8 Best Kettlebell Exercises for BJJ (Explained Benefits!)

A decent kettlebell BJJ workout can aid practitioners in reaching their physical training goals. Brazilian jiu-jitsu, as you may know, is a martial arts lifestyle that is both physically and mentally demanding. As a result, jiu-jitsu warriors should have a practical workout plan that will help them develop strength, endurance, and good core stability, among other things.

A thorough kettlebell workout can help you improve your overall BJJ grappling performance. In fact, the kettlebell workout routine for jiu-jitsu is an excellent tool for increasing strength, muscle explosivity, conditioning, endurance, core stability, and mobility, among other benefits. Besides that, kettlebells make training accessible to everyone because you can perform fantastic kettlebell exercises at home or anyplace else.

The following sections of this post contain a great list of the best kettlebell exercises for BJJ martial arts practitioners. Implement them in your daily training routine and see a significant improvement in your jiu-jitsu performance as you progress toward becoming a more strong grappler over time.

Kettlebell Swings 

The swing is one of the most effective kettlebell exercises for BJJ to develop strong core stability and mobility. Additionally, it is a fantastic conditioning and strength workout that you should incorporate into your Brazilian jiu-jitsu workouts to maximize your performance on the mat.

  • Benefits of kettlebell swings for BJJ fighters

The kettlebell swing works various core muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, shoulders, lats, and other closely linked muscles, among others, during the movement.

Indeed, it enhances your cardiovascular fitness, explosiveness, flexibility, and balance while simultaneously raising your strength and endurance levels.

These benefits make kettlebell swinging among the most excellent exercises for jiu-jitsu improvement. 

  • Dumbbell swings vs kettlebell swings

Kettlebell swings and dumbbell swings are excellent exercises that deliver similar benefits.

Using them in your workout will assist in strengthening your hip muscles as well as developing superb conditioning and explosive power.

  • kettlebell swings vs deadlifts

 With the kettlebell swing, you may enhance your cardio, strength, and explosiveness all at the same time. On the other hand, the deadlift may help you develop your overall force.

  • kettlebell swingsvs squats

Exercises such as kettlebell swings and back squats are two of the most effective strength and conditioning workouts for jiu-jitsu athletes. But, weighty squat workouts are more efficient in maximizing strength and power.

On the other hand, kettlebell swing workouts intensely enhance power generation, core stability, and overall fitness.

  • How to do the kettlebell swings for BJJ?

 In the following video tutorial, Zack Henderson demonstrates how to correctly perform the kettlebell swings to improve your Brazilian jiu-jitsu power and explosivity. Have a good time!

Source: Zack Henderson

Related: Don’t put it off any longer; check out the list of the finest jiu-jitsu strength and conditioning workouts. Regularly integrating these workouts into your BJJ training program can help you become a stronger and more competitive grappler. Click here for further information! 

Kettlebell Deadlift

The kettlebell deadlift is one of the best beneficial movements for developing a solid core in BJJ. Besides that, it is excellent conditioning and strength training for Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes to improve their overall performance on the mat.

  • Benefits of the kettlebell deadlift exercise

The kettlebell deadlift strengthens most upper and lower body muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and other key muscle groups.

It has been demonstrated in research studies that the deadlift has many health and fitness benefits.

In addition to stimulating your hip, it simultaneously reduces lower back discomfort and strengthens your core, among other advantages.

  • Kettlebell deadlift variations

The kettlebell deadlift may be performed in various ways to make your training more exciting and effective while increasing results.

Kettlebell deadlift variations include the double kettlebell deadlift, kettlebell sumo deadlift, Romanian kettlebell deadlift, and single-leg deadlift are all excellent choices.

  • Kettlebell deadlift vs barbell deadlift

The kettlebell deadlift and the barbell deadlift are excellent exercises for building strength in the upper and lower body muscles.

However, the barbell deadlift is more effective than the kettlebell deadlift in developing brutal strength and power by lifting more weights.

On the other hand, the kettlebell deadlift is a fantastic training exercise to create excellent core stability or recover from an injury.

  • How to do the kettlebell deadlift for jiu-jitsu?

