Strength Training of Soviet Wrestlers (Analysis)

[@PowerTraining]

📕Strength & Conditioning for Wrestling: An Evidence-Based Guide: www.amazon.com/dp/B0DM1SRFT6 .... Some clarifications: I am using the term ’’old way’’ as a reference to the methods of a now dissolved state in relation to the modern methods of wrestling strength and conditioning that are frequently implemented, which on a general basis differ quite significantly (if you are aware of the scene). I'm not asserting that Soviet methodology originated from an exclusively archaic, or even empirical approach without any scientific backing-far from it. I am stating that from my perspective as a trainer, their approach seems common sense-it's more of a compliment than an insult because they knew what relevant factors to research instead of spending their time polishing turds.

[@siberiancajun]

My old wrestling coach says in 2024 "this new generation looks like Tarzan in the gym, but wrestles like Jane."

[@NeoCortex963]

😂

[@Howleebra]

One of the biggest secrets to Soviet success is the fact that their athletes were supported by the government and they built Regional training centers all over the vast Empire that provided high-quality gyms at little or no cost to identify and develop talent in early childhood

[@karlievbayram811]

People on this footage are Greco guys of USSR team. Several Olympic champions are among them. It was a great team in the mid-80's.

[@Xavier-ww9zy]

Love it. I think a lot of martial artists try to make lifting too complicated. You have muscles groups that have specified movement patterns. Get strong muscles at the gym, and learn your grappling at the grappling gym. Dante Leon talks about it a lot

[@KAtte-ep7ev]

it might be not true tho. As they say with cardio: try to do movements that resemble your sport. Same with strength training. Squat: for a wrestler it is probably more efficient to do front squats as in wrestling you almost never carry someone on your back. Also split squats (resembles more of the lots of lunging forward) Bench pressing: if you are a boxer, you probably gain strenght that is more readily usable if you use 1 arm alternating bench dumbbel presses and not barbell benct press. In boxing you will never push from a stable surface with both of your hands, so it puts greater emphasis on your balance and stabilizer muscles that will increase your punching power more. Having said this, both needs its place. You alternate between different excercises and see how you react. The thing is, we have lots of lots of studies using the old methods. Not that they are necessary superior, but this is an area that is hard to make studies on, let alone introducing all the unstable surface and 'weird' excercises.

[@daxisperry7644]

@@KAtte-ep7evyou’re misunderstanding the difference between the attribute Strength and the attribute Cardio/Conditioning. They aren’t the same. If you take steroids, you’re immediately stronger and able do your sport more effectively because your body is Stronger. In the same way that if you’re doing your sport while also doing steroids will make you better (because the steroids simply make your Whole Body stronger)….Doing a good program of heavy compound lifts covering your whole body will make the adaptations that the steroids would have. The conditioning and cardio comes from Practicing your sport.

[@KAtte-ep7ev]

​@@daxisperry7644 "Strength and the attribute Cardio/Conditioning" I do not confuse. Point still stays. If you are a boxer, your strenght will be more usable if you are strong in the 1 arm dumbbel alternating press rather than the benchpress. The key is the movement still should have heavy weight for the stimulus if you want to go for power. So some overly complicated or isolating excercises that can only be done with light weight are not giving your body that stimulus. All the examples I gave you in the previous reply can be done with fairly heavy weights. "Doing a good program of heavy compound lifts covering your whole body will make the adaptations that the steroids would have" Its funny talking about this under a soviet weight training video, when they were juiced to the ghills. So according to you, just weightlifting has the same effect as steroid. No, it doesnt thats why they combined both.

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

The thing you’re missing is the that at some point it’s GPP then it’s sport specific. Simple

[@cadkls]

Google Training Specificity.

[@ПетърВасилев-в4ы]

Hey man i am glad you brought up the old methods of the Soviet Union and for that matter of the whole eastern block. I am from Bulgaria and my generation is always sceptical of things invented back then , but the more i search and study this era of sports the more i find out how good they got it.

[@smokescreenOG]

Soviet Union and a few other eastern block countries blended 5 decades of the best of sports science on the planet and common sense.

