The Perfect Jiu-jitsu week
If you train 3 – 4 times per week how often should you lift weights? How much should you stretch? Should you have days off?
We have the answers! The perfect Jiu-jitsu week has the right ratios of everything you need to maximise your BJJ improvement.
LIFTING: 2 X PER WEEK
In order for you to make your body more resilient and less susceptible to injury we recommend doing strength training twice a week. This is the Minimum Effective Dose. Enough to actually get you stronger but not so much you burn out. If you want to lift more often and have the time we salute you but ensure that you are also increasing your frequency of flexibility training. Strength training is a double edge sword.
“ With great strength, comes great immobility.” –Uncle Ben.
If you are lifting with the right level of intensity and keeping track of your rest times you will get a lot out of the small investment which is 2X 45-60 minutes per week.
THE ROLLING : STRETCHING RATIO
The amount of flexibility and mobility training you do should match how much you are actually training BJJ. (1:1 Ratio) This doesn’t mean you have to spend the same amount of time stretching as you do rolling. Simply for every session you are practicing Jiu-jitsu you need to do a body maintenance session.
This can be a mixture of Dynamic and Static flexibility drills but should only take 15-20 minutes, the best time to do this is immediately after class when your body is at it’s warmest. This is when your tissues are at their most elastic and you get the double benefit greater range of motion plus improved circulation to the stressed tissues speeding up your recovery.
ACTIVE RECOVERY
This is the session to do on your day off. It is a low intensity activity that focuses on improving circulation and counteracting the physical and mental stress of the week. A perfect example of this is “Water walking”. In a pool or the ocean, water depth approximately 1 meter. The deeper the water the greater the Hydrostatic pressure which improves your circulation, reduces you're the weight on your joints and reduces swelling. Getting horizontal will multiply this effect!
Simply put 20 minutes of walking, lunging, paddling and playing around in water that’s waist deep will help those aching, swollen joints and have you feeling revived for a new week of rolling.

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