RIRLift app icon RIRLift

Exercises

Exercises for wrestlers: leg drive, grip, neck and trunk

Published October 24, 2026

The best exercises for wrestlers are the Zercher squat and barbell split squat for leg drive, kettlebell swings and medicine ball slams for hip power, chin-ups and barbell rows for pulling, farmer's walks and dead hangs for grip, neck curls and extensions for the neck, ab wheel rollouts and hanging leg raises for the trunk, and sled pushes for drive and conditioning. A wrestling workout opens with a power exercise, moves to one heavy leg lift and one pull, adds a press, and ends with grip and neck, with sets stopping 1 to 3 reps short of failure so you can still wrestle hard.

  1. Zercher Squat Quads, Glutes
  2. Barbell Split Squat Quads, Glutes
  3. Kettlebell Swing Glutes, Hamstrings
  4. Chin-Up Lats
  5. Barbell Row Upper Back, Lats
  6. Farmer's Walk Forearms, Traps, Shoulders
  7. Lying Neck Curl Neck
  8. Ab Wheel Rollout Abs
  9. Sled Push Quads, Glutes

Leg drive for shots, lifts and finishes

Wrestling leg strength is about driving from awkward positions. Pair one heavy squat with one split-stance lift and you train both two-leg and staggered power.

Leg drive with the load in your arms

Zercher Squat

Quads, Glutes

Cradling the bar in the crooks of your elbows puts the weight where you hold an opponent during a lift or a double-leg finish. It builds leg drive, upper-back strength and a tight trunk in one movement.

How to do it

  1. Set a barbell in a rack at about belly height and hook it in the bend of both elbows, hands clasped.
  2. Stand it out of the rack and set your feet a little wider than your hips.
  3. Squat down as deep as you can keep your back flat, elbows staying up.
  4. Drive up to standing, keeping the bar tight to your body.

Cues

  • Elbows up, bar hugged in
  • Brace like you're about to be hit

Common mistakes

  • Letting the upper back round forward as you stand: lift your elbows and chest together, and lighten the bar if you can't.

Swap for: Front Squat, Goblet Squat, Barbell Back Squat

Build a session with Zercher Squat

Single-leg strength in a staggered stance

Barbell Split Squat

Quads, Glutes

Shots, sprawls and stand-ups all happen in a split stance. Loading that position with a barbell builds strength in the stance you actually wrestle in.

How to do it

  1. Rest a barbell on your traps and take a long step forward into a split stance.
  2. Lower straight down until the rear knee hovers just off the floor.
  3. Push through your front foot to rise, with your torso tall, and finish every rep before switching legs.

Cues

  • Straight down, straight up
  • Front foot planted flat

Common mistakes

  • Narrow tightrope stance that makes you wobble: keep your feet about hip-width apart side to side.

Swap for: Bulgarian Split Squat, Dumbbell Split Squat, Barbell Reverse Lunge

Build a session with Barbell Split Squat

Leg drive and conditioning

Sled Push

Quads, Glutes

Driving a sled is the closest gym exercise to driving through an opponent. Heavy short pushes build drive; lighter, longer ones condition you without the soreness of running.

How to do it

  1. Load a sled and grab the handles with your arms either straight or bent.
  2. Lean forward at about 45 degrees with a flat back.
  3. Drive your legs into the floor with short, powerful steps for the distance.

Cues

  • Low body angle
  • Push the ground behind you

Common mistakes

  • Standing too upright so the sled barely moves: get your hips and shoulders lower.

Swap for: Sled Pull, Lateral Sled Drag, Barbell Split Squat

Build a session with Sled Push

Explosive hips

Swings and slams train the hip snap behind every lift, sprawl and snap-down. Use moderate weights and keep every rep fast.

Explosive hip extension

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

Wrestling power comes from snapping the hips forward: lifting, penetrating and finishing. Swings train that snap with a light enough load to repeat for conditioning as well.

How to do it

  1. Stand with the kettlebell a foot in front of you, feet a bit wider than your hips.
  2. Hinge, grab the handle, and hike the bell back between your thighs.
  3. Snap your hips forward to swing it to chest height with straight arms, then let it fall back into the next hinge.

Cues

  • Hips throw the bell, arms just hold on
  • Stand tall at the top

Common mistakes

  • Squatting the swing instead of hinging: your hips go back, your knees bend only a little.

