One of the first things many people notice when they get into judo is that many judokas are in very good shape. This is entirely understandable as judo is a very physically demanding sport that requires explosive strength. In addition, since judo has weight classes most judokas are very lean and muscular. This makes many people wonder: Will judo get you ripped?
The simple answer is that judo can be a good tool to help you get ripped. However, you will likely also need to follow a good strength training and diet regime as well. Practicing judo alone is likely not enough to get you ripped like many Olympic judokas.
That said, before we get into too much detail, I think it would be appropriate to define what exactly we mean by being ripped. Being ripped would imply that you not only have a sufficient amount of muscle but that you are also lean enough for your muscles to show.
That means for you to truly be ripped you will need to build a good amount of muscle while keeping your body fat at very low levels. Unless you are a heavyweight judo athlete with no weight limit, then being ripped can give you an advantage over your opponents in judo. This is because being ripped will likely give a strength advantage over someone in your weight class that is carrying around extra body fat.
If you are 180lbs of pure muscle and your opponent is 180 pounds with 20 extra pounds of fat they can lose, then you will likely be much stronger and more athletic. So if you want to be a judo player it is probably a good idea to be lean and muscular.
Will Judo Help You Achieve Your Fitness Goals?
As previously stated, the reason why so many judokas get so ripped is that it can give you strength advantage over your opponent. If you are hoping to use judo to help you get fit there are a few things you should understand first.
The first thing I want to say is that judo is a great exercise and is a great way to help you stay in shape. So if you are simply looking for a hobby to help you stay fit then I would highly suggest trying out judo.
However, you should also understand that some of the judokas you see competing at the highest level are very serious athletes. They are rarely if ever achieving that level of fitness by practicing judo alone. They are also incorporating strength training, cardio, and strict dieting to help them become better athletes.
Though judo is a good exercise, the main focus when practicing judo is working on skill and technique. Many of the very fit judokas achieve their bodies outside of the dojo as much or more than they do inside the dojo. So unless you actually care about getting good at judo, then you are probably better off just hitting the gym to achieve your fitness goals.
I am not telling you this to try and talk you out of doing judo to help you achieve your fitness goals. Instead, I am trying to tell you that unless you are actually interested in learning judo for other reasons than fitness, then there are probably easier routes to take. You can simply lift weights and go on a calorie-restricted diet instead.
That said, if you are interested in learning judo for other reasons then it can be an excellent and fun way to burn some extra calories and maybe even build some muscle.
Will Judo Help You Build Muscle?
High-level judokas are some of the most muscular athletes in the world. This makes sense seeing as how the sport requires you to send people flying into the air. But will practicing judo alone help you to achieve more muscle mass?
Well, I think the answer really depends on the person asking the question. That being said, most judokas with a very large amount of muscle likely built this muscle in the gym by following a strength training program. In addition to this, they would follow a diet that is sufficient in protein and calories to supply the needs for muscle growth.
Of course, practicing judo alone can also give your muscles a fair amount of work as well. But is judo alone enough to build muscle? Whether or not judo alone will build muscle very much depends on whether or not you have already built a fair amount of muscle from other forms of exercise.
If you are going from the couch to the dojo then there is a good chance that judo might help you add a fair bit of muscle. On the other hand, if you are regularly going to the gym and lifting weights then practicing judo will likely do very little for helping you to build more muscle.
In fact, if you begin lifting weights less often to make more time for a martial art like judo then you might actually lose a bit of muscle. That said, it really depends on where you are starting from. Either way, judo alone will only build muscle up to a certain point. After that, you will need to incorporate more strength training to continue to build muscle.
What should understand is that if you want to become a high-level judo competitor then you will need to be spending plenty of time in both the dojo and the weight room. Think of exercise as a way to make you a better athlete for judo instead of hoping judo will help you become a better athlete.
Of course, if you are not exercising at all then judo is undoubtedly a great way to help you burn some extra calories and maybe even put on some muscle. If so, getting started in some form of exercise like judo is a good idea.
Building Muscle For Judo
If you want to build muscle to help you become a better judo athlete you will need a good plan. There are a ton of good strength training plans to choose from. However, there are just as many terrible ones to choose from as well.
The first thing you need to figure out is how many days per week you will have time for strength training. After all, you will still need to spend plenty of time practicing judo as well.
My suggestions would be to try and strength train 3-4 days per week. Though you can also get decent results by training hard only twice per week. Don’t do cut your judo training down for an extra day in the gym.
If you only train twice per week I would highly suggest training doing full-body workouts. These workouts need to be hard and focused on compound movements like different forms of squats, deadlifts, bench presses, shoulder presses, rows, and pullups.
You only have so much time at the gym so don’t waste it on sculpting your calves with calf raises. The fewer times you can go to the gym the more you will want to focus on how much effort you are putting into each set of your workout.
If you can work out three times per week you will also want to focus on the compound movements as well. If you are a beginner or intermediate you should probably still do full-body workouts. Though you can switch it up by rotating between an upper-body day and a lower body day or doing another split workout.
