Thank for a helpful and thoughtful response!
Thanks! I want to give a shout out to another great resource for jiu-jitsu knowledge (and training if you’re in Idaho) who just joined the forums a little while ago - my friend @TSP who was a blue belt when I started training and has been an active black belt competitor. He’s also a bigger guy so there may be some other things on the training/lifting/recover side of things that he can relate to.
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If you identify as a BJJ competitor (which you do) then lifting to look like Yoel Romero or to be stronger than most are not the right reasons to lift. You are lifting to have a positive effect on competing in BJJ. Everything else is irrelevant. Look at other athletes and how much they lift. A lot of pro football players have the potential to bench a lot more than they do but they don’t because A, adding 100 pounds to their bench won’t make them a better player and B, in order to add that 100 pounds they would have to practice their actual sport less.
The point being, you are not asking for a lifting program for a BJJ competitor; you are asking for a program for someone whose goals are not the same as a BJJ competitor’s.
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I know it’s not BJJ or Grappling. My two mates Ken and Ryu used to use martial arts as street fighters all the time.
They were both well buffed out. Must have hit the gym daily
A dooooo ken
Hi @trt_training_hard. I’m about the same weight right now, but getting down. I own a gym so train near two days per week while lifting. I usually look for programs that I can do on 4 days and stay flexible. I focus on the same core lifts you are. I’ve done 5/3/1 a Split Routine and now 4 day Texas Method. I’d say once you get back to grappling just focus on the core lifts with one assistance exercise. You shouldn’t need to spend hours in the gym lifting. At least that’s been my experience. FWIW I’m logging my progress over here Trying to Get Strong
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I found your log and I will be following it closely with you.
As I am in lockdown here with no Bjj at present. I too have a log on my first blast.
Westside says to do long sled drags, with lots of rowing, pulling and twisting motions to build strength endurance.
And to squeeeeeze a soccer ball like a choke hold for long time (while you drag the sled) to work your arms in a sport specific way. Or to hug a big medicine ball, or maybe small sandbag to your chest to work on holding on to dudes.
There have been some really good points here.
And most of the big ones have been Made.
@twojarslave really nailed it with describing where you fall in the strength realms of both Bjj and powerlifting.
I don’t post here much anymore but I wrestled and played judo and bjj for a long time hs college and many years after.
I’m 48 and Banged up.
A few things I’ve always mentioned here
Don’t complicate training.
We love to complicate and fetishize training
But that is what we do on a site like this .
Keep doing what your doing
( when you can roll again )
Til they impact one another and you can’t recover from one more then the other.
I’d your a weekend warrior lift get jacked and roll and it doesn’t really matter how you lift
As long as you like it. And you bust your ass
Enjoy it.
If you want to train like an athlete
I always say Prioritize it this way.
Skill work
Conditioning
Strength work
In that order
Bust your ass at all three til they really impact one another.
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Great advise from a veteran. Thanks buddy!
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