Let me ask you a question you've probably thought about while watching a match: Why does a wrestler who looks strong and works hard still get out-muscled or gas out in a tough scramble?

They hit the gym, they're not afraid of hard work, but when it comes down to it, they can't seem to use that strength to control a high-level opponent. It's one of the most frustrating things for a wrestler and their parents to witness.

The answer usually isn't about lifting more weight or running more sprints. The answer is about plugging the "energy leaks."

Your Wrestler's Energy Tank

Imagine your athlete's body has a finite amount of energy for a match—let's call it a 10-gallon gas tank. Every single thing they do, from a takedown to just holding position, uses some of that fuel.

Now, an athlete with elite technique—what I call a "skilled mover"—is like a hyper-efficient engine. They can execute powerful moves using just a little bit of fuel.

But an athlete with poor technique is like an engine with a massive fuel leak. Every move they make, even the small ones, wastes a ton of energy. They're burning through their 10 gallons way too fast. That's why they look strong for two minutes and gassed for the next four. They're literally wasting their power.

The Wrestler's Paradox: The Battle Between Intensity & Technique

So, what determines if energy is used productively or just wasted? The skill level of their technique.

And here we run into a huge problem, a paradox that every wrestler faces:
To dominate, you have to perform with high intensity (or Power, which is simply how much work you do in a certain amount of time). But the two biggest enemies of good technique are speed and fatigue—the very byproducts of intensity!

The faster and more tired you get, the more your technique wants to break down. But you need good technique to work at the highest intensities without gassing out! This is the trap where most athletes get stuck. They try to "go harder," but their sloppy movements just make them more tired, not more effective.

The Solution: Building Masterful Movers in the Gym

So how do we fix this? We stop treating strength and conditioning like a chore and start treating it like a skill practice.

Good movement technique is built on a foundation of four key components: Coordination, Accuracy, Agility, and Balance. Without these, you can't truly express power.

This is exactly why my programs are built on a foundation of movements like the Olympic Lifts: the Clean, the Jerk, and the Snatch.

Why these specific lifts? Because they are the ultimate teachers of applying maximum force efficiently. There is no other way to move a heavy barbell from the floor to overhead quickly without mastering the skill of movement. They force an athlete to coordinate their entire body—from toes to fingertips—to work as one powerful, efficient unit.

They teach an athlete how to find the most optimal, powerful position for their body. They learn to create a perfect "bar path"—the most efficient route for the barbell to travel.

The Payoff: How a Better Clean Creates a Better Wrestler

Here's the connection that most people miss: Mastering the bar path of a lift directly transfers to mastering your ability to move another human being on the wrestling mat.

When your wrestler masters the skill of a Power Clean, they aren't just getting stronger. They've literally programmed their body's nervous system to:

• Generate explosive force from the ground up through their hips.
• Maintain a braced, strong core under a heavy load.
• Coordinate their entire body to move an object powerfully and efficiently.

Sound familiar? That's the exact same sequence needed to powerfully drive through an opponent for a double-leg takedown.

Productive force on the mat has two limitations: fatigue and technique. By becoming a skilled mover in the gym, we dramatically improve technique, which in turn reduces wasted energy and pushes back fatigue.

Your wrestler is not getting the most out of their S&C program until they become proficient in these universal movement skills. An athlete needs technique for power, and they need power for elite performance. It all starts with skill.

This is a core philosophy I teach. If you want the complete system that shows you how to build these skills, which lifts to prioritize, and how to structure a full training plan around this principle, it's all laid out in my manual.

My ​"The Complete Wrestler: The Off-Season Training Manual" provides the step-by-step blueprint to stop wasting energy and start building true, transferable power.
​
Coach Dane Whitted
Champion's Path
www.champions-path.com

I want to share a story with you. It’s one of those moments as a coach, and especially as a dad, that you never forget. It’s about my son, Andrew, at the State Championship finals. And it’s about a smile.

Andrew was in overtime. His opponent? A returning State Champ, a kid who was an absolute stud, multiple titles to his name, just seemed to smash everyone. Unbeatable, a lot of folks thought. The match was a grinder, back and forth, everything on the line.

