Strength Training for BJJ: Build Real Power That Works on the Mats

Ever tried to finish a sweep but your hips just wouldn’t fire? Or maybe you felt your grip slipping during a tight scramble? We’ve all been there.

That’s where strength training for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu comes in, not to turn you into a bodybuilder, but to make every movement stronger, smoother, and more controlled.

Many people still believe “technique beats strength,” and while that’s often true, here’s the catch: when skill levels are equal, strength wins. Even legends like Roger Gracie built serious functional power to complement their technique.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to build functional strength for grapplers, the kind that boosts your takedowns, guard retention, and control without losing flexibility or mat time.

Why Strength Training Is Essential for BJJ Athletes

Performance Gains That Show Up During Rolls

Strength training for jiu-jitsu isn’t optional if you want to reach your full potential. Sure, you can progress with mat time alone, but you’ll hit plateaus that proper strength work could have prevented.

Think about the positions where you struggle most. Maybe you can’t keep someone in side control because they easily shirk away. Perhaps your guard passes stall out because you lack the leg drive to pressure through resistance. Or maybe your grips give out in the final minutes of a hard roll.

These aren’t always technique problems. Sometimes your body simply isn’t strong enough to execute what your brain already knows.

When you add smart strength training to your BJJ routine, you’ll notice:

• Better control in dominant positions. Holding mount or side control requires sustained pressure. Stronger legs, core, and shoulders let you maintain that pressure round after round.
• Stronger defensive frames. Escaping bad positions depends on creating space with your frames. Weak frames collapse under pressure. Strong frames give you the breathing room to work your escapes.
• More explosive movements. Sweeps, takedowns, and scrambles all require quick bursts of power. Your muscles need to fire fast and hard when opportunities appear.

I remember rolling with a competitor preparing for Worlds. His technique wasn’t dramatically better than mine, but his strength made everything tighter. His grips felt like steel cables. His base was immovable. His pressure was suffocating. That experience taught me that at higher levels, everyone has good technique. Strength becomes the difference maker.

Injury Prevention and Joint Protection

Here’s something nobody tells beginners: BJJ is rough on your body. Really rough.

Your shoulders get cranked during kimuras. Your knees twist during leg drags. Your spine compresses under heavy pressure. Your fingers get bent backwards during grip fighting. This happens day after day, year after year.

Strength training builds armor around your joints. Stronger muscles protect vulnerable areas and absorb forces that would otherwise damage connective tissue.

I learned this lesson the hard way. Early in my training, I ignored strength work entirely. I thought mat time was enough. Then I developed persistent shoulder pain from weak rotator cuffs and muscular imbalances. One physical therapist visit later, I had a list of exercises to fix the problem.

The exercises worked, but I realized something important: injury prevention is easier than injury recovery. Building strength before problems develop keeps you training consistently instead of sitting on the sidelines nursing injuries.

Balanced strength development also counters the repetitive stress of BJJ. We pull way more than we push. We rotate constantly. We spend tons of time in flexed positions. Without corrective strength work, these patterns create imbalances that lead to pain and injury.

Long-Term Durability and Longevity

Want to train BJJ into your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond? Strength training helps make that possible.

As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass and bone density. Starting around age 30, the average person loses 3-5% of muscle mass per decade. For grapplers, this means weaker grips, less explosive power, and higher injury risk.

Resistance training directly combats this decline. It maintains muscle mass, strengthens bones, and keeps your nervous system sharp. The grapplers who roll well into their senior years aren’t just lucky. They’ve been taking care of their bodies with smart strength work.

Plus, having a strength base helps you hang with younger, more athletic opponents. You might not move as fast at 45 as you did at 25, but if you’re stronger, your technique becomes more effective. You compensate for lost speed with improved power and positioning.

Closing the Physical Gap

Let’s be honest: sometimes you face opponents who are just naturally stronger. Maybe they’re younger, bigger, or have more athletic backgrounds.

Technique helps you overcome size and strength differences, but only to a point. Adding strength training to your game gives you more options and makes the gap smaller.

I’m not a naturally big or strong person. At 5’9″ and 170 pounds, I regularly roll with guys who outweigh me by 30-50 pounds. Early on, I got smashed constantly. Better technique helped, but adding two strength sessions per week made an even bigger difference.

Suddenly I could maintain closed guard against bigger opponents. My collar grips didn’t get broken as easily. I could create more problems from bottom position instead of just surviving.

You don’t need to be the strongest person in your gym. You just need to be strong enough that your technique has room to work.

How Strength Needs Change Across Belt Levels

White belts need different strength priorities than black belts. Here’s how it typically breaks down:

• White belts should focus on basic strength and work capacity. Your body is adapting to BJJ’s demands. Simple compound movements build a foundation without interfering with technique development. Don’t overthink it.
• Blue belts can add more specific exercises targeting common weaknesses. This is when grip strength, core anti-rotation work, and posterior chain development become priorities. You’re rolling harder and longer, so your body needs more support.
• Purple belts and above benefit from periodized programming that peaks strength for competition while maintaining it during regular training cycles. You understand your body better and can handle more sophisticated training approaches.

No matter your belt level, consistency beats complexity. A simple program done regularly will always beat a perfect program done sporadically.

What Makes BJJ Strength Different? (Functional vs. Aesthetic)

Understanding “Grappling Strong” vs. “Gym Strong”

Walk into any commercial gym and you’ll see people who look incredibly strong. Bulging biceps, chiseled abs, impressive bench press numbers. Put some of these folks on the mats and they gas out in three minutes.

Why? Because looking strong and being functionally strong for grappling are completely different things.

Grappling strength is about:

• Sustained tension. You need to maintain pressure and control for minutes at a time, not just lift something heavy once.
• Strength endurance. Your muscles must work repeatedly under fatigue throughout a five, six, or seven-minute round.
• Positional awareness. Strength only helps if you can apply it from weird angles while someone actively resists you.
• Grip durability. Your hands are your primary connection to your opponent. When your grips fail, your technique fails.

