A luchador’s Workout IV: Pushing For Gains

We’re in the last quarter of 2014, meaning that it’s once again time to change the exercise regimen!

As I have mentioned in previous installments, changes to my routine are usually more of an ongoing, gradual, organic process instead of drastically changing my workout. If you’ve been following my workout updates you’ll notice that changes are often as subtle as increases or decreases in the amount of weight, a change in the number of reps or sets, to swapping flat bench press for dumbbell press. Ideally this would help me continually make gains in both size and strength whilst simultaneously changing enough to avoid plateaus.  As always I avoid working until complete exhaustion, as I still train lucha libre in between my lifting days.

Noteworthy changes in this installment: moving into the holidays, us luchadores at Lucha Volcánica tend to miss more practice days. Accordingly I’m using this time to work on heavier gains, which is noticeable in the increase in the number of overall sets, and low-repetition, heavy-weight sets. Because of the increased number of sets, I’ve also shaved off a few isolations in the interest of time conservation—after all not everyone can or wants to spend several hours at the gym. That being said, the entire program is a circuit, ergo employing active rest in between sets.

I’ve outlined the workout below, but have also included an Excel spreadsheet which gives a little more coherence to the circuit.

Overview:

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Lucha training	X	Yes	Yes	X	Yes	X	Yes
Weight training	Legs	X	X	Push	X	Pull	X
Cardio/plyometrics/agility	HS walkovers	Swimming	X	Sprints	X	Sprints	X
Core exercises	Balance	X	X	Low rep/high weight	X	High rep/no weight	X
Neck	3×3, 10-15 reps	X	X		X	X	X

Circuit Guide:

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Cardio/plyometrics/agility	Handstand walkovers (2 sets, 15 feet), tuckup into handstands (2×10)	Mixed swim workout, ~ 20-30 minutes + Lucha training		4 varied sets, 80-120 contacts		2 sets plyometrics, 2 sets box jumps (5x max height)
Core exercises	Balance: 3 exercises (abs), 2 exercises (obliques) 2 sets of each exercise		Lucha training	Weights: 3 exercises (abs), 2 exercises (obliques) 2 sets of each exercise	Lucha training	High-rep: 3 exercises (abs), 2 exercses (obliques) 2 sets of each exercise	Lucha training
Neck	3×3, 6-8 reps			X		X

Routine:

Deadlifts (2×15, 3×6, 1×10)

Squats (2×15, 3×6, 1×10)

Thigh adductors (3×6, 1×10, 2×15)

Hamstring curls (4×6, 1×10, 1×15)

Calf raises (4×6, 2×15)

DB Press (2×15, 3×6, 1×10)

Weighted dips (2×15, 3×6, 1×10)

Overhead DB press (2×15, 2×8 HS pushups, 1×10)

Jammer press (4×8)

Front deltoid raises (4×6)

Tricep pulldown (4×6, 2 sets burnouts)

Chest flies (4×6, 1×10, 1×15)

Wide-grip pullups (2×15, 3×6, 1×10)

Seated rows (2×15, 3×6, 1×10)

TRX Bodyweight Reverse flies (4×10)

Bicep curls (4×6, 2 sets burnouts)

Shrugs (3×6, 1×12, 1×15)

Downloadable spreadsheet (.xlsx)

A Luchador’s Workout III: Hi-Rep!

I’ve been regularly sharing my workout changes since the inception of Life of Lucha. In accordance with this tradition—and the fact that these posts tend to be quite popular—I am sharing my most recent workout plan.

As was the case with my previous workouts, I built this regimen upon a circuit, which minimizes rest by rotating the muscle groups being worked thereby maintaining an elevated heart rate. Unlike the previous workout routine, I constructed this one so as to build muscle endurance via high repetition and moderate weight—this routine is also good for a bit of trimming and toning. It should also be noted that this workout regimen takes place in between three days of training lucha libre, which is illustrated in the attached chart. Because of the tendency to lose strength gains, I generally will only utilize such a routine for 4-5 weeks instead of the usual quarterly regimen change. Finally, since formatting the text to cover all of the facets of the workout is such a pain in my ass, I’ve decided instead to share a Excel spreadsheet of the routine (isn’t that convenient?).

Download workout chart (.xlsx)

A Luchador’s Workout II: Increasing Intensity, Pushing Performance

The basic abilities required of professional wrestlers are somewhat narrow in scope. Such abilities, however, can only get one so far in lucha libre, and therefore it’s important–like most other sports–to augment one’s training in order to maximize abilities and minimize the risk of injury for both yourself and your opponent.