With a busy training and work schedule, many BJJ practitioners cannot find the time to hit the gym and lift weights. But having some dumbbells at home can make performing a strength training session accessible!
So, here are examples of BJJ dumbbell workouts you can use to develop strength, size, and power.
Dumbbell Workout For BJJ
These are example full body dumbbell workouts that you could use for BJJ physical preparation. Full body workouts are ideal for BJJ since you typically will only lift weights 2-3 times per week, depending on how often you're training BJJ.
BJJ Dumbbell Workout For Size
As BJJ slowly becomes more professionalized each year, physical strength and presence become more important. Especially as the trend increases of strength sports athletes transitioning to BJJ. Here’s a sample dumbbell workout for size:
Exercise | Set/Rep | Load |
|---|---|---|
A1) Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 x 8-10/leg | 8 RPE 5 Step Blueprint To Build A BJJ Strength Workout To Demolish Your OppositionLearn how to plan your strength training to maximize transfer to the mats. |
B1) 1-Arm DB Press | 4 x 10-12/side | 9 RPE |
C1) DB Romanian Deadlift | 3 x 10-12 | 8 RPE |
D1) 1-Arm DB Row | 4 x 12-15/side | 9 RPE |
E1) DB Lateral Raise | 3 x 10-15 | 9 RPE |
E2) DB Bent Over Reverse Fly | 3 x 15-20 | 9 RPE |
BJJ Dumbbell Workout For Strength
Exercise | Set/Rep | Load |
|---|---|---|
A1) DB Push Press | 3 x 5 | 8 RPE |
B1) DB Romanian Deadlift | 3 x 6-8 | 8 RPE |
C1) DB Bench Press | 3 x 6-8 | 8 RPE |
D1) 1-Arm DB Row | 3 x 8-10/side | 8 RPE |
E1) Bulgarian Split Squat | 3 x 6-8/leg | 8 RPE |
BJJ Dumbbell Workout For Power
Exercise | Set/Rep | Load |
|---|---|---|
A1) DB Jump Squat | 4 x 3 | 5 RPE |
B1) DB Push Press | 3 x 4 | 6 RPE |
C1) DB Power Clean | 3 x 5 | 7 RPE |
Should You Lift Weights For BJJ?
There's a train of thought that lifting weights isn't necessary for BJJ performance. That it will make you stiff, slow and won't give you an advantage on the mats. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
The muscular actions when grappling greatly benefit from being stronger such as finishing double legs, manipulating an opponent’s balance, maintaining positions, and finishing submissions. Especially when strength is layered on technical proficiency.
Drilling, positional sparring, live rolling, and BJJ strength training 2-3 times per week. You have a recipe for dominating your competition. You’re putting yourself at a serious disadvantage by not hitting the gym regularly.
While research needs to be updated in this area, BJJ practitioners typically have much stronger upper than lower bodies when comparing the bench press and squat [1]. This makes sense, and if you've had any grappling experience, you'll understand the demands placed on your upper body.
However, that doesn’t discount the importance of leg strength and power. Especially if you have a wrestling-based game. As you can’t load bilateral lower body exercises like the squat heavy enough with dumbbells, using single leg variations like the Bulgarian split squat allows you to use heavier loading.
Can You Build Muscle With Just Dumbbells?
Dumbbells are an excellent tool for building muscle. There’s a reason bodybuilders have been using them for decades to build incredible physiques. The advantage of dumbbells over barbells is the increased range of motion.
For example, when bench pressing, the barbell stops when it touches the chest. However, with dumbbells, you can get a bigger chest stretch enhancing the muscle-building response. If you want to build muscle with only dumbbells, you'll need heavy ones as you progress in strength.
Summary
I’ve presented you with three example BJJ dumbbell workouts that you can do for building strength, size, and power. The only difference between these workouts is the number of reps performed. Generally, you need more volume when building size, heavier loads and fewer reps when developing strength, and lighter loads moved rapidly to build power.
References
1. Andreato, L. V., Lara, F. J. D., Andrade, A., & Branco, B. H. M. (2017). Physical and physiological profiles of Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes: a systematic review. Sports medicine-open, 3(1), 9.