In the following video instruction, Zack Henderson teaches how to correctly perform the kettlebell deadlift to boost your BJJ power and explosiveness. Have a wonderful time!

Source: Zack Henderson

Kettlebell Squats

Kettlebell squats are among the most effective workouts for athletes who want to build and gain strength and power.

Otherwise, squatting exercises are among the most fundamental movements that may also be performed with barbells or dumbbells.

Therefore, it would be best to incorporate this into your Brazilian jiu-jitsu training to improve your overall performance on the mat.

  • Kettlebell squat benefits

The kettlebell squat primarily targets the quadriceps and gluteus muscles like other squat exercises.

Indeed, it provides numerous health and fitness benefits, like increasing your metabolism and calorie burn while also developing good core stability, mobility, and strength.

  • Variations of kettlebell squats

You can do the kettlebell squatting exercises in various patterns to make your training more fun and effective while strengthening your muscles.

The goblet squat, racked squat, overhead kettlebell squat, and kettlebell crush grip squat are terrific squat exercises that you should consider doing.

  • How to do the kettlebell goblet squat? 

Colossus Fitness teaches how to correctly execute the kettlebell goblet squat to raise your BJJ ability and explosiveness in the following video. Have a great time!

Source: Colossus Fitness
  • How to do the single-arm kettlebell overhead squat? 

In the following video, Wodstar demonstrates correctly performing the single-arm kettlebell overhead squat to boost your jiu-jitsu strength and explosiveness. Have a wonderful time!

Source: Wodstar

Related: Don’t underestimate the effectiveness of stretching! Including them in a long-term, well-balanced training plan will help you improve your performance and general health. We’ve developed a list of the most incredible stretches you should perform daily for optimal Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu performance on the mat. Click to Learn more!

Kettlebell Turkish Get-up

The kettlebell Turkish get-up is a fantastic weightlifting exercise to improve your Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

It is necessary to perform numerous extraordinary movements to lift a kettlebell weight from the floor to the standing posture while performing this exercise.

Consequently, countless clever BJJ men and women have profited from this dynamic activity, which has helped them improve their overall physical performance.

  • Kettlebell Turkish get-up benefits

The Turkish get-up is a fantastic exercise that works virtually every muscle in your body, including deltoids, glutes, hamstrings, triceps, calves, etc.

Otherwise, it has numerous benefits, including strengthening your posture and upper body muscles and generating excellent core stability, mobility, and BJJ flexibility, among other advantages.

  • Variations of the Turkish get-up

The kettlebell Turkish get-up is one of the most effective weightlifting workouts that can be found today.

Indeed, you can perform this stunning workout in various ways, including the side-lying get-up and overhead squat get-up, as well as the no-hands Turkish get-up.

  • How to do the kettlebell Turkish get-up?

In the following video, Eric Leija leads you through the process of performing the kettlebell Turkish get-up exercise step-by-step. Additionally, he provides some helpful advice and tips to avoid typical mistakes.

Source: Eric Leija 

Kettlebell Rows

The kettlebell rows are among the most valuable movements for developing a solid core for Brazilian jiu-jitsu or other grappling martial arts.

It also serves as fantastic conditioning and strength training for BJJ competitors, allowing them to increase their overall performance in tough competitions worldwide.

  • Kettlebell rows benefits

Kettlebell row is a fantastic workout suitable for BJJ practitioners that work multiple upper and lower body muscles, including the glutes, back, hamstrings, shoulder, etc.

Indeed, it’s a full-body exercise with many health and fitness benefits, strengthening your core, among other advantages.

  • Variations of kettlebell rows

You can perform kettlebell rows in various ways to make your training more entertaining and effective while strengthening your core.

Kettlebell row variations include the double/single kettlebell bent-over row, kettlebell gorilla row, and kettlebell suitcase row, all of which are good options.

  • How to do the kettlebell rows for BJJ?

In the following video tutorial, Greg Brookes demonstrates how to effectively perform the kettlebell row workout to increase your BJJ power and explosiveness. Otherwise, he explains several typical missteps that you should avoid. So enjoy yourself to the fullest!