And then, in the thick of that overtime pressure, Andrew did something I thought was a little weird at first. He smiled. Just a quick, small smile.

My heart was pounding, but when I saw that, a different kind of understanding hit me. He wasn't being cocky. He knew something.

A few seconds later, the other kid, probably feeling that pressure, tried a desperate arm spin. Andrew was ready. Solid as a rock, he countered it perfectly with a go-behind. Two points. Match over. Andrew’s first State Championship.

Later on, we talked about that smile. Andrew said he just knew he was going to win. He could feel the other kid breaking, mentally and physically. That smile wasn't just a reaction; it was a reflection of everything that had gone into getting him to that exact moment.

So, how does a wrestler get to that point? That point of 
It wasn’t luck. It wasn’t just a good day. It was the result of years of consistent, complete training, especially during those critical off-season months. It was the culmination of what I call the Champion's Path 4 Pillars:

1. SKILL (Beyond Just Moves): That go-behind wasn't a fluke. It was a fundamental skill drilled thousands of times, under pressure, when he was tired. His body just knew what to do because we didn't just practice moves; we perfected skilled movement until it was second nature.
2. STRENGTH (The Unseen Foundation): Andrew gave up nothing in that match. He held his ground, maintained his position, and had the raw power to execute his counter cleanly. That came from countless hours in our garage gym, not just lifting weights, but building mat-usable strength – the kind that lets you impose your will. Think heavy squats, powerful cleans, the ability to move another human being where you want them to go. This wasn't about beach muscles; it was about building an unbreakable frame.
3. CONDITIONING (The Unfair Advantage): Overtime is where the best conditioning shines. Andrew was still sharp, still moving, still able to execute. His opponent was visibly fading. Why? Because while most kids might do some running, we focused on building an engine that could go hard, recover, and go hard again, for the entire match and then some. This meant targeted conditioning sessions 5 days a week, right alongside his wrestling and strength work. He was simply the fresher, more prepared athlete when it mattered most.
4. MINDSET (The Ultimate Differentiator): This was the smile. It was the unshakeable belief that he had outworked, out-prepared, and could outlast his opponent. This isn't something you're just born with. It’s forged. It’s built through consistently pushing past perceived limits in training, through overcoming adversity in the gym, and knowing, deep down, that you’ve done everything possible to be ready. That quiet confidence is a weapon.

The "Secret" is No Secret at All: It's Consistent, Complete Work.
From the time my boys started, we implemented a complete program. Five days a week, every week, especially in that off-season "forge." Each day, they didn't just go to wrestling practice; they followed it up with dedicated strength and conditioning, tailored to make them better wrestlers. We implemented everything I lay out in my manuals.
While many kids do their club or school practice and head home, that extra, focused work on all four pillars was our difference-maker. It’s how they went from getting crushed to becoming champions.
That moment – Andrew's smile, the win – it wasn't just a victory on the mat. It was a victory for the system, for the dedication, for understanding that becoming a champion isn't about shortcuts. It's about building the complete athlete, from the ground up.
If you're wondering how to give your wrestler that kind of an edge, that kind of deep-seated confidence and physical preparedness, it starts with a plan that addresses everything.
Want to see the exact blueprint we used? My "The Complete Wrestler: The Off-Season Training Manual For Wrestlers Who Want To Dominate" lays out this entire system – the 4 Pillars, the Hierarchy of Movements, 3 full weeks of S&C workouts, and the performance benchmarks we aimed for.
It’s everything your wrestler needs to make their own "smile" moment a reality.

No matter what, remember that true development takes time and a smart, consistent approach. Keep pushing!

How to coach without overstepping?
What does it mean to coach? A John Wooden book I have is titled “You Haven’t Taught Until They Have Learned.” As a dad coach I have lost my patience many times because my sons did not use a move from their training while competing in a tournament and it resulted in a catastrophic loss.

Upon reviewing the film with them I would point out where their mistake was, and lose my cool. I would say harsh things like,”What’s the point in teaching you these things if you are not going to use them?” The problem with this tactic is the loss was my fault just as much or more than the boys’.

