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maximize their chances of performing well. Stretching pre-match is the key to doing this. Wrestlers should work on stretching out their hamstrings, quads, glutes, hip flexors, groin, and calves. The upper body should not be neglected either. Flexibility is as necessary to a wrestler as strength or agility. It gives wrestlers the ability to perform attacks from difficult positions. Most importantly, perhaps, flexibility helps prevent injuries that might occur when the body is turned or twisted awkwardly, which frequently happens in the sport.

Wrestling programs such as the one at Ohio State University, which has produced champions like Kyle Snyder and

“A wrestler should never restrict their water to the point where they are not able to consume water every day.”

Logan Steiber in recent years, employ a number of different types of stretches, including

dynamic , static, and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF).

– Leroy (Lee) Kemp, three-time world and NCAA champion

Dynamic stretching actively works a muscle through its full range of motion. Static stretches are more traditional, holding a stretch in a single position for a given period of time. Both types are done pre-match. PNF stretching is performed post match and involves three different forms of stretches: slow-reversal-hold, contract-relax, and hold-relax. All involve having one athlete stretching out another. For example, in a

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