Professional Wrestling Schools in Colorado

Question
QUESTION: Hello James. I am 19 years old and have recently been kicked out of a university for financial reasons. However, I'm thinking it may be for the best as it could be an opportunity to pursue my life-long dream of becoming a professional wrestler. I have read so much about what it takes to succeed in the business and I do have the tools to become an amazing talent in the circuit. I have trained in six different forms of martial arts for fourteen years and obtained a black belt in all six. I am an extremely accomplished actor and was at one of the most prestigious acting universities in the nation before I had to leave. So I can bring charisma, and knowledge into the ring. My two largest hurdles to overcome have been my weight and my inability to find a wrestling school in Colorado. I am underweight and would greatly appreciate any advice on a solid plan to build muscle. I'm 6 feet tall and weigh 160 pounds. (Much like Jericho) Also I'm willing to move to Illinois as a last resort as I know they have some high quality wrestling schools, unless you can suggest a decent school here in Colorado.
I would greatly appreciate any help you could offer,
-Dalton Bragg

ANSWER: Hello Dalton,

From the sound of things, you're overqualified.

There's a good reason why it is difficult to find pro wrestling schools in Colorado. There aren't many. In fact, at present, or at least in recent times, there is just one. Attitude Pro Wrestling appears to be gone, but this school is very much present:

The Butcher Shop (IWF Promotions)
Possibly, 10650 Irma Drive Suite 32
Northglenn, Colorado
Website: http://www.iwfpromotions.com/IWF_Promotions/IWF_Pro-Wrestling_School.html
Phone: (303)452-3523
Email: [email protected]

The address may have changed. Is the school decent? Well, it is certainly the best you can get right now in Colorado. I would suggest taking a look at the school yourself. It would be cheaper than moving to Illinois, so at the very least if you eliminate this option, then you will be more comfortable in moving.

Well, onto the weight, that is sort of outside my area of expertise, but I can offer some directions to look at. Pro wrestlers don't help much with this, since they sometimes just have to exercise where and when they can. Some use bodybuilding routines, but that isn't the sort of thing you can just launch straight into. Something that I have heard about that has worked well for others are the products of one Matt Furey. Whilst that doesn't mean it would be what you want, William Regal definitely did use it in the past successfully and a fair part of his principles are actually based upon what some old pro wrestlers did, which surprised me a lot.

I have a copy of Farmer Burns' workout myself, so I know for a fact that he didn't just throw in the names to make it sound good. A number of pro wrestlers have gone to him in the past, even though he dislikes pro wrestling. It seems to be good for fitness, but for pro wrestlers might work best alongside more conventional exercise. Nonetheless, his products would seem to be a solid plan on the face of it from what I've heard. As a product, that does indicate payment.

At this link, you can use what a starter bodybuilding workout looks like. Since it asks for going to failure, it can be quite challenging. A more mainstream starter workout, that has more components of stamina training would be something like this:

Warming Up:
10 minute Light Jog
-or-
10 minute Bike Ride
-or-
10 minute Swim

50 Push Ups
50 Sit-Ups/Crunches
50 Hindu Squats
50 Pull Ups/Chin-Ups
3 sets of walking lunges
3 sets of 15 10kg dumbbell bent over row
3 sets of 15 10kg dumbbell curls
3 sets of 15 10kg Bench Presses with a dumbbell
3 sets of 10kg Shoulder Presses
3 sets of 10kg Tricep Kickbacks
3 sets of 10kg Leg Presses

Cooling down:
Light Jog/Walk
-or-
Bike Ride

Stamina training is just as important as muscle training in pro wrestling. Muscle development doesn't necessarily have to come from weights though. Needless to say, don't do drugs. If you want to get into wrestling, please don't end up doing something that could ultimately further hurt the perception of the business.







---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: You've been a great help so far James! And you don't need to worry about the drug thing, I also adhere to the straightedge lifestyle. I've never had a cigarette, never drank a beer, and never done any kind of drug. Nor do I plan on starting.
I've sent the Butcher Shop an e-mail and will call them soon to check them out.
As far as stamina, my routine at my dojo has done me wonders and I'm not concerned about stamina. I really have just never been able to build any muscle. When I worked out extensively I would gain strength but no muscle mass. I squat over 300 pounds which is a lot for my size. However I have very little upper body strength. I checked out a website on Matt Furey and a lot of his products look to be turning fat into muscle which doesn't really work for me. What do you think?

And one last thing: Does the WWE have any rules or regulations regarding epileptics wrestling? As in, if someone were epileptic would they become un-hire-able?
-Dalton Bragg

Answer
Hello again Dalton,

From what I've seen, most of Furey's products is definitely turning fat into muscle, but one of them (I forgot which one) seemed to be a bit more about muscle mass. On the whole though, whilst his products are good for overall conditioning, they are by no means focused on building muscle mass.

It seems like the bodybuilding routines might be of better use. You say you work out extensively yet gain no muscle mass. How are things on the diet front? You cannot develop muscle if you don't have enough protein. Here's what Christian said about his diet:

"For my diet, I try to eat clean, consuming mostly protein (chicken, steak, fish) with some carbs (brown rice, yams). The only thing I really monitor is my sugar intake, and one day a week I'll have a cheat meal, maybe two, and of course that's the day I look forward to the most."

If you've had increased strength but no mucles mass increase, that sounds to me like the definition has been worked on. Does your workout routine incorporate weights? Maybe your particular routine emphasises stamina a bit too much...its hard for me to tell, of course, since firstly I'm not an expert when it comes to fitness and secondly, it is sorta difficult to do things like this over the web.

The most I can suggest other than asking  somebody whom is more of an expert on fitness, is to perhaps scale back your training for a bit, have some time in between and take the exercise slower and put more...oomph into it? Try something different, maybe you'll stumble upon something that works.

I don't suppose there is someone else at the dojo that has no problem with putting on muscle mass? That person would be a better resource to go to.

WWE have no rules regarding eplileptics. It isn't something that has been raised. What would probably happen is that WWE would consult with a doctor to see if it okay. If there is too great a risk than you may not be allowed to wrestle. WWE have had Talent in the past with heart conditions and the like, so having epilepsy in itself is not necessarily going to rule you out, especially since WWE have medical teams on standby, but it would depend on the type of epilepsy you have and the chances of a seizure.

If you are okay to wrestle in independent promotions, then I see no problems with wrestling in the WWE since they have better medical teams. You might want to consult with a doctor to see if wrestling poses any particular dangers for you that you should be aware of.

If it photosensitive epilepsy, than you should have no problems. You might wish to wear sunglasses and just don't look at the lights. Focus on the crowd/opponent/cameras instead.