T h e G u t C h e c k Wrestling Sled User’s manual

by Coach Dustin Myers, CSCS

Page 1 T h e G u t C h e c k Wrestling Sled user’s manual

By Dustin Myers, CSCS ALL ACTION PHOTOS BY Cory Piehowicz

© Copyright 2018 by Dustin Myers & Old School Gym LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Old School Gym 11091 National Rd Pataskala, OH 43062 www.oldschoolgym.com

Page 2 Who Is Coach Myers?...... 4 overview...... 5

Conditioning...... 7

Functional Strength...... 8

Prehab and Activation...... 8

Burst training...... 9

Exercise Library...... 10

Follow Me...... 16

Old School Gym...... 17

Max Effort Muscle...... 18

Smitty’s Corner Rugs...... 19

Page 3 WHO IS COACH MYERS? In addition to successful stints as a competitive power- lifter, bodybuilder and amateur boxer, Dustin wrestled in high school and was always drawn to training athletes in the worlds oldest and toughest sport. In 2012, Coach Myers accepted the position of Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Ohio Regional Training Center at Ohio State. Through the RTC, Coach Myers helped the Ohio State Wrestling team win its first NCAA Championship in school history, a pair of runner up NCAA finishes and 3 team Big10 titles. In addition to the Buckeyes, some of the athletes he has worked with thru the RTC include 2x NCAA Champ Tommy Rowlands, 3x World Team member Reece Humphrey, Olympic Champion Kyle Snyder, and top MMA prospect Lance Palmer. He has also worked extensively with UFC welterweight contender Matt Brown and former Ohio State football stars Chris “Beanie” Wells, Antonio Pittman, Maurice Clarett, and Dan “Boom” Herron. Coach Myers is also a founding partner of the supplement company Max Effort Muscle. He has appeared on the cover of Natural Muscle Magazine (June 2016) and is a regular content contributor to Flowrestling and the Muscle & Strength website.

Here’s what others have to say: “I highly recommend Coach Myers’ Strength and Conditioning plan. I have known him since coming to OSU and he has helped me and countless elite athletes reach their goals on the mat through improving their strength and endurance. If you are looking to take your wrestling to the next level this is the book you need.” - Logan Stieber, 2016 World Champion, 4 x NCAA Champion, 4 x Big10 Champion

“Training and lifting weights is in my blood. Growing up in “Coach Myers has found a good mix of toughness and science. He has created rural eastern Ohio, I watched every day as my Dad came a great system that allows wrestlers to make functional and sport specific home from his shift at the local steel mill and headed strength gains” -Tervel Dlagnev, 2 x Olympian, World Bronze Medalist out to our detached unheated garage to pump iron and hit the heavy bag. In the summertime he would teach “Whether I was cutting weight for 61kg or bulking up for 65kg, Coach football players from the local high school how to lift Myers had my strength at an all time high! I’ve never felt stronger and more weights in our gym. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait until conditioned on the mat.” I was old enough to get started. I remember him showing -Reece Humphrey, 3 x US Open Champion, 3 x USA Wrestling World Team Member me the ropes at age 12 and I was instantly hooked. Today my gym and training style is patterned after that same “Coach Myers is one of the hardest working people I know and has helped blue collar work ethic that I learned in Dad’s garage. myself and countless others achieve goals through a solid structure of strength The real keys to progress are consistency, intensity and and conditioning. He has a lot of knowledge in many areas and is able to toughness, and my coaching style reflects that. I feel relate to many things an athlete goes thru in life. He gives extraordinary effort and is a very reliable coach.” fortunate to be in a position to help people reach their -Nathan Tomasello, NCAA Champion, 4 x All American, goals by bringing out the best in them.” 4 x Big10 Champion

Coach Myers is a 2002 graduate of The Ohio State “Dustin was instrumental in me reaching my full potential as an athlete. He is top notch at pinpointing the areas where an individual wrestler needs physical University and a Certified Strength and Conditioning specialist improvement. Additionally, his ability to relate to people is what really sets (CSCS). A self described workout addict, he became certified him apart. For any young aspiring wrestler, his training regimen can make the and started training clients part time in 2000 at T3 Personal difference.” Training Studio, eventually opening the original Old School - Tommy Rowlands, 2 x NCAA Champion, 2 x Olympic Alternate Gym with Cory Gregory in 2003. The Old School Gym moved “Coach Myers understands the hard work and intensity that is required to be to it’s current location in 2008 and has been featured in Sports successful in wrestling. He knows how to get wrestlers strong where it matters Illustrated, Muscular Development Magazine, Bodybuilding. - on the mat - and it’s been proven at the highest levels of the sport” com, and is consistently ranked in the Top 10 most hardcore - Jeff Jordan, Head Coach St Paris Graham, gyms in the United States. 18 x OH State Team Champs

