Unconventional Strength Training for Wrestlers: Kettlebells, Sandbags and Rope

Wrestling does not happen on a barbell. It happens with a body fighting back, at a bad angle, while your grip is failing. So it makes sense that the training tools that carry over best are the awkward ones — bells, bags, ropes, anything that shifts when you move it.

That does not mean throw out the barbell. It means the bar builds the strength and the odd objects teach you to use it. Here is how to run both. For the year-round plan, read the wrestling strength and conditioning guide.

The Kettlebell Workout for Wrestlers

Start here, because this is the tool with the most carryover per minute. Two days a week, after practice.

Day 1 — Snap and Hold

Day 2 — Get Up and Carry

Movement teaching for all of these is in the kettlebell exercise guide for fighters and grapplers. Do not guess at the swing — read how to swing a kettlebell.

Sandbags

A sandbag has no handles worth trusting and the weight moves while you carry it. That is the whole reason to use one. Every rep is a fight to keep it where you want it, which is closer to a scramble than anything a bar can give you.

Build your own with a duffel and pea gravel in doubled contractor bags. A 60 to 100 pound bag is plenty for most high school and college wrestlers. Heavier is not the goal — control is.

Rope, Bar and Bodyweight

Two things wrestlers are almost never strong enough at: pulling and neck.

Pulling

• Rope climbs. Legs first, then no legs when you earn it. Nothing else builds grip and pulling strength together like a rope.
• Towel pull-ups. Throw a towel over the bar and hold the ends. Brutal on the hands, which is the point.
• Weighted pull-ups. Once you can do 12 clean, add weight instead of reps.

Neck

Not glamorous, not optional. Bridges, manual resistance with a partner, and neck harness work if you have one. Three short sessions a week, never to failure, always slow. A neck that holds posture is a neck that does not get put on the mat.

Where the Barbell Still Wins

If you only read the sections above you would think the bar is useless. It is not. It is the fastest way to add raw strength, and a stronger wrestler is a harder wrestler to move.

A Full Week, Put Together

Mistakes That Cost a Season

• Conditioning to punish instead of to build. Puking is not adaptation. If every session is a survival test you are just getting tired on schedule.
• Lifting heavy the day before a match. Nothing you gain on Friday helps Saturday.
• Skipping the weak side. Set reps by the weak arm.
• Cutting weight and adding volume at the same time. Pick one. Doing both is how wrestlers get injured and sick.
• Ignoring the neck until something hurts.

Common Questions

Are kettlebells better than barbells for wrestlers?

No. They are better at some jobs. Bars build raw strength, bells build grip, trunk and single-side strength plus conditioning. Use both if you can, bells alone if that is what you have.

How heavy should a wrestling sandbag be?

Sixty to a hundred pounds covers most wrestlers. You should be able to clean it to a shoulder with a real hip drive, not a slow grind.

Can I lift during the season?

Yes, twice a week and short. Half the volume you used in the off-season, and never the day before you compete.

How much neck work is enough?

Three sessions of five to ten minutes a week. Slow, controlled, never to failure.

What if I only have one kettlebell?

Run one-arm swings, goblet squats, one-arm presses, get-ups and suitcase carries. That covers most of the plan. Add a heavier bell before you add anything else.

Related Reading

• the kettlebell exercise guide for fighters and grapplers
• the kettlebell workout for MMA
• kettlebell training for BJJ
• how to swing a kettlebell
• the Turkish get-up for MMA and BJJ
• the five pillar kettlebell exercises for combat athletes
• kettlebell complexes for endurance