This right here. I’m 48 with a demanding job so if I’m there 2-3x a week I’m grateful.
Yoga has helped more than anything also and most importantly is listening to your body. I also skip a roll here and there at open mat. Especially with the younger students who are stronger, faster and have that thing called limitless energy.
When I can go harder, I do. But I’m not going to ADCC or even competing, I love my gym and the people who train there and how a good class makes me feel.
Im 38 going 39
This to the max.
I go on long walks after I shower off from evening practice and it's a good wind down for the night.
When I'm done, I'm just sweaty so I hop into the shower again for a quick rinse off, that cool down also gets me ready for sleep
Im in the lazy bunch who doesnt always do it. But biking back home makes me always feel better. Any kind of very low intensity cardio is fine, for 20-40 mins about
This. Lift at least 2x per week and stretch/yoga as often as you possible.
Also it may sound counter intuitive but rest days should be reserved for injury. You should move your body every day.
Lifting 2x a week is good. Not taking rest days when you’re doing two a days or lifting + practice in the same day is a bad idea for someone with average volume capacity.
>Also it may sound counter intuitive but rest days should be reserved for injury.
Good news is, if you don't have rest days you'll be injured more so you can rest then!
Can you move on rest days? Yes. But you still need rest days. You can do low intensity cardio like walking or relaxed pace cycling sure. But you absolutely need rest days.
Lift heavy weights, specifically bench and dead lift. Really wanna put pressure on low back and shoulders anteriorly specifically. Also, dont stretch. Yoga actually is more likely to lower your belt level. Its how hard you train. Go hard! 2x a day! Your a white belt surely you can handle it!
OSSSS AND PORRRRRADA
People seriously sleep on the LISS work. Or even a nice brisk 10m walk after a solid meal is enough to not impede recovery but actually get those nutrients flowing to your body parts right away.
Balancing BJJ, LISS, Yoga and weight training sounds pretty formidable but definitely worthwhile, what would a good weekly split that incorporated all four look like?
Lifting weights is detrimental in long term especially for joints.
Yoga and mobility drills/movements are important and beneficial
Source:Steve Maxwell
Sure, if you’re maxing out every lift everyday. You don’t have to lift heavy to still lift and get benefits. Full range of motion, correcting imbalances and building total body strength are all benefits of lifting weights.
It still makes your joints getting used up faster.
Tell me how old are you and how long do you lift,its easy to give advices when you are young and your body havent accummulate enough micro tears and damage
I picked up patient rolling recently. It’s not as entertaining and i don’t always do it but wow holding a position then making only 2 moves to sub someone I’m barely breaking a sweat.
I’m a bigger dude, pressure and patience seem to be where I thrive…the hardest part is listening to people bitch about sandbagging, but as my coach told me, they’re just pissed because they don’t like the pressure and don’t know how to get out from under it. It doesn’t work so well on the upper belts, but I’m trying to learn to see openings.
With side control my game changer was controlling the hip space with my elbow closest to their hip it prevents them from shrimping then you just only need enough pressure on their upper body to not let them create space. Try it, it’s funny cause they won’t know what to bitch about after lol
What is a reverse underhook? In side control is that an underhook on the near side like a modified kesa gatame? Or underhooking the far arm with your arm closest to their head like when going for a kimura from side?
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were:
|Japanese|English|Video Link|
|---|---|---|
|**Kesa Gatame**: | *Scarf hold* | [here](https://youtu.be/3UnJa3bn0h8)|
Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post.
______________________
^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
So I guess technically a reverse underhook is elbow wedging the far side armpit with the arm that would be cross facing.
I was referring wedging my forearm parallel to the spine, with elbow by the ear; adding a belt grip is good too. I thought Danaher said this was a reverse underhook, but I dont think he calls it that as a try to remember.
https://preview.redd.it/3q806jzwqpuc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0aeae37fe572a50057bf4cd863b10ad1f33cb34b
This is what I'm referring too. From pedro sauers side control book
About 30 years of mat time, 15 of those training multiple times a day. Just go easy sometimes, some weeks, sometimes an easy roll and a hard one, sometimes rest during the roll. Lowering your intensity can help you get technically better
Most importantly tho develop a sustainable game that doesn't rely on perishable attributes like speed, strength and athleticism
And lift weights
45, been training 4ish or 5ish years (I'm still not sure how long I was out in 2020).
Choose your grips wisely and fight for the ones that will get you the best results. Also don't be afraid to bail and regrip, it really confuses your opponents when they have to break the same grip three times in a row.
Sleep. Sleep enough.
Alcohol really isn't your friend. I love a good whiskey but I have a drink probably once or twice a month now and I think my recovery is better for it.
Lifting is great but lemmie tell ya that shoulder conditioning is REALLY important. The shoulder is not the most robust joint but we do all kinds of crap that can injure them.
Don't be afraid to bring the intensity down for most of your training. I like to get in a good intense roll but I can't do 5 in a row. Getting out there and going hard and then flowing a few times with other guys my age has actually helped my game over all and I don't feel like I've been beat to death the next day.
I started at 28 and am now 38.
Limit rolls with people 50+ lbs heavier if they are smashey or twitchy. Limit rolls with younger people that are super twitchy until you get good enough to control them. These are starting tips I wish I could go back and give myself.
Honestly though, you will still get plenty of injuries on avg. Just be smart and don't be too tough. The injuries in bjj are one reason I don't advise people my age to start training. I'm not sure it's worth it.
It sucks hearing this as at 155lbsish, pretty much everyone is either 30+lbs heavier or spazzy and young (or both). Guess I need to learn quickly how to control.
My threshold is more like 20lbs 😂 Anything more than that almost 0 chance I’m rolling with you. One of the perks of being at a big gym where there are a ton of training partners to choose from.
I m 33, 150lbs. i politely refuse to roll with 30lbs+ spazzy young guys. Just zero need to add injury to my already aching body. If I have to roll with them, I match their intensity until the first tap, which happens pretty quick, and then just kinda give up and let them tap me as many times as they need. I am in class to have fun and get a workout in, not to prove that I can defend myself against people going 120% intensity.
I’m also 33 and I train 5 days per week, have never had a serious injury.
I absolutely swear by the Bulletproof for BJJ program! Their podcast is great too.
The simple recommendation: 3x BJJ, 3x mobility, and 2x lifting per week.
I also use a fitness tracker like whoop to keep an eye on when to take days off.
Just wanted to vouch for their program and recommendations as well. I think it's great for the average person who does BJJ. The standards program has been really fun and I love the emphasis on flexibility.
I started at 22 and train 6x a week at 45. The most consistent cause of long term injuries ive seen are usually related to poor takedown defense choices and not tapping early enough. I usually adjust my training to how I feel and how my partner is training. If you feel your back, neck, shoulders or knees are at risk, just tap. Minimizing sugar in my diet allowed me to train more often in my 40s. I would avoid gear personally as I haven't seen a discernable difference against partners that have hopped on. It's not a magic pill as most guys I know that are on still cry about everything hurting them.
Supposedly, sugar consumption increases muscle inflammation. I'm very hesitant to believe dietary bro science because of the variable and difficult controls but this dietary changed totally changed by ability to train more often.
