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Photo: Tire throwing is another way to develop power.
By Zach Even-Esh
Sometimes athletes and coaches get overly complicated with their training. They see someone on Instagram doing something fancy with bands or special equipment and then they try to implement this exercise with no context as to why someone else is doing this exercise.
The focus for 99 percent of athletes should be brilliance with the basics. I am covering three basic exercises that are excellent for developing power. Technique needs to be always the priority of these exercises.
Hang Power Clean
Zercher Squat
Medicine Ball Throwing
In my early years, we threw car tires like they did in the early 1980s for World’s Strongest Man Competition.
Reps here can be 10-20 reps, or you can perform sets for time. For example, throwing a medicine ball against a wall from various positions for two minutes non-stop: rotational throw x 10 reps each side, overhead throw x 10 reps, chest pass x 10 reps and then keep going until two minutes is over.
These three exercises can be put together into a training session, below is a sample you can perform after a thorough warm-up:
1A) Zercher Squat 2 x 5 reps warm-up, 3 x 3 Heavy;
1B) Broad Jump 5 x 3 reps;
2A) Hang Clean (50% of 1-Rep Max): 5 x 2 reps;
2B) Overhead Med Ball Throw to Wall 5 x 5;
2C) Rotational Med Ball Throw 5 x 5 / 5 each side;
3A) Rope Climb or Rope Pull-Ups 3 x MAX reps;
3B) Clapping Push-Ups 3 x 5 reps;
3C) Jump Rope 3 x 1 Minute;
As a finisher, you can add hill sprints or sprints outdoors with incomplete recoveries to push your conditioning and toughness. And a final note, the most important thing in wrestling is wrestling. You must work on your skills and compete in the off-season. Your lifestyle must be dialed in from what you eat, to your sleep habits to your social circles to your behavior off the mat. It all counts.
(Zach Even-Esh is the founder of The Underground Strength Gym in New Jersey, the author of The Encyclopedia of Underground Strength and serves as a consultant for individuals and programs seeking elite performance. Connect with Zach at https://ZachEven-Esh.com and https://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com)