Is BJJ A Good Workout, And Is Jiu Jitsu Good Exercise?
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Gi vs No-Gi
- The Calorie Burn Factor
- Economy of Movement
- Final Thoughts on Whether Jiu Jitsu is a Good Workout
Introduction
Many new and seasoned BJJ practitioners ask, is Jiu Jitsu good exercise? or Is Jiu Jitsu a good workout?
The answer is Yes, overall BJJ is a great workout and great exercise, training BJJ offers a balanced and varied mix of cardiovascular conditioning, muscular endurance, and strength improvements, whilst also challenging and developing your overall mobility and flexibility. Although some systems will be challenged more than others, and this can vary based on your own unique style.
BJJ doesn’t only challenge the body, it also challenges the mind, creating a resilient mindset and strong body in the never-ending quest for technical perfection. BJJ offers a full body functional focused workout and creates a resilience that’s hard to replicate outside of BJJ, being overly specific in the gym isn’t always good, but BJJ offers a unique training environment that’s prepares the body for the demands of the sport and your own unique style, from improved coordination to better overall body awareness, its forces the body to adapt to its environment and your chosen grappling style.
Gi vs No-Gi
Training in the Gi will challenge various systems, and these will vary based on your style of play. Generally, training in the Gi requires:
- The use of consistent grip strength and endurance to be applied for control
- Excellent mobility is required to transition into favorable positions
- A good foundation of isometric strength is required to support holds and submissions
Gi training places a lot of demand on many systems, one of the main challenges you will encounter will be from your grip strength, the constant pulling and pushing creates a dynamic challenge and will be a determining factor on whether you are able to control your opponent in exchanges.
Another important and often overlooked system that will be under constant stress will be your isometric strength, along with strong grips, your isometric strength will be used when controlling, framing or submitting your opponent along with many other scenarios that you’ll find yourself in during rolls.
The added friction of the Gi can make it your best friend or your worst enemy depending on the situation you find yourself in, this places a heavy reliance on technical perfection as one mistimed mistake could cost you the round, patience is a must in the Gi, you can’t rely on explosively ripping your arm out of a submission.
With the lack of Gi grips and friction, No-Gi generally has a heavier emphasis on:
- Strength and explosive movements
- The combination of speed and movement means the cardiovascular system will be under greater demand
- The anaerobic systems of the body will be heavily challenged, particularly the A lactic system
No Gi relies much more on overall strength, power and explosive movements, whilst similar isometric strength is required for control and holds, the dynamic nature of No Gi will place a heavier demand on the cardiovascular systems.
One system that will constantly be challenged is the A lactic system, this is what is used for short burst of explosive intensity. In takedowns, scrambles, explosive guard passing and many other scenarios your performance and success will be heavily dependent on how well you’re A lactic system is conditioned.
The lack of grips and friction in No Gi means movement can be more fluid and constant, this generally means rounds can feel more tiring due to the demand on the cardiovascular system. Executing transitions, holds and submissions will rely heavily on your overall conditioning.
Whilst Gi and No-Gi have their own unique demands, both forms of training offer great overall benefits for improving your general fitness, although these benefits will be very style dependent.
The Calorie Burn Factor
BJJ is notorious for being a high calorie burning form of exercise. You can expect to burn anywhere between 500-1000 calories per session and likely more, depending on your current bodyweight and how you decide to train that day.
With so much movement, improvements to the muscular and cardiovascular systems are inevitable. With constant movement and battling against resistance, BJJ ensures you are getting a full body workout every round you roll.
It’ll work your entire body in various ways throughout rounds, from escaping side control using your mobility and your isometric strength to frame, to scrambling to get top position using your strength, speed and explosive power, BJJ will ensure you use your entire body in the process, ultimately, you will burn off calories, improve your strength and endurance, plus make improvements to your cardiovascular capacities simply as a by-product of training the sport.
Although, how much progress you make in each area will be dependent on your own style and may have diminishing returns over time due to economy of movement, you will still build a solid base of general fitness just from partaking in BJJ and as a result, you will likely make noticeable changes to your physique in the process.
Economy of Movement
Best summed up by Bruce Lee: “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
Economy of movement is a common term used in strength and conditioning, it refers to an athlete’s ability to perform movements and specific tasks within their chosen sport at maximum efficiency.
Think of the white belt that gets gassed after 5 minutes on the mat—the excessive, erratic movements and inefficient mechanics lead to almost instant fatigue and poor performance.
Now think of the black belt who makes it look easy: their technique is perfect, leading to greater economy of movement, and as a result, he seems to never gas out.
Now, you may reach blue belt and assume that your overall fitness has dramatically improved as you are no longer gassing out like you once were, but surprisingly, this may not be the case.
In the early days of training BJJ, it’s extremely demanding on the body, your movements will likely feel rigid and inefficient, and you will expend and waste a lot of energy. However, with time your movements and technical ability will both improve and they will become more efficient the more you practice, this will allow your body to better conserve energy whilst simultaneously reacting quicker on the mats, this is due to your CNS (central nervous system) knowing which muscles need to be recruited for the required task, then the required motor units all firing effectively to perform the task, this comes from countless time spent drilling techniques, the more time spent on the mat, the more efficient these systems will become, this is economy of movement in action and the key to becoming a proficient grappler.
Economy of movement is simply a perfect blend of neuromuscular efficiency and masterful technique. The best athletes in the world combine strength, power and technical perfection to perform optimally to the demands of their chosen sport. Ultimately, economy of movement is what separates world class athletes from the rest of us, it’s the reward you receive from drilling a move a thousand times over.
The issue with economy of movement from a coach’s point of view, is the better you technically get, the less improvements to your strength and conditioning systems will be made from training the sport alone.
When you start your BJJ journey, you will likely make noticeable improvements in your overall strength, cardiovascular capacities, and many other areas. However, this progress will begin to slow and plateau as your technique improves. This is why it’s crucial for athletes to supplement with an appropriate strength and conditioning program.
Final Thoughts on Whether Jiu Jitsu is a Good Workout
BJJ is an unpredictable sport that’s requires versatility and constant adaptations to be implemented on the go. Over time BJJ will enhance your proprioception and reactive strength capacities, this will gift you faster reaction times and improved balance and coordination, plus many more physical benefits.
Essentially, you will become a proficient grappler with better economy of movement in mind and body, until it becomes second nature to you.
The quest for perfection and technical proficiency is what keeps practitioners obsessed, those little details in techniques can have a dramatic impact on your performance, improved efficiency is a practitioner’s reward for drilling a technique time and time again. It’s a mental and physical challenge that will stimulate the body and mind and create a desire for more knowledge in the search for perfection.
Is BJJ good exercise and a good workout? Yes, it absolutely is! Any exercise is good exercise but what’s better than getting all the rewards of exercising whilst training the sport you love? Whether you train in the Gi or No-Gi, the variety of challenges BJJ presents will give you a complete and effective workout for both body and mind.
