No Butts About It

In the Wadsworth wrestling room, you're not allowed to sit on your butt.  Literally, no butts about it.  No matter how young a wrestler is, if they commit to practicing in that room, they are not allowed to sit down.  You can take a knee or you can sit in a squat against the wall, but your butt better not touch the mat. 

Now that the regular season is over, we've been bringing some of our Copley wrestlers to the Wadsworth practices since we don't have enough for a full practice.  The Wadsworth wrestling team has a strong tradition of success at all age levels.  Most recently, the youth team took second place at the Ohio Youth Wrestling Association State Tournament, and the high schoolers won their 21st consecutive Suburban League title.  Since 1991, there have been only two seasons when the high school didn't finish in the top 10 at state, and they were State Champs in 2010.  Everyone in their program exhibits a lot of pride to be a part of the team, and this no sitting rule is an example of the discipline they teach their kids.

This idea can be extended outside the wrestling room to enhance your strength training sessions.  Your entire body, especially your core, is engaged when you do an exercise standing up or in a position where you're not sitting down.  For example, a standing shoulder press is superior to a seated shoulder press.  A free-weight squat is much better than a leg press.  A pushup engages your core far more than a bench press.  A bent over row works more muscles than a seated row.  And the list goes on.

There's no doubt that it's more difficult to do some of these exercises standing up, but that's the point.  You utilize every muscle in your body when you wrestle, so why shouldn't you use your whole body when you lift weights?  No matter what sport or physical activity you do, your core is absolutely essential.  Even for movements that you think would never involve your abs, your core is being worked.  I realized this even more so when I strained an intercostal (between the ribs) muscle during my senior year.  There was hardly anything I could do where I didn't feel the pain!  If you're a wrestler, you better not sit on the mat.  And if you're not a wrestler, I suggest you don't sit so much in the gym.

No butts,
Jeff