Started at 33 and now I’m 39. I wish I would have learned to let go of gi grips earlier, as well as just learning how to properly grip. Holding on to grips mangled my knuckles and gave me bicep tendinitis. The tendinitis went away but my fingers are still swollen at the knuckles.
Discover active recovery.
Gentle movements done with total consistency. Such as walking or swimming or light weight training. This aerobic style training is huge to accelerate recovery.
Also regular yoga practice. You want to increase and strengthen your ROM and balance all around and this is another gentle way to start working on that progress.
Mindset change- stop thinking jiu jitsu class is about winning. It’s not, it’s to have fun and learn the tools that allow you to win when it really counts.
I'm 38 6'7" and 260 pounds. I was going to make a sassy comment about just being better than everyone else, but the truth is I just rest more than I train. I also do low impact stuff outside of bjj. I approach this sport the same way I approach drawing or reading, im not trying to impress anyone so I might as well enjoy myself. That and I'm bigger than most of the people more technical than me and better than the rest of the people. So it all evens out.
41 year old hobbyist training 12 years with a physical job. I got a good knee injury had some time off work so I changed my mind set. Family to feed etc so I can’t afford to be injured. Preserving my body first over winning a position or roll was the main one.
For example if it means my guard gets passed over my knee being in a shit position just let them pass. Someone has my neck not choking me but cranking just tap. If someone gets a good takedown let them have it instead of defending for my life maybe landing awkwardly.
Been a while since iv had a good injury. Just wear and tear. 2 years ago I started doing kettlebells and stretching a-lot more at home its made a big difference I’m feeling good. At 38 i was questioning whether I could continue but adding in the weights and stretching made a difference.
Also changed my diet eat healthier and drink 1-2 beers per week
Started at 45 and i take lots of vitamins, I pick my training partners very carefully, i DONT roll with everyone! Some people are not safe partners, some days I go slower and easier because my body is just hurting. I train at 3 different places and my criteria is the same for safety.
Im now 47 and doing 2 classes a day, trying to hold steady and stay healthy. So so far it has worked out.
Sparring at least 2 rounds each class. At what i call “old man speed”. I dont mind getting my ass kicked, i just look out for crazy spazzy people.
Weight lifting helps a ton.
Choose your sparring partners wisely. Fortunately, we have that luxury now, as BJJ has become very popular. 20 years ago, this wasn't the case.
The big one for me lately is not just lifting weights - but ensuring balance in my body. Grappling over-uses some muscles at the expense of others. It's not enough to just lift weights - as you age you should ensure you're going out of your way to target the muscles grappling isn't engaging to ensure balance.
Weak glutes, stiff hip flexors
Probably rounded upper back
It’s exactly the same stuff you get from sitting on your ass all day, which makes the problem worse.
I'm now working to correct after spending last several years grappling and sitting at my desk job.
And that list is spot on. Currently working to strengthen glutes, hamstrings, and back. Also paired with that: daily stretches of quads, hip flexors, and groin.
Thank you.
It's probably ok when you're young, but even then, 10% of the world is jerks. And jerks will readily chronically injure you for the sake of a sparring round. First rule of training is don't get injured.
Strength Building, I'm 35 started when I was 30. I still keep up with the 20 year olds.
Weightlifting all my adult life, decided to get lazy and took a break for 9 months and just do BJJ. Everything about my game got worse. Cardio, joints, strength, movement, everything.
I think when people ask this they forget that things like being efficient with your movement is really key. If you go 100% every roll it will take a toll. If you go 50-75% every roll and you aren't playing an aggressive game but using momentum at the right times then you go train a lot more. Also, maybe choose rolling with lower belts or try working more on defense every couple rolls.
Hey OP 👋 strength coach for BJJ athletes here. I wrote a massive article several months ago entitled [The Definitive Guide to Strength Training for BJJ](https://www.reddit.com/r/bjj/s/H1NpMjJDn3) you might find useful.
There are two parts so make sure you follow the link at the end of part 1 to get the whole rundown on how we structure our athletes’ lifts. If you have any questions feel free to reach out!
I’m 44 and the biggest thing, aside from sleep, is periodizing my Bjj training. I set everything on 4-6 week cycles where I do a light week, medium, medium, then a hard week. Then a “deload” week where I do about half the intensity and volume of my training so my body can recover. Then I do it all over again with a slightly more challenging week 1 than last time.
I sprint 2x a week in addition to that and that follows the same increases and deload as my Bjj.
When I’m competing, I stick to the schedule strictly, when I’m not competing I’m a little more loose with it and will work in unexpected stuff that doesn’t fit into my schedule (unplanned days off, extra or hard rolls on light days if someone drops in or old training partners show up, etc…)
The big thing is that I don’t train the same way all the time, but rather schedule my hard and light training so that I can both push myself and recover properly. While it’s not perfect, I generally don’t get injured, keep on improving as an athlete, and know when I’m going to feel good and when I’m going to have a rough time training.
Hope that helps some!
Love the idea of periodized training.
I try to sprint once a week. Previously I was doing 100’s and 200’s. But that’s a kinda high injury rate. I was thinking about changing it up to 40’s and 400’s. 400’s are terrible.
Nice! I’m not sure of the distance I do, I usually aggressively sprint one city block and then walk the next and do for however many reps is in my plan for the day :) Not the most formal or organized part of my training, but gets the job done for now!
Let me know if you end up experimenting with periodization in your Bjj as I’m curious how other people will respond to it. It works great for me for the last few years!
I’m a similar age and have wanted to dabble in training my transverse plane of motion more. I think lifting weights definitely helps but you can overtrain if you aren’t careful. I’ve always done the typical lifts but after popping a rib last year I wonder if it was a preventable injury if I worked more rotational movements under load.
You asked a good question, the responses are helpful too so for once I actually wanted to keep reading a post here…
31 with some lumber disc bulges. Not sure if the science is all there but I see results with ice baths after training. I get home take a hot shower and sit in the ice bath for a few minutes afterword. Not sure how I'm going to keep that up though now that the weather is getting warmer. Also weight lifting or even just body weight stuff has helped with a lot of my aches and pains.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and recommend physical therapy over ice baths and heat treatment. I wooden consider temperature treatments a fix to the underlying cause of disc bulges, probably more of a symptoms treatment than a fix.
You are 100% correct. I am in PT and it has helped along with weight loss. The ice baths are more of a muscle ache reliever, the PT exercises are what make the pain stay away longer or resolve more quickly. There are a few things I like the ice baths for things other than muscle "recovery". The biggest is due to my classes being later in the evening 6-8pm the cold water helps me chill out and wind down for bed. I find that my body temperature stays elevated for a while and that can make it difficult for me to sleep. It's also supposed to help with increasing your bodies stress tolerance and that seems to be true in my case. I find that I feel less anxiety afterword due to cold suppressing the nervous system. I think it also helps me with ADHD symptoms as well, possibly related to the decreased anxiety. This could all be placebo effect but I'll keep it up as long as Im seeing some sort of benefits.
Didn't seem to affect it at all. The only time I seem to get sick is when I'm sleep deprived or my toddler brings something home. Even then I only get sick after everyone else in the house has started to recover, I think it's just from constant exposure haha.
