Core strength, power, and endurance is essential for effective mat movement and grappling performance.
From sweeps, takedowns, and passes, to attacks, counters, and defenses, your core is at the center of all grappling movement.
While there are many ways to work the core, I generally aim to integrate the core with other areas of the body, as that’s how the core primarily functions, creating and transferring force to the rest of the body.
Some might try to isolate the core, but rarely on the mat do you engage only the core muscles. The core works in tandem with your hips, legs, torso, and arms, which is why these exercises are designed to build core strength and stability while incorporating other body parts to simulate actual grappling movements.
Here are three bodyweight exercises that will improve core strength and resilience, while helping you perform better on the mat.
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Hollow Hold To Turkish Sit Through
The Turkish Get Up is one of the most beneficial exercises any grappler can do. But, it’s generally meant to be done at a slow pace with heavy load.
Training heavy will make your core strong and powerful, as well as your shoulders, hips, and spine, but there is also benefit to unloaded vacations of the Get Up.
Many of us practice the Technical Stand Up as a warmup drill before training, which is an effective mobility exercise and practice of actual mat technique.
The Hollow Hold To Turkish Sit Through has a similar intention, but adds a core focus and more rotation, a vital movement pattern for resilient BJJ.
The Hollow hold builds core stability and strength, while the sit through works the obliques and transverses abodominis.
You’ll get added mobility benefits to the hips and spine, while stabilizing the shoulder when you post.
Aim for fluid, precise movement first, then add speed for a dynamic and functional grappling movement.
2. Tripod Sit Through
I developed this exercise after practicing Bernardo Faria’s half guard sweeps. It became obvious after a few reps that this was a relevant movement for BJJ, yet very few exercises can simulate its mechanics.
Often on the mat we are required to pin or stabilize with our upper bodies while our lower bodies need to shift, transition, and move. Again, this reinforces the importance of rotation.
The upper half is rotating or stabilizing in one direction, while the bottom is rotating to the other.
The Tripod Sit Through simulates this dynamic while keeping the spine in a flexed position, demanding that the rectus contracts while the obliques rotate and the hips twist.
The traditional Sit Through exercises works in a similar way, but when you hold the trip you’ll quickly feel the relevance to pinning and actual grappling movement.
You will also get an isometric contraction through the shoulders, building stability, while holding the tripod.
3. Bear Plank To Lunge
The Bear Plank is an excellent position to build core and shoulder strength and stability. In fact, it’s good enough to practice this one on its own, or maybe add forward, backward, and lateral crawling for even more core benefits.
But when you add the lunge you integrate the legs, hips, and core for a total body exercise that translates directly to the mat.
The one feels like the movements you would make during a takedown or sprawl.
By transitioning from side to side we can effectively train the core, while mobilizing the hips and legs, and preparing the body for actual mat movement.
The trick is not to run through each phase, but be precise and deliberate with your hand and foot placements and transitions.
Remember, slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned, there are many ways to build a strong core, including this and this. But these movements are a way to improve core strength while also improving mat mobility and movement at the same time.
A few rounds of these moves before training will have you loose, mobile, warm and ready to roll.
You can also add them as a finisher after a weight room session, or add them into a dynamic mobility day.
I find these exercises make me feel good, as they stretch the fascia and open the hips, spine, and legs.
Plus, you’ll work nearly every position on the mat with just these 3 exercises. The Turkish Sit Through is your supine position or guard, the Tripod is top position, and the Bear Plank is your takedowns and passing.
Give them a shot and let me know what you think.
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