Ever since I began my training in the martial arts I’ve been looking for ways to help my body heal faster, become stronger and perform at its best. This has led me to study strength training, conditioning and in particular, nutrition & supplementation

Why should I take supplements?

A Jiu-jitsoka puts his body through much more stress than the average individual and is more likely to have deficiencies. We all know of the physical benefits of our training but sometimes we neglect to assess the physical costs. I’ve said it before – Jiu-Jitsu is hard on the body. The amount of vitamins and minerals lost through perspiration and the general taxation on our systems means that we need far more nutrition than the average individual to replenish our reserves and contribute to the repair and growth of our bodies’ tissues.

Where do I get them from?

I get all my stuff from iherb.com because they have good prices and the fastest delivery times. They are not as flashy as some of their competitors, but they are highly professional and efficient. They also deliver worldwide and their shipping rates are very low.

Just one thing – if you do decide to purchase anything from them I’d really appreciate it if you’d put in the following coupon code: OLA389 when you order. You’ll get an instant $5 discount and it’ll also earn me a small commission which I can put towards the running costs of the Jiu Jitsu Brotherhood website.

Which ones should I take?

Below I have listed the 10 products which I have found give me the biggest bang for my buck. Most of them have been researched and documented as effective. Although it’s impossible to be completely objective, I have found them to work well for me and take many of them on a daily basis.

1. Creatine

If you train hard you need to be on creatine. Not only will it help you build muscle, it’ll also protect your heart. Forget all the negative opinions you hear about it – it’s one of the safest, most effective and well-researched supplements on the market. Basically, creatine allows your muscles to contract harder, and for longer. It’s pretty obvious that even a small increase in the contractile force of your muscles might be the difference between finishing an opponent with a choke or being able to crank out the last few reps in your conditioning routine.

There are several types of creatine available, including monohydrate and ethyl esther. I find monohydrate works just fine – and I use this product because I found capsules are easier to take than powdered versions.

Using supplements has helped me maintain low body fat throughout my jiu-jitsu career

2. Omega-3’s

Research has shown that diets rich in Omega-3 fats are associated with superior heart, brain and circulatory health – all systems which you need functioning optimally for for decent performance on the mat. I’ve noticed that it has a generalized anti-inflammatory effect on the body, which is beneficial for the jiu-jitsoka in hard training. I also find fish oil helps keep my joints and skin in good shape.

Keep in mind that a lot of low grade Omega-3 supplements can be rancid or contain pcb’s, so always research the product you intend to purchase. I’ve used several good brands over the years and this is the best one I’ve found.

3. Vitamin C

This is truly a super nutrient – large doses have been shown to improve immune function and certain studies claim it even reduces the effects of stress. As I mentioned before, bjj training breaks down the body a lot. Vitamin C can help with the repair of the tissues damaged during training which can alleviate the symptoms of overtraining.

I use this product because it includes several bioflavinoids that are shown to help with absorption.

4. Vitamin D3

When you’re sick it means you can’t train. Dojo mats and training partners expose you to far higher amounts of germs and bacteria than the average person ever experiences, so it’s vital that your immune system is as strong as it can be. Vitamin D3 is plays a major role in keeping your immune system healthy. Researchers are continually reporting that low blood levels of vitamin D are associated with one disease after another. Most of us (especially those of us that don’t get enough natural sunlight on our skin) are deficient.

You can easily solve this by taking one of these capsules per day.

5. Green Foods

“Green Foods” is a general term which refers to products that are made from extracts of algae, fruit, vegetables and other plants. They serve to alkalize, energize and nourish the body’s cells along with balancing the body’s pH level eliminate toxins such as heavy metals, which can weaken our tissues and lead to disease over time. The phyto-nutrients found in green foods are full of anti-oxidants and plant-based vitamins and minerals. They help to detoxify and cleanse the body

Using this supplement is the nutritional equivalent of eating many servings of fruits and vegetables that you otherwise might not be able to fit into your diet:

6. B-Vitamins

B-Vitamins do a wide range of important things in your body, from helping your cells grow properly to metabolising fat, carbs and protein into energy. I notice a marked improvement in my energy levels when I’m taking a good B-Complex supplements, which comes in handy when I’m training hard.

The B-vitamins, like Vitamin C, are water-soluble, and are not stored in the body. This means that they are required daily to ensure the body maintains healthy levels. Because an insufficiency in one B vitamin typically means a deficiency in another, it is vital the B vitamins be taken together.

This is the B-Complex product I’ve had the most success with.

7. Digestive Enzymes

Health starts and ends in the gut. If you are not processing your food properly you can run the risk of being malnourished. Adding digestive enzymes to your meals helps you break down and process your food much more effectively, allowing you to absorb as many of the nutrients as possible. Since I’ve added enzymes to my diet, I’ve lost fat, improved my digestion and just experienced an overall feeling of well-being.