Gym strength focuses on moving maximum weight through predetermined ranges of motion. That’s valuable, but it doesn’t directly prepare you for the chaos of live rolling.

I train with a guy who can deadlift 500 pounds but struggles to finish armbars because his grip gives out. I also train with a smaller competitor who deadlifts maybe 250 pounds but has grips like vise clamps. Guess who’s more successful on the mats?

This doesn’t mean traditional strength training is useless. It means we need to choose exercises and rep schemes that build the right kind of strength for grappling.

Key Movement Demands in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

BJJ strength workouts should address the actual movements you perform during training. Let’s break down what your body really does during a roll:

Isometric holds. Maintaining closed guard, holding someone in side control, or keeping your frames solid all require sustained muscular contraction without movement. Your muscles need to produce force while staying relatively still.

Explosive hip movements. Bridging to escape mount, shrimping to recover guard, shooting for takedowns, and finishing sweeps all demand quick, powerful hip extension. Weak hips mean failed techniques.

Rotational power and anti-rotation stability. You constantly rotate during transitions, but you also need to resist unwanted rotation when opponents try to sweep or pass you. Your core must both create and resist rotational forces.

Grip endurance under fatigue. Breaking grips, maintaining grips, and fighting for grips happens throughout every roll. Your forearms need ridiculous endurance, especially in the gi.

Pulling strength from multiple angles. Pulling opponents into closed guard, breaking posture, finishing chokes, and controlling from back mount all require strong pulling muscles. You pull far more than you push in BJJ.

Postural strength. Maintaining good posture inside someone’s guard or defending against back takes requires serious spinal and shoulder stability.

Traditional workout programs don’t address these specific demands. A typical bodybuilding program focuses on muscle isolation and aesthetics. A powerlifting program prioritizes maximum single-rep strength. Neither directly prepares you for grappling’s unique challenges.

Why General Fitness Programs Fall Short

I’ve seen countless training partners try to adapt standard gym programs to their BJJ training. The results are usually disappointing.

Here’s what typically goes wrong:

Too much volume. Bodybuilding programs have you doing 15-20 sets per body part with lots of isolation work. This creates excessive soreness that interferes with mat time. You can’t drill effectively when your muscles are screaming.

Wrong intensity zones. Powerlifting programs focus on heavy singles, doubles, and triples. This is great for absolute strength but doesn’t build the strength endurance grapplers need. Plus, lifting maximally is neurologically demanding and doesn’t mix well with hard sparring.

Missing functional patterns. Most programs ignore grip work, anti-rotation exercises, and unilateral movements that matter for grappling. You end up strong in ways that don’t transfer to the mats.

Poor timing and frequency. Generic programs often prescribe 4-5 lifting sessions per week. Add that to 4-6 BJJ sessions and you’re training 8-11 times weekly. That’s a recipe for burnout and overtraining.

Neglecting mobility. Traditional strength programs rarely include sufficient mobility work. BJJ already makes you tight. Lifting without mobility work makes you even tighter, which limits your technique.

The solution? Build your strength program around your mat time, not the other way around. BJJ comes first. Strength training supports it.

Muscle Groups That Matter Most in BJJ

Not all muscles are created equal for grapplers. Let’s focus on the areas that actually impact your performance.

Grip and Forearm Strength

Your hands connect you to your opponent. Weak grips mean weak jiu-jitsu.

Think about how often you grip during a typical roll. Collar grips, sleeve grips, pant grips, belt grips, wrist control, and more. You’re constantly squeezing something. When your forearms fatigue, your entire game falls apart.

Gi training is especially demanding on grip strength. That thick cotton gi material is much harder to hold than bare skin. Five-minute rounds of constant grip fighting will light your forearms on fire.

No-gi isn’t much easier, though. You’re gripping wrists, ankles, and controlling underhooks with constant tension. Different demands, same need for strong, durable hands and forearms.

Strong grips also help you finish submissions. That extra squeezing power can be the difference between a tap and a near-miss on chokes and joint locks.

I spent my first two years of training with weak, underdeveloped grip strength. My technique was decent, but my grips would fail at critical moments. Once I added specific grip work to my training, my game improved dramatically. Suddenly I could maintain controls longer and finish attacks I’d previously lost.

Core and Anti-Rotation Strength

Your core is way more than just abs. It includes all the muscles that stabilize your spine and transfer force between your upper and lower body.

For BJJ, anti-rotation strength might be even more important than the ability to crunch or twist. When someone tries to sweep you, you need to resist that rotational force. When you’re trying to pass guard, you need a stable core that doesn’t collapse under pressure.

Think about defending a scissor sweep. Your opponent is pulling you with their arms while their legs create a powerful rotational force. If your core can’t resist that rotation, you’re going over no matter what your hands are doing.

Or consider maintaining side control. Your opponent is shrimping and framing, trying to create angles to escape. Your core must stay solid and connected to keep pressure while they wiggle beneath you.

Traditional core work like endless crunches and sit-ups doesn’t prepare you for these demands. We need exercises that train your core to resist movement, not just create it.

Posterior Chain Power

Your posterior chain includes your glutes, hamstrings, lower back, and upper back. These muscles are the engine for almost everything powerful you do in BJJ.

Glutes and hamstrings drive your hips during:

• Bridging escapes from mount and side control
• Shooting for takedowns
• Finishing sweeps from guard
• Creating base to prevent being swept

Weak hips mean weak escapes and weak attacks. I can always tell when someone skips lower body training because their hip movement looks sluggish and their bridges barely lift opponents off them.

Lower back muscles stabilize your spine during:

• Maintaining good posture inside someone’s guard
• Defending against back takes
• Staying heavy in top positions
• Resisting hip movement during passes

Upper back muscles (lats, rhomboids, traps) control:

• Breaking posture in closed guard
• Maintaining back control
• Finishing rear naked chokes
• Framing and creating space

Your posterior chain is probably more important than your chest and arms combined for grappling. Yet most people walk into gyms and immediately head to the bench press. Don’t be that person.