[@getsmart3701]

Let us take a moment to appreciate how strong and fit this man is in the video. No bulking muscles, not tight and stiff, just fluid and strong. That is a real world strong body. Also the Pylometric mullet super stud, what a specimen he is. I suspect most people today don't want this kind of body, I think most want bulking muscles and let the functionality of them of it be damned, as long as they look good. I think you are absolutely spot on with your assessment of what we are seeing, compound movements, average weight slowly increasing intensity, good form, full range of motion...what more could the body ask for? Another great video sir that really shows that you know what you are talking about (as it seems that so many don't).

[@eddiehauser6661]

I just left a comment about mullet man, whose name is Werner Gunthor. You can find full videos of his training on YT and they're really impressive, I suggest checking them out

[@maxpflughoeft6806]

the first time I saw this footage I wanted to immediately incorporate a lot of these movements. as a wrestler/ martial artist, the Zercher deadlifts in particular really have been a lifesaver for my back, although I started those before I had seen this, tryin some of the other exercises really impressed upon me how useful these variations are. I hadnt seen the landmine twist until now though. I had done the KB twists and throws before and really like them too, moreso even than the power clean, though I think its good to do those as well.

[@heroscapewarrior4217]

Ive beenxhaving low back issues and zerchers i feel like are the answers

[@Canadianchungus]

the GOAT is back. Would be interesting to learn on judo athlete programs.

[@HumanAki]

I get so excited the minute I see you uploaded a video cause I know it's going to be quality from top to finish! Thanks, Coach! 😁

[@charles2007cm]

I think that landmine rotation is exactly what my core has been looking for. Thanks!

[@ED-yo4qi]

This is exceptional and points out a big problem in the current approach towards performance conditioning.

[@RavageEffex]

This is one of the coolest videos I've seen this information is worth so much so cool to have it on a KZbin recommendation

[@Miller2h41]

Simplicity is the greatest answer to complexity.

[@devriestown]

I wish we could vote for videos. That is extremely good . This has so much amazing information. Well done 👍🏻.

[@raijinoni5164]

great vid . Thanks for sharing. I always thought of deficit lifts esp for DL's (and suitcase DL variation) but never could find a way to impliment it !!! UNTIL NOW. Wooden platforms here I come .

[@arikhan8804]

3:54 Video starts here

[@editsdharma108]

Tysm

[@reesecain.fitness]

Great video, I'm a boxer & strength and conditioning coach and my methodly is general physical preparation paired with contrast training. Build a strong body through your compounds, deadlift, bench, squat, pull ups, dips. Maybe some OLY lifts if my athlete is interested. Alongside jumps, throws, slams and hops, build the overall full body strength to complement your skill work. Not everything has to be sport specific.

[@NoMoTheUFO]

Great video with great information. 🔥🔥

[@basslinger]

That was awesome, interesting video footage and great commentary, thanks!

[@mokalora]

one of the best !!! you are so right.

[@amarbari_ofc]

