Jozef Chen recently opened up about his decision to begin strength training – after years of following a philosophy popularized by Jiu-Jitsu legend Marcelo Garcia.

Chen explained that he spent years believing that lifting weights was unnecessary because Garcia had famously achieved success without it:

I was like, oh, Marcelo said he never lifts, so I’m just not going to lift as well.

For many young grapplers, Garcia’s emphasis on technique, mat time, and consistency over traditional strength training became a blueprint for success.
Chen followed that approach until recurring injuries forced him to reconsider:

Wow, my knee is still hurting. It’s been three months since I injured it and it’s not getting better. I may as well try lifting.

A lot of my motivation to lift is more from like a self preservation standpoint.
I just got so many injuries.

Over time, Chen came to believe that a lack of stability may have contributed to some of those issues:

I think maybe I had a lack of stability in a lot of positions and that led to me getting injured a little bit more.

Today, strength training has become a regular part of his routine.
Chen explained that he currently lifts around three times per week and follows a structured program designed by a coach:

He just sent me a new program like three weeks ago, so it’s nice.

Despite making changes to his own training, Chen remains a huge admirer of Garcia and his accomplishments.
When asked about hypothetical matchups against retired competitors, Garcia’s name quickly came up:

If you’re talking about prime, holy, okay, yeah. Then Marcelo is going to be an insane answer. Basically for anyone.

Chen also discussed his plans for ADCC 2026 and his decision to move up in weight:

I don’t think I’m like 88 sized necessarily, but I’m a little bit heavier. I started doing 77 when I was 17 years old.
So it became harder and harder over time.

According to Chen, the process of making 77kg had become increasingly difficult and was affecting both his training and recovery:

Every time I have to cut to 77, I think the combination of training hard and dieting, it’s quite hard to stay in good health.
It’s very miserable. I often get sick and injured.

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