Lifting and bjj

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razor108

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How long should you lift weights when doing bjj four nights a week.
I started a month ago but my body can't take much more. I was thinking two months of weight training and one month off. Any suggestions. (I have a full schedule with my job and family.)
 
i alternate days in which i do them. one day weight lifting then next bjj. i never have any problems. there are 7 days a week so you can easily do 4 bjj then 3 lifting. but its best to have a rest day as well so try to combine one of the days to do both. at my gym often we do bjj then after class some of the people stay to do some crossfit.
 
If you're grappling 4 times a week then it's going to be tough to lift at the same time. Assuming you're an average person and not some freak athlete, if you're looking to build muscle you're going to have a tough time doing so as your torn muscles need time 2 recover. If you were to intersperse lifting on the 3 days you don't grapple then you're fitting in 6 different muscle groups (chest, bi's, tri's, back, shoulders, and legs) within 3 days with no rest in between since you'll be grappling. If you simply want to maintain muscle then twice a week circuit workouts might work but either way you'll likely be over training. 3 days of grappling and 3 days of lifting is probably the most balanced you can get but you'll be damn tired. That was my schedule a couple years ago over the summer and it wrecked me. Tried balancing grappling and martial arts this past fall but I lost a good amount of muscle mass since I didn't have too much time to lift with school as well, now back to strictly lifting with bjj interspersed when I have the time and I've been steadily gaining my mass back. Hope this helps.
 
its tough i found unless i completely stop partying and drinking while working a slack job and eating alot of good food i could make gains, otherwise i would be sore alot and gains would be alot slower. But don't give up on lifting no matter what the technique over strength people say its always a good feeling to be able to have a strength advantage or at least be able to control the big guys a bit easier
 
I do bjj and lift, mon & wed and fri I just lift,
mon thru thur I train bjj. I don't go crazy In the
Gym. I do a gym program that I got from men fitness it
concentrates on squat, bench press and deadlift, I'm
never more than an hour in the gym but I need to
max out on their main excersices in different days.
I try to rest sat and sun. I'm 5'8" 150lb 38yrs, not to strong
thats why I decided to lift.
 
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First: Read http://www.sherdog.net/forums/f13/strength-power-faq-v2-0-a-1339105/

Second: Educate yourself on nutrition, if you are not eating properly you will not be able to perform in either activity.

It is totally possible to train BJJ multiple times a week while Getting stronger and building muscle. I currently train BJJ 3-5 times a week along with lifting 2-3 times doing the starting strength workout.
 
I usually do weight training before or after BJJ class (usually after) four times a week. Now that my schedule has changed I have been lifting before class. I've been doing it for years, so my body is used to it. If you are too tired, listen to your body.
 
I use lighter weights for interval training for 6 minute rounds (blue belt match) 2x a week, plus 4-6 sessions of BJJ or Judo, and that pretty much kills me. I can just barely handle it. If I try to sub powerlifting instead of the weight/cardio hybrid stuff it's worse. Figure your what you main goals are and then design your program around them. It's good to be strong, but just doing BJJ makes you pretty strong for BJJ, so if you want to win BJJ tournaments don't sacrifice your training sessions for better lifting results (only lift as often as you can without hurting your BJJ).

If you like the idea of being really strong and are willing to accept a bit slower progression in grappling, then by all means lift hardcore 3x per week and do BJJ when you are up for it. It's really all about your goals. But for good fitness for BJJ, it's hard to beat cross-fit style interval training. For example, here's what me a another guy who trains at my gym did today:

Please Re-Size Image
Click to expand...

Some of that is kettlebell, and Billy is our 90lb grappling dummy, but you get the idea. 30 seconds one exercise, 30 seconds another, 1 minute of a more cardio exercise, repeat three times to get 6 mins. Do that 5 times. It gets your cardio up fast and really helps with muscular power endurance. Sorry the picture's so huge.
 
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I lift twice a week with a push/pull split and only compound movements (pull-ups, different kinds of barbell rowing, deads, squats, incline bench, dips). My progression is nowhere near what they were when I didn't grapple, but I'm also not trying to gain any more weight, and have been lifting for many years, so that's to be expected. In a good week, I can still grapple 3-4 days (with a two-a-day here and there) and not burn out completely. Mind you, this is with school and a part time job.
 
To keep your strength gains you should keep on lifting. Lifting for a bit and then taking frequent breaks will just stall your gains. It's better to lift for shorter sessions but continuously than going all out and taking month breaks.

I lift 3 times a week and do BJJ 3-4 times a week and have no problem whatsoever with it. Most people get burned because they are not doing it right.
 
just do starting strength on MWF, and train bjj any 4 days of the week.
 
I don't think taking a month off lifting will help you. I took about 2 years completely off lifting/strength training after about 10 years on. In those two years I started training Muay Thai 3-5 days per week and doing some running and push ups/sit ups. 3 months ago I stopped MT do to injury and gradually started strength training to the point I'm doing 3 days a week of 5x5 OL style program. Never did OL style lifts, deadlifts, squats or anything in the past, I had just did more bodybuilding style muscle isolations and lots of machines in the past. I started BJJ about a month ago. Right now I'm doing 3 days 5x5 and 2-4 days of BJJ per week and I feel stronger than ever. I am constantly a little bit sore but it's the good kind of sore not unable to walk around kind.
I did ramp up because I started my lifting program about 2 months before adding BJJ and while I've quickly fallen in love with BJJ I am using it more as my cardio work out and fun than to become a great BJJ practioner so if I only get 2 days in a week instead of 4 days it doesn't bother me like it would a lot of other people at my BJJ gym
 
Shemhazai said:
I lift twice a week with a push/pull split and only compound movements (pull-ups, different kinds of barbell rowing, deads, squats, incline bench, dips). My progression is nowhere near what they were when I didn't grapple, but I'm also not trying to gain any more weight, and have been lifting for many years, so that's to be expected. In a good week, I can still grapple 3-4 days (with a two-a-day here and there) and not burn out completely. Mind you, this is with school and a part time job.
Click to expand...

I would do this, and I am just about on the same plan. I don't worry about doing bicep curls and all this other stuff. I do squats, deadlifts, cleans, bench etc...
 
I lift MWF in the AM. And train at night whenever I can. Usually 4-5x a week. I'm also working a fulltime job and attempting to study for the CPA. Just have to make sure you eat properly and sleep as much as you can.
 
I do my cardio and lifting in the morning. Jiu-Jitsu 2-3 times a week in the evenings.
 
Here's what I do:
BJJ: M, W, Sa
Lifting (deadlift or squat, bench or OHP, chinups, dips, etc) and a mile or two of jogging:
Tu, Th, Su

Friday I rest.

Haven't had problems recovering. I sleep 6-7 hrs a night and eat very well.

If you're doing BJJ 5 or more times a week though, you may have to cut back on the lifting a little and get more rest.
 
4x a week bjj 2x a week lift

bench
dips
squats
rows
 
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