When two wrestlers with the same abilities meet on the mat, who wins? This question is frequently asked in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu community. Many athletes think that the only thing that matters is good technique, but this is not exactly the case.
The benefits of well-designed strength training linked to a conditioning program go beyond just thinking about the athlete’s performance. A well-structured program will improve the athlete’s health and greatly reduce the risk of injury.
Therefore, for a fighter, a training routine should focus on strength rather than physical conditioning. Find out why strength training is so important for a fighter.
What is the goal of strength training for a fighter?
A strength program is not going to make a fighter improve in his attack. Contrary to popular belief, the deadlift will not make you better when performing BJJ techniques . In the gym, the goal is to get stronger. Weight training, mobility, and recovery work help the body get stronger, not improve at BJJ techniques.
Why is strength training important in BJJ?
Strength training has multiple benefits:
- Improves performance and health
- Helps in increasing muscle mass
- It will improve a fighter’s strength-to-weight ratio
- Reduces the risk of injury
- It slows down the loss of muscle mass , reducing the effect of age on the fighter.
Contact sports require athletes with a high strength-to-weight ratio . For example, if in a competition, two wrestlers weigh 70 kg (both in the same weight class), the one who can squat more with a greater amount of weight will win the fight.
Contact sports also have a higher risk of injury, so to avoid that as an athlete you spend most of your time standing due to an ailment, it is convenient that you follow strength training.
Lastly, and perhaps one of the most important aspects of strength training is the resistance it supplies to the body . Let’s say a fighter weighing 70 kg can do max 2 squats with a weight of at least 90 kg max, after a proper 12 week training program that same fighter can do 8 reps with the same weight for a total load for the 725 kg workout.
This means that this athlete is stronger and has greater capacity than before.
Is it significant to gain muscle mass?
As the body ages, there is a natural loss of muscle mass. Sarcopenia is the medical term for muscle loss. Strength training is an important factor in the healthy aging process because it helps the body hold on to muscle, and the more muscle that can be gained or “stored” the better.
Common misconceptions about strength training
Will strength training slow me down?
Heavyweight strength training is not well received in some sports communities , especially contact ones. Some fighters feel that strength training will slow them down. This is not true, when lifting heavy weights, the body recruits mainly type II muscle fibers, which are designed for short, intense and fast movements, such as attack techniques.
Will weight training decrease my stamina?
Another misconception is that strength training will make contact athletes very bulky, or feel like they will end up looking like weightlifters. The reason these athletes look like this is because of the type of training they take, the sports of powerlifting and grip are different, so this is another misconception.
Contact sports require an athlete with high endurance who can endure intense training for at least 5 minutes, while weightlifters have a training designed to lift the weight for just a few seconds. Therefore they are different training and requirements.
The focus of BJJ athletes is more focused on strength and endurance, while weightlifters focus their training on building muscle and strength with minimal physical conditioning.
Conclution
Strength training is not a substitute for training in combat techniques of any discipline, but it is during the practice of contact sports that you learn the most to develop strength and work on specific conditioning. There is no better way to get better at BJJ than on the mat itself and there is no better way to get stronger than lifting dumbbells at the gym.
References
- Samuel Spiegelman. Why All BJJ Athletes Need to Strength Train. To: breakingmuscle [Revised November 2015]
