Exercise 1: Lateral Bound to Box Jump with Single Leg Landing

The first exercise checks multiple boxes at once, which is exactly what you need when your training time is limited. The lateral bound to box jump with a single leg landing combines lateral power development, triple extension, repeated power output, and single leg stability into one drill.

Most people think about combat sports in terms of forward-and-backward force, but a huge amount of what happens in wrestling and grappling is sideways. When you drive a shot, lift an opponent, or work to turn someone onto the mat, you are producing lateral force. The lateral bound is a gold standard drill for developing that quality. By immediately transitioning into a box jump following the bound, you are training your body to produce power again right after an explosive effort — exactly what scrambling demands. The single leg landing adds a stability component that pays dividends every time you find yourself on one leg mid-takedown.

Use this exercise year-round. Aim for two to three reps per side for three to six total sets. The emphasis here is on quality and intent — every rep should be as explosive as you can make it.

Exercise 2: Battle Rope Pull-Ups or Rope Climbs

Grip strength is one of the most underrated physical qualities in wrestling and grappling-based sports. You can have a tremendously strong upper back and powerful lats, but if your grip fails when you are trying to control a wrist or finish a leg, none of that strength reaches your opponent. The battle rope pull-up addresses both problems simultaneously.

By performing pull-ups and chin-ups on thick battle ropes instead of a standard bar, you are training your upper back, lats, and biceps while also placing a serious demand on your forearms and hands. The thick, unstable surface of the rope is far more specific to the demands of actually gripping a wrist, a head, or a collar than any fixed bar. If you have access to a rope climb, that is even better — the unilateral nature of rope climbing, alternating one arm after the other, more closely mirrors the pulling patterns you use in a live match.

If you cannot yet perform strict pull-ups on a battle rope, shift to an inverted row variation and work your way up. Do three to four sets of as many quality reps as possible, chalking your hands and pushing to near-failure. Build this consistently throughout the year and you will feel the difference the next time you need to hang on in a scramble.

Exercise 3: Zercher Bulgarian Split Squat

Single leg lower body strength is non-negotiable for wrestling. Nearly every offensive and defensive action in a match — shooting, lifting, driving, sprawling — requires you to load and explode off one leg at a time. The Bulgarian split squat, or rear-foot-elevated split squat, is one of the most effective ways to build that unilateral lower body strength, and loading it in the Zercher position takes it to another level.

Holding the barbell or sandbag in the crook of your arms directly in front of you accomplishes several things at once. It trains your upper back to stay strong under load, develops a braced and stable midsection, and physically simulates the act of controlling a leg, lifting a body, or driving an opponent from point A to point B. The position is uncomfortable and demands full-body tension, which is exactly what a contested takedown feels like.

Push this exercise hard. Load it up and work in the three-to-six repetition range on each leg, treating it with the same seriousness you would give a major compound lift. Be aware that this exercise does produce significant soreness, especially in the glutes and adductors, so introduce it gradually over the first couple of weeks. Once your body adapts to it, this becomes one of the most mat-specific lower body exercises you can program.

Exercise 4: Alternating Dumbbell Bench Press

Combat sports athletes need to develop upper body pressing strength, but the standard barbell bench press is not always the best tool for the job. Wrestling and grappling are chaotic, and you almost never get to push with both arms in a perfectly symmetrical, stable position. The alternating dumbbell bench press is a more practical and sport-specific way to train pressing for combat athletes.

By pressing one dumbbell at a time in an alternating fashion, you introduce a unilateral demand that challenges shoulder stability and forces your core to resist rotation — a constant requirement on the mat. Using a neutral grip (palms facing each other) is a smart default that reduces shoulder stress and keeps the joint healthy through a long competitive season. The alternating pattern also keeps your ribcage moving side to side, providing built-in rotational core work with every set.

During the competitive season, keep the loads heavy and the reps low — around five hard reps per arm. In the offseason, you can push into the six-to-eight rep range per arm to build additional muscle mass and add some size to your upper body. Either way, this pressing variation is going to carry over to match performance better than a fixed-bar bilateral press.

Exercise 5: Hex Bar / Trap Bar Deadlift

There is no getting around it — if you compete in wrestling or any grappling-based sport, you need to be able to pick people up. The hex bar deadlift, also called the trap bar deadlift, is the most accessible and effective way to develop that quality in the weight room.

