How to improve conditioning for Jiu Jitsu (Part One)

There are many ways to tap in Jiu Jitsu, because your opponent hit a move clean (not bad), because you made a mistake and gifted your opponent an easy submission (bad), and because you are so tired you just give up (the worst).

In this blog series we will learn how to get rid of the most embarrassing way to tap, and improve your cardio capacity thru conditioning!

First, let's start with some foundational knowledge. There are 3 energy systems that supply you with the fuel to move your body, each with their own niché. They are the Creatine-Phosphate system, Anaerobic glycolysis and the Aerobic system.

1. Creatine-Phosphate: this is the main system used in explosive movements (vertical jump) and high intensity movements of around 10 seconds (a wrestling scramble).

As it's name implies, this system uses Creatine to utilize ADP (Adenosine diphosphate) turning it into ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) the main source of usable energy in the body.

Supplementing with Creatine DOES increase the amount available to you and will improve performance in this time frame.

2. Anaerobic Glycolysis : this system becomes the main energy source when movements are in the 10 second to 2 minute range.

It does this by (partially) breaking down Glucose (sugar) into ATP with a by product being lactate.

This was shown to be the major energy system used during a 6 minute rolling session, at 72%!

And yes, you can improve the performance of this system by supplementing with bicarbonate to help buffer lactate accumulation.

3. Aerobic System: This is for long duration movement and requires oxygen to form ATP. This requirement is a heavy lift for your biology and produces ATP at the slowest rate of the 3 systems, but at the right intensity levels it can last for hours or even days.

The Aerobic system is used in most day to day activities and plays a key role in recovery from exercise as well. Having an efficient system can lead to a compounding effect in being able to do more work and being able to recover from it. Those who can practice more, make more progress.

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