Phase II
BJJ/Grappler- CLUBS 1
Fundamentals of Rotational Strength
The Secret Weapon Every Grappler Is Missing.
Build resilient shoulders, a stronger spine, and the rotational power jiu-jitsu actually demands. Club training built for grapplers — engineered to keep your total body bulletproof through years on the mat.
$199—$149
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Heavy clubs train the one thing most strength programs completely ignore — rotational strength. Every move in jiu-jitsu is rotational. Every takedown, every sweep, every submission involves rotation. If you're only training squats, deadlifts, and bench press, you're only preparing your body for movement it doesn't actually use on the mat.
Clubs fix that. They build resilience in all directions. They bring synovial fluid into the joints. They address tendons and ligaments that conventional lifting can't load the same way. And they do it in 20 minutes, twice a week — short enough to do before or after your regular BJJ class.
This isn't just a workout. It's built-in prehab therapy for the length of your career.
BJJ classes in the modern American format last an hour. But a lot of the traditional conditioning that used to be taught in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s no longer fits in that hour-long class format. It's been cut.
This program puts it back. It's designed to be done before class — 5 minutes of warm-up, 20 minutes of training, 5 minutes of cool-down — so you walk directly onto the mat as your best athletic self. Thirty minutes. Twice a week. For years.
Three levels. Five movements per level. Each weight, each level done six times before moving on — giving your tendons and ligaments time to adapt, not just your muscles.
Weight progression labeled by BJJ belt equivalent:
- White Belt: 15–20lbs
- Blue Belt: 25–35lbs
- Purple Belt: 40–50lbs
- Brown Belt: 55–65lbs
- Black Belt: 70–80lbs+
Starting weight: 15lbs. Standard progression: 5lb jumps to 50lbs (8 weights). After 50lbs, switch to 2.5lb jumps chasing 80lbs. Women train at 70% of men's weights, scaled by frame size.
Three weights minimum equals half a year of training.
Eight weights equals brown belt level mastery of the program.
Weight goals: Men aim for 50lbs minimum, chasing 80lbs over time. Women shoot for 30–35lbs.
Every session includes a structured warm-up and cool-down — built into the program because skipping them is how careers end early.
If you go from 15lbs to 50lbs and keep the same rep count, you will have gotten 300% stronger in your fundamental rotational movements. That will show up on the mat. There is no way it doesn't.
If you go all the way to 80lbs — the same weight as a historical suit of armor — you will have achieved a 500% increase in work capacity over the course of several years.
No other program can guarantee that type of progress.
You can run it in 6 weeks. But that's not what it's designed for. This is a multi-year progressive system — the same philosophy that applies to jiu-jitsu itself. You don't master a technique in 6 weeks. You don't get to black belt and stop. The journey continues. So does this program.
Minimum 3 weights to understand it. Eight weights to truly master it. The program keeps running as long as you do.
- BJJ practitioners at any level — white belt to black belt
- Grapplers, wrestlers, and martial artists of any style
- Anyone who wants to stay on the mat longer, recover faster, and perform better as they age
- Athletes dealing with shoulder, spine, or hip wear from years of training
- ✔ Full BJJ Grappler 1 program — 3 levels, all workouts
- ✔ Built-in warm-up and cool-down protocols
- ✔ Progress tracking worksheets
- ✔ Intro video series: program philosophy, why clubs for grapplers, breathing, how to structure your training, and how long to run the program
For home training: The Hephaestus Athletica Delta Club is recommended. Each club comes with add-on Delta Weights, giving you four weight settings per club. A 15lb club becomes 15, 16.25, 17.5, and 18.75lbs — every club you buy is actually four weights.
For the BJJ gym: The Hephaestus Athletica Steel Club is built for gym use — incredibly durable, designed to be bought once in the course of your entire career. Available in 2.5lb increments.
A club is a one-time purchase. This program is a one-time purchase. Together they become your insurance policy — reducing your risk, improving your performance, and saving you the far greater cost of injuries, doctor visits, and physical therapy down the road.
