BJJ Strength & Conditioning - The Complete Guide

What Physical Characteristics Distinguish High-Level BJJ Fighters?

There is still little research regarding physical preparation and BJJ. When analyzing the strength requirements for BJJ, it is best to look at how strong elite level BJJ competitors are compared to non-elite. One study did just that comparing brown and black belt elite BJJ practitioners versus brown and black belt non-elite BJJ practitioners [1].

Elite BJJ practitioners were defined as having won a national and/or international competition medal while non-elite BJJ practitioners were non-medalists in these competitions.

Elite BJJ athletes were stronger in the bench press (111 kg vs. 98 kg), were able to perform more push-ups (41 vs. 36), and perform more sit-ups in one minute (46 vs. 40) than the non-elite BJJ athletes.

However, when accounting for bodyweight, there was no difference in bench press strength. Also, no difference was found between the groups in the squat.

It seems lower body strength may not be a differentiator between elite and non-elite BJJ practitioners. In fact, squat strength only ranged between 83-98 kg representing around 1.1-1.3 kg relative to body weight.

Muscular power output is important in BJJ during explosive actions such as sweeps and takedowns. High-level BJJ athletes have a vertical jump between 30-45 cm which is higher than Olympic wrestlers and elite judo athletes potentially highlighting the importance of having powerful legs for BJJ [2].

There was no difference in power output in the upper body using the bench press throw when comparing advanced and non-advanced BJJ athletes. Power was maximized in the throw at approximately 42% of bench press 1RM.

We can also profile BJJ practitioners by the style of game they like to play. In the literature, BJJ practitioners are labeled either as guard fighters or pass fighters [3].

While there were no differences in leg or grip strength, pass fighters exhibited greater lower back endurance than guard fighters.

Based on all of the strength training research in BJJ, a general guideline for strength standards are [2]:

• •Bench press: 1.3-1.5 kg/bodyweight
• •Squat: 1.2 kg/bodyweight
• •Deadlift: 1.7 kg/bodyweight

These BJJ strength standards would be considered very low regarding the lower body to most other athletes.

In my opinion, it highlights the importance of upper body strength over lower body strength.

With the advancement of submission grappling and rulesets that favor wrestling such as ADCC, it's more pertinent than ever to hit the weights.

So instead of these standards, you can shoot for some typical strength standards of:

• •Bench press: 1.3-1.5 kg/bodyweight
• •Squat: 1.5-2 kg/bodyweight
• •Deadlift: 2-2.5 kg/bodyweight

What About Conditioning?

We have no research comparing higher and lower-level BJJ competitors but we do have older research looking at the physiological demands.

Bear in mind that this research is from 2013 in the gi. Rulesets and the BJJ meta have changed dramatically with the rise of no-gi competition and wrestling-based rulesets.

BJJ requires, on average, a 6:1 effort to pause ratio, making it a highly aerobic sport due to its high activity level [4]. This translates to roughly 117 sec of effort with 20 sec of inactivity. Each effort period generally consists of 30 sec of low-intensity activity coupled with 2-4 sec of high-intensity activity [5].

Depending on your belt level, matches last between 5 - 10 minutes unless competing under special rulesets like submission only with no time limit.

VO2max values for BJJ athletes sit within the typical range of moderately trained individuals, around 45.6 ml/kg/min [6].

This isn't extremely high and is much lower than judokas and wrestlers. However, these low scores are likely because BJJ athletes aren't full-time like Olympic athletes. Just be aware that VO2max doesn't predict endurance performance and is potentially limited by central function (the heart's ability to pump blood).

You must understand that you can't isolate an energy system in training as all three energy systems run harmoniously. And even the most intense bout will use oxygen making almost every activity dependent on oxygen.

However, specific training methods can target the desired adaptations by emphasizing central (heart) or peripheral (muscular) adaptations.

An example would be a specific conditioning protocol consisting of 4 x 25 seconds of low-intensity BJJ drills paired with 5 seconds of loaded jump squats with 40% of body mass [7]. This was completed for 10 minutes with 20 seconds of rest between each series of 4 sets.

Compared to a simulated match, the jump squats elicited similar physiological responses but higher neuromuscular output. In my opinion, it shows BJJ is more intense than the slow 6:1 effort to pause and instead involves many repeated high-intensity efforts.

The Efficiency Of BJJ Skill

Before I dive into developing high-level conditioning for BJJ, it's important to address the topic of technical skills. You can be the fittest, strongest, fastest, meanest athlete on the planet. Come to your first BJJ class, you won't last a minute in the bottom position. Why?

You haven't learned the ability to use your energy efficiently and effectively. You don't have the requisite skills or techniques to help you in that situation. So instead, you push and heave with all your strength while the guy on top relaxes and rides you.

This is why it is so important to spend most of your training time performing the sport rather than conditioning off the mat.

If you roll with your instructor, you'll realize they barely breathe heavily. They know when they can relax, the most energy-efficient way to perform a movement, and when they need to explode.

This is something that is learned over years of experience.

If you train BJJ once a week, then no amount of conditioning you perform off the mat will prepare you for what happens on the mat.

The best way to distinguish what physical qualities are essential for BJJ is to compare higher-and lower-level practitioners. For example, the Jiu-Jitsu Anaerobic Performance Test (JJAPT) has been used for this purpose.

