Do You Even Jiu Jitsu, Bro?

Why Jiu Jitsu is the Best Workout You’ve Never Tried

Have you ever seen a jiu jitsu mat after an intense session? There’s a reason why it’s a literal puddle of sweat. It’s because grappling is the BEST workout you’re going to find. (And don’t worry about all the sweat – when you’re in it, it’s a baptism into your new life of savagery.)

Combine an interval training run (sprint sometimes, jog sometimes) with a session of lifting, using both super isolated and full-body compound lifts with a game of high-adrenaline, high-stakes chess for a nonstop 5-6 minutes. Then breathe for 60 seconds and start again for 5-6 rounds. Oh, and did I mention that the “weights” (read: people) you’ll be lifting are trying to lift you back and/or strangle you and break your limbs? That’s what jiu jitsu gym bros call a f***ng workout.

Now, if this all sounds like too much for you, pause right here and go check out our blog about the intensity level of jiu jitsu. What this blog is written to tell you about is where you can go and what challenge you can find with jiu jitsu WHEN you are ready, not the second you walk in the door. But the more you stick around and learn as a newbie, we promise that eventually you’ll be just like us and seek this kind of wildly intense workout for the ultimate test it provides.

Let’s break down the workout challenge of rolling:

1. Cardio

Jiu jitsu brings the cardio challenge to a whole new level. At various times in a roll, you will be either in control or pacing yourself and utilizing a lower cardio level, sustaining effort for stretches of time. Intermittently, you will need to bring all your power and effort to the table to escape a bad position or attack a new angle. That’s quite the cardio challenge when you’re already worn out. Your heart is pounding from the workout, the effort, and the intensity of the fight. And to really excel, you will want to try to learn to control your breathing tempo and breathe through your nose – easier said than done when someone has their knee on your belly and you’re flexing your abs to support the weight. There’s no comparison to the variance of cardio challenge that jiu jitsu provides.

2. Strength

Don’t let them gaslight you – strength matters in jiu jitsu. Now, it matters LESS certainly when you have good technique, but there’s a reason why the best jiu jitsu competitors in the world are also incredibly strong and train their strength constantly. Quite often in jiu jitsu, you’ll use an isolated part of your body to fight off the efforts of another person’s whole body. You’ll have to push their weight off of you from bad positions and strain to reorient yourself to a more dominant position. Every muscle in your body gets used in both compound and isolated movements. You’ll have sore muscles that you didn’t even know you had.

3. Endurance & Mentality

We train in various ways when rolling. Typical rolling would be 5 or 6 minute rounds with 1 minute rest in between, but in jiu jitsu you’ll also train for shorter stretches of time from specific positions like having someone on your back or in your guard. Whether a sprint or a longer round, you get pretty tired. See how you feel on your 5th or 6th round, and that’s where you learn something about yourself. The first time you come to an open mat and roll that much, you’ll feel the most intense workout of your life, but over time, you will be conditioned to it. Dare we say that at some point, you’ll NEED that level of workout in your life.

Want to find out for yourself what a hell of a workout jiu jitsu is? There’s no better time than now to learn. At Airlock, we’ll build your skills until you’re ready to take on this fitness challenge unlike any other. BONUS: Right now our friends at Strive Strength & Conditioning are gearing up for their Gut Check 60 challenge, a 60 day fitness challenge that includes 2 45 minute workouts every single day – and we’re proud to say that doing jiu jitsu with us at Airlock definitely counts toward your total. 

So, back to our question: Do you even jiu jitsu, bro? At Airlock in Bastrop, everybody gets a free week, Strive Strength & Conditioning members get special bundle pricing, and LEOs, Vets/Active Duty, and First Responders get a discount. 303 Martin Luther King Dr Bastrop, TX 78602, located inside Bastrop Fitness Project. 6 Days a Week. Classes for all.