BJJ Club Foundations will help you:
- Builds rotational power from a connected torso and core
- Fortifies shoulders, thoracic spine, and grip for grappling demands
- Improves upper-body mobility through loaded ranges of motion
- Delivers strength, mobility, and pre-hab in one short session
What this program does.
Own the Rotation. Own the Mat.
Stronger sweeps. Sharper takedowns. Joints that hold up roll after roll, year after year.
Every move in jiu-jitsu runs on rotation — yet most strength programs completely ignore it. Squats, deadlifts, and bench press prepare your body for movements it barely uses on the mat. Heavy clubs train the one that matters most.
20 minutes to resilience
In just 20 minutes, twice a week, clubs build resilience in every direction, bring synovial fluid into your joints, and load the tendons and ligaments conventional lifting can't reach. Short enough to do before or after your regular BJJ class.
Prehab for the length of your career.
About Mark & Will
Will Safford has been training BJJ for over 13 years. He's a brown belt, has competed extensively, and after everything he tried to stay healthy on the mat — clubs were the missing link.
Mark Wildman has been doing martial arts since the 1980s. He got hurt. A lot. He spent six months unable to walk, had three surgeries that cost $150,000, and did physical therapy for years. Now, in his mid-40s, he performs at a higher level than he ever did in his 20s. Heavy club training is why.
BJJ Grappler 1 is the program they built together. It's the program they wish they'd had from the beginning.
Buy Now ($149/ lifetime access)What's Included
BJJ Clubs 1: Foundation of Rotational Strength
✔ Full BJJ Grappler 1 program — 3 levels, all workouts
✔ Built-in warm-up and cool-down protocols
✔ Progress tracking worksheets
✔ Intro video series: program philosophy, why clubs for grapplers, breathing, how to structure your training, and how long to run the program
This program is part of
Phase II: BUILD
Build the Athlete. Expand the Foundation.PHASE II is where training becomes deliberate, mathematical, and lifelong. We build our fitness—systematically, measurably, and without end. This is the phase where you train like an athlete, regardless of location or equipment.
PHASE II is the bridge between restoration and expression.
It builds real strength, long-term capacity, and supports every other form of training. High-level athletes return to PHASE II throughout their careers.
PHASE II is for people who:
- Have restored standing structure
- Are no longer in constant pain
- Want long-term strength progression
- Are ready for disciplined training
YOU ARE NEVER DONE WITH PHASE II. PHASE II is not completed.
It is returned to again and again, even by elite athletes.
It remains the foundation beneath all advanced training.
TRAIN ANYWHERE
PHASE II provides athlete-level training without a million-dollar gym.
Home, garage, outdoors, or travel—training continues.
Build the foundation. Progress for years.
PHASE II focuses on mathematical progression of fundamental human movements.
It is the foundation PHASE, similar to Olympic lifting, where progress lasts for years.
Primary goals:
- Build foundational strength
- Create visible, long-term progress
- Develop athletic capacity
PHASE II focuses on core human movement patterns trained in a mathematical way:
- Squat
- Deadlift / Swing
- Clean and Press
- Snatch
- Get-up
- Throwing patterns
These movements form the foundation of athletic performance.
MATH-BASED TRAINING
Training is planned, measurable, and progressive.
You should be able to see objective improvement every day for years.
This replaces guesswork with structure.
WHY KETTLEBELLS AND HEAVY CLUBS
Wildman Athletica uses kettlebells instead of barbells to eliminate dependence on expensive gyms.
Kettlebells train all major lifts anywhere in the world.
Heavy clubs develop throwing patterns and rotational strength.
Throwing patterns never cease and are essential to human movement.
Wildman Athletica Simplifies Training
1. Start at a weight that feels easy
2. Choose your timing protocol
3. Build experience & skill through every workout
4. Complete a cycle, go up in weight, repeat.
Why Choose Wildman Athletica?
- Affordable- One program can be expanded into years of training with less equipment and cheaper than a gym.
- Simplified- 20-50 minute training sessions built for busy people. Training doesn't have to take hours to be effective.
- Portable- Equipment that fits in the back of your car. Train from your phone.
- Accessible- Multi-leveled training and phases make our programs accessible to anyone.
