Your shoulders are one of the most amazing structures in your body. They allow us to do a wide variety of things through their ability to move through a huge range of motion. Nothing else in your body even comes close to them in this regards and thanks to them we can do everything from throw a ball to cinch in an armlock.

The trade off, though, is that they are much more prone to injury than most joints. They can easily get put into a position where they are weak and vulnerable, making it important to keep your shoulders strong and healthy.

A big part of this is your shoulder mobility. Unlike flexibility, which is your ability to relax into a range of motion, mobility is defined as your ability to control and exert force through a range of motion.

This means that if you can stretch your shoulders into a position that you can’t actively control then you have a gap between your flexibility and mobility, and it is this gap where the potential for injury is greatest.

So while you certainly need to do some shoulder stretching, especially if you are really tight, you also have to incorporate mobility drills into your routine as well.

While there are a lot of ways to do this one of my favorite methods lately is to use Stick Drills. By holding a stick in both hands you are able to connect both sides of the body, maintain better tension throughout the range of motion and help improve your mobility faster (this is based on my experience and observations so please don’t ask for the studies).

In this video I go over some of my favorite Stick Drills to improve your shoulder mobility. They are a great way to warm up before training or anytime your shoulders start to feel tight.

Using mobility training like this can help stack the odds in your favor by improving the range of motion you can control and decreasing your risk of injury. We need all the help we can get on the mats and hopefully these Stick Drills will help you like they’ve helped me.

Until next time…

Roll Strong,

James Wilson

Want to know the #1 thing that can make a difference in your BJJ journey?

While the physical stuff is important, the #1 thing is actually your mindset. Until you get things straight between the ears the rest of the body doesn’t really matter.

Of course, this isn’t news to a lot of you. Most of us have heard this in some form or another during our BJJ journey, ranging from warnings about the ego to keeping the long term in mind when faced with setbacks.

But while we get bits and pieces of it, what exactly does this mindset look like? Can you define it in a way that makes it easy for anyone to start using it?

Luckily the answer is “yes”. Thanks to the science behind elite athletes and Navy SEALS we can define what this mindset is…and it may surprise you.

It all comes down to a simple question – are you a Pessimist or an Optimist?

That’s right, how you interpret things when the world gives you lemons is the #1 predictor of how likely you are to stick with something hard like BJJ.

However, far from the touchy-feely hippie stuff that usually goes with these terms, the way we’re talking about them has a concrete definition that can apply.

A Pessimist says:
This happens all the time
Things will never change
It is all my fault

An Optimist says:
This won’t last forever
There is a specific reason for what happened
It wasn’t my fault, I just made a mistake and can learn from it

In this context the terms make perfect sense – if you feel like things always suck, will never get better and you are a terrible person because of it then you’re motivation level isn’t going to be super high. I mean, who would want to stick with something hard if there isn’t any hope?

But if you feel like things will get better and you can learn from the experience to help you improve in the long run then you have some hope, which makes it much easier to stick with something.

An Optimist’s mindset is also closely related to the “Growth Mindset” needed to learn. If you see things as a puzzle to be solved rather than a situation to be endured then you will automatically start seeking ways to learn instead of excuses to make yourself feel better.

This also applies to starting a training program (had to tie it into the strength training stuff somehow, right?). Approaching a training program as an opportunity to learn more about how to use your body to its maximum potential is much more interesting than slogging through another workout because “you need to”.

On a side note, I got the idea for this article while reading the book Barking Up the Wrong Tree: The Surprising Science Behind Why Everything You Know About Success Is (Mostly) Wrong by Eric Barker. It’s a great book with lots of insights you can apply to BJJ and life.

Make sure you’re keeping the right mindset and I guarantee you’ll enjoy the journey more, which will make you more likely to stick with it. While it’s a tough journey, a little optimism can go a long way.

Until next time…

Roll Strong,

James Wilson
BJJ Strength Training

One of the most common things that you will hear from higher belts is that BJJ is all in the hips. The ability to move the hips is one of the most important skills for both offense and defense, plus the better your hips work the less strain you put on your lower back as well.

This is is why being able to use the hips properly is so important. And while a lot of BJJ athletes are aware of the importance of mobility training and working on exercises like Deadlifts and Swings, few recognize the need to include specific Glute Training to round out their hip development.

While the hips work in exercises like the Deadlift and Squat, they are also responsible for rotating the legs and pushing the knees out. Both Hip Rotation and Abduction (the fancy word for pushing something away from the midline of the body) are vital movements when rolling and training them is a must to see the best results on the mat.

In addition, the Glute Bridge has been shown in recent studies by Bret Contreras to work the body in a very specific way, meaning that it is important to train on its own as well. Bret, who’s worked with the dominant Attos Team in San Diego, has shown that the Glute Bridge is different than Deadlifts or Cleans, making it necessary to develop the best BJJ specific strength and movement.

In this video I explain more about the importance of Glute Training for BJJ and show you some simple ways that you can start including it in your program:

Like they say, Jiu Jitsu is all in the hips and the glutes are one of the most important muscles for hip function. Start including some simple Glute Training in your routine and see how it can help you.

Until next time…

Roll Strong,

James Wilson
BJJ Strength Training Systems