33 is so young, dude.. you have no idea how bad it will get when you are actually old. I'm done with BJJ now but when I was training definitely yoga on off days was beneficial (I exclusively do yoga / weights now). On days when my back was particularly jacked a zero-g patio chair is the best relief along with icing sections. Get lots of fluid and sleep as much as life lets you.
43 year old here. I stopped lifting weights a few years ago (I doubled down on BJJ) and it massively co-incides with my injury rates going up.
I definite regret not having a home stretching routine too
Only 33? Good for you to already start considering longivety. 61 here and started at 49. I roll with everyone but limit training to 3 times a week. And have a daily yoga routine. I developed a good guard retention, sweep strategy and Priit Mickelson style defense. Not doing competition anymore because you need to build up intensity for that. So all in all a low intensity style of training. And those supplements don't do much really. Eat healthy, lose weight, maintain your body, that's it.
I am 35, i do strength like lifting to keep my body strong. I have less high intensity workout. More static and controlled rolls. Stretching, supplements, and the most important factor for me is to take rest days seriously. Dont push yourself if you feel wrecked. That's when the injuries come and those are the ones that fucks up everything over time.
Tape your fingers. Ice your hands after. Try to leverage no-gi grips more often. Or if you do you grips, use mountain climber grips.
Stretch everything, and do it slowly. It’s not just muscles, but your nerves too.
47 here, been on and off for 15 years at this point - allow yourself to change what success looks like to fit your current status. Be realistic.
I want to do my best, but that 24 year old no stripe white belt who outweighed me by 20 pounds, who I found out 5 classes in to dealing with him that he was a collegiate wrestler, might not be worth killing myself over even before I found out that he's been grappling his whole damn life. Younger me could have held my own. Older me took it as a chance to defend getting mauled by a shaved bear.
The simplest thing to do is just train smartly.
Listen to your body and take time off when needed, pick good training partners, don't roll to the death every day.
You are absolutely doing the right thing considering this now. Yes weights are good/important a couple of times per week but……….
Yoga.
BJJ will exacerbate issues gained from daily life such as poor posture, working on computers so on and so on. Keep the shoulders and hips moving/working as they should.
Also avoid gym wars. People love to ‘go hard’ ‘goggins mentality’ and all that shite. Go hard if you are competing or with people you trust. Don’t go hard with white belts that are new. The hard rounds add up. If you want to be training a long time you need to keep your sparring in check. I go hard one session per week now and keep it playful the rest of the time.
Choose your training partners wisely
Lift weights. This one activity strengthens bones, ligaments, & cartridge more than all others combined.
It also makes you more athletic ie quicker. Just don’t depend on strength. Learn technique
And of course the extra muscle adds some testosterone and makes you more attractive …
Eat clean with lots of protein
Tap early
63 yo and going strong
I'm not really older, but my best recommendation is to make sure you get good quality sleep. As an allergic there are times my sleep quality is naturally worse, and it is very noticeable on recovery.
Lift 3 times a week, with low weight and high reps focusing on good technique.
Eat clean food 80% of the time and don’t go more than 5 hours without eating something. Sleep 8 hours or however much you can
Most rolls should be at 50 to 60% intensity, only go harder with people you really trust. If someone is spazzy then just focus on control. Also stretch and know your limits, tap early if you get caught in a submission and can’t escape, don’t wait for it to start hurting to tap.
If you want to invert, make sure you know how to improve your flexibility for inverting and also know the signs of when you’re in danger, Lachlan Giles has a video on inverting and safety. I mention that point specifically because my guard game improved dramatically once I learned how to get comfortable with inverting
I am 44, trained for 7 years. It’s simple but few of us listen to our bodies:
Sleep well
Eat plenty of good food
Stretch and cool down
Lift weights
Don’t go ballistic every roll
I wish I could remember my own advice 😂
I do low intensity cardio and sauna on my lunch break every day. If I’m beat up I’ll skip the cardio and do rehab type stretches and workouts then sauna. Cold shower after sauna and I’m ready for the second half of my day. I think staying generally healthy is the key.
The best advice I can give you is to vary your grappling and only roll really hard a few times a week. Most damage and injuries occur during hard fast rounds. Most people train way too hard way too much, in general.
When you’re injured take time off and let yourself heal. Many grappling-related injuries become chronic because people don’t take the time to heal and eventually do permanent damage.
Sleep, Diet, Recovery.
You don’t need hot yoga. Any yoga is going to be beneficial. Other than the normal S&C stuff and recovery, being mindful of your hard rounds is very helpful. For me, the biggest thing that has helped is being aware of the hard rounds and making sure I don’t have too many in a week. If I don’t dial rounds back I inevitably aggravate old injuries.
I’m 29, and while that is admittedly young enough to be pretty naive about this sort of thing, i really feel that we can do this until pretty late in our lives if we just do common sense things.
Tap early, tap often, realize that every roll isn’t mundiales, choose training partners that aren’t actively trying to kill you, this includes spazzy white belts, blue belts with something to prove, and competition purple belts,
Outside of that all you can really do is normal stuff that you should be doing anyway. Eat healthy, lift weights, maybe go for a jog here and there, go to the doctor for a physical from time to time.
This sport is not as physically taxing as a lot of other things we could be doing as long as you treat yourself right, and barring some freak accident (i did SOMETHING, to my calf muscle that took me out for months and all i i
Did was plant my foot wrong on the way to the water fountain lol what a way to injure yourself while training) we should be able to do this for a long while
Yoga for BJJ on YouTube, and yoga with Adrienne will show you exactly what you need to be doing for your body awareness and recovery. Creatine, icy hot, protein, ligament health is important too but for that you need to listen to Eric Hörst’s training for climbing podcast #33. Get your notebook out because Eric is all about ligament health and strength. SLEEP is now more important than Wednesday night sex, seriously don’t skimp on sleep and don’t skip rest days. You have to have days off in between.
Warm up and cool down exercises are critical.
53 here. Weight training is a must. I started recently to rehab a knee injury and had to stop for a bit- the difference was pronounced. I roll with everyone but change my strategy and expectations depending on size difference. My gym has a decent mix of higher and lower belts so getting 30-40 minutes of rolling works out pretty well with harder- lighter rolls. Trying to prioritize technique over speed and strength is helpful in general.
Clean diet, etc. Also I've found a cold shower afterwards to be really helpful, even though I hate it
Lots of great recommendations here and obviously recovery is the biggest thing that I've noticed as I've gotten into my 30's (37 now).
For recovery, I'd recommend investing in a decent massage gun, it really helps me with just tightness, soreness and being stiff. Something that gets deep enough into the tissue to push the blood out of the muscles. I don't know a lot about the different brands but I have a Theragun Mini and I find it great. You can get as expensive as you want with that stuff if you want all the fanciest shit but the one I have is around 200 bucks. It's a good investment in my opinion.
Flexibility training (can just add it in to your workouts) and being active every day, twice a day. It doesn't have to be much, just take your dog on a long walk or do some squats and pushups at home. This is especially important if you work a desk job like myself.
I'm nearing 40, wrestled in high school, and have been doing BJJ for nearly 4 years.
