15 Minutes of Death

When you walk in the door for our mixed levels class you might think we are crazy. The first thing we ask of you is to partake in 15 exercises 1 minute each with a fifteen second break in between. We call it the 15 Minutes of Death. Most BJJ gyms don't do this, some even frown upon such "warmups", but my goal in these exercises is only to increase your mobility and conditioning. It is not about practical skill development. I know that there are many people who only exercise at the BJJ gym, not everybody is on a strength and conditioning program in their off time. However, one of the primary goals when people walk in the door is to get in shape, so instead of complex drilling sequences, we emphasize strengthening our bodies in ways that help our jiu jitsu. When I first started every class was a 30-45 minute warmup, I didn't enjoy it or understand it at the time, but as I began to train other places, I noticed people of equal or higher skill level wore down more quickly, and came around to the benefit of such torture. What we do is a condensed version of those warmups. They're quick, easily doable in small spaces, and posted online so if you can't make it to class you can do them wherever you are. There is a benefit to this madness, but you just kind of have to trust me until future you figures out what it is.