As with weight lifting, it is helpful to maintain a running schedule even as the season progresses. Running every day up until two days before competition will let you improve your body without harming your ability to compete. Use the run to warm up before weight lifting or before drilling.

Besides wrestling itself, running is the best way to keep your endurance at a high level. It will also help you maintain your weight. However, later in the season is not the time to try to lose weight. Trying to lose weight through running will sap you of much-needed energy to compete.

Don't forget to stretch before you do any significant running!

Occasionally, you should throw in some long-distance running to vary your work-outs. This will keep your body from wearing down from constant sprinting. You can also vary your work-out by trying different sprinting exercises:

1. Run, jog, sprint--Run at a high pace for 20 seconds; jog for 20 seconds; sprint for 20 seconds. Continue this for 20 minutes

2. One minute sprints--Sprint for one minute, rest for one minute. This is a good exercise with a partner - take turns sprinting for one minute

3. 100-10-100--Run one sprint of 100 yards, 95 yards, 90, 85, 80, etc down to 10. Then work back up, running one sprint of 10, 15, 20, etc.

4. Line sprints--Run on a basketball court for this one. Start on the end line, run to the free throw line and back. Then run to the mid-court stripe and back, etc.

It's as simle as it sounds. Get warmed up, and run as hard as you can for six minutes. The object here is not to run a specific distance, so don't try to pace yourself in this exercise. Just sprint as hard as you can. Obviously, you will slow down. Just keep sprinting through the fatigue.

When you wrestle, you are obviously tired near the end of a long match, but you keep fighting and reach deep down for every last ounce of strength to beat your opponent. Close to the end of a six-minute sprint, you'll try to do the same thing.

Follow your running with lifing or drilling, while your body is warmed up. This type of training is hard, but it is vital. Better to be tired out during or after practice than during the critical part of a match!

• Part 1: Running
• Part 2: Weight Training
• Part 3: Wrestling/Drilling
• Part 4: A Schedule to Try

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