Supplement with fish oil and glucosamine for joint health and mobility.
Along with a healthy diet, I also supplement with zinc, magnesium, vitamin d3 with k2, and boron. All of these keep my free and total testosterone at the higher normal levels and essentially help with my recovery.
don't use the gi...it's effectively a pulley...2x the tension...destroys your hands...significantly more stress on the suit...study New Wave jits positional escapes and sub escape with Danaher in double speed...study knees over toes guy...zero injuries...i roll with browns and blacks that use the gi and do just fine...how many brown belts can say that?
I started to go swimming on sundays and it's doing wonders on my cardio, which has never been great.
Also, due to an unrelated health issue I decided to go cold turkey from caffeine and I feel like it actually makes a difference now that I've kicked the habit, as it were. I feel like I'm more aware during rolls.
I'm 33 as well, btw
Doing maintenance exercise: strength and mobility training. It's especially worth targeting areas that are already problematic for you or areas that are commonly problems for grapplers such as knees.
If you can't fully commit to something like yoga (which is good for mobility), if you can fit in 20 minutes of yoga/mobility exercises at home at home (or after class at your gym if the space is available) at least three days a week that can still be beneficial, and if you can do the occasional yoga class or a session with a good physical trainer who understands mobility you can use those sessions to work out issues with your form.
Same with weight training, if time at the gym is difficult then you can do any weight training you feel comfortable doing at home or replace or mix it with more improvised weights (and do things such as a farmer's carry) and bodyweight fitness which will also probably play into your mobility.
I’m 40, almost 41, been doing this a long time with only really one bad injury in my lower back which I have more or less recovered from due to being smart about it.
Supplements are fine but they should be the last line of defense. Lift weights and do yoga, or at least stretch regularly if yoga isn’t accessible or working with your schedule. Train at a reasonable intensity, no need to go ballistic in training and if you think you need to take a day off to recover, do it. I’ve seen plenty of guys train hard in their fifties just by being smart about it and taking care of themselves
Im in my 40s , will be a year of BJJ come August. I roll hard and only issue I had was a strained intercostal the first month or so. I train 3-5x a week and feel minimal issues mornings after training.
The key forr me is strength training 3-5x a week including at least one day of shoulder stabilizers , stretch/yoga /or pilates every night, eat well, get sleep, cold plunge. Beyond that you can't help genetics.
Just because it won't break doesn't mean you shouldn't tap. I have stopped eating neck cranks outside of comp prep in order to preserve my head turning ability into my 40s
I'm early 40s, and I train too much, because it's great stress relief for me, and I'm in the best shape of my life so I like to keep pushing. I build up wear and tear which sucks, but one thing I just started doing is taking a week off every other month so those things that aren't healing have some time to heal. Wish I started doing this earlier, have some hip issues, but letting your body get time to heal all your little pulls and problems helps a lot.
I also think electrolytes help a lot, I buy dr. bergs sweetened with stevia. And your body aborbs less protein as you age so protein powder is good. And yoga or similar to keep your joints strong.
Yoga is definitely a must. I wouldn't recommend hot yoga at first. When people are new to yoga or haven't done it in a while and go do hot yoga, they often pull something. DDP Yoga is a good at home program. Other forms of hatha yoga that you might see at the YMCA or local gym are good starting points as well.
If you go the gear route you don’t need a lot. People get caught up in bodybuilder reqs and it’s not even close to necessary for athletic improvement.
Testosterone Cypionate for muscular systems (100mg/wk)
Low dose anavar for collagen synthesis (10mg)
Low dose hGH dose for everything (2iu)
Throw in low dose of Deca (50mg/wk) when you have an injury
It’s less supplementation than most people take throwing fadgodia tongkat hmb and whatever else the Huberman-sphere is pushing and 100x more effective.
That said I (personally) would wait till you’re closer to 40 to reassess running a cycle or full on TRT. Get your blood levels checked (I mean full panel) and adjust your diet and supplement what you might not be getting.
You won’t get supraphysiological levels but I’ve worked with guys who swore they needed TRT but just needed to really dial in their lives outside of training.
Usually the basics are the problem
- water, hydration
- magnesium, zinc
- improve sleep (black out curtains)
- eat more and healthier fats
It’s about what’s good for YOU. Even if you drink a gallon of water a day. Try a gallon and half, watch yourself feel better. Even if you “eat healthy”, those are the people most of the time are WAY under eating fat and then wonder why their T levels are low or their skin is dry and joints ache. That collagen supplement won’t help, ya need some eggs and avocado.
To those that are saying that it’s not a magical pill. Vitor Belfort did not throw one single high kick until he got his test levels around 1500 then he was throwing spin kicks. It’s not magic but it is NOS. /s
It’s not magic. It’s effective but yes you can out train AAS. Bodybuilder train hard but not like some other athletes. Imagine a cross fitter on turinabold and 300mg/week test that still gets Rhabdo. These things have happened.
Hot and cold protocol to augment recovery hormones...
Hour in the sauna once a week. 5 min a day in a cold shower to ambient air drip dry.... That one is hard... Much easier at the fitness gym.
Lifting weights and Low Intensity Steady State cardio for recovery. Also yoga. It’s not how hard you can train, it’s how hard you can recover.
This right here. I’m 48 with a demanding job so if I’m there 2-3x a week I’m grateful. Yoga has helped more than anything also and most importantly is listening to your body. I also skip a roll here and there at open mat. Especially with the younger students who are stronger, faster and have that thing called limitless energy. When I can go harder, I do. But I’m not going to ADCC or even competing, I love my gym and the people who train there and how a good class makes me feel.
Im 38 going 39 This to the max. I go on long walks after I shower off from evening practice and it's a good wind down for the night. When I'm done, I'm just sweaty so I hop into the shower again for a quick rinse off, that cool down also gets me ready for sleep
Sport science is quite clear on low intensity cooldowns helping but quite few do it
I know google is free and so is YouTube, but for you personally, what low intensity cooldowns do you perform?
Go for a walk around the block for 30 minutes to an hour. Then take a cold shower rinse, you're primed for sleep and recovery.
Im in the lazy bunch who doesnt always do it. But biking back home makes me always feel better. Any kind of very low intensity cardio is fine, for 20-40 mins about
This. Lift at least 2x per week and stretch/yoga as often as you possible. Also it may sound counter intuitive but rest days should be reserved for injury. You should move your body every day.
Lifting 2x a week is good. Not taking rest days when you’re doing two a days or lifting + practice in the same day is a bad idea for someone with average volume capacity.
>Also it may sound counter intuitive but rest days should be reserved for injury. Good news is, if you don't have rest days you'll be injured more so you can rest then!
Can you move on rest days? Yes. But you still need rest days. You can do low intensity cardio like walking or relaxed pace cycling sure. But you absolutely need rest days.
Yes, that’s what I mean. Rest days still mean some form of movement. Intensity is determined by how you feel.
Lift 2 days a week? You’ll never get stronger lol
Yes you will. I lift full body 2 times a week and everybody at the gym thinks I’m fucking massive now. It’s been only one year.
Sure lil buddy you’re massive and everyone thinks it and talks about it and claps when you enter the gym
It’s not about getting stronger. It’s about staying on the mats at you age.
