2025 Training Log Part 42

On the stereo today- Charles Bradley

Monday

Jiu Jitsu- I got some rounds in, but only about 40 minutes worth. Not much to write home about.

Tuesday

Gym work. I’m off the training wagon for a while, so I’m going to run 4 weeks of muscle building and see how I go. Muscle is armour for your joints if done right, and can help to keep you injury free. It also fills a tee shirt sleeve. No downsides.

1. Machine Press 5×8
2. Dumbbell Press 3×12
3. Ring Press 3×10
4. Weighted crunches 3×15
5. Med ball diamond push up 3×10
6. Pushdowns 5×10
7. Halos 3 sets of 10

Sauna to get out of the cold.

Wednesday

Back and Biceps day.

1. Rack Pulls 5×5 work set
2. Seated Cable Row 3×12
3. Machine row 5×10
4. 3 way bridge 3x1min
5. Front raises 3×15
6. EZ Curl 4×10
7. Hammer curl 3×12
8. Cable curl 2xmax

Evening Jiu Jitsu. Just cruised through some rounds and enjoyed it. Very tired, but still glad I went!

Friday

Lower body stuff.

1. Front squat w/u to a max 5 with 80kgs
2. Hamstring curls 5×10
3. Quad raise 3×15
4. Walking lunges 5×12
5. Weighted crunches 3×15

Not much to write home about. I’ve had some back issues, so this was just getting some movement in.

Training Thoughts of the Week

It was nice to promote some people to Blue, Purple, and Black belt at the weekend. No one in any other sport gets to do this! It’s a reward for improvement and meeting a standard of Jiu Jitsu. A friend used to tell me that in Jiu Jitsu you’re either getting better, or you’re getting worse. I think that’s broadly true. There are ups and downs in the journey of course, ones you can’t help. You might get injured or have some work that keeps you away for a while.

It can take years to get from one belt to the next, and progress isn’t linear. It’s a winding road, which makes enjoying the journey rather than being in a hurry to get there all the more important.

Non-Training Thoughts of the Week

I ran into a work issue last week and used AI to help me. “Wow!” I thought, “This is a tremendous work tool!”. This morning, I went back to use it again, and it gave me completely different advice, and contradicted itself from the week before. So, we’re not at Skynet yet.

See you on the mat,

Barry