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Benefits of Jiu Jitsu For Adults

benefits of jiu jitsu for adults
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Working out at the gym is boring. It’s already a challenge these days to be a busy adult. What if I told you there was a way to get into the best shape of your life, have a blast doing so, and become a better person? Look no further because we have you covered! Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art that has been exploding in popularity all across the United States for the past 5 years! There are so many benefits of jiu-jitsu for adults of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds. In this article, we talk about some of the benefits of training in this martial art as a busy adult!   

BENEFITS OF BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU FOR ADULTS

1) Increased Cardiovascular Health

Jiu-Jitsu is excellent for those looking to get into the best shape of their life!

Rolling around on the mats and getting a sweat in for one hour a day will drastically increase your cardiovascular health and physical strength! It is very common to start BJJ with bad cardio, but the more frequently you go the quicker you gain the endurance you need to stay competitive with your training partners!

You do not need to be in shape before you start doing jiu-jitsu, it will be a sport that will get you to that point!

Many people that have started were not in the best shape but after starting, quickly found themselves there.

2) Huge Amounts of Stress Relief

There is something about jiu-jitsu that is extremely relieving. The constant exposure to the stress of going full speed when fighting someone who is trying to overpower you has the reverse effect on how we feel. Getting yourself uncomfortable makes you calmer in stressful situations or environments.

In a world where everything is given out so cheaply, we have a responsibility to ourselves and the people we love to seek discomfort in the ways we train. Sharpen iron with iron is a quote that our gym lives by and it’s a philosophy that I personally embody with the way I train.

Jiu-Jitsu has a night-and-day effect on my mood. Finding jiu-jitsu has been something that has helped my mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

Several people who train jiu-jitsu use it as an outlet from the outside world. In a world that offers so many negative things as outlets, jiu-jitsu has been a positive one for many all around the world!

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3) Boost Your Confidence

When you walk around knowing that you are trained in a martial art you feel extremely comfortable in your skin. It grounds you as a human. Jiu-Jitsu is no different, one thing that differentiates this martial art from others is the fact that you are more prepared for real-world situations. 

Nothing on the planet has made us feel this way since we started our journey on the mats.

We live in a world that is on the brink of chaos. It feels less and less safe to walk around and just be a human these days. With a country that is continuing to find itself divided, we need to be able to defend ourselves and those we love.

When you train jiu-jitsu, if something bad were to break out you would be able to handle it. Jiu-jitsu is a that gets you comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Almost all of the skills learned in jiu-jitsu can be applied to work or real-world situations.

When you learn any skill and get competent you gain unshakable confidence. Who doesn’t like feeling confident in their abilities? Jiu-Jitsu will teach you how to acquire skills if you are young and will help you gain more as an adult.

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4) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: The Game Referred as “Human Chess”

Intelligent people love Jiu-Jitsu. The people that get addicted to the sport are likely very smart. It takes a lot of brain power to know how to react and move your body in a way that applies good pressure and takes advantage of favorable positions.

The smartest people we know both on the internet and in our personal life train Jiu-Jitsu. Some notable people who do (and the list continues to grow) are Joe RoganLex Fridman, and Mark Zuckerberg (love or hate this guy he’s a smart human).

These guys are just a small handful of highly intelligent individuals who chose Brazilian jiu-jitsu as their form of exercise. Chances are extremely high that most people who decide to partake in this sport have high IQs.

If you are in sales, law, or finance we almost guarantee you will enjoy Brazilian jiu-jitsu JUST based on knowing the types of individuals that have these types of careers.

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5) You’ll always be challenged

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is more than just a physical challenge, it is a martial art that will push you mentally as well. It is hard to find ways to use ourselves physically and mentally these days, especially in the form of exercise.

Most people that get into jiu-jitsu are getting into their later years of life. We are not 18 anymore and running around on the courts or tackling each other a field is just not plausible to keep our body healthy, so how can people who care about staying healthy and want to stay mentally sharp do just that? Well, jiu-jitsu.

Finding good training partners will be the way to take yourself to the next level. Iron sharpens iron and on those mats, you will find a stronger opponent. People will push your critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities in a healthy way. Grappling is a great way to push yourself and a great way to have fun while doing so. Whether you are on a weight loss journey or looking to just improve your overall health, that first class will be something to remember.