- Expert-level- Mark's background as an engineer and celebrity trainer plus his experience with overcoming serious injuries has been built into every program.
Follow Along with Mark
Just like you were in studio with Mark, follow along with training timers on mobile or cast to another device.
Follow along workouts
Workout with Mark at home with a plan laid out for you.
Detailed instruction
Detailed instructional videos for all exercises.
Built for busy people
With warm up & cool down- these workouts take 20-0 minutes max.
What people are saying about Wildman programs
FAQs
It's a heavy club program built specifically for grapplers. Heavy clubs train the one thing most strength programs completely ignore — rotational strength — and every takedown, sweep, and submission in jiu-jitsu depends on it.
The program was built by Mark Wildman and Will Safford as the program they wish they'd had from the beginning: strength training and built-in prehab for the length of your career.
- BJJ practitioners at any level — white belt to black belt
- Grapplers, wrestlers, and martial artists of any style
- Anyone who wants to stay on the mat longer, recover faster, and perform better as they age
- Athletes dealing with shoulder, spine, or hip wear from years of training
Squats, deadlifts, and bench press prepare your body for movements it doesn't actually use on the mat. Clubs build resilience in all directions, bring synovial fluid into the joints, and load tendons and ligaments in ways conventional lifting can't.
Yes. Everyone starts at the White Belt level with a 15lb club, and each weight is done six times before moving on — giving your tendons and ligaments time to adapt, not just your muscles. Every session includes a structured warm-up and cool-down.
20 minutes of training, twice a week. With 5 minutes of warm-up and 5 minutes of cool-down, it's 30 minutes total — designed to be done right before your regular BJJ class so you walk onto the mat as your best athletic self.
Three levels. Five movements per level. Each weight, each level is done six times before moving on.
Weights are labeled by BJJ belt equivalent:
- White Belt: 15–20lbs
- Blue Belt: 25–35lbs
- Purple Belt: 40–50lbs
- Brown Belt: 55–65lbs
- Black Belt: 70–80lbs+
You progress in 5lb jumps up to 50lbs, then switch to 2.5lb jumps chasing 80lbs.
Men aim for 50lbs minimum, chasing 80lbs over time. Women train at roughly 70% of men's weights, scaled by frame size, and shoot for 30–35lbs.
You can run it in 6 weeks, but that's not what it's designed for. This is a multi-year progressive system — just like jiu-jitsu itself.
Three weights minimum equals about half a year of training and is enough to understand the program. Eight weights equals brown belt level mastery. The program keeps running as long as you do.
If you go from 15lbs to 50lbs and keep the same rep count, you will have gotten 300% stronger in your fundamental rotational movements. That will show up on the mat.
Go all the way to 80lbs — the weight of a historical suit of armor — and you'll have achieved a 500% increase in work capacity over several years.
For home training: The Hephaestus Athletica Delta Club. Each club comes with add-on Delta Weights, giving you four weight settings per club — a 15lb club becomes 15, 16.25, 17.5, and 18.75lbs.
For the BJJ gym: The Hephaestus Athletica Steel Club — incredibly durable, built for gym use, and available in 2.5lb increments.
- Full program — 3 levels, all workouts
- Built-in warm-up and cool-down protocols
- Progress tracking worksheets
- Intro video series: program philosophy, why clubs for grapplers, breathing, how to structure your training, and how long to run the program
Yes — that's exactly what it's built for. At 20 minutes, twice a week, it's short enough to do before or after your regular class and puts back the conditioning that no longer fits in the modern hour-long class format.
Yes — if you follow the progression. The program starts light and repeats each weight six times so your tendons and ligaments adapt along with your muscles. Every session includes a warm-up and cool-down, because skipping them is how careers end early.
Start too heavy or jump weights too quickly and you take on unnecessary risk. Follow the system and it becomes built-in prehab for your career.
Train anywhere
Download the Wildman training app in the app store.
Training at your fingertips.
More than a 6 week program.
This regimen is focused on making you "better at being human." Mark recognizes that it takes more than six weeks of "vanity" training to accomplish that goal. Mark's work at a global, cross-disciplinary scale, is distilled into easy-to-use instruction.
Buy Now ($149/ lifetime access)
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