The hex bar deadlift earns its place on this list for several reasons. First, it is easy to learn. The mechanics are straightforward enough that athletes can begin loading it productively almost immediately, without spending weeks drilling technique. Second, it is lower back friendly relative to a conventional barbell deadlift, which matters for athletes who are already stressing their spines and hips in practice. Third, most trap bars have dual handle options — a high handle and a low handle — allowing you to adjust range of motion based on the athlete’s size or training goal. Fourth, because the movement is almost entirely concentric with no significant lowering phase, it does not create the same muscle damage and soreness as eccentric-dominant exercises, meaning you can recover from it faster and use it more frequently throughout the season.

The trap bar deadlift is also extremely versatile in how it can be programmed. For pure strength development, work up to heavy sets of one to three reps across three to five sets, keeping a rep or two in the tank on most sessions. For power development — especially in-season when you want to maintain explosiveness without accumulating excessive fatigue — drop to 60 to 70% of your max and perform one to two reps per set with maximum intent, resting 20 to 30 seconds between sets for eight to twelve total sets. That cluster-style approach to power training is one of the best ways to build and maintain the explosive burst needed for scrambles and takedown finishes.

Exercise 6: Tabata-Based Conditioning on the Ski Erg or Assault Bike

The final piece of the puzzle is conditioning, and specifically the ability to maintain near-maximal power output late in a match when your opponent is beginning to fade. Standard aerobic work has its place in the broader training program, but nothing replicates the specific demand of an all-out scramble in the final minute of a match quite like Tabata-based high intensity intervals.

The standard Tabata protocol is simple: 20 seconds of all-out work followed by 10 seconds of complete rest, repeated for eight total rounds. It is brutal, it is short, and it is extraordinarily effective for developing the mental toughness and physiological capacity to keep producing power when your body is screaming at you to stop.

Between the ski erg and the assault bike, the ski erg gets a slight edge for wrestling and combat sports applications. The full-body pulling and hinging motion of the ski erg more closely resembles the demands of the sport, and spending time in a forward-loaded position with your head down directly simulates the defensive and bottom positions you encounter in a match. That said, most people have access to an air bike but not a ski erg, and the bike is still an outstanding conditioning tool for this purpose.

Complete one to three Tabata blocks as part of your conditioning sessions. Your aerobic base still needs to be developed through longer, steadier-state work, but these short, violent intervals are what will make the difference between fading out and finishing strong when the match is on the line.

How to Organize These Exercises Into a Training Week

The key is not to pile all six exercises into a single session. That approach leads to excessive soreness, extended training sessions, and diminishing returns. Instead, organize your week around three training days with clear physical themes.

On your first training day, lead with the plyometric and power-based work — the lateral bound to box jump is your anchor here. Follow it with one major strength movement, either the trap bar deadlift or the Zercher Bulgarian split squat, and then add the alternating dumbbell bench press as your upper body pressing work. This session covers power development, lower body strength, and upper body pressing in a balanced, efficient structure.

On your second training day, shift the focus toward power endurance and conditioning. This is where the battle rope pull-ups and Tabata conditioning work belong. You can also incorporate sleds, loaded carries, or other conditioning tools here. The goal of this day is to stress your energy systems and build the grip and upper back endurance that carries over directly to mat performance.

On your third training day, return to a power-plus-strength structure. Choose a different jumping or plyometric variation — a broad jump, a seated box jump, or even a barbell clean or snatch if those are in your toolbox. Then rotate to whichever major lower body lift you did not use on day one. Round the session out with some additional rowing-based pulling work using the battle ropes or a cable row variation.

Structured this way, you can get through each session in 30 to 40 minutes, which matters enormously during the competitive season when practice is already draining your energy and potentially cutting weight on top of it. When the offseason arrives, you can increase training volume, extend session length, and give more attention to building the muscle and strength base that will serve you the following year. But this three-day framework gives you a reliable foundation that works year-round and produces results on the mat where it counts.

These six exercises have shown up consistently in my training programs for combat sports athletes not because they look impressive, but because they develop the impulse, absolute strength, and power endurance that winning matches actually requires. If this type of content helps your training, subscribe to the THIRST Gym YouTube channel, leave a comment, and hit the like button — new content drops every week to help you perform better and train smarter.