Fitness & BJJ: A Few Intense Moves

I thought it would be fun to include some of my favorite moves to spice up some of your work outs.  You can use this entire piece as your work out or you can take parts of it with you.

First two moves are great warm ups!

Pilates Roll up

• Lie on your back with your arms along your side.
• Raise your arms over you head, they will be lying on the floor.
• Move your arms from the lying position to a full extension over the top of your chest.  In this position your hands are trying to touch the ceiling.
• From here, begin to slowly raise yourself up to a seating position.
• Your arms stay straight and your feet are flexed as if you are standing, come as far up as you can without raising your feet off the floor.
• When you are able to come up to a full upright position you will move your hands out over your toes, this will give you a nice forward bend.
• After the forward bend, sit up tall and with good posture.
• Slowly begin to descend back to the starting position.
• Pull your navel into your spine and slowly descend one vertebra at a time until you are lying on the floor.
• Repeat 10 times.

Hip Circles

• Lie flat on your back
• Place your arms down by your side.
• Lift your left leg to the ceiling, toes pointing up.
• Draw circles on the ceiling with your toes by slowly lowering your left leg over your right leg while keeping the leg straight and your hips stable on the floor.
• Continue up to 10 reps and then reverse the direction on the same side.
• Repeat on your right side, 10 reps each direction.

Remember:  This move is about stability in motion; therefore, keep your torso and pelvis stable the entire time your leg is moving.  This move is not about the number of reps you do but how well you are able to maintain the stability in your hips while the leg is moving.

I love the level of difficulty on these next three moves; I hope you enjoy them as well!

Push ups with small medicine ball – roll side to side

• With a small medicine ball in one hand begin in a normal push up position.
• Push yourself up as you would in any push-up.  When you are at the top of the move roll the medicine ball to the other hand.
• Descend back to the starting position with the medicine ball now in the opposite hand.
• Repeat up to 20 reps.

Reverse lunges/forward lunges

• Stand with your feet hip width apart.
• Lunge forward with your right foot.
• Don’t cheat yourself, take a big step!
• Once you are in your lunge position pause for a moment and sink deeper into that lunge.
• When you are ready to come out of the forward lunge take your right foot and move immediately into a reverse lunge.
• Hold it for a moment and sink into it.
• Move to your left side and repeat for up to 20 reps per side or until muscle failure!!
• The idea is that you are able to move from the forward lunge into the reverse lunge without having to stop in the middle, it should be one fluid motion.

BOSU ball elevated side lunge into standing on BOSU ball.

• Using the BOSU ball stand in a side lunge position, with your left foot on the BOSU ball and your right foot in a wide side lunge.
• Feel your body holding you in that position.
• Sink deeper into the lunge.
• Drive your left foot into the BOSU ball as you move your right foot from the floor to a position next to your left foot on the BOSU ball.
• Repeat 10 times.
• Then move to your right foot and repeat.
• Remember to sink into each lunge before you move out of position.

These are great too!!                                    

Standing bicep curls

• Use either a barbell or cables.
• Stand hip width apart, shoulders are back, and chest is out.
• Keep your elbows locked at your rib cage throughout the entire movement.
• When you are ready, curl the bar up.
• Drop the bar down 1 inch and hold for 10 seconds.
• SLOWLY descend back to the starting position.
• Take a 10-second count as you do this.
• When you reach 10 seconds you should be at the bottom of the move.
• Come back up 1 inch.
• From the bottom position you will power up, pull strong, get that weight to the top as fast as you can.
• Repeat the process for up to 5 reps.
• The idea is complete and total muscle failure.
• If you can make the 10 seconds without much trouble, up the weight!!

Dips for Triceps

• Use the same principle as above.
• Begin at the top of the move.
• Drop down 1 inch.
• Hold your slow descend for 10 seconds.
• Once you are at the bottom of the move you will come back up 1 inch.
• Power back up as fast as you can.
• Repeat for 5 reps.

Lee Ann Urban
Personal Fitness Coach
leeann@urbanwind.com
www.urbanwind.com

Vandry BJJ Academy: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) & Muay Thai Boxing, Austin, Texas.