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Home > Coach Gable > Training
TrainingIt is important to educate young people on strength training. Lifting weights is sometimes not recommended before the age of 12 but there are many other great exercises that can be done at an early age. Things like pushups, sit-ups, chin-ups, rope climbing, jumping rope, running and biking are all very beneficial. With these exercises you are not putting a lot of continual heavy weight against your joints. They are very fluid, natural body movements. The other great thing about these exercises is that they can be done anywhere. One thing that helped me at home was a chin-up bar in the doorway of my room. I think it definitely gave me an edge while I was still developing.
The 12 x 12 Wrestling Mat:
Around my 14th birthday, I got a 12 x 12 wrestling mat that we put in the basement of our house which fit pretty snug against the wall. This was a great gift because it allowed me to go to the basement anytime and shadow wrestle or work on gymnastic type exercises by myself. The other thing I did a lot was use my imagination. I had my sights set on a lot of accomplishments in the sport of wrestling. When I was 14 years old, I was wrestling in the Olympics against a Russian in the finals in my basement on the 12 by 12 and to me, it was real. I could also have friends over to wrestle live and work on technique. The 12 x 12 is unique because it teaches great positioning. This has been one of my greatest strengths and it was learned on that mat. On this size of mat, there is no where to go except off the mat. The rule of thumb was to stay in the center. When youre on the edge, always circle back to the center. Never go out of bounds. It keeps you in constant contact with your partner so you have to work a lot on your grips. Probably the best thing this size mat teaches you is how to finish what you start. You cant drive your partner 6 or 7 feet, therefore, you must take them down directly to the mat. This taught me finishes that were ideal, explosive and immediate. Now I have a 13 x 13 mat in my basement. Some of the best workouts I put Olympic caliber wrestlers through are down there. An ideal mat is 14 x 14.
Gable Card Game:
After a good conditioning workout, I used to go through a deck of cards. For each card I drew, the face value of the card equaled the number of push-ups or sit-ups I would do. Jacks, Queens and Kings were worth 12, Aces were worth 15, and Jokers were worth 16. I would alternate back and forth with a partner. You may think that the Jokers are the ones you don't want to get but in reality, these are the ones you want because you will build more strength by working harder.
Safety Note:
If you install a mat in your home, you need to be aware of safety issues. Make sure there are no hard or sharp objects in the surrounding area. Wall mats work best if possible. Also, you should acquire additional insurance.
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