If you’re.a wrestler, and you want to be more dominant in the ring, you should look to put in more work in the weight room in order to build the power and strength you need to easily see off your opponent.

In a sport as physical as wrestling, being as strong as possible gives you a very definite advantage. While techniques are also crucial to a wrestler’s success, pure optimal strength is also important. When competing, wrestlers possess equal or similar techniques, and the stronger athlete will stand victorious at the end of the match.

This isn’t to say that a wrestler shouldn’t work on enhancing and refining technique. Rather, the opposite is true. Technique is an extremely important aspect to the success of a wrestler and is an area you should put work in on every day. But as a wrestler, you should also emphasize strength training, especial if you’ve overlooked or neglected it in the past

What Types of Exercises?

Now that we’ve talked about the role of strength training in wrestling, let’s look at the best types of exercise you should be doing, in particular for the chest. Not all exercises are created equally, and so you should spend your time on the right ones in order to achieve optimal gains. There are numerous exercises that are great for building up your chest if you’re a wrestler, such as the bench press and floor press. Below, however, we’re going to look at three exercises that, while are common in anaerobic exercise programs, are often overlooked in wrestling training. Here are three exercises you can perform to get your chest ready for the wrestling mat.

Push-Up

I probably don’t need to sell you on the idea of push-ups. You can perform a lot of these to add volume, which aids muscle growth. Here, you just need to get into a plank position, placing your hands below your shoulders, feet together, and back flat. You also need to drill your palms into the floor. Hold that position, and then lower your body until your chest is around one inch from the ground. Now, using your palms, take your body back up.

Dip

Dips are another great bodyweight exercise. While the push-up sees you get on all fours, you’re suspended when performing the dip, so you’re using your entire bodyweight. You’re also putting some emphasis on your triceps, which are involved in any pressing movement. Employing them as a team with your chest will help to strengthen your synergistic muscles in unison. Here, you’ll firmly grab the bar and get to the top of the dip position, while squeezing your shoulder blades and tightening your upper back. Slightly angle your torso forward and enable your elbows to bend as they tuck slightly inwards towards your torso. Then lower your body until your elbows are bent at around 90 degrees. Once you’re ready, press through the handles and take your body into the top of the dip position.

Svend Press

This move might look weaker than others on the list, but it will also likely burn the most. To avoid two plates falling on your toes, you need to continuously squeeze the weights together. That will activate your pecs. You’ll then further squeeze your chest together by extending your arms. The exercise (also known as the plate pinch) isn’t high-impact, and so is safer than heavy pressing. To start the exercise, take two five or 10-pound weight plates and use your hands to press them together between your hands. You should extend your arms outwards and in front. Actively pinch the plate together while ensuring that they don’t slip apart. Pull the two plates in the direction of your sternum while pulling your shoulder blades together and keeping your chest up. Since the plates have been pulled towards your sternum, flex your chest while pressing the weights outwards and ensure that your inner chest muscles are engaged, and that the plates remain pressed together.

When Should Your Train?

If you’re at beginner level, i.e. you’ve been training for no longer than a year, you should go for 12 sets per week. If you’re a novice, i.e. you’ve been training for 2-4 years, you can increase your workload to between 14 and 16 weekly sets. Finally, if you’re a more experienced trainer, i.e. you’ve been training for at least four years, you could try and do between 16 and 20 sets per week. As your chest is one of your upper body’s larger muscles, you can emphasize it more than your arms or shoulders.