Powerlifter turned Grappler

[afc96]

Hey guys,

I used to compete in Powerlifting but has now switched over to doing BJJ/grappling for 8 months.

I train BJJ 5-6x/week (sometimes twice a day) and weight train 3x/week.

My 1RM right now, if I have to guess is around 330/253/330 @135lbs. My previous PRs were 463/300/485 @~135. I dont think I lost that much strength considering I no longer squat low bar with XXXS sleeves, have a 2inch bench ROM, and pull sumo deadlift.

My question is,

Is increasing my lifts even beneficial anymore?

I dont think I would be able to increase my lifts with a volume thats low enough that it wouldnt harm my BJJ training. I am very confused now on what to do in the gym.

For the past 8 months, I've just been coming in to do the big five, going by feel.

Thanks in advance.

[Mark Rippetoe]

How tall/old are you?

[afc96]

How tall/old are you?

5'3" and 23 years old.

[Nick Delgadillo]

Hey guys,

I used to compete in Powerlifting but has now switched over to doing BJJ/grappling for 8 months.

I train BJJ 5-6x/week (sometimes twice a day) and weight train 3x/week.

My 1RM right now, if I have to guess is around 330/253/330 @135lbs. My previous PRs were 463/300/485 @~135. I dont think I lost that much strength considering I no longer squat low bar with XXXS sleeves, have a 2inch bench ROM, and pull sumo deadlift.

My question is,

Is increasing my lifts even beneficial anymore?

The short answer is yes. It's always beneficial. But, with the amount of BJJ you're doing and your bodyweight, this will be difficult to do. Sounds like you're just getting started with JiuJitsu. I'd advise you to keep going to the gym, eat more, and maintain your lifts by going heavy. After a couple more months of BJJ, you'll really need to get your programming and eating in order to start getting the weight on the bar going up again. Beyond the first few months of BJJ, for any given period of time, there is nothing you can do to improve your performance on the mat than to get stronger.

[Adam Lauritzen]

What belt are you presently? Do you plan to compete in BJJ at any point in the future? Nick is right about the limited strength gains on the mat. What does your program look like now? My training schedule is very similar to yours as far as frequency, so I'd be interested in what you're doing now to sort of compare notes.

Also yes it's beneficial. If the your ability to produce force isn't going up, it will be going down. In my experience "maintaining strength" does not occur. This isn't to say that the the weight on the bar goes up everyday beyond a certain point, just that you need to be pursuing strength increases over time as you proceed through the levels of training advancement.