Conditioning Wins Fights
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”
General George Patton
Good conditioning wins fights.
If you are able to roll 4-5 times a week you are probably staying fairly fit. If you are only working out 1-2 times a week and increase to 4-5 times a week, you will probably see a fitness improvement. The reality is most BJJers are only training 2, sometimes 3 times a week at the academy which is barely enough to increase your fitness or maintain a high level of fitness. If you are like me and also work, travel, and have a wife and 2 kids you might even have gaps in your training when you just can’t make it to Jiu-Jitsu. So, you have to fill the gap in your fitness level outside of the academy.
In a previous article. I wrote about how to relax in order to conserve your energy and fight fatigue, and some ideas on 20 minute daily workouts It is a great strategy that anyone can apply but relaxation will only take you so far. You have to increase your fitness level to be able to accomplish the moves you are learning. If you can see the submission, but just don’t have the energy than it will pass you by.
The tips below are some basic fitness ideas for the busy professional who also wants to be a grappler.
1. Lose some weight—yes finally do it. If you are one of the few freaks who walks around with 10% body fat on a diet of beer and chicken wings skip this section. For the rest of you (me) lose some weight. If you are part of the “executive” crowd (over 40) then more than likely you could stand to lose a few pounds. Don’t wait. You will instantly have better cardio. Your energy levels will go through the roof, and your game will automatically improve. This is the one thing 100% within your control that you can do to improve your Jiu-Jitsu now. Start with something easy and attainable like 5-10 lbs.
2. Make exercise part of your daily routine. That’s 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It is a myth that you should only formally work out X number of times a week. Human beings are meant to be active. It is a recent phenomenon where individuals spend nearly all of their time sitting, or laying down. Your body needs to move and be active. Yeah, my In box is going to be popping with plenty of “experts” giving me the latest and greatest about rest days, muscle confusion, cross training, specificity training, core training, pilates, yoga, blah, blah, BLAH—but hear me now and believe me later, it doesn’t take a master fitness trainer or life long athlete to tell you that being active beats sitting on your rumpus any time.
Certainly you are going to have hard and easy days. Some days you may just go for a stroll with the family for 20 minutes or jump on the trampoline with the kids. The point is never let a day go by without deliberate movement. Sitting in front of the TV without moving for hours on end is a one way invitation to join the Lardassian Nation.
If you are travelling, schedule exercise into your schedule. Get up 20 minutes earlier and do your favorite body weight work out in your room. You don’t even have to waste your time going down to the hotel “fitness” room.
3. Avoid long slow distance (LSD) exercises. Distance running, hour sessions on the treadmill, elliptical trainer or torture device of choice are counter productive. LSD does not build muscle. It leads to a myriad of repetitive type stress injuries and will not help you realize your ultimate potential as a grappler. How many distance runners have you seen who are flexible, strong, and explosive? Few. Most are scrawny and inflexible. The main problem with LSD is it burns lots of calories and will help just about anyone lose weight over the short term, but as soon as you stop or cut back on LSD weight gain will reoccur very quickly.
If you want to blow torch fat off of your body learn to train explosively. Sprint. Run hills. Train in fast intervals. You can still use your favorite LSD exercise only turn it into an explosive exercise where you get your heart rate up close to your maximum heart rate (MHR).
The research comparing LSD to interval work is overwhelming. The difference in your cardiovascular fitness, muscle gain and weight loss will be dramatic.
4. Stick to body weight exercises—One of the worst myths of our time is that the modern “body building” gym will make you strong. What use is the bench press in life or grappling? Waste of time. Squats? Back injuries, knee injuries, hip damage. Forget it. Elite body builders are not healthy people, steroid use aside, most are inflexible and injury prone from the myriad of muscle imbalances.
Grapplers need core strength. They need strength from every angle. All you need is a floor and a wall and you can get crazy strong. Try doing 100 squat thrusts, followed by 100 three count flutter kicks and 100 push ups. Most of you would bawl your eyes out if you could even finish. Work up to the previous numbers and tell me if you are strong.
Why body weight exercises? They train muscles from every angle and help correct muscle imbalances.
More to follow.
Good training to you,
Anthony