Page 4 SLED TRAINING FOR WRESTLING

Wrestling is a demanding sport in every sense of the word.

rom the standpoint of energy output, a wrestler must have power, but not ideal for improving cardiovascular capacity Fa high anaerobic threshold and a strong aerobic base of (sorry to all circuit training fanatics out these). Running sprints conditioning. The wrestler must have the ability to “sprint” and long distance is a phenomenal way to improve speed and and scramble from position to position all while squeezing, build an aerobic base, but will not help with absolute strength pushing and pulling against an opposing force of the same size. and should be used sparingly in-season due to wear and tear on The wrestler must be quick and explosive, but also have high an athletes joints. muscular endurance and the type of strength that can slow down their opponent. My point? I would consider certain things nonnegotiable for wrestling training. You have to lift heavy weights and get Fast. strong. You have to run and do conditioning. You must train for functional strength and have efficient movement patterns. Sled Functionally strong. work overlaps ALL of these areas and can improve a wrestler in High motor. a way that relates directly to the sport…and now you can do sled work with your athletes on the mats, with no risk to the mats Tough. themselves.

I have been training wrestlers at an elite level for many years. How can a wrestler train to achieve all of these qualities at once? I have had the luxury of using sleds in our wrestling room at The Outside of actually wrestling, the only training modality that Ohio Regional Training Center, and can say unequivocally that can help cultivate all of these athletic characteristics - and doing every wrestling room needs a sled for the athletes to train power so in a manner safe for any age - is sled training. Now don’t development and strength for the lower body. The wrestling get me wrong - lifting weights, running, biking, and plyometrics sled has many other additional applications, but there really is are all important components to a wrestler’s training regimen. no way to replicate the training effect of pushing and pulling a Lifting weights is crucial for gaining strength and building sled - particularly in the wrestling room.

Page 5 CONDITIONING

ne of the most useful applications for the wrestling sled is systems. The first system to engage is the creatine-phosphogen Osome good old fashioned conditioning work. Just tell your system and covers roughly the first 10 seconds of intense activity wrestler to push or pull the sled as fast as they can, as far as they (picture a heavy set of 3 squats, a double leg or a short sprint) can, over and over until they puke. Seems simple, right? Not and is anaerobic in nature. The second energy system to engage so fast. is glycolysis, which is also anaerobic and will cover roughly the In a sport where success relies heavily on being the better first 3 minutes of activity. The final system that allows you to conditioned athlete, many coaches still lack an understanding of go beyond 3 minutes of work is the oxidative system which is how to properly train a wrestler to improve their conditioning. aerobic in nature. What they are doing is just as important as how they do it. The Ok…so what does that mean, how does it relate to wrestling, speed, duration and rest periods during sled (or any cardio) and how can you use that information to program your sled training will vary based on the purpose of the training. Are you work? Well for starters, wrestling is a sport that requires all 3 of trying to get faster? Stronger? In “shape”? Before I break down these systems to perform optimally. A wrestler must be able to what type of sled work you want to use based on the training explode in short busts (take-down) maintain a high work rate goal of that particular training session, let’s first get a brief (the hand fight and ensuing scramble) and have the underlying understanding of the body’s energy systems. aerobic fitness to recover between bursts and explode again All exercise modalities can fall under what is known as aerobic when necessary. The most important thing to understand is or anaerobic. To put it simply, aerobic exercise uses oxygen that although all 3 of these systems overlap, and most training for fueling type 1 (strong, slow twitch) muscle fibers, while based activity stresses each energy system in some way (just as anaerobic muscle contractions of type 2 (explosive, fast twitch) wrestling itself does), you must manipulate two variables to tax muscle is fueled by energy sources stored in the body and is not a specific system: work to rest intervals and intensity. The long dependent on the oxygen we breathe. Aerobic exercise is of a and short of it is the more intense the exercise, the longer the lower intensity and a long duration, whereas anaerobic exercise recovery needs to be. Makes sense, right? Check out this chart is shorter and of a higher intensity. In order to fuel these for optimal work to rest ratios: different types of activity, our body runs three different energy

