Wrestler Workout: Nico Elias Casteneda

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Nico Elias Casteneda

Hometown: Denver, CO

Nico Elias Casteneda is an independent professional wrestler based out of Denver, Colorado. He has wrestled with the likes of Ted DiBiase Jr., T-Bolt, and a host of others in the wrestling business and toured the Midwest wrestling scene for the better part of the last decade, winning notable championships such as the Fusion Pro title, West-Texas Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Championship, and the Asylum Championship Wrestling Team Team Championship. During this time, Casteneda has trained and worked in seminars with Les Thatcher, Tom Pritchard, Delirious, Jerry Lynn, Ric Flair and a list of the who’s who of professional wrestling.

Casteneda trained in martial arts for 17 years, 7 of them involved competing in competitions to show off his skill. Because of this, his workout routine has been a staple for him for a very long time. His current workout routine revolves around a strict cardio routine with weight training on a different body part every 5 days, concentrating on a full arm workout, ab workout and a leg workout. His cardio usually lasts 30-45 minutes with 10 of it on a treadmill and the rest involving circuit training. Every Tuesday he spends his time at the ACW Wrestling Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado to train and keep his body in optimum wrestling shape.

His diet consists mainly of protein and Vitamin K vegetables. Vitamin K is vital for people involved in high-impact sports as it strengthens bones and prevents fractures in bones as well as prevents bruising as easy. Excellent sources of Vitamin K include spinach, Brussels sprouts, green beans and asparagus. The one thing Casteneda stressed more than anything is the importance of having no soda whatsoever in the diet. He hydrates with water or Gatorade as soda is known to dehydrate a person and also add extra unwanted weight around the mid-section due to the extra sugars and carbohydrates put into the body.

The main gyms that he trains at are the Asylum Championship Wrestling Training Center and the local gym inside his apartment. Many people are under the impression that an elaborate gym is needed in order to maintain a great physique but Casteneda is the proof that a great physique can be maintained without high-end equipment. He uses nothing more than the treadmill and free weights in order to complete his entire workout routine.

“For me it is very important to be able to hang in the ring for 20 – 30 minutes without being out of breath,” Casteneda says, talking about the importance of cardio. “Working out helps with mental and physical control; mind says and body does.”

When asked about tips to help people get in ring shape, Casteneda stresses that everyone should work on cardio and changing up their workouts to help keep interest and maintain their target goal. When working cardio, it is always important to switch up routines every few weeks as the body can adapt to a routine very quickly and, when adapted, will no longer have the effects on the body that it did at the beginning of the routines. For example, if a workout uses sprinting for a few weeks, switch it up to circuit training for a few weeks before switching it up to bicycle riding and then back to make sure the body never knows what to expect next.

For anybody who needs help working out, Casteneda recommends finding a personal trainer with a credible degree from a college or reputable organization or, for people looking to save money, a good workout book with a detailed eating plan that is easy to follow. He also adds a note that anybody wanting to work out should also always have good hygiene, not for any reason other than helping the air at training facilities all across the nation.

Casteneda will be wrestling for Destiny Wrestling Organization in Albuquerque, New Mexico on September 25th as well as Asylum Championship Wrestling in Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs, Colorado on October 23rd and October 30th respectively. For contact and/or booking information, he can be contacted on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=100000634475076.

Ab Workout

Crunches, 5 sets of 20: 30 second rest in between

Lying on your back, do one set of 20 crunches, making sure to fully breathe out at the end of each one to better develop the ab muscles.

Bicycle Exercise, 5 sets of 15: 30 second rest in between

This exercise begins with lying flat on the floor. With your hands behind your head, bring each knee up to a 45-degree angle and back down, maintaining the motion as if you were riding a bicycle. Touch your right elbow to your left knee as it comes up and then your left elbow to your right knee and continue this motion until you have touched your right and left elbow with your right and left knee 15 times each.

Planks, 5 set holds for 1 minute each: 30 second rest in between

This exercise should have a mat in order to feel better on you elbows and toes. Use your elbows and toes as a post and straighten your body until it is a straight line from running from your head to the heels of your feet. Lock your stomach muscles to make sure you do not get any unnecessary movement from your butt. Hold this for one minute each.

Notes: The one thing people forget to do when working out muscles is to flex. Flexing the muscle gives it a better opportunity to be used and works it out and strengthens it. One thing about ab workouts is that the ab muscles recover very quickly and can be worked out almost daily unlike every other body part. If you are looking for weight loss and a six pack though, don’t concentrate on just ab workouts as it will take an entire full-body workout to attain this.

Ben LeDoux is a professional wrestler and a writer for Inside Pulse Wrestling, technicolor Magazine, Denver Daily News and other organizations. He is currently the Editor of the Front Page Newspaper.