Let’s just hope Marcelo Garcia doesn’t hear us, but here are ten awesome off-the-mat activities to keep your gas tank full.

We went after some of the best in the business and they shared with us how they complement heir routine of training.

Here is the list:

1. Swimming: Put that bathing suit on and jump in. Swimming is great to increase your cardio and also one of the best all-body activities. Another great feature is the virtual no impact environment provided by the water.

2. Jumping: Exercises that include jumping are great for the cardio aspect of your training and also increases the muscular strength of your legs and you know there’s no guard without strong legs.

3. Gi bars: What about strengthening your upper body and also making your grips stronger at the same time? That’s the package offered by the gi bars. Use different grips to the gi and practice atual fight situations.

Fabio Gurgel training his grips at GMA academy Cobrinha BJJ / Photo: Instagram @FabioGurgel

4. Rope climbing: Again, work your grip strength, but also your cardio and core. If you keep your legs perpendicular to your upper body, you will also work your abdomen muscles.

5. Running on the sand: The soft and irregular surface increases the effort of each step, which is great for the cardio. Also, the reduced impact puts less stress on your joints and muscles. Mix short and fast runs with resistance exercises where a partner holds you back as you move forward.

6. Stairs: A classic among Jiu-Jitsu competitors, climbing stairs is one of the best cardio efforts you can add to your routine. Breath right, find your rhythm and rest properly between climbs to have an even better performance.

7. Leg press: Making your legs stronger is vital for a strong guard game. When you are able to mix great technique with the strength of your legs, you’ll be able to create a lot more problems for the passer. So, don’t skip leg day.

8. Boxing pads: The classic boxing training method will increase your speed and improve your reflex, while also working on a better cardio. Remember that if you react faster, you’ll be able to use less energy to defend and attack.

9. Rubber bands: A simple tool with multiple uses. The rubber band is ideal for resistance exercises even when you are not in the gym.

10. Chains: As you lift a chain from the ground it gets heavier. This increase in effort will help you deal with those moments in a fight when there’s no rest in sight and giving up is not an option.

Abmar Barbosa  and some of the students who will be staying at the reality show house where no one leaves until after the 2013 World Championship. Publicity photo.

A black belt who has showed his worth at the big IBJJF tournaments, Abmar Barbosa gave his body a rest and healed up some injuries that were haunting him in 2012.

The most important part, however, was to rest up his mind, according to the fighter himself.

“To not get anguished by thinking about the competitions going by that I couldn’t be in, I dedicated my time to flying helicopters. I got bit by the flying bug and am loving it, said the Rio Claro, São Paulo native who now has a number of academies spread around the USA.

Jiu-Jitsu is still his primary passion, though. And for that reason, the Robert Drysdale black belt is already working on some loftier goals for 2013.

“My focus now is a reality show that I’m producing. I’ve got a house all set up here in Northern Virginia, USA. From January 15 to December 15, 2013 I’ll be living there with around 12 Jiu-Jitsu athletes who dream of making it as professionals in the gentle art. There are a lot of people with talent and desire but are just missing opportunity and money,” said the athlete.

“Each resident of the house has his obligations to fulfill, like training Jiu-Jitsu three times a day from Monday to Friday. Physical conditioning will be twice a week on days stipulated by conditioning coach Bill Easlick. Saturday is free for the athlete to do as he pleases—he can participate in an open training session or not, as he sees fit. Sunday is for complete rest. The athletes in the house can only break these rules after the 2013 Worlds, and not even think of breaking them before,” he said.

The participants will be from the USA, Brazil and Australia and will be of all belt colors. So far, the athletes confirmed to be there are Abmar, Garret Beck, Allan Rezende, Leandro Marchesin, Jake Driscoll and Marcos dos Santos.

Alvaro Romano and his son Raphael have some valuable Ginástica Natural exercises to teach you. GRACIEMAG archive photo.

Alvaro Romano is one of GRACIEMAG’s most seasoned columnists, often proffering essential pointers for Jiu-Jitsu practitioners who want to exercise themselves to good health and quality of life.

To that end, GRACIEMAG.com today is featuring him and his son Raphael presenting a challenge and a series of simple and effective exercises for testing your performance.

Alvaro combined three exercises to work different parts of our bodies:

* The first exercise, for the upper body, is a spider pushup.

* The second, for the legs and hips, is the frog exercise.

