Brazilian Jiu-jitsu For Weight Loss: Four Steps to Help You Achieve Your Goals
by Team Digitsu
Updated: April 03, 2024
Losing weight can be challenging and complex, but incorporating Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) training into your routine can help you achieve your weight loss goals. BJJ is a martial art that focuses on grappling and ground fighting, offering numerous benefits for weight loss and fitness. In this article, we'll discuss how weight loss works in general, how BJJ can help you lose weight and four steps for using BJJ to help you achieve your weight loss goals.
How weight-loss works in general
Weight loss is losing body fat by burning more calories than you consume. This can be achieved through a combination of diet and exercise.
The basic principle of weight loss is to create a calorie deficit, which means burning more calories than you consume. This can be done by reducing your calories and increasing your physical activity.
One way to create a calorie deficit is to reduce the amount of food you eat. This can be done by cutting back on high-calorie, unhealthy foods and replacing them with foods that are lower in calories but still provide the nutrients your body needs.
Another way to create a calorie deficit is to increase your physical activity. This can be done through regular exercises, such as walking, running, or lifting weights. Exercise helps to burn calories and build lean muscle mass, which can help you lose weight and keep it off.
In addition to diet and exercise, other factors can affect weight loss, such as genetics, hormones, and medical conditions.
Overall, weight loss is a complex process that requires a combination of diet and exercise to be effective. By burning more calories than you consume and building lean muscle mass, you can lose weight and improve your health.
How Brazilian Jiu-jitsu helps you lose weight
One of the most significant benefits of BJJ training is that it burns many calories. In fact, it's not unusual for people to burn over 500 calories during a single training session. BJJ is a high-intensity activity requiring much physical exertion and movement. BJJ can help you create a calorie deficit and lose weight by burning so many calories.
Another benefit of BJJ training is that it encourages a healthy lifestyle. You'll likely want to train better and improve your skills when you start training BJJ. This often leads to healthier choices in other areas of your life. For example, you're probably not going to be as excited about having a Five Guys bacon cheeseburger and a large milkshake just before a long training session and instead choose to eat healthier options before training. As you spend more time at the gym, you will be surrounded by other active individuals. You know what they say, "You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with". As a result, BJJ training can help you develop healthy habits that support your weight loss goals.
In addition, BJJ training can help restrict eating activities. Training takes time, and you may eat less when focused on training. This can help you control your calorie intake and make it easier to create a calorie deficit. Additionally, you may be less likely to engage in unhealthy snacking habits when training regularly. This is because you're burning calories training instead of going out to eat or snacking on the couch while catching up on Netflix.
Finally, BJJ training can help you build some muscle. While it's probably not effective in building muscle mass as strength sports or bodybuilding, you will likely put on some lean muscle mass if you were otherwise inactive. With more muscle mass, your body will burn more calories at rest, which can help you lose weight and keep it off. Plus, building muscle can improve your strength and endurance, making your BJJ training more effective.
BJJ training is a great way to lose weight and improve your health. By burning calories, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, restricting eating activities, and building muscle, BJJ can help you achieve your weight loss goals.
4 steps for using BJJ to help you lose weight
- Know how many calories you need to maintain your weight. To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means burning more calories than you consume. To do this, you need to know how many calories you need to maintain weight. This will vary depending on age, sex, weight, and activity level. A healthcare provider or online calculator can help you determine your calorie needs.
- Track your calorie burn when training, including BJJ and other forms of exercise. To create a calorie deficit, you need to know how many calories you burn through physical activity. Many tools and apps, including wearable fitness trackers, can help you track your calorie burn. You can see how much BJJ and other exercise forms contribute to your weight loss goals by tracking your calorie burn. We've found Whoop to be an excellent tool for tracking calories during BJJ training. They have wearable armbands you can wear under your rashguard.
- Track the calories you eat. In addition to tracking your calorie burn, it's also essential to track your calories. This can help ensure you're not consuming more calories than you're burning. Many tools and apps can help you track your calorie intakes, such as food journals and calorie-counting apps. By tracking your calorie intake, you can make sure you're creating the right balance between calories burned and calories consumed.
- Total calories burned should average out to more than calories eaten over time. To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, which means that the total number of calories you burn should be greater than the total number of calories you consume. You can create the right balance between the two by tracking your calorie burn and calorie intake. Over time, this should result in weight loss as your body burns stored fat to compensate for the deficit.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu (BJJ) training is a great way to lose weight and improve overall health. BJJ offers numerous benefits for weight loss, including burning calories, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, restricting eating activities, and building muscle. By incorporating BJJ into your weight loss routine and following the four steps outlined in this article, you can use BJJ to help you achieve your weight loss goals.
