When my little boy Z was a baby he was like a ninja crawling around on the ground.

When something caught his eye he would zip over to it to check it out and see what trouble he could cause with it, which always kept his mom and I on our toes.

However, the real problem was that he wouldn’t practice walking.

He could do it, he just had the problem that all toddlers have when learning to walk – it is a slow and cumbersome way to get around at first.

I mean, you can see how from his perspective walking was a disaster. All that falling over and now his mom and I could have time to stop him from making his way to something he shouldn’t be messing with.

Why screw around with that when crawling has been working just fine, thank you very much.

But then one day something happened that completely changed how he saw the world and walking suddenly became worth the trouble. And luckily, I was there to see it because it taught me a valuable lesson as well.

Z and I were hanging out in the backyard when he found a metal rod that that he grabbed and tried to crawl around with. The problem was that he already had something in the other hand and trying to crawl around with both hands full isn’t easy.

Then he tried a different strategy and stood up. He took a couple of steps and it was like a light bulb went off – you could see in his eyes that something had changed.

He’d realized that when you walk you can easily carry something in both hands. You can literally double your carrying capacity for weapons or toys or whatever it is that you want to carry.

And this was worth dealing with the pain of the drawbacks of walking. I never saw him crawl again from that moment on. Once the shift had been made he never went back to using it.

That was a powerful lesson for me as well. To be there for that light bulb moment and to see how quickly and dramatically it changed his behavior really drove home the point for me that we have a huge capacity for change…but only if we really buy into why we need to do it.

It is the buy in that changes how you see the efforts and sacrifices you are making. Changing your behaviors without changing how you see those behaviors won’t last.

In Jiu-Jitsu see you see this from people who start out strong but after a few weeks they just can’t find the time and eventually give up. Once the initial motivation wore off they didn’t have the fuel they needed to keep things going.

But that’s the secret, though – that fuel has to come from how you see the world.

For example, most of us brush our teeth because we see the world in a way that motivates us to do it. No one wants bad breath and rotten teeth and so we perform the ritual of brushing our teeth a couple times a day.

However, most people just don’t see the world in a way that motivates them to take care of the rest of their body. Training BJJ or doing some strength and mobility training can be a frustrating pain in the butt, which is how they see it even when forcing themselves to do it.

No wonder most people don’t start or quit within a few months. This goes back to my post on The Importance of Being an Optmist for BJJ…if you don’t think that an activity is going to lead to something good then it is really hard to stick with it.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You see, as humans we have a couple of cool super powers that we need to tap into if we want to live the lives we really want…or at least not quit BJJ.

The first is one I’ve touched on already, which is the ability to change your reality. The story you are telling yourself isn’t “real”, it is just a reflection of how you see the world. You can change that story and, as a result, your reality.

This is how people make lasting changes – they start to tell themselves a story that makes it impossible not to change. If you see yourself as the kind of person who doesn’t make excuses and appreciates how the process of training BJJ will help you then you have no choice but make time for it.

The second super power is the ability to manipulate the future. You can do things now that will pay off down the road, with Jiu-Jitsu and strength training as two of the best examples of this.

Sure, you won’t see results in the first workout or maybe even the first couple of weeks but in 6 months you’ll be a different person. 6 months will come and go either way, but you can do things today that will improve your future self out.

But, like I said, you have to be like Z and find the way of seeing that world that makes these choices self-evident. You can’t see the world the same way and just take on different habits, you have to change your perspective in a way that makes those habits easier to adopt.

And that’s really the hardest part. As a coach I wish I had something to tell you that would flip that switch for you, but the truth finding that switch is part of the journey.

Everyone has to find what motivates them to change but knowing that you can and then looking for the perspective that motivates that change is the first step.

Until next time…

Roll Strong,

James Wilson

Glute Bridges are a staple of BJJ training because they do such a great job of training an essential mat-specific movement. Being able to bridge and create space is one of the first things you learn and something you keep working on as you advance.

And while we all know and love the regular Glute Bridge, there are a lot of different variations of this movement that we should be using as well. These variations can help shore up weak links with specific applications of the Glute Bridge, like applying joint locks or keeping the knees from getting smashed together.