* The third is an excellent abdominal exercise for working your body’s core.

The exercises should be performed in a continuous and dynamic fashion, with 10 repetitions for the first two, and 30 for the third.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fSMxDhD0Ok

Have you got what it takes to do two circuits of these, with a 20-second break between them?

Push your seat away from the computer, clock the total time, and do your best not to frighten your coworkers. Afterwards, challenge someone to break your record.

Bibiano Fernandes (in white) against Jonatas Tagarela at 2006 World Championship, one of the last tournaments he was in before migrating to MMA / GRACIEMAG archive photo

Bibiano Fernandes, a 32-year-old black belt, boasts a game of lightning-quick transitions and major explosiveness. And now, after a sterling career on the mats and 12 wins in 15 fights in MMA, “The Flash” shares his performance secrets in GRACIEMAG #187.

In the interview, Bibiano recollects how his nickname first surfaced, in fighters’ favorite Jiu-Jitsu magazine.

GRACIEMAG.com sifted through the FACE TO FACE section to bring you a couple of the more enticing excerpts, in case you haven’t picked up a copy at your local bookstore yet:

1. How to be a speedy fighter:

“I think that speed in martial arts is part explosiveness, part in your head. Before going in to fight I’d try and analyze the whole fight in my head. That way, I think I was always a step ahead of my opponent in thought. And that way you push the pace in the fight. Even when I’d roll with a teammate in training, I’d have two, three submission options in mind,” says Bibiano.

2. How do you enhance your lung capacity?

“I think that speed in martial arts is part explo When I started training with Osvaldo Alves I’d do a lot of running on the sand, sprints on the beach. We’d do a light run and then do 20 under-20-second sprints. But want to know what the secret to endurance is, boss? Let’s say you’re in the middle of a roll at training and you start feeling fatigued. Your mind says, “I’m done.” Well, that happens to everyone. And what do you do? You stop or ask to stop. That’s wrong; your body’s being blocked by your mind. The big secret is to push on,” the Amazonas State native teaches, among other ultra-useful odds and ends.

Want more pointers on how to up your performance in training? Then head to the nearest bookstore and get a copy!

To subscribe and get the most complete Jiu-Jitsu magazine on the planet delivered to your doorstep every month, click here.

Braulio Estima celebrates winning ADCC 2011 superfight. Photo by Dan Rod/GRACIEMAG.

Crowned ADCC 2011 superchampion after beating Ronaldo Jacaré, Bráulio Estima, 32, will now wade into deeper waters. “Carcará” will be making his long awaited MMA debut today against Chris Holland. And the Gracie Barra professor wants something more than just victory.

Bráulio, who features on the card for the second-to-last Titan FC event, the 24th chapter, in Kansas City, also wants to test himself. To test out some newfound skills. And to try and feel comfortable while under fire. Victory will be more than welcome too, though, of course.

(Check out some scenes of Carcará training with team Blackzilians.)

What do you think, gentle reader, how will the multi-title-winning Jiu-Jitsu champion do in MMA? Will he pull it off?

The answer comes tonight.

Caio Terra in action at 2011 Jiu-Jitsu Pan / Photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com

The roosterweight winner of the 2011 Pan and runner-up at the 2012 Worlds, Caio Terra always makes a splash at Jiu-Jitsu tournaments. In the following video, the athlete and Jiu-Jitsu professor now residing in San Jose, California, demonstrates how he gets in shape for tournaments despite his busy seminar schedule.

Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b2DBvYOYS8

Rafael & Guilherme Mendes taiking in a sunset and—a new stage in their careers, as they describe here on GRACIEMAG.com. Photo: personal archive.

The brothers Rafael and Guilherme Mendes are training hard as ever to defend their Jiu-Jitsu World Championship featherweight and light featherweight titles, respectively.

GRACIEMAG.com had a chat with the pair. If you haven’t secured your spot at the World Championship, already counting over 2,200 athletes, the deadline is midnight tonight California time. Register for the competition here.

Rafael, will we finally get to see you in the absolute division at the World Championship this year?

No, I won’t be doing the absolute this year. My focus is on winning my division, and even though I know I ‘d do well in the absolute, there’s a chance of getting hurt or even wearing out against the heavier athletes, in which case I wouldn’t perform as well the next day. André, Calasans, Ramon Lemos and the rest of the gang are always asking me to join the mix, saying I have a chance, but I don’t feel it’s time yet. I want to be 100% when I fight in my division, to hold on to the featherweight world title. For the time being that’s my focus. I do want to do the absolute at the Worlds some day. I’ve got time to do that, but unfortunately this won’t be the year.

