Losing weight and BJJ

[@ruiseartalcorn]

Thanks for sharing. This is a subject that I really can relate to. When I first started training (almost six decades ago) I was a skinny kid. Then, as a young adult, I became a fat git! About ten years ago I decided enough was enough and lost tons of weight. I aimed to get the numbers right re the BMI. Unfortunately, the BMI doesn't take into consideration one's muscle mass. I have been lifting weights all my life and so after losing LOTS of body fat, the BMI still moaned that I was "obese". Hmmm... so I lost even MORE fat and finally got my weight to where the BMI was happy. The problem was, I became skinny again... but with muscle. My bodyfat was too low and I looked and felt like poo! So, I gradually allowed my weight to increase to the point where I now feel balanced. According to the silly BMI (which is really only a rough guide for folk that don't lift weights) I am ten kilos over, however that is total bollocks! My fat/muscle ratio is fine and so sod the numbers! ;)

[@tapioperala3010]

Don't do any martial art at the moment, but I trained for strongman for 2,5 ... 3 years, deliberately putting weight on. I'm 160 cm and I weight, at my best, around 110 kg, maybe a bit more. Now that I'm close to 90 kg than 100 kg, I sometimes feel regrets (though I had to drop weight, and will need to for another 7 - 10 kilos, because of health reasons), because I'm no where near as strong as I was only 6 months ago. But that, thankfully, I can work back (as long as my body doesn't die out before that happens, as I'm not nursing an inflated shoulder and something bad has happened to my knee). In general, it's the muscle mass that makes all the difference but mass moves mass. Thumbs up for your work so far and I hope you get to your goals!

[@rafaelbabar3494]

You’re better in short fights with more weight if you can carry it. When heavier (naturally) your bones are denser and your more durable. You fall harder but have more cushioning. I used to fight / train at 76-77 and I find at 90 that I’m stronger but don’t hit harder and am far more capable of getting in close and swapping punches / getting hit. Resistance to leg kicks is much improved and the loss of speed is compensated by the increased capacity to grapple (though my knowledge in this area is very limited) and stuffing takedowns. Too much muscle needs feeding. Just compare Joshua and Ruiz but in kick boxing you should look at Lazaar and Azizpour. Less than 20% is ideal for a man if he is fit underneath. Cutting too much like they do today can make you weak. When I cut down once (never again) I “looked good” but was 40% weaker and my stamina wasn’t as good.

[@andrewalexander1086]

I took the plunge and started BJJ again last week after 23 years off the mat, really feel the difference in not being as flexible as I used to be 23 years ago

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Well done! Hope it goes really well.

[@andrewalexander1086]

Thank You@@EnglishMartialArts

[@naakaalastudio6655]

Extra weight is great when on top. Sucks where you are getting smashed on bottom. At this point I started using a Bulgarian bag, bjj mobility drills, hindu pushups/squats on the days I don't train. It seems to be helping, the days when I don't train certainly has on impact on endurance etc. So I have to constantly do something. Now if I can just fully cut out the sugar.

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Did keto for years, absolutely loved it. Really struggling to get back into it now though. Seems to be a lot more expensive that it used to be...

[@hailhydreigon2700]

My belly keeps me from being able to create space to slide my knees in for guard-recovery from side control. And of course there's the stamina issue. Been steadily losing fat, and the dexterity improvement is extremely obvious. Not to mention... competing at 225+ when you're supposed to be at 155 will see you go up against some very scary, much bigger people who are sometimes leaned out a 225+.

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Yeah exactly! At my height I should be fighting at 190lbs, but sitting at 218 means I'd be up against some scary dudes.

[@tonk84]

I've always been quite lucky that I stay around 95kg no matter what. Just fluctuate the muscle to fat %. Tried for ages to bulk up when I was playing rugby more but always stayed around the same. Problem was I upped the calories but upped the calorie burn to! Depends what your limits and goals are like you said. Less mass of any type means less problems on knees. But more mass makes you harder to move. There's a balance to find I guess, as in all things

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Yep, absolutely!

[@UniqueWebster-sz4wf]

Very informative

[@LuxisAlukard]

I wish you all the luck with removing your fat and putting on muscle weight! And I believe you will feel less knee pain that way, because your leg muscles are bigger and stronger and therefore provide better frame (if that's a good word) for your knee. Also, muscles are denser than fat so your body is smaller, and you (usually) have muscle weight spread over your whole body while fat (usually) tends to accumulate around and on front of your waist - and then you change your posture when you're standing which puts a strain on your knee. As usual, this is my couch expert opinion, but it's backed by my own experience (the fat part, not the muscle part) =) Cheers!

