How Conditioning Should Change in the Off-Season

Jul 7

In wrestling, conditioning is what separates you from winning and losing. All the laps, sprints, circuits that burn your lungs dictate your hand getting raised or your opponent’s hand being raised. If you’re training like that year-round, you’re missing the point. The off-season is not the time to be in mid-season shape. It’s the time to build a better engine.

If you’re still doing the same cardio workouts you were doing in-season, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Off-season conditioning has a different philosophy. It should evolve to support strength gains, build up work capacity and fill in the weak areas in your aerobic system without burning out.

Let’s break down exactly how wrestlers should condition differently in the off-season to maximize results.

Back Off the High-Intensity Grind

During the season, you’re competing, practicing, in some cases lifting and doing high-intensity work non-stop. That type of conditioning pushes you to the redline, possibly over it. Now the off-season? Different animal.

Too much high-intensity conditioning in the off-season can:

Interfere with strength and muscle gains
Decrease recovery time
Beat up your joints and nervous system

Off-Season Strategy: Pull back on the “go hard” efforts and focus more on submaximal conditioning - longer duration, lower intensity work that builds aerobic capacity.

Build Up Your Aerobic Base

What I should explain is “Aerobic” means with oxygen while “Anaerobic” means without oxygen. Most athletes neglect the Aerobic base. They associate the term “Aerobic” with jogging. But a well-developed aerobic system is your engine that helps you recover between periods, matches, between takedowns, between stoppages and between sets in the weight room.

A stronger aerobic base means:

You can do more work before fatigue
You recover faster between efforts
Your heart rate stays lower under stress

How to Train It:

Low-Intensity Cardio (Cardiac Output): 30-60 minutes, 2-3x per week (assault bike, stairmaster, incline walk, light jog, anything that is light. Rule of thumb: should be able to hold a conversation)
Zone 2 Heart Rate Training: Keep your heart rate around 50-70% of your max (if you have a heart rate monitor)

It’s not the most exciting training to do. But it works - and it sets the stage for peak performance when it’s time to make a big push.

Add Anaerobic Conditioning Later

As you get closer to pre-season, you’ll want to ramp up the intensity. That’s when anaerobic conditioning becomes more important with shorter bursts, higher power output and shorter rest. But in the early off-season, I see 90% of wrestlers jump into this way too soon.

My Advice:

Early Off-Season (Weeks 1-6): Aerobic focus, low intensity
Mid Off-Season (Week 7-10): Mostly Aerobic focus, start adding in anaerobic
Late Off-Season (Week 11-14+): More explosive, higher intensity to prep for competition.

Use Circuit Training with Purpose

Circuit Training is popular but often done wrong. Throwing random exercises together with no structure is chaotic. Off-season circuits should support your training goals.

Circuit Design:

Keep form and technique clean
Combine strength and different movement patterns
Control rest periods
Track progress week to week

Example:

3-4 Rounds, 90 sec. rest between rounds

Sled Push & Drag - 30 yards - down and back
Kettlebell Swings x 15
Push Up to Shoulder Tap x 12
Bent Over SeeSaw Row x 12
Jump Rope x 30 seconds

Use circuits to reinforce movements, build up work capacity and challenge recovery.

Condition with Movements, Not Just Machines

Machines have their place with it’s purpose; but remember: wrestlers are athletes. You need conditioning that mimics your sport and challenges your coordination, posture and movement patterns.

Try to add these:

Sled Pushes or Pulls
Animal Drills like bear crawls, crab walk, etc.
Medicine Ball Throws
Gymnastics movement and tumbling
Agility ladder, hurdles, sprint drills

Kill two birds with one stone - build endurance and athleticism.

Conditioning Should Complement Strength

In the off-season, your primary focus is getting stronger. Conditioning should support that goal, not one or the other. That means managing intensity, training volume and recovery is a must.

Here’s how:

Condition after lifting, not before
Keep lifting days separate from longer cardio, if possible
Monitor fatigue - if your lifts are suffering, adjust and go from there

Remember, it’s Strength AND Conditioning. It’s a package deal.

Final Thoughts: Off-Season Conditioning Is About Capacity, Not Survival

Conditioning in-season is about getting through matches. Conditioning in the off-season is about building the machine that will dominate those matches later. That means stepping back, train smarter and giving your body what it needs to grow.

In the Power Legion Performance Group, we train like athletes year-round. Off-season conditioning is dialed in - fully designed to build the base for future power, speed and stamina. Looking to build your plan for the off-season? Ask Coach for a off-season checklist and get ahead of the competition.

Shaun Carroll