Our day-to-day life can get stressful. Work is not the easiest and trying to start a business from the ground is not for the weak. When we train, nothing else matters in the outside world. Jiu-jitsu acts as a real escape for us and has been a fantastic way to level upon many fronts so we can tackle those stress points in our life head-on.

6) Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Builds Strength And Flexibility

Grappling involves putting all your muscles in your body and increasing strength. It also means that if you constantly push or stretch the body you are more resilient. Your endurance in combat can grow significantly.

The main benefits you will see will come in the form of physical health and problem-solving skills. Training Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a dynamic way to exercise that acts as both cardio and strength training. Other sports may not provide this type of exercise.

 

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7) There are progression and mastery opportunities

Brazilian jiu-jitsu uses a belt strip system that runs from white to black belt. Getting to your black belt is a lifelong pursuit that many will not see to the end. The stripe system is a great way to keep you motivated to rise through the ranks and show progress in your skill set.

When you master basic positions and see the progress you are making firsthand in the live sparring sessions your self-esteem goes through the roof. I know it feels good to get better at something because I see it in my own training sessions.

We want to train Brazilian jiu-jitsu for the rest of our life just because it is the first sport that we have taken on in our lives that gave us a real shot at mastering something. The goal of reaching the highest level is what keeps us coming back, no matter how long it takes.

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8) Lose Weight

Brazilian jiu-jitsu has been a fantastic way for lots of people to lose weight FAST!

Many people start out Brazilian jiu-jitsu, not at their best. We always urge those that are even out of shape to try out BJJ because you cannot get into shape to train Brazilian jiu-jitsu without stepping foot on the mats, there is literally nothing like this.

After getting a couple of beginner classes under your belt you should be looking to start training in the intermediate or mixed levels classes. This is where all the magic happens and you really start to see the health benefits that Brazilian jiu-jitsu has to offer.

The physical benefits you will see after you train consistently are hard to find anywhere else. yes, you could go start lifting weights but the gym is too easy of a place to get distracted and go through the motions. The mental focus that it takes to do this physical activity should not be underestimated, it is just one of the many reasons why we fell in love with the martial art in the first place.

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9) Meet New Friends

Meeting new friends as an adult can be very challenging. Lucky for you, almost everyone in the room that will be training jiu-jitsu is going to be an older adult.

The average age of a white belt is 29 years old and there are plenty of people that are around the age of 40 that train. After spending significant amounts of time on the mats a lot of the people you roll with will truly become your friends. There is an unspoken brotherhood for those that train BJJ and you can notice this when you start to hop around to other gyms.

Everyone, no matter were you go, is always so welcoming to those tat come in and train. Regardless of where you are from, you can find your tribe while training Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The only thing you have to make sure of is being a good partner that people actually want to train with, otherwise, you may get smashed by the local mat enforcer!

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10) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Teaches Leadership

As you progress in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu the experience will give you valuable leadership skills that will help you in the rest of your life.

This is something that we have only started to notice recently. When you show up and train often, you start to get recognized in the gym who is taking your training seriously. As that happens, you typically get promoted to a higher rank. By default, people look up to those who are higher belts than them because they have knowledge that someone else may not possess at the time.

If you were a natural leader growing up, you will thrive on the mats if you take your training seriously and put forth your best effort to progress.

leadership

11) Brazilian Jiu-jitsu develops your problem-solving skills

Learning how to problem solve on the fly is everything that encompasses Brazilian jiu-jitsu. You do not have to train to become some world-class athlete (although the possibility is there) you can just train to become a better overall human.

When rolling, you are actively solving problems that arise while someone else is doing the same exact thing. This acts almost like a delicate dance that two people have to put on in the 5-minute rounds that you will work in.

12) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu builds discipline

Training on a regular basis takes a level of commitment that most people in the world are just flat-out not going to want to do.

When something is easily attained, nine times out of 10 it’s not worth the prize. We love the fact that not many people training martial arts because it gives us a real edge over those that don’t. Every day we are putting out best foot forward, pushing ourselves mentally and physically, and applying discipline to our life, can other people say the same thing?

The gap between those that make this martial art a lifestyle choice and those that will not show up at some point or another. We are actively making the choice to become the best version of ourselves and through the discipline, we have learned from BJJ we will reach it.