Gui, both you and your brother are two-time world champions. Are the two of you at all in competition with each other?

We only compete against each other in training, and it’s like being in a World Championship final. We don’t go easy or slow against each other—one tries catching the other, and we count advantage points! (Laughs) But aside from that there’s no competition between us whatsoever. We’re always training together and trying to correct each other. One time an instructor told us: “Always stay together. Separate you guys are good, together you’re brilliant.” I feel Rafa’s been doing a great job and has shown it in competition, winning everything, breaking records, and he deserves it all. I’ve trained with athletes at different academies, big-time champions, and I guarantee I’ve never seen anyone with the same focus and drive that he has. I’m truly happy with every one of his conquests; he deserves it!

Let’s take a look back at the Pan, the GRACIEMAG coverage of which has drawn accolades. How did the title and outstanding final against Rubens Cobrinha affect you, Rafa? After that armbar, a lot of folks started pointing to you as being the greatest pound-for-pound Gi Jiu-Jitsu fighter around…

I’m honored to be addressed in such a way. It makes me extremely happy and proud. But that doesn’t affect my personality or the way I am; I’m still the same as when I started out in Jiu-Jitsu, training with the same objective—winning. I never let winning go to my head. I’ll always remember my performance at that event. It’s unforgettable to me, but my focus is already on something else: now I want a third world title! I’m training to carry on at the same pace, but my training is always geared towards the future.

Gui, how did losing at the Pan change you as an athlete?

I’ve been working a lot on evolving ever since I first started training. I want to be a complete athletes, feel comfortable in whatever fight situation I happen to be in. That’s why I practice takedowns, guard passes, sweeps, submissions. I don’t want to be the kind of athlete who pulls guard and lies there for ten minutes waiting for the other guy to get up. Every time we come back from competition, whatever the result may be, we study what happened.

I always watch the matches with the aim of learning, spotting mistakes; I analyze everything I could have done, everything I did during the tournament. I know I’m getting better with every year. I want to be the best I can be, and the results will come as a consequence of that. Winning and losing are part of the life of an athlete. Getting things right and wrong are part of human life. Of course I don’t want to lose. I hate the feeling, and I train to be first place. And I want to fight for my third world title at black belt as though it were my first.

The two of you are on the cusp of a new phase in your lives, which begins right after the Worlds. Does dividing your time between training and having a new academy get in the way of your concentrating on competing in Long Beach?

Thank God we have marvelous people on our side. Throughout our entire training for the Pan and Worlds we had people helping out so we could focus solely on the competitions. We’re the same as we were at blue belt; we arrive at the academy at nine in the morning and only leave at nine at night. We spend the entire day just training and getting prepared. We’re ready for the Worlds!

We want to thank the gang in San Diego, André and Angélica Galvão and also all the students, for the training. We like training in places where we feel good, with good people who share the same objectives as we have. Everybody who was with us training in San Diego was essential in our preparations. We’ll be inaugurating our new academy on June 4, just after the Worlds—we’ll be holding a free seminar with a bunch of Atos black belts, food and music to celebrate! The academy is getting beautiful and huge, with two massive mats, fully equipped dressing rooms and a laundry system for the students. It’s located in Costa Mesa, California.

Everyone, regardless what team they belong to, is invited to the inauguration. They just have to contact us via our site www.mendesbros.com and get filled in on the details.

Gone are the days when Jiu-Jitsu and the other martial arts were only for men. In present times, talk of how sport fighting is good for the bones, muscles and minds of men and women alike has been done to death. Still, in an article signed by Natália Leão recently published in Brazil’s for-females magazine Boa Forma, the subject gained further reinforcement.

As evidenced in the article, there is a simple and miraculous formula for recovering physical form and self-esteem: sign up at a martial arts school. “There’s no lack of benefits: besides slimming down and gaining muscle definition, it relieves stress, sex becomes better and it bolsters your self-esteem,” the author asserts.

Once seen as brutish, the practice of martial arts is now recognized as an exercise that aggressively combats flab. “The idea isn’t to hurt or show you’re better than your adversary. What you gain from practicing a martial art is loss of fat, relaxation and overall improved health,” Leão further claims.

