BJJ, or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, is one of the most practiced martial arts globally. As such, many of its trainees report feeling better both mentally and physically. Nonetheless, they also report feeling BJJ is one of the best workouts they’ve ever participated in. So, is it a hard workout?
BJJ is a hard workout because it elevates your heart rate constantly while working on all your large muscle groups; including, chest, back. Legs, shoulders, and arms. That’s also why you can build muscle with it. Finally, you can burn up to 1100 calories per hour of workout, which represents the difficulty.
Because it’s an intense workout, many folks aren’t in their peak shape to deal with it. Therefore, BJJ training betters both your aerobic and anaerobic shape by including various intense exercises.
These exercises are what makes Jiu-Jitsu difficult. But, of course, they’re what makes training extremely enjoyable for trainees. Eventually, you will get addicted to the feeling of completing a workout, as it releases endorphins in your brain.
The one primary benefit trainees report feeling is—having a better physical shape naturally. As you may understand, you don’t have to think too hard about improving your physical condition when doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Instead, it comes naturally into your life.
All you need to do is keep up with your training schedule, which is the task many trainees fail at. If you can show up to training all the time, you’ll notice results and changes in the long and in the short-term.
Before diving into the article, I encourage you to read another article of mine on the best ways to train BJJ at home. By doing so, you’ll also progress outside your local martial arts gym, which will give you a boost.
Is Jiu-Jitsu a hard workout?
Whenever you’re about to attend your next Jiu-Jitsu session, your feelings may change depending on how advanced you are. That happens because it’s an intense workout your body doesn’t want to go through. So, let’s examine whether Jiu-Jitsu is a hard workout.
Jiu-Jitsu is a hard workout since it’s highly intensive and uses your thinking constantly. As a result, after an intense training session, you’ll feel exhausted and ready to recover. In fact, many studies have shown the advanced physical impact the art of ground grappling has on the physical aspect of its practitioners.
How intense the training is—links to how many physical results you’ll notice. Of course, when you’re only starting out, you’ll notice more results, as your body isn’t used to the physical impact it’s getting.
Jiu-Jitsu is, indeed, difficult. Nonetheless, it’s important to mention that martial arts are enjoyable. Meaning, you’re likely to remain eager to continue your training—regardless of your current belt color.
As such, don’t think it’s only hardships and that’s it. No, it really is not. Jiu-Jitsu is enjoyable to the point where you’re likely to get addicted to training. Doesn’t that sound like something you want to achieve? Learning to fight, while bettering your physical self, and while enjoying training.
Sounds like a win-win situation to me.
If you want to keep yourself unharmed, ensure you read the following article I wrote about the most common BJJ injuries. Knowing these will help you in keeping yourself safe while training in the art of grappling.
Is BJJ enough for fitness?
When discussing fitness, everyone wants to constantly better themselves—and that makes total sense. As human beings, we strive for progress; all the time. Now, let’s look at an alternative to traditional fitness advice, whether martial arts, specifically BJJ, is enough for fitness:
BJJ is enough to see physical and fitness improvement because it’ll constantly push your physical and mental limits, which is the key aspect of bettering yourself. For example, many of the training sessions you’ll do will include sparring, which will always remain difficult physically, since they’re intense.
Just look at how intense sparring in Jiu-Jitsu is. Of course, you’ll better your physical shape by constantly participating in similar training sessions.
The primary takeaway from BJJ training is that you’ll always be physically challenged. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced, it doesn’t matter—BJJ will push your physical and mental benefits in every training session. That alone is the cause for constant and guaranteed improvement.
Human beings with solid mental health want to progress in their lives. They set goals and they seek to achieve them. As such, another fantastic way of keeping yourself excited in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu—is to set small milestones.
These small milestones will keep you eager to learn and progress. You’ll be essentially utilizing your seek for progress to stay consistent. Of course, there will come a time when BJJ will become a habit in your life, a positive one. When that happens, you won’t have to worry about giving up, as it’ll be ingrained in your schedule.
How much of a workout is BJJ?
The number of physical benefits you’ll experience from BJJ—is astounding. You’ll be constantly pushing your physical boundaries by involving yourself in the art of ground grappling. Of course, any other martial art applies, since that’s what they do best.
Many BJJ trainees report that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is the best workout they’ve ever had. That’s because of its intense nature combined with the fighting aspect. Meaning, you’ll be able to push your physical limits while fighting against another human being, which alone provides many mental benefits.
The fact is, you’ll sweat a lot while doing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. BJJ is, indeed, an intense workout. It betters your aerobic and anaerobic shape, grows your endurance, and assists in losing body fat.
Moreover, it does all of that while teaching you how to fight fiercely. As such, the next time you’ll stumble upon a self-defense situation, you’ll know how to react. You can follow the link to read more about BJJ and its effectiveness in self-defense.
The truth is, you’ll always be unsure of how the next training session would look like. For example, while one session may involve more slow-learning, another may include spars and be more intense. That’s the variety in the training many practitioners report loving.
If you feel too old to do BJJ, hold up. I wrote an article explaining why Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu has no age limit. I recommend reading it if you think it’s not suitable for you.
How does BJJ change your body?
BJJ is one of the best workouts to change your physical self. Many trainees report feeling as if their bodies are constantly changing. So, here are the changes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu does to your body:
- Losing weight
- Building muscle
- Burning calories
- Staying active
- Better endurance
- Improved aerobic and anaerobic shape
- Better mental health
Of course, the list is longer. Nonetheless, these are the highlights I wanted to mention because these are the benefits most people desire to experience.
First, burning calories is not an actual physical change. However, it is a sign for the fact that the training is intense. Because the training is intense, you’ll be receiving plenty of benefits; the main one is losing body fat.
Other than that, you’ll be improving your aerobic shape and endurance. These two closely correlate to being healthier in the long-term. For example, if you’re in shape, you have fewer chances of experiencing cardiovascular issues.
Regular, daily physical activity can lower the risk of heart disease. Physical activity helps control your weight. It also reduces the chances of developing other conditions that may put a strain on the heart, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.
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As you can see, BJJ positively transforms your body. It’s one of the best workouts you’ll ever do—simply because it’s intense and enjoyable.
I didn’t mention the fact that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn’t about fitness. It originates back to the days of the Samurais. The Samurais wanted to master self-defense if they ended up afoot and weaponless. So, they constructed and mastered a new martial art—today known as BJJ.
So yea, BJJ isn’t about fitness; it’s about self-defense. Because of that, you’ll go through all the physical changes I mentioned while learning to fight.
We can write books about this fact alone.
Final words
To end this article, I want to repeat the last point I made. While this article was about the fitness benefits of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, it’s not its purpose. The Samurais didn’t learn it to have a bulging six-pack abs. Rather, they learned it to know how to fight effectively and elegantly.
As a result, learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu will help you in many ways, both mentally and physically. For example, trainees report feeling more fulfilled ever since they started doing martial arts. Of course, there’s a link between your mental and physical selves; the more one improves, the other will match.
If you enjoyed reading this article, I encourage you to keep reading about the best grappling/BJJ mats for your money. Buying it will help you train at home, which will help you learn and progress faster.