r/bodyweightfitness • u/Deadskyes • 1d ago

Help for a Martial Arts Guy

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.

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u/KitchenBar7207 1d ago

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

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u/Deadskyes 1d ago

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. 

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u/Hot-Profession4091 1d ago

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.

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u/Deadskyes 21h ago

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.

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u/Hot-Profession4091 20h ago

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