Take a look at just a few of the benefits Jiu-Jitsu and other arts offer their practitioners:

1. JIU-JITSU AND SHEDDING FAT

A study by the University of North Carolina found that intense exercise—that is, ones that places a high demand of oxygen on the circulatory system—can prolong calorie burning for up to 14 hours after training.

2. JIU-JITSU AND MUSCLE TONE

If you’re a woman, don’t be afraid that by training you’ll be stuck with bulging biceps or a manly bod. Such exercise doesn’t pump up your muscles—quite the contrary. “Besides being great for burning fat, the practice defines your body without bulking you up. Martial arts don’t cause hypertrophy,” explains Mauro Cardaci, fight sport coordinator for Bodytech gym in São Paulo.

3. STRESSED? HIT THE MAT!

You know those days when you’re biting your tongue not to tell your boss to go take a hike? Letting your inner beast off the leash in the ring is a surefire way to rein in your angst at such times and expunge the anxieties of day-to-day life. “All the different martial arts are great for eliminating repressed inner energy and recovering your balance and calm,” says sport psychologist João Ricardo Cozac of São Paulo.

4. SEX DRIVE THROUGH THE ROOF WITH JIU-JITSU

When you start practicing a martial art you feel more capable, powerful and self-confident. Not to mention the changes your body undergoes, becoming stronger and better defined. All that does a fine job of improving your performance in the sack; after all, self-esteem is what counts most between the covers. Add to that the benefit of other skills that such training provides—flexibility, agility and endurance—and the product is more energy and fun for the both of you.

5. FIGHT SPORTS ARE GOOD FOR THE BRAIN

In martial arts, mental training is just as important as physical conditioning and strength—controlling emotions and negative thoughts during a bout is the secret to victory. “In class you need to focus on the opponent and pay attention, to coordinate the moves,” explains Fábio Grieco. Research from Unifesp, the federal university of São Paulo, concludes that practicing martial arts improves levels of concentration in children and young people suffering from attention deficit disorder, reducing the hindrance the disturbance would otherwise cause in their adult lives. If you aspire to have a longer attention span at work and better memory (remembering friends’ birthdays, where you left the car keys…), you have plenty to gain by making training a regular part of your routine.

6. POSTURE AND ROCK-SOLID ABS

That flat, well-defined belly martial arts practitioners enjoy is the result of the heavy workout their routine places on their core (the muscle group running down the body that includes the abs, glutes and lower back). In other words, it works the muscles that hold up your spine. Furthermore, strengthening these muscles is critical to stabilizing your back, straightening out your posture and preventing back pain. Anyone who has ever had back troubles should avoid taking up a martial art before consulting a doctor and the teacher of the class to find out whether or not they’re fit for such activities, though.

Alvaro Romano teaching Ginástica Natural in New York / Photo: Cristian Buitron

A physical conditioning coach to the MMA stars, Jiu-Jitsu black belt and Ginástica Natural expert,  Alvaro Romano has dropped out of Vitor Belfort’s team and will not be training him for his showdown with Wanderlei Silva next June at UFC Brazil.

“I won’t be coaching Vitor anymore. I’m off his team, after having worked with him for his last two fights, two victories. Now I have some offers to work on producing new athletes,” Romano told GRACIEMAG.com. “My idea is to set up and execute a plan alongside professionals from all the areas of training. That’s the right way to do things. That’s how I always did it, and the results have been 100% victorious in the UFC  so far. I want to spearhead the evolution of conditioning for MMA.”

“I LEAVE THE TEAM WITH HIM VICTORIOUS”

A GRACIEMAG columnist, Romano denies any falling out with Belfort, but he does say he is open to work with other MMA stars.

“I want to deal more with the planning, while my son Raphael would work more directly with the UFC and MMA stars in their training camps,” he elucidates.

The Rolls Gracie student remembers how he took up Belfort’s training at a difficult moment, when the two first struck up their partnership.

“Fifteen years ago, I started training him after he lost to Randy Couture at UFC 15, in 1997. After another unfortunate incident, his loss to Anderson Silva in 2011, we started working together again. Now I leave the team with him victorious and at a good point in his career. I have other offers, and I want to devote myself to new plans for Ginástica Natural and training athletes,” Alvaro added.

Check out a bit of what Ginástica Natural is all about, in the following video produced by Alvaro and his son Raphael.

