Few movements are as important to us on the mats as having a strong bridge. Being able to lift your hips off the mat is essential to creating the space we need to move around on the bottom and a key movement to a lot of techniques.

One of the biggest concerns I get from BJJ athletes about adding strength training into their regimen is that they do not have time for it. Family, work, personal lives and (most importantly) rolling all add up leaving some of us with less than three hours per week for any other type of training.

The Kettlebell Swing is a very popular exercise in BJJ training circles but it is also an exercise that is often done wrong. If you want your Swings to translate over to the mat then you need to make sure that you are practicing how you want to move on the mats, not just “swing the kettlebell.”

Whenever I mention using Loaded Carries to someone when they ask about the best BJJ core training exercise I usually get one of two responses. The first is a blank stare – loaded what?

If you want to improve your ability to impose your will on your opponent then getting stronger should be a priority. If you want to remain injury free while you train hard then getting stronger should be a priority. And if you want to keep your performance levels high as you get older then getting stronger should be a big priority.