Zone Training For Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: Is It Helpful For You?

Zone training is becoming a very popular concept these days, and it is continuously rising in its fame and popularity. The reason is its beneficial effects on the fitness levels of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes. The improved fitness level, in turn, improves the execution of techniques and overall performance of Jiu Jitsu practitioners in training and matches. You categorize your exercise into different levels according to the intensity and the heartbeat. What are its effects on your performance in BJJ if you start zone training, and is this separate exercise really worth it or not? Let's explore it further.

Zone training is the unique form of training which is recently getting fame throughout the world in which you train or exercise according to specific levels of your heart beats per minutes or intensity. These levels are known as zones. With lower levels, your heart beat is more closer to normal and with each higher level, the heart beat per minute moves farther away from the normal adult heart beats.

There are five levels or zones in zone training, which divide it from the lowest intensity or heart beat to the highest intensity or heart beat. It is typically determined as some percentage of the maximum heart rate. The following are the distinct zones or levels in the zone training:

In zone 1 of zone training, you are either recovering or getting warmed up for your next physical activity. So in this zone, you are not doing any physical activity, and therefore your heartbeat is normal in this zone. This zone is almost 50-60 % of the maximum heart rate specific to an individual. All the energy or fuel source is fat.

The zone two involves slight to moderate exercise. At this level, the individual is doing low-intensity exercise. The energy and fuel source in this zone is also fat. The heart rate increases slightly with the increasing intensity compared to the first zone. All the exercises are aerobic and light.

It is a moderate exercise with a higher intensity than zone 2. It is the tempo training, and it involves the lactate threshold. Heart rate reaches 70-80% of the maximum heart rate. The lactate threshold is the point at which the lactate or lactic acid builds at a pace faster than the rate or pace of its removal from the body. The fuel or energy source does not remain limited to fats. Because of the higher intensity, carbohydrates and proteins also become the source of fuel or energy.

The zone four is very high intensity zone. In this the individual tries their limites for doing the physical activity. It involve shard exercise. This zone is basically the red line. The energy source is now no more fat and it is shifted from fat to the proteins and carbohydrates. In this zone, the heart rate is about 80 to 90 % of the maximum heart rate.

The last zone makes the heart beat fastest of the individual’s capacity, and it is almost 90-100% of the maximum heart rate. It is the highest intensity zone of zone training for athletes. This is not done continuously. It is done in short bursts in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, like rolling or sparring. At this level, the aerobic no longer works and the anaerobic process is reached. The fuel source is the same as the previous zone, and includes proteins and carbohydrates. It is the maximum or peak performance an individual can give.

• The question of whether zone training is useful for BJJ athletes or not has a straightforward answer, and that is yes. It is useful and helps them in many ways to optimize their performance in the sparring and professional matches.

• But the question is how Jiu Jitsu practitioners can utilize zone training for their benefit and improve their execution of techniques and moves, and overall performance in the game. The following are some points that highlight the proper way to use the techniques for improvement in the game, and also their uses in helping to excel in their career.

• Zones two and three are both helpful in burning fat. The fat, when it becomes excessive on your body, starts interfering with your physical activity. The activity becomes compromised. You start feeling dizzy and sleepy throughout your day, whether you have had your full sleep or not. So it is very bad for your Jiu Jitsu and career.

• You won't be able to execute the movement and techniques properly. So make sure you don't have fat. If you have fat, you don't want to be worried because zones two and three help the BJJ athletes burn their fat. The first three zones focus on utilizing and burning the fat for using it as a source of energy. So, zone training is an effective way to burn fat.

• It is very crucial for a martial artist to have a strong aerobic base because in this phase, the person is using primarily oxygen as their primary fuel source. Moreover, the fat is also burned in this phase. So, the aerobic phase should be very strong in individuals. This base is necessary for developing and improving endurance in the body.

• Endurance means how long a person can continue to do a physical activity. The capacity of the body to continue working normally for a period of time. So this endurance is very necessary for everyone to have, particularly those who are Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners.

• In a BJJ fight, the muscle endurance and strong aerobic base are the key to a prolonged and good Jiu Jitsu game. So it is very important for Jiu Jitsu practitioners to develop that to keep themselves able to execute the techniques and moves, and defend themselves. This is acquired by zone training. So, implement this training, particularly zone two, in your daily routine.

• The most common part of worry for the people is the recovery after the training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Recovery is very important for them because it is the time for their tissues, muscles and every other part involved in training to get relaxed and ready for the training coming next day. But this process is not smooth for many people. It is becoming more and more complex for everyone particularly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes.

• But this complexity can be eliminated, and the issue can be solved. The solution is the zone two training. The training increases the uptake of oxygen, which is one of the most important factors related to your Jiu Jitsu game, and the second thing zone two does is the reduction in lactate buildup in your body. These two things make your recovery after a BJJ workout and between intense training sessions much faster.

• Zone training, besides providing you with various physical benefits, also gives you a number of other health benefits. The most common and important health benefit zone two or three gives you is the protection from high sugar levels. The training is structured in such a way that your body's sensitivity to insulin increases to a major extent. This increase in sensitivity of insulin causes it to detect or sense glucose more easily and accurately.

• It starts detecting even the small sugar changes. So when the detection or sense becomes accurate and precise, then the glucose control also improves. So the next time your glucose level increases even slightly, your highly sensitive insulin immediately detects the change and brings glucose levels back to their normal range. So this is how zone training helps protect you from sugar abnormalities.

• Besides stabilizing the insulin, zone training is also helpful in many other health benefits. For example it improves our mental health to a major extent. It makes us mentally strong, instills confience in us and fosters positivity in our mind and personality.

• Zone training, particularly zone two, improves our cardiac output and VO2. VO2 is the term used to indicate the maximum amount of oxygen that can be used by the body when we are doing any physical activity, such as in the current case, the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu sparring or rolling.

• On the other hand, the cardiac output is the maximum amount of blood that can be pumped by the heart in one minute. Both cardiac output and VO2 are the prime elements needed for our proper and long term exercise or BJJ training. Zone two training effectively improves both these in our body.

Zone training is like a new concept because it just started gaining popularity in recent years. But it is proven that it is beneficial in numerous ways for both physical and mental health. The same benefits can be gained by the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athletes in their game, so that they can improve their game. Their performance, execution of the techniques, movements, skills, and development of strategies before and during the game also improved to a great extent. So it is the right time for every BJJ athlete to incorporate the element of zone training into their daily BJJ workout routine. This will give them a great advantage over their opponent, and when they enter the professional match, they are going to have more chances to win because they get better mentally and physically prepared than their opponents.

Zone training is the unique form of training which is recently getting fame throughout the world in which you train or exercise according to specific levels of your heart beats per minutes or intensity. These levels are known as zones. With lower levels, your heart beat is more closer to normal and with each higher level, the heart beat per minute moves farther away from the normal adult heart beats.

There are five levels or zones in zone training, which divide it from the lowest intensity or heart beat to the highest intensity or heart beat. It is typically determined as some percentage of the maximum heart rate. The following are the distinct zones or levels in the zone training:

• Zone 1

• Zone 2

• Zone 3

• Zone 4

• Zone 5

The zone two involves slight to moderate exercise. At this level, the individual is doing low-intensity exercise. The energy and fuel source in this zone is also fat. The heart rate increases slightly with the increasing intensity compared to the first zone. All the exercises are aerobic and light.

It is a moderate exercise with a higher intensity than zone 2. It is the tempo training, and it involves the lactate threshold. Heart rate reaches 70-80% of the maximum heart rate. Because of the higher intensity, carbohydrates and proteins also become the source of fuel or energy.

The following are some points that highlight the proper way to use the techniques for improvement in the game, and also their uses in helping to excel in their career.

• Your Fat Starts Burning

• Strong Aerobic Base

• Improved Recovery After The BJJ Training

• Health Benefits

• Improved VO2 and Cardiac Output