Dustin Brown's 5 Mobility Drills For BJJ After 40

Dustin Brown (@dbrownbjj), BJJ black belt and owner of @warrioroneyoga, on five mobility drills tied to closed guard, side control, mount, back and standing: 90/90, open book, couch stretch, wall angels and deep squat. From the video: https://youtu.be/GT_XCqb_lJU

Flow outline

  1. 90/90 Hip Switch

    • Sit tall and switch sides in the 90/90 position to train internal and external hip rotation.
    • From Dustin Brown (@dbrownbjj), BJJ black belt and owner of @warrioroneyoga, in the video "BJJ After 40? Don't Skip These 5 Drills".
    • The idea Guard positions live or die on internal and external hip rotation.
    • Alignment: front leg bent at knee and ankle, knee-to-hip, knee-to-ankle, heel-to-toe in one line
    • Alignment: back leg aligned the same way
    • Posture: sit tall through the spine
    • Entry: lift knees and use hands as needed to switch sides
    • Timing: linger in the stretch about five times each side
    • When: before training to wake the hips up, after training to tell them the work is done
    • Key detail Eliminate spinal rounding and sit tall.
    • Avoid Rounding the spine instead of sitting tall.

  2. Open Book

    • Lie on your side and rotate the top arm overhead to open the thoracic spine.
    • The idea A locked thoracic spine prevents the inside frame and powerful bridging.
    • Setup: lie on your side with knees, ankles, and hips stacked
    • Entry: take arms right out in front of you
    • Movement: take top arm overhead and open to the opposite side
    • Breathing: big inhale to open, exhale to close arms like a giant book
    • Eyes: follow the top hand open and closed
    • Key detail Keep your knees perfectly stacked.
    • Avoid Letting the top knee slide back.

  3. Couch Stretch With Active Bridge

    • Couch stretch with an active glute squeeze to fire glutes and open hip flexors.
    • The idea A weak bridge from mount often comes from glutes that aren't firing and tight hip flexors.
    • Setup: back knee on ground, shin up the wall, front foot under front knee in a lunge
    • Action: squeeze back glute and push hip forward
    • Action: contract and squeeze inner glute muscles
    • Timing: about 30 seconds each side, two rounds
    • Key detail Squeeze the glute on the side that's stretching.
    • Avoid Sinking into the stretch and zoning out.

  4. Wall Angels

    • Stand with back against wall and slide arms overhead to train external shoulder rotation.
    • The idea Years of sitting and gripping internally rotate shoulders, so they forget external rotation needed for back defense.
    • Setup: back against wall, heels about a foot away, lower back flat
    • Entry: arms into goalpost position, wrists touching wall
    • Movement: slowly slide arms up overhead keeping contact with wall, then slide back down
    • Timing: 10 slow reps
    • Checkpoint: if the wrists come off the wall, go only as high as you can with control
    • Key detail Keep your ribs down and don't arch your lower back.
    • Avoid Arching the lower back away from the wall.

  5. Deep Squat Pry

    • Deep squat with elbows prying knees out to maintain squat mobility.
    • The idea Losing the deep squat slows guard recovery, takedown defense, and safe standing from bottom.
    • Setup: feet a little wider than shoulders, toes slightly turned out
    • Setup: keep heels down, wedge something underneath if you can't
    • Action: bring elbows inside knees and push knees out gently
    • Posture: stay tall through chest, eyes forward
    • Timing: hold 30 seconds, two rounds, stand and lengthen legs before repeating
    • Key detail Keep the chest tall and the pressure active while breathing deep.