Central New Jersey (NJ) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) - Monmouth County - Red Bank - 9 Best Exercises for MMA by Scott Spencer

Author: Scott Spencer
From a post on old JerseyShoreBJJ.com Forum

MMA and BJJ require a strong healthy body. But most of the info people know about exercise comes from the goal of looking good. Nothing wrong with looking good but thats not the best way to train to win a fight. Alot of the exercise people do are bodybuidling exercises and produce pretty muscles but do little to help you on the mat. Also the cardio people do will have little effect on the mat. It might, and i stress might, help you shed some fat but as soon as you roll for 1 minute you'll see its not helping you.

So what kind of exercise best helps in a fight? Functional free weight exercise. Barbells, dumbbells, kettle bells and some cable exercises. Here is my list of favorite exercises that have a high carry over to MMA and BJJ.

1. Deadlifts
This exercise works all the muscle you would use to pick someone up as in a double leg. The prime movers are the Hip, Hamstrings, Butt, and low back muscles. But you also have secondary muscles of the Thighs, core, grip/hands, and upper back. this exercise not only helps in lifting in a takedown but also in all your pulling motions and any type of hip thrusting motion like an Upa. I put this at the top of my list because its such a total body exercise. There are several ways to do deadlifts: barbell, dumbell, hex bar, or cables.

2. Bar Dips
This is a pressing motion that helps with all your puncing and pushing motions. I personally believe this the best upper body exercise from a bodybuilding stand point. Aurthor Jones, founder of Nautilus, used to call it the "upper body squat". If you want a good upper body, do dip...hard! It a great chest and tricep workout but also great on the shoulders and upper back. Many of my client notice soreness in their shoulders after a dip workout. This will also give you thickness to your chest giving you a barell look. No bird chest in jersey shore Bjj! Once you really get good at them try doing it with weight hanging around you waist. Then when you get really, really good try doing it on the olympic rings!

3. Chin ups/pull ups
You know if i put dips in i had to put Chin ups in. This works your back muscles like nothing else. It also is great for arm strength and grip strength. And believe it or not it a great abdominal workout. When i first give it to clients thats what they feel the most. So again you get several benefits from this exercise....like all the exercises on this list. I prefer to do my with my palms facing me. More arm work there. But you can do it the other way also. Try doing them on the rings for a totally diffrent feel. A good grip workout is to try to do Towel pull ups. Hang to towels over the bar and grab them...proceed to chin. Good luck getting 10.

4. Squat
Probably the single best exercise for getting you in shape. You work the largest muscles in the body, along with a host of other suporting muscles. This gives you a huge stimulus for producing results. You cant compare other leg exercises or machines to the squat. A set of leg extensions might burn but you wont breath hard like a hard set of squats will do. Working that much muscles intensly will make your body release large amounts of good hormones that will make your whole body grow. Back squats are my favorite but you can also try front squats, dumbbells or kettlebells.

5. Bent over Rows.
One of the first parts i felt sore after i started training was my middle back. When you grab someones lapel and pull it in to you it takes alot of back work. I felt it right between my shoulder blades. Bent over rows will hit this same area. Also doing it from a standing position without a chest support is ever better. You get some lower back work. You probably will be bent over and pulling in class any way. So get ready for it. I like to use a parellel grip because that simular to what you use on the mat. But a straight bar is good too. dumbbells can be used one or two hands at a time.

6. Military press/ Shoulder Press
This one should be done from a standing position to get the best benefits out of it. It works your shoulders, triceps, upper back and core. These muscles from a standing position, are where your punching power partly comes from. Not from a bench press! A Bench press has you pushing straight out from you body. Stand up and do a jab. When you are is all the way out, hold it there and stand up staight. Look where you hand is. Its in an over head position like a incline bench press or Military press. Now your leg and chest strength also help with a punch but overhead pressing is important. Using dumbbells or barbells is great. Kettlebells give a unique feel and result to these. Especially upside down press where the round part is point up in the air.

7. Lunges
My third leg exercise. It mimics the postion of a sprawl but also works the legs in a position simular to alot of moves like punching and shooting in. the main muscles worked are the leg and butt. Its a great butt exercise, best in my book. Walking lunge with dumbbells will work your cardio along with your legs.

8. Power Cleans
This develops power pulling motions in the hips and arms. It can be done with a barbell, dumbbell or best yet kettle bells. Lots of kettlebell movements are based around explosively lifting the weight up. This will you some power and snap to your lifts, tackdowns, punchs, kicks and even your mat moves. These take a little learning to do correctly but they are well worth it.

9. Olympic Ring Push up.
Simular to a regular push up but you put your hands in the rings. Youcan also put your feet up on a bench. Actually you can do them with out the rings too. You just need some of those cable crossover handles and some chains to attach them to a bar. This is by far one of the hardest exercises I have ever done. Not only do you work your chest, shoulders and triceps but you stomach will feel like you just did a set of crunches after ever set. These kill in a good way. they also require lots of stability in you shoulders and core.

So there you have it. Pick one exercise for Legs, one pushing and one pulling. Do 3 good sets of 8-12 reps each. Then in the next workout pick another 3 and do the same. Try that 2 times a week and see how you do. You could also try to do more sets (5) and lower reps (3-5) to build strength more than size.