Approx. % of Primary Energy Typical duration Range of Max Power System Utilized of Exercise Work to Rest ratios 90-100% Phosphagen 5-10 seconds 1:12 to 1:20 75-90% Glycolytic 15-30 seconds 1:3 to 1:5 30-75% Glycolytic and Oxidative 1-3 minutes 1:2 to 1:4 (1:3 ideal) 20-35% Oxidative >3 minutes 1:1 to 1:3

Page 6 Here are the three main categories sled work will fall into:

1. Speed/Power Development 3. Aerobic Base Objective: Objective: Increase absolute speed and power production improve work capacity and over all conditioning Timing: Timing: late off-season, preseason year round Application: Applications: Sprints: Combination Training • Maximal Effort light weight 5-20 seconds - long, • Sled Drag or Push (light preferably active recovery jogging or light airdyne/ weight)- 1 minute bike • Air dyne or Running Sprint - 10 *Set up prehab or other active recovery stations in between if sec sprint/20 sec light cycling a whole team thru speed • Weight Holds or Farmers Carry Post Activation Potentiation: 1 minute • Heavy Weight for short bursts and/or paired with • rest 1 minute sprints or plyometrics x 3 rounds • 5 second push/5 second sprint Long Intervals (running)/2 min rest • 5 minutes alternating between • 5 second Push/3 Broad Jumps/2 Push/Pull/Drag/Row, light/ minute Rest medium weight and medium intensity • 5 minutes biking or Airdyne, light/medium intensity 2. Anaerobic Power Endurance x 2-3 rounds Objective: Increase anaerobic threshold and ability to repeat maximal effort bursts Timing: Preseason, early season Applications: Burst Intervals: • 5 seconds on/10 seconds off x 5, rest 3 minutes between sets, Utilize Push or Tug of War protocol Threshold work: • 30-45 seconds, max effort, heavy weight, 1:30 rest between sets Examples: • Pull/Push combo set, 30 seconds Now, remember, this is just a general overview of energy • Active Recovery (light Airdyne), systems and the corresponding training protocols. This is 60 seconds not an exhaustive explanation but rather what I think would be • Rest, 30 seconds the bare minimum to help you to understand how to correctly • Sled Push (1/2 bodyweight), max design sled workouts for your team. One of the biggest mistakes distance, 45 seconds coaches make when doing sprint work is not giving athletes • Rest, 2:15 enough recovery between sprints. If the goal is to get faster or improve an athletes anaerobic threshold, there must be adequate x 3 sets Strength/Power Combo sets: recovery or the intensity will drop as they begin to depend • heavy weight 1:3 work to rest primarily on oxygen for fuel. An important point to remember 3 Rows/Push back distance is “rest” periods do not necessarily mean sitting or laying still, its best if the athlete stays moving to clear out some of the lactate covered when rowing, 3-5 sets • Seated Tug of War (width of that accumulates during intense anaerobic work. Light jogging, room)/Drag back to starting prehab exercises or even stance motion can serve as great active recovery in between sets of sled work. position, 2-3 sets

Page 7 Functional Strength Prehab and Activation

et’s talk for a moment about every workout gurus favorite Another great application for the wrestling sled other than Lterm - “functional”. What exactly is functional strength? power and conditioning work, is preventative rehab, or “prehab”. Isn’t all training and strength gains “functional” in some way? Prehab exercises are used to eliminate strength imbalances, Yes, but I think the best way to look at functional training is activate muscles before heavy training, and ultimately to prevent doing exercises and movements in a way that is similar to how injuries. Prehab movements with the wrestling sled are not to the body actually functions athletically. Doing a machine row be done too heavy or to exhaustion, the purpose is to build is a great way to gain strength in your lats and upper back, but resiliency in vulnerable areas rather than to improve overall rowing a sled requires core strength and your lower body to conditioning. Traditional prehab movements such as face pulls, engage in a way that a machine does not. Strengthening your Y’s, and overhead carries, can all be done with the wrestling sled, legs by pushing a sled more closely mimics the strength required but in a way that requires full body activation as opposed to (from your hands all the way down to your feet as they make using a band or cable to isolate a particular area. contact with the ground) to drive into an opponent than doing There are two main strategies that I use to incorporate prehab a leg press or traditional squats. movements on the wrestling sled. The first is to do a mini-circuit, While we often talk about certain physical attributes of such as walks/face pulls/light drags, as a warm up before lifting wrestlers - strong hips, grip, core, etc., none of these strengths or wrestling. The second option is to use prehab movements as are employed in a vacuum. In order for a wrestler to be strong on active recovery between anaerobic activities such as heavy sled the mat, the entire body must be strong and capable of working pushes or weightlifting with face pulls in between sets. together “functionally”. Due to the nature of sled training and the way the entire body can be utilized at once, Sled work can be the missing piece of the puzzle that bridges the gap between traditional weight lifting and conditioning.

