This kettlebell flow for BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) comes from Juan Pellot, a BJJ athlete and one of my kettlebell coaches from NYC.

There are several things that I love about this flow:

• Usually when going down from an overhead position people usually use a reverse lunge pattern. But Juan actually steps back into an overhead squat, making this flow much more difficult. Not many people possess good overhead squat skills and BJJ players are no exception. If you don’t have a great overhead squat please feel free to use a reverse lunge in place of.
• The way Juan lowers the kettlebell completely to his side and drives through is heel as he presses. Please notice that shin angle as he presses. Rickson Gracie talks a lot about that shin angle during escapes- much stronger and more effective than a vertical shin.
• The bottoms-up clean from the 1/2 kneeling position- Love it! Great for grip strength and shoulder stability, core gets activated nicely as well.
• Vertical Snatches, what I can say? That’s my default kettlebell snatch variation.

For some athletes we go no further than a simple kettlebell swing. For other BJJ athletes we get quite a bit outside the box and actually take our kettlebell training onto the mats.

One of my favorite positions to work is half (1/2) kneeling. You can combine many kettlebell exercises into beautiful kettlebell flows for BJJ from 1/2 kneeling.

Here are 4 cool kettlebell press variations from the 1/2 kneeling position for BJJ:

1/2 Kneeling Clean & Press

1/2 Kneeling Screw Press

1/2 Kneeling Screw Press to Hand

1/2 Kneeling Screw Press to Elbow

Here are some other Kettlebell Training for BJJ Videos:

Kettlebell Flow for BJJ

Being a blog based on BJJ Workouts I love to point out training methods from outside BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.) Judo and BJJ are so related that I do not actually consider them different arts, but rather a different emphasis, Judo being the throw, BJJ being the groundwork.

Things I love about this video:

1. Outdoor training for an indoor sport. Training outdoors is awesome. Taking your BJJ workouts and Judo training outdoors is even more awesome. and it doesn’t have to be based on strength and conditioning. These Judo athletes actually take their skill work outside as well as their conditioning.

2. Team training. They run together, do outdoor conditioning together,jump uphill, over obstacles etc..play in the woods.

3.Training barefoot…again, outdoors. This video was shot well before the current barefoot trend. Training barefoot creates a smarter foot, hip and knee complex helping reduce injuries. I know one BJJ athlete that claims that all his knee injuries disappeared once he started spending more time with his shoes off. I suggest you do the same.

One day I will have an outdoor BJJ/Judo dojo. One day you will be invited!

Check out this other awesome BJJ conditioning post for some more unique training ideas…this time from Mother Russia.

Chris is always awesome but he was super awesome one afternoon when he came in to train and instead helped me and Josh Vogel film Leverage:First Blood.

He wanted to be successful and have a great program but he felt that
most of the information floating around online is too advanced.

He’s not alone. I receive emails all the time asking for basic BUT comprehensive
Kettlebell and BJJ information. So many in fact that I had to answer the call.

That’s exactly why I’m releasing Leverage: First Blood.

Go here to see all the details in full color:

Leverage: First Blood

I teamed up with my BJJ coach Josh Vogel who happens to be a BJJ wizard and a huge fan of kettlebell training. Combined we’re delivering a 6-week coaching course covering all the basics from a conceptual and physical perspective.

Here’s what we cover on each module:

Whether you’re a beginner or just want to deepen your understanding of basic BJJ
and kettlebell techniques Leverage: First Blood is an excellent resource.

Pavel teaches Power Breathing during strength exercises like presses and deadlifts but you can use it for almost anything including BJJ submissions.

Below, BJJ Brown belt and nerd (I mean that is a good way) Josh Vogel show’s how you how to paint that mat the color pain using power breathing during your submissions.

Please try it out and report back.

Quick Note: Make sure you watch the very last technique…it’s the most effective and very dangerous so please pay attention to the details.

These are my top 4 Conditioning Secrets Every BJJ player Should Know that I gathered from my years of being a book work and from my years of experience working with BJJ players.

I started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 1997 and since then I have helped hundreds of BJJ players get the most out of their training on AND off the mat.

1.Your program should be Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Relevant but athlete specific. I first heard this tip from Vern Gambetta and it was like a huge light bulb went off in my head.

For years all we heard about was sport-specific conditioning, BJJ specific conditioning etc…But we never really heard anything about making the program specific to you, the athlete.

One thing that I gathered from working with so many BJJ players is that it attracts some very unique individuals. Some with a ton of training history and no job and some with absolutely none. some had all day to train and others only had 15 minutes per day due to work and family obligations. To give these athletes the same program simply wouldn’t make sense or work.

And this isn’t even addressing injuries past and present.

So although your conditioning plan should revolve around your BJJ needs and goals it should be specific to you and your training history, your injury profile, your time commitments etc…

2. “Although 2 athletes are playing the same sport, they can me playing dramatically different games…” This is another gem from Vern Gambetta.

This point goes hand-in-hand with #1. Your conditioning needs reflect your BJJ game and your style of play, your favorite positions and submissions.

If you’re a rubber guard specialist your flexibility requirements are much different than someone that passes the guard and stays in side-control the entire match.

There are times when GPP or General Physical Preparation is the most important aspect of your conditioning and many athletes will be doing the same exercises but that does not dismiss your need to work on your game’s unique positions and tactics.

