BJJ Strong Online Presents
The 5 Pillars of
BJJ Nutrition
BJJ Strong Online Presents
COntent
1. EAT FOR PERFORMANCE
2. ESTABLISH YOUR
BASELINE
3. WHAT TO EAT
4. WHEN TO EAT
5. PUTTING IT ALL
TOGETHEr
Resources
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
1. Eat for performance
Eating for performance in jiujitsu is very different to eating a weight
loss diet, or eating a diet, like a bodybuilder, or just eating a regular
healthy diet. Eating for performance is deliberate and specific
nutrition tactics that are going to help you perform better on the
mats.
The first thing we need to understand is your total daily energy
expenditure, or TDEE. You’re burning calories constantly. You’re even
burning calories right now as you’re reading this right now. To fuel
your body to be able to perform at jiu jitsu, you need to make sure
you’re eating enough calories to meet your energy demands.
Most Common Nutrition Mistakes
UNDEREATING! So many jiu jitsu people are not eating enough
😂
calories and are failing to refuel their bodies after hard training. This
doesn’t apply to everyone though, some of you are overeating
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
2. ESTABLISHING
YOUR BASELINE
The first step is establishing our baseline to work from is calculating
our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This may seem like a
complicated overwhelming task, but it1s really not. lt1s quite simple.
All you really need to start is your phone, jump on to TDEECalculator.
net.
Let’s walk through an example
Gender: Male
Age: 26
Weight: 80kg
Height 179cm
Activity: Heavy Exercise Body fat%: 10
TDEE: 3300 calories per day.
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
This means that a person with all of these body metrics and activity
level will burn 3300 calories per day. What we can do is take this
number to calculate a nutrition plan or at the very least have an idea
of how much food you need to be eating to fuel your body for jiujitsu
performance.
From here, you can manipulate your TDEE based on your goals,
calculate your macronutrients, and develop your nutrition plan or
be able to choose a sports performance nutrition plan that fits your
goals. To see some done for you nutrition plans and learn more
about developing your own nutrition plan check out BJJ Strong
Online.
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
3. what to eat
Okay, now that we know how much to eat, let’s delve into what
to eat. Let’s start with protein. When it comes to selecting protein
sources, athletes are best off utilizing a wide variety of protein
sources so that not only are they getting a diverse array of essential
amino acids, they’re also getting the nutrients that accompany
those diverse array of protein sources. The following is my personal
recommendation for protein:
Milk including whey protein
Eggs
Lean fleshy meats, like chicken and beef
Chickpeas
Fish
Rice Protein
Vegetables
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
When selecting fat sources, similar to protein sources, it1s good to
go with a wide variety of fats. But of course, we want to eliminate
all trans fats from your diet. This list is similar to the protein and is
by no means an exhaustive list or an exclusive list. These are simply
recommendations to point you in the right direction. Some healthy
fats to choose from are:
Eggs
Dairy
Avocados
Nuts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Fatty fish like salmon
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
Lastly, we have carbohydrates. Not all carbohydrates are created
equally. This is not a license to smash sugar, chocolate and other
crap just because you need to get carbs. By no means should you be
avoiding or vilifying carbohydrate, just carefully consider which carbs
you1re selecting. What I like to do is create a blend of complex and
simple carbs in my diet including:
Whole Grains
Rice (brown and white rice)
Starchy Vegetables
Sweet Potato
Fruits
Legumes
A Note About Ketogenic Diets
Keto diets are considered “very
low carbohydrate” diets and
are generally defined by con
suming less than 20g of “net”
carbohydrate (which is total
carbs minus fibre contained
within that food). I do not
recommend ketogenic diets
for sports performance as they
have been shown to be less
effective in sports which reduce
high power output such as jiu
jitsu. The Keto diet can be a good
option for some people though,
so if it’s something that interests
you, I recommend seeking more
information.
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
4. WHEN TO EAT
So now that we know what to eat, let1s tackle when to eat. Make sure
you1re eating three to five meals spread out evenly throughout the
day, or in the case of intermittent fosters out there throughout your
eating window. All you need to do is ensure that you have a good
spread between all three macronutrients in each of your meals, but
for added bonus points, try to avoid having any more than about
40 grams of protein per meal, because this can impact your protein
absorption. For pre training, I recommend eating anywhere from an
hour to two hours prior to training. And when you select that meal, go
with a simple carbohydrate, and a fast absorbing protein source that
would look like a piece of fruit like a banana, and whey protein like a
protein shake.
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
Next is post workout meal. This
is probably the most important
meal to make sure you get right
when you exercise, it is important
to refuel your body following that
exercise, particularly if you1re
going to train sometime else
throughout the day. What I mean
by this is if you1re training jiujitsu
in the morning, and maybe you1re
doing weights in the evening,
or vice versa, it1s important to
eat within about 20 minutes of
that training session after it1s
finished, and for that meal to
include carbohydrate. This is so
that your muscle glycogen stores
can have a chance to resupply
prior to your next exercise effort. If
you1re only training once per day,
a post workout meal is still really
important, and make sure that it
includes both carbohydrate and
fats.
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
5. PUTTING IT ALL
TOGETHER
Let’s go through an example of what a nutrition plan looks like
following the principles that we1ve already discussed. Alright, so this
is an example of what you could eat in a day.
For breakfast, an egg and avocado wrap.
For lunch, steak and sweet otato fries with a side salad.
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
Afternoon pre-training snack could be high protein yogurt
with granola and some fresh berries or a protein shake and
a piece of fruit like a banana.
For dinner, lemon salmon with a side of broccoli on a bed of
brown rice.
If you want some assistance in formulating your own nutrition plan,
or if you want a “done foryou” nutrition plan with more detailed
nutrition guidance, check out the B] Performance and Longevity
Course where I share with you everything I know about nutrition
which will help you perform both on and off the mats.
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
Resources:
I hope you enjoyed this nutrition guide
specifically for grapplers!
Nutrition is only 1 element of the key
components of grappling athletic
performance. To have the absolute best
approach to jiujitsu performance and
longevity you need to focus on mobility,
strength, power, nutrition, hydration and
everything in between.
That’s why I created the ULTIMATE BJJ
performance platform BJJ Strong Online.
It has helped grapplers all around the
world get STRONG and MOBILE for BJJ and
reduces risk of injury.
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The 5 Pillars of BJJ Nutrition
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