Wrestling gets you in better shape than BJJ/Judo

[omgitsrick]

i do both, wrestle and BJJ. Here's my 2cents...

wrestling is equivalent to lifting low weight and doing high reps. This focuses most of the work on the fast twitch muscles.

BJJ is equivalent to lifting heavy weight and doing low reps. This focuses most of the work on slow twitch muscles.

That's why wrestlers scramble and move quickly. While a BJJ player gets into a good position and locks you down.

In other words, neither is harder or easier than the other. It's two different types of workouts, working different types of muscle fibers.

Do both and get the best of both worlds!

Eh kind of a bad example. But yeah it is kind of true I guess, wrestling is more hectic at a hard pace while BJJ is more consistent at a slower pace.

 

[pmhays01]

Just got back from a super super super hard summer wrestling practice. Conditioning is the worst, on the upside we only ran 4 miles and drilled/trained for like 2 hrs with 1 waterbreak and no stopping. I'm super sore right now and I'm positive that wrestling gets you in MUCH better shape than other forms of grappling. Most BJJ schools just run a few laps and then do 1.5 hrs of drilling with like 30 mins of training at the end. Now I know this is for the casual person and alot of people view it as a hobby instead of a sport they want to compete in or get somewhere with.

I'm just saying if you're in highschool/college and can get on the wrestling team but don't do so because of BJJ then you should maybe change your ways. I still go to BJJ and I love it, but truly it is much easier.

Sad generalization. Wrestlers have to condition so much because they rely on much more strength. Holding a guy on his back takes alot of it and so they condition before they practice. The strength a BJJ player needs is attained when they roll. I don't know man I am sweating bullets and panting like crazy every time I finish a rolling session and I'm a wrestler turned BJJ. Two different styles with 2 different training goals. If you are not getting enough cardio in your class then find a different BJJ class. You get out what you put in!!!

 

[georgejjr]

i do both, wrestle and BJJ. Here's my 2cents...

wrestling is equivalent to lifting low weight and doing high reps. This focuses most of the work on the fast twitch muscles.

BJJ is equivalent to lifting heavy weight and doing low reps. This focuses most of the work on slow twitch muscles.

That's why wrestlers scramble and move quickly. While a BJJ player gets into a good position and locks you down.

In other words, neither is harder or easier than the other. It's two different types of workouts, working different types of muscle fibers.

Do both and get the best of both worlds!

Actually lifting heavy weights works your fast twitch muscles ... the low reps come automatically because the definition of heavy is a weight close to your one rep maximum. Low weights and high reps works mainly on your slow twitch muscles. You can work your fast twitch muscles with low weights if you go very fast, though you'll find you're not going to get a huge number of reps in at that pace - it tends to be low weights, medium reps. Like anything, its more complex than that of course, but I'm too lazy to get into it ... I think its been discussed in detail in the strength forum.

A good site with a lot of information is drsquat.com, run by Fred Hatfield, the first person to squat 1000 pounds, and who now has a Phd in sports physiology.

 

[Darkslide632]

Wrestling does get people in fantastic shape. I have never met a good wrestler who was in bad shape, but I have met plenty of Judo/BJJ guys who are.

That being said, very few wrestlers I have ever met were technical masters who defeated their opponents using technique rather than strength, power and explosiveness. You're forced to be in good shape because you run at 110% the entire match, rather understanding the value of being relaxed at times.

All these concepts aside, however, good wrestlers will give good grapplers an extremely hard time on the ground, so obviously their methods have substance.

 

[Knots619]

Whatever dude, it's all about how had one works. Wrestling involves more strength than BJJ so of course serious wrestlers are more likely to lift.

iam a university wrestler and i train 5 times a week 2 hours a day, i dont lift weights at all. i do a ton of push ups, chin ups and squats aside form wrestling
no weight training at all just static & isometric excerisies help me for wrestling, i train and compete in no gi sub grappling and i found my training with wrestling helped me a lot cardio and strength when competing, gi jj is different IMO strength isnt a huge factor therefor more time should be spent on technique

just my 2 cents

 

[hayliks]

Sad generalization. Wrestlers have to condition so much because they rely on much more strength. Holding a guy on his back takes alot of it and so they condition before they practice. The strength a BJJ player needs is attained when they roll. I don't know man I am sweating bullets and panting like crazy every time I finish a rolling session and I'm a wrestler turned BJJ. Two different styles with 2 different training goals. If you are not getting enough cardio in your class then find a different BJJ class. You get out what you put in!!!

