Do you drill for Reps or for Time?

Should you drill techniques for a certain number of repetitions or should you focus on just setting a timer and doing the technique for as many repetitions as possible during the duration?

This is a commonly asked question I get from people who are interested in doing BJJ drills for their game.

I think we can all agree that doing a technique over and over again till it feels 100% automatic, requires little thought and can be used with less physical energy is a good thing for our Brazilian Jiu-jitsu games.

But what’s the best way to go about it?

I share some of my ideas in this video. The fun part about it is that some of the things I’ve come to believe based off training for nearly 20 years matches up with a lot of what sciences has found in relation to motor learning.

The basic idea is that in the beginning I tend to focus (and have my students focus) on a doing small number of repetitions (3-10) of the BJJ drill or BJJ technique. This allows the BJJ practitioner to perform the technique and get the movement set and take a break in between to let their partner go, or to get feedback from their coach.

Once the movement is set. By this I mean the movement feels smooth and doesn’t require a lot of conscious effort. I move into time based drilling.

This is for 2 reasons. 1 is because we need to execute hundreds and thousands of reps. So keeping track of the number of repetitions is just more than I care to do. If you want to log your reps. Have your partner count.

But the 2nd and more important reason is to eliminate any other focus in our mind other than executing the BJJ drill or technique we are trying to use. If we are focused on “how many reps did I do?” this will take away from our drilling. Also, if you set a timer. Make sure it’s a round timer that will alert you once the necessary reps have been achieved so you don’t have to keep track of it while you’re drilling.

Most often I set the timer for 30 seconds to 4 minutes. Shorter movements that can be done at a faster pace are done for shorter time duration. Whereas longer movements and technical chains will need a longer duration to get a comparable number of repetitions.

Again, whether you decide to focus on doing BJJ drills for reps or for time. That’s your choice. If you’re drilling you’re improving that movement.

But I would at least tell you to try out the timer sometime with your Brazilian Jiu-jitsu drilling and see if you notice any difference.