This product has a good mixture or ingredients and is well-priced too.

8. Green Tea Extract

Green Tea is one of the best fat-burners I’ve found – it’s perfect for the guy who wants to drop a few pounds so that he can be a bit more agile on the mat. Also, a recent study showed that the antioxidants in green tea can offset the oxidative stress induced by strenuous workouts (i.e. jiu-jitsu). This means quicker recovery from physical exertion and diminished free-radical damage incurred during training.

This product is decaffeinated so it comes without any of the ‘jittery feeling’ that ephedra-based thermogenics and regular green tea supplements can cause.

9. Hyaluronic Acid

You guys all know how tough rolling can be on the joints. There were times when my fingers and knees ached so much I thought I was going to have to quit the sport. Then I found Hyaluronic Acid. Glucosamine and Chondroitin are good for your joints, but I have found this to be a FAR more effective supplement for the health of my connective tissue. Hyaluronic Acid is a key component of cartilage and synovial fluid – this means it’s not only can it help repair your joints, but that it also keeps then working smoothly. Highly recommended.

10. Nootropics

Ever have trouble remembering your techniques? A Nootropic supplement might help. Also referred to as ‘smart drugs’ or ‘memory enhancers’, nootropics work by altering the availability of the brain’s supply of neurochemicals (neurotransmitters, enzymes, and hormones), by improving the brain’s oxygen supply or stimulating nerve growth. This can result in clearer thinking and better memory.

I use this product because it provides a good combination of several effective nootropics combined with an energising pre-training formula

I hope you enjoyed the article.  If you do get decide to get some supplements, please let me know what benefits you notice in your health and your jiu-jitsu performance.

One of the questions I am often asked at seminars is “What is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu conditioning training like?” In an earlier post, I spoke of “attribute maximization”. This article will discuss specific ways to condition and prepare the body for jiu-jitsu.

I believe that the most important question you need to ask yourself when doing any training to improve your grappling is “Why am I doing this?”. For example, let’s say you are doing a session consisting of jumping jacks, sprints and pull ups. Why are you doing those exercises? How will the they aid you, specifically, on the mat. If you can’t answer that question about your workouts or even each specific exercise, then you need to reevaluate what you’re doing. Below I give a general overview of the exercises I engage in and, more importantly, why I use them.

Climbing

At this point, I have found no better compliment to my jiu-jitsu training than climbing. The improvement in grip strength alone is worth the effort. After about 6 months of rock-climbing once per week I noticed a major increase in my forearm and finger strength.

A study on bone density between two control groups, one of weightlifters and one of rock climbers, found that the climbers had far higher levels of bone density. Obviously, increased bone density is invaluable to a jiu-jitsoka.

Climbing enhances strength, balance and weight distribution. What more could a jiu-jitsu fighter want? It’s fun as hell too.

Best for: Grip Strength

Bodyweight exercises such as the alligator increase all physical attributes

Swimming

Swimming is great for jiu-jitsu. In my opinion it’s far superior to running as a form of conditioning because there is no impact on the ankles, knees and hips. It lengthens and strengthens the muscles and opens up the back and shoulders – areas of the body which often tighten up after a lot of grappling.

It’s also excellent for breath control and strengthens the heart and lungs. It promotes rhythm and, when done at a slow pace ,will help with over-training and recovery.

Best for: Cardiovascular Fitness

Resistance Training with Equipment

The beauty of using equipment is that is allows great control over the resistance variable of the exercise. When I use weights and kettlebells I tend to focus on compound, multi-joint movements such as full squats, barbell rows and Turkish get-ups. Using rubber cables/strands is also very effective as they more accurately simulate the tensile strength of an opponent.

Best for: Explosive Power, Muscle-specific strengthening

Gymnastic / Bodyweight Training

If you wanted to, you could get in shape to grapple without ever using a pool, weight, cable or any other equipment for that matter.

Moving the body through space using push ups, squats and pull ups is a challenging and effective way to build strength and/or endurance. At the more challenging end of the spectrum, gymnastic style movements such as handstands and bridging develop pretty much every attribute. The animals drills are also great for co-ordination and agility.

At the moment I am working with unilateral movements such as pistol squats and one-arm push-ups because I feel they offer the superior functional strength for jiu-jitsu.

Best for: Agility, Core Strength

Yoga

Yoga is the most widely practiced exercise system in the world. Rickson Gracie is a yoga master, and without question that plays a role in his incredible mat skills.