Upper Back and Shoulder Strength

Healthy, strong shoulders are non-negotiable for long-term BJJ success. They’re involved in virtually every position and technique.

Your shoulders need to be mobile enough for the crazy positions BJJ puts them in, but stable enough to withstand constant stress. This requires balanced strength in all directions, not just the pressing movements most people focus on.

Strong upper back muscles (especially your lats and rear delts) help you:

• Pull opponents into closed guard
• Break down posture
• Maintain back control
• Create and maintain frames
• Resist being flattened out from top positions

I see too many grapplers with shoulder problems because they neglect pulling strength and rear delt work. Their shoulders are unbalanced, with overdeveloped front delts and chest but weak backs. This creates impingement problems and eventually leads to injuries.

Balance your pushing and pulling. Actually, pull more than you push since BJJ already involves so much pulling.

Leg Strength and Base

Strong legs give you an immovable base when you need it and explosive power when you want it.

Quad strength helps you:

• Maintain a strong base in top positions
• Resist being swept
• Drive through guard passes
• Stand up in someone’s guard
• Finish knee-slice passes

Hamstring and glute strength (mentioned earlier but worth repeating) powers your hip extension for bridges, takedowns, and sweeps.

Calf strength might seem minor, but it matters for:

• Ankle support during awkward positions
• Balance during transitions
• Squeeze pressure in triangle chokes

You don’t need massive bodybuilder legs. You need legs that can generate force quickly, maintain a stable base, and work round after round without fatiguing.

Neck Strength (The Forgotten Essential)

Here’s an area almost everyone ignores until they get neck problems: your neck muscles.

Strong neck muscles protect you during:

• Guillotine defense
• Resisting being turned during turtle
• Stack passes
• Scrambles where your head gets pushed or pulled
• Takedown exchanges

A strong neck also prevents the headaches and neck pain that many grapplers experience from years of training.

You don’t need elaborate neck training. Simple exercises a few times per week make a huge difference. We’ll cover specific exercises later in the article.

Best Strength Exercises for BJJ Practitioners

Now let’s get into the actual exercises. These movements give you the most bang for your buck when building functional strength for jiu-jitsu.

Remember: We’re not trying to become powerlifters or bodybuilders. We’re building strong, durable bodies that support better grappling.

Upper Body Pulling Exercises

Pulling strength is king in BJJ. These exercises develop the muscles you use constantly during training.

Weighted Pull-ups and Chin-ups

Pull-ups are the ultimate upper body pulling exercise. They build your lats, biceps, upper back, and grip all at once.

Start with bodyweight until you can do 8-10 clean reps. Then add weight gradually using a dip belt or weighted vest. For BJJ purposes, being able to do 5-8 reps with an extra 25-50 pounds is plenty strong.

Chin-ups (palms facing you) hit your biceps harder, which helps with breaking grips and finishing submissions. Mix both variations into your training.

Bent-Over Rows

Rowing movements build thickness in your upper back and develop pulling strength from a different angle than pull-ups.

Use barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells. Keep your back flat and pull the weight to your lower chest or upper stomach. Focus on squeezing your shoulder blades together at the top of each rep.

Rows help you break posture in closed guard and maintain back control. The stronger your rows, the harder you can pull opponents around.

Gi Hangs and Towel Pull-ups

Here’s where we get BJJ-specific. Hanging from your gi or towels wrapped around a pull-up bar directly builds the grip endurance you need for training.

Drape your gi over a pull-up bar and hang from the sleeves for time. Start with 20-30 seconds and work up to 60+ seconds. This simple exercise will transform your grip strength.

For towel pull-ups, wrap two towels around the bar and do pull-ups while gripping the towels. These are brutally hard but incredibly effective for developing crushing grip strength.

Face Pulls

Face pulls might not look impressive, but they’re essential for shoulder health. They strengthen your rear delts and upper back while improving posture.

Use a cable machine or resistance band. Pull the handles or band toward your face while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Do these regularly to prevent shoulder problems down the road.

Upper Body Pressing Exercises

You need some pressing strength, but less than most people think. Balance is key here.

Push-ups (With Variations)

Good old-fashioned push-ups are perfect for grapplers. They work your chest, shoulders, and triceps while requiring core stability.

Make them harder by:

• Elevating your feet
• Adding pauses at the bottom
• Slowing down the lowering phase (3-4 seconds down)
• Wearing a weighted vest
• Doing them on gymnastic rings

Push-ups prepare you for maintaining pressure in top positions and defending takedowns.

Overhead Press (Light to Moderate Load)

Pressing weight overhead builds shoulder stability and strength in an important range of motion for BJJ.

Use moderate weights for sets of 6-10 reps. Going too heavy can create shoulder problems, so focus on control and good form rather than max weight.

Overhead pressing helps you post on opponents, maintain top positions, and defend against certain submissions.

Floor Press

The floor press is a shoulder-friendly alternative to bench pressing. You lie on the floor and press a barbell or dumbbells, stopping when your elbows touch the ground.

This limited range of motion reduces shoulder stress while still building pressing strength. It’s especially good for grapplers with shoulder issues or anyone concerned about injury prevention.

Floor presses help you create frames and push opponents away during escapes.

Lower Body Power and Stability Exercises

Strong legs are your foundation. They give you the base and explosiveness that makes everything else work.

Trap Bar or Conventional Deadlifts

Deadlifts are the single best exercise for building total-body strength and posterior chain power. They work your glutes, hamstrings, lower back, upper back, and grip simultaneously.

The trap bar (also called hex bar) is slightly easier on your lower back and feels more natural for most people. Conventional deadlifts with a straight bar work great too.

For grapplers, moderate weights for 5-8 reps per set are perfect. You’re building strength and work capacity, not testing your one-rep max. Leave the ego at the door.

Deadlifts directly improve your bridging power, takedown ability, and overall durability. Every serious grappler should deadlift regularly.

