Lucha Libre Workout: The Mexico Regimen

It’s been a while since I’ve shared a workout. Since the my last published workout, I’ve done both heavy and hypertrophy regimens, both of which were built around my training and show schedules. For example, when I was only training on Saturday and/or Sunday and doing shows on Friday and Saturday, I could work a muscle group to complete exhaustion Monday through Wednesday and still have time to recover. Although I’ve got back to heavier lifting days, I carried over one particular element from my pervious hypertrophy program: tempo lifts. After 12 weeks of assorted hypertrophy exercises at various tempos, I not only saw muscle growth, but slowing down my lifts also made me more conscious of my range of movement and thus a better lifter. 

Now that I’m in Mexico City—the Mecca of lucha libre—I’ve adapted my lifting program to my rather-busy lucha training schedule. To reflect the entirety of my week, I’ve included both lifting and lucha days in my training overview. Below you’ll find said overview, and a preview of the workout. Because this program was written by La Avispa—who is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science—it is subject to patronage of her Patreon. If you want full access to this workout, new workout plans, and other cool shit, check out her Patreon for more deets.

Note about neck exercises: I learned this simple, three-way neck exercise regimen from CMLL Profesor Tony Salazar. It’s a means through which to safely strengthen your neck without the potential for spinal compression—a problem that traditional neck bridges can often cause. Essentially, there are three basic movements: nodding “yes,” shaking your head “no”, and a circular motion. The workout is as follows:

• Lay on your back in crunch position, with your knees up, feet tucked near your bum. 
• Once you start, do not rest your head on the floor until after you have completed all reps from all three exercises. That means once you start, you will not rest until you’ve done all. Of. The. Reps. 
• Lift your neck about 1-2 inches from the floor.
• In a controlled manner, nod your head “yes” 20 times. 
• After completing 20 reps, shake your head “no” 20 times. Again, do not touch your head to the floor between reps, nor after you complete all 20 reps.
• After completing 20 reps, move your head in a circular motion to the right. STILL Don’t touch rest head to the floor—you’re almost done. 
• After 20 reps, move your head in a circular motion to the left. Once you finish all 20 reps, you can rest your head on the ground. 

Depending on your current neck strength, you can add reps as needed. I was advised to perform the exercise at least twice per week, and to add 10 reps to each exercise every two weeks (meaning +10 to “yes,” +10 to “no”, +10 to circles to the right, +10 for circles to the left for a total of 40 additional reps) until you hit 50 of each. Adjust accordingly, but 20 reps of each should be an easy baseline for anyone who fancies them self a pro wrestler. 

Now to the workout: 

Monday: 

• Horizontal push & pull exercises 
• Weighted ab exercise 
• Neck exercises 

Tuesday: 

• Lucha libre (~2 hours high-impact, interval-based cardio)

Wednesday:

• Fasted HIIT exercises (10 rounds @ 15 secs, 1 minute rest between intervals) 
• Vertical push & pull exercises 
• Weighted ab exercises 
• Neck exercises 

Thursday: 

• Lucha libre (~2 hours of high-impact, interval-based cardio)

Friday:

• Squats, deadlift, misc legs 
• Weighted ab exercises 
• Neck exercises 
• Lucha libre (~2 hours low-impact chain wrestling) 

Saturday & Sunday: rest and/or perform 

 

As promised, here’s a snippet of the first three exercises for Friday:

What’s your current workout plan? Interested in seeing the whole program? Hit up my comments and let’s chat.

 

Why I Haven’t Been Writing: A Explanation for Both You and Me

For those of you who follow my adventures, you’ve probably noticed a distinct descrease in posts over the past few months, something that I would like now to address.

For me there seems to be a inverse causal relationship between doing and thought: the more I’m doing something, the less time I have to think about it abstractly. Conversely the less I’m doing a thing (e.g., when I first started Rex N Effect), the more time I may spend exploring it intellectually. Beginning back in January, Lucha Volcánica has had monthly shows in Seattle. We have scaled back our training regimen from daily, to 3-hour sessions on Saturday & Sunday. This schedule affords me more time to focus on weight training and conditioning, as well as to train for stunt work. However the increased frequency of shows also means that I’ve been spending more time preparing for shows than I have previously, which in turn, seemingly leaves me less time to ponder the sport in which I am participating.

While I never set a particular scope for Rex N Effect, I did pride myself on writing a non-wrestling wrestling blog of sorts. Further, I never wanted this blog to merely a newsletter of my activities, but now that my activity level within the sport has increased, it may mean that I will need to take a different approach to how I share on Rex N Effect. Although I still intend to explore lucha libre through writing, I will likely be diversifying how the exploration occurs, including more photos, videos, and perhaps (maybe) the resurrection of the mythical podcast.

