It’s no secret that BJJ is one of the most intensive full body work outs around today. It’s results can not be disputed and can have have rapid and dramatic improvements on anyones body at each extreme of the spectrum. I can build the scrawny nerd physique into chiselled statuesque glory, and help the overweight loose weight and become toned without fad diets where you can only have chewing gum. BJJ will have an effect across all the sports you’re involved in, and the other sports will effect your BJJ. Here we highlight ways in which BJJ can improve your metabolic training, and your metabolic training can influence your BJJ skills on the mat.

GAINS…

Rolling and grappling definitely causes you to feel the burn, it maxes out your fitness in terms of strength, endurance and cardio. So what exercises are going to help you last longer in a BJJ roll? Should you be benching 4 times your body weight in a desperate push to improve? Well the answer to that is no. 

BJJ is designed to allow technique to outsmart raw strength and power, so huge amounts of lifting like a meathead is not going to do anyone any favours. Weight training to lesser levels can have awesome improvements on your training though. Think logically, there are weight classes in BJJ rolls, so lifting anything above your own body weight is going to non beneficial, as that’s roughly the weight of an opponent you’ll be facing.

The most common mistake is isolating the muscles that you are going to be training. If you only train biceps, you’ll only be strong where you biceps are the driving force. Train full body because BJJ is full body! You don’t want to be that guy who can bench 100kg but can’t do a pull up. Overtraining certain muscles is also going to make you look ridiculous, with golf ball biceps or a stacked upper body and Johnny Bravo legs. No, not cool, ridiculous.

For all round improvement, work a circuit in the gym. Run through bench pressing, military and dead-lifts and most importantly squats! Everyone neglects leg day, but leg day is the one. Whats the point in having all that power if your legs cant propel you forward! No body likes chicken legs. Get real. 

Trim Around the Edges…

For the BJJ student looking to shed excess fat and trim down, you’ll notice fairly extortionate drops in weight from when you start training. Your limiting factor is likely going to be cardio at this point. This isn’t to say start running 10k a day, sure that would improve your cardio, but only in one scenario. BJJ is intense, and uses all parts of you body in a roll. You want to be looking into taking up CrossFit. 

CrossFit is taking the sporting world by storm, combining numerous exercise in an exercise length that is remarkably close to the duration of your average BJJ roll. The lifts involved in CrossFit are all kinetically linked to the ground, making them the ideal supplement to your BJJ training.

Eat Clean, Get Lean, Stay Mean…

Diet is a major aspect of sporting success. By eating clean, you’ll see the fat stay off and your energy levels stay up, letting you fight harder and for longer. Taking a load of supplements is in now way as good as eating well, with natural ingredients to gain lean muscle. By eating clean you can leave the roid-rage behind and grow your body proportionately, giving you a physique and fitness level you just don’t get anywhere else.

Come down to Arashi Do Edmonton and try out one of our great Brazilian programs like Fundamental BJJ, Women’s Only BJJ or Children’s BJJ for ages 4-7 and 8-14.

All those and you get a 30 DAY FREE TRIAL!  As well as our 30 minute Fast Fitness program for FREE!