Page 8 Burst Training Pairing HIIT with Max Effort loads to build power endurance

have always used sled work - pushing, pulling, dragging, it takes 3-4 burst sets to complete the required distance. On Irowing - to train my athletes. I believe that a prowler or a turf field wearing spikes, I have used as heavy as 1000lbs on sled is the best tool to build functional strength and endurance, a prowler, and Olympic Champion Kyle Snyder has used over particularly in combat athletes such as wrestlers. One of the 1400lbs. issues I was faced with was how to make sled more of a power Another advanced method for applying burst training modality rather than just building strength or increasing muscle is to contrast the heavy intervals with a similar, unloaded endurance. The other factor I am interested in is how do we movement. For example, if we are using a wrestling sled with an increase an athletes “power endurance” - the ability to explode astronomical amount of weight, once 3 burst sets (5 seconds on, powerfully over and over again during the span of a match with 15 seconds off) are complete, the athlete will immediately sprint out losing a significant amount of their power? When you want an unloaded or very light prowler for an equal distance. Like to develop a fast, powerful sprint you would work with short wise, if we are using a long rope to do burst style “tug of war” intervals. Likewise, when you want to build power on compound with a heavy sled, once 3-4 bursts are complete the athlete will lifts, you would focus on moving the bar very fast with heavy immediately complete a rope climb or a set of pull ups. loads for low reps. Rather than push or pull a sled for 100+ feet, Implement this style of training into your regimen, and why not push a very heavy sled (one that you must give max you will feel an increase in your overall power, and have the effort just to budge) for short distances? While consulting with ability to return to the well when needed. Having a good burst OSU Football Strength Coach Micky Marotti, we came up with is important - and the key is not loosing it during practice or the idea of pairing that concept with a high intensity interval competition. protocol that I have labeled Burst Training. Burst Training is a sprint interval utilized on functional Burst Contrast Training movements - typically sled pushing, pulling or dragging - to build power endurance. While typical sled work is great to This style of Burst Training involves pairing two build strength and endurance, performing the movements with contrasting movements - pushing and pulling - for a short very heavy loads will improve an athletes ability to explode and distance. While there are many variations that you can utilize, scramble at a high level multiple times with in a match without my favorite set up is to have athletes partner up with one of becoming overly fatigued. The key is using heavy weight that is them “sitting” on the sled. The other athlete performs 3-5 fast very difficult for them and that they must truly give max effort 5 rows and then immediately pushes the sled back to the starting seconds at a time. Rest between bursts should be 3 x the sprint position. The athletes trade off after each go and the goal is to (1:3 ratio), so the standard protocol is a 5 second burst followed cover as much distance as possible in a short amount of time. by 15 seconds of rest. The goal is to explode and fight an absolute all out effort for 5 seconds, then recover just enough to do it Click below for training videos again. I will typically line sleds up with a distance of anywhere Burst Training & Burst Contrast Training from 50-100ft to cover. The load should be heavy enough that

Page 9 Exercise library

A breakdown of all of the WRESTLING SLED MOVEMENTS. CLICK THE TITLE OF EACH EXERCISE NAME FOR A VIDEO DEMONSTRATION.

Page 10 Sled Push

Get low in a prowler position and drive as hard as you can into the sled. Sprint for the prescribed distance. Sled Row

Start in an athletic stance with your arms extended in front of you and no slack in the straps. Pull explosively, rowing the sled towards you. Your fists should end the movement at your ribs.

Sled Drag Static Iso-DraG

Walk backwards dragging a heavy sled. Keep your arms straight as you pull the straps. Attach a strap to a loaded sled. Perform a row and squeeze your shoulder blades together. Keeping your elbows back and your upper back contracted, walk backwards dragging the sled.

