The Wrestling Superstar's Training Journal

[Wrestling God]

Nice job taking first dude! Hope that knee feels better!

Way to not respond to my last post..

Sorry dude, I don't know how I managed to forget to reply!

I met Rulon at the 2003 Greco Worlds and we talked for a little while. Sometimes pictures don't convey how massive he is in real life - he's huge - 6' tall and (seems like) 6' wide!

Unlike a lot of guys who wrestled Karelin over the years, even if he ended up losing Rulon always fought to the end. A lot of guys just put themselves on their backs to avoid being thrown by Karelin and I personally consider this display as a mark of shame, especially when you are representing your country. Matt Ghafarri is another athlete who never allowed himself to be intimidated by Karelin. I'm probably biased but I can never imagine a wrestler representing the US to just give up like that. What do you guys think?

[Wrestling God]

Today was supposed to be leg day but I couldn't really squat with my injured knee. So instead I did some elastic strand work. Various isolation and compound movements and several explosive type lifting movements. I did this for a little over 20 minutes non stop. It doens't sound too bad but actually it's pretty intense.

Also trained legs with the Compex EMS. It actually made my quads as sore as hell! Used a 30 minute cycle.

Studied an instructional video tape for 30 minutes - John Smith's How Low Can you Go 2. The counters to when the guy goes over you after you hit a low single are particularly well explained. I much prefer Greco but it's important that I'm as strong in freestyle and folkstyle as I can be for when I'm coaching.

Also did 20 minutes of stretching. No set routine, I like to stretch whatever I feel needs it that particular day. I try to utilize PNF type stretching when I feel the need.

I feel that my diet today was good! Well maybe not good but an improvement!

Breakfast: Muesli and low fat milk, slice of wholegrain bread with peanut butter, banana, orange juice

Lunch: 2 pitas stuffed with assorted vegetables

Dinner: Pita, soy (meatless) steak, assorted vegetables

Tomorrow is bicep day so I should be able to lift.

My knee is starting to feel a little better! Maybe it's not another ACL injury! Hopefully if I go carefully then I should be able to start running again in the next few days.

I've decided to increase the amount of time I spend practicing wrestling at home. I'm going to schedule a full hour per day to shadow wrestling, drilling and technique repetition.

Bodyweight today is 211.2lbs/96kg @ 23.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

Today I trained arms in the weight room:

Tuesday – arms

Straight bar curls 2x4
Alt dumbbell curls 2x4
Straight bar cable curls 1x6

Lying tricep presses 2x4
Tricep cable press downs 2x6
Dumbell kick backs 1x6

Went really well. Took about 30 minutes. It felt so great so get back in the weight room. I'm not sure how but I think I've got stronger during my week off! Today I increased the poundages on every single lift I managed to get up to around 160lbs in the straight bar curls.

Did some stretching/flexibility work. I wasn't able to perform the hour of home wrestling practice like I'd planned because I had too much work to do! When I'm not kicking butt on the wrestling mat I have a full time highly demanding job.

Because of work my diet today was really bad:

Breakfast: Muesli and low fat milk, slice of wholegrain bread with peanut butter, banana, orange juice

Mid morning: Whey protein shake

Lunch: Missed! Was in a big hurry and didn't have time to grab anything.

Mid afternoon: McDonalds Big Mac & a regular hamburger

Dinner: 3 slices of wholegrain bread, half a can of baked beans

My knee is feeling a lot better. I'm pretty sure now that it's not too serious. Tomorrow I have wrestling practice so I have to remember to be real careful. I love wrestling so much that whenever I'm near a mat I can't stop myself from wrestling. But tomorrow I'll have to...I don't want to screw up my knee again.

Bodyweight today is 211.2lbs/96kg @ 23.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

Today I did the following in the weight room:

Wednesday – shoulders and traps

Straight bar military press 3x4
Dumbbell press 2x4
Dumbbell side laterals 2x6

Barbell shrugs 2x4
Upright rows 2x4

It went good and I managed to keep the intensity levels high.

Went to wrestling practice and coached the high crotch (or head outside single). Felt pain in my knee a couple of times but nothing too serious.

I also shadow wrestled at home for 30 mins or so. Tomorrow I'll try and make it a full hour. Actually there is 5 weeks now to go until the nationals so I've attached a copy of my additional training in case anyone is interested. Now I guarantee that shadow wrestling is HIGHLY effective providing that you really focus, picture your opponent and place yourself in the situation. You can get an awesome workout like this even when you don't have anyone to train with. It's the same for drilling moves you really have to focus for it to be effective.