Front Squats and Goblet Squats

Squats build leg strength and teach you to maintain an upright posture under load. This transfers directly to staying heavy in top positions and maintaining good posture in someone’s guard.

Front squats (barbell held across your front shoulders) and goblet squats (holding a kettlebell or dumbbell at chest height) are better choices than back squats for most grapplers. They require less lower back involvement and emphasize your quads and core more.

Start light and focus on getting deep with good form. Partial squats don’t count. You want to develop strength through a full range of motion.

Strong squats mean better guard passes, stronger standing base, and more explosive movements during scrambles.

Bulgarian Split Squats

These single-leg exercises are incredibly effective for building leg strength while addressing any side-to-side imbalances.

Stand a few feet in front of a bench with one foot elevated behind you on the bench. Squat down on your front leg until your back knee nearly touches the ground, then drive back up.

Bulgarian split squats are humbling. You’ll use way less weight than regular squats, but they’re brutally effective. They build the single-leg stability and strength you need for technical standup, guard retention, and maintaining base during passes.

They’re also easier on your lower back than bilateral squats, which matters when you’re already getting compressed during BJJ training.

Hip Thrusts and Glute Bridges

These exercises specifically target your glutes and teach you to extend your hips powerfully. This is exactly what you do when bridging to escape mount or finishing sweeps.

Lie on your back (hip thrusts have your upper back on a bench, bridges are fully on the ground). Drive through your heels to lift your hips as high as possible, squeezing your glutes hard at the top.

You can add weight by placing a barbell or dumbbell across your hips. Work up to using challenging weights for sets of 10-15 reps.

I guarantee that after a few weeks of heavy hip thrusts, your bridging escapes will improve noticeably. The carryover is direct and immediate.

Core and Anti-Rotation Work

Your core keeps everything connected and stable. These exercises build the kind of core strength that actually matters for grappling.

Dead Bugs and Bird Dogs

These might look easy, but they teach total-body tension and core stability better than crunches ever could.

For dead bugs, lie on your back with arms extended toward the ceiling and knees bent at 90 degrees. Slowly lower opposite arm and leg while keeping your lower back pressed to the floor. Return and repeat on the other side.

Bird dogs are similar but done from hands and knees. Extend opposite arm and leg while keeping your core tight and preventing your hips from rotating.

Do these slowly and deliberately. They train the kind of anti-extension and anti-rotation strength that keeps you stable during transitions and scrambles.

Pallof Press

This is the king of anti-rotation exercises. It directly trains your core to resist rotational forces, which is exactly what you need during sweeps and passes.

Attach a resistance band or cable to a fixed point at chest height. Stand sideways to the anchor point and hold the handle at your chest with both hands. Press straight out in front of you, resisting the pull that tries to rotate your torso.

Hold the extended position for 2-3 seconds, then return to your chest. The goal isn’t to move fast. The goal is to stay square and not let the resistance rotate you.

Do Pallof presses from both sides. This exercise alone will dramatically improve your ability to maintain position under rotational stress.

Hanging Leg Raises

Hang from a pull-up bar and raise your legs up in front of you. This builds serious core strength while also working your grip and shoulder stability.

Beginners can do knee raises. Advanced grapplers can do straight-leg raises all the way to the bar. Add ankle weights or hold a medicine ball between your feet for extra challenge.

Hanging leg raises build the kind of core compression strength you need for finishing triangles, maintaining closed guard against pressure, and playing guard in general.

Loaded Carries

Carrying heavy objects builds your entire core, improves posture under load, and develops real-world functional strength.

Farmer’s carries (heavy weights in each hand, walk), suitcase carries (heavy weight in one hand only), and overhead carries (weight held overhead) all have value.

For BJJ, farmer’s carries are probably most useful since they also build incredible grip strength. Grab the heaviest dumbbells or kettlebells you can hold and walk for 30-60 seconds. Rest and repeat for 3-4 sets.

Your core, traps, and grip will be on fire, but the carryover to grappling is outstanding.

Grip-Specific Training

Let’s give your grip the attention it deserves. Strong hands change everything on the mats.

Farmer’s Walks

Already mentioned above, but worth repeating. Heavy farmer’s walks are the single best exercise for building grip endurance. The weight tries to pull your fingers open with every step, forcing your forearms to work overtime.

Do these at least once per week. Walk until your grip starts to fail, rest, then do another set. Three to four sets is plenty.

Plate Pinches

Grab two weight plates smooth-side out and pinch them together with one hand. Hold for time, trying to work up to 30-60 seconds per hand.

This builds thumb strength and pinch grip, which helps with gi grips and finishing certain submissions.

Start with lighter plates (5-10 pounds per plate) and progress gradually. This exercise is harder than it looks.

Gi Pull-ups

We mentioned these earlier, but they deserve their own spotlight. Drape your gi jacket over a pull-up bar and do pull-ups while gripping the sleeves.

This is the most specific grip training possible. You’re literally gripping a gi while pulling. The carryover is 100%.

Your grip will fail before your back muscles do. That’s the point. Keep grinding away at these and watch your gi grips become unbreakable.

Towel Hangs and Rope Climbs

Similar to gi work, hanging from towels or climbing ropes builds crushing grip strength.

If your gym has a climbing rope, use it. Climb up and down for several rounds. Your forearms will be screaming, but your grips will thank you later.

No rope? Wrap thick towels around a pull-up bar and hang for time or do pull-ups. Simple, effective, and no excuses.

BJJ-Specific Functional Movements

These exercises don’t fit neatly into categories but offer amazing benefits for grapplers.

Turkish Get-ups

This old-school exercise involves lying down with a weight held overhead, then standing up while keeping the weight overhead the entire time. Then you reverse the movement back down to the floor.

Turkish get-ups build total-body strength, mobility, and coordination. They improve your ability to move fluidly between positions, which is basically what BJJ is all about.

Use a kettlebell, dumbbell, or even a shoe balanced on your fist. Start light and master the movement pattern before adding serious weight.

Do 3-5 reps per side once or twice per week. They’re time-consuming but incredibly worthwhile.

