BJJ Fitness Gold With Jason Khalipa

CrossFit Champ and BJJ Purple Belt Jason Khalipa Has A Couple Tips...

Brazilian jiu-jitsu and fitness have been on a collision course for quite some time. It seems that nowadays if you hope to be successful at any competitive level, you must find an “edge” that adds increased horsepower to your BJJ technique. For many of today’s top BJJ competitors this advantage has been gained through optimized fitness performance. This increased level of fitness adds a dynamic layer to the BJJ games of anyone who chooses to seek out the best methods of recruiting this concept into their own routines.

Jason Khalips is a CrossFit games champion, who also happens to be a jiu-jitsu purple belt. Khalipa has traveled the globe in search of the absolute best and most efficient methods of fitness and his BJJ pedigree makes him a rare specimen with much to offer the jiu-jitsu practitioner in the way of fitness performance. Khalipa knows what BJJ practitioner needs and with his new instructional, Gas On the Mat, with BJJ Fanatics, he lays out the blueprints for what he feels are the most effective strength movements and training concepts for the modern BJJ player. 

It’s no secret that a little bit of extra strength isn't going to hurt your BJJ performance and Khalipa knows that the bulk of our time needs to be spent sharpening our craft. That's why he's tailored this program to not eat up our training time with hours in the gym, but to provide us with a manageable schedule that still allows us to keep BJJ training in the forefront. You'll add loads of strength and start cultivating that coveted endless gas tank that every grappler wishes they had without compromising your BJJ focus.

Not only is the deadlift one of the most important strength movements on the planet, it may also be one of the absolute best strength movements for BJJ. Recruiting several muscle groups and providing full body strength benefits, the deadlift  will serve the BJJ praicittiner in a multitude of ways if performed properly. So lets get some instruction on how to safely and properly perform the deadlift, right from the source. In this particular segment, Khalipa covers the sumo deadlift, which he feels is no better or worse than the traditional movement. Just different. Check this out!

 

We see varying grips for the deadlift but right off the bat, Khalipa hits us with a suggestion. He feels the double overhand grip is best for BJJ players, as this will develop that functional grip strength that we all need in our training.

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First, the stance. The sumo deadlift requires our feet to be a bit wider, outside the hips, with our grips now in between our legs rather than outside the legs, like the traditional deadlift. As Khalipa warns, if the knees are caving in toward the middle, this is when you know your stance is too wide and must be adjusted. Taking the double overhand grip, Benji demonstrates the proper hand positioning. He uses the width of his thumbs to determine the position of the hands. If his hands are too close together, he’ll have trouble controlling the bar. If they are too far apart they may interfere with his legs. 

Benjo can remain relaxed until it's time to perform the left. He then finds what Khalipa refers to as “peak tension”, tightening his posterior chain, lengthening his arms, and preparing for the lift. With a neutral spine from head to hip, his weight in his heels, and his shoulders slightly in front of the object, Benji begins to stand, pushing his knees back and traveling all the way to an upright position. On the descent, he first hinges at the hips and then allows his body to drop down to the bottom of the movement. 

Khalipa advises us to treat this not as a pull but to think about it as if we’re driving down into the floor so hard that the bar begins to move. Make sure the arms are long and straight and don't pull the weight, create energy that moves it!

If this position is difficult because of mobility factors, you can raise the bar up using two plates to help put the weight more within your reach. Alternatively you can also use a different implement, such as a kettlebell to perform the sumo deadlift if you don't have access to a barbell. 

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Gas On the Mat is packed full of important information that will help narrow your fitness focus so that you can recruit the most effective and efficient movements and workout parameters into your routine. This will give you the performance edge you need for BJJ without swallowing up all of your precious training time! Available now!

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