RIRLift app icon RIRLift

Exercises

BJJ warm up exercises: a 10-minute routine before class or rolling

Published October 24, 2026

A BJJ warm up takes about 10 minutes: 3 minutes of easy cardio (jumping jacks, a rower or a bike), then 3 minutes of floor mobility (bear crawls, spider planks, cossack squats), then 2 minutes of activation for the hips and trunk (single-leg glute bridges, dead bugs, side planks), and a final 2 minutes of grappling-style movement like sprawls and shoulder taps. It warms you up without the hard, tiring drills many classes open with.

  1. Jumping Jack Calves, Quads
  2. Bear Crawl Abs, Shoulders
  3. Spider Plank Abs
  4. Cossack Squat Quads, Adductors
  5. Single-Leg Glute Bridge Glutes
  6. Dead Bug Abs
  7. Side Plank Abs
  8. Half Burpee Quads, Abs, Shoulders

Raise: easy cardio

You only need to get warm. Jumping jacks work on the mat; a rower or bike works if you arrive early to a gym.

Raise, full-body jacks

Jumping Jack

Calves, Quads

Two or three minutes of jacks raise your heart rate with no equipment and room for the whole class.

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet together and arms at your sides.
  2. Hop your feet out past shoulder width as your arms sweep overhead.
  3. Hop back to the start as your arms come down, and keep going at a pace you could talk through.

Cues

  • Arms all the way up
  • Soft knees on landing
  • Even rhythm

Common mistakes

  • Half-height arm swings that skip the shoulders: reach fully overhead.

Swap for: Star Jump, Criss-Cross Jack, Skipping in Place

Build a session with Jumping Jack

Raise, full-body rowing

Rowing Machine

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats

A rower warms the legs, back and grip together, which is close to what rolling asks of you.

How to do it

  1. Strap your feet in and grip the handle with straight arms.
  2. Push with the legs first, then lean back slightly and pull the handle to your lower ribs.
  3. Return arms, then body, then knees, at a relaxed stroke rate.

Cues

  • Legs, body, arms
  • Arms, body, legs on the way back
  • Easy stroke rate

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms before the legs finish: drive the legs first.

Swap for: Stationary Bike, Air Bike, Jump Rope

Build a session with Rowing Machine

Floor mobility: crawl, plank and squat low

Jiu-jitsu is played on hands, knees and hips. These move your shoulders and hips through framing, guard and base positions.

Shoulder, core and hip prep, crawling

Bear Crawl

Abs, Shoulders

Crawling puts weight through your hands and shoulders the way posting and framing do.

How to do it

  1. Start on hands and toes with knees bent and just off the floor.
  2. Move one hand and the opposite foot forward together, then the other pair.
  3. Keep the hips low and your back flat as you crawl forward and backward.

Cues

  • Knees hover low
  • Opposite hand and foot
  • Flat back

Common mistakes

  • Hips riding high: keep them at shoulder height.

Swap for: Gorilla Walk, Walkout, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Bear Crawl

Hip mobility and core, knee-to-elbow plank

Spider Plank

Abs

Drawing a knee to the elbow from a plank opens the hip the way guard work does, while the trunk holds still.

How to do it

  1. Hold a straight-arm or forearm plank.
  2. Bring one knee out to the side toward the elbow on that side.
  3. Return it and alternate sides without letting your hips rise.

Cues

  • Knee toward the elbow
  • Hips level
  • Slow and controlled

Common mistakes

  • Piking the hips up to reach: bring the knee as far as the plank allows.

Swap for: Mountain Climber, Plank, Bear Crawl

Build a session with Spider Plank

Hip and groin mobility, side-to-side squat

Cossack Squat

Quads, Adductors

Deep side squats open the groin for wide base, knee slides and guard retention.

How to do it

  1. Take a wide stance with toes turned slightly out.
  2. Shift your weight into one leg and sit down over it while the other leg stays straight with toes up.
  3. Push back through the middle and sink to the other side.

Cues

  • Heel of the bent leg down
  • Chest up
  • Go only as deep as you control

Common mistakes

  • Bouncing at the bottom: pause for a breath instead.

Swap for: Dumbbell Lateral Lunge, Bodyweight Squat, Standing Side Leg Raise

Build a session with Cossack Squat

Activation: glutes, trunk and side body

Bridging, hip escapes and holding posture all start in the glutes and the trunk. Wake them up with easy sets before you need them under pressure.

Activation, glutes one side at a time

Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Glutes

Bridging on one leg is the same hip drive you use to bump someone off mount.

How to do it

  1. On your back, plant one foot flat and the other leg lifted; rest a light kettlebell on the working hip if you have one.
  2. Press the planted heel down and raise your hips until your body is straight from knee to shoulder.
  3. Lower slowly and finish the set before switching.

Cues

  • Push through the heel
  • Hips level
  • Pause at the top

Common mistakes

  • Letting one hip drop: lower the height until both stay level.

Swap for: Donkey Kick, Dumbbell Glute Bridge, Clamshell

Build a session with Single-Leg Glute Bridge

Activation, deep core

Dead Bug

Abs

Keeping your lower back down while the arms and legs move trains the trunk control you need to play guard.

How to do it

  1. On your back with arms pointing at the ceiling and knees bent over your hips.
  2. Lower one arm overhead and the opposite leg toward the floor while your lower back stays down.
  3. Return and switch sides.

Cues

  • Lower back pressed down
  • Exhale as you reach
  • Slow

Common mistakes

  • Arching off the floor as the leg goes low: stop the leg higher.

Swap for: Plank, Spider Plank, Lying Knee Raise

Build a session with Dead Bug

Activation, side trunk

Side Plank

Abs

Short side planks prepare the side of your trunk for hip escapes and holding side control.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your side on one forearm with feet stacked.
  2. Lift your hips until your body is straight from head to feet.
  3. Hold, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Elbow under the shoulder
  • Hips up
  • Breathe

Common mistakes

  • Hips drifting back: push them forward into line.

Swap for: Copenhagen Plank, Plank, Dumbbell Side Plank

Build a session with Side Plank

Grappling primers

End with a couple of quick movements that look like jiu-jitsu at a faster pace than the rest of the warm-up.

Sport primer, sprawl and recover

Half Burpee

Quads, Abs, Shoulders

Snapping the feet in and out from a plank rehearses a sprawl and raises your pulse before the first roll.

How to do it

  1. Start in a high plank, palms below your shoulders.
  2. Hop both feet in until they land just behind your hands.
  3. Hop them straight back out to the plank and repeat.

Cues

  • Hands stay planted
  • Land softly on the balls of your feet
  • Hips level in the plank

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips sag when the feet land back: brace before each hop.
  • Landing flat-footed and heavy.

Swap for: Burpee, Mountain Climber, Bear Crawl

Build a session with Half Burpee

Activation, trunk and shoulders

Plank Shoulder Tap

Abs

Tapping shoulders without rocking the hips is base work: staying stable while one hand reaches.

How to do it

  1. Hold a straight-arm plank with feet a little wider than hips.
  2. Lift one hand and tap the opposite shoulder.
  3. Replace it and tap with the other hand, keeping your hips from rocking.

Cues

  • Hips stay still
  • Feet wide for balance
  • Slow taps

Common mistakes

  • Rocking side to side: widen the feet and slow down.

Swap for: Plank, Push-Up Plus, Bear Crawl

Build a session with Plank Shoulder Tap

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Before class on your own

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets33 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You arrive 10 minutes early and want to be warm before the class warm-up or drilling.

Many classes open with hard drills or go straight to technique. This gets you ready at 3 to 5 reps in reserve and leaves your energy for rolling.

Pre-class warm-up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 3 × 45–60 5 15 s
Bear CrawlSeconds. 2 × 20–30 4 15 s
Spider PlankPer side. 1 × 6–8 4 15 s
Cossack SquatPer side. 1 × 6 4 15 s
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer side. 1 × 8–10 4 15 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 8 4 15 s
Half Burpee 2 × 6 3 20 s
How to run it
Run it top to bottom with only the time it takes to switch exercises. Finish within a few minutes of class starting.
How to progress
Keep the time fixed. Add a second round of the activation block on days you feel stiff.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Competition day

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets9 a week
  • Per workout~10 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You are waiting to be called to the mat at a tournament.

At a competition you may wait a long time between matches. A shorter, faster warm-up that you can repeat keeps you ready. Effort stays well short of tiring.

Competition warm-up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Jumping JackSeconds. 2 × 60 5 15 s
Cossack SquatPer side. 1 × 5 4 15 s
Side PlankSeconds per side. 1 × 15–20 4 15 s
Single-Leg Glute BridgePer side. 1 × 6 4 15 s
Half BurpeeFast. 3 × 5 3 20 s
Plank Shoulder TapPer side. 1 × 10 3 15 s
How to run it
Start about 15 minutes before your match. Repeat the jacks and sprawls every 10 minutes if your bracket is late.
How to progress
Use the same order at every event so it becomes automatic.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Open mat after a gym row warm-up

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets12 a week
  • Per workout~15 min
  • EquipmentRowing Machine

You come from the gym floor, or you want a longer warm-up before an open mat with lots of rolls.

With more rolls ahead, you have time for the rower and a full floor block. It still finishes at 3 reps in reserve or more.

Open mat warm-up
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Rowing MachineSeconds. Easy pace. 4 × 60 5 0 s
Bear CrawlSeconds. 2 × 30 4 15 s
Spider PlankPer side. 1 × 8 4 15 s
Dead BugPer side. 1 × 8–10 4 15 s
Side PlankSeconds per side. 1 × 20 4 15 s
Plank Shoulder TapPer side. 1 × 10 3 15 s
Half Burpee 2 × 6 3 20 s
How to run it
Row 4 minutes, then do the floor and activation blocks once, then shoulder taps and sprawls.
How to progress
Over weeks, row the last minute a bit faster rather than adding time.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are good BJJ warm up exercises?

Jumping jacks or a rower, bear crawls, spider planks, cossack squats, single-leg glute bridges, dead bugs, side planks, sprawls and shoulder taps.

How long should a BJJ warm up be?

About 10 minutes on your own. If class has its own warm-up, you can trim yours to 5.

What to do before a BJJ tournament?

Do the short competition version about 15 minutes before your match, and repeat the cardio and sprawls if you wait longer than expected.

What stretches are good for jiu jitsu?

Before training, moving drills like cossack squats and spider planks. Save long held stretches for after.

Should the warm-up make me tired?

No. You should feel warm and loose, not worn out, before the first roll.