2024 Training Log- Part 6

On the stereo as I’m writing- Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys. To hell with your Sergeant Pepper. This is the greatest of all time.

Last week was a good week. I trained well, found some groove after being sick the previous week. The injuries I’m managing didn’t rear their heads too much, and I got some decent quality rounds in. not as many as I’d like, but higher quality than usual.

Monday-

Upper Body strength in the morning, and sparring in the evening. 6 minute rounds for 45 minutes, so however many that is.

I was pushing decent numbers in the gym that morning and felt really good, so gave an extra push. I was expecting to feel it on the mat that night but I didn’t, which I’m attributing to my recovery. I’m jamming in quality calories and hitting the sauna directly after training every morning and it seems to be paying dividends.

Tuesday-

Lower body strength session. I woke with my back a little tight, and I think I’ve mentioned before that I my lower body stuff is light and based around mobility, but I’ll repeat it now-

Heavy squats and deadlifts are incompatible with regular Jiu Jitsu training, in my opinion. The neural fatigue and soreness just reduce the quality of your mat work to too much of a degree. The juice is not worth the squeeze. So instead on lower body days I push for movement, core work, and explosive movements. Here’s what I did last Tuesday-

1. Goblet squats- 35kg 5×8
2. Single leg deadlift- 3×8
3. Vertical Jumps- 3×10
4. Seated Quad extension- 2xmax
5. Weighted 45 back raise 3×10
6. Weighted sit ups 3×12

Done.

Wednesday-

Evening spar was positional. Starting in mount, with fresh partner every 3 minutes for 20 minutes. Then seated/standing for 20 minutes. I stank the place out. A tough night on the mats. But very worth it. I have some issues getting to my guard from the open positions so I made a note to work on that on Saturday.

Thursday-

Big rep day. This session has changed from a bodybuilding style hypertrophy one to a recovery/repetition one. I use supersets now to build some muscular endurance and elicit a conditioning effect. For the vanity, you’re still getting that pump, but there’s “Go” to the “Show” too.

My main movement on Thursday was:

1A) Single Arm Dumbbell Press w/u to 35kg x10
1B) Single Arm Standing Cable row x10. No idea what was on the stack.

If I showed this session to the me of 10 years ago I’d say you need to do more man, but in my forties, I’m pretty happy to walk away once the stuff I wanted to do is done.

Friday-

Drummed for 2 hours. Counts as cardio.

Saturday-

Sparring- 8 rounds. Doyler was down to train, so I did 3 with him. 2x5s and 1×8. Got beat up for 1 and half and then got some success in the third. Got some other good rounds in with some browns too. Here’s some data, nerds-

I just don’t buy that I’m doing 1100kcal. If anyone has any info on it, please let me know.

Training thoughts of the Week

Good sparring drags you up, bad sparring drags you down. You will either rise or fall to the level of the sparring you have. This is true, has always been true, and will always be true.

Using the wearable monitor is so helpful psychologically. You are accountable to yourself. If you feel like you’re not pushing hard enough, you’ll know you’ll be able to see on the HR data afterwards. Forget about tracking your calories or output, the big thing is that it’s like someone is watching you!

Non-Training Thoughts of the Week

I’ve always underestimated the power of sleep. I have been getting a minimum of 7hrs a night for 5 weeks now, apart from a few blips, and I can’t believe the difference. This is honestly the first time I’ve ever tried to do this. That sounds mental, but it’s true. I read a lot at night, and sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning, then I’d be up at 7.30am. Now, I’m hitting the bed before 11pm and I’m book down by midnight at the latest. 7am start, cuppa coffee. Straight at it.

A lad told me that losing a match a few years ago was “The worst day of his life”. I quoted Homer Simpson and said, “So far. It was just the worst day of your life so far.” I don’t think he was expecting that answer, but my point was that these things fade very quickly in importance when you start to have real life issues. I once held someone’s hand while a doctor told them they were dying. That and other experiences like them stopped me from thinking about “success” or “failure” in sport or business. I’ve enjoyed both more since.

Have you nothing else to do? Go back to work.