Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is probably the most difficult grappling art to find strength training articles written about it. This is mainly due to the idea that jiu jitsu is an art of leverage and timing. “You don’t need superior strength when you have technique!” I could not disagree more with this. Being a jiu jitsu competitor, and grappling very frequently with training partners, I would say that strength training for jiu jitsu is ESSENTIAL, especially if you want to maximize your time on the mat.
Injury Prevention
Now I know a lot of you will think back to the early UFC when Royce Gracie was beating up men much heavier and stronger than him with purely technique. You may say, “See! Strength isn’t that important.” I want to clarify that technique is always the most important part of sport. I don’t deny that! The main reason for strength training shouldn’t necessarily be to have an advantage when grappling. The main reason should be for injury prevention. If you are grappling a lot and being twisted into all sorts of positions, chances are your body and joints are getting worn down. Who is going to last longer? Someone who trains their muscles and connective tissue, or someone who doesn’t? Obviously the guy with the stronger joints and muscles will, because he is less prone to injury, and has a stronger ability to recover from hard rolling. This is the number one reason to strength train. Longevity is important, and should always be a priority.
Stronger Muscle = Stronger Technique
The second reason to strength train is that by lifting, you will have more success with technique over weaker people. Going back to the Royce Gracie scenario, he was going against stronger guys that did not have a background in jiu jitsu like he did. That is very important to note. I can almost guarantee that if his opponents were as skilled at jiu jitsu as he was, there would have been a much different result! Famous jiu jitsu coach John Danaher once said, “I’ve always believed that strength is an advantage. I know in jiu jitsu, we’re supposed to say that strength doesn’t matter…Well, it does….I do believe that when two athletes are at matched skill level, the stronger man will generally win.”
How to Train for Strength
Training for strength when it comes to BJJ needs to be specific to the muscle groups used most often. It’s impossible to deny that the most used body part is the hips. Whether you are performing a takedown, defending your guard, bridging to escape, driving pressure from side control and mount, or even squeezing a triangle choke. Everything starts and ends with the hips. Because of this, strength training should primarily be focused on training the muscles that make up the hips and posterior chain. This includes the Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back, all the way to the Upper Back. Below are some of the best exercises for developing strong and powerful hips, while also building the posterior chain powerfully.
Hip Dominate Exercises
Explosive Strength Training
Strength doesn’t mean a whole lot if you aren’t able to effectively implement it into your sport. That’s where training explosive movements will come into play. Most of jiu jitsu is very fast explosive movements. Escaping from side control is a great example of when you will need explosive strength. If you don’t have the ability to bridge and push to create space quickly, you will not have an escape. Below are some exercises that will help build great explosive power using only bodyweight. These exercises should complement your heavy weight training.
Explosive Bodyweight Movements
Conditioning Training
The final aspect of training for jiu jitsu is conditioning. If you have strength, but don’t have cardio capacity to keep the pace going, your strength means NOTHING. When people think of cardio, or conditioning, they mainly think of things like jogging or cycling. While these are great forms of cardio, they are not the best way to build sport specific cardio. Now obviously, live grappling is the most specific way to build up cardio ability, but outside of that, it is great to combine both strength training and cardio to create an ability for your body to work against resistance while building the heart’s capacity to work. Below are the exercises I have found to be the BEST for building strength and cardio at the same time.
Conditioning Exercises
Rope Climbs
Sled Pushes/Pulls
Car Pushes
Circuit Training
Hill Sprints
Closing
Raw strength, explosive power, and superior conditioning all make up a strong athlete. In Jiu-Jitsu it is no different. Use these exercises as strategies to become the best you possibly can. I guarantee it will make a difference in your game.
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