🎯 Key points for quick navigation: 00:14 *🏋️‍♀️ Basic compound movements with full range of motion are effective for strength training.* 00:29 *🧠 Don't apply research findings blindly, consider context and your own experience.* 01:09 *💪 Fundamental movements like pushing, pulling, squatting, and deadlifting are crucial for strength training.* 01:38 *🧮 Don't rely too much on tools and formulas, use common sense and consider the fundamentals.* 02:18 *🥊 Strength training for wrestling or any sport doesn't need to be overly complicated.* 02:29 *📈 Progressive overload is key to strength gains.* 03:13 *🏋️‍♂️ Simple exercises like bench press, squats, and deadlifts allow for effective progressive overload.* 03:54 *🏋️‍♂️ Kettlebell deficit muscle snatch engages the entire body.* 04:09 *🏋️‍♂️ Context matters in strength training, a bent back with a light weight is different from a bent back with a heavy weight.* 05:07 *🧬 Our bodies are designed for movement, including some back flexion.* 05:36 *🦍 Humans have evolved over millions of years, don't overthink movement.* 05:51 *🏋️‍♂️ Proper strength training engages the entire body, not just one specific area.* 06:19 *💪 Rope climbing is an effective exercise that improves grip and back strength.* 06:45 *📈 Progressive overload is key to strength gains, regardless of the specific exercise.* 06:59 *🏋️‍♂️ Listen to your body and adjust training intensity based on daily readiness.* 07:27 *🏋️‍♂️ Alternating kettlebell presses demonstrate excellent posture and technique.* 07:42 *🧠 Common sense is key to effective strength training, even without a fancy degree.* 08:10 *💪 Barbell landmine rotations work on hip rotation and core engagement.* 08:37 *💥 Plyometrics should be performed with high intensity and focus on explosive power.* 09:05 *🏋️‍♂️ Power snatches are a powerful exercise for total body development.* 09:47 *🏋️‍♂️ Zercher deadlifts are a valuable exercise for developing power, along with power cleans and other variations.* 10:00 *🤼‍♂️ The Zercher deadlift mimics the lifting motion used in Greco-Roman wrestling.* 10:15 *💪 Experienced Greco-Roman wrestlers have a strong instinctual understanding of how to activate muscles effectively for reverse lifts.* 10:29 *💥 The video demonstrates ballistic training with a kettlebell, which is crucial for developing explosive power, mirroring the dynamics of a suplex.* 10:42 *❓ Modern strength and conditioning coaches rarely incorporate such fundamental explosive power development exercises.* 10:56 *🤯 Modern training is overcomplicating things, while the simplicity and effectiveness of old-school techniques are being overlooked.* 11:11 *🏋️‍♂️ The video highlights the importance of full range of motion, exemplified by a wrestler performing a bench press in the hollow position.* 11:25 *🤩 The presenter is enthusiastic about the simplicity and effectiveness of the training methods showcased in the video.* 11:37 *📚 The video offers valuable lessons that could surpass the knowledge gained from years of formal education.* Made with HARPA AI

[@nordicforex88]

Great video!!

[@Yupppi]