Swap for: Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift High Pull, Dumbbell Swing, Cable Pull-Through

Build a session with Kettlebell Swing

Full-body power for snap-downs and finishes

Medicine Ball Slam

Lats, Abs

Slamming a ball hard into the floor trains you to turn total-body force into a fast downward drive, much like a snap-down, without adding much soreness.

How to do it

  1. Stand holding a slam ball, feet shoulder-width apart.
  2. Reach it overhead, rising onto your toes.
  3. Slam it down just ahead of your feet as hard as you can, bending your hips and knees, then pick it up and repeat.

Cues

  • Whole body throws it
  • Every rep at full force

Common mistakes

  • Using a ball so heavy that the slams get slow: pick a weight you can throw violently.

Swap for: Med Ball Rotational Throw, Battle Rope Slam, Kettlebell Swing

Build a session with Medicine Ball Slam

Pulling strength and grip

Wrestlers win and lose positions on pulling and grip. Chin-ups and rows for strength, carries and hangs for grip endurance.

Pulling strength for hand fighting and riding

Chin-Up

Lats

Pulling an opponent into you, riding on top and controlling the wrist all come down to pulling strength and grip. Chin-ups load both with your own bodyweight.

How to do it

  1. Hang from a bar with your palms facing you, hands about shoulder-width.
  2. Pull your chest toward the bar until your chin clears it.
  3. Lower yourself all the way to straight arms before the next rep.

Cues

  • Chest to the bar
  • Full hang every rep

Common mistakes

  • Kicking and swinging to get the last reps: keep your legs still, and stop at the target reps in reserve.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Lat Pulldown, Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Build a session with Chin-Up

Upper back for posture and pulling

Barbell Row

Upper Back, Lats

A heavy bent-over row strengthens the upper back and lats that keep your posture square in a tie-up and give power to snaps and drags.

How to do it

  1. Take the barbell palms-down, a bit wider than your shoulders.
  2. Hinge until your torso is close to parallel with the floor, back flat.
  3. Pull the bar into your lower ribs, then lower it until your arms are straight.

Cues

  • Bar to the belly
  • Torso angle stays fixed

Common mistakes

  • Standing up a little more each rep to cheat the weight: keep the hinge and use a load you can hold the angle with.

Swap for: Pendlay Row, One-Arm Dumbbell Row, T-Bar Row

Build a session with Barbell Row

Grip and trunk under load

Farmer's Walk

Forearms, Traps, Shoulders

Hand fighting for six minutes drains your grip, and carrying heavy weight trains your hands, forearms and trunk all at once with almost no technique to learn.

How to do it

  1. Pick up a heavy dumbbell or kettlebell in each hand using a deadlift.
  2. Stand tall, shoulders back and down, and walk with short, quick steps.
  3. Cover the distance or time, then set the weights down with a flat back.

Cues

  • Crush the handles
  • Walk tall, no leaning

Common mistakes

  • Letting the weights swing and the shoulders round forward: slow down and squeeze harder.

Swap for: Dumbbell Suitcase Carry, Dead Hang, Plate Pinch Deadlift

Build a session with Farmer's Walk

Grip endurance

Dead Hang

Forearms

Simply hanging from a bar builds the grip endurance that keeps your hands working late in a match. It also stretches the shoulders after a lot of pressing.

How to do it

  1. Take a chin-up bar in a full overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width.
  2. Lift your feet and hang with straight arms and your shoulders slightly engaged.
  3. Hold for the target time and drop down under control.

Cues

  • Squeeze the bar as hard as you can
  • Stay still, no swinging

Common mistakes

  • Hanging with completely loose shoulders up by your ears: pull them down slightly so the joint isn't just resting on its ligaments.

Swap for: Farmer's Walk, Plate Pinch Deadlift, Chin-Up

Build a session with Dead Hang

Pushing for posts and pummeling

You need enough pressing strength to frame and post without beating up your shoulders, which already take a pounding on the mat.

Pressing strength for pummeling and posting

Dumbbell Floor Press

Chest, Triceps

Pressing from the floor stops each rep with your upper arms on the ground, which keeps the shoulders comfortable while you build the pushing strength you use to post, frame and pummel.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and a dumbbell in each fist over your chest.
  2. Lower the dumbbells until your upper arms rest on the floor, elbows about 45 degrees from your sides.
  3. Pause a beat, then press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • Pause on the floor, don't bounce
  • Press up and slightly in

Common mistakes

  • Flaring your elbows straight out to the sides: tuck them a bit so your shoulders stay comfortable.

Swap for: Floor Press, Flat Dumbbell Press, Push-Up

Build a session with Dumbbell Floor Press

Neck strength

Neck training should start light and progress slowly. A few sets of curls and extensions twice a week build up a neck that holds position.

Front neck strength

Lying Neck Curl

Neck

Your neck takes a lot of force in wrestling, from snap-downs to collar ties. Training the front of the neck directly, starting with just your head's weight, builds that strength gradually.

How to do it

  1. Lie face up on a bench with your head and neck hanging off the end.
  2. Let your head lower back slowly.
  3. Curl your chin toward your chest, then lower your head back slowly.

Cues

  • Slow, small, controlled
  • Chin toward chest

Common mistakes

  • Jerking the head or loading it early: this is one of the few places where light resistance and high reps are the whole point.

Swap for: Lying Neck Extension, Plank, Dead Bug

Build a session with Lying Neck Curl

Back of the neck strength

Lying Neck Extension

Neck

The back of the neck holds your head up when an opponent drives you down. Lying face down on your forearms and lifting your head trains it in the same careful way as the curl.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your front on the floor, propped on your forearms with your legs long.
  2. Lower your chin slowly toward your chest.
  3. Lift your head until your face looks forward, then lower it slowly.

Cues

  • Look forward, not up
  • Smooth reps only

Common mistakes

  • Cranking the head back toward the ceiling: stop when your head is in line with your spine.

Swap for: Lying Neck Curl, Back Extension, Superman

Build a session with Lying Neck Extension

Trunk strength for scrambles

Rollouts and leg raises build an abdominal wall that resists being stretched out and pulls your legs in for scrambles.

Trunk strength against being stretched out

Ab Wheel Rollout

Abs

When an opponent pulls your arms out from you, your trunk has to hold. Rolling out and back trains exactly that kind of strength in the abs.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a pad holding the ab wheel under your shoulders.
  2. Roll forward slowly, keeping your hips and ribs tucked, until your body is nearly straight.
  3. Pull the wheel back toward your knees using your abs, not by sticking your hips up.

Cues

  • Ribs down, butt tucked
  • Only go as far as you can come back

Common mistakes

  • Letting the lower back sag at the far end: shorten the roll until you can hold it flat.

Swap for: Barbell Rollout, Stability Ball Body Saw, Plank

Build a session with Ab Wheel Rollout

Abs and hip flexors with grip

Hanging Leg Raise

Abs

Leg raises work the lower abs and hip flexors you use to pull legs in for a shot or a scramble, and hanging from the bar adds grip work for free.

How to do it

  1. Hang at full arm length from an overhead bar.
  2. Without swinging, raise your legs together until they are at least level with your hips.
  3. Lower them slowly, stopping before your body starts to swing.

Cues

  • Curl the pelvis up at the top
  • No swinging

Common mistakes

  • Using momentum to throw the legs up: bend your knees to make it easier rather than swinging.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Captain's Chair Knee Raise, Reverse Crunch

Build a session with Hanging Leg Raise

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Off-season, 3 days a week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets60 a week
  • Per workout~50 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells, Barbells, Pull-Up Bar, Dumbbells +3

Your season is over, you still drill or roll a couple of times a week, and you want to come back stronger at the same weight class.

Three sessions build the most strength while mat time is low. The heavy lifts stop 2 reps short of failure so the quality stays high, and accessories at 1 to 2. Power work goes first in each session, neck and grip at the end. Two sessions rotate so each lift is trained about every five days, and each stays near 20 working sets so you can still wrestle on your off days.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Swing 3 × 8–10 3 1 min
Zercher Squat2 warm-up sets first 4 × 4–6 2 3 min
Chin-Up 4 × 5–8 2 2 min
Dumbbell Floor Press 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Farmer's WalkSeconds. 3 × 30–40 2 90 s
Lying Neck Curl 2 × 15–20 3 45 s

