So a friend of mine is doing a video series of my gym and some of the guys leading up to the Atlanta Open. He made this teaser video to show some of the students. I’m excited to see what the finished product ends up looking like. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVsMpEJ8AV8]
So it looks like the Atlanta Open on August, 30th will be my return to competition. I’ve had a great 2 weeks of training and this week in particular was especially tough. Along with upping my intensity and volume in regards to actual BJJ training I’ve also introduced more lifting back into my routine. The knee is holding up very well; some fatigue and discomfort but no pain. The date for Atlanta will give me plenty of time to get to where I need to be for competition. If I feel in shape and tuned up before August I may try and find something sooner, otherwise Atlanta it is.
I’m so excited to be training hard again with a tournament coming up. Being injured for the last 6 months has been tough and it has really made me regain an appreciation for training and competing. I think we are all guilty of taking it for granted at some time or another, I know I am, but being unable to train hard really makes you remember that a good day on the mats is simply a day that you were able to train regardless of how “well” you actually did.
Good luck to any of you preparing for competitions and maybe I’ll see some of you at the Atlanta Open.
Today was a bruiser. I didn’t have any interviews for the podcast or private lessons and I am waiting for the hosting issues to get resolved before I can finish the work on the actual website. This freed up my day so I decided to take advantage of it and work hard!
When I weighed in this morning I was 207lbs which is good considering I had a pretty relaxed diet this weekend. I went on a camping trip this weekend and ate food that I normally don’t consume in great quantities like breads so honestly I expected my weight to be up a bit. This means I need to lose about 5lbs so that I will be 207lbs or under in the kimono. Whenever I am getting ready for an IBJJF style tournament, which has you weigh in right before your match, I aim to be a couple of pounds lighter than I need to be. This lets me enjoy a good breakfast on the day of competition. I am kind of a fat kid at heart and going without a sizable breakfast isn’t an option and when the day of competitions comes I want to focus on the match not having to lose a few extra pounds.
Here is what my day looked like. . .
11am-12:15pm: BJJ Takedowns. 10 minutes total of takedown rounds and then 15 minutes of rolling starting from the knees
12:30pm-1:30pm: Heavy deadlifts. Did work with 80% of my one rep max. Then some stretching.
7pm-8:10pm: More gi takedowns. Again 10 minutes total of takedown rounds and then 15 minutes of rolling from the knees.
8:15pm-8:50pm: Did the “Filthy Fifty” workout. If you’ve never done the workout before it’s a lot of fun. Here’s what it is . . .
For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders
This work out is considered a chipper workout. Meaning it’s long and tough, and you have to simply chip away at it.
8:55pm-9:20pm: Live wrestling for takedowns. Going to wrestling straight after that workout was rough, but I did well and was happy I pushed through my fatigue.
I felt great today. The camping trip this weekend helped me clear my head a bit and I felt really refreshed on the mats today. That being said, it was still rough and required a lot of focus.
Whenever I have rough days like this when I am leading up to a tournament I try to use visualization as a motivation. When I am drilling my takedowns I am not taking down my partner, I am taking down an unnamed opponent in the competition. When my grip starts to fade during a heavy set of deadlifts I think about my opponent finishing their rep and clinch the bar tighter. When I am exhausted after a hard workout I think about my opponents training past discomfort and head back to the mats for wrestling.
This may sound silly but visualization is such a powerful technique that comes in handy when I am training for a competition and need an extra boost of motivation during hard sessions. Even if I am not preparing for a competition, if I have a goal I want to achieve, then visualization is something I use. During the hard work that is necessary to achieve any worthwhile goal (BJJ or otherwise) if I find my motivation waning, I start to visualize. Visualize overcoming the obstacles that stand in my way. Visualize how my hard work will aid in my road to attainment, and visualize the satisfaction of achieving my goal. No matter how tired I might be. When I think about these three things I get fired up to get after whatever it is I need to do.
I am tired so if this post came across as poorly thrown together I do apologize. I am a bit wipe so I am going to head to bed and get ready for another tough day tomorrow!
As always, thanks for reading.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send an email to chewjitsu@gmail.com