Bulletproof For BJJ

We often talk about the benefits of Jiu Jitsu, all of the mental side effects of lower stress, better conflict management skills, even the ability to better analyze situations and look for the best possible outcome, however it seems that it is much less common for us to acknowledge the physical impacts of abusing our bodies daily on the mats. 

We often times will joke about pushing through injury and chalk sore joints up to an “it’s part of the gig” statement but the reality is that doesn’t need to be the case. Sure, Jiu Jitsu is hard on your body, but not as hard as being a couch potato eating Cheetos and staring at a TV screen for 3 plus hours a day like the average American. So where is the balance?

Ready to perfect your lifting Technique!? Click Learn More!

LEARN MORE

First and foremost, you need to warm up.  If you are one of the ones that is showing up late to class every time and missing the warm up, stop doing that.  Not only is it disrespectful, but it doesn’t help you. I get it, the warm up can be challenging at times, but that’s the point, Jiu Jitsu is hard by design, you say you want to be a savage but can’t handle running a few laps and doing some jumping jacks just proves your lack of dedication. 

Look, this isn’t an attack on people that are late to class because of life obligations like their work schedule, or having to get their children to a babysitter so they can make it to class. No, this is directed at those of you that intentionally show up late so you don’t have to break a sweat prior to class starting.  Once again, you need to warm up, failure to do so will result in increased risk of injury. If you are unable to make it to class on time, work something out with the instructor and see if you can do the warm up on your own when you do arrive, while you should make every effort to be on time, sometimes things come up and you may need to be late.  Don’t let missing the group warm up be your excuse for not doing a warm up at all. 

Secondly, building a bulletproof body for Jiu Jitsu can help supplement your Jiu Jitsu, and even help prevent injury.  What does it mean to be bulletproof for BJJ?  Being bulletproof for Jiu Jitsu means that you have built a body that can withstand the daily physical strain we put our bodies through when we train each and every day.  This means having a strength training program in place that will work alongside your Jiu Jitsu training to help you build a strong and functional foundation.

There is a very big difference between being strong, and having functional strength.  If you were a into lifting weights prior to starting Jiu Jitsu you likely know about this first hand. If not, at some point you likely have, or will have a “meat head” walk into your academy thinking because they bench press a lot of weight they can tap everyone.  While it’s never a bad idea to be strong, there are different types of strength and we are looking to build strength that can supplement our Jiu Jitsu training, not hinder it.  

You may be wondering how simply being stronger can hinder your Jiu Jitsu training.  It’s probably not a surprise to you at this point, but flexibility is a fairly important part of Jiu Jitsu.  Having the ability to have maximum mobility in your joints helps with executing submission attempts as well as escapes. 

When you simply do traditional weight lifting exercises your muscles and tendons can get tight reducing mobility and actually increasing the risk of injury if you don’t warm up properly.  This is why it’s key to add in a functional strength training program to simultaneously build strength while also increasing mobility. 

If you are looking for a strength training program for your Jiu Jitsu training, you simply can’t go wrong with any of the options available on BJJ Fanatics.  These video instructionals and e-books are certain to get you on the right path to be the strongest, most bulletproof you that you have ever been. Whether you decide to go with “bulletproof for BJJ” by Joe Worthington, “Getting Swole as a Grappler” by Gordon Ryan, or “Ripped in 12 Weeks Intermittent Fasting and Easy Bodyweight Fitness” by Tom DeBlass, you can not choose wrong.  All 3 of these options will give you the tools you need to focus your strength training program on building functional strength that is going to help you prevent injury.  

Workouts That Are Specially Designed To Supplement and Improve Your BJJ! Click Learn More below!

LEARN MORE

Finally, recovery is important.  I you are training hard, as you should be, you must put a focus on recovery and be deliberate about providing the best possible situation for your body to recover as quickly as possible.  Having some sort of a cool down after training is always a great idea. A lot of Jiu Jitsu practitioners have found that adding a few minutes of Yoga to their week has helped recover faster among many other benefits. 

Regardless of your Yoga skill set, starting with “Yoga for Grapplers” by Nicolas Gregoriades will get you on the right track.  Yoga has been proven to strengthen the mind-body connection for better flow and rhythm on the mat as well as increase mobility especially in the hips and shoulders, which are two areas that most people struggle with.  Much like Jiu Jitsu, with Yoga, the more you learn the more you realize how little you know. 

At the end of the day only you can decide what works best for you.  You now have the information that can help you build a bulletproof body for Jiu Jitsu, but as you can see, it’s time consuming.  For a lot of us, Jiu Jitsu is a hobby we dedicate a few hours a week to, and now we are saying we need to add hours of preparation and recovery work to that.  Jiu Jitsu should always take priority over lifting weights or Yoga in my opinion.

These can be added in like seasoning on a good meal. As you have some free time, or are able to create free time, you can do a few minutes of Yoga here and there, you can add in a few body weight exercises from Tom DeBlass, and so on.  We all get the same amount of time in a day, make sure you are being as efficient as you can be to maximize your potential on the mat, but also to give yourself the best chance at reducing injury and recovery time so you can continue enjoying the things you do every day.  

Don’t forget to also check out Gordon Ryan’s latest video instructional titled “Systemizing Closed Guard”.  Gordon has done it again with over 6 hours of content breaking down closed guard in a systematic way much like John Danaher whom Gordon spends hours a day studying and learning from. 

It’s no secret the Danaher crew are among the most technical grapplers on the planet and now you can be too by learning directly from the source through video instructionals. Remember, results may vary, if you aren’t willing to spend 8 hours a day training with the toughest grapplers in the world like Gordon does, you likely won’t become as good as Gordon simply by purchasing a video instructional.  The instructional is the tool you need;you have to supply the work ethic.  

Bulletproof for BJJ by Joe Worthington &James Tomlinson is set to make your game go through the ROOF! Grappling Specific exercises will transform your overall strength and reactions to your opponent. It's time to get Bulletproof!

BUY NOW