Printer Friendly Version

How To Become A National Champion

by Coach Lucas

I had a former wrestler of mine who I first coached in junior high who is going to be a senior at Wesley this coming year. He asked me how he could become a National Champion. Following is what I told him. All of you should take heed. If you truly want to reach the highest pinnacle in your wrestling, this is what it takes. Read on:

HOW TO BECOME A NATIONAL CHAMPION --

First off -- set your sights for WINNING NATIONALS! None of this "Top 3" crap as that says you are willing to lose! So what does it take to win the Nationals? Hard work, all year 'round.

RUNNING: Get up early EVERY morning and run 3-4 miles. You should be able to run four miles in under 32 minutes. Do this SEVEN DAYS A WEEK! If you can fit in another run during the day, do it! Mix up your runs with a steady distance pace, but at a moments notice sprint full out for 60 seconds straight (it will seem a lot longer than you think!), then have intervals of a medium hard pace. Mix it up but you should be totally spent when you finish your run.

WEIGHT LIFTING: At lunch, even days do fast repetition LIGHT WEIGHTS. We used to call them burn outs. But take a 90 pound bar and do as many bench presses as possible for 90 seconds. Wait 90 seconds, then do it again. Wait another 90 seconds and do it again. (By the third rep, your arms will be jelly.) Wait 3 minutes then go to the military press and do the same. Go to the curl bars and do the same. Light weight, very fast reps, three times on all stations (guaranteed, you'll be gassed!) On odd days, try to lift as much weight as you can. Even if you can only do 2 or 3 lifts with the weight, do it. On all stations. 3 reps each. After lifting, do calisthenics (jumping jacks, push ups, toe touchers, crunches, mountain climbers.) Do 100 of each, twice. Do rope climbs, pull ups, peg board, if you have access to one. (I'm trying to get these at SJSU, by the way.) If not, get a towel sopping wet and wring it out until it's almost completely dry. Then take a newspaper and put a single page in each hand and crumple it up until it's a tiny little paper ball wadded up in your hand. Do the entire paper, one page at a time in each hand. (Get the SJ Mercury News...NOT the Spartan Daily!) Do these activities seven days a week!

LIVE WRESTLING: Wrestle at least five times a week (six is preferable.) Wrestle with guys you can beat and with guys who can beat you (even if they are bigger than you.) Wrestle guys who are fast and shoot, wrestle guys who are primarily upper body and strong, wrestle guys are are totally unorthodox and weasels. In essence, wrestle all styles. Master two moves a week i.e., week #1 a single leg finish and high crotch. Make it 70% of your moves for the entire week. The next week focus on single leg defense cross face/whizzer and hip throw. Again, 70% of your moves that week are these two moves. And keep doing that from now until the start of official practice
next Fall. Always drill the moves you learn so you keep them fresh. By next Fall your drilling will take up a considerable amount of time due to all the moves you have learned. Drilling is key to success!

STANCE: First thing in the morning, get in front of a full length mirror and stay in your stance (butt down, legs bent so that your knuckles can hit the ground without rotating your shoulders, head up, neck bowed, hands in front) for FIVE MINUTES STRAIGHT! Then do 100 push ups and 100 crunches. Last thing before you go to bed, do it again. You should be doing a minimum of 400 push ups a day. (I do 800-900 a day!) DO THIS EVERY DAY!

BODY WEIGHT: I've attached my wrestler's diet for you. This should help. Bulking up I feel is just as bad as cutting drastically too low. And drastically too low would be like what I did my junior year in college...I was 165 in the off season and I cut to 134 for conference finals. I took 2nd but I was a dish rag (and I think the guys I beat I intimidated from my success at 142 earlier in the year...I wasn't worth a crap at 134. My body fat was 3.8%! However, when I cut to 136.5 my body fat was 5.5%, I cut the weight gradually, and I beat a couple of Olympic Champions so that's the difference a couple of pounds can make, and what a couple of percentage points of body fat can mean...depends on your system, body fat, etc.) Try to lose the weight gradually over time. Rapid weight reduction isn't good for you and takes away your strength and endurance. Absolutely positively NO CREATINE!!! No one is allowed into the SJSU wrestling room who uses Creatine. I will be happy to elaborate with anyone who questions this.

MENTAL: You have to WANT IT! REALLY WANT IT! And will do ANYTHING to accomplish it! You have to tell yourself that the National Championship is your main goal in life. Print out "NATIONAL CHAMPION -- NOTHING LESS" and put it on your ceiling over your bed so that when you wake up it's the first thing you see. Put it on your bathroom mirror, on your refrigerator, on your glove compartment in your car. Always think about what your competitors are doing. If you're watching TV, do you think your competitors are doing that? Or are they working out? What motivates me is that I think my competitors are sitting around watching TV so I get off my butt and start doing push ups or run or grab someone and we go to the wrestling room and work out. To be a National Champion, the only thing you do is school and wrestling. It's a big sacrifice, but that's what it takes achieve such lofty goals.