Also did some flexibility work, various upper and lower body static and dynamic stretches.

My diet wasn't great today but not too bad either:

Breakfast: Donut, banana, orange juice

Mid morning: Whey protein shake

Lunch: Soy (meatless) steak, 6" of french bagette, lettuce

Dinner: Wholemeal pasta with pesto sauce

Bodyweight today is 211.2lbs/96kg @ 23.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

Trained back today in the weight room:

Thursday – back

Cable pull downs 3x4
Bent over barbell rows 2x4
Bent over dumbbell rows 2x4
Good mornings 2x4

I lifted early this morning and it went good despite having to really force myself to get out of a nice warm bed!

When I was finished in the weight room I drilled some moves, followed by some shadow wrestling. Then I did some mental preparation exercises.

Also did some more drilling, shadow wrestling and mental preparation this evening, along with 20 mins of video study.

Lastly I worked on my injured knee for 30 mins or so with the Compex TENS. It feels like it's getting a lot better. But it still keeps clicking when I walk quickly or move suddently which is pretty unpleasant!

My diet today looked like this:

Breakfast: Muesli and low fat milk

Mid morning: Whey protein shake

Lunch: Soy (meatless) steak, plain basmati rice

Dinner: Wholemeal cous-cous, mixed vegetables

I feel that my diet is starting to be a little cleaner and I'm incorporating more different sources of protein.

Anyhoo I feel like my training is progressing well

Bodyweight is 209lbs/95kg @ 23.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

Today I trained chest in the weight room.

Friday – chest

Flat barbell bench press 3x4
Incline dumbbell bench press 3x4
Incline flyes 2x6

It was great, didn't take long and I managed to set a new PR in the bench press!

Also did 2 sessions (AM and PM) of move repetition and shadow wrestling.

Did some flexibility work in the evening, various upper and lower body stretches.

Used the Compex EMS on my quads to help retain muscle mass as much as possible (while I can't train legs).

My diet today was BAD:

Breakfast: Muesli and low fat milk

Mid morning: Whey protein shake

Lunch: Pita stuffed with vegetables

Dinner: 12" cheese pizza

I'll try and make nutritional improvements for tomorrow. I know that this entry is short but I'm as tired as hell and want to get to sleep!

Bodyweight is 209lbs/95kg @ 23.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

Because my diet was so bad today I've decided to plan out everything that I'm going to eat in advance for the entire week. I'm going to type everything out and upload it tomorrow.

Today I did the following:

Balance training (20 mins)

Flexibility work (20 mins)

Mental preparation (1 hr)

I was supposed to do the balance training tomorrow but because tomorrow is going to be fairly busy I decided to do it today.

I didn't do the elastic strand training today so I'll have to do that tomorrow.

Everything is coming along well. I feel good and ready to kick some ass at the National Championships.

My knee hurt like hell early this morning. I guess the cold weather isn't great for sore joints.

Bodyweight today is 211.2lbs/96kg @ 23.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

From a training point of view, today was a great day.

I drilled my moves and shadow wrestled for 20 minutes or so this morning.

This afternoon I did some plyometrics (explosive lifting) in the weight room:

Plyometric work

Medicine ball chest pass (against wall) (warmup)
Clap push up: 2 x 10
Explosive lifting (bench press, snatch, squat): 3 x 6 for each (40% of 1RM)

My knee managed to hold up during the squats, so tomorrow I'm going to go for a real gentle run and see if it's ok.

And when I was finished with that I trained with the Compex EMS (explosive). Did a 24 minute cycle.

Also did 30 minutes of video tape study - working the russian 2 on 1. Basic but good solid stuff.

I did 2 hrs of mental preparation this evening. I felt like I reached a new level in my match readiness.

My diet today was pretty good:

Breakfast: Oatmeal w/low fat milk, sliced banana and honey

Lunch: Tossed salad, fruit yoghurt

Mid afternoon: Whey protein shake with low fat milk

Dinner: Mixed salad

Supplements: Whey protein, Creatine, Amino acids, Multivitamin

I've prepared a chart detailing exactly what I'm going to eat next week for every single meal. I'd like to know what you guys think!

Bodyweight today is 211.2lbs/96kg @ 23.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

Another great training day today!

I went for a 1 mile cross country run before breakfast. There was snow everywhere and it was really nice. I put my knee brace on and only ran slowly and my knee was absolutely fine, no problems whatsoever.

So because my knee was ok during my run, I decided to train legs (using light weights) in the weight room:

Monday – legs

Squats 3x4
Leg extensions 2x4
Leg curls 2x4
Standing calf raise 2x6

It went great and my knee was great, no pain, clicking or pulling!

After the weight room I drilled some moves for 20 minutes or so, arm drags, 2 on 1s, etc...

This afternoon/evening I had wrestling practice. I worked on the 2 on 1 and par terre offense/defense. Only wrestled for 90 minutes or so, my training partners didn't have a lot of endurance today Once again my knee was good and remained solid.

When I got back from wrestling practice I worked on my mental preparation. I feel like I'm really making progress here. Probably worked on this for around 90 minutes.

Also did some light stretching in the evening.

I managed to keep to my diet plan perfectly, I ate exactly what I'd planned for today.

Bodyweight is 209lbs/95kg @ 23.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

My training was disrupted a little today because I had so many things to do, but I still managed to take care of the most important parts of my training.

Went for a 1 mile cross country run before breakfast. My knee was absolutely fine - no problems whatsoever

Trained arms in the weight room:

Tuesday – arms

Straight bar curls 2x4
Alt dumbbell curls 2x4
Straight bar cable curls 1x6

Lying tricep presses 2x4
Tricep cable press downs 2x6
Dumbell kick backs 1x6

This was great, once again I increased poundages and maintained great intensity.

I did some mental preparation work in the evening, maybe 30 minutes or so but that was about it for today. I'll make sure to utilize better time management tomorrow!

Concerning my diet, I managed to stick to my plan for the most part...although I ate half a candy bar this morning

Bodyweight is 209lbs/95kg @ 23.5% bf

[tackler]

hi ...
i have another question for you
i've seen a new technique for throwing in wrestling
i'll try to explain...
he lifts the opponent then he raises one leg,jumps with the other and lands back with the opponent
can you explain how to learn this technique please??

thank you

[Wrestling God]

hi ...
i have another question for you
i've seen a new technique for throwing in wrestling
i'll try to explain...
he lifts the opponent then he raises one leg,jumps with the other and lands back with the opponent
can you explain how to learn this technique please??

thank you

Hi there, how is the back arch going? I hope it's going well and you are throwing your freestyle buddies around

I have absolutely no idea what kind of throw you are explaining. Do you mean securing an underhook (near side), locking your leg around your opponents near leg, and then jumping your trail leg around and between your opponents leg before exploding into an arch?

As as general rule of thumb, jumping while trying to throw a opponent is a BAD idea! And it's even worse while trying to stand on one leg. If you've seen Gaber or somebody performing the move you describe, send me a picture so I can see what's going on.

[Wrestling God]

I don't know why but my training today felt like torture, my muscles felt stiff, aching and exhausted. Anyhoo, my day went like this:

1 mile cross country run before breakfast

Trained shoulders in the weight room:

Wednesday – shoulders and traps

Straight bar military press 3x4
Dumbbell press 2x4
Dumbbell side laterals 2x6

Barbell shrugs 2x4
Upright rows 2x4

I increased poundages in the military press, shrugs and rows. I kept the intensity high, but it was as tough as hell.

Wrestling practice this afternoon was pretty good. Worked mostly on greco but wrestled a couple of fun freestyle matches just for fun. But when I finished my arms were so sore and aching it was hard to drive home

Also did some stretching (15 mins) and mental preparation (1hr) this evening.

I stuck pretty much to my planned diet routine today.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow - I'm working on anaerobic conditioning at the track.

Bodyweight is 209lbs/95kg @ 23.5% bf

[tackler]

Hi there, how is the back arch going? I hope it's going well and you are throwing your freestyle buddies around

I have absolutely no idea what kind of throw you are explaining. Do you mean securing an underhook (near side), locking your leg around your opponents near leg, and then jumping your trail leg around and between your opponents leg before exploding into an arch?