Kettlebell Swings

Swings develop explosive hip extension power, which directly translates to bridging, shooting takedowns, and finishing sweeps.

Hold a kettlebell with both hands between your legs. Hinge at your hips and swing the kettlebell back, then explosively drive your hips forward to swing it up to chest height. Let momentum do the work while you control the movement.

Swings also build conditioning and grip strength. Do sets of 15-20 reps with minimal rest between sets. Your heart rate will spike, your hips will burn, and your grappling will improve.

Core Principles of Smart Strength Programming for Grapplers

Having good exercises is only half the battle. You need to put them together intelligently. Here’s how to program strength training that supports your BJJ instead of interfering with it.

Prioritize Compound Movements Over Isolation Work

Compound exercises work multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Isolation exercises work one muscle at a time.

For grapplers with limited training time, compound movements give you way more value. Deadlifts work your entire posterior chain. Pull-ups hit your back, arms, and grip together. Squats build total leg strength.

Compare that to doing leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises, and glute kickbacks separately. You’d spend triple the time for less overall benefit.

Build your program around big compound exercises. Add a few isolation movements for weak points or injury prevention (like face pulls for shoulders), but make compounds your foundation.

Use Moderate Rep Ranges for Strength Plus Work Capacity

Powerlifters train with very low reps (1-5) to build maximum strength. Bodybuilders use higher reps (10-20+) to build muscle size. Grapplers need something in the middle.

Sets of 5-12 reps work perfectly for most exercises. This range builds strength without excessive fatigue, develops some muscle endurance, and doesn’t leave you too sore for mat time.

For main exercises like deadlifts and squats, 5-8 reps per set works great. For assistance exercises like rows and presses, 8-12 reps is ideal. For core and grip work, you can go higher (12-20 reps) or work for time.

Don’t obsess over perfect rep ranges. Just stay somewhere in the moderate zone and you’ll be fine.

Avoid Excessive Soreness That Interferes With Training

Here’s a mistake I see constantly: someone hits the gym hard on Monday, gets extremely sore, then can barely train BJJ on Tuesday and Wednesday because their muscles are screaming.

Soreness (called DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness) happens when you do more volume or intensity than your body is adapted to. A little soreness is fine. Crippling soreness that prevents you from training properly is counterproductive.

To avoid this problem:

• Start conservative. Use lighter weights and fewer sets when beginning a new program. Give your body time to adapt.
• Increase gradually. Add weight or reps slowly over several weeks. Sudden jumps in volume create excessive soreness.
• Stay consistent. Training twice per week consistently creates less soreness than randomly hitting the gym super hard once every two weeks.
• Time it right. Lift after easier BJJ sessions or on rest days. Don’t lift heavy the day before a hard sparring class or competition.

Your goal is to get stronger, not to prove how tough you are by training through debilitating soreness.

Match Intensity to Your BJJ Schedule

Your strength training should flex based on what’s happening with your jiu-jitsu. Competition preparation requires different programming than off-season training.

During competition camps: Reduce lifting volume and intensity. Maybe drop from three sessions to two, or keep the frequency but cut sets and use lighter weights. Your BJJ training is peaking, so strength work should maintain rather than build.

Off-season training: This is when you can push strength gains harder. Add weight to the bar, do extra sets, and focus on getting stronger while your mat time is less intense.

During hard training weeks: If you’re doing two-a-day BJJ sessions or attending a training camp, back off strength work. Maybe skip it entirely for that week. Your body can only handle so much stress.

During lighter weeks: When BJJ is easier (maybe you’re doing more drilling than sparring), you can push strength training harder.

Listen to your body and adjust accordingly. Flexibility in your planning is strength, not weakness.

Progressive Overload Without Ego

Getting stronger requires progressive overload. This means gradually increasing the demands on your muscles over time.

You can do this by:

• Adding weight: Using heavier dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells for the same reps.
• Adding reps: Doing more repetitions with the same weight.
• Adding sets: Going from 3 sets to 4 sets of an exercise.
• Improving form: Lifting the same weight with better control and technique.

The key word is “gradually.” Adding five pounds to your deadlift each week is smart progression. Jumping up 50 pounds because your ego wants to lift heavy is stupid and gets you injured.

I learned this lesson the hard way during my blue belt years. I was progressing nicely on deadlifts, adding small amounts each week. Then I saw someone pulling way more than me and decided I needed to catch up immediately. I jumped up in weight too fast, messed up my lower back, and couldn’t train properly for three weeks.

Small, consistent progress over months and years beats big jumps that lead to setbacks.

Include Mobility and Prehab Work

Strength training makes you tighter if you don’t balance it with mobility work. BJJ also makes you tight. Combine both without mobility work and you’ll move like a rusty robot.

Spend 5-10 minutes before each lifting session doing dynamic mobility work:

• Leg swings
• Arm circles
• Cat-cow stretches
• Hip rotations
• Light band pull-aparts

After lifting (or after BJJ), do some static stretching focusing on areas that get tight:

• Hip flexors
• Hamstrings
• Shoulders
• Thoracic spine

Also include specific prehab exercises for common problem areas:

• Band pull-aparts for shoulder health
• Face pulls for rear delts
• Neck bridges or neck harness work
• Ankle mobility drills

Ten minutes of mobility work now prevents hours of physical therapy later. Trust me on this.

Sample Strength Training Programs by Experience Level

Let’s put this all together into actual programs you can follow. Choose based on your experience with lifting, not your BJJ belt level.

Beginner Program: Building the Foundation (2x per week)

If you’re new to strength training, simplicity is your friend. Focus on learning movement patterns and building work capacity.