The deal we have is I will do the coaching and they bring the effort. As far as anyone could tell my boys did their part. They went hard in training. And they went hard in competition. Therefore I had to take a deep breath, detach my emotions from the situation, and then redirect the post match analysis at myself. Where did my training curriculum fail? What weaknesses in my boys wrestling game did I create? And now how am I going to fix them?

It is my responsibility to make sure my boys have learned. It is not enough to show a skill to an athlete, as a coach you need to make sure they understand and master it. It’s a common mistake to underestimate the number of physical and verbal repetitions are needed to be able to execute a move in a tournament match. The wrestler may look proficient and execute the movement on a compliant partner in practice, but their is a huge gap when it comes to being able to hit it on someone who does not want you to do it in competition.


What is overstepping?
Expecting your wrestler to perform at level that his training has not prepared him for.


Wrestling is unforgiving. You will not find a short cut. You have to put in the time. There is a rule I use to remind myself of this concrete fact, it’s called  the “10,000 hour rule”. Malcolm Gladwell discovered some very solid math when doing research for his book Outliers. He discovered if you want to be the best in the world at what you do it is going to take about 10,000 hours of beating on your craft. Which on average takes 10 years to complete.

In my experience in the competitive sports world I agree with his finding. You may see some early success in wrestling, but if you are winning all of your matches, then you are in the wrong tournaments. There is always going to be somewhere at a higher level than you. Someone who has put in more time training, has more matches, and has put forth tremendous effort the entire way. Asking a wrestler with 3 years to defeat a 10 year wrestler who has won everything is unreasonable and overstepping. It won’t happen.

So, when your wrestler loses. Take a deep breath. Detach your emotions. Analyze the variables. Figure out which variable is highly correlated to the loss, AND you can do something about it in the near future. For example, if your wrestler lost due to technique, don’t get mad at the boy during the tournament. Just take notes, then go back to the training room and fix the technique in the coming weeks. If your wrestler lost because he is a second year wrestler, and his opponent is a ten year wrestler, then just be patient. Your boy will be the ten year wrestler some day.

What’s even more daunting is to learn overstepping in training. It really does take a trained mind and eye. A seasoned coach knows how much is enough, he knows what he could do when he use to train, he knows what the best in the world did with their training, and he knows what beginners can do in training before they break mentally and physically. You might say that’s impossible,  and you are right, even the seasoned coach doesn’t know exactly to the rep, minute, and pound, due to the fact that every individual can handle different quantities of work. BUT, his educated guess is a million times better than the rookie dad/coach. This is where the rookie dad/coach has to eat some humble pie, do a ton of research and training himself, and or let the veteran coach do his thing.

Alright, dads of wrestlers, here’s the bottom line: coaching our boys is a grind, just like the sport itself. It’s on us to make sure they’ve learned, not just been shown, and that means owning our part when they hit the mat and come up short. Losses sting, but they’re mirrors—showing us where our training fell apart, where we misjudged their readiness, or where we forgot that 10,000-hour rule. Take that deep breath, ditch the emotional baggage, and get back to work. Fix the technique, tweak the reps, and be patient—your boy’s ten-year mark is coming, and you’re the one paving the way.

Overstepping’s easy; coaching smart takes guts and time. If you want to dig deeper into this—how to train without breaking them, how to analyze without yelling—I’ve got an online seminar this Thursday night at 8pm eastern time. 
​
Find it here:
https://www.champions-path.com/store/p14/cp-seminar.html
Drop in, bring your questions, and let’s figure this dad-coach thing out together. See you there.


-Coach Dane Whitted

Mastering the push-up is essential for building upper body strength. Here are key insights to improve your technique:
​
Hand and Elbow Position

1. Hand Placement: Position hands near the chest, like in a bench press. Avoid shoulder-level placement to prevent shoulder injuries.
2. Elbow Angle: Elbows should tuck in at about a 45° angle. This optimizes pressure between the chest and triceps.

Execution Tips

• Body Alignment: Feet should be hip-width apart with a straight body posture.
• Movement Steps:
  • Lower your chest to the floor.
  • Push up and lock your elbows at the top.

Modifications for BeginnersIf you find it challenging:

• Start with a "peel" method by keeping your knees on the floor until you build strength.