It consists of 5 sets of max reps in one minute of the butterfly lift with 45 seconds of rest between sets [8].

More advanced BJJ athletes can perform significantly more reps than novice BJJ athletes [9]. Even though traditional fitness test results did not significantly differ between the groups.

What Does This All Mean?

I'll sum all of this up into my philosophy for strength and conditioning for BJJ.

Develop the ability to repeat high-intensity efforts.

That's it.

The question becomes, how do you do that?

No, it's not CrossFit or random puke-inducing circuits with burpees. I'll explain more in a bit.

Assessments

Just because you reach a certain testing benchmark does not mean you're suddenly a better BJJ player. However, becoming stronger and faster with better conditioning can help realize your skillset.

Here's some basic thresholds that can be helpful for dictating the direction of your training.

• •Back squat >1.2 x bodyweight
• •Bench press >1 x bodyweight
• •Deadlift >1.5 x bodyweight
• •Pull-ups >5 reps
• •Vertical jump >40 cm (15.7")
• •Maximal aerobic speed >4.2 m/s

These are what I'd consider absolute minimum thresholds to hit for most fighters based on research and my own experiences. Here's how a decent range will look:

• •Back squat: 1.5 - 2.0 x bodyweight
• •Bench press: 1.2 - 1.5 x bodyweight
• •Deadlift: 2.0 - 2.5 x bodyweight
• •Pull-Ups > 10 reps
• •Vertical jump: 45 - 50 cm (17.7 - 19.6")
• •Maximal aerobic speed: 4.2 - 4.5 m/s

Does this mean your physical training tasks are done? No, these are basic physical conditioning standards.

But it gives a few basic benchmarks to aim for. How do you measure each one?

Strength Tests: Multiply your bodyweight by 1.5 - 2.5. It should equal or be under the load you lifted. For example, if you weigh 200 lbs, you should be able to squat between 300 - 400 lbs.

Vertical Jump: Stand against a wall and reach your hand marking the wall with chalk. Jump and mark again. Measure the distance. Not an error proof exercise but an easy no equipment field test. The My Jump Lab is the best phone app for this.

Maximal Aerobic Speed (MAS): Pick your mode or equipment for the test. Running, cycling, and rowing are the best options. Perform a 1200 m time trial if running and a 5 minute time trial of cycling or rowing. If you start too hard, you'll ruin the test. Gotta pace yourself correctly. Divide the distance by the time in seconds to get your MAS number. For example, 1200 / 300 = 4 m/s. Your MAS will be different between the exercises chosen. The benchmark is based on running but is very similar for rowing.

How Do Testing Results Influence Your Program?

Most people test then forget about it. Testing must influence your training. Here's some general guidelines you can follow:

• •Under strength/power thresholds: Focus on maximal strength with low-volume extensive plyometrics.
• •In range: Blend of maximal strength and power-based exercises.
• •Above thresholds: Minimal/low volume of maximal strength with higher volumes of power-based exercises.

You may have a 2 x bodyweight squat but lack reactive strength. In this case, you'd perform most of your training towards various plyometric exercise with less maximal strength volume as an example.

For MAS:

• •Under threshold: May need more volume. A long and short HIIT approach may be preferential.
• •Within range: Compliment with sprint interval training.
• •Above range: Mainly a sprint interval training approach (discussed below)

All conditioning includes a day or two of pure off-feet cardio sprints for 6-10 seconds with maximal rest (60-180 sec).

Strength Training For BJJ

This section covers everything do to with weight room-based training. This includes strength, hypertrophy, speed, and power development.

Fundamentals Of Strength Training For BJJ

Everything we do in the gym to prepare for BJJ hinges on this simple graph (and other adaptations, but I like this visual):

It's taken from a research paper by Paavo Komi [11]. It shows the change in force by change in muscle length. Essentially, the force produced during a muscle contraction.

For a given change in muscle length (e.g., a bicep curl), we have an increase in force generated from circle 1 to circle 2. We then have the length feedback component known as the muscle spindles.

It is sensitive to the rate of stretch and "excites" the muscle to increase force production to circle 3. But the force feedback mechanism, known as the Golgi tendon organ, doesn't like this.

It pumps the brakes as a protective mechanism to dampen force production, leaving you at circle 4 for the final force output. The goal is to raise circle 4 as high as possible for a given change in muscle length.

How does heavy strength training and jumps/plyometrics help?

We can enhance the sensitivity of the muscle spindles through plyometric training. Improving sensitivity increases excitation and, therefore, force generation.

Maximal strength training desensitizes the Golgi tendon organ so it doesn't pump the brakes so early.

Untrained individuals have the Golgi tendon organ kick in too early, and this is why beginners can't express their maximum outputs in the gym. Desensitize this response by lifting heavy loads.

This is one of the adaptations showing why you MUST perform heavy resistance training AND high-velocity strength training.

Here's another graph by Kraemer and Newton, further illustrating my point and why I'm constantly preaching you can't follow a bodybuilding or Powerlifting program for BJJ [12].

All sporting movements are constrained by time. As mentioned earlier on the "working effect," we must improve the ability to generate high forces in short time frames. Now, this doesn't apply as greatly to grappling actions where slow, grindy movements give almost infinite time to apply forces compared to striking actions.

