Training and Conditioning for Judo

Long one of the world’s most popular sports, judo is also one of the most physically demanding. Success requires hard work, dedication, support, and a no-nonsense, comprehensive training program—one specific to the sport as well as the individual attributes of the athletes who compete in it. Enter Training and Conditioning for Judo.

A blend of science and tradition, Training and Conditioning for Judo delivers comprehensive, yet practical, programming for serious judokas and their senseis, instructors, and trainers. This integrated approach merges strength, speed, agility, and endurance training with judo-specific drills and activities, ensuring total preparation for combat, competition, and all-around excellence.

With diverse programming options that will help you avoid performance plateaus, you’ll discover training methodologies to incorporate into daily workouts:

• Muscle strengthening exercises for balance control, increased power, and improved kumikata, as well as to create a stronger, protective “armor” for the body
• Endurance training through running, cardio equipment, step, power and lactic circuits, and uchi-komi to improve aerobic and anaerobic conditioning
• Planning strategies to combine technical, tactical, and physical training while considering recovery cycles and tapering to time peak performance with competitions
• Recovery and prevention protocols such as warm-ups and stretching to keep the body resilient and to avoid injury

You’ll use body weight, machines, medicine balls, stability balls, ropes, bands, and straps to keep training options fresh. Whether you’re a young or senior judoka, male or female, lightweight or heavyweight, you will develop the physical abilities needed to take down your opponent with force and confidence.

With a black belt in both judo and Brazilian jujitsu and experience that includes training the British and Russian Olympic judo teams, Aurélien Broussal-Derval is uniquely qualified to help judokas—from beginners to competitive black belts—develop the balance, coordination, and power needed for success on the mat.

Audience

Judoka and judo senseis, mixed martial artists and their instructors, and strength and conditioning coaches working with martial artists.

Specific Muscle Strengthening
Should We Put Away Our Weights?
Building Abdominal Muscles for Judo
Core Strength
Judo-Specific Core-Strengthening Workouts
Increase Your Strength
Alternate Your Training
Proprioceptive Bench Press
Tailored Squats
Pulling Strength
Improving Kumikata
The Final 15 Minutes
Using Resistance Bands

Specific Endurance
Running-Specific Training
Training on Cardio Machines
Tread(mill) Lightly
Step Training
Focused and Integrated Physical Training
Power Endurance Circuit
MAP Circuit
Make Your Body’s pH Buffer Work for You    
Lactic Circuit
Strength and Endurance: A Winning Combination
Battle Ropes
Uchi-komi: The Ultimate Weapon?
Using Judo to Train for Judo
Uchi-komi and Rhythm: Winning Blend?

Specific Athletes
What to Work on, and When, With Young Judokas
Training Seniors
Endurance in Female Judo Athletes
Weight Categories: Lightweights
Weight Categories: Heavyweights

Planning
Testing the Judoka
Overtraining
Recovery Cycle During Vacation
Returning to Training
Is Training at Altitude Worthwhile?
The Tapering Cycle

Recovery and Prevention
Warm-Up Goals and Principles
How Do You Plan Your Warm-Up?
Warming Up During Competitions
Stretching
Optimizing Your Recovery
Adductors: Avoid Those Splits!
Preventing Knee Injury
Preparing for Loss of Balance
Stability and Instability
Specific Ways to Use an Exercise Ball

Aurélien Broussal-Derval holds master’s degrees in strength and conditioning, sport and rehabilitation, and performance engineering. He also has a degree in sport sciences from the National Institute of Sport and Physical Education (INSEP) in Paris, France, and is a black belt in judo and Brazilian jujitsu.

He is the author of The Modern Art of High Intensity Training, The Modern Art and Science of Mobility, and French best sellers Modern Physique Training, Proprioception, and Field Tests: Protocols for Measuring Sport Performance. Highlights of Broussal-Derval’s career as a strength and conditioning coach include his training of Olympic medalists, professional athletes, the French Olympic weightlifting team, the French boxing teams, and the British and Russian judo teams. He is the technical director to one of the world’s premier martial arts studios, the prestigious Cercle Tissier in Vincennes. He is also the head of French Weightlifting Coaches Development. Broussal-Derval lives in Paris.

“Whether you’re training for judo, mixed martial arts, or wrestling, the diverse programming options in Training and Conditioning for Judo will help you meet the constantly changing demands of your physical, mental, and technical training.”
—Colton Brown, U.S. Judo Athlete and Olympian
 
“Aurélien’s strength and conditioning methodology was so specific that it helped me transfer my power from the gym to the mat.”
—Gemma Gibbons, Silver Medal Winner at the 2012 Olympics

“Training and Conditioning for Judo goes beyond training and straight to the heart of winning. It will train, prepare, and inspire you to excel. Truly a must-have.”
—Alex Turner, U.S. Judo Athlete and Olympian

“As a player, and even more as a coach, I have been chasing innovation for Scottish judo all around the globe. What I found in Aurel's methodology is a deep understanding of judo and conditioning, creating a unique and specific vision of physical training for combats sports.”
—Euan Burton, Great Britain Olympian at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and JudoScotland Development Coach

“The depth of judoka-specific training in Training and Conditioning for Judo combine with full-color photo sequences and Aurélien Broussal-Derval’s practical advice to make this book the perfect training resource for lightweights or heavyweights at any level.”
—Adonis Diaz, U.S. Judo Athlete and Olympian

“Judo conditioning is like no other. If you want to transfer strength from the gym to the mat, you need a very specific method. I experienced Aurel’s techniques on my way to the Olympics. He shares it all in his amazing book Training and Conditioning for Judo.”
—Colin Oates, Silver Medal Winner at the 2016 European Championship, Great Britain Olympian at the 2012 Olympics, and Bronze Medal Winner at the 2011 European Championship

Power: plyometrics + tandoku-renshu
Strength endurance as a foundation for muscle strengthening
Uchi-komi and rhythm: a winning blend?