I'm 15 and im in varsity wrestling in my high school, and the season has almost started. Obviously in wrestling u have to cut down on weight as much as possible while still maintaining max muscle mass. Would HIIT be a safe and effective way for conditioning/ cutting down on body fat for wrestling?
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HIIT Safe for Wrestling?
- Thread starter Zam
- Start date
dats not our coach's mentality... his logic is that we should lose as much weight as possible but still maintain as much muscle as possible... that way, if im normally 155lb but condition myself to be 145 lb and still maintain my maximum muscle, ill be stronger and have the upper hand vs someone who is naturally 145 lb and hasn't conditioned himself to lose as much as i have.. i know it doesn't make much sense, but ud be amazed at how much of a difference it makes on the mat... basically in wrestling the lower weight class you're in, the more of an upper hand u will have.
ugh...cutting weight. I wrestled for four years in high school and cutting weight is by far my least favorite thing EVER. While proper diet plays a big part, HIIT can help you cut weight AND improve your performance on the mat.
My assistant coach was a former olympic track star and he was a strong advocate of HIIT. Not only does it burn fat and maintain muscle mass, but it also ups your V02 max, or more simply put, stamina. As I'm sure you've learned by now, wrestling is about short, explosive bursts more so than a long steady expenditure of energy. The problem is, after taking a shot and trying to get a takedown, or trying an escape/reversal, you will be temporarily exhausted from exerting all that energy over a few seconds. HIIT will train your body to recover faster after those exertions so that you don't tire out as fast on the mat.
Steady state cardio (i.e. long distance jogging) is good for overall endurance, but HIIT is a great way to exercise for sports that require quick, explosive bursts over just a few seconds (i.e. football, soccer, pretty much any sport that requires a lot of sprinting). It is especially great for wrestling because of the short, but VERY intense periods (the looooongest two minutes you'll ever go through).
In my experience, stamina and endurance are MUCH more important in wrestling than overall strength. Strength can help you overpower someone, but that can easily be countered with proper technique and a "good motor." A wrestler who can stay on top of his game in the later part of the periods will be much more successful than one who is stronger.
Personally, I think you have chosen the most challenging sport that a high school student-athlete can participate in. It takes a special person to become a good wrestler and while this sounds a bit cliche, it takes a lot of heart and internal motivation to succeed. I hope this has helped and I hope you stick with it. You'll benefit from it for the rest of your life.
My assistant coach was a former olympic track star and he was a strong advocate of HIIT. Not only does it burn fat and maintain muscle mass, but it also ups your V02 max, or more simply put, stamina. As I'm sure you've learned by now, wrestling is about short, explosive bursts more so than a long steady expenditure of energy. The problem is, after taking a shot and trying to get a takedown, or trying an escape/reversal, you will be temporarily exhausted from exerting all that energy over a few seconds. HIIT will train your body to recover faster after those exertions so that you don't tire out as fast on the mat.
Steady state cardio (i.e. long distance jogging) is good for overall endurance, but HIIT is a great way to exercise for sports that require quick, explosive bursts over just a few seconds (i.e. football, soccer, pretty much any sport that requires a lot of sprinting). It is especially great for wrestling because of the short, but VERY intense periods (the looooongest two minutes you'll ever go through).
In my experience, stamina and endurance are MUCH more important in wrestling than overall strength. Strength can help you overpower someone, but that can easily be countered with proper technique and a "good motor." A wrestler who can stay on top of his game in the later part of the periods will be much more successful than one who is stronger.
Personally, I think you have chosen the most challenging sport that a high school student-athlete can participate in. It takes a special person to become a good wrestler and while this sounds a bit cliche, it takes a lot of heart and internal motivation to succeed. I hope this has helped and I hope you stick with it. You'll benefit from it for the rest of your life.