Fitness Aspect of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Fitness Aspect of
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

My name is Lee Ann Urban, and I am the Founder of “UrbanWind” Fitness Coaching in Austin, Texas. I have been involved in the fitness industry for the last 20 years; my background includes training and competing in the sport of competitive body building (5 years). In January of
2008, I became a student of “Vandry Brazilian Jiu Jitsu” (BJJ) in Austin. The articles that I will be writing will include all aspects of fitness and how I believe they relate to BJJ.

The biggest challenge for me after starting BJJ was to let go of my body building training style. It became clear that style of training caused too much wear and tear on the body and it actually prevented me from
accomplishing my goal on the mat.

At least three systems are working at the same time with
BJJ,

muscular
stabilizers/core
cardiovascular

With this in mind, I realized I had to train all of these systems at the same time in the gym, and found quick, efficient, basic moves to be most effective.

As high intensity, extreme athletes we tend to over train. Your time in the gym should be minimal (1 ½ - 2 hours maximum per week). Stimulate the muscle to keep it strong but avoid breaking down the muscle with multiple moves per body part. Be effective—spend your time wisely by
implementing basic moves combined with core and cardio.

Over the last few months, some of my fellow students have asked me to design programs for them. These programs focus on four areas:

strength
core
endurance
speed

Strength

To strengthen muscle, tendons, and ligaments, incorporate slow, controlled basic moves into your routine. Two exercises per body part is enough. Every few weeks, give your body a chance to rest by switching to one exercise per body part.

Core

The stability ball and yoga are great tools for strengthening your core. Every stabilizer muscle in your body is used when you are on the mat; you must have a strong core to maintain balance, manage escapes, etc.

Endurance

This is about moving when you think you cannot move, rest while you are moving!!

To increase endurance, you must push past the point of feeling exhausted. Move as quickly as you can from one exercise to the next; doing a minimum of three exercises back to back. You must keep moving no matter what, this easily translates to the mat.

Speed

When the muscle is fatigued, explosive moves will increase
the take-off power of the muscle. Again, move when you think you cannot move, pick up the pace when you think you cannot do it.

I have included a high intensity workout that addresses each of these areas; if you have any questions about moves that may be unfamiliar to you, email me and I will forward a description to you.

Lee Ann Urban
Personal Fitness Coach
Office 512-372-9756
Mobile 512-508-2178
leeann@urbanwind.com
www.urbanwind.com

STRENGTH, CORE, ENDURANCE, AND SPEED

Warm up
- 10 minute warm up with wrestling drills, slow and easy.

DAY ONE

DAY TWO

CHEST –
Flat bench with feet elevated. Slow on the negative part of the movement and
explosive on the positive part of the movement.

3X15 Reps

Superset with
Starfish 25 reps

2 minutes jump rope

QUADS -
Double lunge with weight on shoulders.

Super set with Box
jumps

3X25 Reps

Superset those with
Mountain Man

3X25 reps

2 minutes jump rope

BACK
– Lower body is in squat position for
Standing Rows. Slow on the negative part of the movement and explosive on the positive part of the movement.

3X15 Reps

Superset with Blood
and Guts 25 reps

2 minutes jump rope

HAMSTRINGS –
Dead lifts

Superset with Frog
jumps

3X25 reps

Superset those with
Plank

3 x 1-2 minutes hold

2 minutes jump rope

SHOULDERS –
Lower body is in squat position for Side laterals. Slow on the negative
part of the movement and explosive on the positive part of the movement.

3x15 reps

Superset with Rope
Crunches 25 reps

2 minutes jump rope

CALVES –
Calve raises

3x25 reps

Superset with
sprints half distance / full distance

BICEPS –
Standing bicep curls.
Slow on the negative part of
the movement and explosive on the positive part of the movement.

3X15 reps

Superset with 2
minutes bag

2 minutes jump rope

TRICEPS –
Skull Krushers. Slow on the negative part of the movement and explosive on the positive part
of the movement.

3x15 reps