If you are working out four or more days you will definitely want to split a split workout. I would suggest an upper body/ lower body split. You should still focus on compound movements but might be able to throw in a few accessory exercises as well.
Focus On Progressive Overload
No matter what route you choose, you need to focus on progressive overload. In simple terms, this simply means you are gradually increasing the amount of weight you are lifting or the number of reps from workout to workout. Not that this will happen with every workout but you must strive to keep progressing.
So if you go to the gym and do 5 sets of bench press at 150 lbs for 5 reps, then next time you will want to increase the weight to 155 for five sets of five or try to get more reps than last time for each set. Maybe you go from 5/5/5/5/5 on the previous workout to 7/6/5/5/5 on the next workout.
If you are newer to lifting weights you will likely be able to add weight each workout for quite some time. At a certain point this will slow down however and you will want to focus more on just getting an extra rep or two. It is easier to add a rep than to add 5 lbs. Once you build up to a few more reps on each set, then you can add weight and start over.
Adjusting Your Calories and Protein For Building Muscle
At the end of the day, the goal is to be muscular and lean for judo. That said, if you are trying to build muscle then you will need the fuel to produce the muscle growth. Or simply put you will need enough protein and calories.
That said, you don’t want to eat so much that you gain unwanted fat. This would be counterproductive when trying to get ripped for judo. You will however need enough calories and protein to promote the growth.
That said, you will want to do what is called a lean bulk. Simply put, you are simply trying to put on the least amount of fat as possible while adding muscle. My suggestion would be to eat one gram of protein per pound of body weight and about 200 calories over your maintenance calories.
Your maintenance calories are the number of calories it takes to maintain your current body weight. For most people, it is somewhere between 13-16 times your body weight. For lean active people, it is on the high end, and for out of shape sedentary people it is on the low end. You can also get help figuring it out through an app like my fitness pal or an online calorie calculator.
That said if you are on the sedentary and out of shape end of the spectrum, I would suggest you get lean first. Either way, you should still focus on strength training whether trying to lose fat or gain muscle. This brings up another good question. Does judo help you burn fat?
Will Judo Help You Lose Fat?
Getting ripped is not simply having a large amount of muscle. Instead, it is having a good amount of muscle with low enough body fat levels to see muscle definition. So if you want to get ripped you will likely need to lose some body fat. This might make you wonder if judo itself can help you shed some pounds.
The simple answer is yes, practicing judo can help you burn some extra calories and lose some fat. After all, losing weight is all about burning more calories than you consume. That said, exercise alone is often not enough for someone to achieve very low body fat levels.
In addition to judo and other forms of exercise, you will need to also follow a strict diet that is high in protein but contains fewer calories than you will burn in a day. A good rule of thumb is to consume at least one gram of protein per pound of goal body weight. So if you are 200 lbs and would like to get down to 180 then I would suggest getting about 180 grams of protein per day at the very least.
Figuring out the number of calories that you need to consume is a bit more complicated. Depending on your metabolic rate, leanness, and activity levels, most people’s maintenance calories are somewhere between 13-16 times their body weight in pounds.
Mataintenece calories are simply the number of calories it takes to maintain your current body weight. So a 200lb person’s maintenance calories are likely somewhere between 2600-3200 calories per day. If you are lean and active your maintenance is likely at the higher end.
On the other hand, if you are sedentary and out of shape, your maintenance is likely closer to the lower end. Of course, your maintenance calories might be outside of these averages. The only real way to find out is to find a place to start and track your progress.
You can also find a calorie calculator online to help you figure out these numbers. That said, no calculator is going to be perfect but it can help you get close. When using the calculator simply consider a day of judo practice as one day of exercise.
Calculating the Numbers For Fat Loss
Once you figure out your maintenance calories then you will simply want to consume fewer calories than your maintenance. To lose one pound per week you will need to reduce your calories by roughly 500 per day. For 2 lbs per week, you will need to cut your calories by 1000 per day under maintenance.
Just remember to eat plenty of protein so that the majority of the weight you lose will be from body fat. In addition, you will also want to incorporate strength training as well. With plenty of protein and strength training, you improve your chances of keeping muscle on a calorie-restricted diet.
As far as calculating a good target fat loss rate I would simply advise losing anywhere from .5-1 percent of body weight per week. Any faster and you will increase your chances of losing muscle and hurting performance in judo. Any slower will likely cause you to lose motivation. So a 200 lb person should aim to lose 1-2 pounds per week.
In Summary
Does judo get you ripped? Well as you can see it is a bit of a complicated answer. It can be a good tool to help you burn some extra calories but It probably won’t make you look like a fitness model without a good diet and workout plan.
So focus on getting lean and muscular outside of the dojo by focusing on your diet and workouts. If you are already lean I suggest trying to add some muscle. If you have some fat to lose then I would focus on losing fat first.