Workout A (Monday or Tuesday):

• Trap bar deadlift: 3 sets of 6-8 reps
• Push-ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
• Bent-over dumbbell rows: 3 sets of 8-10 reps per arm
• Goblet squats: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
• Plank holds: 3 sets of 30-45 seconds
• Farmer’s walks: 3 sets of 30-40 seconds

Workout B (Thursday or Friday):

• Front squats: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• Overhead press: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• Pull-ups or assisted pull-ups: 3 sets of 5-10 reps
• Bulgarian split squats: 3 sets of 8-10 reps per leg
• Dead bugs: 3 sets of 10 reps per side
• Gi hangs: 3 sets of 20-30 seconds

Keep rest periods to 2-3 minutes between sets for main exercises, 1-2 minutes for assistance work. Total workout time should be 45-60 minutes.

Do Workout A and Workout B each once per week, alternating weeks with which workout comes first. Focus on perfect form before adding weight.

Intermediate Program: Adding Complexity (2-3x per week)

Once you’ve got 6-12 months of consistent lifting under your belt, you can handle more variety and volume.

Upper Body Focus (Day 1):

• Weighted pull-ups: 4 sets of 6-8 reps
• Floor press: 4 sets of 8-10 reps
• Barbell rows: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• Face pulls: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Pallof press: 3 sets of 10-12 reps per side
• Towel pull-ups: 3 sets to failure

Lower Body Focus (Day 2):

• Deadlifts: 4 sets of 5-6 reps
• Front squats: 3 sets of 8-10 reps
• Hip thrusts: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Bulgarian split squats: 3 sets of 8-10 reps per leg
• Hanging leg raises: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
• Farmer’s walks: 4 sets of 40-60 seconds

Optional Full Body (Day 3):

• Turkish get-ups: 3 sets of 3-5 reps per side
• Kettlebell swings: 4 sets of 15-20 reps
• Push-ups (tempo): 3 sets of 10-12 reps (3 seconds down)
• Goblet squats: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
• Bird dogs: 3 sets of 12 reps per side
• Plate pinches: 3 sets of 30-45 seconds per hand

Do Days 1 and 2 every week. Add Day 3 only when your BJJ schedule is lighter or during off-season. If training hard for competition, stick with just two days.

Advanced and Competition-Focused Programming

At this level, you need periodization. This means organizing your training into phases with different goals.

Phase 1: Strength Building (6-8 weeks, off-season):

Focus on getting stronger with heavier weights and lower reps. Three sessions per week.

Main lifts: 4-5 sets of 4-6 reps with challenging weight Assistance work: 3 sets of 8-10 reps Core and grip: 3-4 sets with appropriate reps/time

This phase builds your strength foundation when competition isn’t imminent.

Phase 2: Strength Maintenance (4-6 weeks, leading into competition):

Keep strength levels while increasing BJJ intensity. Two sessions per week.

Main lifts: 3 sets of 5-6 reps at moderate weight (about 80% of Phase 1 weights) Assistance work: 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps Core and grip: Maintained at similar volumes

You’re not trying to get stronger here. You’re maintaining what you built while focusing energy on mat time.

Phase 3: Competition Taper (1-2 weeks before competition):

Minimal strength work, focusing on feeling fresh and explosive.

Option A: One light full-body session Option B: Skip lifting entirely and just do mobility work

Your body needs to be fresh for competition, not tired from the gym.

After competition, take a few days completely off, then return to Phase 1 for the next cycle.

Key Scheduling Tips for All Levels

Getting the timing right matters as much as the exercises themselves.

Best times to lift:

After technique-only classes: Drilling doesn’t create much fatigue, so lifting afterward works well.

On rest days from BJJ: This separates the stress and gives each training type space to work.

After morning BJJ, before evening BJJ: If you train twice daily, lifting between sessions can work, but keep it brief and not too intense.

Worst times to lift:

Right before hard sparring: You’ll be fatigued and your technique will suffer.

Late at night: Lifting stimulates your nervous system and can interfere with sleep.

On back-to-back days with no rest: Lifting Monday and Tuesday while also training BJJ both days is usually too much.

Keep sessions under 60 minutes. Longer sessions create too much fatigue and eat into recovery. Get in, work hard, get out.

Schedule rest days. Training seven days per week, every week, leads to burnout. Take at least one complete rest day weekly, maybe two during hard training phases.

Gi vs. No-Gi: Adjusting Your Strength Focus

The type of BJJ you practice should influence your strength priorities slightly.

Strength Needs for Gi BJJ

Gi training has unique demands because of that thick cotton uniform.

Grip endurance is paramount. You’re constantly gripping fabric, fighting for grips, and preventing opponents from gripping you. This creates insane forearm fatigue.

Double down on:

• Gi hangs and gi pull-ups
• Towel work
• Farmer’s walks
• Plate pinches
• Any exercise that makes your forearms burn

Upper back pulling strength also becomes extra important in the gi. Breaking posture, maintaining closed guard control, and finishing collar chokes all require serious pulling power through thick fabric.

Add extra volume on:

• Pull-up variations
• Rowing exercises
• Face pulls

Core anti-rotation work matters more in gi because sleeve and collar grips create longer levers. Opponents can create more rotational force when pulling from gi grips compared to wrist control.

Keep Pallof presses and anti-rotation exercises as priorities in your program.

Strength Needs for No-Gi BJJ

No-gi is faster, more slippery, and relies more on body control than fabric control.

Pressing strength becomes relatively more important without the gi. You need to create frames and push away from body locks, underhooks, and wrestling-style controls.

Keep pressing exercises like push-ups, overhead press, and floor press in your program with adequate volume.

Explosive hip power matters even more in no-gi. The increased pace and wrestling exchanges require quick, powerful hip movements.

Prioritize:

• Kettlebell swings
• Hip thrusts
• Explosive deadlifts or power cleans (if you know how)
• Plyometric work like box jumps (used sparingly)

Core compression and squeeze strength helps maintain control without gi grips. Finishing darce chokes, anaconda chokes, and maintaining body triangles all require serious squeezing power.

Keep hanging leg raises, dead bugs, and loaded carries in your program.

What Both Styles Share

Regardless of gi or no-gi preference, both need:

• Strong posterior chain for bridging, takedowns, and maintaining base.
• Solid core that resists movement and transfers force.
• Neck strength to defend submissions and survive bad positions.
• General work capacity to sustain effort across multiple rounds.

