Benefits of Strength and Conditioning in BJJ: Quick Guide

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was developed to enable the weaker and shorter individuals to dominate and win against the bigger and stronger opponents. The art was developed by the two Gracie brothers, Carlos Gracie and Helio Gracie. They came up with the idea because Helio had a shorter frame. Due to a shorter frame and weaker body, he was not able to learn and execute the techniques of Judo as effectively as Carlos did. Carlos learnt the techniques from Mitsuo, and he executed the techniques very well. But when Carlos started training Helio, he could not do so. And then they developed BJJ.

So does that mean you don't need to do strength and conditioning in BJJ? Is there no role in BJJ for strength and conditioning? Why should you do it? And if you need to do it, what are the benefits you get from doing it? Let's explore these questions more deeply.

Strength and conditioning are the two most common terms used when we talk about exercise and martial arts, particularly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. These are needed in every art you train. It is like a prerequisite to training.

• Strength in BJJ refers to the body strength, which can include bone strength and muscle strength. It is the ability to move, pick, or execute any skill or technique.

• Conditioning, on the other hand, refers to cardiovascular strength. It is done to improve your cardiovascular function. It includes only those exercises that have a major effect on the improvement of your heart function. The example consists of running and cycling.

The following are some of the myths that are very common regarding strength and conditioning for BJJ:

It is probably the most common myth in BJJ that circulates among BJJ practitioners, and this is about the importance of strength. It is true that you cannot rely on strength. But it is not true that you don't need strength at all. Obviously, teaching is very important, and without it, you cannot win against your opponent. But having at least some good strength will help you a lot. You need strength and conditioning to execute the moves and technique. This will give you an advantage. But obviously, if you are relying too much on your strength and leaving the techniques behind, then you are not going to win. Technique always wins, but strength is advantageous.

This is yet another myth that revolves around the BJJ practitioners. Because of the first myth, they also believe that strength is such a negative thing that if you train for it, then you will start depending too heavily on it and will not train in techniques. This is completely a myth and nothing else. Strength has nothing to do with the techniques in terms of training. You do different forms of exercises for building or increasing your strength. Also, for techniques, you learn in a different way how to execute the techniques perfectly. Strength aids you in the execution of techniques. Strength cannot replace the techniques, and techniques cannot replace the strength. Both have their own importance.

Another common myth. Some people think that if you do powerlifting, you will build a lot of strength, and you can utilize this powerlifting strength in order to defeat your opponent. Always keep in mind that only strength cannot win you matches. But only technique can make you successful in a BJJ match if you have a minimum strength to execute the techniques properly. That is the minimum strength that almost all adult athletes have to execute the techniques, to go for escapes, to try quick submissions, and to be in the guard.

This is a common misconception that most BJJ practitioners have, and they are very happy about it. Most people do strength training because of that. But unfortunately, that is not true. You cannot become bulky. There are various types of strength training programs. Ideally, your focus should be on the functional training. These strength exercises help you improve your ability to move and perform daily life activities easily. This will translate to your BJJ match and training as well, and you will be able to execute the technique easily.

The following are the roles of strength and conditioning in your BJJ game:

The first role strength and conditioning plays in your BJJ game is the power you get for the execution of techniques. Without the high power, you were also able to execute the techniques against your opponent. But this time, after doing strength and conditioning, you will be able to generate quick movements, and those movements will have a lot of power, and they will land on your opponent with a lot of force. So, strength and conditioning provide you the ability to execute explosive, sharp, quick, and powerful techniques.

Another role strength and conditioning plays is in the execution of the BJJ techniques. There are many techniques that are easy to execute. But there are some techniques that cannot be executed easily. You need to apply those moves or techniques with a lot of force. A good amount of power is required for executing such techniques. From where will such power come if you do not train for strength and conditioning? So, strength and conditioning exercises are very necessary for you to learn to make the execution of all techniques easy for you. Also, for defending against some moves, you need to apply some force or power, without which it becomes very difficult for you to defend or escape.

Another benefit of strength and conditioning in your body is faster recovery from the injuries you get during BJJ training. This is particularly the effect due to the conditioning. Because it improves your cardiovascular system. Your heart starts functioning properly. So your circulation also improves. When the blood flow in the body improves, your injuries and other problems also get healed faster because blood flow is fast, and hence the recovery will also be fast.

• One of the most important things for the execution of BJJ techniques is flexibility and mobility. Flexibility means how much you are able to move your body and in how many directions and to what extent. All this comes in the definition of flexibility. The second thing is mobility. It is the movement of your body. It refers to the ability of your body to move.