The warmup may in itself be the difference between a glorious performance and frustration, as GRACIEMAG never ceases to reiterate. Photo: Roger Gracie by Ray Santana/GRACIEMAG.

Although it’s often forgotten or neglected, the warmup is an important part of Jiu-Jitsu class. Warmed up and stretched out, athletes avoid injuries, pick up the pace and see improved performances—in training and in competition. So on that note, we dug up five ways for you to improve your warmup.

These tips come from many-time world champion Saulo Ribeiro to former UFC star Ricardo Cachorrão, and on to brown belt Trevor Newton, a student of our GMA in Texas João Crus.

WARM UP REINFORCING BASIC JIU-JITSU

In the lessons, you learn some moves, like shrimping get-up techniques and, in closing, stretches using a Jiu-Jitsu belt. The important part is that all the exercises apply one of the main Jiu-Jitsu commandments: minimum force, maximum efficiency.

Study the subject in the following videos and comment below: What’s your warmup trick? If you’d rather, record your innovative warmup at the academy and send it in to us.

1. Warm up with Ricardo Cachorrão Almeida

2. Saulo Ribeiro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqmxrBdtcr0

3. Trevor Newton

4. Russo

5. Academia Serrinha/Nova União

6. Patrick and Jiu-Jitsu exercises to do on your own

Thiago Tavares celebrates win at UFC Rio, in 2011. Photo: UFC publicity.

A Jiu-Jitsu black belt and UFC star, Thiago Tavares is back to attacking on all fronts—as an event promoter. Tomorrow, the Rio de Janeiro-Santa Catarina transplant will be putting on Insano Fight in São José, a town bordering Florianópolis in Tavares’s adopted state.

It’s the second time the UFC star is promoting an MMA event, and he’s still got his work cut out for him, as he explains to GRACIEMAG.com.

“Fighting is a lot easier. It’s really rough; even a simple authorization from city hall is complex and hard to get. They have to authorize everything, from the volume of the audio to the overall setup, and nothing goes your way but in the end it all works out,” he says.

HONOR THE MASTERS AND EAT MAT

The event will feature an under-80kg GP tourney, as well as under-66 kg and over-93 kg title fights. According to Tavares, the show will be broadcast on Band television station across the state of Santa Catarina.

After announcing the finalized card, Thiago spoke a bit about his success in Jiu-Jitsu and what to do to be a good UFC fighter.

“The first lesson is to be loyal. A man who isn’t loyal to his teachers, to his friends, won’t get anywhere, no matter what your profession. Whether a fighter or a dentist, you need to be loyal to the people around you. It’s the least you can do to honor them,” he says.

“Another tip: dedication. Everything you do in life you should do as best you can; otherwise there’s no point. Jiu-Jitsu fighters’ wanting to go professional need to train a lot, do lots of physical conditioning and eat mat, training Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts the whole day. And never forget that only Jiu-Jitsu saves your skin,” says Tavares in closing.

Insano Fight
Arena Multiuso, São José, Santa Catarina, Brazil
March 2, 2012

Under-80kg GP
Santiago Ponzinibbio (Argentina) vs Ricardo Hulk de Oliveira
Renato Pezinho vs Sebastião Junior

Superfights
Rafael Rocha vs Fernando Giacomechi
Josenildo Mazinho vs Buiu Santos
Nil Rocha vs Luciano Oliveira
Marcio Junior vs Morris “Hulk”
Marcelo Piazza vs Julio Cascaes
Rangel Pires vs Thiago Bel

Over-93kg title fight
Phellipe Mira vs James Junior

Under-80kg GP final
Winner of fight 1 vs Winner of fight 2

Under-66kg title fight
Nazareno Malegarie vs Jonas Lis

Strikeforce stunner Ronda Rousey pictured here competing in Beijing / GRACIEMAG.com archive photo

Ronda Rousey, an Olympic judo medalist at the Beijing-2008 Olympics, has seven submission wins in seven MMA appearances—four as a professional. This coming Saturday, she’ll have her work cut out for her in a bid to snatch the Strikeforce bantamweight belt from Miesha Tate in Columbus, Ohio.

The winsome black belt, widely regarded as MMA’s latest top-billing female, is into the final stage or her preparations for battle, as you can see in the video below. Besides being determined, the 24-year-old athlete boasts looks that would have any ogler spellbound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeSOMJjYNMM