BJJ is a high-intensity and full-body exercise. There are many mental and physical benefits that come from training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. If you start and train regularly, your body will definitely change over time. Whilst this change is mostly positive, it also has some negatives such as injuries that need to be addressed. Here is an analysis of how BJJ changes your body.
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BJJ means improvements in strength
Undoubtedly, you will get stronger from training BJJ. A lot of this strength is functional strength, which is different from lifting weights. For instance, weight training will improve your strength at lifting weights in a specific way (E.g deadlifting), whereas BJJ strength will improve your overall strength whilst grappling.
A good indicator of this is looking at grip strength. Here a jacked newcomer may have poor grip strength whilst playing spider guard. However, a smaller looking, older practitioner could have deceptively strong grip strength. This is because their grips have been trained weekly for several years. As beneficial as weights may be, they often don’t cross over that well into BJJ strength unless a specific regime is followed.
Due to size not always equalling strength, people will often say “He is stronger than he looks” in BJJ gyms. This usually means the practitioner has trained for a while and has reaped the benefits. Not only are the strength gains practical but in some cases, they can be physical too. For instance, if a student is strong but then adds weights and a good diet to their routine, then they can physically look even bigger and stronger too. A good example of this was with Gordon Ryan who went from light to heavyweight. He was always strong but got even bigger whilst keeping his technique.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of strength is through the use of the core muscles. BJJ is one of the best sports available for improving your core strength. Once your core is strong you are far less likely to get injuries in both the sport itself and day to day life.
Losing weight with BJJ
Perhaps the most common effect of training BJJ is losing weight. Whether you’re a competitor or an older person doing it for fitness – the benefits are quite similar. After training consistently for a few months the results will be more visible. Sometimes if the student is overweight, this will be obvious which can lead to baggy clothing and less body fat as a result.
However, if a beginner is average weight, they may not see a difference on the scale. This is nothing to worry about and is actually a very positive thing. You may see your body lose 5kg of bodyfat over 6 months whilst gaining 5kg of muscle. This is much better than doing BJJ just to lose weight as you’ve replaced fat with something much more useful.
BJJ burns a huge amount of calories whilst sparring. The outcome is almost always a more athletic physique. Sometimes this can take a few years to take place but for many, it does happen. Whether you lose lots of body fat and look slimmer, or lose a bit and gain muscle the result is a healthier-looking individual.
BJJ for cardio improvement
The physical changes of training BJJ have been previously mentioned. However, the cardio improvements are vast as well. When you first start training, it’s difficult to spar for 5 minutes. New students may have to sit out or even throw up in some cases. This is because BJJ cardio is tough and unique.
However, after comitting to BJJ for several months, it’s not difficult to be able to spar for 30 months straight after consistent training. This is because your cardio will have improved. Like the weight lifting example above, this will mean your grappling cardio has naturally improved over time. The bonus of this is that it will also transfer to other cardio activities. For instance, a runner will probably last longer at sparring than an equally new guy who doesn’t do cardio. However, the runner will still be outpaced when sparring compared to an experienced grappler.
The point is that training BJJ will improve your BJJ cardio as it requires specific body movements. A good way of checking this is by recording your resting heart rate before you start BJJ and one year after.
With constant training, your resting heart rate will be much lower and healthier as a result. This is a lesser-seen improvement to your body that BJJ will undoubtedly bring. For those who don’t care about looking good, you will certainly feel good with regular training.
The negatives…injuries
One way in which BJJ changes the body is through the amount of injuries. These can sometimes be very minor, but there is always a chance of a very bad injury. This isn’t as openly talked about when people promote the benefits of BJJ. However, it is a massive part of BJJ when people are training hard and often. Even if you train with safely by avoiding rougher opponents, tapping early and resting – the reality is that you will still pick up injuries. Often these injuries are quite small such as sprained fingers or bruised ribs.
However, with BJJ being a martial art there’s always the chance of bad things happening. Freak injuries such as breaking arms or legs can and do happen.
The most common injuries amongst long-term grapplers are wear and tear. These usually involve years of neck cranks or takedowns being hard on the knees. As a result, you may require shoulder surgery or have ongoing knee problems as you age. With this said, it’s quite common to see black belts who have had BJJ related surgery at some point.
With that being said, it’s much better to be 65 years old with a chronic shoulder or knee problem, than to be overweight and have a much higher chance of dying earlier and being generally unfit.
BJJ causes cauliflower ear
Cauliflower ear is a common problem when training BJJ. However, some people are naturally less susceptible to it compared to others.
In short, cauliflower ear can be completely luck-based or equally caused by a genetic predisposition. If for example you have large ears with not much cartilage in them, you are more likely to get cauliflower ear than those who have smaller ears with more cartilage.
However, the longer you train, the more likely it is that you will get cauliflower ear. This can be solved by using a syringe to release the blood before it has hardened inside the ear. Alternatively, you can opt for surgery later on if it is cuasing you a problem.
At the same time, many BJJ practitioners chose to ignore cauliflower ear and in some circles, it’s actually seen as a badge of honor. Whether you want cauliflower ear or not though, the chances are you will get it at some point if you stick around for a few years. Many people go through life having cauliflower ear with no real noticable downside, your hearing may be impacted a small amount, but there are far worse things in later life than this.
Improved Mental Health
Medical research has suggested that exercise has a very positive benefit on your mental health. BJJ is not a silver bullet to all of your problems but has been shown to help with anxiety, depression, stress and even PTSD.
In addition to this, BJJ is also very intense during sparring, which can help you take your mind off day-to-day problems. Whilst they will still be there when you finish training, it will have at least put your mind at rest for a couple of hours and perhaps you will be in a better place to face problems after exercising.
Summary
Overall the benefits of training BJJ far outweigh the negatives. As mentioned your body will physically improve with strength and conditioning and will look like the body of an athlete if you train consistently enough.
Not only this but your cardio will improve significantly which is a great combatant against unhealthy living. Whilst there are downsides in the form of injuries, these can be nullified by smart and sensible training.
In summary, BJJ changes the body in a number of ways, with almost all of these being beneficial and far outweigh the risks involved.