Wow, you must have been JV all your life, you fucking moron. Wrestlers conditioning is to give them the ability to wrestle as hard in all three periods. I wrestled 8 years some middle school through some collegiate. I still go back and visit my high school team and workout with them when I'm home for Christmas and I can't get through even 1/2 the practice without sitting out. It's not because I'm not strong enough, I have a lot of strength, but it's because I don't have the conditioning. We had a wrestler this past year that was nationally ranked, took 1st at Prep Nationals, cuts from 200lbs to 189. I weigh about 172, not in wrestling shape, and best I faired at Prep Nationals was 3rd place (back in 2001). This kid is bigger than me, stronger than me, faster than me, and overall a better wrestler than I ever was. I wrestled a match with him and I almost beat him because there are 3 wrestling techniques that I can do that are VERY effective, I was winning in the 3rd until I was completely gassed and he came back from 8-5 and beat me 11-10 in the last 45 seconds. I don't attribute me losing to my lack of strength. Plenty of guys lose BJJ matches because of lack of cardio, and especially at the white belt level (as in low level high school wrestling as well) plenty of people lose because of strength. Saying you NEED more strength in wrestling is pretty much bullshit, I am a huge advocate of strength and using it in grappling when necessary it is ALWAYS an asset, but wrestling is equally as technical as any other grappling sport out there.

 

[sprite]

*DING DING DING DING* ANOTHER RETARD IN THE HOUSE!!!

Strength is an asset to have in all of grappling. There was a 4x state champion in Texas that looked like a string bean, everybody he wrestled was physically more fit than him and more muscular, but he was so technically sound, he ruined everybody.

there are average looking guys who are deceptively filled with strength

this guy you were talking about was probably one of those genetic freaks

 

[blackfish]

Yall jus bein' ignorant.

No but yeah, i feel sorry for all the wrestlers at my school. However, if they were to the workouts in the sports i do they wouldnt last 10 minutes without drowning. But yeah wrestling conditioning is hard as fuck.

You must be swim team or water polo. We used to get a few every season. They'd strut in thinking they were hardcore then drop out midway through hell week. A wrestler would have a hard time doing watersports too. Just different muscle groups and emphasis.

 

[hayliks]

there are average looking guys who are deceptively filled with strength

this guy you were talking about was probably one of those genetic freaks

Of course the argument becomes "one of those genetic freaks" because wrestling HAS to be strength reliant. None of you morons can admit that it has an enormous amount of technique involved.

I've shared enough on the topic, if people still want to be completely ignorant about a sport they either NEVER have done, or only did for 1-2 years in high school, then so be it.

 

[sprite]

Of course the argument becomes "one of those genetic freaks" because wrestling HAS to be strength reliant. None of you morons can admit that it has an enormous amount of technique involved.

I've shared enough on the topic, if people still want to be completely ignorant about a sport they either NEVER have done, or only did for 1-2 years in high school, then so be it.

of course wrestling is technical but bjj is far more technical because bjj is all about joint manipulation

 

[Kforcer]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuude. IT DEPENDS ON THE PERSON, THE COACHES, THE TRAINERS, ETC!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kforcer]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuude. IT DEPENDS ON THE PERSON, THE COACHES, THE TRAINERS, ETC!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[hayliks]

of course wrestling is technical but bjj is far more technical because bjj is all about joint manipulation

What does that have to do with anything?
If you think "technical" means "more techniques", then you're just really really really stupid.

 

[Ted-P]

so being technical means less rules?

