“Built for BJJ” Strength Training

Built for BJJ is our starter 90-day program designed specifically for BJJ athletes looking to get strong and mobile so they can dominate the mats. Through structural balance and accessory lifts, we correct strength imbalances and use strength training to improve your BJJ-specific mobility tailored to your specific needs.

Initially, we will take you through a structural balance phase that’s focused on correcting imbalances, assessing your movement patterns and working on perfecting your exercise technique. We also help you with nutrition and recovery because that’s an integral part of feeling good on the mats. After this initial phase, if you progress well, you will “graduate” onto the next phase where we slowly (and safely) begin introducing barbell work.

With all the strength training BS out there, Built for BJJ was designed to help you get it right so you feel great on the mats without burnout. As BJJ athletes ourselves, we understand the issues grapplers face, the predictor lifts you need to focus on and what it takes to build resilience against injury for long term success in this sport. We are experienced coaches who truly understand your needs.

Athletes who we feel are a good fit and wish to continue will continue with our Legacy program after they’re done their 90-days of Built for BJJ. What sets us apart from other coaches is our experience in periodization for the BJJ athletes and emphasis on good movement quality (exercise technique). We create tailored programs with thoughtful intention and are always periodized intelligently to ensure the best results.

Built for BJJ is designed for…

• BJJ athletes who are overwhelmed managing BJJ + Lifting + Life!

• BJJ athletes in pain, who feel weak and/or have poor stamina

• BJJ athletes looking for accountability & support with lifting, lifestyle and nutrition

• BJJ athletes looking to improve their performance on the mats

• Small BJJ athletes, big BJJ athletes, young BJJ athletes, old BJJ athletes, hobbyists, competitors and anyone looking for BJJ specific strength

• BJJ athletes looking to cut weight or build muscle

• BJJ athletes that don’t want to spend a ton of hours in the gym lifting each week (you will need a 2-3 hour/week commitment)

• BJJ athletes that want to be part of a coaching program that not only coaches them, but educates them too (on lifting, mobility, nutrition, recovery, mindset)

• BJJ athletes who are sick of doing cardio

• BJJ athletes that want a plan catered to THEM!

• BJJ athletes looking to find the 2.0 version of themselves

• BJJ athletes who are positive, coachable, committed and communicative

You wouldn’t get medication from a doctor before talking to them and telling them what you’re struggling with, would you? Our initial consult call helps us get to know you, have a deeper conversation about what exactly you’re struggling with and to understand your WHY behind wanting to work with a coach. It also helps us see if you’d be a good fit for our program (we don’t just accept anybody).

Online coaching is poorly understood because it’s a fairly new service and not every online coach runs their business the same.

Online coaching is a great fit for more people than most realize - it is not an inferior service compared to in-person, it’s just different. We have a blog written about it in more detail click here but what we offer is MORE than just “here’s your program, off you go” to never speak to us again. When you work with us, we provide continued support and accountability through text, our community and 1-on-1 calls where we discuss all things lifting, BJJ, nutrition, recovery, exercise technique, and more! When you join you’ll also have access to our growing database of educational videos and articles specific to helping BJJ athletes like yourself.

You have access to us 24/7 (compared to just the hour in the gym if you were to do 1-on-1 in-person coaching). You get to make your own schedule - you don’t have to fit your lifting sessions into ours. Online training offers more flexibility which our clients really love.

Before you join our program, we must see if you’re a good fit through a meet-and-greet consult call where we’ll dig deep to better understand your goals and to see if we can help you. If you’re a good fit and you sign up, here are some of the things you’ll get:

• WhatsApp group chat with us for continued support and accountability where we can communicate with you

• Your custom strength training program (delivered through our app PT Distinction) where you record your workouts, track recovery, post your food log, etc

• Access to our clients-only WhatsApp group chat to meet other BJJ athletes in the program, ask questions and be part of our growing community 

• 1-on-1 coaching calls (typically 2 or 3 per month, you can get more if needed) to discuss your workouts, BJJ injuries, mobility, recovery, nutrition, considerations for competition, etc

• Access to our client-only coaching material (articles and instructional videos) made to help you

We provide continued support, accountability, touch points and check-ins. And you get access to BOTH of us!

Clients who do the best in our program are great communicators and they run towards us (not away) when they are struggling — after all, a good coach is here to HELP you through rough patches, not scold you. Your communication will affect how much we can help you so we encourage everyone who joins to communicate openly with us – good and bad.

Record yourself. We make it mandatory that clients record their exercises. This is especially important during the beginning phases so we can assess your movement and continue to tailor your program so you can get the most out of our coaching.

With online coaching our feedback will not be immediate, but video footage is an efficient and effective tool for us to coach you and you’ll have notes from our text exchange to refer to for your next workout.

No, for the most part, we do not prescribe all of your weights — this is something you will learn as you go, but we do make suggestions and help guide you. We monitor how much you’re lifting through our app and based on the videos you send us we can make suggestions for your following workouts. We also use an RPE (rate of perceived exertion) scale each week to help determine how much weight you should use and how hard you should be pushing yourself each week.

Use these are 3 pillars to guide you on how much weight you should lift:

• Priority 1: Movement (range of motion & movement quality) 

• Priority 2: Speed/Tempo (you must follow the prescribed tempo)

• Priority 3: Weight

Exercise technique always comes first, you must master this to the best of your ability before adding more weight.

After this comes tempo – the speed at which you are to do each exercise (slower tempos and pauses are prescribed for a REASON, do not brush these things over in order to lift heavier).

Ideally you’re moving well AND following your prescribed tempos. Once you are 100% confident in both of these priorities, you can begin adding weight.

If you are new to lifting, learning how much you can lift takes time! And that’s part of the process and the journey. The app records everything you do so you can refer back to how much weight you’ve previously lifted to ensure steady progress.

The most important thing is COMMUNICATION! Our most successful clients communicate with us regularly. Another common trait of successful clients is when they are struggling with something, they run to us, not away from us. They let us know when something is not working, when they are injured, what they are struggling with, etc. We are here to work WITH you (not against you) and in order for us to coach you well, we need to know about any issues or struggles that are popping up to help you get through it. Successful clients record their weights in the app every time they lift, send us technique videos regularly, and are willing and open to discuss their food, nutrition and recovery.