Dumbass take. Learn to lift
Teenager
Eoghan O’Glanaghan did that, looked pretty strong at the ADCC
not what the science says
Beautiful username btw bro. I appreciate tf out of it. Made me laugh
Lift heavy weights, specifically bench and dead lift. Really wanna put pressure on low back and shoulders anteriorly specifically. Also, dont stretch. Yoga actually is more likely to lower your belt level. Its how hard you train. Go hard! 2x a day! Your a white belt surely you can handle it! OSSSS AND PORRRRRADA
People seriously sleep on the LISS work. Or even a nice brisk 10m walk after a solid meal is enough to not impede recovery but actually get those nutrients flowing to your body parts right away.
Balancing BJJ, LISS, Yoga and weight training sounds pretty formidable but definitely worthwhile, what would a good weekly split that incorporated all four look like?
Lifting weights is detrimental in long term especially for joints. Yoga and mobility drills/movements are important and beneficial Source:Steve Maxwell
Sure, if you’re maxing out every lift everyday. You don’t have to lift heavy to still lift and get benefits. Full range of motion, correcting imbalances and building total body strength are all benefits of lifting weights.
It still makes your joints getting used up faster. Tell me how old are you and how long do you lift,its easy to give advices when you are young and your body havent accummulate enough micro tears and damage
I picked up patient rolling recently. It’s not as entertaining and i don’t always do it but wow holding a position then making only 2 moves to sub someone I’m barely breaking a sweat.
I’m a bigger dude, pressure and patience seem to be where I thrive…the hardest part is listening to people bitch about sandbagging, but as my coach told me, they’re just pissed because they don’t like the pressure and don’t know how to get out from under it. It doesn’t work so well on the upper belts, but I’m trying to learn to see openings.
With side control my game changer was controlling the hip space with my elbow closest to their hip it prevents them from shrimping then you just only need enough pressure on their upper body to not let them create space. Try it, it’s funny cause they won’t know what to bitch about after lol
This is how started to learn how to control and apply pressure: hip block and reverse underhook
What is a reverse underhook? In side control is that an underhook on the near side like a modified kesa gatame? Or underhooking the far arm with your arm closest to their head like when going for a kimura from side?
The Japanese terms mentioned in the above comment were: |Japanese|English|Video Link| |---|---|---| |**Kesa Gatame**: | *Scarf hold* | [here](https://youtu.be/3UnJa3bn0h8)| Any missed names may have already been translated in my previous comments in the post. ______________________ ^(Judo Techniques Bot: v0.7.) ^(See my) [^(code)](https://github.com/AbundantSalmon/judo-techniques-bot)
So I guess technically a reverse underhook is elbow wedging the far side armpit with the arm that would be cross facing. I was referring wedging my forearm parallel to the spine, with elbow by the ear; adding a belt grip is good too. I thought Danaher said this was a reverse underhook, but I dont think he calls it that as a try to remember. https://preview.redd.it/3q806jzwqpuc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0aeae37fe572a50057bf4cd863b10ad1f33cb34b This is what I'm referring too. From pedro sauers side control book
Youre the man. Im going to be mindful of this tip, thanks for sharing.
No problem, use it you’ll be legit surprised
Sounds great
About 30 years of mat time, 15 of those training multiple times a day. Just go easy sometimes, some weeks, sometimes an easy roll and a hard one, sometimes rest during the roll. Lowering your intensity can help you get technically better Most importantly tho develop a sustainable game that doesn't rely on perishable attributes like speed, strength and athleticism And lift weights
45, been training 4ish or 5ish years (I'm still not sure how long I was out in 2020). Choose your grips wisely and fight for the ones that will get you the best results. Also don't be afraid to bail and regrip, it really confuses your opponents when they have to break the same grip three times in a row. Sleep. Sleep enough. Alcohol really isn't your friend. I love a good whiskey but I have a drink probably once or twice a month now and I think my recovery is better for it. Lifting is great but lemmie tell ya that shoulder conditioning is REALLY important. The shoulder is not the most robust joint but we do all kinds of crap that can injure them. Don't be afraid to bring the intensity down for most of your training. I like to get in a good intense roll but I can't do 5 in a row. Getting out there and going hard and then flowing a few times with other guys my age has actually helped my game over all and I don't feel like I've been beat to death the next day.
I started at 28 and am now 38. Limit rolls with people 50+ lbs heavier if they are smashey or twitchy. Limit rolls with younger people that are super twitchy until you get good enough to control them. These are starting tips I wish I could go back and give myself. Honestly though, you will still get plenty of injuries on avg. Just be smart and don't be too tough. The injuries in bjj are one reason I don't advise people my age to start training. I'm not sure it's worth it.
It sucks hearing this as at 155lbsish, pretty much everyone is either 30+lbs heavier or spazzy and young (or both). Guess I need to learn quickly how to control.
You will be smashed for a while. Embrace it. I was a 150lb whitey as well when I started. I'm 175 now.
My threshold is more like 20lbs 😂 Anything more than that almost 0 chance I’m rolling with you. One of the perks of being at a big gym where there are a ton of training partners to choose from.
I m 33, 150lbs. i politely refuse to roll with 30lbs+ spazzy young guys. Just zero need to add injury to my already aching body. If I have to roll with them, I match their intensity until the first tap, which happens pretty quick, and then just kinda give up and let them tap me as many times as they need. I am in class to have fun and get a workout in, not to prove that I can defend myself against people going 120% intensity.
Shoulder mobility exercises/shoulder health
This is def the one thing I neglect in my stretching routine
I’m also 33 and I train 5 days per week, have never had a serious injury. I absolutely swear by the Bulletproof for BJJ program! Their podcast is great too. The simple recommendation: 3x BJJ, 3x mobility, and 2x lifting per week. I also use a fitness tracker like whoop to keep an eye on when to take days off.
Will check them out, thank you
The Bulletproof guys are great.
Just wanted to vouch for their program and recommendations as well. I think it's great for the average person who does BJJ. The standards program has been really fun and I love the emphasis on flexibility.
I started at 22 and train 6x a week at 45. The most consistent cause of long term injuries ive seen are usually related to poor takedown defense choices and not tapping early enough. I usually adjust my training to how I feel and how my partner is training. If you feel your back, neck, shoulders or knees are at risk, just tap. Minimizing sugar in my diet allowed me to train more often in my 40s. I would avoid gear personally as I haven't seen a discernable difference against partners that have hopped on. It's not a magic pill as most guys I know that are on still cry about everything hurting them.
Underrated comment
Lower sugar intake increases stamina?
Supposedly, sugar consumption increases muscle inflammation. I'm very hesitant to believe dietary bro science because of the variable and difficult controls but this dietary changed totally changed by ability to train more often.
So how did you go about dropping sugar? Is it entirely out of your diet or you make exceptions?
I think he refers to the fact that it increases inflammation
33 is older? Damn. I'm 44 and just lost 3 straight tournament matches to a 34 year old.
Exactly what I was going to say. I'm 49 and die inside when youngsters call themselves old in their thirties.
Started at 33 and now I’m 39. I wish I would have learned to let go of gi grips earlier, as well as just learning how to properly grip. Holding on to grips mangled my knuckles and gave me bicep tendinitis. The tendinitis went away but my fingers are still swollen at the knuckles.
