Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) taxes the body in unique ways compared to other sports or hobbies. It combines strength, flexibility, and endurance under constant resistance, challenging the body’s stabilizers and joints.
Those who train are keenly aware of the soreness that ensues after a difficult session — which ultimately highlights the need for more physical training outside of class. Many grapplers believe that training on the mats alone (or following a stereotypical body-builder-like training program) will be enough to cover their bases; yet, this simply isn’t the case for something as specific as Jiu Jitsu.
Fortunately, we can take our training to the next level by focusing on the right movements and, particilarly, body parts.
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BJJ requires a different approach
BJJ puts our bodies in odd positions, frequently highly unfavorable to our natural anatomy. To keep our joints healthy, combat any potential injuries, and maintain balance, we can strive to train opposing muscle groups as well as those areas directly involved in Jiu Jitsu’s movements.
Think of the body as a scale: too much weight on one side and not enough on the other results in tipping one way. With equality, we have balance. Much like the body, if we overwork the chest but never the back never gets touched, the shoulders round forward and posture suffers. The list below specifies key areas of the body to focus on while training, in no specific order:
- Neck
- Low Back
- Shoulders
- Elbow/Hand Grip Strength
- Hips
While all areas deserve attention and training, the list above represents the areas that most often get overlooked in a typical bro split workout routine (a common bodybuilding-style workout routine where each day of the week focuses on a single muscle group.) We need to dial in our training and intentionally hit these body parts with exercises that can safely keep us on the mats.
Large, multi-joint compound movements such as the barbell back squat, which targets the legs, glutes, core, and low back, offer a great foundation for building overall strength and stability.
In addition, we can then also add supplementary movements like single-joint isolated movements. Continuing with our legs example, we could do a leg extension for the quads and a leg curl for the hamstring. Preferably, aim for a mix of both, starting with the heavy compound movement and finishing off with the lighter, high-repetition supplementary work.
Low Back
When aiming to strengthen the low back, exercises such as the reverse hyperextension are phenomenal. Equally important, training the opposing muscle groups, or in this case the “core” (abdominals area), will also help support the low back. Solid form planks, dead bugs, and paloff presses all make great exercises to strengthen the core and, in turn, the low back too.
Shoulders
BJJ makes our shoulders highly vulnerable due to the constant threat of attack with submissions. Therefore, we must strengthen not only our large muscles (deltoids) but our smaller rotator cuff muscles as well. To strengthen them, we can include a variety of overhead presses for the major muscles, along with band pull-aparts and internal or external rotation work for the smaller stabilizers.
Neck
The neck is simple — no weight needed. Simply lay on your back with your head an inch or two off the ground. Bring your chin towards your chest 20 times, look side to side 20 times, and extend your neck back, rolling your head to look at the wall behind you 20 times. Try to do all of this while not letting your head touch the ground. You will curse my name later (but also feel grateful.)
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Hips
The hips are one of the most important pieces to being a strong grappler. For solid hip training, supplement large movements such as the deadlift by also training the opposing muscles in the glutes. Without strong hips, your game will suffer tremendously.
Grips
Lastly, we must also train our grip strength. We inherently get a lot of grip work in training already, particularly in the gi, but it’s important to actively work on it as well if you find that you struggle in this area. For grips, try farmers carries, gi pull ups, and even just hang from a pull up bar. Start slow and build your way up.
Remember, just like training on the mats, training off the mats requires attention to detail too. We can choose to do the exercises we like all the time, but we must also choose to work on the things we need more often. This is how we improve and stay healthy.
Be objective with your training, and if you can pinpoint weaknesses, work hard to make them your strengths.
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