TRAINING TIPS: Make It Your Strongest Summer Ever

By Zach Even-Esh

Things that come easy and fast will leave you just as fast.

There is a common theme in the summertime with athletes. They wake up at 11 a.m. or noon and they eat some processed junk for lunch because they woke up too late for breakfast.

Then, they stay home and play video games all day. This leads to being weak, lazy and unproductive. Instead, you need a plan of attack. If you have no goals and no plan, you will be average at best.

Do this:

1. Wake up no later than 9 a.m.

2. Have a strong breakfast with eggs, oatmeal, orange juice or fruit.

3. Eat a healthy lunch, an afternoon snack, a strong dinner and at night, another healthy snack or dinner leftovers.

Be active every day. You should be strength training three to four times a week and get to a few summer wrestling tournaments. Experiment with your technique and strategies to build confidence.

Take a run with your teammates once a week. Run the streets, the local park or hill sprints. No teammates doing work? Do not wait for them. Go and work on your own.

Blame nobody but yourself and stay away from people who accept mediocrity. There are a few teams / wrestlers who aren’t concerned with winning; those that do need to do the work when no one is watching.

Training will not consume your life. So when your friends say, “Have some fun,” remember, training is fun! It only takes 45 minutes on average. Eating healthy is a gift.

Do not skip meals. If you want to train hard and perform great, you must eat lots of quality foods, frequently throughout the day.

The choice is yours. When wrestling season comes, you want to be ready. Otherwise, you have to get ready during the season which leads to desperation, overtraining, injuries and weight cutting; none of which are beneficial to your wrestling success.

(Zach Even-Esh is a strength and performance coach for wrestlers and is a monthly columnist for WIN. To connect with him for training, products and consulting, visit his website at https://UndergroundStrengthCoach.com.)   n