One of my students asked me about extra conditioning for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and I always preface that the most important part of conditioning is your mat time. That has to be priority number one because with a big enough skill difference you can make your opponents work so much harder than you need to. But maybe if you are getting ready for a tournament or are injured and just need to keep in shape here is a protocol I have used for way too long. Taku’s intervals.
Posted by versa climber (a great tool for conditioning) here:
Basically you start with a 15m warmup using the tool of choice followed by:
(Note the versa climber post also has a 4 week beginner program that you can use to ease into it)
Phase 1:
Weeks 1 & 2: 4 x 90 seconds work + 90 seconds recovery
Weeks 3 & 4: 5 x 60 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery
Phase 2:
Weeks 5 & 6: 6 x 45 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery
Weeks 7 & 8: 7 x 30 seconds work + 20 seconds recovery
Phase 3:
Weeks 9 & 10: 8 x 20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery
Weeks 11 & 12: 10 x 20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery
Phase 4 (pre-comp routine only)
https://hybridfitness.wordpress.com/tag/takus-intervals/
Week 1 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 1 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 3X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 2X
Week 2 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 2 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 5X
Week 3 Monday & Friday:
20 seconds work + 10 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 3 Wednesday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds recovery: 10X
Week 4 Monday:
30 seconds work + 60 seconds recovery: 5X
20 seconds work + 40 seconds recovery: 5X
10 seconds work + 30 seconds of recovery: 5X
Increase Mental Toughness
Something judo Olympian Travis Stevens talks about is how anyone can get through a workout. If you want to increase in a way that relates to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and martial arts you need to be putting yourself in match-like headspaces. So instead of just thinking about whatever while you are on the assault bike or letting your mind wander, visualize those match like situations where you are trying to finish a takedown, trying to sweep your opponent or trying to pass their guard and get to a submission. I have found that your conditioning and mental toughness will apply much better to your training in this matter. You won’t be conditioned to find ways out, but rather find yourself focusing harder when things get tough.
Lastly finish these workout with time in the sauna if you have access. I usually shoot for 19 minutes. Sauna’s have a lot of cardio benefits, I think they help with heat exhaustion that can happen if you train in the gi. Also I think they will help a lot with the soreness that comes from doing these workouts.