Page 11 Single Arm Row

Grab the straps with one arm and stretch out as you stand in a wrestling stance. Pull your elbow towards your hip as row. Alternate sides with each rep. Sled Pull Thru:

Grab the sled strap and face away from the sled, standing out as far as possible. Hinge at the waist then pull the sled forward by explosively extending the hips. Do not pull with your arms. Seated Tug of War

Attach a rope (50’-75’) to a loaded sled. Stand at the end of the rope with a wide stance and your weight down in your hips. Pull the rope hand over hand as you twist your body and reach for the rope with the opposite hand.

Page 12 Face Pull

Stand with your arms extended in front of you and grasp the strap handles with palms facing down. Pull your hands towards your face while raising your elbows upward. Row/Kickback Combo

Step back from the sled until your arms are outstretched and the slack is gone from the strap. Hinge at the waist into a stance, then pull/row the sled towards you. Once your hands have reached your ribs, perform a tricep kickback to finish the rep.

Good Mornings

Cross both arms thru the strap and hug them against your chest. Step back far until you are hinged and bent over at the waist. Powerfully extend the hips as you stand up, pulling the sled towards you.

Page 13 Y-Extensions

Face towards the sled with arms extended and thumbs facing up. Pull the sled by “opening up your arms and extending them until your body is in a “Y” position.

Push Press

Face away from the sled and assume a stance. Stay in stance as you “push” an invisible opponent, effectively pulling the sled behind you. Plank Row

Start in a plank position and grab the strap with one arm extended. Pull your elbow towards your hip, resisting rotation and keeping your hips level.

Page 14 Overhead Tug of War

Attach a rope to a loaded sled. Lay on your back at the far end of the rope with your feet pointing away from the sled and the rope over head. Begin pulling the sled toward you in a climbing, hand over hand motion. Try to keep one hand moving as the other hand pulls to maintain momentum of the sled.

Neck Drag Overhead Walk

Plan the handle loops of the strap around your head (or attach a Face away from the sled and extend your arms up overhead. neck harness) as you face the sled. Sit back slightly and push thru Keep them in line with your body as you walk forward. your heals as you walk backwards. Start with a light weight and keep your spine perfectly straight.

Page 15 Effort. Consistency. Intensity

FOLLOW me on Social Media!

I’m always posting new training ideas and physical challenges. You will find tons of great exercises and daily motivation for your athletes: https://www.instagram.com/coachmyers_gutcheck/ https://twitter.com/OldSchoolGymOH https://www.facebook.com/The-Old-School-Gym-263994577063/

Page 16 MAX EFFORT MUSCLE

Tri-Blend Protein Max Effort Muscle’s unique TRI-BLEND protein, combines fast acting whey, whey isolate and slow digesting micellar casein proteins. Utilizing all three types of proteins will fuel your muscles immediately after training, throughout the day, or before bed. Post Workout Post Workout is arguably the most crucial time to dial in on your recovery. Branched Chain Amino Acids are your body’s building blocks of protein and are critical in kick starting the muscle repairing process. Max Effort Muscle’s Post Workout Amino Blend of Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine deliver 10 grams of valuable BCAAs and a fully dosed 5 grams of Glutamine. Baking Mix Treat your wrestler to some pancakes, cupcakes and cookies the day after competing - the healthy way. Our low sugar, high protein Baking Mix is versatile and can be easily used to make healthy versions of all of your athletes favorite treats.

“The team at Max Effort Muscle is focused on one thing - helping our customers reach their goals. Our products are safe, effective, and unmatched in the areas of taste, mix-ability and quality. I encourage all athletes to use our site as a training resource. Our team of experts provide daily strength, conditioning, and nutrition tips to help you get to the next level.” - Dustin Myers Partner, Max Effort Muscle

“I love the Lemonade Post. I drink it after every training session to recover and even thru out the day because it tastes so good. My fiancé calls it GutCheck Lemonade.” - Logan Stieber Build your Stack today: https://www.maxeffortmuscle.com/shop/build-a-stack-1.html

Page 17 old school gym

Old School is

a mindset. Take that mindset with you into the gym or the wrestling room. Get your Old School gear at: https://oldschoolgym.com

Page 18 Smitty’s Wrestling corner Rugs

“The only top-sprayed customized nylon corner rug on the market. Made by a wrestler!” smittyswrestlingcornerrugs.com

Page 19