Boxing and Muay Thai techniques occur within 50 - 300 ms [13]. Hence the importance of high-velocity strength training and plyometric exercises.

The graph shows different training types. The solid line represents untrained subjects. The dashed line represents heavy resistance-trained subjects (e.g. Powerlifters). The dotted line represents light resistance power-trained subjects (e.g. track athletes).

While heavy resistance-trained subjects display the greatest force, they don't display the greatest force generation at lower time points, as denoted by the 200 ms mark.

Again reinforcing the point of performing heavy resistance training AND power training. But can't you just lift the bar faster as many strength coaches will say?

Moving the bar faster is not the same as leaving the ground when jumping or projecting a medicine ball when throwing.

The black squares represent a bench throw while the white squares represent the bench press performed as fast as possible. Depending on the load, you can spend 40 - 50% of the concentric phase decelerating the barbell.

Whereas throwing the barbell allows you to continue accelerating, which powerful sporting movements mirror.

What exercises show this kind of velocity curve?

• •Plyometrics
• •Jumps
• •Throws
• •Olympic lifts

There are many other muscle architecture and neuromuscular adaptations to each type of resistance training but this overview gives you the most important bits of information about why.

Why Full Range Of Motion Is King

Muscle fiber contractile velocity is proportional to its length. Meaning how quickly your muscles contract is determined by the number of sacromeres (blocks of muscle fibers) are in a row. Muscle fiber type also plays a role here.

Sarcomeres shorten at 2x the muscle fiber length per second [14]. For example, having 10 sarcomeres in a row would shorten at 20 fiber lengths/second, whereas 5 sarcomeres would only shorten at 10 fiber lengths/second.

How do we add more sarcomeres? Eccentric training is a potent stimulus for this. Think Nordic curls for the hamstrings and weighted negative pull-ups for the upper body.

But full range of motion lifting is another method that has been shown to be superior to partial ranges of motion lifting [20].

Contractile velocity isn't the only benefit of increasing sarcomere length. You shift the angle of peak torque up and to the right, meaning you produce more force at longer muscle lengths [16].

This has the potential to reduce your risk of injury in susceptible muscle groups like the hamstrings.

It's why full range of motion resistance training IS mobility training. And no amount of static stretching will get you there (effectively).

Exercise Selection For Building Strength Applicable To BJJ

There are hundreds of Instagram and TikTok "gooroos" shilling you entire training programs with "specific" BJJ exercises. Fuck them.

Specificity exists on a spectrum. I'm not one to say there aren't more specific exercises than others. But our goal in the gym is to enhance strength, speed, and power (and sometimes muscle mass). Most of these exercises you're fed on social media don't have the loading or intent behind them to elicit ANY adaptation.

And that's all it really is. Are we providing the body with a strong enough stimulus to adapt?

The easiest way to think about exercise selection is to start with the 7 basic movement patterns:

• •Squat
• •Hinge
• •Push
• •Pull
• •Lunge
• •Twist
• •Carry

For BJJ, I would add:

• •Throw
• •Jump
• •Olympic lift

Should every session have all of these? No. But your training week should cover most of these most of the time.

Strength Training Program Design For BJJ

For a busy BJJ athlete, 2-3 gym sessions a week are more than enough. Three if you are trying to gain muscle mass. Two if you're a competitor or training 5+ times per week.

It's all you have time for anyway. If you're a recreational BJJ athlete who goes to class for the cardio and social benefits and wants to look good, then three to four days in the gym is potentially better.

But I'm going to assume most of you reading this fall into the first camp. BJJ fighters whose main focus is getting better at BJJ.

Since you're in the gym twice a week, they should be full-body sessions. Upper/lower splits can work and, in my experience, can be quite good for older athletes (if you're careful with the volume).

However, full-body sessions allow you to hit muscle groups twice a week, which is generally superior for strength development.

How should these sessions look? Here's a template you can follow:

1. •Warm-up circuit
2. •Jumps/plyometrics/throws (don't have to do all 3)
3. •Full body power exercise
4. •Heavy lower body
5. •Upper push
6. •Upper pull
7. •Core/carry/grip (don't have to do all 3)

This is a basic template that can be changed depending on the main goal of training. However, it can be used if you're after speed, power, or maximal strength.

If strength is your goal, reduce the volume of speed and power exercises, and vice versa if you're after speed and power.

You can also make one day more heavy strength orientated and the second day more power orientated. Both work, up to you how you want to plan your training. I like the way I presented as if you can only get into the gym once that week, you've covered most of your bases.

Grappling is a more strength-orientated sport than striking so I tend to perform more volume of pure strength work and less volume of the jumps, throws, and plyometrics.

You'll notice I haven't blocked strength training into only strength, only hypertrophy, or only speed and power. This is because I don't believe in block periodization for mixed sports like BJJ.

Yes, you can target one quality to maximize training effectiveness. But you blunt and diminish other important qualities you need for BJJ. By the time you get to your 6th week of power/speed training, it's been months since you've done any strength or hypertrophy exercise.

Yes, there is carryover between them all. But you need more than carryover. It's why I take a vertically integrated approach to training. It means you cover all qualities within a training week.

It doesn't mean you perform maximum-volume jumps and heavy squats. It means you prioritize the quality you want to improve and reduce the volume of the others. But they are always there.