Soviets and kettlebells, name a more iconic duo. I really wish seal rows were more commonly easy to set up, it's just an exercise many lifters would appreciate when you don't tax the parts that are already taxed plenty, to get your specific training in. I was wondering why in the heck did the clean look so odd in that clip, but then I realised it was a split position catch. It made it look like a modern let's say football player catching in the weirdest stance (which by no means is a problem for them since they're not olympic lifters but using it as a tool). And I really liked the landmine, it's just not a very common setup to have at gyms these days. And even though it looks funny, depth jumps from Soviets was a really fun thing. Just not recommended often and for most people because it's such a taxing exercise and the injury risk seemed to be high for non-developed strong athletes. But box jumps are the best stuff, in terms of having fun with that power. It's kinda funny that you mention that we have too many machines and calculators deviating us from simple and effective training. Yet at the same time it's mostly the sports that have that icon glorification, that personality thing, non-olympic sports, where the general audience is enamoured with weird training quirks that the champions came up by themself. Not to talk about Hollywood/celebrity trainers and influencers selling personal product, that's not relevant to sports training. All the serious athletes (in olympic sports commonly) still focus on the very basics: olympic lifts, barbell lifts, bodyweight power and some forms of intense and endurance cardio. While focusing the specificity in their specific sports skill training, not in the gym. Although the forementioned methods kinda are specificity form of training for the sports (say squats either high or to depth based on demands, olympic lifts to generate power with loads, barbell lifts for basic movement pattern strength relevant to the sport etc). I forget who it was, but might have been a Kazakh wrestler in the recent yeras who was training at rural parts and the training footage was just awesome. They were almost like Rocky at the cabin in terms of access to equipment, but they had so many simple and fundamental exercise types relevant to wrestling. I would actually present an argument for the bent back in kettlebell lift. Since the body is pretty resilient in what it has adapted to, and athletes face unexpected moments and positions, perhaps having some training where you round the back and make your spinal erectors work over motion range could be beneficial to be more resilient against injuries. Like you're probably not gonna be able to use a kettlebell big enough to injure yourself in training especially if you have worked up to that weight to earn it. Like deadlifters who have always lifted with a rounded back are pretty safe with it. And to jump from that point to how sometimes the static core is extremely emphasised these days with variation of planks and sorts. Of course maintaining a stable core resisting rotation etc is a great ability, but an athlete will face times where their ability to have that stiff and straight core is compromised. Sometimes you end up finding yourself in a situation where you need to pull in an unfavourable posture like slightly bent to the side and leaning forward. In that light it makes sense to not overly fixate on that stiff trunk with no motion always and have occasional moving trunk exercises as well, as sort of conditioning. Like educators might bash side bends for various reasons, but doing some of them occasionally might just benefit you in a sport where you can't just stand still. But at the same time you could pose a question "what exactly is this kettlebell lift training?" when it's using a bit of all the muscles and it doesn't reflect much movement patterns in the sport, is there not a more efficient way to train for hypertrophy, strength or sport specific movement patterns for the fatigue cost. Maybe you could say that it addresses the specific athelte's shortcomings in question, teaches them out of some poor motoric pattern or enhances some motoric pattern that is desired. Like comparing it to muscle snatch for snatch. Or maybe it makes the athlete just feel better, maybe it alleviates their tendency to have back pain or shoulder pain or knee pain or whatever. But I think we should also be careful with looking things from distance and labeling them generally good for whatever because it was used by an athlete or a system in a clip, without knowing what the reasoning for using it was from the close perspective, and making an effort to justify its use to fit our understanding. A great many misinterpretations have been made like this, especially from the Soviet training because of the language and content barrier, people saw some very zoomed in look at the training and concluded that it's the secret potion, while interviewing the people behind coaching and designing the training sighed and explained why it was used in specific cases and for what. And this is not a critique towards the video or its contents, just rambling on about generally looking at systems or athletes and how people have in the past and currently looked at things without context and come to different conclusions than the purpose was. I would also say that Shohei Ono's training footage is about as good as you can get on internet for simple and effective strength training for grappling (with the caveat that different forms of grappling might have a bit of specificity variation for what the athletes need). Supposedly the rounded thoracic area is the way to lift the maximal deadlifts, due to shortening of the moment arm. Great focused video.

[@eddiehauser6661]

The guy he shows at 9:18 was an olympic thrower named Werner Gunthor, and he had some incredible training methods. You can find some of his training videos on YT, I suggest checking them out!

[@wasabi5338]

0:09 tbf, those rubber bands were a staple of ussr wrestling routines

[@alex_285]

Can you please make a video about strength and conditioning for kickboxing 😊😊😊

[@Fluggrugger1]

I too am enamored with this footage because of its - simplicity - practicality - no bosu balls 😆

[@Nolosses777]

This is the best channel 💪🗿

[@glengabruch4664]

Awesome video. 👍

[@TheStudentOfLife808]

Love the video

[@sk00411]

I believe during the old times.....people on average were much healthier and fitter...yes...now life span is increased for two simple reasons...lesser wars and cures for various infectious diseases...but an average person on day to day basis....did many more compound movements simply daily....due to lack of so much technology...and same goes for atheletes....

[@devriestown]

Excellent 💪

[@dope6921]

Such a great video

[@Shaq34332]

I agree 100%!

[@KAtte-ep7ev]

Hi, you have great videos! high quality production and great knowledge. could you make one about injuries? Like how wrestlers rehab in general and give some examples please on specific sparts, the most common ones injures in wrestling (knees, shoulders)

[@uspenskiy]

Spasibo

[@mizukarate]

Can you do a video on Soviet mental training used for athletics?

[@bobfaam5215]

Best mental training is NO TRAINING AND BE NATURAL . Too much training weakens the mind rather than strengthening it .

[@mizukarate]

@@bobfaam5215 Read a book on this topic years ago. Trust me it would be helpful bro.

[@eddiehauser6661]

The "buddy lefts" they are doing where they are moving another person look really funny, but talk about great lifts that are super functional!! I do similar things using a boxing heavy bag, different lifts, carries, and throws, and it is a GREAT workout! It is a great combination of strength, power, and endurance

[@succinct685]

Great video

[@wadsworth2351]

Where can i find those russian-style kettlebells that are seen in this video? I have as yet to find some proper, well-built and high-quality kettlebells for my own training.

[@mixilflic]

The square handle kettlebells are competition style. I prefer the more rounded handled ones. They’ve been available for the last 20 years in the USA. Rogue, titan , Rkc ,strong first should have them.

[@jakubwianecki3706]

Yeah this basically sums it up good. KZbin content creators so called "coaches" just pump shit out for views. How much can you talk about barbell curls? It's all for the money. That's why I appreciate my Dad who was a coach and would complicate this stuff. He kept it logical, academic and straight to the point. Nice job,

[@milanm8681]

90+% of this exercise we do in serbian greco roman training

[@WilliamsWrestlin]

Man, it'll be a treat if you come across Persian (Iranian) strength training for wrestling

[@1igonin]

The word you are trying to find to describe such old school approach is: Sincerity. They submitted to the path while discarding their own desires, fears and judgements about such path, they only did what they must to Be true (warrior, man, whatever...). Now people do not submit to the path, they try to make the path submit to them, to their desires, fears and judgements about how the path should be for them (they adapt the path to their rigid, unsubmitted egos). Humbleness, Sincerity and Truth are very rare nowadays, that is why they are so appealing for more and more people (specially men).

[@сальваторегильяно-р2ф]

В СССР спортсмены боялись только одного подвести свою команду,свою родину! А нынешнее племя бездуховные и мертворождённые им нужна только бумага они слепцы! Если тебе запрещают выступать под собственным флагом ты должен плюнуть им в лицо и уйти!

[@Georgenada8am]

can you create a program around soviet wrestler training?

[@mikebond3210]

The soviets had very good wrestling athletes and training approaches

[@wildthrows]

I think a bent back is good training for wrestlers. Doing a takedown is rarely done with a straight back.

[@22448824]

Most things we do in like are not done with a straight back. Maybe standing still.

[@cuda4755]

I have a question will fast explosive power cleans and jump box squats improve my teakdown shoot power and explosivness

[@redhare8572]

You should talk about Leon Edward's S&C. Its on his coach insta

[@sigmamale-i1o]

Does lifting 10kg once burn same amout of calories as lifting 1kg 10 times?

[@editsdharma108]

No

[@antoniorich8054]

Just add the rampant peds and you’ve got it

[@chribbat8102]

Bra video

[@frankausderfam.polifka4231]

Top!

[@zainbhojani]

The School of Arshad Nadeem 🥇

[@blackthornep8115]

Can anyone link to to the video of the guy doing the amazing jumps?

[@Mourad-x3z]

DNA bro

[@landonwinslow8160]

Could Football players use this?

[@сальваторегильяно-р2ф]

Этот фильм очень качественно снят как всё советское кино!

[@hunterholistichealth]

02:57 Zercher deadlifts 😎

[@non9886]

these were rather jefferson curls but it is very similar...

[@karenandvlad]

It Russian Soviet school , I live here USSR,,when Olympic weightlifting and wrestling used to be dominated in the world.

[@TruthTellert63]

0.07: No wonder Mr. Spock was so strong.

[@lukewilliams010]

I’ve always believed the old way is the best way.. they did by experience trial and error they saw what worked and what didn’t by actually seeing the effects themselves nowadays is too scientific and used to make money so they blurt out anything

[@JbBlastdouble]

So u think we should train when sore ? No rest days

[@davidwagner9644]

The Soviet Method is high volume. Say you can do 10 pullups. It is better to do 5 sets of 5 pullups 5 days a week as you 125 pullups in a week. The American way is you do 3 sets of 10× 2 to 3 days so 60 to 90 pullups. See how the Russians have massive volume increase vs USA.

[@stefanonecchi-ghiri8456]

This can work in sanda kickboxing

[@littlethuggie]

Your back is meant to round. Light, heavy, doesn't matter.

