Strength Training for Jiu-Jitsu Athletes: Build Power, Improve Performance
Incorporating Strength Training into Your Jiu-Jitsu Routine to Boost Performance
All Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) athletes are familiar with this feeling: you’re 3 minutes into your first competition match of the day or in the middle of a hard roll with your gym rival when your forearm and thighs start to burn. Your coach is yelling technique cues at you but you don’t feel like you have the ability to do the movement and inevitably get swept or get your guard passed.
While some cardiovascular and aerobic training helps with recovery in positions or between hard rolls, the burning sensation is often from us lacking muscular strength and endurance in our hands, forearms, hips, thighs, and low back while grappling.
Strength training is a game-changer for jiu-jitsu athletes looking to elevate their performance and start to win positions that you previously would’ve given up. While BJJ focuses on success using body leverage and technique, strength training can help build the power, control, and stability necessary to maximize our positions.
Some key areas of focus include:
Leg and Upper Body Power: Develop explosive strength for takedowns, sweeps, and framing on bottom.
Jiu-jitsu demands a large amount of lower extremity range of motion. Focus on the maximum range of motion that your body allows in movement such as squatting, lunging, and side lunges.
Tendons connect muscle to bone and respond well to higher velocity movements if they are tolerable without pain. Consider adding explosive movements such as squat jumps, lunge jumps, clapping push-ups, and rows with high velocity.
Badwin Chu, BJJ blackbelt, performs squat jumps to help with lower body power.
Grip Strength: Improve your ability to hold positions and control your opponent.
Our hands are the hooks that attach to our opponent and allow us to use our arm muscles to the best of their ability. Training them using a variety of grip strengthening can help them stay healthy and allow you to not burn out while holding your opponent.
Consider pull-ups with a hold at the top, dead hangs from a pull up bar, carrying heavy dumbbells for time (aim for the total weight of the dumbbells to be about half of your body weight), and pinch grip holds.
Baldwin Chu, BJJ blackbelt, performs an advanced vertical pull exercise.
Core Stability: Enhance balance and maintain dominant positions during rolls.
The low back goes through various positions while rolling. From a fully flexed low back during guard to full extension while wrestling up on a single-leg, the back must be strongly through a large range of motion.
Consider exercises like kneeling abdominal crunches with a rope, hanging knee raises, sidebending oblique crunches, back extensions on a roman chair, and rotation with a cable to train your core through different ranges of motion.
Kneeling abdominal crunches are a great way to train your low back and abdominal muscles in a sport-specific position.
Final Thoughts
A good jiu-jitsu exercise program looks a lot like a comprehensive strength program for many team sports. Exercises like squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and presses complement your BJJ training by targeting muscles used in common movements through a full range of motion. A strength program should complement your training and not only boosts your performance on the mat but also helps prevent injuries by addressing muscle imbalances and improving joint mobility.
Ready to boost your BJJ performance?
At Derek Lam Physical Therapy and Performance in Oakland, CA, I specialize in helping BJJ athletes incorporate strength training into their routines, focusing on personalized injury prevention and performance enhancement. Whether you're recovering from an injury or aiming to enhance your strength, we're here to help you build a comprehensive plan that fits your needs.
Ready to book your first visit with me? Visit www.derekorthopt.com or click here to schedule online. I’m here to help you get back to doing what you love—pain-free.
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