There is a lot to do off the mats if you want to stay on the mats for as long as possible – strength, mobility, energy systems development, joint conditioning, etc.
But there are three things many grapplers miss when it comes to building resilience for the mats and longevity for jiu jitsu.
The wild thing is that these three things are also the most important if your goal is to train BJJ, injury-free, for as long as you can.
Part of the reason why these things are often overlooked is lack of education, but they also don’t make for flashy, eye-catching social media content.
They’re the routine, behind-the-scenes work you need to commit to if you’re serious about BJJ longevity.
Let’s explore.
1. Rotational Training
I spent a good part of the beginning of 2024 writing about the importance of rotational training, which you can review here and here.
Rotation is the foundation of human movement, as walking, running, and throwing are the primary movements of human beings, and rotation of the spine, ribcage, and hips is the central movement of each.
Rotation is also the main movement in nearly all sports, including grappling.
Yet most athletes spend most of their time lifting weights in straight lines.
You can strengthen your body for resilient grappling with rotational strength training, which improves your durability against forces coming from odd angles, like you experience on the mat.
Stay away from things like Russian Twists (which is the worst rotational move you can do) and swing heavy clubs, which allow you to progressively overload your muscles and joints with rotation from a standing position.
Do rotational workouts at least 3x per week for performance and resilience benefits.
2. Nervous System Management
Very few people consider the effects of regular training on their nervous system. But, everything you do is effected by your CNS.
Weightlifting, conditioning, and certainly sparring stimulates the sympathetic, or fight or flight, nervous system, which activates your stress response. Very few grapplers perform a cooldown after class, which tells your body the fight is over and it’s time to begin the recovery process.
Your parasympathetic, or rest and digest, nervous system is activated during times of recovery, especially while you sleep.
There needs to be a balance between the two for optimal performance and recovery, yet many of us are constantly taxing the sympathetic system with no thought of promoting the other.
Parasympathetic is where the body can heal, but if you’re living in a constant low level state of fight or flight, you are never giving your body the chance to do that.
This is the fast track to fatigue, injury, and pain.
So if you are concerned with longevity, you must consider how to promote parasympathetic recovery.
The best way to do that is through breathing. Breath work, although not glamorous, is the best way to calm the nervous system, promote recovery, and heal.
You should be considering this just as much as your workouts, training, and sparring.
3. FOOT HEALTH
Finally, very few grapplers pay attention to the health of their feet, but they are vitally important for optimal movement, force transference, and proprioception, or the sense of your body’s position and movement.
Most people have tight, rigid feet that don’t function ideally. Poorly functioning feet could lead to compensations up the chain, like a shin that doesn’t fully rotate, or a glute that doesn’t fire to extend the hip correctly.
Your feet send the messages from the ground up the chain to get the rest of the system to do its job.
They need to be able to flatten or pronate to put force into the ground, and lift and supinate to provide stability and leverage.
Jiu jitsu is not performed like traditional field and court sports on the feet, but much of the time on the back, glutes, or from the knees. This, in combination with poor foot maintenance, can contribute to dysfunction, injury, and pain.
Combat that by caring for your feet. Start by rolling out the bottoms of your feet regularly, attempting to extend the toes upward as you do.
I also recommend getting evaluated by a specialist to see if you have any dysfunctions at the feet, but you can also start to mobilize the feet with positions like Seiza. Try sitting with the feet flat on the ground and also the toes tucked under.
The Hunter Squat can also help loosen up the bottom of the feet, and rotational club swinging will work your supination and pronation.
You want strong, mobile and active feet for resilience against foot and leg attacks, but also for resilience and longevity in the total body, as the feet help coordinate optimal function throughout.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There are a lot of things grapplers neglect when it comes to resilience and longevity training, including general mobility work, neck training, and wrist and forearm health.
But the three things listed above are the most important, and will give you the greatest return when it comes to building long term fitness for the mats.
You can start improving these things by learning rotation training here.
Take time after each workout, jiu-jitsu class, and before bed to perform some deep breathing drills. There are a few here.
And begin to pay attention to your feet and start with the one above.
If you want to stay on the mat for as long as possible, these are the things you need to do to ensure that.
WHENEVER YOU’RE READY, THERE ARE 3 WAYS I CAN HELP YOU:
1. Start improving your BJJ durability and performance with the new Foundations of Rotational Strength.
2. Fortify your body for BJJ with this free course on the Grappler’s Get Up.
3. Join the free weekly newsletter here.
