a key to sit outs, cutting the corner on shots, and various throws.

I chose Russian Twists because heavier core work is programmed earlier in the week. In addition, I didn’t want to place a huge stress on his core during Pin Pulls.

Here’s a video of me performing a Russian Twist with a Medicine Ball. Feel free to use whatever you have available to provide resistance.

Work on increasing the speed of the exercise as your technique and balance improve.

Training your rotational speed this way will have a better carryover to the mat.

Related Posts:

Low Back Strength for Wrestlers

Low Back Strength for Wrestling

The Foundation For Core Training

Implications For Conditioning Programs