Going to the gym and training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can both improve your fitness, strength and overall health. However, they offer very different experiences.
A gym allows you to follow a highly controlled workout programme using weights, cardiovascular equipment and exercise classes. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, commonly known as BJJ, combines physical exercise with learning practical techniques, solving problems and training with other people.
Neither option is automatically better for everyone. The right choice depends on your goals and the type of exercise you are most likely to enjoy consistently. However, for people who find conventional gym routines repetitive or difficult to maintain, BJJ can provide a more engaging full-body workout.
What type of workout does Brazilian Jiu Jitsu provide?
A typical BJJ class involves warm-ups, movement drills, technique practice and controlled training with a partner. As students become more experienced, sessions may also include sparring, commonly known as rolling.
During training, you continually move your body while controlling your balance, maintaining positions and responding to another person’s movements. Rather than isolating one muscle at a time, BJJ requires different muscle groups to work together.
Regular training can help improve:
- Cardiovascular fitness
- Muscular strength and endurance
- Core stability
- Balance and coordination
- Mobility and flexibility
- Grip strength
- General body awareness
The intensity will vary throughout a class. Learning a new technique may be relatively controlled, while drills and sparring can provide a much more demanding workout.
Is BJJ good for building strength?
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can help develop practical, functional strength. Holding positions, maintaining your balance and controlling a training partner require your core, legs, back, shoulders and arms to work together.
This is different from following a traditional weights programme, where exercises may target individual muscles or carefully measured movement patterns.
A gym is likely to be the better choice if your main objective is to increase muscle size, achieve specific strength targets or follow a bodybuilding programme. Weights can be adjusted precisely and your progress can be measured by the number of repetitions completed or the amount lifted.
BJJ develops strength as part of performing techniques and resisting movement. Many people find this more interesting because their physical effort has an immediate purpose, although the results are not as easy to measure as adding weight to a barbell.
Which is better for cardiovascular fitness?
Both BJJ and gym training can improve cardiovascular fitness.
At the gym, you can use a treadmill, rowing machine, exercise bike or cross trainer to maintain a steady pace for a planned amount of time. This makes it easy to control the duration and intensity of a workout.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is more varied. A training session may involve short periods of intense effort followed by slower, more technical work. Sparring can quickly raise your heart rate because you are moving against the resistance of another person.
As fitness improves, students often become better at controlling their breathing, conserving energy and remaining calm during physically demanding situations. Technique also becomes more efficient, meaning experienced students learn when to use energy and when to relax.
Is BJJ more interesting than an ordinary workout?
Motivation is one of the biggest differences between Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and going to the gym.
Some people enjoy following a structured gym programme and recording their progress. Others initially join with good intentions but lose motivation because they find performing the same exercises every week repetitive.
BJJ provides a new challenge during every class. You might learn an escape, takedown, control position or submission before practising it with different partners. Even after learning the basic movement, you must work out how to apply it against people with different levels of experience, strength and body type.
This combination of exercise and problem-solving can make a session pass surprisingly quickly. Instead of concentrating on how many minutes are left in your workout, you are usually focused on learning the technique in front of you.
This is one reason more adults are choosing martial arts instead of the gym.
What are the mental benefits of BJJ?
Gym exercise can improve mood, reduce stress and provide a valuable break from everyday responsibilities. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu can offer these benefits while also providing a significant mental challenge.
BJJ is sometimes compared to physical chess because every position presents a problem that must be solved. You learn to anticipate movements, recognise opportunities and adjust when your first approach does not work.
Training requires your full attention. It can be difficult to think about work or other concerns while you are trying to remember a technique or respond to a partner’s movement. Many students value this opportunity to switch off from outside pressures and concentrate entirely on the class.
Progress also helps build patience and resilience. Not every technique will work immediately, particularly against a more experienced partner. Students gradually learn to remain calm, make adjustments and keep working.
Does BJJ offer more of a social experience?
You can certainly meet people at a gym, particularly through group exercise classes. However, many conventional gym workouts are completed individually while wearing headphones or following a personal routine.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is naturally more social because students practise techniques together. Partners help one another learn, and more experienced students often support beginners as they become familiar with the basics.
Training regularly with the same group can create a strong sense of community. This can make it easier to remain consistent because people are not only attending for the exercise, they are also training alongside friends and working towards shared goals.
Do you need to be fit before starting BJJ?
You do not need to reach a particular level of fitness before attending your first class. Beginners arrive with different levels of strength, mobility and previous exercise experience.
Training can be physically demanding, but students develop fitness gradually by attending classes consistently. A good instructor will introduce movements progressively and allow beginners to work at an appropriate pace.
If your current fitness level is making you hesitate, our guide explains why you do not need to be fit to start Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
Age does not automatically prevent someone from beginning either. Many adults start training in their 30s, 40s, 50s or later. Read more about starting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu later in life.
Can you combine BJJ with gym training?
You do not necessarily have to choose between the two.
Strength training can complement Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by helping to improve muscular strength and supporting physical resilience. Cardiovascular exercise can also help you maintain energy during longer training sessions.
The important consideration is recovery. Adding too many intense workouts without sufficient rest can leave you tired and affect the quality of your training. A manageable weekly routine combining BJJ, strength work and rest can provide a well-rounded approach to fitness.
Beginners may prefer to start with one or two BJJ classes each week before adding further exercise as their body adjusts.
So, is BJJ better than going to the gym?
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu may be the better workout if you want to improve your fitness while learning a practical skill, challenging yourself mentally and becoming part of a supportive training community.
A conventional gym may be more suitable if you prefer to exercise alone, want complete control over every workout or have a specific strength, bodybuilding or endurance goal.
Ultimately, the most effective workout is one you enjoy enough to continue. For people who have joined gyms in the past but struggled to remain motivated, BJJ can transform exercise from something that feels like a chore into an activity they genuinely look forward to.
The Jon Hegan Academy provides authentic Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes for adults in Essex, including complete beginners. You can also learn more about our Royce Gracie Jiu Jitsu training or book a trial class and experience the workout for yourself.