Waynesburg workouts can include tires and chains
Mac Church was not caught flat-footed.
In his basement is all the workout equipment he requires to stay strong. He would prefer to have some company but understands the restrictions required because of the pandemic.
Church has built a reputation as a workout warrior and pound for pound is one of the strongest man on Waynesburg’s wrestling team, despite his freshman status.
“I have these lifting tapes that I do, I run all the time and I do these shadow drills by myself because I don’t have a partner right now,” said Church, going over his daily workout routine. “In the summer, I go lift with Jimmy on more Olympic training stuff. He gets his lifting workouts from an Ohio State lifting guy he found.”
The Jimmy he is referring to is Waynesburg’s assistant wrestling coach Jimmy Howard. If you have ever been to one of the Raiders’ dual meets, he is the one with arms as thick as sequoias. The offseason workout program is in his hands.
The biggest hurdle right now?
“Being together. A lot of the kids have equipment at their house,” said Howard. “The season just finished so we’re not in a strict program yet. The kids are just using what they have at home for lifting until we’re able to get together again.”
Under circumstances like the pandemic, the wrestlers sometimes have to improvise.
“We used tires — tractor tires,” said Howard. “I got this chain from a mine a couple years ago and if you ever saw them, one link weighs about 17 pounds. A (weighted) wheelbarrel will give you a good workout. I have a farm so we do things like carrying posts and bale hay.”
Howard said the offseason lifting program runs from mid-April until November and the start of the wrestling season.
“You can see it’s paying off,” he said. “You can see it’s working.”
Howard said the emphasis is sometimes on building bulk with the weightlifting and at other times building strength. The program he uses can be tweaked or altered to fit a specific wrestler’s needs. Howard is always looking for different ways and different things to incorporate into the program.
He’s even gotten some help from one of his teammates in high school at Jefferson-Morgan: Cary Kolat, who recently accepted a job at the Naval Academy to coach the wrestling team.
For Church, who has a roomful of exercise equipment in his basement, uses many of Howard’s weights and does a lot of running. He switches from bulk for muscle mass and lighter weights to build strength and flexibility.
“Chest is my favorite to do, and legs are my least favorite,” he said, “but I do both.”