 

[Kforcer]

Wow, you must have been JV all your life, you fucking moron. Wrestlers conditioning is to give them the ability to wrestle as hard in all three periods. I wrestled 8 years some middle school through some collegiate. I still go back and visit my high school team and workout with them when I'm home for Christmas and I can't get through even 1/2 the practice without sitting out. It's not because I'm not strong enough, I have a lot of strength, but it's because I don't have the conditioning. We had a wrestler this past year that was nationally ranked, took 1st at Prep Nationals, cuts from 200lbs to 189. I weigh about 172, not in wrestling shape, and best I faired at Prep Nationals was 3rd place (back in 2001). This kid is bigger than me, stronger than me, faster than me, and overall a better wrestler than I ever was. I wrestled a match with him and I almost beat him because there are 3 wrestling techniques that I can do that are VERY effective, I was winning in the 3rd until I was completely gassed and he came back from 8-5 and beat me 11-10 in the last 45 seconds. I don't attribute me losing to my lack of strength. Plenty of guys lose BJJ matches because of lack of cardio, and especially at the white belt level (as in low level high school wrestling as well) plenty of people lose because of strength. Saying you NEED more strength in wrestling is pretty much bullshit, I am a huge advocate of strength and using it in grappling when necessary it is ALWAYS an asset, but wrestling is equally as technical as any other grappling sport out there.

There are myriad approaches to wrestling; wrestling is a sport where part of the game is taking your strengths finding a way to make them the most relevant factor in the matches you have. I guess what I am describing is strategy, basically.

But it's true; in wrestling, there are brutes(the Schultz brothers), there are technicians (Uetake), there are incredible athletes (Jackson, Monday)...guys that have all of the above...like a Bobby Douglas...

...but what a lot of people miss is that the brutes and the incredible athletes wouldn't go ANYWHERE in wrestling except that they fine-tuned their technique to utilize their individual gifts, be they of strength, speed, explosiveness, or even ruthlessness, like the Schultz boys.

Kenny Monday could spend a lifetime telling you about the fine technical points of his powerhouse double-leg.

 

[hayliks]

There are myriad approaches to wrestling; wrestling is a sport where part of the game is taking your strengths finding a way to make them the most relevant factor in the matches you have. I guess what I am describing is strategy, basically.

But it's true; in wrestling, there are brutes(the Schultz brothers), there are technicians (Uetake), there are incredible athletes (Jackson, Monday)...guys that have all of the above...like a Bobby Douglas...

...but what a lot of people miss is that the brutes and the incredible athletes wouldn't go ANYWHERE in wrestling except that they fine-tuned their technique to utilize their individual gifts, be they of strength, speed, explosiveness, or even ruthlessness, like the Schultz boys.

Kenny Monday could spend a lifetime telling you about the fine technical points of his powerhouse double-leg.

I was at a camp with Dan Gable and he went over the penetration step for 1 1/2 hours. Not for any particular takedown, but just made us drill the penetration step his way to perfection.

 

[choke m out]

Depends upon the level of competition. Olympic level judoka and wrestlers are at the same level of conditioning (they actually measure it at the olympic training camps, VO2 max etc). It's likely that ADCC finalists are at the same level as well, as well as most top level MMA folks (Fedor, Big Nog etc). When you're a professional athlete (which is what that level is), you absolutely cannot afford to get tired, so fitness is something they approach very scientifically.

At lower levels it depends, though in general BJJ'ers don't work fitness and strength as much as judo and wrestling do. And BJJ and judo both have recreational people who aren't particularly fit as all, whereas wrestling doesn't have recreational athletes.

100% agreed

 

[sprite]

What does that have to do with anything?
If you think "technical" means "more techniques", then you're just really really really stupid.

your the stupid one to think otherwise

 

[blackfish]

of course wrestling is technical but bjj is far more technical because bjj is all about joint manipulation

Sorry bud, Hayliks is right. What you're not understanding is the application of technique. Wrestling has as much technique as BJJ but the application and emphasis is different. A simplistic way to look at it is just go down the list of what wrestling is good at and what BJJ is good at. BJJ has very poor takedowns compared to wrestling.

BTW you know very little if you think BJJ emphasis small joint manipulations. You're thinking aikido.

 

[bacon]

I was at a camp with Dan Gable and he went over the penetration step for 1 1/2 hours. Not for any particular takedown, but just made us drill the penetration step his way to perfection.

That's one of a million reasons why he was a great athlete and coach. He understands the importance of pursuit of perfection through repetition. The argument that wrestling is all about strength is absurd. 99% of the guys I beat were stronger than me.

Saying "wrestling is more about strength" is as dumb as saying BJJ is all about technique. Guess what? It ain't. And if you think it is, you're fooling yourself.