n many sports, including wrestling, athletes need certain amounts of strength, depending on the type and nature of the skill performed and muscle utilization and muscles’ role in optimal performance [2]. One of the best ways to increase muscle strength is to use increasing resistance training [3]. Physiological adaptations include increased strength, increased muscle size, and improved athletic performance [4]. There are various resistance training methods, among which we can mention the inverted and straightforward pyramidal methods [5]. These two training methods have been accepted as the most common weight training techniques for increasing strength and muscle hypertrophy [6].
All wrestlers must have high levels of physical fitness and technical ability to succeed. Given that strength is one of the essential factors in wrestlers reaching the peak of readiness. On the other hand, wrestlers are afraid to deal with it due to the loss of technical skills, so some coaches and wrestlers believe that strength training has a detrimental effect (due to loss of flexibility, muscle stiffness, and reduced coordination in performing techniques) on improving and maintaining wrestlers’ technical skills; therefore, coaches inhibit wrestlers from doing strength training. However, due to the importance of strength training in the process of success in wrestling competitions, wrestlers are always skeptical about doing these exercises and their detrimental effect on their skill profile and how to combine strength training with wrestling techniques. 
The most important question for coaches and wrestling team members is resistance training with the intensity, volume, and duration that could be an excellent stimulus to increase muscle strength and positively affect skill profile. This study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of resistance training with two pyramidal and inverse pyramidal patterns on bio-motor ability, anthropometric factors, and skill profile of freestyle wrestlers.

This research was a quasi-experimental study in which the two experimental and control groups were compared with pre-test and post-test design. The statistical population of this study included all male wrestlers in North Khorasan Province. They were members of the freestyle wrestling team of Bojnurd city, from which 24 people were selected voluntarily by available and purposive sampling. In the first stage, the subjects were familiarized with the project’s nature and cooperated in its implementation. The samples were then randomly divided into simple pyramidal resistance training (n=12) and reverse pyramidal resistance training (n=12).
To evaluate the body composition of the subjects, their height was measured with a Seca gauge (with an accuracy of 5 mm, made in Germany), their hip and waist circumference was measured with a MABIS tape measure (with a sensitivity of 5 mm, made in Japan), and their body fat percentage and weight were measured using an In body-720 bioelectric impedance device (with a sensitivity of 100 g, made in South Korea), respectively. The subjects’ skill profile was measured using five techniques used in freestyle wrestling. In this study, bio-motor indices including anaerobic power (sargent jump), explosive power (pair jump), muscular endurance (sit-up), and general agility (Illinois test) were collected. The Brzezinski formula was used to determine the 1RM (one-repetition maximum) of the subjects.
The training stations were as follows: the first station included a reciprocal superset of the forearm and back muscles; the second station included the reciprocal supersets of the quadriceps and hamstrings, and the third station included the reciprocal supersets of the chest and back muscles in two pyramidal and inverted pyramidal methods. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software v. 16. 
The Shapiro-Wilk heuristic statistical test confirmed the normality of the data’s theoretical distribution, and Levene’s test confirmed the homogeneity of the variances. Student’s t-test and independent t-test were used to compare intra-group and inter-group means. A significance level of P≤0.05 was considered for testing the results.

The results of Table 1 prove that the changes of intra-group means in the variables of intra-group means (including body weight, BMI, body fat percentage, and maximum strength) were significantly changed in both inverse and straightforward pyramid patterns (P<0.05). The “skill profile” variable increased significantly only in the simple pyramid resistance training group. Changes in the inter-group mean in the “body mass index” variable were significantly different between the two experimental groups (P<0.05).




Changes in intra-group means in the variables of anaerobic power, explosive power, and muscular endurance increased significantly in both inverse and straightforward pyramidal patterns (P<0.05). The agility variable was significantly reduced in both groups of inverse and straightforward pyramidal resistance training. There was a significant difference between the two experimental groups in the variation of inter-group means in the muscle endurance variable (P<0.05).

This study indicated that the BMI and body fat percentage decreased significantly in both inverted and straightforward pyramidal patterns. Simultaneously, anaerobic power, explosive power, muscular endurance, and maximum power increased significantly in both inverted and straightforward pyramid patterns. Similar results in creating maximum strength and muscle volume in both reverse and straightforward pyramid training patterns are suitable for wrestling athletes. To this end, coaches are suggested that both training patterns can improve wrestlers’ bio-motor ability indices. 

All ethical principles were considered in this article. The participants were informed about the purpose of the research and its implementation stages; they were also assured about the confidentiality of their information; Moreover, They were allowed to leave the study whenever they wish, and if desired, the results of the research would be available to them.

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

All authors contributed equally in preparing all parts of the research.

The authors declared no conflict of interest.