If you train both gi and no-gi (like most people), build a balanced program that addresses all these areas. Don’t neglect grip work just because you do some no-gi, and don’t skip pressing work just because you do some gi.

Common Mistakes BJJ Athletes Make (And How to Avoid Them)

Let’s talk about the errors I see repeatedly. Learn from other people’s mistakes instead of making them yourself.

Lifting Too Close to Intense Rolling Sessions

This is the most common mistake. Someone hits the gym hard in the morning, then shows up for advanced class in the evening completely gassed.

Your lifting and your hardest sparring should be separated by at least 24 hours when possible. If you train BJJ six days per week, you’ll need to lift on the same day sometimes. When you do, follow these rules:

Lift after drilling classes, not before sparring classes.

Keep intensity moderate on days when you’re also rolling hard.

Prioritize BJJ. If something has to suffer, make it your lifting session, not your mat time.

I once made the mistake of doing heavy squats and deadlifts the morning before a Saturday open mat. I showed up to train and had nothing in the tank. My legs were shot, my rolls were terrible, and I learned a valuable lesson about scheduling.

Copying Bodybuilding or Powerlifting Programs

Programs designed for bodybuilders or powerlifters don’t work well for grapplers. They weren’t designed with your needs in mind.

Bodybuilding programs have too much volume, too much isolation work, and create too much muscle soreness. They’re built for people who only lift weights, not people trying to balance lifting with another demanding sport.

Powerlifting programs focus too heavily on three lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) with very high intensity. The neurological fatigue from constantly lifting near your max doesn’t mix well with hard BJJ training.

Instead, use programs specifically designed for combat athletes or build your own using the principles in this article. Your program should support your grappling, not compete with it for recovery resources.

Ignoring Grip, Neck, and Posterior Chain

Most people walk into gyms and immediately want to bench press and do bicep curls. These aren’t bad exercises, but they’re not the priorities for grapplers.

If you’re skipping deadlifts, you’re making a mistake. If you’re not doing dedicated grip work, you’re making a mistake. If you never train your neck, you’re making a mistake.

These “unglamorous” areas are where your strength work will pay off most on the mats. Nobody cares how much you bench press when you’re getting choked.

Build your program around what actually matters for grappling. Look like a grappler who lifts, not a bodybuilder who occasionally trains BJJ.

Skipping Warm-ups and Mobility Work

Walking into the gym cold and immediately loading up a barbell is asking for injury. Your body needs preparation.

Spend 5-10 minutes doing dynamic warm-up movements before lifting. Get your joints moving, raise your body temperature, and prepare your nervous system for the work ahead.

After training (lifting or BJJ), spend another 5-10 minutes on static stretching and mobility. This helps you recover faster and prevents the tightness that limits your technique.

I used to skip warm-ups completely. “Waste of time,” I thought. Then I strained a hamstring deadlifting without warming up properly. Three weeks of limited training later, I became a warm-up believer.

Don’t be like young, dumb me. Warm up properly every single time.

Training to Failure Regularly

Training to failure means doing reps until you physically cannot complete another one. Some people think this is necessary for gains. For grapplers, it’s usually counterproductive.

Training to failure creates excessive fatigue that interferes with skill training. It also increases injury risk, especially on compound movements.

For most exercises, stop 1-2 reps before failure. You should feel like you could maybe do one or two more reps, but you stop anyway. This is called “leaving reps in the tank.”

The exception: Bodyweight exercises like pull-ups or push-ups, and grip work. These are safer to take to failure occasionally.

Going hard is good. Going so hard you can’t train properly the next day is counterproductive.

Overemphasizing Bench Press While Neglecting Pulling

The bench press has become the default “how strong are you?” exercise in American gym culture. This has created gyms full of people with overdeveloped chests and underdeveloped backs.

For grapplers, this imbalance is particularly problematic. BJJ already involves tons of pulling. Having weak back muscles compared to your chest creates shoulder problems and limits your grappling effectiveness.

Follow this simple rule: For every pressing exercise you do, do at least one and a half to two pulling exercises.

If you bench press or do push-ups, make sure you’re also doing pull-ups, rows, and face pulls. Your shoulders will stay healthier and your BJJ will improve.

Recovery, Nutrition, and Lifestyle Support

Training is only half the equation. Recovery determines whether that training makes you stronger or just breaks you down.

Protein Requirements for Grapplers Who Lift

Protein provides the building blocks your muscles need to repair and grow stronger. When you’re combining BJJ with strength training, your protein needs are higher than average.

Aim for about 0.7-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily. For a 170-pound grappler, that’s roughly 120-170 grams of protein spread throughout the day.

Good protein sources include:

• Chicken, turkey, beef, pork
• Fish and seafood
• Eggs
• Greek yogurt and cottage cheese
• Protein powder (convenient, not necessary)
• Beans and lentils (for plant-based folks)

Don’t stress about hitting exact numbers. Just make sure you’re eating protein at most meals. A palm-sized portion of protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus maybe a post-workout shake or snack, will get you there.

Carbohydrate Needs and Timing

Carbs fuel hard training. BJJ is glycogen-demanding, meaning it burns through your carbohydrate stores quickly. Add lifting to that and you need adequate carbs or your performance suffers.

Don’t fear carbs. They’re not the enemy. Insufficient carbs lead to poor training quality, constant fatigue, and eventually overtraining symptoms.

Pre-training: Eat a meal with carbs and moderate protein 2-3 hours before training, or a lighter snack 30-60 minutes before.

Post-training: Eating carbs with protein after hard sessions helps replenish glycogen and starts the recovery process. This is especially important if you train twice in one day.

Throughout the day: Include carbs at most meals. Rice, potatoes, oats, bread, pasta, and fruit all work great.

How many carbs? It depends on your training volume, bodyweight, and goals. Generally, grapplers who train hard 5-6 days per week need somewhere around 2-4 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight. That’s a wide range because individual needs vary significantly.

