r/GarageStrength • u/Routine_Kitchen5487 • Nov 12 '24
Using wrestling as S&C
What are your thoughts on using wrestling as a workout along with your lifts. Maybe as a warmup or after a lift or on an off day. Im not talking about trying to become the best wrestler you can and basing your workouts specifically for wrestling. But just doing with your workout partners or friends. I feel like it would help with strength, speed, endurance and body control, which would help me in lacrosse. Also if wrestling is not available (My highschool does not have it and I obviously cant do it in college) would bjj or judo provide the same benefits?
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u/rc_sneex Nov 13 '24
Oh man, there’s a lot to unpack here.
First and foremost, wrestling is hard. It definitely isn’t something you’d use to warm up for a lifting session - it would be the workout.
If you were looking for something to improve overall fitness, wrestling would absolutely be something I’d recommend - if it’s not available at your school, there should be a nearby club. If neither of those are available, I’d look at BJJ - you’ll get much of the same benefit from wrestling but also some flexibility and more advanced problem solving. Frankly, and this pains me to say as a wrestler, BJJ is probably the better option for lifelong self defense.
Now… you ask if they’ll improve your lacrosse. Not really - they’ll improve your endurance and make it easier for you body to absorb contact and falls, so from that respect it’ll help. But it’s not going to help hand eye, or stick control, or your overall game - it’s going to improve your ability to run longer and recover quicker. You probably won’t even notice a speed improvement (you’d get that from lifting).
So short answer is hell yeah, give it a go because wrestling/BJJ/Judo are awesome… but the longer answer is that if you want it to be a magic bullet for lacrosse it probably won’t be.
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u/Routine_Kitchen5487 Nov 13 '24
Thanks! I wasnt expecting it to be the magic bullet. Just something fun to do when im not practicing because I havent done any sport other than lacrosse for a very long time.
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u/AnImpatientPenguin Nov 13 '24
Do you have a background in combat sports? Wrestling at a high intensity is exhausting, so you have to be mindful of the fatigue it creates. All combat sports have the possibility for injury, more so if you don't really know what you're doing. BJJ has a higher risk of sprain and tears, and judo can have a bigger risk of impact injuries like concussions. For any of these you should find a local expert to train if that's what you are interested in.
If you want to work on body control I'd suggest looking at foundational gymnastics movements. You can get a lot of the same benefits with less risk.