Exciting things have been happening: I recently won my first mask vs. mask match, and Lucha Volcánica hosted a training seminar featuring the legendary Negro Navarro, both of which I intend to talk about at a later date. Today however, is another training day…

A Luchador’s Workout: 2016

I admittedly intended to stop posting the quarterly training updates, but due to the bizarre popularity of these posts, I am compelled to continue sharing said workouts.

Historically, my workout updates have always featured moderate regimen changes. However Lucha Volcánica’s recent relocation has forced us to change our training schedule, which in turn has altered my personal exercise schedule. LLV now trains in 3-hour blocks on Saturday & Sunday, which includes 1 hour of conditioning—lead by La Avispa—and 2 hours of in-ring training and drills. While this change has hindered my usual MWF lifting schedule, the increased time between in-ring sessions does permit me to maximize my lifting time, as I have more recovery time between lucha training sessions. Accordingly, while my exercise regimen itself has undergone fairly modest changes, I’ve increased the number of repetitions whilst maintaining moderate to heavier weights as well as maintained various max rep sets throughout. Essentially I am able to work harder during the week without fear of muscle failure or exhaustion whilst in the ring.

Additionally I’ve included a sort of high intensity interval-based “second leg day” at the end of the week, which allows me to work on endurance with low weights. Elsewhere I’ve also added a few short runs to switch up the cardio schedule, as well as a yoga day to force myself to focus on general flexibility and take stock of any sore muscles.

I’ve included a printable PDF below which outlines the entire program, including weight regimens as well as the HIT/Tabata circuits. If you happen to try any of the training programs, message or leave a comment: I’m always open to feedback!

Early 2016 workout program

StoryCorps — A Chat with Trueno Verde

Late last summer, myself and other Lucha Volcánica luchadors were invited to share our stories on NPR’s StoryCorps. I sat down with friend and fellow luchador Trueno Verde, a conversation that was recorded and stored in the Library of Congress. As a whole the conversation meanders, although after revisiting our conversation, I realized there was on particular point that I had failed to address.

Outside of the context of lucha libre, many of us would never have had the occasion to cross paths. Lucha libre has brought us together into an environment where cooperation is imperative, for both the sake of the show and the safety of the performers. This experience is not exclusive to us: instead it seems to be common amongst many performers within the sport.

As Trueno and I both note, there’s an implicit trust that we build with most of our luchador colleagues, which in turn creates a particular kind of friendship that involves a  mutual trust—essentially a trust that you will not commit undue physical harm to each other whilst engaging in a sport that is founded upon violence. While neither of us explored the nature of these relationships, it’s a profound and unique aspect of our sport. For me, lucha libre has helped to build friendships that I hope will continue long after we stop performing.

 

All Politics is Local III: Back at the Capital

As some of you may remember from last year, myself and other local performers took to the capital in attempt to change Washington’s strict regulations on pro wrestling. Because many of you asked about the legislation, and it’s a consistent inquiry from colleagues and fans, I thought I’d share a recent statement I gave to Seattlish.

Lucha Libre Volcánica was established in 2011 as the premier lucha libre company and training school in the Pacific Northwest. Since our inception, we’ve had a successful training school, and have performed for regional festivals such as Seattle’s Taco Truck Rodeo, to our own annual show scholarship fundraising show at the University of Puget Sound.

Theatrical pro wrestling has innate hazards like any other athletic endeavor. Accordingly we’ve always emphasized proper technique, safety, and protection amongst our students and performers. Unlike athletic competition, the competition in lucha libre is more akin to theatre—it’s an intellectual and performative competition. Our acrobatics almost always require cooperation between two or more individuals, an essential characteristic that both pro wrestling and lucha libre share. Because of this important distinction between combative sports and pro wrestling, the regulations that have hitherto hindered any development of a pro wrestling scene in Washington are superfluous, and horribly misguided—they demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of pro wrestling.

Fortunately a handful of active supporters managed to gain attention of the Washington State Reps and the DOL, both of whom agreed that the regulations are constrictive, not constructive. Through a series of meetings with the DOL, 3-2-1 Battle’s Josh Black, local performer Jake Stratton, and Lucha Libre Volcánica’s Michael Leveton and owner José Gómez have been able to shape a series of regulations that will hopefully cultivate an active pro wrestling scene in Washington State. While we have been actively petitioning our State Reps, the DOL’s cooperation has been integral to any victories pro wrestling has won in Washington.

