Question:
BJJ Comp Training & Stress! ?
Answer:
We have been practicing full on physical fitness training for the
first hour of class for the past month.
The classes go for two hours, so after some techniques we rolled for
30 minutes, theory was that by the time we actually got down to
grappling we would be too tired to use strength and therefore we would
have to develop our techniques.
Last night we changed to what we're calling competition training,
which consists of only 20 minutes warm up and some techniques and a
full hours rolling.
The thing is! Over this period I've noticed my seeming level of
fitness fluctuated greatly and it wasn't progressive as logic should
have dictated!
One day I would cruse through a grueling workout session and on
another I'd be totally wreaked.
I watched my diet and was careful to always eat a good breakfast and
avoid any crap and I got plenty of rest and these things certainly
helped but I still had good and bad days.
The only thing I could put it down to was stress.
The past month has been a difficult time because certain rich people
that I've worked for have been slow to pay up.
I've stretched myself financially to get this work done and I had to
pay off all my contractors and the guys working for me.
And then nothing was coming in and the bills don't stop! What is with
rich people and huge corporations anyway! They're always the last to
pay up!
I did finally get it sorted but I think the stress was screwing up my
training. I'd never before realized just how much ones state of mind
can effect physical fitness.
One lesson you can learn in bicycling is that you need a 'rest/recovery'
ride after certain hard rides. You also can use 'periodicity', iow phasing.
It looks like you're getting that peroidicity, but in a concentrated
package.
In addition it looks like you're not getting that rest/recovery training at
the proper interval.
Now, when we say 'rest/recovery' ride on the bike, we use a heart-rate
monitor and we ride 70 minutes at 125 beats per minute. During hard hill
climbing, stomping, or sprinting the HRM can be up near 80-90% of your max
rate for a period of a couple hours, in phases.
If you take this 'concept' of fitness to your rolling, then you might be
able to 'tease out' come crossover utility.
However, I'm a hyoouge fan of the idea of 'Base Training'. IOW, you MUST be
getting in at least 20-30 miles per week jogging at about 7-8 min per mile
pace to be able to compete in a combat sport. This typically takes up to
2-3 years to develop your base.
You can substitute bike riding/racing, but it requires a longer time period
to get the base.
What is a 'base'? It's more than the lung development, more than the muscle
development. It's the addition of whole new 'energy systems' that everyone
has, but few get to see. It develops vascularization, or the formation of
new blood vessels to supply those working muscles with lots of blood
removal capacity and possibly reduction of lactate, and possibly the
ability function with higher lactate levels, or paradoxically to have lower
lactate levels than most people during the event. Research Lance Armstrong
and Chris Carmichael's Training guide for more.
In addition to the above, you develop much larger numbers of the energy
producing mitochondria. That alone can take a couple years of base, if
you've never done base training before.
I don't mean to belabor this, b/c most young fit guys think they have a
base, when in actuality they are going on genetics and youth. A young guy
who is fit may be able to run 10 miles in a pace near where a mature
base-trained jogger can run, but the more mature jogger with base, will be
able to do the same jog the next day, and for the next five days, and then
they'll increase to running one half-marathon distance every two weeks in
addition to the 10 milers every day, and so on.
With this kind of base, back in the day, I was clearly -way- above the
level of fighting of everyone in my area. Of course I was also doing high
intensity body building at the time, squatting with 225 for 20-reps and
soforth. So you need the base, and you need the 'intensity' drills, and you
need the skill. Once you have this, then you need to 'convert' it to the
special kind of endurance you need in rolling hard.
Still even when you've reached the advanced levels, you'll need to continue
to 'maintain' your base, though maintenance is a lot easier than
acquisition.
