Running and bjj

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Rws177die

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I have been doing bjj for two years now. On rolling nights we go a solid hour with no breaks and I can go the whole time without getting gassed out completely. I
 
When you run what happens first, do your legs give out/tighten to the point you cannot continue without straining a muscle, does your stomach knot and turn, cramping up on you, or do you find yourself winded and gassed?

When I run I find that my legs tighten and my stomach cramps well before my lungs give out.

If you can roll for a solid hour, it is quite likely that your cardio is NOT the problem, but rather you have issues with your legs/stomach. The one thing I've done to eliminate the stomach cramps is that I don't drink much water before I run, I just have some energy gel or an energy/granola bar 10-20 minutes before I run, wash it down with a small sip of water, wait for things to settle a bit, then run.
 
and on the flip side of the coin

many athletes come into the gym who can run for hours, but can't roll for ten minutes

they're night and day differences.

stick with running and you'll develop more endurance in that area
the same goes for grappling
 
It's different cardio and different exercise.

I trained for a year for a half marathon before returning to BJJ. My running cardio was great. I mean, I ran 13 miles. I could barely roll for 3 minutes straight without being ill.

Now, I can roll for an hour and do 8 to 10, 5 minute rounds and I can't run more than a few miles.
 
ComteGuillotine said:
When you run what happens first, do your legs give out/tighten to the point you cannot continue without straining a muscle, does your stomach knot and turn, cramping up on you, or do you find yourself winded and gassed?

When I run I find that my legs tighten and my stomach cramps well before my lungs give out.

If you can roll for a solid hour, it is quite likely that your cardio is NOT the problem, but rather you have issues with your legs/stomach. The one thing I've done to eliminate the stomach cramps is that I don't drink much water before I run, I just have some energy gel or an energy/granola bar 10-20 minutes before I run, wash it down with a small sip of water, wait for things to settle a bit, then run.
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It's defianlty my legs and stomach more than anything. I guess that it is just a differant kind exercise, but I will try not drinking so much water before had as I genneraly do.
 
Jagcorps_esq said:
It's different cardio and different exercise.

I trained for a year for a half marathon before returning to BJJ. My running cardio was great. I mean, I ran 13 miles. I could barely roll for 3 minutes straight without being ill.

Now, I can roll for an hour and do 8 to 10, 5 minute rounds and I can't run more than a few miles.
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That is surprising to me that you weren't able to roll for just a few min after being able to do a half marathon, I guess that they are two very differant things then.
 
VERY different cardio... keep up the running, you'll just have to work your way up.
 
my bro in law is a competitive mountain bike racer. he trains all year and competes in the top division of a league that travels all around europe. the guy could bike for hours without stopping.

i brought him to a couple bjj classes and he gassed in 5-10 minutes...
 
Rws177die said:
It's defianlty my legs and stomach more than anything. I guess that it is just a differant kind exercise, but I will try not drinking so much water before had as I genneraly do.
Click to expand...



Are you doing some decent leg stretches before you start running? Make sure you stretch before running, because it's the same concept for why you stretch before rolling/training, to avoid straining a muscle. Also, when you're done running, jog for a few minutes and then walk for a few minutes, between 3-10 minutes (depending on how much you were running) to cool down. If you just ran five miles you don't want to suddenly stop, you want to ease into a stop.

If your stomach and legs are quitting before your legs are quitting that generally means your cardio is decent but your stretching habbits and pre-running eating/drinking habbits need some work.
 
Good topic.

I am pretty overweight but can run a ok. Not great, just ok.

Today I did two 5km runs at 9kmph. Just over 30 minutes a run I think. I did the same yesterday. My second run of the day I have to really work for it. I sweat early and heavy and the back of my legs get tight.

Grappling, I'm good for the warm up, 40 ish minute lesson with a few techniques and then most of the 30 odd minute roll.

Maybe the last ten minutes I have NOTHING left. Nothing in my arms. No lungs. Very dizzy. Want to puke. Can't even finish the roll, and I hate that.
 
If you're wanting to run for a long time, try slowing it way down at first and trying to keep your heart rate super low. Your problem could be pacing.

If you're looking at running as a way of improving your on-the-mat cardio, I'd recommend some intervals. LSD running doesn't have much carry over on the mat, but some higher intensity interval stuff will. However, I'm not sure about fat loss in LSD vs. intervals, and you said you mainly wanted to lose fat.
 
Build up to do wind sprints. High intensity interval training is the best way to go when it comes to cardio. You'll burn more calories and you'll undergo beneficial physiological cardiovascular changes much faster than running at an average pace.
 
I will say that at least half of the cardio "gain" in BJJ after some mat time is really nothing more than having the technique and the experience to not panic and not waste energy.

With running...it's all cardio.
 
What you have discovered is Anaerobic vs. Aerobic exercise.

Aerobic requires oxygen, Anaerobic does not (require as much). Cardio vs. Muscle.

Grappling is a weighted mix. If I had to put numbers on it, grappling is 70% Anaerobic. That is, muscle exercise or muscle fatigue.

Being "fit" has many definitions. BJJ players are not Aerobic athletes. Aerobic athletes are soccer players, tennis players, runners, and so forth.

Anaerobic athletes are wrestlers, football players, and bjj players. They have to focus on muscle "cardio" versus what we typically consider "lung cardio."

Furthermore, the left over 30% of actual aerobic exercise in BJJ is more closely related to interval training like sprints, and not really long distance running.
 
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I used to do interval training to help with my cardio and it seemed to have a good effect.
 
Just keep getting on that treadmill, it takes a different kind of endurance from BJJ but running is one of the most rewarding physical activities in terms of making quick gains in your performance. I started running on a treadmill earlier this year and within the first two weeks I dropped like three minutes off my 5k time!

The flip side of that is that if you don't run for like two weeks, you lose it again.
 
redaxe said:
Just keep getting on that treadmill, it takes a different kind of endurance from BJJ but running is one of the most rewarding physical activities in terms of making quick gains in your performance. I started running on a treadmill earlier this year and within the first two weeks I dropped like three minutes off my 5k time!

The flip side of that is that if you don't run for like two weeks, you lose it again.
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I like to run outside but my canadian winters ice the sidewalks so it's dangerous unfortunately.
 
I'd always figured wind sprints were more relevant to grappling
 
My knees take such a beating in BJJ that I wouldn't want to add anything else that beats them up as well. Very interesting that the running endurance doesn't translate into rolling endurance.
 
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