Are you looking for ways to improve your ability on the football field? Then look no further than wrestling. In this article we will show you why if you want to be the best football player possible you should be training wrestling.
Does wrestling make you a better football player? Yes, wrestling does make you a better football player. Wrestling will improve your tacking ability, increase your cardio, strength and overall athleticism. Wrestling will ensure you never miss a tackle, develop hulk like strength and cardio that will stop you from ever getting tired, resulting in you becoming a better football player
Improved Tackling Ability
Many football players do not have good tackling technique. They often will just run and launch themselves into their opponent. Not only does this lead to many missed tackles but it can lead to some nasty injuries such as concussions. Wrestling will show you how to safely and effectively tackle an opponent to the ground.
The most common takedown in wrestling is known as a double leg. It is very similar to a football tackle, where a wrestler will crouch down, push off his back foot, wrap his arms around the legs of his opponent and drive with his shoulder into their ribs.
Wrestlers are experts at performing double leg takedowns. They perform this move thousands of times a week. Wrestlers know how to generate a huge amount of force that their opponents have no chance of escaping. You will often see wrestlers when performing a double leg lift and throw their opponents across the mat.
If you learn how to execute double leg takedowns like a wrestler your chance of injury will go down, your tackle made percentage will skyrocket and you will be launching your opponent through the air giving you a great shot at forcing fumbles.
The great thing is you do not even need to train wrestling very long to become great at double legs. As this takedown is a fundamental move in wrestling which is taught on day 1 withing 6 months of training you should be proficient enough to see a big improvement in your football tackling ability.
Stronger Neck
Having a strong neck can prevent you from suffering serious injuries such as concussions and spinal injuries. A strong neck prevents your neck from moving and you experiencing a whiplash effect when you take contact. A strong neck can save your brain and your neck.
Wrestlers are known for having big and strong necks. Go check out some of the necks of college and Olympic wrestlers, some of them don’t even look human. Wrestlers develop massive necks from having to prevent their opponents from constantly pulling and snapping on their neck throughout training and competition. Wrestlers are constantly trying to grab each other’s necks as it gives you great control over your opponent.
Wrestlers also develop their necks from performing a movement known as a bridge where a wrestler will place all of his body weight on his neck to avoid having his shoulders touch the mat and be pinned. Wrestlers further develop their necks through specialized weight training exercises.
If you train wrestling your neck will grow and become more muscular. Your neck can never be too big. If you want to reduce your risk of brain and spinal injuries then you should be developing your neck and wrestling is a great way to do that.
Increased Cardio
Scrambling Like This Will Give You Unbeatable Cardio
It doesn’t matter if you are the most skilled and talented football player in the world if you don’t have the engine to allow you to showcase your skills it is all in vain. Cardio is incredibly important in football, great teams can lose to mediocre teams if they aren’t in shape.
Cardio training is often boring and not very enjoyable. It can be easy to zone out and take the easy route when training your typical football cardio. Wrestling is a great way to build your cardio in a fun way. Who wouldn’t want to get fit by throwing your buddies all over the mat with big slams.
Wrestlers are known for having superhuman cardio. Wrestling is an extremely cardio intensive sport. It is hard enough to shadow wrestle for 6 minutes let alone go live with a partner for a full match. Wrestlers will absolutely get you in the best shape of your life.
It is common for football players who first try wrestling to comment on how much more exhausting wrestling practice is than football training. If you want to take your cardio to the next level then you need to step onto the wrestling mat and stretch those lungs.
Increased Coordination
Penn State’s Bravo-Young shows off athleticism against Lehigh
Coordination is an important aspect of football. You can never be too coordinated. It is often beneficial to practice other sports to develop well rounded coordination as by focusing on one sport your body’s movement patterns can become limited.
Wrestling is a difficult sport which requires high levels of coordination. Wrestling involves performing complex multi step movements at rapid speed over and over again. Wrestlers are constantly feeling each others balance and often use great body awareness to attack and defend against takedowns. There is no way that wrestling will not improve your coordination.
Improved Flexibility
Playing football can make you stiff, taking all those bumps and hits can really cause you to lose your flexibility. Flexibility is an important part of football. It can be the difference in avoiding that tackle or catching that pass.
Wrestling will help you increase your flexibility. Wrestlers are forced to be flexible as many of the positions they find themselves in particularly when they are avoiding takedowns require high levels of flexibility. It is common to see wrestlers do the splits or hopping on one leg to avoid being scored on.
Flexibility may not be as cool as strength, somehow bragging about being able to do the splits isn’t as captivating as bragging about your 500 pound deadlift but it is still an important part of football. Wrestling will force you to develop your flexibility whether you like it or not as your opponents will put you in positions which will stretch your shoulders, legs, ankles and groin.
Flexibility is an underrated skill in football and if you develop it through wrestling you will notice a noted improvement in your on field performance.
Higher Levels Of Mental Toughness
Mental toughness is an important part of football. You will have to deal with being tired and injured. If you want to succeed in football you will have to learn to tune those negative voices out of your mind which tell you to quit.
Wrestlers are known for being tough. There are legendary stories of Kurt Angle winning an Olympic gold medal with a broken neck or Dave Schultz winning a tournament with broken ribs. Wrestling breeds a certain level of toughness which is not found in other sports.
There is something about being absolutely exhausted, barely being able to walk but having an opponent right up in your face trying to beat you up. You can either quit and face the shame of that decision or you can dig deep and find the extra energy to fight and defeat your opponent. Wrestling will teach you to find that extra energy.
If you want to increase your mental toughness so much so that the thought of quitting or surrendering never enters your mind then you need to wrestle.
Increased Strength
If you are tackling, blocking or running over an opponent strength plays a big role in your success. This is why football players spend so much time in the weight room. The bigger stronger man has a big advantage over the smaller weaker man. Weights are a great way to develop strength however there are ways to develop strength outside of deadlifting and squatting.
Wrestlers are known for being incredibly strong. If you ever try to grab a hold of a wrestler you will quickly feel that something doesn’t feel quite right. Wrestlers will often feel like they are made of something harder than flesh and bone.
Wrestlers spend hours everyday picking up and throwing their opponents around the room. They are constantly squeezing and holding onto different body parts of their opponents who are thrashing with 100% effort to free themselves. This type of training creates a unique type of strength that is directly applicable to football.
If you want to never fall off a tackle or block and want the ability to throw your opponents off you at will or develop a soul crushing stiff arm then you need wrestle. Wrestling will give you a new level of strength that can’t be developed in the weight room.
Conclusion
It is an easy choice if you want to get fitter, more athletic, more flexible, stronger and improve your tackling ability you need to be on the wrestling mat. All these attributes will have a direct positive impact on your football playing ability. These effects will take place quickly and within 6 months to 12 months of wrestling you will see a significant improvement in your football performance.
