Former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones is back in the gym and is hitting the weights hard. Here is a video of him hitting his deadlift personal best of 525 lbs (238kgs), weighing 222 lbs (100 kgs).

The three main powerlifting exercises that are beneficial for BJJ players are Deadlifts, Benchpress and Squats. It is also advisable to use more specialized exercises like pull ups, presses, rows to strengthen other parts of the body and that are used in a BJJ fight.

Deadlifts and squats strengthen your legs and core, which give you better balance and impact when going for takedowns and throws. Bench press are great for building chess chest, triceps and core sterngth, which you use in BJJ to push opponents away, or control them. When designing your own routine, you should try to design a program that makes you work all your major muscle groups.

Why Deadlifts?

Deadlifts are arguably the exercise with the biggest ‘Bang For Your Buck’ and translates the best for  jiu-jitsu in terms of functional strength. It radically strengthens your legs (the hamstrings in particular), hips, core, posture and grips. The deadlift covers all the muscles that get worked on in Jiu-Jitsu. This means that you will be able to stuff takedown attempts, have a stronger base while passing guard and able to pressure your opponents wioth your strong hip pressure.

Check out these videos of world class BJJ players deadlifting as part of their strtength program.

Marcus Buchecha deadlift:

UFC fighters Jim Miller and Raffy Oliveira deadlifting almost 3 times their weight. Their PR in the deadlift with 425lbs for 3 singles when both weigh around 160 pounds!

Ricardo Almeida Sprawl deadlifts:

Olympic Judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii deadlifting as part of his strength training: