Struggle in High School: Building a Strong Foundation
I grew up on a farm in the Midwest. I did a great deal of physical work over the years. I lifted and loaded thousands of bales of hay and straw. He was carrying buckets of corn and water. I was carrying bags of lime and feed. I dug holes for fence posts. I hit the metal fence posts on the ground. He was pushing wheelbarrows and swinging mallets from time to time. I carried stones and pieces of wood. I pushed brooms and pulled out bunk beds. I climbed an 80 foot silo from time to time. I walked all over our property. All of this activity helped me build a strong fitness foundation. I was never “out of shape.”
When you are in the process of designing your wrestling conditioning program, you need to keep the concept of general physical preparation (GPP) in mind. GPP provides complete basic conditioning in areas such as endurance, strength, speed, agility, coordination, and flexibility. GPP often involves the use of compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups. GPP can be weighted or unweighted. General physical preparation increases your ability to do more work. Therefore, the concept of work capacity is closely related to the CPE.
According to conditioning expert Matt Wiggins, using GPP will increase your work capacity. With greater work capacity, a greater volume of conditioning can be done. Having a greater work capacity is like having a bigger “gas tank”. If you have a great capacity for work, then you will not “tire” towards the end of a wrestling match.
A fighter will absolutely benefit from an improved work capacity. You will be prepared for intense work and will be able to recover more quickly. For example, if you are fighting three matches in one day in a tournament, work capacity and recovery are extremely important.
A fighter must be prepared to fight hard for six to seven minutes. Improving work capacity allows a fighter to train harder and more often. Remember to build a bigger “gas tank”.
Examples of weighted GPP:
- Drag sled
- Lifting sandbags
- Sledgehammer swinging
- Medicine ball throws
- Tire flipping
Examples of unweighted GPP:
- Jumping jacks
- the mountaineers
- Belching
- Lizards
- Pull ups
Athletes and hard work
Dan Gable spent summers in high school working for a construction company and lumberyard. He enjoyed unloading truckloads of cement and wood sacks. Raised concrete blocks at the construction site. He got up at five in the morning so he could run four miles to work.
Boxers used to saw wood and split it with an ax as part of their training. They also used to do construction work that involved lifting, digging, sawing, and hammering. Boxing legend Rocky Marciano did all of that and more. He used to stand in a well and throw stones out of it.
Another boxing legend, James J. Braddock, used to walk miles each day in search of work after his boxing career had stalled. Sometimes he worked on the docks unloading railway sleepers. Braddock was no stranger to hard manual labor. When he had the opportunity to box again, he became the heavyweight boxing world champion.
Finnish weightlifters are known for their skill in the deadlift. Most of them had a history of forced labor, such as lumberjacks, construction workers, farmers, or something similar. They carried, lifted and dragged for a living. Similarly, the legendary strongman Bill Kazmaier was an oil rigger and lumberjack in his youth.
What I’m implying here is that hard manual labor is basically a GPP exercise. As you can see, many great athletes have a history of hard manual labor. Does this mean that you have to work on a farm or on a construction site? No. Just find a good GPP program and work to develop your ability to work. You can lift sandbags instead of cement bags. You can train with a mallet instead of chopping wood with an ax. You can carry dumbbells instead of corn cubes. Improving your work capacity will allow you to train harder and more often. Spend some time researching GPP and work capacity.
Working on your GPP and your ability to work will help you build a strong foundation. As you enter your competitive season, you can start taking workouts designed more specifically for wrestling. Remember that wrestling is primarily an anaerobic (that is, oxygen) sport. The anaerobic system is what you should work mainly after the season starts. Your more specific training will simply involve wrestling. If you have done a sufficient amount of GPP and have developed your work capacity, the training to follow will be much more effective.