As as general rule of thumb, jumping while trying to throw a opponent is a BAD idea! And it's even worse while trying to stand on one leg. If you've seen Gaber or somebody performing the move you describe, send me a picture so I can see what's going on.

hehe!....i'm practicing it!

i've seen this technique in some darryl christian videos and from kevin randleman they jump with a leg raise the other (?)

i'm trying a move that i think it's great it's the farside metzger:can you give me hints about this move?it seems they jump throwing the opponent while raising his leg ....

thank you

[Wrestling God]

hehe!....i'm practicing it!

i've seen this technique in some darryl christian videos and from kevin randleman they jump with a leg raise the other (?)

i'm trying a move that i think it's great it's the farside metzger:can you give me hints about this move?it seems they jump throwing the opponent while raising his leg ....

thank you

The farside metzger is pretty simple. To throw the guy to your left side, you simply reach behind your opponent's head, grasp the side of their neck and pull to the side and down. It's important to crank him over nice and far otherwise he'll be able to pancake you over when you reach for his leg. Now with your right arm, reach and grasp your opponents left thigh. Pull down HARD on his head while lifting his leg and twist him over backwards and to the side.

You don't jump during the move! You are lifting the leg while pressing the head and turning and basically dumping him to the mat.

Personally though I find that it's not a great move. You'll be more effective as a wrestler by getting good at the basics (single leg, double leg, hi crotch, hip toss, etc...).

[Wrestling God]

When I got up this morning my entire body felt tired and weak, so I decided to make today a rest day.

Did some mental preparation in the evening for about an hour.

My diet followed 'loosely' my nutrition plan, I kind of slacked a little for dinner

Bodyweight today is 211.2lbs/96kg @ 23.5% bf

[tackler]

The farside metzger is pretty simple. To throw the guy to your left side, you simply reach behind your opponent's head, grasp the side of their neck and pull to the side and down. It's important to crank him over nice and far otherwise he'll be able to pancake you over when you reach for his leg. Now with your right arm, reach and grasp your opponents left thigh. Pull down HARD on his head while lifting his leg and twist him over backwards and to the side.

You don't jump during the move! You are lifting the leg while pressing the head and turning and basically dumping him to the mat.

Personally though I find that it's not a great move. You'll be more effective as a wrestler by getting good at the basics (single leg, double leg, hi crotch, hip toss, etc...).

ok i'll practice it
what about that strange technique?

[Wrestling God]

As I write this I'm at my office...I have so much work to do that I won't be able to get to practice tonight

This morning I went for a 1 mile cross country run before breakfast, it was great although I had some stiffness in my legs. I guess that this might have something to do with not stretching yesterday...

Then I trained my chest in the weight room:

Friday – chest

Flat barbell bench press 3x4
Incline dumbbell bench press 3x4
Incline flyes 2x6

This was great and I managed to increase poundages. It seems like every session I can increase my lifts by 2/3 lbs

I managed to stick to my diet routine today.

When I get home I'm going to do the following:

Move repetition/shadow wrestling
Video tape study
Stretching
Mental preparation

Not sure what my bodyweight is as I don't have any scales here!

[Wrestling God]

ok i'll practice it
what about that strange technique?

Can't tell you exactly without seeing it, but I'm guessing that they are lifting the opponents leg off the ground (by raising their leg) to destabilize them, which makes it easier to throw. I'm having difficulty picturing how jumping to throw could be a good idea. Try raising one of your opponents legs before you throw and let me know how it works.

[Wrestling God]

Missed my journal entry yesterday!

Today was an OK training day. Performed some explosive lifting:

Plyometric work

Medicine ball chest pass (against wall) (warmup)
Clap push up: 2 x 10
Explosive lifting (bench press, snatch, squat): 3 x 6 for each (40% of 1RM)

When that was done I did 20 minutes of balance training - various static and dynamic drills and some work with the balance board.

Also did 20 minutes of various upper and lower body stretches.

Did 30 minutes of mental preparation this evening. My volition is getting stronger

I stuck to my diet routine today and didn't eat any crap

Bodyweight is 209lbs/95kg @ 22.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

This morning I trained legs in the weight room:

Monday – legs

Squats 3x4
Leg extensions 2x4
Leg curls 2x4
Standing calf raise 2x6

For some reason today I had absolutely no energy and wasn't able to get any intensity into my lifts. Took about 30 minutes in total.

This evening I trained my quads with the Compex EMS. Did a 30 minute strength cycle.

Also did some flexibility work, various upper and lower body stretches.

I had a lot of work to do today and my training suffered. But I had a chat with my family, and they reminded me that I need to focus on the upcoming nationals as it's particularly important for my future in wrestling.

I've been way too slack with my training these past couple of weeks. Start tomorrow, I'm going to train seriously and forget about work for a little while.

From a nutritional point of view today, I stuck to my diet plan.

Bodyweight is 209lbs/95kg @ 22.5% bf

[Wrestling God]

Today I went on a 1 mile cross county run before breakfast. It was very cold so I wore a wool balaclava (sp?), which really affected my breathing. But apart from that it was great, finished with a 200 yd all out sprint.

After breakfast I trained arms in the weight room:

Tuesday – arms

Straight bar curls 2x4
Alt dumbbell curls 2x4
Straight bar cable curls 1x6

Lying tricep presses 2x4
Tricep cable press downs 2x6
Dumbell kick backs 1x6

This was fun, and I managed to maintain good intensity. Somehow though I managed to pull a muscle in my neck while performing the cable press downs. It's kind of a neck hernia, I have a couple of lumps where the muscle is pressing out. It sounds really gross when I say it like that I had the same thing a year or so ago and had it checked out by the doctor and they insisted that it's nothing serious.

After lifting in the weight room I studied some videotape for 20 minutes or so, mainly footage from international events (freestyle).

This evening I drilled my moves for 20 minutes, and did some flexibility work for 20 minutes. Also studied some wrestling books (Greco) for a little while.

My diet today was mostly good, until dinner where I slacked and had some pizza

Bodyweight is 209lbs/95kg @ 22.5% bf

Overall today was a good training day. All the wrestling clubs are closed this week because of school holidays so I can't get any mat time in

[tackler]

which greco's books did you read?

[Wrestling God]

which greco's books did you read?

This one is one of the best - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg.../-/0873224086/

Aside from that I have some old Russian books that are pretty good, even though I can only look at the pictures

[Wrestling God]

Awesome training today!

Went for a 1 mile cross country run after I woke up. Ran at a good pace and felt strong.

After that I had breakfast and trained shoulders in the weight room:

Wednesday – shoulders and traps

Straight bar military press 3x4
Dumbbell press 2x4
Dumbbell side laterals 2x6

Barbell shrugs 2x4
Upright rows 2x4

It went good, kept the intensity high and increased poundages. Took about 30 minutes in total.

After that I drilled some moves and shadow wrestled for a little while. Then I did some balance training and flexibility work. Felt like my balance could have been better (translation: stumbled all over the place)

Also did some technical video study and mental preparation this evening.

When my training was over I had a nice oil massage. Personally I feel that this helps recovery, not only physically but also helps you feel better mentally.

My diet today was pretty good. I respected my diet routine but just ate BIG portions! Had a big appetite

Tomorrow I'm going to a special hospital for athletes where they are going to run some tests on me. I've made a big list of all my nagging injuries, hopefully I'll be able to get some advice.

Bodyweight is 215.6lbs/98kg @ 23% bf. I'm getting heavy

[Wrestling God]

Just curious how many people are reading my journal...everyone out there who reads this I'd like to hear what you think of my training. Any comments or suggestions? Or even just a hello

[tackler]

This one is one of the best - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg.../-/0873224086/

Aside from that I have some old Russian books that are pretty good, even though I can only look at the pictures

ah from amazon...
i can't find wrestling 's books in libraries

[Wrestling God]

ah from amazon...
i can't find wrestling 's books in libraries

Yeah, me neither...I order most of my books online. Sometimes you can find interesting wrestling books in book stores selling used books....

[juggler02]

Some crazy stuff

[Wrestling God]

I woke up this morning with my legs stiff and aching, so I didn't run. Instead I had breakfast and lifted weights:

Thursday – back

Cable pull downs 3x4
Bent over barbell rows 2x4
Bent over dumbbell rows 2x4
Good mornings 2x4

This went good. Felt strong

After that I did some stretching and mental preparation, each for about 30 minutes.

And then I went to the hospital...

Turns out I have 2 hernias (stomach and neck) and a damaged ligament in my right wrist. My knee problem was due to a displaced patella. I'm going to see a physiotherapist to help make sure everything is ok for the nationals.

Diet today was good, but once again big portions.

Anyone here have experience with body fat scales? Mine seem to be crazy. I don't see how my bf reading can fluctuate so much from day to day. I think I should start using calipers...

Bodyweight is 213.4lbs/97kg @ 24% bf.