BJJ Workout to Improve Stamina

BJJ can be a great workout to improve your stamina, strength, and endurance. This martial art is perfect for getting your body in fighting shape and boosting your stamina. If you stick to BJJ practice, you should be able to do strenuous activities for longer periods. Practicing BJJ is a great way to improve your endurance. This workout program is intended to help you focus, increase your strength, and tone your core muscles.

1. What is BJJ Conditioning?

If you ask different experts about what BJJ conditioning entails, you are likely to get several answers. There are three basic ways your body generates energy for movement and biological processes. These systems include the aerobic, glycolytic, and creatine-phosphate metabolic pathways. Each system is active in some way during exercises. The intensity of an exercise will affect which systems you will be dependent on. Each system will be briefly discussed to help you better understand its importance in BJJ conditioning.

2. The Importance of Stamina in BJJ

You may develop your BJJ skills by working on a variety of traits, including your speed, power, athleticism, flexibility, balance, rhythm, endurance, and alertness. Out of all the traits mentioned, stamina is the most important.

Having high endurance and stamina is needed to be successful in any sport or martial art. The quicker you become fatigued, the more your motor skills, coordination, and ability to think will deteriorate. Fatigue caused many fighters to lose competitions they would have otherwise won. It is possible for someone with a blue belt in BJJ to start performing like a white belt if they are severely fatigued. Increased stamina is one of the attributes that most healthy and active people can achieve.

3. Training Methods for BJJ Conditioning

LESS training involves low-intensity exercises while maintaining a steady state. This type of training includes swimming and long-distance runs. However, your glycolytic system will not be properly worked if you put too much emphasis on LESS training.

You can also improve your aerobic system by doing cardio for longer durations. Cardio can also be done more frequently without a high risk of injury. If you have a strong aerobic system, you can last longer doing higher-intensity exercises with less lactate buildup.

Rolling is often the best way to improve your grappling skills since you burn as many as 1,000 calories per hour. Keep pushing yourself as you roll even when you feel tired and try to find new training partners.

4. HIIT Intervals - Twice Per Week

HIIT BJJ workouts usually involve 20-30-second high-intensity exercises and rest periods for each cycle.

There are various kinds of HIIT workouts that suit your preferred level of difficulty. You can choose from several exercises, including jumping rope, aerodyne bicycling, or kettlebell training. If you push yourself hard enough, even live BJJ drills and rolling can be incorporated into a HIIT workout.

You want your HIIT intervals and rest times to be appropriate to the intensity of the sport you wish to participate in.

It is recommended that your HIIT workout starts with three rounds. As you progress, work your way up to five or more rounds. After a week, you can reduce the number of rounds, but use heavier weights at a higher intensity.

An example of a HIIT workout is five sets of 20-second exercises each with a 20-second rest in between exercises and a 20-minute rest after completing the workout.

1. Jumping Rope
2. Kettlebell Swings/Cleans/Snatches
3. Aerodyne/Assault Bicycle Sprints
4. Tire Flips
5. Burpees

5. It is important to Fix Your Training Schedule

Consistency is key in building up cardio. The best way to plan your training schedule is to train at least three to four times per week. BJJ world champion Marcelo Garcia believes that more BJJ training will help increase cardio.

Marcelo said,
"I put all my energy into jiu-jitsu because there is nothing else. I don't do weight lifting or running. I can improve my (BJJ). I don't want to improve either by swimming or running,”
"I want to improve my jiu-jitsu so that I put all my energy into it."

6. Cross-Training

Cross-training is a way to improve your conditioning and is often used by professional BJJ fighters. Incorporating aspects of Muay Thai and kickboxing are great ways to improve your fitness and increase mobility.

While you may not be interested in competing in Muay Thai and kickboxing, learning these martial arts will benefit your skills in BJJ.

Taking inspiration from other martial arts can help you develop new techniques to use in competitions that might surprise your opponents. Knowing other martial art techniques will also help you prepare for unexpected techniques your opponents may use.

7. Warm-Ups Should Be Taken Seriously

BJJ students should not spend too much time working on their cardio. Even though warm-ups are not difficult and require little effort, many students ignore them. Many students warm up half-heartedly, waiting until sparring and drilling to expend energy. It would be best if you made the most of your training time by doing a warm-up. A warm-up will increase your energy and stamina if you put in more effort.

It is essential to put as much effort into each training session to better improve your cardio for BJJ. You can add training sessions, warm-ups, or more repetitions to your workouts. It is crucial you determine what it is that you want to achieve by working out. There is no shortcut to quickly enhancing your BJJ reflexes.

8. Why You Need Good Stamina in BJJ

8.1. Stronger Resolve

The strongest fighter does not always win in BJJ. Sometimes it comes down to the individual with the strongest resolve. People who have good endurance tend to have less trouble escaping from tough situations.

Those with less stamina and who rarely exercise often struggle to escape. More often, they are quick to give up and don't put up much of a fight for long.

8.2. You Can Make Yourself An Elite Fighter

Grapplers with extraordinary cardio make for formidable fighters in BJJ. They can control the direction of the fight by putting pressure on the opponent.

UFC champion Cain Velasquez is both a wrestler and BJJ fighter. Velasquez’s cardio skills made it easy to bring down most opponents in his prime. His stamina set him apart from the other heavyweights who had trouble keeping up with him.

Velasquez would rush up to his opponents immediately and force them to grapple for 25 minutes. The intense pressure exerted on his opponents made it easy for Velasquez to force them to commit.

9. Last Words

BJJ workouts involve cardio, strength training, and balance drills being incorporated into your daily routine to challenge yourself, push the limits and build up your stamina. Keeping a clear head and having motivation throughout your workouts can eventually result in better fitness.
Training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is an excellent approach to improving your aerobic capacity, power, and stamina at the same time.