Fitness vs. Performance | Which Is Best For BJJ?

There is a massive difference between improving your fitness and performance for grappling.

In 2023, I moved from Sydney, Australia, to a small country town in the middle of Sweden.

I went from training 6-10 BJJ sessions to 2 sessions per week.

I saw a severe reduction in my mat fitness, conditioning, and ability to roll and train hard.

The reality of my decline slapped me in the face when I competed in Sweden after living there for around 6 months. I was gassed out after my first match; I hadn't felt that way since white belt.

In contrast, I competed in a tournament in Sydney weeks before I moved. I easily lasted 12 matches, winning all three of my divisions.

Was my dramatic drop in performance because of a loss in fitness?

OR was it because I:

• I lost mat fitness because I wasn't training as much jiu-jitsu
• My movement efficiency and technique suffered
• My strength and power suffered due to the disruption of routine and general laziness
• I wasn't lifting as often or with as much focus
• I got fat by eating too many Swedish meatballs and lingonberries

Yes to all of the above.

This highlights the difference between optimising for physical fitness and optimising for holistic sports performance.

Fitness in Jiu-Jitsu

The gold standard metric for measuring physical fitness is VO2 Max.

VO2 Max is your maximum oxygen consumption rate during exercise, or in other words, your peak physical output capacity.

You cannot use VO2 max as an indicator of performance for grapplers; it is only an indicator of physical fitness. 

Research on jiu-jitsu athletes shows that the average heart rate (HR) reached during 6-minute intense BJJ rolls is 85% of max HR. This high, sustained HR suggests that the athletes are training at a high enough intensity and duration to improve their VO2 max.

To see VO2 max improvements, training at 85-95% of max HR for 3-8 minutes is required.

At first glance, this means the best way to improve your cardio fitness for BJJ is to train more BJJ.

But that's not the case.

Despite the HR data observed during sparring, the actual VO2 max of the athletes was quite low and not at all where it should have been.

This research, by Norwegian PhD candidate Karsten Øvretveit, suggests that the nature of BJJ itself may impose a ceiling effect on VO2 max improvements from BJJ sparring (despite the HR data).

He suggests that the following factors may limit VO2 max improvements:

• The stop-start nature of BJJ sparring
• The high volume of low-intensity work
• Lack of sustained work at high intensity (3-8 minutes of sustained high output seen in VO2 max conditioning sessions)
• Isometric muscle contractions
• The effects of gravity limiting cardiovascular improvements (grappling takes place on the ground/supine)
• Jiu-jitsu practitioners deploy energy-conversing tactics and techniques

If VO2 max was a key indicator of success on the mats, then the physical demands of the sport would improve your VO2 max.

But this is the wrong conclusion to draw.

Øvretveit puts it best in his research paper on the topic:

"Because subjects with a VO2 max in the range of BJJ athletes appear mainly limited by oxygen supply, aerobic conditioning should focus on improvements in oxygen transport. Considering the apparent ceiling effect of BJJ on aerobic adaptations, opting for BJJ-based interval training at the cost of more appropriately designed modalities is a suboptimal aerobic conditioning strategy."

My translation:

"Doing more BJJ will not make you fitter for BJJ..."

This conclusion was reversed when I stopped training as much as BJJ when I lived in Sweden. It's not that my VO2 max had substantially reduced (I have my VO2 max data to prove it); if anything, it was the same or better. What had reduced was my overall grappling performance.

Grappling Performance and How To Improve It

Grappling performance is an all-encompassing term that takes into consideration your:

• Technical Ability
• Strength
• Maximal Power Output
• Explosive Speed and Agility
• Jiu-Jitsu Gas Tank (mat fitness)
• Mobility & Stability
• Physical Fitness

Although important, physical fitness is not an indicator of performance alone.

Take your jiu-jitsu gas tank (mat fitness), for example. You could conflate physical fitness (VO2 max) with your jiu-jitsu gas tank. Still, it's only one element of your ability to sustain a high output on the mats.

The 3 components that make up your jiu-jitsu gas tank are:

1. Technique efficiency
2. Movement efficiency
3. Cardiovascular fitness (physical fitness)

When trying to improve your grappling performance, 5km runs will only move the needle a little.

It's the same when you want to get strong for jiu-jitsu; following a powerlifting program is the wrong approach.

To improve your grappling performance, you must take a systematic approach to enhancing every aspect of it. 

I recommend beginning with your weaknesses:

• Do you feel physically weak on the mats? Follow a strength and power program (2-3 days per week).
• Do you gas out quickly? Focus on your jiu-jitsu gas tank.
• Do you want to work out to support your BJJ, but you don't have time? Do fast, efficient workouts that actually do something.
• Are your hips so tight that you can't get your knees to your chest? Focus on hip and hip flexor mobility drills and strengthening exercises.
• Are you addressing your core, grip carry and rotation? If not, fix it.
• Do you lack the explosive power required to secure takedowns and escape bad positions? Follow a systems-based approach to power training that includes speed-strength and strength-speed movements.
• Do you need help to efficiently perform the techniques you're learning in class? Implement study strategies to retain more practical jiu-jitsu knowledge.

The Takehome Message

1. Physical fitness is your cardiovascular fitness as measured by your VO2 max.
2. VO2 max is not the sole indicator of performance on the mats.
3. Hard jiu-jitsu sparring is an insufficient stimulus to improve your VO2 max.
4. There are many elements to consider to improve your grappling performance.
5. A systems-based approach is the most optimal way to improve your grappling performance.
6. Focus on your weaknesses first.

If you want to improve all aspects of your grappling performance, take my free program quiz to find the best training program to dominate on the mats and reduce your risk of injury.