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Strength and Conditioning For Grappling Sports.4
Strength and Conditioning For Grappling Sports.4
Conditioning for
Grappling Sports
Nicholas A. Ratamess, PhD, CSCS*D, FNSCA
Department of Health and Exercise Science, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey
SUMMARY
THE GRAPPLING SPORTS OF
JUDO, JIU-JITSU, AND WRESTLING
REQUIRE THE ATHLETE TO BE IN
PEAK PHYSICAL SHAPE. SPECIFIC
TRAINING TARGETING ALL
HEALTH- AND SKILL-RELATED FITNESS CONDITIONING COMPONENTS IS NEEDED TO MAXIMIZE
SUCCESS IN GRAPPLING SPORTS.
STRENGTH AND CONDITION PROGRAMS FOR GRAPPLERS CONSIST OF WEIGHT, PLYOMETRIC,
AGILITY, FLEXIBILITY, SPEED, AND
AEROBIC TRAINING ALL PROPERLY PERIODIZED AND INTEGRATED WITH SPORT PRACTICE
TO MAXIMIZE PERFORMANCE AT
THE APPROPRIATE TIME.
INTRODUCTION
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Athletes in light-to-middle weight classes benefit from having high strengthto-mass ratios and low body fat,
whereas heavyweight athletes can
tolerate additional body fat because
making weight may not be a concern.
Elite world-class and Olympic judo
athletes typically have percent body fat
of ,10% (7), and percent body fat
tends to be lower in higher- versus
lower-ranked athletes (4), and judo
athletes have higher total-body bone
mineral density compared with swimmers and distance runners (22). Mean
body fat ranges of 713.7% in men and
15.222% in women have been reported
(7). Wrestlers have mean body fat
percents of 313% during the in-season
and 816% during the off-season (3,12).
Percent fat rises on average per weight
class, with heavyweights showing percent fat ranges of 1526% (24).
Grapplers need high levels of dynamic [concentric (CON) and eccentric
(ECC)] and isometric strength and
endurance. Wrestlers and judo athletes
have sufficient levels of dynamic muscular strength, for example, absolute
strength is greater in heavier athletes,
whereas relative strength is greater in
smaller athletes (7,12,24). Wrestlers
have high levels of strength in neck
flexion, extension, lateral rotation (34),
and sport-specific (bear hug) movements (16). In comparison, wrestlers
have greater trunk flexion and extension strength (and larger rectus abdominis muscle size) but less oblique
and quadratus lumborum muscle size
than judo athletes of similar mass (13).
Studies have shown a mean 1 repetition maximum (1RM) bench press of
96160 kg and squat of 104185 kg in
male judo athletes (7). Successful wrestlers have greater isokinetic strength
than less-successful wrestlers (12). Isometric strength is needed for grabbing
and holding an opponent. Most often,
grip strength is assessed, and wrestlers
and judo athletes have high levels of
grip strength (e.g., 4283 kg) depending on weight class (7,12,24). Highintensity muscular endurance is needed
at high levels due to the intermittent
and intense nature of grappling, where
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WEIGHT TRAINING
INJURY SITES
The strength and conditioning program is critical to the grappler. Although sport-specific qualities, such as
technique, skill, strategic knowledge,
and the ability to react to, counter, and
apply movements, are critical to grappling performance, conditioning ultimately determines winners and losers.
Physical conditioning can account for
up to 45% of the variance observed
between successful and less successful
wrestlers (25). A recent study by
Garcia-Pallares et al. (8) comparing
amateur to elite wrestlers has shown
that elite wrestlers have greater
strength (725%), power (1430%),
jump height (817%), and grip strength
(619%) than amateur wrestlers. Thus,
each major health- and skill-related
fitness component must be adequately
trained for grapplers to attain peak
performance.
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Table 1
Weight training exercises for grapplers
Olympic-style/power lifts
Basic strength
Auxiliary exercises
Power clean
Back squat
Single-leg squat
Back extension
Power snatch
Front squat
DB rotation press
Hyperextension
Push press
Overhead squat
Hyperextension press
Jump squat
Lunge/side lunge
Single-leg deadlift
Reverse hyperextensions
High pull
Leg press
Overhead lunge
Shrugs
Crunches/sit-ups
Deadlift
Upright row
Leg curl
Pull-up
Bent-over row
Leg extension
Russian twist
Triceps extension/pushdown
Plank/side plank
Dips
DB fly
Arm curls
SB rollout
Shoulder press
Leg raise
Wrist roller
DB T-rotation
Tire flips
SB exchange
Inverted row
Quadruped
Cable rotations
Renegade row
KB swings
Towel chin-ups
4-way neck
Turkish get-up
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Table 2
Plyometric exercises
Lower body
Upper body/core
Ankle hops
MB chest pass
Squat jumps
Overhead MB throw
Tuck jumps
MB back throw
Overhead MB slams
Single-leg hops
MB side throw
Bounding
Plyo push-up
Box jumps
Depth push-up
Lateral push-offs
Table 3
Grappler circuits
Circuit 1
Circuit 2
Circuit 3
Step-ups 1 3 1 min
Pull-ups 1 3 15
KB swings 1 3 20
Bear crawls 1 3 20 yd
Shoulder roll/breakfall 1 3 20 yd
Side crawls 1 3 10 yd
Wheelbarrow drags 1 3 20 yd
Sled pulls 1 3 20 yd
Rope climbs 13
Keg carries 1 3 20 yd
SB circling 1 3 30 s
ISOM half-push-up 1 3 20 s
Spiderman push-ups 1 3 10
Duck walks 1 3 20 yd
Single-leg bridge 1 3 15 s
Army crawls 1 3 15 yd
ISOM lunge 1 3 20 s
SB exchange 1 3 15
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Nicholas A.
Ratamess is an
associate professor
at The College of
New Jersey.
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