Pay attention to how you feel. Constantly tired, weak, and irritable despite sleeping well? You probably need more carbs.

Sleep: The Most Important Training Variable

Sleep is where your body actually gets stronger. Training provides the stimulus, but recovery during sleep is when adaptation happens.

Aim for 7-9 hours nightly, every night. Not just on weekends. Every single night.

Poor sleep leads to:

• Slower recovery between sessions
• Decreased strength and power output
• Worse technique retention
• Higher injury risk
• Compromised immune system
• Generally feeling like garbage

I know sleep isn’t always easy with work, family, and life stress. Do your best. Prioritize it. Turn off screens an hour before bed. Keep your room cool and dark. Develop a consistent sleep schedule.

No supplement, no training program, and no recovery tool comes close to matching the importance of adequate sleep.

Hydration Often Gets Overlooked

You need more water than you think, especially when training hard in both BJJ and the gym.

Dehydration hurts performance, slows recovery, and makes you feel terrible. Your strength drops, your endurance tanks, and your brain gets foggy.

Basic hydration guidelines:

• Drink water consistently throughout the day
• Drink extra before, during, and after training
• If your pee is dark yellow, drink more water
• Clear or light yellow pee means you’re well-hydrated

I aim for about a gallon (128 oz) daily during training periods. More if I’m training twice a day or it’s particularly hot.

Coffee and tea count toward hydration despite popular myths. But plain water should be your primary fluid source.

Active Recovery Strategies

Recovery isn’t just about lying on the couch (though rest days are important too). Active recovery helps you feel better faster.

Light movement: Walking, easy cycling, swimming, or light flow rolling all promote blood flow without adding significant stress.

Mobility work: Yoga, light stretching, or dedicated mobility sessions help work out tightness and maintain range of motion.

Contrast therapy: Alternating between hot and cold (hot tub followed by cold shower, for example) may help reduce muscle soreness. The science is mixed, but many athletes swear by it.

Massage or foam rolling: Both can help reduce muscle tension and feel good. Whether they significantly speed recovery is debatable, but feeling better is valuable by itself.

Schedule at least one active recovery day per week where you do something light instead of training hard.

Supplements Worth Considering

Supplements aren’t magic, but a few have solid research supporting their use for athletes.

Creatine monohydrate: The most researched supplement in existence. It helps with power output, strength gains, and muscle recovery. Five grams daily is the standard dose. It’s cheap, safe, and effective.

Protein powder: Not necessary if you eat enough protein from food, but convenient for busy people. Whey protein is fast-digesting and great post-workout. Casein protein digests slowly and works well before bed.

Omega-3 fatty acids: Help manage inflammation from training. If you don’t eat fatty fish regularly, consider a fish oil supplement.

Vitamin D: Many people are deficient, especially those who train primarily indoors. Vitamin D supports immune function, bone health, and muscle function.

Creatine and protein powder are the two I personally use and recommend most. The others depend on individual needs and diet quality.

Pre- and Post-Workout Fuel

• Before training: a banana and protein shake.
• After training: lean protein with carbs (chicken and rice, or eggs and toast).
  Simple, real food does the job.

Tracking Progress Beyond the Scale

Most people focus on numbers, but in BJJ, progress shows up in performance, not pounds.

Strength Metrics

Track your lifts: more reps, heavier loads, or smoother control under fatigue. Small weekly wins matter.

BJJ-Specific Improvements

• Holding dominant positions longer.
  
• Escaping faster from bottom.
  
• Maintaining grip strength deep into rounds.
  These are real indicators your strength training program for BJJ is paying off.
  

Recovery Signals

Notice how quickly you recover between rolls or how your joints feel after hard sessions. Less soreness means your system is adapting.

Program Adjustments

Reassess every 6–8 weeks. If your lifts plateau or your mat performance dips, tweak your program, add variation or deload for a week.

Special Considerations

Not every grappler trains the same way. Tailor your strength plan to your body, age, and lifestyle.

Training Without a Gym

No access to equipment? No problem. Use bodyweight progressions, resistance bands, or sandbags. You can build serious strength anywhere with creativity.

Women and Older Practitioners

Focus on joint health and controlled intensity. Emphasize mobility, posture, and recovery. Remember, strength training for longevity is the real win.

Weight-Class Athletes

If you compete, aim for neural efficiency, getting stronger without gaining mass. Use low reps (3–6) with clean technique and long rest periods.

Balancing Strength and Conditioning

Strength and cardio aren’t the same. BJJ itself builds conditioning, so lift for power and stability. Alternate strength days with aerobic recovery like cycling or swimming.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Should white belts lift weights?

Absolutely. Start with bodyweight and basic compound lifts. It builds habits that prevent injuries and speed up progress.

Will lifting make me stiff or slow?

Not if you train right. Combine strength work with mobility drills, and you’ll move smoother, not slower.

How often should I lift if I train BJJ five days a week?

Two sessions per week are enough. Focus on full-body movements and recovery.

Is it better to lift before or after class?

Lift after technique sessions or on separate days. Never lift before intense rolling.

Do I need to train differently for competition?

Yes. In camp, reduce lifting volume and prioritize power, speed, and mobility.

Can I build strength without a gym?

Yes. Resistance bands, sandbags, or even gi grips at home can build real strength.

Will lifting hurt my flexibility?

Not if you include stretching and mobility work. Strength training can actually improve flexibility when done through full range of motion.

How long before I notice results?

Usually within 4–6 weeks, you’ll feel stronger grips, better base, and faster escapes.

Conclusion

Strength is the ultimate force multiplier for your BJJ technique. It doesn’t replace skill, it amplifies it.

Start simple: pick four or five functional lifts and train twice a week. Stay consistent, recover properly, and you’ll soon notice your game feeling more powerful and effortless.

Remember, the strongest grapplers aren’t the biggest, they’re the ones who train smart, stay injury-free, and roll with confidence.

Now, it’s your turn. This week, add two strength sessions using exercises from this guide. Your future self on the mats will thank you.