FCI Staff Writer Sacramento 
fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com StockphotoVideo-Shutterstock
March 29, 2023,
With so many choices and options at the gym, as a Newer Female Wrestler, have you learned to focus on some specifics that will help in your wrestling competition?
Decide where your focus should be.
For our purposes today, we feel that your initial focus should be on your upper body.
You can have the strongest legs in the world but you will never get a chance to use them if your opponent has out mastered you in the initial hand fighting by wrist grabbing and the surprise lunge, taking you down in a head lock. Or, she grabs your wrists and pulls you forward and downward, ready to apply a fierce Guillotine Choke.
Like or not, the first stages of your wrestling program is to build your upper body strength.
Where should you start?
We like the bench press.
The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise where the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectoralis major, the anterior deltoids, and the triceps, among other stabilizing muscles.
Let’s look at a female oriented video that speaks to that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2QQXX3qO9E
Very brief. Very nice instruction.
For the next one, you’ll need some bar bells.
Arm strength in upper grappling is critical. Work those curls and the typical corporate gym has some great bar bells. It is strange but when we workout at home, our store bought bar bells don’t seem to work as effectively as the ones in the gym. We don’t know if it is how it is weighted or balanced but it just seems to have a stronger effect.
Check out this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVflFTempWA
It is from the team at HOWCAST.
They share their purpose, “Emphasizing high-quality instructional video production, Howcast brings you leading experts and accurate, reliable information on topics ranging from makeup tutorials, cute hairstyles, and nail art designs to soccer tricks, parkour, and skateboarding, plus how to dougie, how to kiss, and much, much more. Howcast empowers people with engaging, useful how-to information wherever, whenever they need to know how.”
Sounds great.
What we liked about the above video was their attention to technique detail. Most of “think” we know how to do a proper curl. Is it possible our curl technique could improve? After watching this video we say a resounding yes.
One more.
When we walk into that gym, this is by far our most favorite workout for the upper body.
The Lat pulldown.
The instructor is spot on in her teaching techniques. Check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtcrCtnah98
Sometimes when you go to the gym you may need a little help, especially with a Personal Trainer.
There are some other in-house options as well. We love what Blink Fitness is offering.
As a Female Grappler, we think you will too.
Enjoy and learn.
Blink Fitness Launches “Empower Hour” this March with Free Programming to Support Women in the Weight Room
News provided by
Mar 01, 2023, 08:04 ET
Beginning March 8, on International Women’s Day, Blink will offer a free, weekly personal trainer-led series to help every body interested in strength training
NEW YORK, March 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Blink Fitness, the premium and affordable fitness brand that touts Mood Above Muscle®, is launching a free strength training program at all locations* throughout March to empower women in the weight room with education on equipment and technique in a super supportive class setting. Blink’s “Empower Hour” series will be led by a Blink certified personal trainer and offered each Wednesday in March, starting on March 8th, from 7 – 8 p.m. – no membership required!
Over the last decade, the health and wellness benefits of strength training for women have grown in awareness and popularity, but recent research** conducted by Blink among members pointed to a few prevailing factors that continue to prevent women from participating:
uncertainty on how to get started (32%)
comfort navigating the strength equipment (27%)
Blink’s March series will aim to make strength training more accessible and comfortable for women (and all genders!) who are interested in getting started or adding on to an existing fitness program. The weekly certified personal trainer-led training sessions will provide specific instructions on how to utilize equipment and machines, as well as a clear program individuals can follow. Each week will focus on a different area on the body: back and bicep; chest, shoulder, and tricep; abs; and legs and glutes.
“At the core of our philosophy, we believe that the best result of a good fitness routine is how it makes you feel,” said Ellen Thompson, NASM certified Area Personal Training Manager for Blink Fitness. “Strength training is proven to advance mental and physical wellness with benefits that include improving mood, lowering stress/anxiety, boosting brain health, burning calories more efficiently, and promoting greater mobility and flexibility. We recognize that the weight room has historically attracted more of a male customer, and we also know that women are, now more than ever, interested in a weight training program. We want to make sure that all people continue to feel welcome, confident and prepared to participate in the weight room, and we hope this special Empower Hour series can help facilitate that.”
To participate in the series, please sign up here. For more information about Blink Fitness, visit www.blinkfitness.com.
*Excluding: Blink Medford, Beverly, Virginia Beach, Evanston, Liverpool, Onondaga, Framingdale and Lindenhurst.
**Research conducted Feb. 9, 2023; sample size 1,067 female Blink members.
About Blink Fitness
Blink is challenging conventional fitness stereotypes through its revolutionary philosophy of Mood Above Muscle® by celebrating how exercise makes you feel versus how it makes you look. Blink is the first gym to showcase body diversity and engage people who have been disenfranchised by the cliché advertising images that feature unrealistic and unattainable bodies. Blink Fitness—a premium and affordable fitness brand—celebrates the positive feelings exercise elicits, along with the physical benefits. Blink has over 120 locations open or in development throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Florida, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Texas. Blink has been ranked on the Inc. 5000 list four times, was recognized as one of the top health clubs by Club Industry, and was selected as the best budget chain by Men’s Health.
Holly Thomas
holly.thomas@chameleon.co
917-543-5673
SOURCE Blink Fitness
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OPENING PHOTO StockphotoVideo-Shutterstock fcielitecompetitor.com, fciwomenswrestling2.com, femcompetitor.com, grapplingstars.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bench_press
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
https://www.fcielitecompetitor.com/
https://fciwomenswrestling.com/
NOTE: Very important, whenever you are engaging in a new exercise or sport for the first time, please consult with your physician first.
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