Kettlebell How to maintain/build deadlift strength, train KBs, and BJJ simultaneously?

[Smitty_604]

I hope the KB forum is the appropriate section for this...

I'm switching from doing 5/3/1 with lots of added volume and accessories four times a week to Simple and Sinister in an effort to simplify my training and life. I also got back into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I realized time and energy-wise I won't be able to continue to train with barbells 1.5-2 hours for 4 x a week and do BJJ several times as well. My barbell training was also getting complicated and lengthy and kettlebells have been a simpler switch for me.

My question is: what would be a good way to do BJJ several times a week, S&S (which is what I'm doing) several times a week, and maintain or even slowly continue to build my static barbell strength (specifically deadlift)?

The most important barbell lift for me is my deadlift: (it's my favorite lift, I've been knocking on a 500 lb pull for a few months now, and it seems to be the lift that has the most carryover to grappling). The front squat would be second. I believe benching and pressing can be put on the back-burner as I'll add in some presses to S&S and heavy getups seem to be helping shoulder strength well.

I was thinking of doing BJJ 3x a week, S&S several times a week, and ONE day of barbell lifting where I deadlift and maybe front squat with a 5/3/1 template with no accessories. I realize that I can't go 100% at kettlebells, barbells, and BJJ as the nervous system is a finite cup which shouldn't be redlined by multiple physical endeavors simultaneously.

Any thoughts or perspectives on how best to accomplish this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jeremykots]

Hector Gutierrez has a bunch of info regarding BJJ/strength training on his website

 

[Gravytrain]

Im a 50 year old grappler. On the mats for 11 years now. My experience has been for pure mat strength there is nothing better than S&S. But I tend to lose a bit of muscle just grappling and doing S&S so I like some deads and presses if possible.

By alternating S&S and PTTP every two weeks that fits the bill nicely.

There is also a limit to what a grappler needs in terms of pure strength. And 500 pound deads is past that point imo.

People are just a smidgeon harder to submit if they are very strong. Certainly not worth the time and energy investment if you want to be good at BJJ.

 

[Smitty_604]

Im a 50 year old grappler. On the mats for 11 years now. My experience has been for pure mat strength there is nothing better than S&S. But I tend to lose a bit of muscle just grappling and doing S&S so I like some deads and presses if possible.

By alternating S&S and PTTP every two weeks that fits the bill nicely.

There is also a limit to what a grappler needs in terms of pure strength. And 500 pound deads is past that point imo.

People are just a smidgeon harder to submit if they are very strong. Certainly not worth the time and energy investment if you want to be good at BJJ.

Wow, thanks for the answer! Never thought of alternating S&S with PTTP but that's an awesome idea. And you're right about the static strength eventually reaching a point of diminishing returns in terms of carryover to BJJ (or any other athletic endeavor). I'm well aware that getting my deadlift from 475 to 500 isn't going to make me a better grappler; it's just a goal I've had for a few years now and I don't want to give up on it after getting so close.

 

[Dayz]

Step 1. I'd sort out your BJJ schedule. Nothing more important than sport specific work.

Step 2. Decide how many days you can do extra sessions.

Step 3. Deadlift in 1-2 of those non-BJJ sessions following 5/3/1 or whatever has been working. Possibly use light swings and TGUs as a warm up for deadlift

Step 4. Fill remaining sessions in the week with S&S.

That's how I'd do it!

 

[Steve Freides]

@Smitty_604, another approach is seasonal. Decide to take some time off or easier periodically, e.g., maybe for a month or 6 weeks in the Fall, you don't go to BJJ but you lift a lot, and then you scale back the lifting and focus on your BJJ. Traditional competitors in a lot of sports have seasons - they compete in-season, and focus on other athletic attributes off-season.

-S-

 

[ShawnM]

You can keep doing 5,3,1 and still do BJJ. One thing I have done in the past while training BJJ was to drop to a 2 day a week 5,3,1 plan using pro 5's and 3 x 5 FSL. Press and Deadlift one day and 3-4 days later I would do Squat and Bench. No extras just the four core lifts with pull ups added between sets of Press or Bench. You can add S&S as conditioning at the end.

The biggest decision you need to make is what you want as a priority. These days I train BJJ just as a hobby, if I never get any further it's no big thing, but I'm also turning 49 soon and have a bunch of joint issues. I hope this helps @Smitty_604

 

[Kozushi]

I do judo which is similar to BJJ in a lot of ways, and I do train with some fairly competitive BJJ folks from time to time, and I've competed BJJ before, so I think I can help you a bit here.

S&S is a perfect program of what I'll call "dynamic strength" or "strength in movement", so effectively "athletic strength". Especially, S&S mimics the motions we do all the time in grappling sports. The swings are violent pulls and the getups resemble a whole host of positions like guards and clinches. In BJJ strength is significantly more important than in judo. You have more "base" in BJJ because you're on the ground all the time (or almost all the time) and so the combined strength of your whole body to move and to resist in a great many directions can crush that of weaker opponents. In judo if we lose our balance, we can lose the match, so judo is less strength dependent, but strength still counts a lot. S&S strength is all direction strength. Deadlifting is strength in only one direction.

In any case, I do S&S, and I've just recently got up to doing it all with the 40kg bell. I do it on average probably only 3 times a week. I've also been in the habit of maintaining a "heavy enough" deadlift of 370 lbs by simply picking the bar up for a few sets a week here and there on no fixed schedule. Another judo mate has taken up S&S also, although he found out about it on his own - I never told him I do it! I do judo 3-4 times a week. I have another friend who is a heavy lifter (deadlifted over 600lbs) on our judo team, and he has decided to give up the heavy stuff for more varied exercises involving more movements in more directions. He maintains I think a 320lbs deadlift these days, but does plenty of other things like lunges etc now too.

I don't think the deadlift and swings are versions of one another. There is some overlap but they're different strengths. Swings are violent, deadlifts are heavy, and the movements are of course different and hit different muscles for the most part. The fact that they are different movements is the most importat factor. In any case, you need the varied movements and varied angles of strength of S&S and you don't so much need the single directional strength of deadlifts, although it's okay to have it too!

 

[Alan Mackey]

PttP (deadlift only) Mon-Wed-Fri and the Armor Building Complex Tue-Thu.