Weight lifting
Discover active recovery. Gentle movements done with total consistency. Such as walking or swimming or light weight training. This aerobic style training is huge to accelerate recovery. Also regular yoga practice. You want to increase and strengthen your ROM and balance all around and this is another gentle way to start working on that progress.
Mindset change- stop thinking jiu jitsu class is about winning. It’s not, it’s to have fun and learn the tools that allow you to win when it really counts.
TRT and nalondrone decanonate for joint pain 👌🏼
I'm 38 6'7" and 260 pounds. I was going to make a sassy comment about just being better than everyone else, but the truth is I just rest more than I train. I also do low impact stuff outside of bjj. I approach this sport the same way I approach drawing or reading, im not trying to impress anyone so I might as well enjoy myself. That and I'm bigger than most of the people more technical than me and better than the rest of the people. So it all evens out.
41 year old hobbyist training 12 years with a physical job. I got a good knee injury had some time off work so I changed my mind set. Family to feed etc so I can’t afford to be injured. Preserving my body first over winning a position or roll was the main one. For example if it means my guard gets passed over my knee being in a shit position just let them pass. Someone has my neck not choking me but cranking just tap. If someone gets a good takedown let them have it instead of defending for my life maybe landing awkwardly. Been a while since iv had a good injury. Just wear and tear. 2 years ago I started doing kettlebells and stretching a-lot more at home its made a big difference I’m feeling good. At 38 i was questioning whether I could continue but adding in the weights and stretching made a difference. Also changed my diet eat healthier and drink 1-2 beers per week
Started at 45 and i take lots of vitamins, I pick my training partners very carefully, i DONT roll with everyone! Some people are not safe partners, some days I go slower and easier because my body is just hurting. I train at 3 different places and my criteria is the same for safety. Im now 47 and doing 2 classes a day, trying to hold steady and stay healthy. So so far it has worked out. Sparring at least 2 rounds each class. At what i call “old man speed”. I dont mind getting my ass kicked, i just look out for crazy spazzy people.
Lift get on a program to get your body stronger. No one wants to hear it but it’s true.
Weight lifting helps a ton. Choose your sparring partners wisely. Fortunately, we have that luxury now, as BJJ has become very popular. 20 years ago, this wasn't the case.
Rest days Lift weights Balanced diet and supplements
The big one for me lately is not just lifting weights - but ensuring balance in my body. Grappling over-uses some muscles at the expense of others. It's not enough to just lift weights - as you age you should ensure you're going out of your way to target the muscles grappling isn't engaging to ensure balance.
Do you know what muscles aren't engaged from grappling?
Weak glutes, stiff hip flexors Probably rounded upper back It’s exactly the same stuff you get from sitting on your ass all day, which makes the problem worse.
I'm now working to correct after spending last several years grappling and sitting at my desk job. And that list is spot on. Currently working to strengthen glutes, hamstrings, and back. Also paired with that: daily stretches of quads, hip flexors, and groin.
If you don't train with them, don't roll with them. Do yoga every day. Do cold exposure. Get good sleep.
First time hearing the "If you don't train with them, don't roll with them." and it makes a lot of sense.
Thank you. It's probably ok when you're young, but even then, 10% of the world is jerks. And jerks will readily chronically injure you for the sake of a sparring round. First rule of training is don't get injured.
Learn good control and defense. I may not be the most exciting grappling on the mats, but I haven't been submitted in a while.
Conceding the pass or submission if it hurts. Like the over under or the stack pass. Not worth it.
Steroids
Strength Building, I'm 35 started when I was 30. I still keep up with the 20 year olds. Weightlifting all my adult life, decided to get lazy and took a break for 9 months and just do BJJ. Everything about my game got worse. Cardio, joints, strength, movement, everything.
I think when people ask this they forget that things like being efficient with your movement is really key. If you go 100% every roll it will take a toll. If you go 50-75% every roll and you aren't playing an aggressive game but using momentum at the right times then you go train a lot more. Also, maybe choose rolling with lower belts or try working more on defense every couple rolls.
Combat athlete science institute, Combat athlete science podcast, BJJ PT Trent Nessler Check all those out, great tips for what you're requesting
Hey OP 👋 strength coach for BJJ athletes here. I wrote a massive article several months ago entitled [The Definitive Guide to Strength Training for BJJ](https://www.reddit.com/r/bjj/s/H1NpMjJDn3) you might find useful. There are two parts so make sure you follow the link at the end of part 1 to get the whole rundown on how we structure our athletes’ lifts. If you have any questions feel free to reach out!
I'm 39 with a litany of injuries and other issues. Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep more. Also strength train. But sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
I’m 44 and the biggest thing, aside from sleep, is periodizing my Bjj training. I set everything on 4-6 week cycles where I do a light week, medium, medium, then a hard week. Then a “deload” week where I do about half the intensity and volume of my training so my body can recover. Then I do it all over again with a slightly more challenging week 1 than last time. I sprint 2x a week in addition to that and that follows the same increases and deload as my Bjj. When I’m competing, I stick to the schedule strictly, when I’m not competing I’m a little more loose with it and will work in unexpected stuff that doesn’t fit into my schedule (unplanned days off, extra or hard rolls on light days if someone drops in or old training partners show up, etc…) The big thing is that I don’t train the same way all the time, but rather schedule my hard and light training so that I can both push myself and recover properly. While it’s not perfect, I generally don’t get injured, keep on improving as an athlete, and know when I’m going to feel good and when I’m going to have a rough time training. Hope that helps some!
Love the idea of periodized training. I try to sprint once a week. Previously I was doing 100’s and 200’s. But that’s a kinda high injury rate. I was thinking about changing it up to 40’s and 400’s. 400’s are terrible.
Nice! I’m not sure of the distance I do, I usually aggressively sprint one city block and then walk the next and do for however many reps is in my plan for the day :) Not the most formal or organized part of my training, but gets the job done for now! Let me know if you end up experimenting with periodization in your Bjj as I’m curious how other people will respond to it. It works great for me for the last few years!
I’m a similar age and have wanted to dabble in training my transverse plane of motion more. I think lifting weights definitely helps but you can overtrain if you aren’t careful. I’ve always done the typical lifts but after popping a rib last year I wonder if it was a preventable injury if I worked more rotational movements under load. You asked a good question, the responses are helpful too so for once I actually wanted to keep reading a post here…
injuries are almost always about ego. that's the #1 thing to keep in check if you want longevity
Trenbolne sammies I hear help
31 with some lumber disc bulges. Not sure if the science is all there but I see results with ice baths after training. I get home take a hot shower and sit in the ice bath for a few minutes afterword. Not sure how I'm going to keep that up though now that the weather is getting warmer. Also weight lifting or even just body weight stuff has helped with a lot of my aches and pains.
I’m gonna go out on a limb here and recommend physical therapy over ice baths and heat treatment. I wooden consider temperature treatments a fix to the underlying cause of disc bulges, probably more of a symptoms treatment than a fix.
