Do you even lift bros?

G

GKY

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So 6 months ago I posted a thread about how I was thinking of quitting jiu jitsu or only flow rolling because I was plagued with injuries. Here's the link.

http://forums.sherdog.com/threads/keep-it-playful-or-quit.3087385/

Around that time I decided to join a gym and start lifting. I started rolling again around the beginning of February this year.

I just wanted to say how much different everything feels. My joints are stronger, my balance is better, and almost all of my injuries just disappeared. Even my movement on the mat feels better. I still have killer turf toe and my knee will never be 100% again, but thanks to lifting I feel like I can keep doing this for another 20+ years if I wanted to.

Unfortunately being "strong" and lifting weights is sort of frowned upon in the JJ community and lots of people paint you as an untechnical meathead, but really that's just nonsense. If you want to do this sport for the long run and don't want to end up being a crippled puppet by the time you're 50 I strongly suggest correcting any muscular imbalances and dedicating at least 2 days a week to weight lifting.

TL;DR Spend time becoming on becoming a better athlete. If not to enhance your jiu jitsu performance, at least to enhance your safety and longevity.
 
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What lifts do you do? How many reps, wieght, and how often? I want to start lifting, but really want to get in and out in 30 minutes if I can. Because I fucking hate to lift, lol
 
Ryan email me if you are serious. I have two30 min workouts for you.
 
NateTx4112 said:
Ryan email me if you are serious. I have two30 min workouts for you.
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I would be interested in hearing about these. I'm 34 and sometimes feal like I'm 100. I'm gearing up training for masters worlds and I can definitely feel some aches and pains. After 9 years on the mat I have never had a weightlifting routine that worked with me and my schedule. Please share
 
Lots of factors like age, diet, competition or not, etc. I used to do heavy powerlifting (squat, DL, press, snatch, etc.) but I found that my body could no longer take it. So it's secondary now, like you maybe 2 times per week depending on how I feel and the other days for training. Lately, I've started doing more bodyweight type stuff when I can't get to the gym, which is a good substitute especialy for unilateral movements.

Most importantly for me was never, ever neglecting flexibility training - every day for at least 30 min.
 
I am 54 and I train 3 days a week. In my opinion, weightlifting is mandatory if you want to do BJJ long term. Most grappling is isometric in nature. Lifting weights allows you to work your muscles over their entire length. Even 1-2 days a week is a big help.
 
Lifting for luta livre is kind of mandatory lol, even for the guys who don't go to the gym, our instructor offers circuit training sessions with weight training 2 times a week. Lifting is a big plus for heavy top pressure games, being stronger makes you better, that's a fact. Being strong and explosive and agile is a skillset in itself, and people who believe the guys at the top level are "only using technique" are morons and should be treated as such.
 
lowdown1 said:
I would be interested in hearing about these. I'm 34 and sometimes feal like I'm 100. I'm gearing up training for masters worlds and I can definitely feel some aches and pains. After 9 years on the mat I have never had a weightlifting routine that worked with me and my schedule. Please share
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Honestly it's not anything spectacular or special. I rotate 2 basic days and try to hit 3 if not 4 sessions a week.

Day 1 - Bench Press (Push), bent over rows (Pull), Standing Press (Push), pull Ups (Pull) and then some curls for the girls/triceps...because well...who doesn't like more definition in the arms?

Day 2 - Squats/Deadlifts A workout I'll go heavier on Squats, B workout (next rotation) I'll go heavier Dead lifts

At least one rest day before you go back to Day 1.

I vary the amount of reps and loads depending on the focus of my cycle/goal but I've been doing that pretty solid for the last 9 months and it's paying huge dividends for sure.
 
mattemate said:
What lifts do you do? How many reps, wieght, and how often? I want to start lifting, but really want to get in and out in 30 minutes if I can. Because I fucking hate to lift, lol
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How close/convenient is a gym with weights for you, and how often could you reasonably get there? Also, have you done any weightlifting programs before?
 
selfcritical said:
How close/convenient is a gym with weights for you, and how often could you reasonably get there? Also, have you done any weightlifting programs before?
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I can go to campus gym at UT any time.

I've never really gotten into lifting. I've done lots of calisthenics, pull ups and push ups, and a lot of manual labor, concrete work, moving lumber and scaffolding, plus machine work, welding, all that sort of thing. So I'm pretty strong, but my weight lifting form will be crappy at first.

My legs are the weakest. Just natural bird legs
 
Yeah I get my swole on. Nothing like the way I use to try and kill myself in the gym back in my single gym rat days. That said basic lifting routine with emphasis on curl I mean core does wonders for my sub grappling.

But I am a big advocate of technique along with strength and attitude, power and intensity when it comes to BJJ.
 
It's no surprise that the guys at my gym who roll the hardest and the longest are also the guys who lift regularly.
 
IMO weighted calesthetics is the best for practical strength. I do BJJ once in a blue moon and I can literally play around and escape tons of things with pure strength alone against people way more advanced than me especially if they are lighter than me which often is the case.

The thing with being strong though is that slamming your opponent during sparring becomes really tempting, haven't done it yet though since all the people I train with are all respectful and politie.

Being strong does put you at a huge disadvantage when trying to actually learn technique though, you can easily brute force moves with strength, and while that may work against people lighter than you it won't work against people much more advanced than you in technique and a similar weight
 
I used to lift fairly heavy a lot, and lift 4-5 days a week. Now that I train combat sports (right now solely BJJ) I had to cut back on that. Something was just too "achy" to lift heavy often. Now my gym days mostly consist of light lifts, the girly cable machines and recumbent bike along with an incline elliptical. I feel like it keeps my strength from dropping way off (won't go up tho) and is light enough to work around the sore joints you might get occasionally.

Surely its not the best routine or plan but it works ok for me at the moment. If I ever find myself in a situation where combat sport training isn't readily available then I'll just go back to my old lifting habits.
 
Lifting is great for any sport, BJJ included. Big compound movements, don't need to destroy yourself in the gym if you're just training to supplement your grappling. I have a 2 day a week split that works really well for me.
 
mattemate said:
What lifts do you do? How many reps, wieght, and how often? I want to start lifting, but really want to get in and out in 30 minutes if I can. Because I fucking hate to lift, lol
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I do a modified version of this program 2-3x per week. It takes over an hour each workout though, so it may not be what you're looking for.

If you want to know more message me and I'll send you my full program.

There's lots of great programs out there if you're looking for quicker workouts. This one probably wouldn't take too long.


Or you could do starting strength, but I definitely wouldn't calorie overload like he recommends and I probably wouldn't increase the weight as quickly as he recommends either.

Honestly since I only lift to supplement my grappling increasing weight quickly or getting big isn't a huge concern for me. That's why I'd stick to working big compound movements with some minor accessory work to ensure you don't develop muscle imbalances. A day a week of yoga surely wouldn't hurt either. Do what works for you and something you can stick to.
 
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