September 2026 · For wrestlers and parents · 5 minute read
Between now and the first practice is the last window of the year in which getting stronger is the main job. Once the season starts, mat time takes the energy and the weight room drops to maintenance. This post is the bridge between the summer strength block and the October ramp on The Off-Season, and it hands off, in week four, to the sample preseason week on Conditioning: Building a Wrestler's Engine. Read that page first if you have not; its first rule applies here too: the best conditioning for wrestling is wrestling. Everything below supplements mat time. Nothing replaces it.
Read this before the first set
This is general information, not medical advice or a personalized program. Get coached on form before adding load, and talk to a physician before starting any training program, especially with a medical condition. The American Academy of Pediatrics, in its guidance on resistance training for young athletes, "emphasizes the need for proper technique and supervision," and so do we. One more line, and it is not negotiable on this site: this block is for getting stronger, never for dropping weight. A wrestler who starts a strength block by cutting calories gets weaker. Weight settles toward a sensible class on its own once practice starts in October and November. The reasons are on The Truth About Cutting Weight.
By age, because the answer is different
Youth (5 to 11): no barbells, and no "program." The AAP notes that children as young as five build strength through hops and jumps, and that is exactly the point: bear crawls, monkey bars, wheelbarrow walks, tumbling, tug-of-war, sumo circles. Play that happens to build strength is the whole plan at this age. If a youth club wants to run a weight-room session for eight-year-olds, ask why.
Middle school: bodyweight strength two or three times a week, push-ups, pull-ups (assisted is fine), squats, lunges, planks, with form over reps every time. Add short intervals in the last two weeks before practice. Barbell work belongs here only with a qualified coach watching every rep and a parent who has asked the doctor.
High school and adult: the four-week block below. Girls run the identical block. There is no girls' version of a squat.
The four-week block
Six movements, all season, all the way through: a squat (the shot finish), a hinge like a deadlift or kettlebell swing (lifting from the bottom, mat returns), a press (hand fighting, pushing), a row or pull-up (pulling, snap-downs, clearing ties), a loaded carry (grip and core under fatigue), and neck work, the armor of the sport, starting with isometrics and adding light resistance only after a coach has watched you do them. Three lifting days a week, never on consecutive days, and one or two open mats a week to keep the feel of wrestling in your hands.
| Week | In the weight room | Everything else |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 Technique and baseline | 3 sessions. Loads you could do five more reps with. A coach watches every rep of every movement. Three sets of eight on each lift. The goal is clean patterns, not sweat. | 1 open mat. Two easy 20-minute bike or run sessions for the aerobic base. |
| Week 2 Add load | 3 sessions. Add weight only when every set in week one was clean. Three sets of five to eight. Neck isometrics and grip work (towel hangs, farmer carries) finish two of the three sessions. | 1 to 2 open mats. Same two easy aerobic sessions. |
| Week 3 The heavy week | 3 sessions. Sets of three to five on the squat, hinge, and press. This is the only week that should feel hard in the weight room. No new movements this week; new movements at heavy loads is how preseasons end early. | 1 to 2 open mats. One interval session: 8 rounds of 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy. |
| Week 4 Deload and ramp | 2 lighter sessions at 60 to 70 percent of week three. You are done getting stronger for now; the job is to arrive fresh. | 2 open mats. Two interval sessions. Conditioning takes over: run the sample preseason week on the conditioning page. Replace worn shoes and headgear now, not in November. |
What to skip
- Max testing. A one-rep max tells you a number and risks a preseason. You do not need the number.
- Anything designed to lose weight. See the box at the top. It is the one rule on this page that cannot bend.
- New exercises in week three. Learn movements in week one, load them in weeks two and three.
- Training through joint pain. Soreness in a muscle is the work; pain in a joint is a message. Stop and get it looked at.
- A program copied from a college team's social media. Their athletes have years of base you are building right now.
Write it down
Four weeks is short enough to plan on one sheet. The printable Season & Off-Season Planner has room for it; pencil in the three lifting days, the open mats, and the date of the first practice, and put it on the refrigerator. A block you can see is a block you will finish.
The one-sentence version
Three lifts a week for four weeks, technique first and heavy only in week three, and if you ever have to choose between a lift and an open mat, go to the open mat.
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Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics, guidance on resistance training for children and adolescents · our conditioning guide