When it comes to taking your grappling skills to the next level you need a good strength and conditioning program. A BJJ player needs to work on all aspects of their physical conditioning. This would include endurance, strength, power, and flexibility. Because of this many people wonder if they should turn to cross-fit for their strength and conditioning. After all, cross fit is about being fit in every aspect of fitness right? But is cross-fit compatible with BJJ?
You can mix cross-fit training and BJJ training if you are interested in competing in both sports. However, if you are simply looking for a way to improve your strength and conditioning for BJJ then I would suggest building a custom program for BJJ instead. Cross fit can be a great workout but it requires a steeper learning curve and can be very taxing to the body.
That said if you like cross-fit and want to do both cross-fit and BJJ you certainly can. All I am saying is that if your singular goal is to get in better shape for BJJ there are probably more efficient and better routes to take. Cross fit is a sport unto itself so naturally, it might take some focus and energy away from BJJ.
In this article, we will cover why cross fit is not the best fit for BJJ, how to incorporate it into your program if you want to, and what might be a more suitable program.
Why Cross Fit Is Not The Best Strength And Conditioning Program For BJJ
Let me be clear, I am not saying that you should not do cross-fit alongside BJJ if you want to. After all, cross fit is a great way to get in shape and many people find it to be very fun and rewarding. All I am saying is that cross-fit workouts are developed to make you better at cross fit, not BJJ. Yes, it will help you to become fit in most aspects of total fitness. That said, it is a sport unto itself so all of the focus is to get you better at competing in cross fit games.
BJJ is also a sport unto itself where an athlete must learn the necessary skills as well as being physically conditioned for the specifics of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Because of this, you do not want to spend unnecessary time acquiring skills needed for cross fit that will not enhance your conditioning for BJJ anymore than a basic program would. With that said here are some of my main reasons against cross-fit for BJJ.
Cross Fit Is Created For Cross Fit Not BJJ
Sure a cross-fit athlete is in pretty darn good shape for just about any athletic activity. After all, it is a sport designed to see who the fittest people on earth are. That being said, cross-fit athletes are in many ways a Jacks of all trades. They are great long-distance runners but not better than those who only focus on long-distance running. They are great at Olympic lifts but not as good as pure Olympic lifters. Cross-fit athletes are great at sprinting but not as good as Olympic sprinters.
Don’t get me wrong they are certainly better than about 99 percent of the general population in just about any physical activity. But they are also not the best in the world at any one activity. They are the best at being the all around the fittest people on earth. With BJJ you need to be fit all around as well but as the other sports mentioned you can create your own routine that is more specific to training for BJJ.
Again if you simply enjoy cross-fit and want to train in both cross-fit and BJJ then be my guest. This is perfectly fine and you can certainly do both. But the only reason you should do both is if you want to do both. That said, if you don’t care much about cross-fit then there are probably better and more efficient programs that are more specifically designed for BJJ.
Too High Of A Risk Of Injury
Listen I am not a cross-fit hater so don’t tune out just yet. I understand that with a good coach you can probably do cross-fit without suffering any major injuries. That said, I do believe that injuries are more common in cross-fit than with a more traditional strength and conditioning program. If your main goal is having plenty of time to practice on the mats then the last thing you want to do is get injured off the mat.
You are going to have to spend enough time off the mats as it is with the injuries you will naturally get when rolling. So the last thing you want is to get injured when exercising. This is especially true if there are safer alternatives that are equally effective.
Cross Fit Is Very Taxing On The Body
Cross fit workouts are very intense and taxing on the body. There is nothing wrong with this if your only goal is to get better at cross fit. However, if you are trying to do cross fit and make it to BJJ class 5 times per week you might overtax your body. This is especially true if you are in your thirties or older.
Sure if you are still 18 years old you might get away with it but it is probably too much. Cross fit is great, but the people who run cross-fit gyms are not thinking about whether or not the workout will cut into your ability to perform well on the mats.
With BJJ you are going to want to periodize your training to make sure you are getting enough recovery time to do your best in BJJ. Or you are going to want to train in a way where you are not so exhausted that it eats into your BJJ training. The point of a good program is to get you stronger and have more energy for BJJ, not to be so exhausted that your performance declines.
Best Strength and Conditioning Programs For BJJ
If you want to develop real-world strength and conditioning that is specific to BJJ then you will need a customized program. This means you will still want to focus on all aspects of strength and conditioning but in a way that is more specific to BJJ. You need to focus on building strength, endurance, power, and flexibility.
The best free resource that goes into depth on creating a good program is on the Juggernaut Training Systems youtube channel. At this time there is a playlist of about 12 videos on strength and conditioning for BJJ on their channel. Here is the first video on the playlist but I would suggest going through all of the videos. Afterward, you will have a good understanding of how you should develop your program.
What If You Want To Do Cross Fit and BJJ?
If you want to do cross fit and BJJ then you of course can. With that said, you will need to figure out which one is the bigger priority. Do you want to be a great cross fit athlete that dabbles in BJJ or a great BJJ athlete who dabbles in cross fit. Or do you want to be somewhere right in the middle.
There is no right or wrong answer but trying to be world-class in both is not going to be realistic. Doing cross fit 3 times per week and BJJ twice a week is probably pretty realistic as far a recovery goes. Doing 5 cross-fit workouts plus 5 BJJ sessions, on the other hand, is a bit less realistic. Not only is this impractical for most people’s schedules but it is also going to be too much to recover from.
Finding the perfect balance for you is going to be a journey you will have to figure out yourself. We are all different and when it comes to how open our schedules are and what we are able to recover from physically. It will take some time to figure out what the right balance is for you. That said, my one recommendation is that you decide which one is more important to you.
If you choose to prioritize BJJ over cross-fit then understand that people who only focus on cross-fit might pass you up. On the other hand, if you choose to prioritize cross-fit, then understand some people might advance in BJJ at a faster pace than you. You can only master so many things in life so figure out what you want to master most and go after it!