The Telescope

Issue Date: 11/16/09

Wrestlers working hard

By Bert Hansen

Media Credit: Patty Fletes

The Palomar wrestling team's early season struggles are not due to the lack of effort in practices and workouts.

The team is just getting by posting a 2-2 record against Southern Coast Conference opponents, as of last week.

Head Coach Byron Campbell keeps his wrestlers in shape with intense morning workouts, as well as afternoon practices that focus on wrestling technique.

The morning workouts start at 6:30 every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday and involve mainly cardiovascular exercises, such as sprints and long-distance running. One of the most grueling exercises that the team does is partner carries. These workouts are exactly what they sound like. One wrestler will carry a teammate and run laps or do squats.

"The hardest part of the workout is the partner carries," said freshman Oren Grossberg-Dramen.  "The partner carries around the track are right after interval sprints, which make them especially hard."

The partner carry is vital to combat athletes. While weight training is needed to build up an athlete's frame, partner carries work the entire body in a way that is more specific to wrestling. 

Sprinting is also a main ingredient of the wrestlers' conditioning routine.

"The hardest part of our morning routine is running interval sprints. You have to run a lap in 80 seconds. If you don't make it the first time you have to keep going. It's tough," said sophomore Clayton MacFarlane.

Interval sprints are practiced by athletes of many sports primarily due to their proven effectiveness in helping athletic performance.

According to factsaboutfitness.com, properly concentrating energy into short interval bursts has proven to increase cardiovascular exercises effectiveness by as much as 169 percent.

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