do you still bench press?

[PlayswellwithLawnDarts]

Yes, but prefer deadlift, clean and jerk ,overhead press for strength training.

 

[Stoic1]

General strength and conditioning is great for grappling. That includes bench. And squats. But everything in moderation. A balanced approach between muscular endurance, strength, and power.

 

[method115]

Yes but all my lifting is centered around making my body look good. Not trying to be IBJFF world champ. Just enjoy BJJ and want my body to look great.

 

[nefti]

We see a lot of guys hypertrophy or "bodybuilder" training. Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena both seem to from videos they've posted.
They say hypertrophy training protects your joints better.

Many power lifters seem to use hypertrophy cycles to add some size and give their joints some recovery.

I think strength has diminishing returns after you get to a certain point.

I'd personally rather move better and try to stay injury free than set lifting PR's, we all have different goals though.

most bjj guys don't know how to train/ get bad advice. Look at olympic wrestlers/judoka. They don't do bodybuilder workouts for a reason.

 

[NSchoke]

most bjj guys don't know how to train/ get bad advice. Look at olympic wrestlers/judoka. They don't do bodybuilder workouts for a reason.

They run in seasons most likely. If you're training year round your lifting program needs to reflect that.

It doesn't look like Travis Stevens is doing to many heavy compound movements, he does fairly high reps with alot of body weight stuff. He's training all the time though, no off season.

We have a very high level Sambo guy training with us who does gymnastics workouts.

 

[Torrid]

I train a gymnastics style program. Not only does it make me stronger but it helps me move better. I'm using it to supplement my BJJ, not as a priority.

I guess it depends on what your goals are, mine aren't to bench more. I don't care at all about that.

"You need to be "bulletproof from all angles" to even be remotely successful at moderate levels of gymnastics.

When you compare that with a Powerlifter, who's only upper-body strength feat is being good at the bench press, and probably nothing much else.

It actually makes me laugh that most lifting programs treat the entire back muscles as "assistance work". How can anybody call themselves strong if they have a weak back?"

There's a lot wrong here.

Just a few of the quick ones:

- no one that follows an actually well thought out lifting regiment considers 'the back' as only 'assistance work'; that's just flat out wrong.

- most people that lift in conjunction with a sport aren't prioritizing 'being a better powerlifter', but simply being stronger.

- one of the reasons the main compound lifts are usually favored by most coaches when dealing with cross-sport athletes is because they are easy to learn (difficult to master), can be done in a rather short amount of time so they don't cannibalize your actual training time, and are relatively safe. There is a very, very low percentage of injury when performing 'the big lifts', if you're doing them correctly. I don't think the same is true of gymnastics...

 

[NSchoke]

There's a lot wrong here.

Just a few of the quick ones:

- no one that follows an actually well thought out lifting regiment considers 'the back' as only 'assistance work'; that's just flat out wrong.

- most people that lift in conjunction with a sport aren't prioritizing 'being a better powerlifter', but simply being stronger.

- one of the reasons the main compound lifts are usually favored by most coaches when dealing with cross-sport athletes is because they are easy to learn (difficult to master), can be done in a rather short amount of time so they don't cannibalize your actual training time, and are relatively safe. There is a very, very low percentage of injury when performing 'the big lifts', if you're doing them correctly. I don't think the same is true of gymnastics...

Being easy to learn definitely makes sense.
There are programs that will start you from near 0 in gymnastics and show you very good progress now though. It'll take some time but developing a good amount of strength will take time too.

I don't think it's bjj/grappling coaches who are normally recommending programs like these and you can almost guarantee they aren't running team lifting sessions. I can certainly see a sports coach putting their team on a strength program though, because of many of the reasons you listed.

Wendler is very popular around bjj forums and he specifically refers to his upper back stuff as assistance work- https://www.allthingsgym.com/jim-wendler-on-assistance-lifts/
I thought that this was a legit strength program, I've used it before and gotten much stronger.

I didn't write the stuff in quote's, it's more aggressive than I would speak. I can see a use for strength training if you're specifically looking to get bigger and stronger. I think gymnastics training is a much better fit to compliment bjj training.

 

[nefti]

They run in seasons most likely. If you're training year round your lifting program needs to reflect that.

It doesn't look like Travis Stevens is doing to many heavy compound movements, he does fairly high reps with alot of body weight stuff. He's training all the time though, no off season.

We have a very high level Sambo guy training with us who does gymnastics workouts.

Well i like bodyweight exercises (pullups are amazing) , gymnastics, kettlebells, ect. I was specifically speaking abour bodybuilder type lifting vs compoind lifts.

 

[yetanother]

We see a lot of guys hypertrophy or "bodybuilder" training. Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena both seem to from videos they've posted.
They say hypertrophy training protects your joints better.
.

Gordon seems to just do what his thot/sisters tells him too.

 

[Jimmy McGill]

I was never a bench press guy myself, because my chest grows way more than the rest, so i kinda avoid it.

I thought it was just me, {sometimes I wonder what my PB would've been if I had treated it like most meathead gym bros do}

 

[aus101]

No. Pushing motions in general are super super overrated for grappling/combat sports/real life. As the guy above me says, pulling/upper back stuff is way more relevant. I would recommend grip, upper back stuff, and more than anything- abs, both calisthenics and weighted stuff.

Plus many people (not all but like a significant number) suffer shoulder problems from benching, especially bodybuilder style with the elbows flared, but even with the regular version too

You want to equalise pushing and pulling movements. Most people will prioritise pushing movements and thus develop imbalances but if you do enough rowing etc it’s fine to push.

For grappling, grip strength and strength endurance/core strength (like from loaded carries) will be most useful but a big bench and oh press and weighted chin/deadlift/row will all be great for upper body strength development.

 

[NSchoke]

Gordon seems to just do what his thot/sisters tells him too.

I thought this too but it's more than just him.

These guys are 2 of the best our sport has. Maybe they're good in spite of their training or maybe this type training is keeping them healthier for regular bjj, I really don't know.

 

[yetanother]

I thought this too but it's more than just him.

These guys are 2 of the best our sport has. Maybe they're good in spite of their training or maybe this type training is keeping them healthier for regular bjj, I really don't know.

Both Pena and Felipe are injured right know. So that's not very good anecdotal evidence for injury prevention of their workouts.

 

[Corona]

All compound lifts are a critical part of gaining overall strength. Obviously you’re not going to be bench pressing opponents off of you but almost every good workout routine will involve bench or some variation of it. Same reason why wide receivers and soccer players do compounds lifts. Might not be bench pressing guys on the field but being stronger than your opponent is an advantage. I wish I took working out more serious in my wrestling days.

 

[kahiljabroni]

I did for about 20 years and it eventually became painful in my left shoulder so I stopped. I then moved to doing high volume push-ups for a few years and that has led to golfers elbow which I can't shake. Getting old sucks

 

[Oblivian]

Being easy to learn definitely makes sense.
There are programs that will start you from near 0 in gymnastics and show you very good progress now though. It'll take some time but developing a good amount of strength will take time too.

I don't think it's bjj/grappling coaches who are normally recommending programs like these and you can almost guarantee they aren't running team lifting sessions. I can certainly see a sports coach putting their team on a strength program though, because of many of the reasons you listed.

Wendler is very popular around bjj forums and he specifically refers to his upper back stuff as assistance work- https://www.allthingsgym.com/jim-wendler-on-assistance-lifts/
I thought that this was a legit strength program, I've used it before and gotten much stronger.

I didn't write the stuff in quote's, it's more aggressive than I would speak. I can see a use for strength training if you're specifically looking to get bigger and stronger. I think gymnastics training is a much better fit to compliment bjj training.

Look at the link. Every main lift on there involves the back. That quote you used is way off in assuming back work is just assistance. It's a component of all lifts, and you are still doing assistance work on top of that.

 

[Turtlepawah]

I'm more into body weight, but when I'm lifting I prefer standing over head presses. They allow for less weight on the bar than bench presses, but they activate a much larger part of the body, especially the core. To me it seems that compared to the standing press, the only advantage of the bench press is that it allows you to build a larger chest. If you want functional strength, standing press makes more sense.
Feel free to correct me if you think I'm wrong.

 

[Matsukaze]

I generally stay pretty beat up from training. I do however try to get at least one day of some type of strength training per week. On the weeks when I'm not so tired and sore from bjj, I will manage two days a week. when I do its more of a total body type of workout (hit all the major muscle groups )

 

[NSchoke]

Look at the link. Every main lift on there involves the back. That quote you used is way off in assuming back work is just assistance. It's a component of all lifts, and you are still doing assistance work on top of that.

The link says the upper back needs to be strong. Wendler covers it further herehttps://www.elitefts.com/education/upper-back-for-the-bench/
"I was a little taken aback. Isn’t the bench all pecs, shoulders, and triceps?
From all the years of deadlifting and doing Olympic movements, I had accumulated an impressive set of traps. I thought that this is all I needed to do to build the upper back for pressing. I eventually found out that this is not the case."

I had always thought that the assistance work was an afterthought. Wendler seems to also

"2. Take it easy with the assistance work.
Some people look for the magic combination of assistance exercises, and completely under-rate the key lift. I call that majoring in the minors. Assistance work is just that – assistance. Do one or two exercises for five sets of 10, or maybe do a few more exercises for fewer sets. It's assistance. It doesn't fucking matter"

Like I said above, I did get stronger but I feel much more solid on gymnastics programming. Ymmv

 

[NSchoke]

Both Pena and Felipe are injured right know. So that's not very good anecdotal evidence for injury prevention of their workouts.

There is no workout that would prevent the injuries they took.