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Preparing for the IBJJF Gi Europeans 2025: A 12-Week Plan

With the Nogi Europeans behind us, we now shift our focus to the most important gi tournament in Europe—the IBJJF Gi Europeans 2025. The tournament is about three months away, giving us the perfect time to plan our training in three different 4-week blocks.

Since we just finished a big tournament, it’s too soon to jump into intense training. Instead, we start with an off-season block to build a solid foundation. Here’s how we’ll break it down.

The 12 week preparation plan for BJJ Lab Zürich

Block 1: Offseason (Weeks 1-4)

During the offseason, we focus on long-term improvements and building a strong base. In this block, we won’t worry too much about our competition game just yet. Instead, we’ll work on pinning and submissions—both offense and defense. Our Saturday competition class will focus on this, helping you sharpen these areas.

For conditioning, we’ll work on low-intensity steady-state (LISS) training. This type of training, also called long slow distance (LSD) or cardiac output training, involves keeping your heart rate between 130 and 150 beats per minute for 30 to 90 minutes. The key is to build up your weekly training volume to see improvements over time.

On the strength side, we’ll focus on building strength and muscle size (hypertrophy). You can use this strength routine for BJJ from our blog, or any other program that fits with your BJJ and conditioning sessions.

Block 2: Preparation Block I (Weeks 5-8)

Now, it’s time to ramp up the training. In BJJ, we’ll focus on playing guard and passing guard, working on our A-game. This is the time to fix any problems in your game until you feel confident in it.

For conditioning, we add a bit more volume and introduce threshold training. Threshold training means staying at your lactate threshold heart rate for 20 to 40 minutes total. You can break this into shorter rounds, but make sure to rest half the duration of your work period. For example, if you do 10-minute rounds, rest for 5 minutes between rounds.

On the strength side, we’ll transition from strength-building to power and explosiveness. This means fewer reps, lighter weights, and a focus on speed.

Block 3: Preparation Block II (Weeks 9-12)

As we get closer to the competition, we shift to making everything more sport-specific. We increase intensity but lower the volume to avoid overtraining. By now, you should have a clear A-game and strategy. The goal in this block is to practice forcing your game onto your opponent, whether from top or bottom.

For conditioning, we keep the threshold training but add cardiac power intervals. This will boost your VO2 max, helping with short-term performance gains. For this, we’ll do 3-6 rounds of 3 minutes, aiming to reach your maximum heart rate and hold it. Rest for 3 minutes between rounds. You should feel completely exhausted by the end of each round.

We will work on some very BJJ specific muscular endurance drills and exercises to make sure that you won’t get tired during your matches.

Conclusion

If you’re planning to compete, make sure to join our Saturday competition class and at least one gi advanced class each week from our schedule. This will help you stay on track with your training. The IBJJF Gi Europeans 2025 will be a great event, and we’re excited to prepare for it as a team. Don’t forget to book your flight and accommodation early, and let your coaches know that you’re going!

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