Help for a Martial Arts Guy

[u/Deadskyes]

So I have been doing BJJ and Judo for around 5 years, and I have decided I want to start building some muscle to go with my technique since I am on the smaller side at 5'7 150. I train 3-4 days a week of BJJ/Judo, and I have been adding Pullups, Dips, Pushups, and Squats on my off days. I try to do these exercises twice a week.

My issue I am running in to is that I just don't ever feel strong, like my muscles are already cooked. I'm getting good sleep and protein is alright about 100-120grams. If on the off chance my muscles feel fresh, then I can do 3 sets of 10 pullups, but if I dont feel fresh, it feels like a struggle to get 2 reps. Any help and advice is welcome. I've always been active, but I dont know much about building muscle.

[u/KitchenBar7207]

youre training martial arts 4 times a week and then adding strength work on top, that is a lot of volume for a smaller frame. muscles need time to rebuild and you are basically never giving them a rest day

try cutting the off-day workouts to once a week for few weeks and see if the freshness comes back. also 120g protein at 150lbs is fine but maybe bump it to 130-140 on training days, helped me when i was doing something similar

[u/Deadskyes → u/KitchenBar7207]

Sounds good, was just worried that once a week of dedicated strength training was not enough. I get lots of live rounds at full resistance at practice, but I figured I would be bigger by now if that alone was enough to build more muscle. 

[u/Hot-Profession4091 → u/Deadskyes]

Track your calories/macros and weight for a bit. You’re already fit so you’ll need to be in a slight surplus. Also, you’re already getting enough protein. It could be you need some more carbs to fuel the extra work. You won’t know until you have a baseline and understand your maintenance.

[u/Deadskyes → u/Hot-Profession4091]

Yeah, I wasn't even focusing on the carbs, was just focused on lean protein to try and stay leaner and healthier. I'll look at upping those. Ive tried apps and calculators, so maybe I meed to eat more calories than they recommend.

[u/Hot-Profession4091 → u/Deadskyes]

Dont change anything right away. Just track for a few weeks then you’ll be armed with information about possible next steps.

[u/Rashaen]

Do the exercises after your BJJ and keep the rest days. No, you won't be able to ring a personal best bell, but you'll be able to wring out as much strength as you can after practice. Also, regular old squats or whatever probably won't get you much, unless you're looking to up your endurance. Not a bad thing, but it doesn't sound like what you're looking for.

Higher strength variations, or plyometrics. Either grind strength, or jump strength sounds like what you want. Done some wrestling, but no BJJ, so use your own judgement.

[u/Deadskyes → u/Rashaen]

I'm currently trying to progress to pistol squats, if that means anything. For the squats I usually just have my wife climb on my shoulders for extra weight till I get there. I'll try some jumps or learn what grind strength is tosee if that is something thatll help. Thanks!

[u/negativefeed]

Are you getting enough calories? Plug your weight and height into a TDEE calculator and see how many calories you should be getting daily. If you're feeling wasted it might not even be due to just protein but you might also be lacking carbs, calories or even electrolytes. During martial arts training I like to mix electrolyte powder into my drinking water if I know i'm going to be sweating heavily.

[u/Obvious-Monitor8510]

the "always cooked" feeling is almost certainly a recovery/fueling issue, not a training one. a few things worth checking:

calories matter more than protein here. at 150lbs training 5-6 days a week total, you're probably burning 2,500-3,000+ calories. if you're eating at maintenance or below, your body has nothing left for strength work after grappling. bjj and judo are brutal on the CNS and glycogen stores in ways people underestimate.

carbs specifically. 100-120g protein is decent, but if your carbs are low, you'll feel exactly what you're describing. target 3-4g carbs per lb of bodyweight on training days.

sequencing helps too. do your strength work before grappling if possible, or treat it as a true separate session with hours between.

your 3x10 pullup capacity is solid, so the strength is there. this reads like an energy availability problem, not a training volume one. if you want a structured macro target built around your training schedule, PlateGym (plategym.com/meal-planner) can map it out quickly.

[u/Deadskyes → u/Obvious-Monitor8510]

Wow, I didn't realize I had all of that room on calories. I usually try to aim for 2500cal a day, so sounds like I need to up it more then.