If you spend 8 weeks in a hypertrophy phase, then 8 weeks performing maximum strength, you can't hit the ground running in week 17 performing intense plyometrics and jumps. That's a recipe for injury.

Periodization Strategies To Peak For Fights

A simple heuristic to follow is to reduce the total volume and range of motion (in some exercises).

It's about having little to no residual fatigue after your strength training so you have more energy for hard BJJ technical training sessions.

When you're done, you should want to do more. That is a good sign that you've completed the session correctly.

Conditioning For BJJ

Adaptations vs. Working Out

The biggest mistake is doing your conditioning just to get a sweat and breathe hard. This is 99% of what you see in BJJ conditioning videos and other pros doing.

Conditioning sessions should target specific adaptations depending on the time of year and your strengths and weaknesses. The adaptations are dictated by intensity. The general spectrum looks like this:

Low-intensity = preferential central (heart) adaptations. High-intensity = preferential peripheral (muscle) adaptations.

Moving across the intensity spectrum will give you a mix of both.

Can't I Just Roll More?

It's the most common advice if you're struggling with conditioning. "Just roll more bro." Sure, it has some validity. If you're not getting hard rounds done, you're going to struggle with the increased intensity during competition.

But hard rounds alone are likely not enough to maximize your conditioning on fight night and stop gassing out.

Twelve active competitor blue to brown belts performed a VO2max test and were monitored during five rounds of sparring. They found that sparring is likely not intense enough to elicit improvements in VO2max [10].

Further, a higher VO2max was correlated with lower heart rates and lower blood lactate levels during sparring. So being more generally fit potentially lowers the internal intensity on the mat.

So, how should you condition?

Time To Ditch The Traditional Energy System Model

You're probably familiar with the graph below. It shows the traditional energy system model to exercise. It looks something like this:

• •A-lactic/ATP PCr: 0-10 sec
• •Anaerobic glycolysis/lactic: 10-60 sec
• •Aerobic: 60 sec onward

The traditional energy system model assumes two things:

1. •That energy systems work in isolation
2. •That energy is provided with or without oxygen

Here's why we can't label certain exercise protocols as purely aerobic or anaerobic. And why we can't label the sport of BJJ as an aerobic or anaerobic dominant sport.

Physiology Of A Single Sprint

This graph by Hargreaves & Spriet (2020) illustrates my points in one picture [43]. It shows a single 30-second sprint with the energy contributions from the 3 different energy systems.

The light green is the alactic ATP-PCr energy system, the moderate green is glycolysis or anaerobic lactic, and the dark green is oxidative or aerobic.

It shows one single 'maximal' 6-sec sprint is performed with approximately half the energy originating from 'phosphagens' (alactic) while the other half is originating from 'glycolytic' pathways.

"Of note, aerobic ATP production is also activated during very intense exercise, and 70-100% of the VO2max can be reached in an all-out 30-sec sprint.. Whereas very little aerobic energy is provided in the first 5-10 sec, ~50% of the energy contribution in the last 5 sed of a 30-sed sprint is from oxidative processes."

This shows how there's no purely aerobic or anaerobic exercise. Even short sprints show a sharp drop in muscle oxygenation (more on this soon) with energy contributions from the aerobic energy system.

But BJJ isn't a sport of one all out effort. It's a sport of multiple efforts.

Physiology Of Multiple Sprints

Gaitanos and his colleagues in 1993 had subjects perform brief sprints of 10 x 6 sec w/ 30 sec recovery and found glycolysis contributes to 44% of total anaerobic ATP energy during the first sprint, but only 16% by the 10th sprint [41].

The authors theorized aerobic metabolism takes over the regeneration of energy as subsequent sprints are performed.

As each repeated effort occurs, more oxidative processes regenerate energy as muscle glycogen is used.

As Mark Glaister states in his 2005 paper "Multiple Sprint Work," "Predominantly PCr and exclusively aerobic processes for recovery."[42]

However, this can differ based on training background. For example, Hamilton et al. (1990) put team sport and endurance athletes against each other. Both groups performed 10 x 6 sec w/ 30 sec recovery [43].

Endurance athletes exhibited a greater ability to resist fatigue which was associated with higher rates of oxygen use during sprints (aka aerobic energy).

A 1995 study by Granier and his colleagues reinforces this with the Wingate test comparing 50-200 m sprinters and 800-1500m middle distance runners [44].

The energy contributions from aerobic/anaerobic processes were similar between groups. However, the sprinters had far greater contributions from anaerobic contributions while the middle-distance runners had more aerobic contribution.

But there's a big caveat to this.

The sprint-based athletes had greater power output during the sprints.

This brings us to what I believe is the SINGLE most important quality for BJJ.

Repeating High-Intensity Efforts

This brings us to repeated high-intensity efforts. The key to BJJ performance in the modern era with heavy wrestling-based rulesets. You must be able to display high levels of power. It's your ability to repeat maximal efforts, not repeat slow efforts. I paraphrase this quote from somewhere:

"I don't care how many times you can't dunk the basketball."

So, endurance-based athletes don't fatigue as fast, but they can't even dunk the basketball on the first rep.

Typically, targeting low-intensity conditioning is seen as the gold standard for repeating high-intensity efforts within repeated sprint ability [19][20].

