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A Simple Lifting Program for People Who Train BJJ

· Trainlike

This is a starting point, not a prescription.

How much you should lift depends on how much you train, how old you are, how well you recover, and what your body can handle. Someone training BJJ twice a week can probably lift more. Someone training five times a week might need less. A 25-year-old recovers differently than a 45-year-old.

Start simple. See how you feel. Adjust from there.

You train jiu-jitsu 3-4 times a week. You want to get stronger. You don’t want to feel like garbage on the mats.

Most BJJ strength programs are written for competitors. Periodization blocks. Max effort days. Dynamic effort days. Conjugate this, energy system that. Fine if you’re prepping for ADCC. Overkill if you’re a purple belt with a job who just wants to not get smashed by the athletic white belt.

Here’s something simpler.

The basics

Lift twice a week. That’s it. Two sessions, maybe 45 minutes each. Enough to get stronger, not enough to wreck you.

Full body, both days. Bro splits don’t work for grapplers. You’ll skip leg day because you’re tired from training. Then you’ll be the guy with a big bench and no base. Full body means you hit everything twice a week, and if you miss a session you’re not completely lopsided.

Lift on your lighter days. Don’t lift the morning of hard sparring. Don’t lift after hard sparring. Pick the days where BJJ is drilling or light rolls, or days you’re not training at all.

If you have to lift and train the same day, lift first. Your lifting will be better when you’re fresh. Your rolling can survive being tired. The reverse doesn’t work — you won’t push hard on deadlifts after getting smashed for an hour.

The movements

You need a hinge, a squat, a push, a pull, and something for grip. That’s it.

Hinge: Trap bar deadlift is ideal. Easier on the lower back than conventional, easier to recover from. Romanian deadlifts or kettlebell swings work too.

Squat: Back squat, front squat, goblet squat. Pick one you’ll actually do. If barbell squats beat you up, goblet squats are fine.

Push: Bench press or overhead press. Alternate them or pick a favorite.

Pull: Pull-ups, chin-ups, or rows. If you can’t do 5 pull-ups, do lat pulldowns until you can.

Grip/Carry: Farmer carries, dead hangs, plate pinches. Grip is the one thing that directly transfers to the mats.

The program

Day 1

  • Trap bar deadlift: 3x5
  • Bench press: 3x6-8
  • Pull-ups or rows: 3x6-10
  • Farmer carries: 3 trips

Day 2

  • Squat: 3x6-8
  • Overhead press: 3x6-8
  • Chin-ups or rows: 3x6-10
  • Dead hangs: 3x max time

Rest 2-3 minutes between sets on the big lifts. Don’t rush.

Progression

Add weight when you hit the top of the rep range with good form. If you got 3x8 on squats last week, add 5lbs this week. If you only get 3x6, stay there until you get 3x8.

You’re not going to set PRs every week. That’s fine. You’re trying to get stronger over months, not days. Slow progress is still progress.

What about conditioning?

You train BJJ 3-4 times a week. You’re getting conditioning. You don’t need to add HIIT circuits to your lifting days. If you’re gassing on the mats, the answer is probably more rolling, not more burpees.

That said, if you want to specifically improve your VO2 max — which is one of the best predictors of not dying — there’s one protocol worth knowing about.

The Norwegian 4x4

Simple and brutal:

  • 4 rounds of 4 minutes at 85-95% of your max heart rate
  • 3 minutes of easy movement (walking, slow cycling) between rounds
  • Total time: ~28 minutes

You can do this on a bike, rower, running uphill, whatever gets your heart rate up without beating up your joints. Once or twice a week is enough.

One study had sedentary middle-aged adults do this once a week for two years. The result: they effectively reversed 20 years of heart aging. That’s not nothing.

If you’re already training BJJ hard multiple times a week and lifting twice, you probably don’t need this. But if you want to add one more thing that has actual research behind it, this is the one.

Further reading on the 4x4:

What about core?

Same deal. If you’re grappling multiple times a week, your core is getting worked. You can add planks or leg raises at the end if you want. You don’t need an ab day.

What about [specific exercise]?

Probably fine. If you want to do lunges instead of squats, fine. If you want to do dips instead of bench, fine. The movements matter less than consistency. Pick things you’ll actually do, show up twice a week, and get a little stronger over time.

That’s the whole program.

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