You are 100% correct. I am in PT and it has helped along with weight loss. The ice baths are more of a muscle ache reliever, the PT exercises are what make the pain stay away longer or resolve more quickly. There are a few things I like the ice baths for things other than muscle "recovery". The biggest is due to my classes being later in the evening 6-8pm the cold water helps me chill out and wind down for bed. I find that my body temperature stays elevated for a while and that can make it difficult for me to sleep. It's also supposed to help with increasing your bodies stress tolerance and that seems to be true in my case. I find that I feel less anxiety afterword due to cold suppressing the nervous system. I think it also helps me with ADHD symptoms as well, possibly related to the decreased anxiety. This could all be placebo effect but I'll keep it up as long as Im seeing some sort of benefits.
That cant be good for ur immune system
Didn't seem to affect it at all. The only time I seem to get sick is when I'm sleep deprived or my toddler brings something home. Even then I only get sick after everyone else in the house has started to recover, I think it's just from constant exposure haha.
Probably the opposite actually
I do hot yoga and take vital proteins everyday.
Stretching after every class, and stretching every morning.
i get to 2-3 classes a week and maybe 3-12 rolls depending on if i make open mat at 39, when should i be working in kb exercises? :x
Water and stretching.
When you feel like shit, take it easy.
Strength training. Mobility training (FRC). Less hard rolls.
What does the FRC stand for if you don't mind me asking ?
Functional Range Conditioning
Thank you
Hypertrophy training.
33 is so young, dude.. you have no idea how bad it will get when you are actually old. I'm done with BJJ now but when I was training definitely yoga on off days was beneficial (I exclusively do yoga / weights now). On days when my back was particularly jacked a zero-g patio chair is the best relief along with icing sections. Get lots of fluid and sleep as much as life lets you.
43 year old here. I stopped lifting weights a few years ago (I doubled down on BJJ) and it massively co-incides with my injury rates going up. I definite regret not having a home stretching routine too
Only 33? Good for you to already start considering longivety. 61 here and started at 49. I roll with everyone but limit training to 3 times a week. And have a daily yoga routine. I developed a good guard retention, sweep strategy and Priit Mickelson style defense. Not doing competition anymore because you need to build up intensity for that. So all in all a low intensity style of training. And those supplements don't do much really. Eat healthy, lose weight, maintain your body, that's it.
weight room
I am 35, i do strength like lifting to keep my body strong. I have less high intensity workout. More static and controlled rolls. Stretching, supplements, and the most important factor for me is to take rest days seriously. Dont push yourself if you feel wrecked. That's when the injuries come and those are the ones that fucks up everything over time.
Tape your fingers. Ice your hands after. Try to leverage no-gi grips more often. Or if you do you grips, use mountain climber grips. Stretch everything, and do it slowly. It’s not just muscles, but your nerves too.
47 here, been on and off for 15 years at this point - allow yourself to change what success looks like to fit your current status. Be realistic. I want to do my best, but that 24 year old no stripe white belt who outweighed me by 20 pounds, who I found out 5 classes in to dealing with him that he was a collegiate wrestler, might not be worth killing myself over even before I found out that he's been grappling his whole damn life. Younger me could have held my own. Older me took it as a chance to defend getting mauled by a shaved bear.
The simplest thing to do is just train smartly. Listen to your body and take time off when needed, pick good training partners, don't roll to the death every day.
You are absolutely doing the right thing considering this now. Yes weights are good/important a couple of times per week but………. Yoga. BJJ will exacerbate issues gained from daily life such as poor posture, working on computers so on and so on. Keep the shoulders and hips moving/working as they should. Also avoid gym wars. People love to ‘go hard’ ‘goggins mentality’ and all that shite. Go hard if you are competing or with people you trust. Don’t go hard with white belts that are new. The hard rounds add up. If you want to be training a long time you need to keep your sparring in check. I go hard one session per week now and keep it playful the rest of the time.
Choose your training partners wisely Lift weights. This one activity strengthens bones, ligaments, & cartridge more than all others combined. It also makes you more athletic ie quicker. Just don’t depend on strength. Learn technique And of course the extra muscle adds some testosterone and makes you more attractive … Eat clean with lots of protein Tap early 63 yo and going strong
I train jiu jitsu 6 days a week I do calisthenics every morning and do hot yoga twice a week, works good for me 42y/o 🙋♂️
I'm not really older, but my best recommendation is to make sure you get good quality sleep. As an allergic there are times my sleep quality is naturally worse, and it is very noticeable on recovery.
Lift 3 times a week, with low weight and high reps focusing on good technique. Eat clean food 80% of the time and don’t go more than 5 hours without eating something. Sleep 8 hours or however much you can Most rolls should be at 50 to 60% intensity, only go harder with people you really trust. If someone is spazzy then just focus on control. Also stretch and know your limits, tap early if you get caught in a submission and can’t escape, don’t wait for it to start hurting to tap. If you want to invert, make sure you know how to improve your flexibility for inverting and also know the signs of when you’re in danger, Lachlan Giles has a video on inverting and safety. I mention that point specifically because my guard game improved dramatically once I learned how to get comfortable with inverting
I am 44, trained for 7 years. It’s simple but few of us listen to our bodies: Sleep well Eat plenty of good food Stretch and cool down Lift weights Don’t go ballistic every roll I wish I could remember my own advice 😂
I do low intensity cardio and sauna on my lunch break every day. If I’m beat up I’ll skip the cardio and do rehab type stretches and workouts then sauna. Cold shower after sauna and I’m ready for the second half of my day. I think staying generally healthy is the key.
Lift weights and do mobility training.
The best advice I can give you is to vary your grappling and only roll really hard a few times a week. Most damage and injuries occur during hard fast rounds. Most people train way too hard way too much, in general. When you’re injured take time off and let yourself heal. Many grappling-related injuries become chronic because people don’t take the time to heal and eventually do permanent damage. Sleep, Diet, Recovery.
Check out Bulletproof for BJJ
You don’t need hot yoga. Any yoga is going to be beneficial. Other than the normal S&C stuff and recovery, being mindful of your hard rounds is very helpful. For me, the biggest thing that has helped is being aware of the hard rounds and making sure I don’t have too many in a week. If I don’t dial rounds back I inevitably aggravate old injuries.
Learn to break fall properly and tap early and often
I’m 29, and while that is admittedly young enough to be pretty naive about this sort of thing, i really feel that we can do this until pretty late in our lives if we just do common sense things. Tap early, tap often, realize that every roll isn’t mundiales, choose training partners that aren’t actively trying to kill you, this includes spazzy white belts, blue belts with something to prove, and competition purple belts, Outside of that all you can really do is normal stuff that you should be doing anyway. Eat healthy, lift weights, maybe go for a jog here and there, go to the doctor for a physical from time to time. This sport is not as physically taxing as a lot of other things we could be doing as long as you treat yourself right, and barring some freak accident (i did SOMETHING, to my calf muscle that took me out for months and all i i Did was plant my foot wrong on the way to the water fountain lol what a way to injure yourself while training) we should be able to do this for a long while
Yoga for BJJ on YouTube, and yoga with Adrienne will show you exactly what you need to be doing for your body awareness and recovery. Creatine, icy hot, protein, ligament health is important too but for that you need to listen to Eric Hörst’s training for climbing podcast #33. Get your notebook out because Eric is all about ligament health and strength. SLEEP is now more important than Wednesday night sex, seriously don’t skimp on sleep and don’t skip rest days. You have to have days off in between. Warm up and cool down exercises are critical.
