Ben Durbin: In-Season Wrestling Strength & Conditioning

with Ben Durbin, Iowa State University Strength & Conditioning Coach;
Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA);
2018 US Open medal winner;
has finished on the podium at several world-level competitions, including runner-up finish at the 2018 Cerro Pelada (Havana, Cuba);
Earned a bronze medal at the Dave Schultz Memorial International (US Olympic Training Center);
was ranked as high as 8th in the USA Heavyweight Freestyle Division;
played collegiate football (defensive end, tackle) at both the University of Wyoming and at Iowa State University;

The ability to maintain a wrestler's strength levels during the season is vital to performing at their best, while staying injury-free during the stress of competition. As such, it is critically important for coaches to utilize strength-and-conditioning that enhances a wrestler's performance and/or skill acquisition on the mat. 

Combining his experience in wrestling, with his knowledge of the best-practices for athletic performance and strength science, Ben Durbin, Iowa State Wrestling's strength and conditioning coach has created a highly informative video to showcase an effective in-season strength program for wrestling coaches.  Durbin explains the details of his program and provides key coaching points while having a current wrestler demonstrate the exercises.

Benchmark Exercises For Measuring a Wrestler's Flexibility & Strength Threshold

Durbin kicks things off with a valuable discussion on traditional strength exercises and variations on those concepts as they apply to wrestling athletes, specifically. These traditional methods are designed to maximize a wrestler's strength levels and improve their performance on the mat.Next, Durbin offers a key list of exercises that are designed to assess a wrestler's flexibility and strength threshold during the season. These benchmarking exercises include, Dumbbell Bench Pulls (used to build and assess a wrestler's strength in pulling actions, such as pulling while executing a leg attack), the Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift (used to reduce the load on the body and assess a wrestler's max-output thresholds) and a Lunge Matrix (which mimics a variety of angles a wrestler experiences on the mat and assesses their range of motion and flexibility).

Upper-Body/Full-Body Plyometric Exercises

A primary element in any effective wrestling strength-and-conditioning program is utilizing exercises that mimic the aggressive and explosive actions a wrestler experiences on the mat. 

Durbin offers details and provides demonstrations for four specific full-body/upper-body plyometric exercises that build strength-levels and explosiveness, while also enhancing a wrestler's overall ability on the mat. 

Those four upper-body/full-body plyometric exercises, include: 1) Jumping Medicine-Ball Slams (which trains a wrestler to be aggressive and explosive with their snap downs), 2) Lateral Medicine-Ball Throws (that teaches wrestlers how to contract and relax muscles to maximize performance), Re-shot Penetration Step (a full-body exercise that simulates movement patterns that wrestlers use on the mat) and Barbell Over-Unders (which help develop forearm strength and grip endurance).

Lower-Body Plyometric Exercises

One of the biggest take-away benefits a wrestler reaps from spending in-season time in the weight room comes from performing max-velocity exercises that complement 'big-mover lifts,' such as squats, into their workouts. 

In this section of the video, Durbin highlights and demonstrates two terrific lower-body plyometric exercises that improve explosiveness and ensures a wrestler is getting the maximum benefit from spending valuable time in the weight room during the season.

The two lower-body plyometric exercises include: 1) Reverse-Lunge To Box-Jump (which develops a wrestler's body control and explosiveness), and 2) Knee-To-Feet Box-Jump (an explosive exercise that also increases a wrestler's agility and serves a great preventative measure for avoiding injuries).

This is a terrific video for wrestling coaches at all levels. Durbin provides real-world knowledge with demonstrations that allow wrestling coaches to implement a highly effective in-season wrestling strength-and-conditioning program. 

After watching this video, your confidence to properly train wrestlers while maximizing valuable in-season time will soar!

31 Minutes. 2022.