@Bigbear says he has a plan so I'll selfishly derail with a specific on topic question.
OGJJ I think you've trained JJ for longer than anyone I know on the boards, from your experience would a guy who has modest bodybuilding goals be advised to train abs and neck in the gym or using Bigbear's schedule as an example would you leave them alone?
I'm a huge advocate of neck training. For everyone but especially contact athletes, if for nothing more than injury prevention. I'd usually put it in to any program I write but any type of grappling gives me reason to pause. I'm also aware that group sessions often do specific neck exercises as part of the class. I'm not big on ab training if they are being worked through other means, normally I'd mean putting big weight through your spine but grappling of any sort always will engage them too. (competitive bber's are an exception to all of that)
Yes, I am old....this will be my 25th year training jitz (14th as a blackbelt)...plus 9 years judo prior to that and 4-5 years boxing prior to that. Been training combat sport practically my whole life. That said i think
@Bagua been training martial arts longer.
Very good points - lifting for me is about balance. You
over use a ton of muscles grappling (grips, neck, posterior chain, abductors, groin) and
under use others (chest, shoulders, quads, lower back). My training is focused on maintaining balance with all the muscles to prevent injury, maintain a required level of strength and lets be honest to look athletic.
Neck - in the gym i don't do any specific neck work (outside the upper back benefits from barbell squats and deadlifts). I don't know any seasoned grappler without neck issues...someone is always pulling, hanging from or trying to choke you neck. (My C3-C4 are practically fused together with tons of supraspinatus issues). My priority for neck is to invest heavily in mobility work, message and chiro. We do bridge and other neck work during jiu jitsu warmups
Abs - The whole core gets over used tons during jiu jitsu so in the gym i don't do anything additional outside proper bracing during all barbell and dumbbell work. to manage fatigue i do strategically use some machines but i am conscious to primarily focus on free weights. For example, i will pre-fatigue the legs with leg press but then i will go straight to barbell back squats,, trap bar deadlifts, etc.
Grips - my hands are an arthritic mess from Jitz (especially gi). In the gym i do use straps...they don't need more work...they need less. My grips are like steel though...its the number one comment when people train with me. And you only get that from sparring and drilling for many many years. (its the old man strenght)
Strength training - Powerlifting has limited benefits for jiu jitsu. 5x5 training for example is a waist of time (unnecessary fatigue and high risk of injury to the joints.) You need to be strong enough so you are not at a disadvantage but you also don't need to be the strongest. Jitz is about time under tension. a 5 minute sparring session is continuous tension with multiple shorts bouts of explosiveness. that is why my lifting tempo is always 1-4 with a full one second pause at the bottom. And my rep range is 10 -15 reps for upper body and 12-20 reps for lower. And i only take 1:15 seconds between sets for large muscles and 60 seconds for small. Number of sets is also a factor...anytime i did a full hypertrophy work out with like 10-20 sets per muscle group...i ALWAYS tweaked that muscle next day at jiu jitsu...it was just too "tore down" to perform the way i need it too.
Conditioning - outside walking the dogs twice daily, i never do cardio. Jitz is my cardio. the only way to get in condition for jiu jitsu sparring is to spar. Bike, running, etc just does not translate to cardio benefit at Jitz. To get better at a sport you have to do the sport.
my two cents. Great topic for all sports...not just jiu jitsu.
PS - over training is part of the sport...its hell on the nervous system and joints. I can be smart but it can't be avoided. Usually you are in peak condition when it strikes.
