Keegan O'Toole and 2013 NCAA Champ Kendric Maple drilling before the NWCA All-Star Classic.

Alternate between sets of pull-ups, push-ups, and squats. 

Think you have a strong grip?

This is a great conditioning drill to do with a partner or your entire team. Have the athletes partner up and switch off every 20 seconds between 2 stations for 2 minutes:

The bridge row is one of my favorite rowing accessories for wrestlers because it combines the shoulder-friendly neutral grip row with the posterior chain benefits of a glute bridge. Add in the fact that the exercise is accessible for athletes of any age or strength level and you’ve got a winner that should be a staple in every strength program. Developing the ability to pull and squeeze with your arms while simultaneously extending the hips is a must for all wrestlers.

Plank positions are one of the best ways to develop core strength and muscle endurance for young athletes. Learning to brace, stabilize, and maintain position during static holds will also help youth athletes begin to understand how to recruit their abs, lower back, glutes, and lats. This “mind/muscle connection” is crucial as they begin to transition into loaded strength training.

When designing strength workouts for my elite wrestlers at the Ohio Regional Training Center, the accessory exercises are just as important as the main movement of the day. 

The muscle-up — a combination of an explosive pull-up into a dip — is one of my favorite upper-body calisthenic exercises. Muscle-ups are great for building powerful lats, but because of the speed required to complete the movement, I have seen even super strong "weight room warriors" fail at getting over the bar.

Let’s just be honest, Greco is tough. And it’s not for everyone. 

“Get to your ties.” You’ll hear it at every tournament. Coaches say it all the time. Wrestlers say it’s what they need to do to dictate a match.

I've always used sled work — pushing, pulling, dragging, rowing — to train my athletes. I believe that a prowler or sled is the best tool to build functional strength and endurance, particularly in combat athletes such as wrestlers. 

By definition, the world sprawl means to “sit, lie, or fall with one’s arms and legs spread out in an ungainly or awkward way.” 

There are so many ways to attack legs. It’s safe to say that there’s no perfect way to go about it, but if you were to listen to anyone break down the finer points of shooting and scoring, I’m pretty sure these four Olympic medalists would be on the list of people.

This might be the most basic top move that has withstood the test of time. From youth to college the half nelson still gets some playing time, even if it's gotten upgraded a bit.

Want the conditioning benefits of stance motion and hand fighting with the power-building benefits of strongman training? Throw in the added bonus of “socially distanced scrapping” and you have this tough drill: the "Tire Fight."