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Medicine Ball Slam 3 × 5–6 3 1 min
Barbell Split SquatPer leg. 3 × 6–8 2 2 min
Barbell Row 4 × 6–10 2 90 s
Ab Wheel Rollout 3 × 6–12 2 1 min
Dead HangSeconds. 2 × 30–45 1 1 min
Lying Neck Extension 2 × 15–20 3 45 s
Sled PushSeconds per push. 4 × 15–20 2 90 s

Open Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Alternate Day A and Day B on three nonconsecutive days, A-B-A then B-A-B. Wrestle on the days between, not right before a heavy leg day.
How to progress
Add weight when every set reaches the top of its range at the target reps in reserve: 5 to 10 pounds on the barbell lifts, the next dumbbell or kettlebell up on the rest. Add 5 seconds to each neck set before adding weight.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

In-season, 2 short sessions

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets22 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Pull-Up Bar, Dumbbells, Kettlebells

You are in season with practice most days and matches weekly, often cutting weight, and want to stay strong without dragging into the weekend.

Practice already supplies the conditioning and grip work, and a weight cut limits recovery, so each in-season session is short: one leg lift, one pull, one push and the neck, with every set 2 to 3 reps short of failure. Two different sessions keep the movements varied without adding volume, at about 11 working sets each.

Session 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Zercher Squat2 warm-up sets first 3 × 3–5 3 3 min
Chin-Up 3 × 4–6 2 2 min
Dumbbell Floor Press 2 × 6–8 3 90 s
Lying Neck Curl 2 × 15–20 3 45 s
Lying Neck Extension 1 × 15–20 3 45 s

Open Session 1 in the session builder

Session 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Swing 3 × 6–8 3 1 min
Barbell Split SquatPer leg. 2 × 5–6 3 2 min
Barbell Row 3 × 6–8 2 90 s
Hanging Leg Raise 2 × 8–12 2 1 min
Lying Neck Extension 1 × 15–20 3 45 s

Open Session 2 in the session builder

How to run it
Lift twice a week, with the second session at least two days before a match. In a week with two match days, do only Session 1.
How to progress
Aim to hold your end-of-off-season weights. If they feel easier at the same reps in reserve, add a little; on a hard cut, keep the weight and drop a set from each exercise.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Youth or first-year wrestler

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets32 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells, Barbells, Pull-Up Bar, Dumbbells

You are new to lifting, maybe a high school wrestler in your first year, and want a simple program to build a base before adding barbell lifts.

Beginners gain strength quickly from simple movements done consistently. This session swaps the barbell lifts for movements that are easier to learn, uses sets that stop 2 to 3 reps short of failure so technique stays clean, and introduces neck work with very light loads. It runs about 16 working sets.

Full Body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Swing 3 × 10–12 3 1 min
Barbell Split SquatPer leg. Empty bar or light. 3 × 8–10 3 90 s
Chin-Up 3 × 3–8 2 90 s
Dumbbell Floor Press 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Farmer's WalkSeconds. 2 × 30 2 1 min
Lying Neck CurlVery light. 1 × 15–20 4 45 s
Hanging Leg Raise 1 × 8–12 2 1 min
How to run it
Twice a week with two or more days between, ideally on lighter practice days.
How to progress
Add reps first, then weight once you reach the top of every range. When chin-ups reach 8 clean reps and your swings stay crisp, move to the off-season plan.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What exercises are good for wrestling?

A heavy squat such as the Zercher, a split-stance leg lift, hip power from swings or slams, chin-ups and rows for pulling, carries and hangs for grip, neck curls and extensions, and trunk work like rollouts and leg raises.

How many days a week should wrestlers lift?

Three days in the off-season and two short sessions in-season. A weight cut is a reason to shorten sessions, not to stop lifting.

Should wrestlers lift heavy?

Yes, for the main leg and pulling lifts, in sets of 3 to 8 reps that stop 2 short of failure. Heavy, low-rep work builds strength without adding much bodyweight, which suits a weight-class sport.

Does wrestling change your body?

Wrestling builds a strong grip, thick neck and back, and good conditioning. Lifting adds strength on top of that, and keeping reps low and volume moderate helps you get stronger at the same weight.

How do I strengthen my neck for wrestling?

Start with light lying neck curls and extensions for 15 to 20 slow reps, two sets each, twice a week. Add time or a little weight only once every rep stays smooth.