The mechanism underpinning this is the heavier reliance on aerobic processes to regenerate phosphocreatine (PCr) stores between sprints. In short, PCr is needed to convert ADP back to ATP as the muscle's energy source for contractions.

But not all research agrees with some papers only showing moderate correlations between VO2max and repeat sprint ability [21]. One reason this discrepancy may exist is the effort given by the test subjects. For example, one paper stated their subjects tended to save energy to counteract fatigue, as shown by the first sprint of each block being slower than their maximal sprint effort [19].

However, BJJ is not a sport of sprinting. And high-intensity efforts often involve working against an opponent of similar weight when grappling or throwing a flurry of strikes mixed with clinching and bullying your opponent.

This is where the term repeated high-intensity effort was born and includes any effort, including sprinting like wrestling, scrambling, throwing, sweeping, and striking [22]. Interestingly, the relationship between repeated sprint ability and RHIE is poor, showing the strenuous demands of non-running activities like wrestling [23].

A study in rugby league demonstrated this using GPS to isolate and quantify collision demands from running. They found a greater reduction in collision performance (tackling) than speed, with a 14% difference [22].

Therefore, enhancing repeated high-intensity efforts will take more than hitting the pavement. You need power! And the ability to sustain it repeatedly.

What Does This All Mean?

This brings us to moving from the traditional energy system model to an updated model of central and peripheral limitations. What does central and peripheral mean?

Central refers to adaptations to the heart.

Peripheral refers to adaptations to the muscles.

To be more precise, we could use systemic vs peripheral as systemic would also include the lungs.

The greater reduction in tackling performance seen in the rugby league study is likely due to greater peripheral demand.

The question becomes, can we address the limitation instead of blindly trying to target energy systems? If we throw a boatload of zone 2, steady-state cardio to improve recovery between efforts but they are peripherally limited, you won't see much improvement in conditioning (more on this soon).

Evan Peikon gives an observation on central vs. peripherally limited athletes on the Sweet Science of Fighting podcast.

Peripherally limited athletes tend to have the range of loads during maximum lifts (e.g. 1-10RM) closely coupled and/or have a strong endurance training background where longer and shorter race paces aren't much different.

For example, an ultra-marathon and half marathon running pace.

Centrally limited athletes tend to come from strength sports/lifting backgrounds with large discrepancies between maximum rep loads.

However, combat sports are most likely limited peripherally (including BJJ). This is the opinion (backed by their research and application) of Dr. John Babraj and Andrew Usher, whose protocols I'll go into soon.

Ed Baker, who was also on the podcast, mentioned combat sports are likely more peripherally demanding than centrally demanding.

We can also use anecdotes, such as when you had an absolutely disgusting sparring or shark tank session.

Your heart has little issue reaching maximum to deliver as much oxygen as possible. It's your muscles that give out.

Usher and Babraj showed this recently in professional boxers [18].

They found impaired mitochondrial activation, a decreased rate of muscle oxygen desaturation across rounds, indicating poor recovery between rounds, and a decrease in the rate of muscle oxygen saturation across rounds, indicating incomplete muscular recovery between rounds.

So, how do we target central and peripheral adaptations? Again, nothing is in isolation so you're never purely getting one or the other.

• •Lower intensity = predominantly central
• •Higher intensity = predominantly peripheral

Zone 2 steady state cardio is typically the way most coaches prescribe centrally targeted exercise.

Why Roadwork Isn't Enough

I'm going to touch on a controversial topic. You don't need to run. You don't need to wake up at 5 am to log your miles. Zone 2 roadwork is likely not enough to significantly move the needle for combat sports performance.

Long and short high-intensity interval training (HIIT) are likely better options.

The problem with zone 2 comes where more volume (i.e. time) is needed to make further progress.

Does that mean we abandon zone 2? Probably since we get the same adaptations from HIIT by accumulating time at VO2max. Your MAS is an easier measure than VO2max and is more actionable for your conditioning.

You're probably getting enough zone 2 from technical training. The main reason zone 2 cardio is pushed is eccentric hypertrophy of the left ventricle, which allows more blood to fill the heart chamber and, therefore, more blood to pump each heartbeat.

This is known as stroke volume. Training at or just below maximal stroke volume maximizes filling pressure in the heart chamber by expanding it. Stroke volume increases during rest periods with HIIT (including during work periods) so you can perform shorter, more intense sessions and gain more effective central adaptations.

Further, you are activating the same molecular pathway for signaling aerobic adaptations with HIIT and steady-state cardio.

Sprint interval training is the most intense form of HIIT and targets muscular adaptations to resist fatigue and recover faster between rounds. Coaches much smarter than me have been implementing sprint interval training with impressive results. I'm not talking sprinting over ground; these are performed on a bike.

There is brand-spanking new research in this domain that no one is talking about (except me... seriously). I broke it down in this video here: https://youtu.be/2gqybBBOYdM?si=l8V7__AH-1GXbhi4

In this cohort of professional boxers (yes, not BJJ, but I'll explain), recovery during sparring didn't seem to be limited by the heart but by the muscles [23]. Essentially, you're improving the mitochondria's ability to efficiently upregulate and downregulate from the onset and cessation of exercise.

Therefore, you're able to sufficiently re-oxygenate the muscles between rounds or high-intensity efforts. This becomes more apparent (and important) in grappling actions that require more muscular strain than pure striking.

It is likely that BJJ is more peripherally taxing than centrally taxing, meaning conditioning should likely be geared towards muscular adaptations (once a decent base has been built).

One peripheral adaptation piece to consider is muscle capillarization. These blood vessels are the delivery mechanism for oxygen to the working muscles and mitochondria. A greater capillary network may mean more oxygen diffusing from the blood to the muscles which equals better endurance.

If we go by our intensity spectrum, we'd expect capillary growth would occur at the high-intensity end.

However, the highest capillary-to-muscle fiber ratio is seen in high-level endurance athletes who spend most of their training time performing low-intensity steady-state cardio [24].

Further, shifting to higher-intensity training may reduce the growth of new capillaries or have no effect whatsoever [24]. Yet other research states lactate stimulates the growth of new blood vessels which is raised by high-intesntiy exercise [17].

To add another layer, your muscle fiber type distribution plays a role in recovery. Athletes who are predominantly slow-twitch recover faster after high-intensity exercise, whereas fast-twitch-dominant fighters may take over 5 hours to recover [25].

Further, high training loads (e.g. hours of zone 2) absolutely crush faster twitch fighters and may do more harm than good.

All of this to say, cover the entire intensity spectrum.

Complete Conditioning System For BJJ

This is where it all comes together. You may be confused from the sciencey sections above, but this should (hopefully) clear things up.

Our goal is to accumulate time at around VO2max for central adaptations and use intense sprint intervals for peripheral adaptations. You can use more of one or the other depending on your limiter which you can estimate based on the previous sections.

Here's the guidelines for each modality to cover.

Long HIIT (Central): 2 - 8 x 90 sec to 5 minutes at 90-100% MAS w/ 1-3 minutes passive rest

• •8 x 2 mins @96% MAS w/ 2 min rest between sets.

Modality:

• •Rowing
• •Running
• •Cycling
• •Swimming

Short HIIT (Central): 10 - 60 sec at 100-120% MAS w/ 10 - 60 sec rest (passive or active up to 70% MAS)

• •3 x (5 x 30 sec/30 sec @100% MAS) w/ 2-3 min rest between sets

Modality:

• •Rowing
• •Running
• •Cycling
• •Swimming

Power Sprint Intervals (Full Recovery): 6 - 10 sec Max Intensity w/ 2-3 mins rest. Maintain power output for all sprints.

• •5 x 7 sec w/ 2.5 mins rest
• •6 x 10 sec w/ 3 mins rest

Modality:

• •Hill sprints
• •Bike sprints
• •Sled sprints
• •Heavy bag power shots

Sprint Intervals (Peripheral): 6 - 30 sec at 1:2 to 1:8 work to rest ratio. Total work time to equal 1 - 2 minutes.

• •10 x 6 sec w/ 30 sec rest
• •6 x 10 sec w/ 80 sec rest
• •4 x 30 sec w/ 60-240 sec rest

Modality:

• •Hill sprints
• •10m shuttles
• •Bike sprints
• •Heavy bag power shots
• •Jump squats (discussed in a bit)

So, one session will include power sprint intervals consisting of 6-10 sec maximal effort sprints (use off-feet cardio equipment) with complete rest (2-3+ mins). Your goal is to maximize the Watts presented on the screen and stay within 10% of that number each rep.

This is about quality, not how much work you do. You also have specific conditioning options, like throwing heavy sandbags with the same work-to-rest ratio. These intervals are best performed directly after one of your strength training sessions as it saves time and you're already primed.

Your second (and potentially third, depending on your training schedule or conditioning limitation) will be long and short HIIT.

This is where your MAS score is put to use. Multiply your MAS by the work interval in seconds. For example, if your MAS is 4 m/s and you want to perform a 2-minute interval at 100% MAS, 4 x 120 = 480 m.

That's the distance you must cover during the work interval.

You can also go by feel if you don't have a MAS score for whatever reason. One of my favorites is performing multiple sets of 40-sec work @70% effort / 20-sec rest. You can also do this with 30 sec / 30 sec.

Your third day may be more long and short HIIT or a more peripherally demanding modality like sprint intervals with incomplete rest.

Where do you place intense conditioning? Typically, on your harder BJJ training days you consolidate your hardest training sessions on one day and your easier sessions the following.

This is performed directly after training or separate sessions by at least 6 hours ideally. They can also be done after strength training to save time.

There is nothing wrong performing hard sprint intervals throughout your entire prep from out of camp to in camp if you're targeting peripheral adaptations. But one argument is against this is adaptations max out quickly.

Don't Adaptations Stop Quickly?

The original Tabata study is a great illustration of this [44]. You would need to perform 20 seconds at 170% VO2max with 10 seconds rest for 7-8 reps 4 days a week.

The 5th day of the week consisted of steady-state cardio for 30 minutes with only 4 non-exhaustive 20sec/10 second intervals.

They found VO2max maxed out at 3 weeks with no significant improvements from weeks 3 to 6. Anaerobic capacity improved until week 4, with no significant changes from week 4 to 6.

It makes it seem after 3 or 4 weeks, high-intensity sprints don't provide any value. But these aren't the only metrics that matter.

Takaki & Babraj in 2017 put subjects through 4-6 x 15sec/2min or 4-6 x 30sec/4min sprints twice a week.

