As a BJJ beginner (Brazilian Jui-Jitsu), you may feel overwhelmed learning skills, drills, gym culture, and balancing a busier schedule. That’s normal, and most white belts experience similar struggles during their initial learning curve.
Excelling in the Gym
You can take steps in and out of the gym to help you adapt quicker. To excel at BJJ, it’s essential to take excellent care of your mind and body. Check out these practices that will aid in your effort to become a better martial artist.
1. Strength and Conditioning
Strength training and conditioning exercises for BJJ aren’t focused on increasing muscle mass or lifting heavyweights. Instead, the focus is on your overall health and stamina.
Cross-training in the weight room and cardio will increase your body’s tolerance for drills and sparing. Plus, weightlifting has been proven to increase bone density to aid in injury prevention.
The best workouts for BJJ beginners are full-body, low-intensity weight, and cardio exercises. These are easy to do at home with the help of a multi-use workout machine. Bowflex is well known for its full-body workout equipment and high-quality machinery, and you can see all Bowflex products available at Northern Fitness.
2. Consistency
The white belt struggles can feel like they last forever. Like all great things, BJJ takes time and practice to learn. Consistency is essential to excelling in the gym.
Ideally, you’d train two times per week to start and then work your way up to training as often as possible. It’ll be harder to make steady progress when training only once a week or less frequently.
If you can not make it to class often due to your schedule, try working on drills at home and cross-training.
3. Pay Attention to Your Hygiene
Good hygiene practices are crucial to staying healthy and in the gym. Unfortunately, the mat is a breeding ground for infections, ringworm, athlete’s foot, etc. Infections caught on the mat can lead to serious health conditions like MRSA that can leave you hospitalized.
Be sure to shower as soon as possible after leaving the mat and seek medical attention if you suspect an infection. If caught early, antibiotics can quickly clear most infections.
Also, be sure to keep your Gi very clean. Bacteria can live on your uniform and are easily spread from it. A dirty Gi will significantly increase the risk of infection. Deep clean and detox your Gi to remove stains and odors.
4. Stretch to Improve Flexibility
Improving flexibility and mobility will reduce the risk of injury and help your strength and stamina in your skills. Always stretch before and after BJJ sessions to warm up your muscles and tendons and release tension. Consider cross-training with yoga or Pilates to increase your mobility and strength stabilizer muscles.
5. Nutrition
When training and exercising often, you need to look at food as your fuel. You most likely need to eat more than you used to because of the extra burned calories. And be sure to increase your water intake. You know how hot and sweaty it is in the Gi.
Most athletes increase their carbs and protein while training and reduce unhealthy fats from their diet. But the main takeaway is to choose foods that will benefit your exercise instead of slowing you down.
Taking Care of Your Body While Training
As a BJJ beginner, you know the struggles of starting this incredible new hobby. BJJ will be great for your health if you take care of yourself while doing it.
A balanced diet paired with cross-training and BJJ will make you the strongest you have ever been. Be sure to make time for rest and recovery to help your body and mind work better for you. A healthy lifestyle with these practices will help you in BJJ and in your daily life.
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