High school fight: peak for the end of the season

June 11, 2021 0 Comments

During my senior year of high school wrestling, I “peaked” at precisely the right time. I was a conference champion, a section champion, and a district champion. By winning the district tournament, I qualified for the state tournament. I was defeated in the first round 5-2 and I never had a chance for a fighter. However, it had improved over previous seasons. During my second year, I was fourth in the conference and third in the sectionals. During my third year, I was ranked second in conference and third in districts. I always ran out of strength and motivation towards the end of the season and never qualified for the state tournament. What was the change during my senior season?

First, I had better control of my diet during my senior season. I counted calories and slowly lost weight. I never went a day without eating. I was never hungry or dehydrated. I didn’t feel weak towards the end of the season. I kept getting stronger. Therefore, my attitude was also different. I was confident and had a real desire to qualify for the state tournament. The previous two seasons I was feeling weak and just didn’t want it enough.

How can a fighter make it to the end of the season? Let’s examine things a bit.

Periodization

Periodization simply involves planning your training for the season or even the entire year. The season is divided into different phases. Tudor Bompa says: “Typically, you plan to reach peak performance during the competitive phase and cannot be sustained forever.” Similarly, Mark Ginther states that “peak condition is impossible to maintain for more than a couple of weeks at most.” Of course, you want to win every game. Also, you want to be in excellent condition. However, you cannot be in the best condition throughout the season. Therefore, your coach will likely ask you to do a higher volume of work earlier in the season. Towards the end of the season, you will probably do a lower volume of work but with a greater intensity. His ultimate goal is to reach the top for postseason tournaments like sectional, district and state.

Conditioning

As I mentioned, your workload should decrease when you want to peak towards the end of the season. However, your workouts can be more intense. Intensity and brevity is the key. Towards the end of the season, you can start to think more about the match strategy. You can start practicing “situations” that might arise in a match. What will you do if you move one point ahead in last position with only ten seconds to go? Most likely, you will need to do a stand up. Obviously, you don’t want to make a granby roll and try to pin your opponent. You have to be smart and stick with that one-point advantage.

Technical

Drilling is important to reach the peaks. If you practice your moves religiously during the season, they will become second nature. Winning those postseason competitions will be easier if your technique is flawless and natural.

Recovery

Recovery encompasses many things. Make sure you get enough rest. Ideally, you should get eight to ten hours of sleep each night. Some wrestlers find contrast showers (alternating hot and cold water) helpful after practice. A warm bath before bed can be relaxing and can help you sleep better. Also, don’t forget about nutrition.

Intense fighting and conditioning depletes muscle glycogen and breaks down muscle tissue. Therefore, after practice make sure to consume some protein and carbohydrates. A shake made from whey protein and a fast-digesting carbohydrate source can be beneficial after wrestling when it comes to recovery.

Attitude

Are you excited and motivated or exhausted from the long season? I hope you are excited and motivated to win. How much do you want to qualify for the state tournament? Those fighters with an extreme desire to win will likely fight in their prime. Winning or losing is not the end of the world. However, if you don’t care if you win or have no faith in your abilities, you will be at a disadvantage.

Anyone can be defeated. Dan Gable was defeated in his last college game. Rulon Gardner defeated Alexander Karelin, who had been undefeated for thirteen years in international competition. A University of Iowa wrestler named Matt Egeland was seeded eighth in the 1985 NCAA Wrestling Tournament, but finished second. He defeated the number one seeded fighter on the road. He had a high school teammate who was the last seed in the district tournament, but he beat the first seed and qualified for the state tournament. Anything can happen in postseason tournaments. Have confidence.

Reducing

Decreasing implies reducing the total volume of training. This gives your body extra rest. You can still have short, intense workouts. You can still drill and focus on your skills and strategy. But, the total amount of fighting and conditioning should be cut before that big postseason tournament.

Dan Gable and the University of Iowa

In Mike Chapman’s book Fighting hard talks about Dan Gable and the University of Iowa wrestling program. Coach Gable sometimes had his wrestlers practice twice a day before the NCAA championships. This seems to go against the idea of ​​tune-up, although I don’t know how long these practices lasted and how intense they were. Coach Gable even had Ed Banach do a third workout at 5am. Ed Banach won the NCAA tournament that year in large part because of that extra practice in which he practiced his takedown technique. Would you be willing to pay that price to reach the peak of success? Remember what I wrote earlier about piercing? Drilling country off.

The movie Hoosiers It is very inspiring. Before the state finals, the coach tells his team, “Forget the crowd, the size of your school, your fancy uniforms, and remember what brought us here. Focus on the fundamentals we’ve reviewed over and over again, and Most importantly, don’t get caught thinking about winning or losing this game. If you put your effort and focus on playing to your potential, to be the best you can, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of this game, in my book, we will be winners! “

At the beginning of the film, the coach says: “There is a condition in the tournament play; do not talk about the next step until you have raised the one in front of you.”

I think that is good advice. Focus on your fundamentals in the postseason championship series. Take one fight at a time and be determined to fight to your potential.

In conclusion, the peak can be tricky. Make sure you get enough rest. Drill your skills relentlessly. Do your highest volume workouts early in the season and shorter, more intense workouts as the season draws to a close. Make sure you are mentally focused and confident in your abilities.

With the proper pick, you’ll be cool, rested, and ready to fight your best!

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