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BJJ Changes Your Body in the First 60 Days
By Ryan Berry
People come into the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy in Indianapolis, IN for the first time with goals of improving their physical fitness level. Whatever other reason(s) that make the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu appealing to them, it is pretty much a given that they expect to improve their health and physique. They are correct in that assumption and the changes that they were hoping for begin to take effect almost immediately.
It matters little if you are, for instance, a high school aged Indianapolis wrestler who is already in competition level shape or if you are in your mid-forties and your primary exercise for the past few years has been walking briskly. Practicing jiu jitsu will improve on the shape that you are already in when you first arrive.
The first couple of weeks are difficult. Everything is new. People are friendly, but you are slightly overwhelmed by the broad range of talent and experience that the people training in the gym have. Chances are your experience is limited and the detailed moves and techniques seem foreign to you. You may think, “will I ever catch on to all this?” The true test of the first couple weeks is the change that your body goes through. You will be sore. You will know that you are getting your money’s worth, so to speak. Your body is not accustomed yet to that level and type of activity, to that level of health. You are doing wonderful things for your body, and in turn your body hates you for it. You may even find it difficult to sleep all the way through the night in those first couple weeks, due to the soreness. When you have those untimely interruptions in your sleeping patterns, you may find yourself thinking about jiu jitsu. If that happens, you aren’t crazy; you are on the right track!
One of the first and quickest areas that you will see improvements to your body is in your abdominal muscles. A strong core is essential in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, for both safety and improvement.
During warm-ups, our Indianapolis Jiu Jitsu coach will have us do between 50-100 reps of different variations of crunches. Then the real fun begins, because when you are training, your abs get an intense workout without you even knowing it! The good part is that the abdominal muscles recover very quickly, which is why personal trainers say it is okay to do crunches every day. By working the abdominals hard, you will not only improve your jiu jitsu but you will also get a flatter, more defined stomach.
Another thing that improves very quickly is your wind. You will find each week that you are able to train for a little longer and go a little harder. Improving your cardio is always hard-earned, but with jiu jitsu you will find it easy because you won’t be bored like you would be on a treadmill or elliptical machine. You will be focused on the game, the sport, the match, and you will find that your endurance just gets better naturally as you participate.
Finally, you will find that your hand and wrist strength increases rapidly and greatly. While controlling your opponent in the sport a variety of grips must be used on the body and on the gi, and this drastically improves hand strength. You will find that as your hand strength improves it is more difficult for your opponent or training partner to break your grips which allows you to perform more advanced moves and techniques.
These are just some of the quickest, most obvious changes that your body goes through in its jiu jitsu metamorphosis. There are many others occurring as well, as the body gets stronger and healthier every day. Of course, the real transformation takes place in the mind…
By Ryan Berry
People come into the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy in Indianapolis, IN for the first time with goals of improving their physical fitness level. Whatever other reason(s) that make the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu appealing to them, it is pretty much a given that they expect to improve their health and physique. They are correct in that assumption and the changes that they were hoping for begin to take effect almost immediately.
It matters little if you are, for instance, a high school aged Indianapolis wrestler who is already in competition level shape or if you are in your mid-forties and your primary exercise for the past few years has been walking briskly. Practicing jiu jitsu will improve on the shape that you are already in when you first arrive.
The first couple of weeks are difficult. Everything is new. People are friendly, but you are slightly overwhelmed by the broad range of talent and experience that the people training in the gym have. Chances are your experience is limited and the detailed moves and techniques seem foreign to you. You may think, “will I ever catch on to all this?” The true test of the first couple weeks is the change that your body goes through. You will be sore. You will know that you are getting your money’s worth, so to speak. Your body is not accustomed yet to that level and type of activity, to that level of health. You are doing wonderful things for your body, and in turn your body hates you for it. You may even find it difficult to sleep all the way through the night in those first couple weeks, due to the soreness. When you have those untimely interruptions in your sleeping patterns, you may find yourself thinking about jiu jitsu. If that happens, you aren’t crazy; you are on the right track!
One of the first and quickest areas that you will see improvements to your body is in your abdominal muscles. A strong core is essential in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, for both safety and improvement.
During warm-ups, our Indianapolis Jiu Jitsu coach will have us do between 50-100 reps of different variations of crunches. Then the real fun begins, because when you are training, your abs get an intense workout without you even knowing it! The good part is that the abdominal muscles recover very quickly, which is why personal trainers say it is okay to do crunches every day. By working the abdominals hard, you will not only improve your jiu jitsu but you will also get a flatter, more defined stomach.
Another thing that improves very quickly is your wind. You will find each week that you are able to train for a little longer and go a little harder. Improving your cardio is always hard-earned, but with jiu jitsu you will find it easy because you won’t be bored like you would be on a treadmill or elliptical machine. You will be focused on the game, the sport, the match, and you will find that your endurance just gets better naturally as you participate.
Finally, you will find that your hand and wrist strength increases rapidly and greatly. While controlling your opponent in the sport a variety of grips must be used on the body and on the gi, and this drastically improves hand strength. You will find that as your hand strength improves it is more difficult for your opponent or training partner to break your grips which allows you to perform more advanced moves and techniques.
These are just some of the quickest, most obvious changes that your body goes through in its jiu jitsu metamorphosis. There are many others occurring as well, as the body gets stronger and healthier every day. Of course, the real transformation takes place in the mind…
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