I have loved working out since I can remember. From a very early age I was always active whether it be playing the seasonal sport outside with friends any chance we got or jumping on trampolines or riding bikes.

As I got a little bit older though like 10 or 11 I became obsessed with things like pushups, crunches, pull ups and body weight squats. I would say my mother working out in the living room while myself and my sister were just kids contributed to my fascination with working out. I would sit in my room and workout for hours at a time growing up just doing hundreds of crunches and sit-ups as we had an old school sit-up board in our house along with a pull up bar in my parents’ house that was just built into the house.

I was the kid who would beg his parents for all the latest workout gadgets and fads. You know the Tony Little Perfect Sit-up, Ab Flexor, Hand Grips, Forearm builder machines, and much more. I had no idea about workout routines or nutrition I just knew I loved working out pushing myself to physical exhaustion than doing it all over again and again and again.

Anyways I have evolved my training methods over the years and am constantly looking for ways to feel better, look better and become a better athlete. I remember being in high school and I would take my parents car to the gym and train for 4 hours straight every day after I did my homework and was just obsessed with the feeling that it gave me. I had no idea about nutrition yet or that training every body part every day wasn’t ideal. I have tried many different training programs and came up with many of my own and the one thing I have found is hard work always works. If you physically challenge yourself and set goals for what you are trying to achieve any program can work. It is just a matter of doing what is best for you. So with that in mind the following is my training protocol to date.

At this point in my life and wrestling career an ideal daily workout consists of 3 things for me.

Warming up and stretching is phase 1 where I will get my body warm walking for 10 min or using some form of cardiovascular equipment just to get the blood pumping.

From there I begin my active warmup which is body movements that I start from the neck and work my way down. Once I feel like my body is in a proper stretching state I start my stretches.

Stretching has helped me tremendously for my wrestling career and has helped me to become more limber. From there I move on to my weight training and end with my conditioning. Again for me taking care of my body with proper nutrition and stretching to stay healthy for wrestling, weight training to keep my body strong for wrestling and conditioning to keep my endurance for wrestling. These are all my goals every day and my approach when working out.

The following is my 3 phase weight training cycle I am currently using and getting great results from.
6-8 wks 3-5 reps a set (Maximal Overload Phase)
6-8 wks 10-12 reps a set (Mid Maximal Overload Phase)
6-8 wks 25-30 reps a set (Low Maximal Overload Phase)

I have found with this approach it allows me the best of all worlds. I am hitting fast twitch muscle fibers and slow twitch muscle fibers and while in my Low Maximal Overload Phase I am concentrating on ideal form and giving my body a chance to rest from the burdens heavy training can have on your body if done constantly. Not to mention when you are constantly breaking down your body for a living wrestling you have to find time to let your body normalize. With that being said this approach builds muscle and constantly allows you to make gains. Each phase I progressively move up in weights and I am finding I just keep improving.

Conditioning is something I have become obsessed with over the years. I truly believe that the work you put in this one particular area can reap you the greatest rewards over time. Especially for athletes, fighters and wrestlers. If you can outlast your opponents and recover quicker in moments of intense force and still have the energy at the end of a game, match, fight as you did from the start you only increase your chances of success! I try to constantly challenge myself in this area from things like burpees, jumping rope, slam ball throws, tire hammer strikes, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, assault bike, box jumps, elliptical machine while wearing an elevation training mask the list goes on and on. I will have a specific breakdown of my training program for each body part down below.

CHEST
Incline Barbell Press 4 Sets
Flat DB Press 4 Sets
Hammer Strength Incline Press or Incline Machine Press 4 Sets
Pec Deck Flies 4 Sets
Bosu Ball Push Ups or Perfect Push-up 3 Sets

BACK
Pull Ups (weighted when training 3-5 reps and normal when doing 10-12 rep range) 4-5 Sets
Lat Pull Downs ( Only when I’m 25-30 Rep Range) 4 Sets
Barbell Rows (3-5 Rep Range and 10-12 Rep Range) 3-4 Sets
Machine Row or T Bar Row (25-30 Rep Range) 3-4 Sets
Deadlifts 3-4 Sets
Close Grip Pulldowns 3 Sets
Straight Arm Lat Pull Downs 2 Sets
Pulley Rope High Trap Pulls 2 Sets

LEGS
Barbell Squats 4-5 Sets
Front Barbell Squats 2-3 Sets
Leg Extensions 5-6 Sets
Glute Ham Raises 5-6 Sets
Single Leg Pistol Squats (No Rep Range on these Just try to do as many as I can)
Inner Groin Thigh Machine 3-4 Sets
Glute Kick Backs 3-4 Sets

ARMS
Preacher Curls 3-4 Sets
Barbell Curls 3 Sets
Hammer Strength Curls 2 Sets
DB Concentration Curls 3-4 Sets
Overhand Grip Barbell Curls 1-2 Sets
Ring Dips or Parallel Bar Dips (Weighted for 3-5 Rep Range and 10-12 Rep Range and body weight for 25-30 Rep Range) 4-5 Sets
Flat back DB Triceps Extensions 3-4 Sets
Rope Triceps Pushdowns 3-4 Sets
Straight Bar Reverse Grip Triceps Extensions 2-3 Sets
DB Triceps Kickbacks 1-2 Sets

SHOULDERS
Seated DB Shoulder Press 3-4 Sets
Hammer Strength Shoulder Press 3-4 Sets
Side Lateral Shoulder Raises (Thumbs Up Grip) 4 Sets
Machine Rear Delts 5-6 Sets
Straight Bar Upright Rows Wide Grip 2-3 Sets
Front DB Raises (Thumbs Up Grip) 2 Sets

TRAPS 
(Done Twice Per Week and will pick one of these exercises) 4-6 Sets
Barbell Shrugs
Hammer Strength Shrugs
DB Shrugs

CALVES 
(Done Twice Per Week) 6-8 Sets Per Workout
Seated Calf Raises
Straight Leg Seated Calf Extensions

NECK
4 Way Neck Machine 8-10 Sets all directions are one set

FOREARMS
Captains of Crush Hand Grips
1-2 Times Per Week