training martial arts and weights

[Burrr]

hey guys,
my town finally has a little jiu jitsu gym.
did my first class yesterday and had an awesome time.
we must have rolled for an hour.
so I'm 49 and was the most gassed ive been since hunting season. totally kicked my butt.
i think i will learn to be more efficient with my energy, but for now it wears me out.
how do you guys that roll mix in your weight training?
how many days per week should I give to jiu jitsu to make good progression?
I'm content maintaining my muscle mass at 200lb 5ft11 and 14%
i don't compete, just lift for fun and mental health.

 

[ErikR]

hey guys,
my town finally has a little jiu jitsu gym.
did my first class yesterday and had an awesome time.
we must have rolled for an hour.
so I'm 49 and was the most gassed ive been since hunting season. totally kicked my butt.
i think i will learn to be more efficient with my energy, but for now it wears me out.
how do you guys that roll mix in your weight training?
how many days per week should I give to jiu jitsu to make good progression?
I'm content maintaining my muscle mass at 200lb 5ft11 and 14%
i don't compete, just lift for fun and mental health.

I got back into bjj 6 months ago after a 8 year lay off. I train bjj 4x a week and lift 3-4 times now. It's hard for me to gain size with all that training. When I came back a was gased out really fast. You train to use your strength which only works on guys that suck. It's very humbling. To answer your question 3x a week bjj is minimal to get better. Lift as many times as your recovery will allow.

 

[weighted chinup]

Currently taking a break from grappling since Jan/Feb-ish for the next little while myself, however:

If you can train in a gi at least 3x a week you should be able to make progress at a decent rate, although everyone is different. Some people are sponges when it comes to technique and get shit down quickly, others struggle for longer (like yours truly). Previous grappling experience can be good or bad in this regard (bad habits vs being able to learn tech quicker).

When I roll I weight train normally and treat BJJ as an additional training session and give it an appropriate pre-workout and post meal, however you need to be cognizant of the health of your physical faculties. Your low back is going to start feeling it, even if you guys start from the knees before you roll. I'm not really a guard player and I was starting to feel it in my low back just from getting sweeped and other things too.

Also, rolling is a tonne of fun, literally nothing else in life is as enjoyable, so it's easy to neglect technique or just try and blow through it cause you know you're about to roll in 30 minutes.

Your conditioning will improve. I used shuttle sprints as additional conditioning work but it was too much with bb'ing and bjj on top of it, and really the #1 way to be more efficient at rolling is to just roll more.

I would focus as hard as possible during the technique portion of class and try and use what you learn when rolling or ask for advices from others, a lot of guys are usually very helpful towards white belts, but everyone gym has its own culture and you need to observe this and be mindful of it.

Glad to hear you're enjoying BJJ though @Burrr! I've met plenty of guys who just roll 3-4x a week with minimal or sporadic weight training and are in great shape. Do whatever you enjoy as much as you can while still having a normal (pain-free) life.

 

[ErikR]

Another word or advice is don't try to muscle moves. As a white belt you don't know much yet. Bjj takes a long time to learn. As weighted chin-up mentioned your lower back will take a beating in the beginning do to all the closed guard white belts use. As you advance you will see not many guys will use closed guard. More butterfly and x guard. Less strain on your lower back. Also, tap when you need to. Don't try to prove you can fight a armbar and get hurt. Your weight training will suffer when your in constant pain.

 

[weighted chinup]

Another word or advice is don't try to muscle moves. As a white belt you don't know much yet.

Double emphasis on this, especially if rolling with higher belts. Especially in the early stages when you don't have good control but may have good size or strength due to strength training or AAS, the last thing you want to do is hurt yourself or someone else because you tried to force something that wasn't gonna happen. You also won't learn anything that way either if you're relying on your strength too much.

Good advice as always @ErikR

 

[rugerjitsu]

I never lifted weights when I trained bjj...that said, I would suggest sticking to things like squats, DL’s, and dumbbell presses.

 

[Burrr]

just got done with my 2nd class.
learned to pace myself better this time. still gassed out but not as bad as day 1. We are rolling at around 9000 above sea level
It really is a ton of fun and the guys i rolled with were mostly white belts. Everyone is super cool, no egos just helpful people. Once I get gassed bad they let me breath a little and talk about what we're doing.

They do classes in my small town 2 times a week and in the bigger town 30 min a way 6 days a week. I should be able to train as often as I want.
I think I'll shoot for BJJ 4 times a week and weights 3 days a week. Keep it to full body or upper lower split.

like most of the hobbies and sports ive gotten into over the years, the nooby phase is so rewarding because the improvements come so fast.
thanks for the suggestions guys, I appreciate it

 

[wedorecover]

Shit is no joke brother i did it for about a year been thinking about going back ... before i started i was doing triathlons and was in great shape it still kicked my ass

 

[Burrr]

reality check.
training bjj is kicking my butt .
i did 4 days in a row of rolling and I am so tired. i can barley pick up a mat at the end of training.
everything aches.
sore list:
toes
calves
knees
hips
sternum
elbows
trachia
wrists
thumbs
back and or kidneys

 

[Burrr]

oh, and i learned a lesson...
don't take aspirin before rolling.
the bruises look ugly

 

[rugerjitsu]

ig You average 3-4 sessions a week, things will get better in a few months. The first 6 months to a year of learning bjj can be really tough on the body...and mind. It’s humbling getting crushed by smaller dudes.

 

[wedorecover]

ig You average 3-4 sessions a week, things will get better in a few months. The first 6 months to a year of learning bjj can be really tough on the body...and mind. It’s humbling getting crushed by smaller dudes.

Or women

 

[Burrr]

Been at this for a month now, already down 8lbs.

 

[rugerjitsu]

How often are you training?

 

[Burrr]

4 days a week, with one day of weights.

I just got home from rolling, feel pretty decent. Learning to pace myself better.
And I rolled with some brown belts that just wanted to teach me and not crush me.

 

[Burrr]

The only thing that hurts right now is my trachia.
Fucking lapel chokes. Getting used to rolling with a gi.

 

[Murho]

I’ve been doing BJJ for 17 years now, it gets better. Then it gets worse, then it gets better again. And so on.

 

[rugerjitsu]

I’ve been doing BJJ for 17 years now, it gets better. Then it gets worse, then it gets better again. And so on.

Ezzzzactly...soon as you catch on, somebody is there to remind you that you still have lots to learn.

 

[Burrr]

Still sticking with it and having a blast.
Just now getting to where the basics are coming as second nature.
Get that underhook, protect the neck, keep the arms in.
Every once in a while I'll get lucky and grab an arm that was left out there, lol.
I'm the newest guy and mostly sparring with blue belts. Ego is long gone....

Biggest improvement is that I stopped being a spaz. Slowed it all down and learned to breath .

 

[Burrr]

It's been kinda funny keeping track of the body parts that are sore.

I've got almost everything from head to toe .
A couple days ago we practiced escape from triangles. My ears hurt. Kept waking up when I slept on my side.