Pro Wrestling Survival 101 Part 1
Make no mistake about it, pro wrestling at its core is a sport and preparation by aspiring athletes needs to be approached as such. While the elements of ‘entertainment’ & ‘characters’ are heavily interjected into every event, the stresses both mentally and physically are arguably greater than any other sport, once an elite level is obtained.
Any aspiring athlete who takes a ‘hobby’ like approach in obtaining a ‘pro wrestling’ career will end up injured, often very seriously. This is a very important point, because throughout my career I have seen far too many great talents fall from grace or fail in obtaining their dreams due to injury. Some of these injuries, admittedly, were unavoidable, but the majority, in my opinion, were preventable.
You can’t fake impact. No matter what your assumption is of the legitimacy of pro wrestling, one fact can not be argued: You can not fake impact. Continual physical impact within a sport, any sport, adds a whole new dimension to the equation of injury prevention. This dimension that must be taken into consideration when formulating a training plan.
Unfortunately, no training plan can guarantee an injury free sporting career, but a good training plan can help limit the chance of ‘non contact’ and ‘planned contact’ injuries. And if you do get injured, which you will if you pursue a life in pro wrestling, hopefully your training plan will limit the severity of the injury.
With that said the focus of this series will be on Injury Prevention as it pertains to athletes wishing to climb into the squared circle and enter the exciting world of pro wrestling. As always if you do get injured, please see a qualified professional.
Step One: The Foundation
It is extremely important to establish a strong foundation of strength, speed, mobility, and mental awareness. A training plan must be developed with ‘balance’ in mind. The best approach is utilization of the Renegade Concepts of Training.
Movements are trained, not musculature: Pro Wrestling, like all combative sports, your movement must be fluid and natural in ways your body was meant to move. You training must insure your body works synergistically, period.
Efficiencies of movement reinforced: Inefficiencies of movement & musculature can cause fatigue. Fatigue causes breakdowns mentally and physically. Fatigue is a major cause of injury.
Motor patterning and grafting: In order to get your musculature to move how it should, you need to create positive patterns, ‘instruct’ it so to speak on how it should move.
Postural alignment is perfected: Bad posture places unnecessary stresses on the body and is an open invitation to injury. It also serves as a reduction in how ‘efficient’ your body moves.
Stabilization in the most de-stabilized training environments: You must condition yourself to perform optimally in a rapidly changing environment, because it will. Uneven surface, blind fold lifts, foul weather, all have important parts in your injury prevention quest.
Force developed such that it can be projected, accepted and redirected at maximal levels: Speed kills, you must pattern the body to move quickly, and with as much striking or defending force as possible. To do so, remember it is not the weight you lift that is important, but the manner and speed in which you move it.
Incorporate chaos into your daily training: Pro Wrestling is as chaotic of a sport as they come, seldom does any ‘plan’ work as it should. You must be ready for any and everything.
Part Two of ‘The Foundation’ will cover the Renegade Wheel of Conditioning as well as an introduction to RED2 and DMC™
Till then, remember to become a better wrestler, you must actually ‘wrestle’, don’t spend all day in the weight room.
-JJ
Want more?
Find the founder of Right Coast Pro, Renegade Trained Athlete, Certified Sr. Renegade Trainer, Renegade Training’s Sergeant at Arms, Kettlebell Specialist & DMC Professional JJ.Johnston on social media:
Facebook: JJ Johnston
Google+: JJ Johnston
Twitter: @rightcoastprojj
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