Strength training for martial arts: what the studies in BJJ, MMA and boxing athletes measured, the lifts, and a week around class

Strength training for martial arts is the lifting you do alongside class, not instead of it. This page covers three sports, each in its own section: Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), mixed martial arts (MMA) and boxing. It sticks to what the studies in those athletes measured and how someone who trains one of them can build a lifting week from it.

The widest look is a 2016 systematic review of 23 studies across five combat sports, in male competitors aged 17 to 40. A number of strength, power and anaerobic measures separated higher-level from lower-level athletes, while greater aerobic power generally didn't. The review's reading: better grapplers appear stronger at heavy loads, while better strikers stand out more at lighter, faster ones.¹ The short version: get strong, get fast with it, and keep the engine to use both late in a round.

BJJ strength training

A 2017 systematic review of 58 studies and 1,496 Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes found that maximal, isometric and endurance strength can be associated with success, that decisive actions in a match depend mainly on muscular power, and that aerobic fitness doesn't seem to separate athletes of different competitive levels.²

One trial tested lifting on top of rolling. Fourteen male BJJ athletes were split into two groups; one added squats and bench presses, 4 sets of 4 at 85% or more of a one-rep max, plus 4 sets of pull-ups to failure, three times a week. Their squat rose 15% and bench press 11%, jump height 9%, pull-ups 33% and push-ups 32%, while the group that only did BJJ showed no improvements.³ The grappling lifts are the same ones the strength training for wrestlers page builds its week on.

MMA strength and conditioning

MMA mixes both kinds of fighting, so the 2016 review suggests a spectrum of qualities may mark the better competitors, and that their profile may differ with their combat sport history or strategy.¹ The research is still thin: a 2020 review of 70 articles found MMA research mostly foundational and descriptive, and said it's not yet possible to state which variables are key predictors of success.⁴

One trial compared two strength and conditioning programs in 17 experienced, national-level MMA athletes, three days a week for four weeks. The group on a program built around the demands of MMA competition improved bench press, back squat and deadlift one-rep maxes, jumps, a medicine ball throw, a 10 m sprint and takedown speed, among significant gains of 3.7 to 22.2%; the group on a regular program didn't change significantly.⁵ That's two programs compared, not lifting against no lifting.

Strength training for boxing

A 2015 review of amateur boxing calls strength in both the upper and lower limbs one of the keys to success, and says high-level boxing needs well-developed muscle power in both, plus a high level of cardiorespiratory fitness.⁶ A 2022 review on punch impact force found that lower-body maximal strength and explosive strength in the upper and lower body are largely associated with punch impact force in elite amateur boxers, while upper-body maximal strength wasn't. It suggests building both maximal and explosive strength in the legs and explosive strength in the upper body, and notes the lack of experimental studies.⁷

Two trials tested lifting in boxers, neither against a group that didn't lift. Eight elite boxers from one national team did three power sessions in a week (jump squats, half squats and bench press), with no comparison group; punch impact rose about 8%, with gains in jump squat and half squat power but not bench press power.⁸ In 28 male collegiate boxers, 8 weeks of back squats, Bulgarian split squats and deadlifts, four sets each at 70% of a one-rep max, raised one-rep max strength in both of the trial's groups, which differed only in how the reps per set were decided.⁹ Across Olympic combat sports, a 2023 systematic review of 20 studies and 504 athletes found strength training improved maximal and isometric strength and power, with improvements in favour of the training groups in specific boxing actions among others.¹⁰

The lifts for martial artists

The trials above used a short list. Picks beyond the trial lifts are practical.

New to the barbell? How to get stronger covers building up to heavy sets, and how much weight to lift covers picking the load.

A week around class

A practical layout, not a protocol from a trial. The BJJ and MMA trials both lifted three times a week;^3,5 two days is the realistic floor when you're on the mats or the bag most evenings.

Keep the heavy legs away from the day before your hardest sparring. Cardio and lifting covers the order and the gap between sessions.

The no-weights version

Without a bar you lose the heavy loads the BJJ trial used,³ but not the rest. A practical home version: split squats and single-leg work made harder with a backpack, push-ups, pull-ups if there's a bar, jumps, and hard throws if you have a ball and a wall. The bodyweight workout lays out a full session.

Common questions

Should martial artists lift heavy?

For the lower body, the evidence leans yes. The BJJ trial lifted at 85% of a one-rep max or more,³ better grapplers appear stronger at heavy loads,¹ and the punch review links lower-body maximal strength to punch impact force while suggesting explosive work for the upper body.⁷

Is a jiu-jitsu workout different from a boxing workout?

The lifts overlap; the emphasis shifts. The 2016 review's reading is that heavy-load strength marks better grapplers, while lighter, faster efforts may better mark strikers.¹ So a grappler leans on heavy sets and grip, and a boxer leans on fast lower-body and upper-body work on top of strong legs.

How many days a week should I lift?

Two or three. The BJJ and MMA trials lifted three times a week;^3,5 the boxing power trial packed three sessions into one week.⁸

Do I still need conditioning?

Yes, and class covers a lot of it. The boxing review says boxers need a high level of cardiorespiratory fitness,⁶ though in BJJ, aerobic fitness didn't seem to separate competitive levels.² The HIIT workout covers hard intervals off the mat.

If you'd rather have the week planned

Lifting days only work when they land in the right places around class and sparring, and that's a scheduling problem as much as a training one. Coaching here is general strength and fitness coaching, not martial arts coaching: your workouts are built around the days you actually have, and a weekly call looks at the week you just had and rebuilds the next one around what's coming. How coaching works explains it, and apply is the first step. Otherwise: put the Monday session in next week, and keep it there for a month.