Anaerobic endurance is another name for muscular endurance -- the ability of your muscles to remain contracted for an extended period, or to keep contracting for many repetitions. It's a vital attribute for wrestling success, especially in the later rounds of competition. Most wrestling practice sessions include a number of exercises intended to develop your anaerobic endurance, but you can get a "leg up" on your peers and competition by taking your training a step further.
Step 1
Keep your weight within a pound or two of the maximum for your weight class. Wrestlers who have to cut weight severely each week have to dehydrate themselves and go without food -- activities that will definitely reduce your anaerobic endurance during competition.
Step 2
Double-time your drills. When your team does 20 pushups, do 40 in the same amount of time. If your team practices a drill five times in two minutes, do yours 10 times. In the beginning, you might need to work your way up to full "double time" pace. You can start with doing one extra repetition per exercise, then add additional repetitions as your anaerobic endurance improves.
Step 3
Wrestle longer in practice than you have to in competition. You can do this by making your rounds longer than standard, or by wrestling for more than three rounds per contest. If you make a habit of this, the load from a regulation match will feel easy on your muscles by comparison.
Step 4
Get a workout immediately after you finish every competition match, lasting for the duration of the next match. Use body weight exercises and calisthenics such as pushups, situps and burpees. These will develop your endurance by taxing your muscles even after they're wiped out from a match.
Step 5
Rest your body at least one day each week. For maximum endurance, your body needs to be able to recover from your workouts. For most wrestlers -- who follow an in-season pattern of four days of practice plus one competition during the week, then a tournament on Saturdays, Sunday will be your best day to rest.
Step 6
Get eight to ten hours of sleep each night. Sleep is when your body heals, recharges and recovers. Insufficient sleep is one of the best ways to compromise your anaerobic endurance. Because high school and college students are frequently sleep-deprived, you'll be at an advantage if you aren't.
References
- "Art of Expressing the Human Body"; Bruce Lee; 1998
- "Coaching Wrestling Successfully"; Dan Gable; 1999
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