Maximal strength and aerobic fitness are foundational qualities underlying other abilities. A strong aerobic base is an absolute requirement if you want to succeed at all in combat sports. The better your maximal strength foundation, the more explosive and faster you can be. In this brief overview I’ll focus only on strength training \u2014 we’ll leave aerobic qualities to simmer for another time.<\/p>\n
In Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), competition generally takes place in the speed-endurance and maximal-endurance zones. A single training session is a long aerobic effort in which heart rate is fairly high, depending on the intensity of the session and the technique being practiced. That’s why, in my view, it’s not worth adding more endurance-strength work in the weight room unless stamina is a clear bottleneck for the athlete or hobbyist.<\/p>\n
Often the sport-specific skill that develops little by little, combined with rolling minutes on the mat and low-intensity general conditioning work, is enough to improve endurance qualities so that in the gym you can focus on developing other qualities such as speed, general strength, and maximal strength.<\/p>\n
Adding more endurance strength on top of endurance strength doesn’t develop the athlete over the long term<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
If you have sport-specific training 3\u20135 times a week, I generally don’t recommend, say, long runs, which are heavy and exhausting workouts for many. Recovering from them takes its own time, just like recovering from sport-specific training. Improving your general conditioning base or speed-endurance requires its own plan alongside sport-specific and strength training. Hill sprints or interval training on a stationary bike or running are also a separate matter, and it’s worth considering how to fit them into your program at the right point in the training cycle.<\/p>\n
For the reasons above, I recommend that strength training focus on developing maximal and general strength levels while also keeping speed-strength qualities in the mix. Grappling stamina does grow from grappling, but an athlete doesn’t get strong by doing the same number of push-ups or squats, or plain circuit training, week after week and month after month.<\/p>\n
If you’d like help planning your own training, send me a message. It’s also worth checking out the online coaching groups for combat athletes, whose workouts specifically include the various strength-training elements mentioned in this blog post.<\/p>\n
Photo credit: @framesbyjm<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maximal strength and aerobic fitness are foundational qualities underlying other abilities. A strong aerobic base is an absolute requirement if you want to succeed at all in combat sports. The better your maximal strength foundation, the more explosive and faster you can be. In this brief overview I’ll focus only on strength training \u2014 we’ll…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50],"class_list":["post-883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-bjj","tag-bjj-voimaharjoittelu","tag-brasilialainen-jiu-jitsu","tag-fysiikka","tag-fysiikkaharjoittelu","tag-kamppailijan-fysiikka","tag-kuntosaliohjelma","tag-saliohjelma","tag-voimaharjoittelu"],"yoast_head":"\n
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