Below are 5 of my favorite BJJ-specific Glute Bridges that can help you move better on the mats. Pick one that works on a problem you have or area you want to get stronger and then do it 1-2 times a week, doing 2 sets of 5-15 reps. You can add it into your workout or do it as part of a daily movement practice, the important thing is to get the work in.

1 – Val Slide Glute Bridge

We all know that Glute Bridges have a lot of carryover to the mats but something a lot of people don’t realize is the importance of keeping your hamstrings engaged to keep the heels in tight. A lot of people lose joint locks because they extend the knees with the hips, increasing the space and allowing room to escape, which is directly tied to this movement skill.

Using Val Slides under your feet during a Glute Bridge can help reinforce keeping the hamstrings engaged, making it a more BJJ specific movement. BTW, you’ll notice a do 3 good reps followed by 3 bad reps in this video so you can see what happens if you don’t keep the heels in while doing the bridge.

2 – Knee Squeeze Glute Bridge

Another great way to make the Glute Bridge more BJJ specific is to pinch a yoga block between your knees. This not only works the specific skill of keeping a tight squeeze with the knees while extending the hips it also helps keep stress off the lower back by engaging the core more than a normal Glute Bridge.

3 – Hip Band Glute Bridge

Glute Bridges with a band around the knees is another way to spice things up. Since the glutes are also responsible for keeping the knees apart, this one is double trouble for them. Being able to resist someone smashing your knees together while extending the hips helps with controlling space on the bottom, making this another great BJJ specific exercise.

4 – Marching Glute Bridge

Marching Glute Bridge I’d a great way to work on single leg bridge stability. A lot of times we bridge with two legs to create space and then transition to a single leg stand as we use the other leg to control the space we created. A lot of people simply flop back down to the ground when this transition happens which ends up just going them smashed again. Using this movement to work on this BJJ specific skill can help you avoid this problem. Note the Val Slides under my heels for more hamstring activation and stability challenge.

5 – Ramping Isometric Glute Bridge

The Ramping Isometric Glute Bridge is the easiest way to improve raw strength of this essential BJJ specific movement. The a belt around your feet and waist as shown and then do 30 seconds at 50% effort, 30 seconds at 80% effort and then 30 seconds at 100% effort. No rest between the rounds, just ramp up the tension. Do one set to failure and say hello to your glutes, which will be on fire.

Until next time…

Roll Strong,

James Wilson
BJJ Strength Training Systems

Leg Locks are the rage right now in the BJJ scene and for good reason…they work!

However, this doesn’t mean that everyone should just start grabbing ankles and falling back for wild, uncontrolled Leg Lock attacks. This approach to the Leg Lock game will not work in the long run and will only get you in trouble when you run into someone who understands the game and can capitalize on your mistakes.

As an official Leg Lock nerd I’ve geeked out on the movement principles behind a Leg Lock game and how I can improve them through mobility and strength training. This was both a selfish goal since I could use them to improve my own effectiveness, but it was also a way to help new people avoid the common mistakes.

One thing I’ve learned through coaching BJJ is that knowing what to do and physically being able to do it are two different things. And a lot of people lack the basic mobility and strength to apply what they are learning when getting started with Leg Locks.

Even the great John Danaher has a saying that reinforces this concept –

“Train movements before moves.”

He uses this saying to help people understand that if you can’t perform the basic movements needed for a specific move then it will be tough to do it correctly. You have to fix/ improve the basic movements needed first and then the technique itself will become easier to execute.

Which leads us to the mobility and strength drills I wanted to share with you today. They cover the 3 common mistakes I see people make and offer a way to improve the movement causing the problem.

These mistakes include…

Not being able to “close the triangle” and control the hips, usually related to a lack of hip mobility.
Not being able to trap and crush the foot in the armpit, usually from a lack of T-Spine and Shoulder Blade mobility .
Not being able to extend the hips without also extending the knees and “deadlifting” away, usually from a lack of specific Bridging work..