Common Mistakes

Keep your butt down! A straight body alignment is vital for an effective push-up.

Wrestling matches are won and lost based on an athlete's ability to control their opponent, generate force, and maintain their performance over an extended period of time. If skills and conditioning are equal, the stronger wrestler will win. Strength training is a necessity for wrestlers who want to see their full potential and be as successful as possible in the sport.

Strength training is essential for improving an athlete's overall physical capacity including power, endurance, and speed. Wrestling requires athletes to use a wide range of movements and muscle groups, including pushing, pulling, twisting, bending, and jumping. To perform at their best, wrestlers need to develop functional strength that can be applied to these movements in a sport-specific context.

Strength training also helps to improve an athlete's injury resilience and longevity. Wrestling places a significant amount of stress on the body, and athletes who are not adequately prepared for this stress are at risk of developing injuries. Strength training helps to improve joint stability, muscle strength, and mobility, which can help to reduce the risk of injury and improve an athlete's ability to recover from injury.

Furthermore, strength training will help to improve an athlete's mental toughness and confidence. Wrestling is a mentally challenging sport that requires athletes to push themselves beyond their physical limits. Through strength training, athletes can develop the mental resilience necessary to overcome physical and mental barriers.

Table of Contents

• Top 5 Strength Moves for Wrestlers
• Periodization for Wrestling Strength
• Bodyweight Moves for Wrestling Power​

Top 5 Strength Moves for Wrestlers

The athlete’s body needs to be strong in these fundamental motor recruitment patterns: push, pull, squat, hip hinge. To build explosive power and strength, wrestlers should incorporate these top 5 exercises into their training regimen:

1. Squats - Develop lower body strength, hip drive, and core stability.
2. Deadlifts - Strengthen posterior chain muscles, grip strength, and core stability.
3. Bench Press - Build upper body pushing strength, pectoral and triceps development.
4. Pull-ups - Enhance upper body pulling strength and back muscle development.
5. Cleans and Snatches - Improve total body explosiveness and power output.
   Incorporating these movements into a wrestler’s training program can be as simple as choosing one of these movements per day, then executing 3-5 heavy sets after wrestling practice.

Incorporating these movements into a wrestler’s training program can be as simple as choosing one of these movements per day, then executing 3-5 heavy sets after wrestling practice.

Periodization for Wrestling Strength

Periodization involves structuring your training program into distinct phases, each with specific goals and adaptations. It is important to note these phases have more similarities than differences. Do not make the mistake of completely eliminating strength training during the competition phase, for example. Here's an example of a periodized plan for wrestlers:

1. General Preparation Phase - Focus on building a solid strength and power base and improving general conditioning.
2. Pre-Competition Phase - Sharpen technique and peak physical conditioning.
3. Competition Phase - Maintain strength and power while focusing on competition performance.
4. Transition Phase - Allow for recovery and restoration before beginning the next training cycle.

Bodyweight Moves for Wrestling Power

In addition to improving functional strength and neuromuscular coordination, bodyweight exercises also help wrestlers develop body control and awareness. Being able to control one's own body is essential before trying to control someone else's body in wrestling. Bodyweight exercises require athletes to move their own bodyweight through various planes of motion, which helps to improve proprioception and spatial awareness. This, in turn, helps wrestlers develop better body control and movement efficiency, which are critical for success in the sport.

Incorporate these bodyweight exercises into your training routine to build functional strength without the need for equipment:
​

1. Push-ups - Strengthen chest, triceps, and shoulders.
2. Pull-ups - Develop upper back and arm strength.
3. Bodyweight Squats - Improve leg and core strength.
4. Bodyweight Lunges - Improve leg strength for shooting.
5. Box Jumps- Increase explosive leg strength, balance and agility
6. Sit-Ups - Increase hip flexion strength, core stability, and endurance.
7. Burpees - Increase total body conditioning and explosiveness.

By incorporating these top strength moves, periodization techniques, bodyweight exercises, wrestlers can maximize their strength and performance while minimizing the risk of injury. Commit to a well-rounded training program and prioritize proper technique and recovery to ensure long-term success in the sport of wrestling.