Mobility for Jiu Jitsu
You know that stretching and being mobile in jiu jitsu is really important. However, you might be at a loss for what to do. You’ve probably, like me, tried doing the classic stretches like putting your arm across your chest or pulling your toes to your butt or bending at the hips and dangling your hands to the floor. While these are all better than nothing, the fact that you’re looking up mobility for jiu jitsu says you want more than that. You want to be better. With that in mind, here’s how you can access new range of motion so you can perform at new heights.
Let’s start with the rolling. The purpose of rolling is to get blood into the muscles and help you relax so that when you stretch it will be more effective. A lacrosse ball, foam roller, or barbell can work, depending on the body part. With all of the following, the goal is to find a spot or two that hurt in that “deep massage hurts so good” kind of way and contract the muscle around it. If a spot hurts in that “I’m tearing something and can feel it turning into hamburger meat” way, stop immediately. If you don’t feel anything, try moving the thing around a little bit in the general area until you do.
You can contract and release the muscle by either moving the joint it connects to (for example, if you’re working on your hamstring, then bend and extend the knee) or by simply tensing it up. You’ll make ten full range passes/contractions per spot. Try to get a little farther each time. When you do the pass/contraction, don’t just flail or whip through it. Go slow and controlled with each pass, feeling the muscle contract and relax on the ball. This allows it to get deep and bring in blood. As you contract and release the muscle on it, the pain should lessen. If I were with you in person, I could test movements and give you a personalized routine. Since I’m not, here’s a great shotgun routine for you to try.
Back of the Shoulder. To find the spot you need to hit, start at the top of the armpit. From there, put the lacrosse ball one inch above it and one inch closer to the spine. Next, take that arm and lift your elbow out to the side. Once you’ve done that, with your arm at your side and the elbow bent, rotate your arm in and out like a windshield wiper. Do this on both sides.
Pec Minor. Start at the little divot where your shoulder, chest, and collarbone all meet. From there, go about three inches toward your sternum and four inches down. Put the ball on that spot and lean into it on a wall. Lift your arm in front of you and back down again. After the ten passes, have your arm at your side, bend at the elbow, and rotate the hand in and out like a windshield wiper.
Forearm. Put the ball on a table, counter, or box. Rest your forearm on the ball, just below the elbow, and put pressure into it. Open and close your hand, then bend and extend the wrist.
Lat. Facing parallel to the wall, put the ball about four inches below your armpit. Next, turn yourself away from the wall a bit. Put pressure and lift your arm, trying to get a little higher with each pass.
Hamstring/Adductor. You’ve got two options here. You can either find a box or chair and use the ball or you can find a barbell in a squat rack. Put the ball or bar about halfway up your thigh and sit as much of your weight as you can handle into it, then bend and extend your knee. This is going to hit your hamstring nice and hard. To get your adductor, rotate your leg inward and scootch up toward your groin.
Glute/Piriformis. Start sitting on the ground with your legs in front of you, knees bent at 90 degrees. Then, put the ball under one of your butt cheeks. Roll it around until you find the spot that hurts. Don’t be afraid to go out towards the side of your butt. Once you’re in pain, move that knee to the floor and back up again.
Once all the rolling is finished, it’s time to stretch out. The important part of the stretching is to not just hang out passively. Remember, in jiu jitsu, you have to actively move the limb around your opponent, not throw it like a spaz. What you’ll want to do is called PAILS and RAILS. No, we’re not talking about waterbuckets and Thomas the Tank Engine. PAILS is just when you get to the end range of a stretch, you squeeze the muscle you’re trying to stretch. RAILS is when you relax that muscle and use the opposite muscle to pull yourself deeper into the stretch. For example, with your hamstring you would have a partner hold your heel while you lie down. You’d push your heel down, trying to kick the floor and he or she would resist you. That would be the PAILS. Then, he or she would grab the front of your ankle and you’d try to bring your toes to your head. This is the RAILS. This is very different from just hanging out in the stretch because it actually builds strength in the stretched position, allowing you to keep the new range of motion.
Lat. Grab a broomstick and hold it with an underhand grip, about shoulder width. Find a bench and get on all fours, but with your elbows on it. Sit back onto your heels to get into the stretch. Once you’re at almost end range, try to pull your elbows down to your hips, but don’t actually move your body. Slowly increase the tension until it’s a 100%, this should take about three to five seconds. Hold it at maximum tension for ten seconds. From there, slowly release it. Immediately pull yourself back into the stretch by slowly raising the tension in the opposite direction. In this case, you’re trying to pull your elbows behind your ears. Once the tension is at 100%, hold it there for ten seconds. Repeat this process two more times for this stretch. This is PAILS (squeezing against the stretch) and RAILS (squeezing into the stretch.) You’ll do it for all of the stretches below as well.
Forearm/biceps. Find a wall. Put your hand flat against it with your arm extended. Your middle finger should point backwards and the crook of your elbow should point forward. From here, take small steps back to bend the wrist, keeping the hand flat against the wall. Once your arm is perpendicular to the wall, turn your ribcage away. This will hit your biceps nice and hard. Do PAILS by trying to push your palm and fingers into the wall and RAILS by trying to pull your palm and fingers back toward your forearm.
Internal Rotators. Grab a broomstick or long piece of PVC. Hold it in one hand with the longer end toward your thumb. Put the broomstick along the middle of the back of the biceps. Take the end with either your other hand or put it against something and lift that end up. This will rotate your hand backward toward your butt. Think about giving yourself an Americana lock, but keeping the elbow high and without the whole tearing the rotator cuff thing. Do PAILS by trying to fight the Americana and RAILS by trying to give yourself an Americana.
Piriformis/Glute. Similar to pigeon pose from yoga, this is modified so the other leg isn’t restricting you. You’ll put the target leg on a box, letting the other leg dangle however’s comfortable. From there, it’s the same. Lean forward and turn toward the target leg. Do PAILS by trying to push your whole leg into the box and RAILS by trying to pull your leg into your body.
Quad/Hip Flexor. We’ve all seen the runner stretch where you grab your own foot and pull it backwards. Here’s the improved version of it. Find a squat rack or bench. Put the top of your foot on the back leg onto the bar/bench. Put your front foot a little ahead of you. It should look like an extremely narrow stance split squat. Your abs should be braced to keep you from arching your back throughout the stretch. Do PAILS by trying to extend the knee and bring it forward, like you’re trying to do a kick, and RAILS by trying to pull your knee to your butt.
The first time you’ll do all of the rolls and stretches. You’ll notice that some of them make a difference and others don’t seem to do anything for you. This is fine. Keep the ones that benefit you and toss the ones that do nothing. The structure for all of them is the same. For all of the rolls, you’ll do ten passes or contractions on each spot on each side. For the stretches, you’ll do ten seconds of PAILS and ten seconds of RAILS for three sets in each stretch. Always do the rolling before the stretching. Beyond that, order doesn’t matter much, but I recommend starting with your upper body and working your way down.
If you don’t have a bench or squat rack and bar available, partners or the floor can help. The important part is the movement and the execution. You’re smart and tough, so I know you’ll find a way to make it work. You can also use this either on its own during rest days or as a warm up before classes. Like trying to get stronger or get technically better, this is going to take time. But if you do it consistently you’ll see improvements and your joints will like you more. Now grab a lacrosse ball and torture yourself a little.
