I need need help and I’m sure I’ll get a lot of smart-ass replies. I’m 5’11" 192lbs on test with levels of 705. Always been skinny so had to fight for every pound. I recently started Jiu Jitsu and went from 205 to 192 rapidly. Anyone that rolls knows that it beats you up good.
I need advice and help on how to size up and bulk up while still doing the most intense cardio/ calorie depleating exercise you can do lol.
Who else on here trains BJJ and is sizing up in the gym?
I’ve done both but never at the same time for an extended period, but I was also in my late 30’s when I got into BJJ. It’s also not the most intense exercise you can do, that’s just silly.
Long story short, you will need to eat enough food to drive your scale weight up along with any strength performance or muscle mass goals you are trying to achieve. There’s nothing special about BJJ, it’s just more calories out to your body, just like jazzercise.
How is your diet?
To follow-up, don’t be surprised if jiu-jitsu’s ability to help you lose weight rapidly diminishes over time. As you become more familiar, comfortable, and accustomed to the movements in jiu-jitsu, you’ll spend less energy doing them.
I was going to post something pretty similar to @burien_top_team, so I’ll just say “ditto.”
It is, if you’re doing it wrong.
I suppose it could be for some. It seems like there’s a whole lot of stuff that’s more intense, however one might measure intensity.
Free solo rock climbing would be a little more intense for me. So would most of @T3hPwnisher 's typical week.
Rolling hard is still a helluva workout.
Yeah? How’s your diet?
You weigh about 200 pounds, and you want to gain, so you should try to get 200 + grams of protein per day.
And you’re right, training can take it out of you! So don’t practice BJJ or lift weights fasted. Be sure to get some carbs and protein in before and after.
Im the first to admit I do it wrong. I’ve been training for 3 months. The whitest white belt. No hiding that I’m only just starting the journey but want to get ahead of the muscle/ weight loss so I don’t lose heart in doing it
Yeah, I’ve cut out all sugar and simple carbs. I need to get in more protien and my wife cant have nuts of any sort in the house (except for me lol). My system doesn’t like dairy which makes 200g even tougher
Why? Seems like you might need them, especially around your workouts.
I’m in the same boat and developed a lactose allergy last summer. Fage makes a lactose-free Greek yogurt called “BestSelf.” It packs 90g of protein per container, and its been a god send. I mix in some frozen fruit and honey. I’ve become addicted.
Further to the great replies above, it’s tough to chase multiple goals at once i.e. BJJ, bulking and (I presume) lifting.
Are you still lifting to hit maintenance levels?
How do you look in the mirror in that BW drop? Might be a good thing if it’s mainly fat lost?
I cut out sugars and simple carbs just for health reason. Candy and Little Debbie wasn’t good for anyone. That being said the fat lose is good. My abs and obliques are visible, and running very lean.
I’ll check out the yogurt. Appreciate it!!
It will boil down to calories in vs. out.
You’re burning a shitload of calories if you’re weight training and doing bjj with, I assume, conditioning work.
Consider Michael Phelps ate 10,000 calories per day. While I’m sure an Olympic swimmer is training much harder, he was a skinny fucker eating tons of food for a reference.
Carbs will be your friend along with protein. Keep a pot of precooked white rice or oatmeal and some hard boiled eggs handy. Every time you eat a normally planned meal, eat some rice/oatmeal and eggs.
Weigh in as you go and adjust as necessary.
Edit: an added benefit of being carb heavy for weight gain is that with slight manipulations you can make dramatic and quickly recoverable water cuts for weigh in
Edit 2 after reading comments: I’m drawing on old wrestling knowledge, which was very intense. Maybe rice with every meal as an add-on would be a bit much for bjj. It’s still a calorie in vs calorie out game. You’ll find your level.
Ah shit, I just read this. Oatmeal then. Or wheat germ.
I bulked up to over 230 while doing jiu jitsu 2-3 days a week. I was doing 531 Building the Monolith and eating an absolute ton of food. Tons of milk, tons of eggs and tons of ground beef. It can definitely be done, but your lifting and recovery need to prioritize every bit as much as the jiu jitsu.
That’s an extreme over correction IMO. Candy and little debbie are some of the worst examples you could think of,
and you absolutely should drop them. But to also give up honey, white rice, potatoes, etc is just silly.
Have you considered meat and eggs?
Been here myself… 47 years old. 5 08 180 with abs. For me and nearly everyone I train… Bjj, MMA, weights, etc… I get them fully fat adapted THEN use strategically timed carbs to leverage certain performance benefits. Works really well.
I like a scoop of Surge before intense sparring with extra electrolytes in it. If it’s weight training, I’ll do around 30 to 40 grams of carbs peri-training.
The harder you train the more wiggle room you have for fuck ups with your nutrition, but I also think the “need” for large amounts of carbs to support training has been overstated. I do really well with 30 to 50 grams tops.
People really underestimate how effective meat / eggs can be