3. Strength and Conditioning really boils down to creating ” Movement Potential.” I got this from Pavel Tsatsouline. A successful program only has two goals…creating movement potential and realizing that movement potential.

You create the potential in your training on and off the mat and then you realize that potential in your actual matches.

Get strong in the gym and do some crazy Russian pick-ups on the mat. No better feeling in the world.

4. “If something is important do it everyday, if its not, don’t do it at all.” I’m stealing this directly from the god-like Dan Gable. This not only applies to your BJJ conditioning but your life in general. If flexibility is important than do some stretching every day. Enough said. Now STFU and Train.

When I’m trying to lose a few extra pounds, by far my favorite type of exercise is just plain old rolling (aka training) in BJJ or any kind of grappling (including judo). It’s fun, so I can do it for a long time, and that’s the key to any good cardio program. It has to be fun. That’s why I love kettlebell training for BJJ as well. They are so much more fun than regular weights!

However, if I want to get to that 170-180 bpm heart rate that’s an indication that you are truly working hard, I can always count on the treadmill. The nice thing about the treadmill is that it does all the “intellectual” work for you. All you have to do is run fast enough not to fall off.

So my favorite program is run at 12 mph for a minute and then jog at 4-6 mph for a minute. Do that back and forth for 15 to 20 sets until I have to puke or I’m so thoroughly soaked in sweat that the people running on treadmills next to me start to look concerned.

Here’s a video a friend of mine shot today of me running at 12 mph. This is the first time I’ve ever seen myself run, and 12 mph looks a lot slower and a lot easier than it feels.

I love this quote from BJJ Blackbelt Mario Roberto as it sums up the importance of grip training for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Sambo and all grappling arts quite well.

These are just some of the tools we use. Our newest edition is the Grenade Balls which lowered my pull-up numbers more than I care to admit.

P.S. I mention a secret word when discussing one of the tools. Can you guess what it is? I actually do not condone this little secret.

Related post on BJJ Grip training:

Grapple Grip Training
Leverage Presses for BJJ

I love stepping off the beaten path from time to time and don’t always consider it a waste of time but I’m going to make four assumptions about your workouts for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:

*You want to get the most out of your body.

*You want to get the most out of your training on AND off the mat.

*You want your workouts to compliment your BJJ training and NOT take away from it in any way.

*You want the greatest impact from your training when you actually have the time to train and…

With those 4 assumptions in mind I’d like to highlight some of the most common mistakes that I see BJJ players make in their conditioning plans. In no particular order by the way, as these may manifest differently for you and from athlete to athlete.

1. Devoting too much time to strength & conditioning: I know this is a weird one coming from a strength and conditioning coach but here me out. I truly believe that if you want to succeed at a sport then you must spend most of your time actually training that sport, upwards of 70-80% of your time should be spent on that mat mastering the basics and working on the technical skills you need for your BJJ game.

The other 20% of your time could be devoted to strength & conditioning and corrective exercises, injury prevention and reduction etc…

So, in case you’re not good with percentages, if you had 10 hours per week to train, 8 of those should consist of actual BJJ training, technical and tactical. 2 hours of your week would be supplemental strength & conditioning work. And that can further divided into shorter sessions over the course of the week etc…15 minutes before work, 15 minutes during a lunch hour. Your supplemental work does not need to be done all in one session.

Quick note: If you’re a re-creational BJJ player those percentages can completely change and disappear all-together. I know many people that use their time on the mats as their only workout and have no desire for additional training. There’s not one thing wrong with this unless (and it’s very probable) that imbalances occur. At that point they seek out some additional training but only enough to help correct the imbalance and speed recovery.

2. Getting too sport specific: I learned this term from Vern Gambetta “Athlete Specific- Sport Relevant. “ and I love it. Your athletic development program should be specific to you and relevant to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Unless you’re nearing a competition there’s no need to have your work and rest ratios to mimic a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu match. There’s no need to continuously stress the same movement patterns as in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. You’re getting enough of that on the mat. Save that stuff for when you’re in the top 3% of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitors.

3. Choosing the wrong exercises: This one is closely related to my last point. Since you’re only devoted around 20% of your training to strength and conditioning you better be choosing exercises that have the greatest impact on the physical attribute you’re trying to develop.

As in BJJ, the basics work best, deadlifts, squats, presses, rows and pull-ups. If you bore easily you can apply the “Same but Different” principle. Instead of pull-ups use gi pull-ups or mixed grip chin-ups. Instead of bench presses hit some incline dumbbell presses…you get the point.

4. Always working your strengths: Don’t be that guy that bench press 600lb but can’t wipe his pooper. You are not a powerlifter and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is one sport that requires several physical attributes to have fun and be successful…agility, mobility, flexibility, endurance etc…

If you know you’re lacking big-time in one area spend some time bringing it up to acceptable levels.

5. Not having fun: This one is hard for me to understand. It’s 2012, you have more options than ever before to get in-shape. Don’t suffer through some class that you absolutely hate. There’s no need to. Find something that makes you come to life and go for it. Don’t like yoga? There are other ways to get flexible. Don’t like weight training? I know some beast that do nothing but bodyweight training. Cool? Cool.

Think of anything else? Let me know below!