	How To Become A National Champion by Coach Lucas

	I had a former wrestler of mine who I first coached in junior high who is going to be a senior at Wesley this coming year. He asked me how he could become a National Champion. Following is what I told him. All of you should take heed. If you truly want to reach the highest pinnacle in your wrestling, this is what it takes. Read on: HOW TO BECOME A NATIONAL CHAMPION -- First off -- set your sights for WINNING NATIONALS! None of this "Top 3" crap as that says you are willing to lose! So what does it take to win the Nationals? Hard work, all year 'round. RUNNING: Get up early EVERY morning and run 3-4 miles. You should be able to run four miles in under 32 minutes. Do this SEVEN DAYS A WEEK! If you can fit in another run during the day, do it! Mix up your runs with a steady distance pace, but at a moments notice sprint full out for 60 seconds straight (it will seem a lot longer than you think!), then have intervals of a medium hard pace. Mix it up but you should be totally spent when you finish your run. WEIGHT LIFTING: At lunch, even days do fast repetition LIGHT WEIGHTS. We used to call them burn outs. But take a 90 pound bar and do as many bench presses as possible for 90 seconds. Wait 90 seconds, then do it again. Wait another 90 seconds and do it again. (By the third rep, your arms will be jelly.) Wait 3 minutes then go to the military press and do the same. Go to the curl bars and do the same. Light weight, very fast reps, three times on all stations (guaranteed, you'll be gassed!) On odd days, try to lift as much weight as you can. Even if you can only do 2 or 3 lifts with the weight, do it. On all stations. 3 reps each. After lifting, do calisthenics (jumping jacks, push ups, toe touchers, crunches, mountain climbers.) Do 100 of each, twice. Do rope climbs, pull ups, peg board, if you have access to one. (I'm trying to get these at SJSU, by the way.) If not, get a towel sopping wet and wring it out until it's almost completely dry. Then take a newspaper and put a single page in each hand and crumple it up until it's a tiny little paper ball wadded up in your hand. Do the entire paper, one page at a time in each hand. (Get the SJ Mercury News...NOT the Spartan Daily!) Do these activities seven days a week! LIVE WRESTLING: Wrestle at least five times a week (six is preferable.) Wrestle with guys you can beat and with guys who can beat you (even if they are bigger than you.) Wrestle guys who are fast and shoot, wrestle guys who are primarily upper body and strong, wrestle guys are are totally unorthodox and weasels. In essence, wrestle all styles. Master two moves a week i.e., week #1 a single leg finish and high crotch. Make it 70% of your moves for the entire week. The next week focus on single leg defense cross face/whizzer and hip throw. Again, 70% of your moves that week are these two moves. And keep doing that from now until the start of official practice next Fall. Always drill the moves you learn so you keep them fresh. By next Fall your drilling will take up a considerable amount of time due to all the moves you have learned. Drilling is key to success! STANCE: First thing in the morning, get in front of a full length mirror and stay in your stance (butt down, legs bent so that your knuckles can hit the ground without rotating your shoulders, head up, neck bowed, hands in front) for FIVE MINUTES STRAIGHT! Then do 100 push ups and 100 crunches. Last thing before you go to bed, do it again. You should be doing a minimum of 400 push ups a day. (I do 800-900 a day!) DO THIS EVERY DAY! BODY WEIGHT: I've attached my wrestler's diet for you. This should help. Bulking up I feel is just as bad as cutting drastically too low. And drastically too low would be like what I did my junior year in college...I was 165 in the off season and I cut to 134 for conference finals. I took 2nd but I was a dish rag (and I think the guys I beat I intimidated from my success at 142 earlier in the year...I wasn't worth a crap at 134. My body fat was 3.8%! However, when I cut to 136.5 my body fat was 5.5%, I cut the weight gradually, and I beat a couple of Olympic Champions so that's the difference a couple of pounds can make, and what a couple of percentage points of body fat can mean...depends on your system, body fat, etc.) Try to lose the weight gradually over time. Rapid weight reduction isn't good for you and takes away your strength and endurance. Absolutely positively NO CREATINE!!! No one is allowed into the SJSU wrestling room who uses Creatine. I will be happy to elaborate with anyone who questions this. MENTAL: You have to WANT IT! REALLY WANT IT! And will do ANYTHING to accomplish it! You have to tell yourself that the National Championship is your main goal in life. Print out "NATIONAL CHAMPION -- NOTHING LESS" and put it on your ceiling over your bed so that when you wake up it's the first thing you see. Put it on your bathroom mirror, on your refrigerator, on your glove compartment in your car. Always think about what your competitors are doing. If you're watching TV, do you think your competitors are doing that? Or are they working out? What motivates me is that I think my competitors are sitting around watching TV so I get off my butt and start doing push ups or run or grab someone and we go to the wrestling room and work out. To be a National Champion, the only thing you do is school and wrestling. It's a big sacrifice, but that's what it takes achieve such lofty goals.