[@dragonballjiujitsu]

I have to disagree. I have had several students over the years lost serious weight by just doing jiu-jitsu. Throw in a change of diet and its like magic. Took one guy from 250 lbs to 180 in 2 years. No change in diet at all. One of my blue belt ladies went from 260 to 170 with a change of diet and Jiu-Jitsu. We are talking 3-4 days per week training. You don't really have to cut calories either. I recently (about a year and a half ago) dropped 51 pounds in 6 months by increasing my total calories and going carnivore.

[@UniqueWebster-sz4wf]

I agree, his video makes sense 100% , but I also think it helps with weight loss a bunch . My mom and I Trained together and we were in THEE best shapes of our lives , and of course have to change eating habits or it defeats the purpose .

[@strontmdog7448]

When I first walked on the Mat I was was 110kg at 177cm. Now at 73 kg train 3/4 times a week. Had to adjust what I do now I’m lighter some stuff that was easy now isn’t but the amount of stuff I can do as a trade of inverting etc worth it.

[@johnstuartkeller5244]

I've never been a natural athlete,, only getting into serious martial practice in my late 20s or so. Conditioning, joint health, and general strength and maneuverability are my main goals. I'm the heaviest I've been in my life (190 lb,) and am coming off of a period of forced rest & recovery, so I'm starting over. I don't mind just having the one solid ab, but aesthetically I'd like to get more barrel chested. What sort of regular training regimen do you have aside from grappling itself? FIGHT TEAM!

[@CraigAB69]

After seeing Jordan Peterson eating only meat, I decided to give it a try. I lost about 12Kgs, and generally, I sit around the 90kgs mark (198lbs/14 stone) now. Of course, I can screw that up by simply eating carbs/sugar. There is something, in my opinion, to be said about sugars and illness. My body at 53 years now, tends to complain less at the lighter weight after Kyokushin and Judo training. There is more energy, but not as if I was 20 years old, more like 35 years old. A lot of the guys (around my age) tell me to slow down due to my age, but in my mind, if I slow down I feel like I am being a lazy you-know-what. Getting back into Martial Arts after a lot of years off, was draining for about 6 months, but then I seemed to adapt. I would like to be a little lighter about 85Kgs. I wish I had done less weights in the gym as I didn't realise it can limit the range of movement of joints.

[@BeepBoop2221]

One slight off topic question though if I may. (And possible topic for a video). In your opinion what are the best position to master in any grappling frame work in a self defence context? When I mentioned to other "RBSD" friends I had taken up BJJ the first thing brought up was "NEVER TAKE A FIGHT TO THE GROUND". However I recently, which is why I took up bjj, was in a situation where the choice of being on the ground wasn't made by me and a stronger and heavier person ended up on top of me. The previous training of skin tears, grabbing at their face or elbowing their thighs given by my "RBSD" system turned out to not really do too well. So far from my own reckoning I'm working on. Escaping common pins. Getting to a 50 50 / dog fight from those pins Front headlock position chokes Wrestling up from the ground Clinching/trips/throws

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Part of the issue is that most people have watched MMA and so are familiar with the concept of ground and pound and the basic positions. So I'd strongly recommend practicing mount escapes, back escapes, and wrestling up from bottom side control.

[@BeepBoop2221]

@@EnglishMartialArts that lines up with what I'm thinking. The old "RBSD" line of "the guy fighting you won't know what they are doing" when MMA videos are all over KZbin.

[@harlemdeni]

I'll be 100% honest: I'm one of those guys that wanna look like Bane and move like Bruce Lee or something. Currently, I'm at 95kg and 24% body fat, and I've never been happier in how I look. Everyone and my mum say that I looked way better with 75kg but I just love myself the most like this. I feel stronger, heavier for others and with me being 1.75m tall, I always say I look like a mini fridge. That being said, my next mission is to go to 19%bf with me still being over the 90 kilo 'limit'. And even if I don't - I'll just be a jacked as fyck middleweight:). Point being - I loved myself on the lighter side, I love myself on the heavier side. But watch out for the health too. I wanna get that purple belt in about ten years hahahah. Wish me luck, Oz. Sorry for the long comment and thank you for the beautiful content. Cheers from Macedonia!

[@EnglishMartialArts]

I found getting under 20% was tough. But well worth it once I was there. I'll be back within a year!

[@harlemdeni]

@@EnglishMartialArts I believe in you! 😃 Btw, is this channel's subscriber number rapidly growing or am I tripping? 😎

[@EnglishMartialArts]

@@harlemdeni it's definitely creeping up!

