Advice needed for a BJJ'er on complimentary exercise for Squats and Deadlifts.

**BudoMonkey** · Posted On: 7/16/2011 8:26am

Also, traditional weightlifting shouldn't cause you to lose any flexibility if done right. Having good lat strength helps with your clinch. Bicep exercises help prevent the tendons in bicep and shoulder from being weak and subsequently injured. Hamstring curls build strength which helps you in your sprawl and sweeps, etc. There are many benefits one can gain towards their fight game from lifting weights, and flexibility shouldn't be an issue if you stretch properly and don't load on more weight then you can handle.

I would say using those 6 days, to lift weights 4-5 times those 6 days and vary your workouts, incorporating all body groups. Do you think high level mma fighters, ju jitsu compeitors and wrestlers only do squats and dead lifts? Mix it up, bro, there are ALOT of things out there to help your game, build a solid core and tree trunk legs more than just those two exercises.

**Auszi** · Posted On: 7/16/2011 11:56am

Yeah but its just keeping it simple. I am seriously going to be screwed after work. Hence I want just a few major exercises that will do the most for the shortest amount of time, with out creating an imbalance in my body.

My understanding is squats, deadlifts and the overhead press are going to cover that. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I used to work out at the gym quite a lot, didn't work on my legs as much as I should. The Gym is'nt my primary focus, the BJJ is. My arms and chest are already pretty good.

I wont be working out before training either, I am just not that dedicated yet, plus I wont have access to a gym anyway. not to say I wont in the future but right now, I want to keep it very simple.

**BudoMonkey** · Posted On: 7/16/2011 2:35pm

In my opinion, if you have 6 days to weight lift, doing only squats and dead lifts is a surefire way to burn yourself out and exhaust your central nervous system, depending on how many of those days you wish to do this routine. Working on the finer things in between, while allowing yourself some rest from the heavier load squats and deads place upon your core and CNs, will benefit you as well and workouts can be done in a similar amount of time.

Maybe on those six:

Day one: squat hamstrings, dead lift, overhead press
Day two: arms and abs/ core
Next day: full legs, quads, hams, and squats,
Day four: rest
Day five: squats, dead lifts, bent over rows, lat pulldowns, pull ups
Day six: chest and shoulders

That gives you three days squatting and two days of deadlift. Then try my little power clean circuit I posted, one day before training, just to try.

Just a suggestion, do whatever you like

**Auszi** · Posted On: 7/18/2011 11:42pm

Thanks for your suggestion Budo.

Sorry I probably wasn't clear enough, I am working 12 hour days on an 8day roster with 6days off.

I am just trying to find a complimentary lifting program that I can do quickly after work, that will strengthen my balance and core.

I will probably train 3-4 times over those 8 days working.

On my 6 days off, I wont be doing any weights at all. Only training BJJ/Wrestling.

**Res Judicata** · Posted On: 7/20/2011 12:12pm

Where the **** is Emevas?

There's a mix of good and shitty advice in this thread. As an example, the routine BudoMonkey suggested is fine if you want to be a bodybuilder but is not great for an athlete (no offense).

What do you want to accomplish (strength, power, mass, conditioning, weight loss ...?) What is your training age (how long have you been weight training and what have you been doing)?

"Strengthen my balance and core" is not a real goal because (a) balance really can't be trained much, and (b) "core" probably isn't what you really want.

***WhiteShark*** · Posted On: 7/20/2011 12:14pm

If you are planning on competing "tree trunk legs" aren't going to do you a lot of favors as far as weight classes go.

***WhiteShark*** · Posted On: 7/20/2011 12:15pm

You can train the **** out of balance just not with weights. You think tightrope walkers just hoped up there and said, "Wow I'm awesome at this!"

**Kintanon** · Posted On: 7/20/2011 12:20pm

Yeah, balance has a **** ton to do with all of the support muscles in your ankle, knee, and hipflexors as well as abdominal strength in addition to having a well tuned inner ear.
Getting a balance board and using it will help your balance, as will doing something like turning a 2x4 on its edge and standing and walking on it.

Balance is as much a skill as it is an attribute and it can be trained like any other skill.

**Res Judicata** · Posted On: 7/20/2011 1:13pm

It's an exaggeration that you can't train balance/proprioception. But here's the bad news: balance is highly skill specific and there's very little carryover from static exercises (like wobble boards) to dynamic exercises. To put it another way, standing on one leg won't help your uchi mata much. You're better off training the actual activity or the part of the activity that requires the balance.

Tightrope walkers train tightrope walking. They don't train on wobble boards. Unstable surface training has it's place. A very small place, typically rehab/therapy.