[@Trackguy77]

They won’t be keeping a straight back when wrestling and lifting a human

[@acenterten2142]

❤

[@theconservativeone2690]

2:31

[@hamala7437]

khooooooooo arrrrrrre yuiiiiiiii >

[@takeiteasy8847]

I mean be honest who uses Bozu balls really? Most serious athlets do OHP, Squat, Deads, bench, dip and some horizontal and vertical pulls. Sure they do it with more modern equipment but it is not like people have forgotten how to progress on hard basic lifts. Modern athletics fortunately are not the tictocfeed yet.

[@ashash5186]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂whatever

[@ghassan_alsalhi]

Nice video but we were not apes chambanzi or cave men !

[@deseangibir4764]

Chimpanzee ancestors? Who descended from that? This dude is talking out of his ass.

[@Spineday]

I post a lot of zerchers on tik tok and the comments are a war zone

[@sudhirkhwairakpam9357]

𝗔

[@NigerianCel]

steroids

[@LatimusChadimus]

Except nature didn't design our bodies, our Creator designed our bodies. If you think a species without every last ability it was designed to have to survive didn't have those abilities in early stages, every single species that had life would have died long before it had the ability to survive! That fish you think that came up on land that had the ability to breathe out of nowhere didn't have the ability to digest sand so even that fish would have died long before it had the ability to feed itself, which would have given it some energy to maybe reproduce except that lonely fish didn't have the ability to reproduce with itself after ending up on land so the whole theory of evolution is still a theory, one that is so easily disproven by logic; here is your simplest form of logic, the fact that a species would have died off long before it developed any ability to survive. Moe-Ron

[@ronwhite8503]

How can someone who believes in a fictional deity call someone else a moron? I bet you still believe the world is flat.......grow up.

[@LatimusChadimus]

@ronwhite8503 I never once believed the world was flat therefore I cannot continue to do so but there's nothing wrong with that word, it has meaning and if somebody is not on that level of intellect but gets told that, hopefully it will humble them to do better. And I don't believe in some deity, I believe in a creator and that creator also doesn't take kindly to people doing foolish things and lying to people as well as enabling wicked things. Instead of using your emotions to formulate a response, try using your brain, you will get much further in Society

[@LatimusChadimus]

@@ronwhite8503 besides, it's foolish to believe in lies no one can prove (even the fossil records cannot prove evolution), when design is supported by every science. It's foolish. There's another word for being a fool, and it rhymes with boron 🙄

[@deseangibir4764]

This fool said vaccines. Smh 🤦🏾‍♂️

[@gji2797]

I cried watching this video. Like How bullied are we to behave in a mechanical ways. Sometimes, we have to realise that we are humans and not robots.

[@gaelr.s7123]

huh??

[@22448824]

You cried! Really? TRT is available

[@ByAnyMeans000]

Everything ok at home bud?

[@aliedil5415]

Olympic lifting is not basic stuff, look at them with their splitclean, splitsnatch lol

[@BrandonWilliams-wf6hg]

"They just use basic movements" *shows a split snatch

[@afshanjaved9849]

Voice over is done by @svenkoch

[@BalkanSpectre]

It's funny to think that the USSR methods are the "old way" just because we are just catching up. No, the answer is not fucking empiricism (or what you call "common sense"). The Soviet Union was approaching physical education with a scientific approach. Trying to use the name and their footage only to divert the conversation to a whole different direction

[@PowerTraining]

I am using the term ’’old way’’ as a reference to the methods of a now dissolved state in relation to the modern methods of wrestling strength and conditioning that are frequently implemented, which on a general basis differ quite significantly (if you are aware of the scene). I am not claiming AT ALL that Soviet methodology came from an exclusive empirical approach; I am stating that from my point of view as a trainer, their approach appears common sense-it's more of a compliment rather than an insult because they knew what relevant factors to research rather than polishing turds. If you've watched my past videos, you'll notice that I refer to their scientific works all the time (including Filimonov for boxing, Yuri Verkhoshansky when it comes to plyometrics, or the source that you see at 11:00 in this video even). Calm down.