Monday, June 13, 2016

The Only Resistance Exercise You Need for Jiu-Jitsu*


*At least from the bottom.

The most fundamental movement in jiu-jitsu for the person on the bottom is the movement to lift the hips up from the mat. Whether bridging to turn a mounted position into top side guard or hipscaping to replace the guard, going from hips down to hips up is as universal a movement as there is in jiu-jitsu, at least from the bottom.

Triangles, technical lifts, hip bump sweeps, back2bellyscapes ... you name it, getting your ass off the ground is a pivotal part of it.

So for folks who like to supplement their jiu-jitsu training with weightlifting, but also want something practical, try out the hip bridge and see how you are moving off your back in a few months. Single leg variations are great for "step on the hip" muscle endurance from the guard, and having strong, tight glutes, quads, and abs is not exactly the worst way to go through life, either. ;)

P.S. Bret Contreras has done some great quantitative work on resistance training. If you lift weights and want to know what actually works to make strong people stronger, check out his "Inside the Muscles" series.