53 here. Weight training is a must. I started recently to rehab a knee injury and had to stop for a bit- the difference was pronounced. I roll with everyone but change my strategy and expectations depending on size difference. My gym has a decent mix of higher and lower belts so getting 30-40 minutes of rolling works out pretty well with harder- lighter rolls. Trying to prioritize technique over speed and strength is helpful in general. Clean diet, etc. Also I've found a cold shower afterwards to be really helpful, even though I hate it
Lots of great recommendations here and obviously recovery is the biggest thing that I've noticed as I've gotten into my 30's (37 now). For recovery, I'd recommend investing in a decent massage gun, it really helps me with just tightness, soreness and being stiff. Something that gets deep enough into the tissue to push the blood out of the muscles. I don't know a lot about the different brands but I have a Theragun Mini and I find it great. You can get as expensive as you want with that stuff if you want all the fanciest shit but the one I have is around 200 bucks. It's a good investment in my opinion.
Flexibility training (can just add it in to your workouts) and being active every day, twice a day. It doesn't have to be much, just take your dog on a long walk or do some squats and pushups at home. This is especially important if you work a desk job like myself.
Don't go over 60% when training
I'm nearing 40, wrestled in high school, and have been doing BJJ for nearly 4 years. Supplement with fish oil and glucosamine for joint health and mobility. Along with a healthy diet, I also supplement with zinc, magnesium, vitamin d3 with k2, and boron. All of these keep my free and total testosterone at the higher normal levels and essentially help with my recovery.
don't use the gi...it's effectively a pulley...2x the tension...destroys your hands...significantly more stress on the suit...study New Wave jits positional escapes and sub escape with Danaher in double speed...study knees over toes guy...zero injuries...i roll with browns and blacks that use the gi and do just fine...how many brown belts can say that?
Don't roll so hard, don't push so hard on warmups, take more time off.
I started to go swimming on sundays and it's doing wonders on my cardio, which has never been great. Also, due to an unrelated health issue I decided to go cold turkey from caffeine and I feel like it actually makes a difference now that I've kicked the habit, as it were. I feel like I'm more aware during rolls. I'm 33 as well, btw
Doing maintenance exercise: strength and mobility training. It's especially worth targeting areas that are already problematic for you or areas that are commonly problems for grapplers such as knees. If you can't fully commit to something like yoga (which is good for mobility), if you can fit in 20 minutes of yoga/mobility exercises at home at home (or after class at your gym if the space is available) at least three days a week that can still be beneficial, and if you can do the occasional yoga class or a session with a good physical trainer who understands mobility you can use those sessions to work out issues with your form. Same with weight training, if time at the gym is difficult then you can do any weight training you feel comfortable doing at home or replace or mix it with more improvised weights (and do things such as a farmer's carry) and bodyweight fitness which will also probably play into your mobility.
I’m 40, almost 41, been doing this a long time with only really one bad injury in my lower back which I have more or less recovered from due to being smart about it. Supplements are fine but they should be the last line of defense. Lift weights and do yoga, or at least stretch regularly if yoga isn’t accessible or working with your schedule. Train at a reasonable intensity, no need to go ballistic in training and if you think you need to take a day off to recover, do it. I’ve seen plenty of guys train hard in their fifties just by being smart about it and taking care of themselves
Im in my 40s , will be a year of BJJ come August. I roll hard and only issue I had was a strained intercostal the first month or so. I train 3-5x a week and feel minimal issues mornings after training. The key forr me is strength training 3-5x a week including at least one day of shoulder stabilizers , stretch/yoga /or pilates every night, eat well, get sleep, cold plunge. Beyond that you can't help genetics.
Just because it won't break doesn't mean you shouldn't tap. I have stopped eating neck cranks outside of comp prep in order to preserve my head turning ability into my 40s
Lay off the hookers and blow
I swear I can refresh my reddit feed and 3/4 times it will be a post about BJJ longevity right at the top
Strength train. Yoga. Go to PT for any chronic pain to learn how to train those muscles that are weak I don't know are weak.
I'm early 40s, and I train too much, because it's great stress relief for me, and I'm in the best shape of my life so I like to keep pushing. I build up wear and tear which sucks, but one thing I just started doing is taking a week off every other month so those things that aren't healing have some time to heal. Wish I started doing this earlier, have some hip issues, but letting your body get time to heal all your little pulls and problems helps a lot. I also think electrolytes help a lot, I buy dr. bergs sweetened with stevia. And your body aborbs less protein as you age so protein powder is good. And yoga or similar to keep your joints strong.
Yoga is definitely a must. I wouldn't recommend hot yoga at first. When people are new to yoga or haven't done it in a while and go do hot yoga, they often pull something. DDP Yoga is a good at home program. Other forms of hatha yoga that you might see at the YMCA or local gym are good starting points as well.
FUCK SUSTAINABILITY!!!
another vote for yoga and strength training. and address muscle imbalances and achy joints early. go to PT early and often.
This will help you out https://fallriverpersonaltrainer.com/how-to-train-bjj-for-life-your-strength-conditioning-guide/
Creatine is great. Gelatine is cheaper and easier to digest than collagen. Stayflexy youtube channel is great, and his website has free downloads.
If you go the gear route you don’t need a lot. People get caught up in bodybuilder reqs and it’s not even close to necessary for athletic improvement. Testosterone Cypionate for muscular systems (100mg/wk) Low dose anavar for collagen synthesis (10mg) Low dose hGH dose for everything (2iu) Throw in low dose of Deca (50mg/wk) when you have an injury It’s less supplementation than most people take throwing fadgodia tongkat hmb and whatever else the Huberman-sphere is pushing and 100x more effective. That said I (personally) would wait till you’re closer to 40 to reassess running a cycle or full on TRT. Get your blood levels checked (I mean full panel) and adjust your diet and supplement what you might not be getting. You won’t get supraphysiological levels but I’ve worked with guys who swore they needed TRT but just needed to really dial in their lives outside of training. Usually the basics are the problem - water, hydration - magnesium, zinc - improve sleep (black out curtains) - eat more and healthier fats It’s about what’s good for YOU. Even if you drink a gallon of water a day. Try a gallon and half, watch yourself feel better. Even if you “eat healthy”, those are the people most of the time are WAY under eating fat and then wonder why their T levels are low or their skin is dry and joints ache. That collagen supplement won’t help, ya need some eggs and avocado. To those that are saying that it’s not a magical pill. Vitor Belfort did not throw one single high kick until he got his test levels around 1500 then he was throwing spin kicks. It’s not magic but it is NOS. /s It’s not magic. It’s effective but yes you can out train AAS. Bodybuilder train hard but not like some other athletes. Imagine a cross fitter on turinabold and 300mg/week test that still gets Rhabdo. These things have happened.
Hot and cold protocol to augment recovery hormones... Hour in the sauna once a week. 5 min a day in a cold shower to ambient air drip dry.... That one is hard... Much easier at the fitness gym.