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13) Learn Humility

The quickest way to get humbled is to get smoked by someone half your age and half your size. This may be something that we experienced firsthand…

If you come in with an inflated ego it will get checked very quickly, especially in the intermediate classes. Now, there is nothing wrong with having an ego, it is what keeps you coming back and wanting to progress in the martial art but there is an issue when you let this line of thinking cloud your vision. Many people quit Brazilian jiu-jitsu because they cannot handle the consistent amount of ego check you will have in the first 6 – 8 months of training.

Humility is a beautiful thing but just because you learn how to check your ego does not make you a person who lacks self-confidence. In many ways, checking the ego leads to being a more self-confident person.

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Jiu-jitsu is for adults of all ages and creeds, inside those four walls, you will run into many people from many different walks of life! It is very easy to make excuses on why you are not ready but just know no one is completely ready when they start anything new!

 

Choices are the only things that allow us to move past our excuses and a great example of choosing a greater lifestyle is none other than Alex Martinez, CO-Owner of Ares East Mesa BJJ Academy. We had the pleasure of interviewing jiu-jitsu black belt instructor and navy veteran, Alex Martinez this last weekend to talk about his journey.

Alex is a great example of a human that went from a dark place to loving what he does daily and finding purpose! Putting personal excuses aside to change for the better is no easy task but doing so has changed the lives of millions that decide to take the leap each year.

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Starting Something Later in Life with Alex Martinez

Weighing in at almost 250 lbs, Martinez was in bad shape, both mentally and physically. Alex was convinced, out of spite by his wife’s co-worker since he would not shut up about it. Martinez painted a picture of a time when he had to take breaks after walking up a flight of stairs.”I had no desire to do anything. At one point I thought I was going to die from a heart attack from just walking up the stairs.”

“This sport changed my life,” said Alex, ” I do not know where I would be if I did not discover the sport and committed to it”. Outside of the changes in the mirror, Alex recalls that the mental aspect of the sport was the most impactful to him. “The mental changes have been the biggest difference for me. I am a better husband, father, and friend because of the lessons I have learned on the mats.”

Those that do join and stay committed find something you cannot find anywhere else. The brotherhood formed around this community and the personal benefits of jiu-jitsu is unmatched. No other martial art will give you the feeling I am explaining. The average age of an adult starting jiu-jitsu in the United States is 28 years old and we have personally seen people walk in at the age of 60!!

We firmly believe that jiu-jitsu is the best tool that someone can use to make themselves better humans. We were meant to be athletic, our bodies were forged in times when it was a necessity to be able to hunt, run, and fight. Jiu Jitsu gets us back to our primal roots and allows us truly tap into our human potential.

Alex got his black belt under 4x IBJJF World Masters Champion Paul Nava who also runs a gym based out of Phoenix, Arizona.

 

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Unleash your ultimate fighter with the xMartial Spats. These compression pants are built for high-intensity training and workouts and look stylish with any workout shirt. Great as MMA and BJJ spats, and as workout compression pants for men.

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Fuji BJJ spats are renowned for being the best compression spats in the market. These spats are crafted with high-quality materials, typically a blend of polyester and spandex. This combination offers a perfect balance of comfort, flexibility, and durability.

Budget Friendly

Elite Sports offers premium gear without breaking the bank. Elite Sports spats are built for high-intensity workouts for both MMA and BJJ.

Finding Gyms Near You

Over the last decade, the number of gyms across the United States has grown exponentially (thank you Joe Rogan and the UFC).

All you have to do these days is Google and call your local gym to get started. In our case, we found our gym through an Instagram Advertisement!!

When you call, be sure to see if they offer some free classes before you commit, the gym is clean and beginner-friendly. If you do not want to do this yourself, we will tap into our existing network and find you the BEST gym in your area! 

You should not sign up if you hate having fun, don’t want to dedicate yourself to learning a skill, love to make excuses, or don’t get along with other people. Many of the lessons you will learn on the mats will translate directly into your daily life and help you change positively.

Why Every Adult and Child Should at Least TRY Martial Arts

Martial arts is something that could benefit anyone who walks through the door. Whether it is a child who was bullied, a kid who may not be the biggest, an adult that let themselves go, or just someone looking to protect themselves from danger, there is room for you here at a Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym.

Martial arts (specifically Brazilian jiu-jitsu) is truly for everyone. If you have not yet, give it a try you may end up enjoying it so much you stick around as we did.