• How easily can you move your body, and for how long? It also includes the stamina of your body. So these are the things that are improved by the strength and conditioning exercise. In these types of exercises, you are doing the physical activity for longer periods of time. Also, you are moving your body in every direction possible. Regularly doing this helps improve your flexibility and mobility to a great extent.

• This is the fifth benefit of strength and conditioning in your body. This is linked to all of the previously mentioned benefits. During strength and conditioning exercises, you are doing a different range of physical activity for different durations. So you are moving your body in every direction possible for the duration you can do that for. If you do this daily, after a few days, you will experience a lot of changes in your BJJ training.

• You will notice that your ability to execute the techniques has improved greatly. You can move in different directions. Your stamina and ability to continue BJ training for the maximum duration are also improved. Moreover, you will also experience many benefits in your daily life activities. So the injury risk is also reduced to a major extent because your ability to execute movements and techniques has become much better.

• BJJ practitioners should focus more on the technique rather than strength and conditioning exercises. They should not leave the technique behind. With this being said, they should focus only a little bit on developing enough strength and conditioning. They do not require a lot of strength and good conditioning to execute the technique perfectly. This is for the beginners.
• Regarding the sessions of strength and conditioning exercises in a week, they should do two sessions each week. Each session must last for 30 - 40 minutes. Another thing they should consider is the types of exercises. Ideally, they should not focus on only one type of exercise. They should continue changing it with other exercises. The goal is to include all parts of your body in the exercises. So that all parts of your body can improve in mobility and flexibility, which will aid in your execution of techniques in BJJ training and matches.
• So, for the black belts or senior BJJ practitioners, they can do more sessions per week and for a longer duration. This is because they already have the basic skills and techniques and are adapted to the training. But the focus for anyone will always be more on learning and improving the techniques in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

The following are some of the best exercises for improving your strength and conditioning:

The first exercise you should do is the deadlift. In this exercise, you pick up the barbells from the ground with both your hands on opposite sides of the barbell. It is placed on the ground initially. So you pick up and you continue lifting until they are at the level of your hips. Next, you place the barbells back on the ground. Remember, you have to do it slowly. Pick up slowly and then put it back slowly.

The second exercise is the squats. In this exercise, you start with standing straight, and the distance between your legs must be more than your shoulders. Get both your hands closer to each other. In the next position, start moving downward until you reach a sitting position, and then move back to the starting position.

The third exercise is the pull-ups. Pull-ups are done using the iron bar, which is fixed at some height. It should be high enough that to touch it, you have to jump from the ground. So start by jumping off the ground and grabbing the bar with both your hands. Grab that strongly. In the next step, start pulling your body upwards with your hands grabbing the bar. Continue moving yourself upwards until your face moves up from the bar. After this, move yourself back to your starting position.

The fourth exercise is the hip thrust. In this exercise, you are moving your hips up and down. For this, you need to keep your upper back on something for support. Keep your feet straight on the ground. Next, with the support of the upper back, which is placed on something, and the feet, which are kept straight on the ground, move your hips upward and then downward. Continue doing this. For more benefits, you can add some weight and place it on your body, and then repeat the process in the same steps as explained above.

The fifth exercise is the bench press. In this exercise, lie with your back on the bench. There is an iron bar with some weights on both ends. You can increase the weight as much as you want. So by holding it with both your hands while lying on the bench with your back, you push the bar upwards away from yourself. After lifting it to the maximum height, you bring the bar back closer to your body and then repeat the process. So this is how you can do the bench press.

Strength and Conditioning in BJJ are mostly ignored just because of the myth that you do not require strength at all in BJJ. But this is completely false. Ideally, you should do everything possible to make yourself better in BJJ. You should learn new techniques, focus on rare techniques, and also do something to improve your ability to execute the techniques and skills. You should make yourself better at the ability to move in different directions and in different ranges. Many of your things in Jiu Jitsu can be improved if you focus on only these two types of exercises, such as strength and conditioning exercises.

Strength in BJJ is the ability to move, pick, or execute any skill or technique. Conditioning, on the other hand, refers to cardiovascular strength. It is done to improve your cardiovascular function. It includes only those exercises that have a major effect on the improvement of your heart function.

The following are the roles played by strength and conditioning in your BJJ game:

• Explosive Technique Execution

• Easier Execution of Techniques

• Faster Recovery

• Flexibility And Mobility

• Injury Risk Is Reduced To a Major Extent

The following are the best Exercises For Improving Your Strength And Conditioning:

• Deadlifts

• Squats

• Pull-ups

• Hip Thrusts

• Bench Press