While VO2max peaked at 3 weeks (as per the Tabata study), time to exhaustion was greatest at the final week (week 9) indicating improvements in muscles ability to resist fatigue.

It shows that even when the protocol doesn't change, gains can still be made in conditioning. But we can make near infinite gains when changing the sprint protocol every so often such as changing work interval and rest times, and number of sets.

When we change the SIT protocol, we get a new stimulus to continuing spurring progress.

When Does Zone 2 Cardio Become Useful?

I see 2 main uses for zone 2 cardio for BJJ.

1. •The first phase of training after a fight/tournament. This allows you to move, get low-intensity exercise done, and recover from a strenuous preparation and fight.
2. •During the weight cut process. You don't want any intensity here.

That's where I see zone 2 as most beneficial. And look, you can take a zone 2 approach to your out-of- and in-camp preparation. But finding the time to do that kind of volume on top of technical training is challenging, and you may be better off using a shorter, more intense approach.

Planning Your Training Week

How your BJJ gym structures weekly training will be unique so I'll give an example and how the framework for you to work from.

You want to create some form of undulation within the training week. I'll use the example of how I structured my training for competition based on my gyms class schedule.

It doesn't always pan out this way but we'll go with it to illustrate the point. Let's assume you don't have a fight upcoming so you have 2 strength training days and 3 conditioning days.

Assuming you train BJJ 5 days per week, you would double day Monday and Wednesday in this instance.

The mornings would include your strength training days with one of the sessions finishing with your alactic intervals.

For the 2 low intensity conditioning sessions, you'd perform them on Tuesday and Thursday OR replace one of the days with Saturday. You can do these directly before or after training because the intensity is low enough not to be an issue. You can also have these as a separate morning session.

If you leading to a fight, you would remove one or both low intensity conditioning sessions and replace with another high-intensity conditioning session directly after sparring or after Wednesday session.

If you only train BJJ a few times a week, then you can do your extra strength & conditioning on your off days.