Hitherto the regulations have been cost-prohibitive, particularly for small family-owned companies like LLV. Paying for performers, a venue, and promotional materials is already an assumed cost. However the previous regulations would hold that a promoter would also have pay for the following: ringside security; an ambulance and an EMT on site; a promoter’s license; $1 from each ticket sale to the DOL; 10% of the overall door to the DOL. While some companies like the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) may be able to afford these costs, the average promoter cannot. Furthermore these costs deter any would-be trainers from operating a training facility school, as the performance opportunities are scarce.

HB 2388, in conjunction with the changes made with the DOL, will create and incentive for wrestling companies to operate in Washington by removing some of the restrictive and costly regulations imposed upon promoters, owners, and performers. By doing so, we hope not only to create a opportunities for touring companies such as Lucha Libre USA and WWE to visit Washington, but also for small business entrepreneurs such as LLV’s José Gómez.

Further, because of the current restrictions many companies end up hosting guerilla shows and operating underground training facilities. The removal of the regulations will attract professional companies, sincere entrepreneurs, and higher-quality performers, thereby increasing the legitimacy of the professional wrestling scene in Washington. Such competition will increase the accountability of self-described (read: hack) “trainers,” and therefore both the safety of performers and the quality of performances.

With the (hopeful) passing of HB 2388 and the less restrictive DOL regulations, we’re hoping to build a better and more robust pro wrestling scene in Washington State.

A Luchador’s Workout: Break it All (Bonus: Death Match 2015!)

The quarterly workout update is back!

To those who follow the workout updates, I apologize for missing the first quarterly update of 2015. This occurred for two reasons: one, I spent two weeks in Mexico City training, which due to the increased training load, my workouts were slightly more sporadic and irregular in their intensity and workload; two, due to the increased number of performance opportunities early this year (including 3 dates already this year, and 3 more dates in the first week of May alone!), I’ve had trouble pinning down a workout that will continue to build strength and endurance without sacrificing my in-ring training stamina. While I think that I have constructed a regimen that will satisfy the former, this week will be a test-run to see if I need to make any adjustments regarding the latter.

On the note of shows—which I’ll write more about at length at a later date—I am happy and honored to say that I performed in Death Match 2015 alongside former WWE stars Cryme Tyme, & Ezekiel Jackson (now known as Big Ryck on Lucha Underground), as well as Lucha Underground talents Mariachi Loco, Willie Mack, Little Cholo, and Famous B, amongst others. La Avispa, Gringo Loco, Guerrero Aguila and myself were ecstatic to be a part of the show. I can’t thank Ryck enough for the opportunity, and for being so remarkable friendly and accessible. I also want to give a huge shoutout to Josh Black (of Seattle’s 3-2-1 Battle fame), for connecting me to Ryck for the event.

As per usual, the workout is listed below, and I’ve attached a spreadsheet in case you want to sing along.

Weekly Overview

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Lucha training	X	X	Training	X	Training	X	Training
Weight training	Legs	X	X	Push	X	Pull	X
Cardio/plyometrics/agility	Box jumps, 3×2@max height	Swimming	Sprints	X	Sprints	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	X

Weight regimen

Sunday

Squats (4×12, 1×3 heavy)

Dead lift (4×10, 1x max)

Kettlebell swings (4×12-15)

Leg Press (4×15)

Step ups (4×10)

Calf raises (4×6)

Wednesday

Pull-ups (4×10)

Chin-ups (3×10)

Bent-over row (3×10, 2x max)

Reverse flies (4×10)

High pull (4×10)

Hammer curls (4×6)

Bicep curls (4×6)

Shrugs (4×6)

Friday

Bench press (4×10, 1x max)

Weighted dips (4×10)

Incline press (4×10, 1x max)

Chest flies (4×8)

Front/rear/side deltoid isos (3×10)

Tricep isolations (4×6)

Jammer press (4×8)

Circuit Guide

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Cardio/plyometrics/agility	X	Swimming ~ 20 minutes	1:2 interval sprints, 5x sprints	Ladder drills	1:2 interval sprints, 5x sprints	1:2 interval sprints, 2x sprints, 1x 2 minute sprint
Core exercises	3 exercises (abs), 2 exercses (obliques) 2 sets of each exercise	X	X	3 exercises (abs), 2 exercses (obliques) 2 sets of each exercise	X	3 exercises (abs), 2 exercses (obliques) 2 sets of each exercise
Neck	3×3, 10-15 reps	X	X	X	X	X

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 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.

The Post-Championship Post (And Chasing AAA Dreams)

At Lucha Libre in the Park on Saturday August 17th 2013, I completed one of the goals that I had set for myself when I first started lucha libre: to become the Pacific Northwest Lucha Libre Champion.

A Podcast Draws Near!

I’ve been kicking around the idea of starting a podcast for some time, and as of today, I have officially ordered a microphone…which at the very least illustrates a modest financial commitment to recording things.