Smyrna High Defeats Northwest and Mount Juliet in Wrestling

By Andrew Freund

            Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer            

            MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. -- The Smyrna High School wrestling team starring Cameron Henderson fought hard against Northwest and Mount Juliet high schools, on Nov. 20 winning by a score of 42-28 against Mount Juliet and 30-24 against Northwest.  

            The matches were held at Mount Juliet High School. After the Smyrna High team finished its weigh-ins it started to warm up and prepare to wrestle in the first match against Northwest High. Northwest is a well put together team that was ready for battle.

            The competition began in Northwest’s favor with two wins over Smyrna. The Smyrna High Bulldogs had to win the next three contests to win the team match. With Smyrna wrestlers Brandon Leiva, Fernando Bravo and Cameron Henderson left to wrestle, it was looking promising for Smyrna High School.

            Leiva took the mat to wrestle against Northwest’s 115 pounder and was up the whole match with a significant lead of 12-6 going into the third period. Leiva began to run out of energy. A take down and back points coming from Northwest put the score at 12-11, barely in Leiva’s favor with only 30 seconds left. Leiva came out on top with an escape, and the match ended with the score 13-11.

            Bravo was up next. He was full of confidence as he walked out for his match. He landed the first takedown in the first 30 seconds of the match, coming out strong and finishing the rest of his takedowns with ease. 

            By the end of second period, Bravo was up 12-5. As the third period started, Bravo was elbowed in the mouth and bit his tongue. He was forced to leave the mat temporarily because of the bleeding. Smyrna had only one minute to get Bravo back out on the mat ready to wrestle.

            Bravo ran to the mat just in time to finish the match for his team. There were only 42 seconds left. Bravo won by a score of 16-6.

            “I had to swallow the blood and try not to focus on my tongue bleeding so I could win this match,” said Bravo.

            Henderson was the last wrestler to take the mat for Smyrna. He is Tennessee State champion for the 138-pound weight class. He pinned Northwest's wrestler in less than 30 seconds after the whistle was blown.

            “Wrestling is a sport that you must work hard in,” Henderson said. “It is a lifestyle and not just a hobby. You must train and be disciplined to be the best out there because it is your will verses another. No one to help you, just you and your opponent.”

            The Smyrna High wrestling team was ready to fight against Mount Juliet High School. Henderson wrestled against one of the State qualifiers from Mount Juliet, Donovan Henry. Although Henry fought hard, Henderson was the victor by a score of 13-2.

            “Donovan was not an easy opponent, and he still isn’t to his full potential yet this season,” Henderson said. "He will continue to get better as the season gets into full motion. I look forward to seeing him in the future.”

Smyrna has started this season off 2-0 and looks forward to keeping an undefeated record throughout the season.

            “Cameron puts the time in on the mat and is disciplined off the mat,” said Smyrna High Wrestling Coach Mattew Proctor. "Cameron has been leading the team and pushing them to be the best. I look forward to seeing where his discipline and hard work take him in this sport.”

            For more information about the Smyrna High School wrestling team, including a schedule of upcoming matches, visit www.smyrnahighathletics.com.

Beyond the Bench Press

By Andrew Freund

Motlow Buzz Contributing Writer

        When I started working out in the gym, I'd go straight to the bench press to lift weights. However, over time I saw slow progression in strength and appearance. I had to find more lifts to work my chest and allow it to grow. Once I found and learned more lifts, I saw results. I use those learned and researched lifts today to teach members at the YMCA in the correct forms and lifts to work.

     “It’s consistency. Stay with it. You must do this day in, and out. It becomes a lifestyle,” said Jay Cutler, a prominent bodybuilder. 

While upper body lifts take over Cutler’s life at the gym, we find that many other people are also going to the gym to work their upper body. Exercisers are excited to get to the bench press and hit out a couple sets. But there's is a lot more to bodybuilding than that.

Many new lifters come into the gym not knowing where to start, so they just go to the bench. However, to gain the best muscle, a variety of lifts is the best way. There are many different lifts that help work out your upper body, including push-ups, incline's, dips and even flyes.  

The first workout I want to talk about is doing push-ups. Push-ups are an exercise in which a person lies facing the floor and, keeping their back straight, raises his or her body by pressing down on the hands. Push-ups are a great workout to use when you don’t have any weights or a gym because you can do them anywhere. Also, push-ups are a great way to build muscle for a new lifter. Several muscle groups in the chest, arms, shoulder's, triceps, back and neck work simultaneously during a push-up. Even though it is a basic strength exercise, it is a good workout. 

Nerd Fitness provided these helpful steps, and has more in detail: https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/proper-push-up

The next lift I want to introduce to you are dips. Dips are another great lift to put into your upper body workout routine. To get yourself into the starting position, hold your body at arm’s length above the bars. While breathing in, lower yourself slowly with your torso leaning forward around 30 degrees or so and your elbows out slightly until you feel a slight stretch in the chest. 

Dips work the pecs while stretching helping the flexibility of the shoulder. They involve your own body weight. This is a way to build your chest while warming up your shoulders at the same time. This lift is best early in your workout. 

Stronglifts gave great information about dips, and has further information in detail: https://stronglifts.com/dips/#gref

The next lift is the incline dumbbell press. This more advanced lift involves weights. To get started, set an adjustable bench to an incline of 30 to 45 degrees. Lie on your back on the bench and hold a pair of dumbbells directly above your shoulders with your arms fully extended, then lower both dumbbells to the sides of your chest. That’s on rep. 

This lift works for the same muscle groups as a flat bench would. It's great if you’re on your own and can't find a spot. If you can’t get the weight up, you can move your arms to the side and drop it.  However, spotters should be mandatory for all weighted lifts to ensure safety. The incline puts more of a workout on your upper chest than a flat bench would, giving you another lift to add to your workout. 

BodyBuilding is a great site to look more into dumbbell bench pressing: https://stronglifts.com/dips/#gref

The last lift we are going to talk about flyes. Flyes are something I don’t see a lot in the gym, but they are a very valuable lift. Lie down on a flat bench with a dumbbell on each hand resting on top of your thighs. Then use your thighs to help raise the dumbbells. Lift the dumbbells one at a time so you can hold them in front of you at shoulder width with the palms of your hands facing each other. With a slight bend on your elbows in order to prevent stress at the biceps, lower your arms out at both sides in a wide arc until you feel a stretch on your chest.

Flyes isolate your chest and give a good stretch. They are an awesome exercise even for growth. They break down a lot of fibers when done properly. Flyes are a motion that can be awkward at the start and take some getting used to. Most gyms have a fly machine that also can be used.

Coachmag provided these helpful steps: http://www.coachmag.co.uk/dumbbell-exercises/6709/how-to-do-the-chest-building-dumbbell-flye

All these lifts are great to help build the upper body. There are many more lifts that can also be thrown into a workout depending on what you are looking to do. These lifts all work the chest and shoulders. The bench is not a bad lift at all. I just feel people need to branch out and focus on other lifts to build strength and flexibility in the muscles. 

Once the exercises begin to be too easy, it is important to increase the intensity in order to see results. You can do this through several methods. First, you can change how you’re doing the lift by alternating the weights. If it has dumbbells or if it is a body lift, you can hold every rep for five seconds. Second, you can raise the weight you are using in the lift. If you are doing a body lift, you can put weight on your back or waist. Lastly, you can work one arm at a time. 

There are many more upper body lifts, but these are a few I wanted to share with you. I hope this helped you out or got you wanting to learn more about upper body workouts and lifts. Try these lifts out and let me know if you enjoyed them. If I can do it, you can do it also!