Based on this, here is a simple routine you can do at home to help fix and improve these key elements to effective Leg Locks:

Mobility & Strength Drills for Better Leg Locks

1 – Shin Box Switch X 10-20 reps each direction
2 – Sphinx Shoulder Pumps X 10-20 reps
3 – Sphinx Head Nods & Head Turns X 10-20 reps each
4 – “Leg Lock” Glute Bridge X 5-10 reps with 3 second hold at the top

Here is a video from a workshop I did going over these drills:

I recommend doing these drills 4-7 times a week for the next month and see how you’re feeling on the mats. Couple this with some focused drilling for your Leg Locks and you’ll be catching and finishing more people with much less effort.

Until next time…

James Wilson
BJJ Strength Training Systems

A few weeks ago I shared a post on Glute Training for Total BJJ Hip Development. In it I shared some recent lessons I had learned about the importance of training all of the functions of the glutes.

The glutes have three main functions, which include 1) Hip Hinging, 2) Hip Abduction and 3) Hip Rotation. And while you can go down a rabbit hole of exercises with each one of these, one of the easiest ways to start training the glutes is to add in a Hip Band circuit at the end of your workout.

I’m using the term Hip Band as a generic term to refer to products like the Glute Loop and Slingshot Hip Circle – large bands that are placed above the knees and used for a variety of glute enhancing movements.

My favorite way to do this is to pick six movements and do each of them for 30 seconds. This comes out to three minutes of work (6 movements X 30 seconds each) and really targets areas of the hips you didn’t know you had.

In this video I share the circuit I use the most often, although there are a lot of different movements you can use with this training tool. The important thing is to get started with some specific glute training like what I show below:

On the mats this circuit has helped by making it harder for my opponents to pin my knees together, plus it has helped to relieve some low back pain I would get after one too many hard rounds. Having strong, functional glutes is important for both performance and staying healthy, making it a must for your BJJ specific program.

If you want to learn more about glute training I suggest checking out Bret Contreras, a.k.a. The Glute Guy. He’s done a lot of great work in helping to show the importance of glute specific training and while most of his work is with people who just want to look good, he’s worked with Team Attos in San Diego and gotten good feedback from them as well.

Glute training is going to be a big part of the future of BJJ specific strength training but you can stay ahead of the curve and start using it today. If you don’t have one already then invest in a Hip Band and start using circuits like this one a few time a week and see how much it improves your movement and strength on the mats.

Until next time…

Roll Strong,

James Wilson

As a jiu jitsu athlete and strength coach I’m always looking for ways to improve my results. Which is why an ad on Instagram for a training tool with a funny name caught my eye a few months ago.

While I almost never pay too much attention to things advertised on the ol’ social media channels, this one looked interesting enough for me to actually order. After a few days it arrived and I got my first chance to use what would become a favorite new training tool.

The Angles90 is a simple training tool that really helps improve the feel and functional carryover of some key exercises, most notably the Pull-Up/ Chin-Up and the Deadlift.

By allowing for a more natural rotation of the elbows and shoulders during these exercises it lets you get more out of each rep and train a very important BJJ specific movement skill. It also allows for a variety of grip options, giving you some different ways to train it as well.

Another benefit to using the Angles90 is that they take a lot of stress off the wrists, elbows and shoulders compared to using a fixed bar position. I’ve personally found them to be much easier on my elbows and wrists during Pull-Ups/ Chin-Ups and I can feel my shoulders staying in a better position during Deadlifts.

I shot this video to show you the Angles90 and why I now use them for all of my Deadlifts and Pull-Ups/ Chin-Ups.

I’ve also found it useful for KB Swings and for Steel Mace Counter Rows. If you use these training tools then check out this video for how to use them for these exercises.

They cost less than $50 and I can’t recommend them enough to help you get better BJJ specific results from your Deadlifts and Pull-Ups/ Chin-Ups. You can find out more and order a pair for yourself at their website www.angles90.com.

You can also use the coupon code A90WILSON10 to save 10% on your order. Great training tools that actually deliver results and don’t cost a small fortune are pretty rare, which is why I’m glad to be able to share this one with you.

Until next time…

Roll Strong,

James Wilson