When designing strength workouts for my elite wrestlers at the Ohio Regional Training Center, the accessory exercises are just as important as the main movement of the day. 

We typically start out with a big compound movement — usually a deadlift, press, or squat variation — as the focus exercise, and then hit one or two main accessories. Both the focus and the main accessory are done very heavy for low reps with adequate rest between sets. 

For the remainder of the workout, I like to choose anywhere from 3-5 what I would call “secondary accessories” that complement the main movements and help ensure that there are no weak links that could derail your main movements.

For this particular RTC lift, we started out with a dynamic warmup and then pulled heavy deadlifts. The main accessories for the day were split squats and dumbbell rows. Next, we grouped the following “secondary accessories” into a circuit for 3 rounds:

• Straight-arm lat pull-downs - 5 per side
• Single-leg weighted glute bridge - 5 per side
• Heavy barbell curls - 5
• Glute ham raise - 5-8

Some takeaways from the video with Kollin: Notice that just because the exercises are set up in a “circuit” they don't have to be light weight/high-rep or timed. By contrasting upper and lower body movements we are able to work through the circuit efficiently with little downtime or rest but still go heavy on all of the movements.

Coach Myers is the strength coach for the Ohio Regional Training Center at The Ohio State University. With the Ohio RTC since 2012, he served as Ohio State Wrestling’s primary strength coach from 2014-18, helping the Buckeyes win three Big Ten titles, their first-ever team NCAA championship, and two runner-up finishes.

A certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), Coach Myers owns the Old School Gym in Pataskala, OH, and is a founding partner of top supplement company Max Effort Muscle. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook, and learn more about his strength and conditioning programs for wrestlers of all ages here.