References

1. •Marinho, B. F., Andreato, L. V., Follmer, B., & Franchini, E. (2016). Comparison of body composition and physical fitness in elite and non-elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes. Science & Sports, 31(3), 129-134.
2. •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.
3. •de Paula Lima, P. O., Lima, A. A., Coelho, A. C. S., Lima, Y. L., Almeida, G. P. L., Bezerra, M. A., & de Oliveira, R. R. (2017). Biomechanical differences in brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes: the role of combat style. International journal of sports physical therapy, 12(1), 67.
4. •Andreato, L. V., Franchini, E., De Moraes, S. M., Pastório, J. J., Da Silva, D. F., Esteves, J. V., & Branco, B. H. (2013). Physiological and technical-tactical analysis in Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition. Asian journal of sports medicine, 4(2), 137.
5. •Andreato, L. V., Julio, U. F., Panissa, V. L. G., Esteves, J. V. D. C., Hardt, F., de Moraes, S. M. F., ... & Franchini, E. (2015). Brazilian jiu-jitsu simulated competition part II: Physical performance, time-motion, technical-tactical analyses, and perceptual responses. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 29(7).
6. •Andreato, L. V., Leite, A. E., Ladeia, G. F., Follmer, B., de Paula Ramos, S., Coswig, V. S., ... & Branco, B. H. M. (2022). Aerobic and anaerobic performance of lower-and upper-body in Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes. Science & Sports, 37(2), 145-e1.
7. •Magno, A. P., Andreato, L. V., Honorato, R. C., Del Vecchio, F. B., & Coswig, V. S. (2022). Brazilian jiu-jitsu specific training model highly emulates simulated match demands. Science & Sports.
8. •Villar, R., Gillis, J., Santana, G., Pinheiro, D. S., & Almeida, A. L. (2018). Association between anaerobic metabolic demands during simulated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu combat and specific Jiu-Jitsu anaerobic performance test. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 32(2), 432-440.
9. •Junior, J. S., dos Santos, R. P., Kons, R. L., Gillis, J., Caputo, F., & Detanico, D. (2022). Relationship between a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specific test performance and physical capacities in experienced athletes. Science & Sports.
10. •Øvretveit, K. (2018). Acute physiological and perceptual responses to Brazilian jiu-jitsu sparring: the role of maximal oxygen uptake. International journal of performance analysis in sport, 18(3), 481-494.
11. •Komi, P. V. (1986). Training of muscle strength and power: interaction of neuromotoric, hypertrophic, and mechanical factors. International journal of sports medicine, 7(S 1), S10-S15.
12. •Kraemer, W. J., & Newton, R. U. (2000). Training for muscular power. Physical medicine and rehabilitation clinics of North America, 11(2), 341-368.
13. •Turner, A. N. (2009). Strength and conditioning for Muay Thai athletes. Strength & Conditioning Journal, 31(6), 78-92.
14. •Cormie, P., McGuigan, M. R., & Newton, R. U. (2011). Developing maximal neuromuscular power: Part 1-Biological basis of maximal power production. Sports medicine, 41, 17-38.
15. •Pallarés, J. G., Hernández‐Belmonte, A., Martínez‐Cava, A., Vetrovsky, T., Steffl, M., & Courel‐Ibáñez, J. (2021). Effects of range of motion on resistance training adaptations: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 31(10), 1866-1881.
16. •Brughelli, M., & Cronin, J. (2007). Altering the length-tension relationship with eccentric exercise: implications for performance and injury. Sports Medicine, 37, 807-826.
17. •Brooks, G. A. (2018). The science and translation of lactate shuttle theory. Cell metabolism, 27(4), 757-785.
18. •Usher, A., & Babraj, J. (2024). Use of NIRS to explore skeletal muscle oxygenation during different training sessions in professional boxing. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 124(2), 595-606.
19. •Thébault, N., Léger, L. A., & Passelergue, P. (2011). Repeated-sprint ability and aerobic fitness. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(10), 2857-2865.
20. •Sanders, G. J., Turner, Z., Boos, B., Peacock, C. A., Peveler, W., & Lipping, A. (2017). Aerobic capacity is related to repeated sprint ability with sprint distances less than 40 meters. International journal of exercise science, 10(2), 197.
21. •Aziz, A. R., Chia, M., & Teh, K. C. (2000). The relationship between maximal oxygen uptake and repeated sprint performance indices in field hockey and soccer players. Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness, 40(3), 195.
22. •Gabbett, T. J., & Wheeler, A. J. (2015). Predictors of repeated high-intensity-effort ability in rugby league players. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 10(6), 718-724.
23. •Johnston, R. D., & Gabbett, T. J. (2011). Repeated-sprint and effort ability in rugby league players. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(10), 2789-2795.
24. •Hellsten, Y., & Gliemann, L. (2024). Peripheral limitations for performance: Muscle capillarization. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 34(1), e14442.
25. •Lievens, E., Klass, M., Bex, T., & Derave, W. (2020). Muscle fiber typology substantially influences the time to recover from high-intensity exercise. Journal of applied physiology, 128(3), 648-659.
26. •Sienkiewicz-Dianzenza, E., & Maszczyk, Ł. (2019). The impact of fatigue on agility and responsiveness in boxing. Biomedical Human Kinetics, 11(1), 131-135.
27. •Singh, A., Boyat, A. V., & Sandhu, J. S. (2015). Effect of a 6 week plyometric training program on agility, vertical jump height and peak torque ratio of Indian Taekwondo players. Sport Exerc Med Open J, 1(2), 42-46.
28. •Zemková, E., & Hamar, D. (2014). Agility performance in athletes of different sport specializations. Acta Gymnica, 44(3), 133-140.
29. •Zemková, E. (2016). Differential contribution of reaction time and movement velocity to the agility performance reflects sport-specific demands. Human movement, 17(2), 94-101.
30. •Young, W. B., Dawson, B., & Henry, G. J. (2015). Agility and change-of-direction speed are independent skills: Implications for training for agility in invasion sports. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 10(1), 159-169.
31. •Farrow, D., Young, W., & Bruce, L. (2005). The development of a test of reactive agility for netball: a new methodology. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 8(1), 52-60.
32. •Gabbett, T., & Benton, D. (2009). Reactive agility of rugby league players. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 12(1), 212-214.
33. •Carlon, T., Young, W., Berry, J., & Burnside, C. (2013). Association between perceptual agility skill and australian football performance. Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning, 21(1), 42-44.
34. •Williams, A. M., & Davids, K. (1998). Visual search strategy, selective attention, and expertise in soccer. Research quarterly for exercise and sport, 69(2), 111-128.
35. •Henry, G., Dawson, B., Lay, B., & Young, W. (2012). Effects of a feint on reactive agility performance. Journal of sports sciences, 30(8), 787-795.
36. •Jackson, R. C., Warren, S., & Abernethy, B. (2006). Anticipation skill and susceptibility to deceptive movement. Acta psychologica, 123(3), 355-371.
37. •Freitas, S. R., Mendes, B., Le Sant, G., Andrade, R. J., Nordez, A., & Milanovic, Z. (2018). Can chronic stretching change the muscle‐tendon mechanical properties? A review. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 28(3), 794-806.
38. •Konrad, A., & Tilp, M. (2014). Increased range of motion after static stretching is not due to changes in muscle and tendon structures. Clinical biomechanics, 29(6), 636-642.
39. •Hargreaves, M., & Spriet, L. L. (2020). Skeletal muscle energy metabolism during exercise. Nature metabolism, 2(9), 817-828.
40. •Gaitanos, G. C., Williams, C., Boobis, L. H., & Brooks, S. (1993). Human muscle metabolism during intermittent maximal exercise. Journal of applied physiology, 75(2), 712-719.
41. •Glaister, M. (2005). Multiple sprint work: physiological responses, mechanisms of fatigue and the influence of aerobic fitness. Sports medicine, 35, 757-777.
42. •Hamilton, A. L., Nevill, M. E., Brooks, S., & Williams, C. (1991). Physiological responses to maximal intermittent exercise: Differences between endurance‐trained runners and games players. Journal of sports sciences, 9(4), 371-382.
43. •Granier, P., Mercier, B., Mercier, J., Anselme, F., & Prefaut, C. (1995). Aerobic and anaerobic contribution to Wingate test performance in sprint and middle-distance runners. European journal of applied physiology and occupational physiology, 70(1), 58-65.
44. •Tabata, I., Nishimura, K., Kouzaki, M., Hirai, Y., Ogita, F., Miyachi, M., & Yamamoto, K. (1996). Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO~ 2~ m~ a~ x. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 28, 1327-1330.