Regular yoga practice strengthens your muscles, massages your internal organs and calms your mind. But to me, the biggest benefit derived from yoga is flexibility. It increases lubrication of joints, ligaments and tendons and corrects muscular-skeletal imbalances that can affect your health and and jiu-jitsu performance. I don’t do as much yoga as I should, but when I have time I tend to prefer the more dynamic, physical styles such as Astanga.

Oh yeah, there are loads of hot girls in yoga classes too…

Best for: Flexibility

I hope this has helped some of you. I would love to hear from you guys regarding the training methods you employ to make yourselves better jiu-jitsokas.

Following my article on nutrition, I frequently received emails from readers asking for more detailed information regarding their diets.

James Tolley, one of my training partners and a nutrition expert, agreed to offer his views on the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu nutrition in detail. Please bear in mind that these articles can get quite technical, but the investment of a little reading time and thought will reward you with the tools you need to achieve an optimum diet for jiu-jitsu.

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In my first article for the Jiuj-Jitsu Brotherhood I looked at post-exercise nutrition. I am going to stay on the topic of nutrition and talk about the types of food we should eat and which food to avoid.

Food as a Drug

You shouldn’t think of food as just a source of energy and nutrients to fuel our bodies; it is also a powerful drug capable of eliciting chemical changes in our bodies. Some of these changes are beneficial and some can be harmful. If food is a drug that you are putting into your system three, four, five times a day, you need to ensure that this drug is helping you achieve your training goals and not silently killing you.

The Evolutionary Diet

Following an evolutionary diet is challenging, but the potential rewards to your training and health are worth the effort it initially takes. One of these rewards is that an evolutionary diet allows us better control of our hormones, keeping a natural balance in the competing feedback mechanisms of our complex endocrine (hormonal system) system.

Recently we have seen an explosion in so called ‘diseases of Western civilisation’, including type 2 diabetes, thyroid disorders and obesity. These diseases have one thing in common, they are endocrine diseases. It is essential for health that your endocrine system is in balance. It is worth repeating the point that if this is the case you will see a huge increase in performance.

What to Eat

Following an evolutionary approach to nutrition allows a simple definition of what foods we should eat:

Meat including muscle meat, organ meat and bone marrow. Preferably wild game meats, if not then at least organic and grass fed over intensively reared and grain fed.

Marine and fresh water fish and shellfish. Preferably wild, if not then at least organic and naturally fed.

Fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Nuts and Seeds.

For occasional sweetness I would include honey and agave nectar (agave originates from cactus plants and unlike refined sugars contains high levels of iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium).

What Not to Eat

We can expand on this list by including what we shouldn’t be eating:

Avoid all modern processed food. This category tends to be high in refined sugars and oils; processed foods are also generally high in added salt content.

Avoid grains. They have a high glycaemic load when compared to more favourable carbohydrate sources such as fruit and vegetables. However, there is also research which suggests that consumption of grains is related to various digestive disorders.

In the past I included all dairy products but I have softened my stance on this topic recently with information from genetic profiling. This suggests that you should consume dairy products if you have the genes to metabolise lactose. Not all people have these genes, but they are more commonly distributed in people with a heritage from north-western Europe.

The above list provides us with a simple guideline of what types of food to eat to help maintain a neutral hormonal balance in synch with our caveman genes. This will help us to remain healthy and allow maximal expression of these genes through our environment, including the physical training associated with jiu jitsu.

Macronutrient Ratios

There are other reasons why an evolutionary approach to nutrition is beneficial to your health and performance. As we have seen the main aim is to maintain a neutral hormonal balance, this can be affected not just by the type of food we eat but also by the ratios of the different types of food nutrient groups, otherwise known as the macronutrient composition of your diet.

The modern principle of diets i.e. a calorie is a calorie is simply not true. It is what you eat (the types of food AND the ratio of macronutrients) and not just how much you eat that is the major influence on body composition, health and performance.

Macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat) are the three basic nutrient groups provided by food. The composition or ratio of the macronutrients digested in today’s diet has drifted a long way from the ratio we have evolved from. Bio-chemical imbalances resulting from sub-optimal nutrition lead to a situation where your genes cannot express themselves resulting in disease and lack of adaptation when training.

It is currently recommended that we consume approximately 65% of total calories from carbohydrate, 15% from protein and 20% from fat. A pioneer of the Paleolithic movement Professor Cordain examined hunter-gatherer macronutrient ratios and found that protein is generally between 20%-35% energy, at the expense of carbohydrate (22%-40% energy).

Recent trials have shown that calorie restricted high protein diets have been more effective in promoting and maintaining weight loss than calorie restricted high carbohydrate diets.

Part 2 of this article will deal with some of the health benefits associated with eating in an evolutionary way.

The Animals Drill Workout is an excellent set of exercises which can added to your Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training to improve your stamina, balance and coordination.