Last year I wrote this article updating my favorite kettlebell exercises for grapplers.
But I wrote my original list in 2016 when I was a Strong First coach and closely subscribing to their methods.
And while ALL of the exercises in these past lists are still highly valuable, as I’ve grown as a coach so have my preferences for the “best” exercises for BJJ.
I still believe the Turkish Get Up is the ultimate exercises for grapplers, as it’s the Swiss Army knife of kettlebell moves, and if I could only do one, that would be it.
But lately, I’ve found myself gravitating more toward the following exercises, not only for their ability to build strength and muscle, but to improve mobility and resilience at the same time.
Below are the best new high-value kettlebell exercises for grapplers in 2025.
1. Hunter Squat
I’ve written before that the Hunter Squat may be the best squat variation for BJJ that you’re not doing.
I love this one not only for the single leg strength gains, but for the unique demands it puts on your mobility, improving it with every rep.
Not only do you train deep knee and hip flexion, you mobilize the feet in a way that directly translates to better mat performance.
The feet are a hugely overlooked area, and you need strong feet for all sorts of BJJ positions, like guard, takedowns, pinning, and leg locks.
The Hunter Squat also quickly exposes strength and mobility asymmetries between each side, giving you the opportunity to balance them simply by adding it to your routine.
2. Rotational Row
The human body was designed to rotate, and its at the core of all human movement and athletic performance.
But most traditional exercises confine you to the sagittal plane, often restricting any rotation or movement of the non-working area.
While this can be beneficial, there is also massive benefit to adding rotation to your exercises, like strengthening chains of muscles and integrating the body to work together.
That’s exactly what the rotational kettlebell row does.
When done properly you can work the entire posterior chain, including the lat, erectors, and rhomboids, down to the glutes, hamstrings, and even calves.
You can generate much more strength and power when you incorporate the entire body, instead of isolating movements and muscles, which will directly improve your grappling performance.
3. Shin Box Get Up
The Shin Box Get Up combines two essential and very beneficial movements, the Shin Box and the Get Up, together, to form one highly impactful sequence that will take your mat strength and resilience to completely new levels.
The benefits range from better core, hip and shoulder strength, to improved hip mobility, spinal resilience, and better BJJ movement.
You can try this one with a dumbbell or sandbag, but there is nothing like the kettlebell or even double kettlebells to test your limitations here.
I will do a deep dive on this one in the future, but for now, simply grabbing a kettlebell and performing transitions from the Shin Box up to standing will serve you well.
4. Bottoms Up Press
The kettlebell is probably the only tool that offers the benefits of gripping in the “bottoms up” position. The benefits are tremendous for grip strength and irradiation up the chain, lighting up the whole arm.
This concept isn’t new, as coaches have been prescribing bottoms up work for decades now.
But the queue that has been a game changer for me is leading with the elbow when pressing upward. When you keep this the focus, as opposed to driving with the hand, you create space in the posterior rib cage between the shoulder blade and the spine.
Most people have compression in this area, so you can use the bottoms up to relieve that and improve your shoulder mobility while building strength.
Another high value movement that delivers more bang for your buck.
5. Lateral Drop Catch
A few weeks ago I wrote about the importance of the ability to yield to force for resilience. Building strength is just half the equation. Muscles and joints need to be pliable enough to receive force without compensation.
You need this for the dynamics of a sport like jiu-jitsu, where actions can be unpredictable and forces are sudden.
The lateral drop catch teaches your hips to receive forces, while simultaneously improving hip mobility and lateral movement.
I use this one before every workout as a dynamic warmup to prime the hips and body for action.
Plus, it also improves foot mechanics, another highly overlooked area in most training routine.
Final Thoughts
I still perform many of the former kettlebell exercises I listed in previous articles. But for now, I choose to work with the exercise that will deliver the biggest impact in the least amount of time.
This often means exercises that can improve strength, mobility, movement and resilience all in one – which is what these 5 moves do.
These exercises also hit the entire body and could be organized into a complete program themselves.
Hit the Hunter Squat for your single leg strength and mobility, and the lateral drop catch for your glutes and lateral movement.
Superset the Bottoms Up Press and Rotational row for your pushing and pulling, while improving total body mobility.
And finish off core and full body with the Shin Box Get Ups.
These will not only hit every major muscle group, but also move you through all three movement planes while building all of the qualities you need for BJJ resilience.
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