Source: Greg Brookes

Kettlebell Press

The kettlebell press is a popular exercise for developing strong upper body muscles, such as the deltoids, upper pectorals, and triceps.

It also provides fantastic conditioning and strength training for BJJ competitors to improve their overall performance in jiu-jitsu competitions.

  • Kettlebell press benefits

The kettlebell press exercise strengthens various shoulder and chest muscles, including the deltoids, upper pectorals, and triceps.

In addition, it has other health and fitness benefits, including boosting your overhead strength, enhancing your conditioning and power explosivity, and improving core stability, among other advantages.

  • Variations of kettlebell press

The kettlebell press can be performed in various manners to increase your training effectiveness while also strengthening your core.

The BJJ Kettlebell press exercise has several variations, including the kettlebell military press, kettlebell push press, kettlebell jerk or jerk press, and kettlebell bent press, which are good exercises.

  • How to do the kettlebell press?

In the following video tutorial, Mark Wildman demonstrates how to effectively perform kettlebell press exercises to increase your power and explosiveness.

Source: Mark Wildman

Related: Best Weightlifting Exercises for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

Kettlebell Snatch

The kettlebell snatch is a high-intensity strength and power development exercise for BJJ fighters at the advanced level.

It’s a popular workout for strengthening lower and upper body muscles that you should add to your daily workout routine.

  • Kettlebell snatch benefits

The kettlebell snatch exercise improves nearly all body muscles, including your quadriceps, hips, gluteal muscles, hamstrings, and other muscles. It is especially beneficial for athletes who wish to level up their performance.

Otherwise, snatch exercise has numerous health and fitness benefits to offer, like boosting conditioning and power explosivity, and improving core stability and coordination, among other advantages.

  • Variations of the kettlebell snatch

 The kettlebell snatch can be performed in different ways to maximize the efficacy of your training while also strengthening your core.

The kettlebell dead snatch and hardstyle kettlebell snatch are two of the best kettlebell snatch variations you should consider including in your training workout.

  • How to do the kettlebell snatch? 

In the following video tutorial, Zack Henderson demonstrates how to effectively perform hardstyle kettlebell snatch exercises to increase your power and explosiveness. Have fun!

Source: Zack Henderson

Kettlebell Clean

The kettlebell clean is another popular exercise that involves elevating the kettlebell weight from the floor and into the racked position in one motion.

It is performed using a kettlebell. Otherwise, it can assist you in developing strong core muscles while generating excellent conditioning and strength.

Hence, kettlebell clean is beneficial for BJJ combat sports practitioners to boost their total performance in jiu-jitsu contests and other sporting events.

  • Kettlebell clean benefits

The kettlebell clean exercise works various body muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and deltoid muscles. It is particularly advantageous for grapplers who desire to improve their grip strength and overall performance.

Aside from that, the clean has numerous health and healthiness benefits to offer, like increasing power explosivity, enhancing core stability, and developing a proper hip hinge movement, among other advantages.

  • Variations of the kettlebell clean

There are several kettlebell clean variations to improve a great workout. A few clean exercise variations include the kettlebell dead clean, swing clean, single-leg clean, kettlebell gorilla clean, and double kettlebell clean.

  • How to do the kettlebell clean?

 In the video instruction embedded below, Eric Leija teaches you the process of doing the kettlebell clean exercise properly to develop your power and explosiveness. Have a good time!

Source: Eric Leija

Final Thoughts

Several Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters have tested the kettlebell BJJ workouts and found them highly effective. As a result, they improved their overall BJJ performance by attaining an incredible degree of conditioning, strength, endurance, and core stability, among other benefits.

You’re probably wondering, what are the most well-known kettlebell jiu-jitsu workouts you should incorporate into your training routine?

Kettlebells make training accessible to everyone by providing a wealth of fantastic workouts such as kettlebell deadlifts, squats, Turkish get-ups, swings, snatch and clean, and so on.

I hope this post will help you enhance your overall jiu-jitsu performance by including some helpful kettlebell exercises in your workout program. As a result, you’ll be able to make the most of your preferred techniques and submissions, especially in the most competitive tournaments.

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