[@CommissarJake]

I've Currently entered a weight cut cycle, Why? Because across 7 months 8 lockdown I went from around 95kg down to 70kg from a combination of daily callisthenics and sugarless diet. After that my weight slowly crawled up as I let my diet get poor again and reduced my near psychotic level of exercise. Cut to today, at 80kg whilst doing BJJ I recognise that my flexibility isn't what it was when I was at 70kg. So I opted to change diet through just some basic calorie counting and nothing extra an in the past 5 weeks I've dropped to 75kg, already my flexibility is improving, my ability to survive in the gi has improved and over all my quality of life seems to be ticking up without the loss of strength I had the first time because I'm actually conditioning through my actions in grapple sports. Now, could I be doing the same by lifting weights and running n such? Sure, but with BJJ and grappling I am having a whole lot more fun and I'm picking up new skills. An as you rightly point out, weight isn't really the issue, it's fat. Just so happens that losing weight typically involves losing fat.

[@Kurtwuckertjr]

BJJ was hard, and therefore a good workout when I was a 27 year old blue belt. Now, as a 37 year old brown belt, I have to add in extra exercise to stay in shape, and my weight has crept up anyways.

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Yes, exactly.

[@tomsheppard378]

Do you think skin diseases like ringworm or staph will change your attitude to training as you get older?Ive been training for 2 years and had ringworm when I first started and now have a staph infection that has required antibiotics. I thought I took all reasonable precautions I showered before and after class, cleaned my kit everyday but i still caught staph. Once its cleared up I'm definitely thinking about changing gyms, I don't think my current coach takes cleanliness seriously enough so I will be moving, maybe even to GB and im thinking how long can i carry on if their is a risk of these infections after mid 40s

[@EnglishMartialArts]

I've been lucky so far. But I do everything I can do to help, and I know the mats get mopped down with a disinfectant every day. It's far from guaranteed, but I'm trying not to let it worry me too much.

[@kevinfox5594]

I'm a nurse who managed to fracture my knee at the beginning of lockdown - I went from 98kg to 115kg and am still struggling to get it off - started comfort eating when in pain, and wards always have tubs of sweets just sitting there, I find myself eating them without realising as I'm writing up

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Yes, it's a really difficult habit to force yourself out of.

[@BeepBoop2221]

The nurses curse of patients always bringing you chocolate and you'll only have the one. (Lol)

[@EnglishMartialArts]

@@BeepBoop2221 Yep, I remember it well.

[@EnglishMartialArts]

@@BeepBoop2221 Yep, I remember it well.

[@kevinfox5594]

@@BeepBoop2221 oh yes - I've sworn off, not even realised I was eating them, and finished a half hour of documentation to then clock the small pile of celebrations wrappers beside me on the desk...

[@sirpibble]

I feel my best at 205-215 but I look my best in the 190s The problem is when I go that low the decrease in my strengh is palpable, so my bullish wrestling style of bjj suffers performance

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Yeah, I absolutely understand that!

[@robertweidner2480]

BJJ is arguably The BEST cardio, especially for losing weight/losing fat.

[@EnglishMartialArts]

I'd argue wrestling is more intense cardio wise.

[@lewisb85]

Three words Gordon Ryan Workout, been training on it for the last few weeks, I'm not saying Gordon's on the gear but some of the totals in that work out umm.....

[@BeepBoop2221]

I'm in the opposite end, i'm trying to gain muscle mass and flexibility.

[@EnglishMartialArts]

Good luck! That's not a problem I ever struggled with. Mass that is. Flexibility is always an issue!

[@BeepBoop2221]

@@EnglishMartialArts Thanks man, metabolism I guess. I've always been able to eat badly and never actually gain weight, I stay right at the same weight with half a kilo. Now I'm eating healthier it's still same.

[@lastmanstanding5423]

​@@BeepBoop2221 you have an Ectomorph body type, also known as "Hard Gainer" in bodybuilding. I have the same. :) And I think it's the best body type there is! While it is true it is harder to get muscle mass, once you do get it, it's sooooo easy to maintain it! And every single kg of muscle you put on is very visible because of the natural low body fat %. And also... you can still eat what every you want through out. Anyway.... It's hard to find advice for Ectomorphs online. So I had to experiment myself with my own body/diet. Took me a few years. But I did it in the end by making this crazy ~1500 kcal "everything shake" (yes... I said that right... it wasn't an protein share. it was EVERYTHING shake) If you want I can share my recipe and experience. ps. I'm 6"4' and ~195 lbs and about 10% BF at the moment... very athletic and "greek statue" physique. Used to be 165 lbs all my life.... very skinny and lanky physique. The highest I got up to was 208 lbs... where I was starting to look like a bodybuilder... but I didn't like how it felt dragging all that mass around. So I went back to 195 lbs and I''m maintaining this for the last ~4 years. As previously said... it's super easy to maintain once acquired. ;)