25 wrestling goals, from your first practice to a full season

Wrestling goals for beginners

Beginner goals are about showing up, learning a stance and learning the first moves, and if you also want submissions on the ground, BJJ goals count mat time the same way.

• Make every practice in your first month on the mat.
• Learn 3 moves by name and show each one to your coach: a double leg, a single leg and a way up from bottom.
• Do 20 penetration steps on each knee at the start of every practice for a month.
• Learn how your style scores, then keep score for 3 matches from the side of the mat.
• Wrestle your first full live match in practice, both periods, to the final whistle.

Wrestling technique goals: shots, escapes and turns

Technique goals pick one move and one count, and in Greco-Roman, where holds below the belt are not allowed, you swap the leg attacks for throws and body locks.

• Drill 50 shots at every practice, 25 to each side, for 4 weeks.
• Finish 10 takedowns with your best attack in live goes this month.
• Get back to your feet from bottom in 5 of 10 drill rounds.
• Hit your best turn from top 20 times a practice for 3 weeks.
• Chain 2 attacks 10 times a practice: when the first one is stopped, go straight to the second.

Wrestling conditioning goals

Under United World Wrestling rules, a senior match is two periods of 3 minutes with a 30 second break, so these goals copy that clock.

• Wrestle 4 live goes on the match clock at every hard practice: 3 minutes, 30 seconds of rest, 3 minutes.
• Do 6 rounds of 30 seconds of sprawls, with 30 seconds of rest, twice a week for 6 weeks.
• Climb the rope 5 times at the end of every practice for a month.
• Run 2 km in under 9 minutes before the first match of the season.
• Lift twice a week through the whole season and log every session.

Short term wrestling goals: this week and your next match

Short term goals fit inside a week or one match, and your drill partner can check them, which turns that person into an accountability partner.

• Take 5 shots in each period of your next match.
• Drill your best attack 100 times this week, before or after practice.
• Watch the video of your last match and count every shot you took and every shot taken on you.
• Tell your drill partner one goal before each practice this week, and have them check it after.
• Sleep 8 hours on each of the 3 nights before your next tournament.

Long term wrestling goals: the season and beyond

Long term goals cover a season or a year, and for the off-season you can borrow a goal from rucking goals or Hyrox goals.

• Make 100 practices this season and log every one.
• Choose your weight class for the season with your coach and a health professional before the first weigh-in.
• Score in a real match with each of your 3 best moves by the end of the season.
• Wrestle in 6 tournaments this season.
• Try a second style this year and wrestle one event in it.

What is a good wrestling goal?

A good wrestling goal is something you do on the mat this week. "Make the team" or "win the tournament" is the direction. "Take 5 shots a period" is the goal. A review of 27 studies of goal setting in sport found that process goals, the ones about how you carry out a skill, had the largest effect on performance (1.36). Goals about your own results came next (0.44), and goals about winning had almost none (0.09). A review of 35 years of goal research adds that specific, hard goals beat "do your best".

Count shots and turns, not points, because the points change with the style. Freestyle and Greco-Roman are the styles of the Olympic Games and the World Championships. Under United World Wrestling rules, a takedown scores 2, a big throw up to 5, and a senior match is two periods of 3 minutes. In the US, high school and college wrestling is folkstyle, and in high school a takedown has been worth 3 points since the 2024-25 season. A shot is a shot in all three.

No goal on this page is about losing weight fast. In late 1997, three college wrestlers in the US died within five weeks while trying to lose weight fast before a weigh-in. Each one cut food and water, wore a suit that held in sweat and exercised hard in the heat. The CDC report on their deaths said a health professional should set each wrestler's competition weight, and that losing weight on purpose by dehydration should be banned. So the weight goals here are about eating and sleeping well for the season, with your coach and a health professional. The CDC advises 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night for teens aged 13 to 17, and 7 or more for adults aged 18 to 60.

How to track wrestling goals

Log practice before you leave the room. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that the effect was larger when the progress was written down or shared.

Practices are a day count: one tick for each day on the mat, so a season of 100 practices is 100 ticks. Shots, takedowns and rope climbs are amounts that add up. Pick the one that fits the goal.

A season is long, and the results only show on match days. A picture that fills with every practice shows the days in the room that come before them.

Frequently asked questions

What are short term and long term wrestling goals?

A short term goal fits in a week or one match: take 5 shots a period, or drill your best attack 100 times this week. A long term goal covers a season: make 100 practices, wrestle in 6 tournaments, score in a real match with your 3 best moves.

What is the difference between freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling?

In Greco-Roman, you may not grab your opponent below the belt, trip them or attack with your legs. In freestyle, you may. Both follow United World Wrestling rules, and a senior match in either style is two periods of 3 minutes.

Should a wrestling goal be about cutting weight?

No. In 1997, three college wrestlers died while losing weight fast before weigh-ins, and the CDC report said a health professional should set each wrestler's competition weight. Make your goals about practice, sleep and food, and plan your weight class with your coach and a health professional.