Training frequency: less is more?

I believe that BJJ has so many moves, subs, positions, sweeps and infinite details that it can overload our cognition. So clearing your mind does indeed help.
 
SquatMoar said:
I agree with this. I am 33. I train on average 11 classes a week and my body is holding up just fine. I also lift twice a week more as a method of injury prevention. Sure stuff hurts all the time but there's a difference in being a little sore and being hurt/injured.
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How can some of you guys train so much? Not just physically, but you know... Life responsibilities? Job? Family? I train 3-5 times a week and I know it irritates my wife a little because I'm not spending as much time with her. But even if I was single, there's no way I would have the time to train more often than 7 times a week.
 
I can only fit 2 regular bjj classes a week+ one sparring session with a blackbelt friend.
Also I do wrestling once per week and judo once per week.

I don't consider myself a competitor but I will try my best at tourneys.

I am worried that I am not spending enough time on regular bjj classes (2x /week).

What do you guys think of this schedule?
 
FlexLuthor said:
You're right...

Sport specific endurance training is definitely not the way to go to improve sport specific endurance.

Said no one ever.
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Sport specific training is not the "optimum" way to train a "specific" weakness. For MMA purposes, Sparring is the most sport specific training isn't it? Then why do MMA fighters run on tread mills, run on the streets, lift weights, kick bags? Why dont they just spar spar and spar only? Because they are trying to work on a specific weakness which will help them in sparring. Most grapplers do the same. They do their weakness specific conditioning work outside of "just rolling" or "just drilling." There are exceptions like Marcelo Garcia but they are just that. Exceptions.
 
Human Bass said:
I believe that BJJ has so many moves, subs, positions, sweeps and infinite details that it can overload our cognition. So clearing your mind does indeed help.
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Absolutely. The best way to deal with this, in my opinion, is to just focus on one or two positions for a block of time. Creating that false scarcity gives you a better sense of control over your training, and putting in consistent work with a position lets you really make it your own.

On the broader topic, if I don't train for three days in a row, I'm not that fun to be around. Even on vacation, it's hard for me to relax without some physical activity. Nor am I some awesome example of fitness, I just really like scrapping in pajamas.
 
SAMURAI SPIRIT said:
Sport specific training is not the "optimum" way to train a "specific" weakness. For MMA purposes, Sparring is the most sport specific training isn't it? Then why do MMA fighters run on tread mills, run on the streets, lift weights, kick bags? Why dont they just spar spar and spar only? Because they are trying to work on a specific weakness which will help them in sparring. Most grapplers do the same. They do their weakness specific conditioning work outside of "just rolling" or "just drilling." There are exceptions like Marcelo Garcia but they are just that. Exceptions.
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Don't play dumb. You understand full well that hard sparring is not sustainable in striking, unlike grappling. You either don't know shit about s&c or your trolling. Ill assume you are actually confused.

When talking about endurance, sport specificity is 100% the way to go unless repetitive stress (or acute) injuries from the training wont let you get in the volume you need, such as with striking sparring... do you think that runners use a different training method other than running for their primary endurance training? The answer is no.

There is pretty much no logical reason to use a different conditioning medium other than grappling unless you are:

1. An extremely high level athlete that needs new stimulus
2. Have an injury preventing you from rolling hard
3. Don't have partners

Otherwise, cross training your conditioning should be thought of as "assistance conditioning", not your primary endurance building protocol.

TLDR: Why the fuck would you do burpees over roll hard for time?
 
There are guys that could train BJJ 5 times a day, 7 days a week, for an entire lifetime under the best coaches in the world, and still wouldn't be able to be Rickson.

Like it or lump it, genetics plays a huge role in "Maximum potential".
 
StabbyMcHatchet said:
There are guys that could train BJJ 5 times a day, 7 days a week, for an entire lifetime under the best coaches in the world, and still wouldn't be able to be Rickson.

Like it or lump it, genetics plays a huge role in "Maximum potential".
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In my opinion, genetics matter only if you are fighting for the very top percentage in a sport.

The bottom line is that 99% (or less) of people won't train, diet, condition, prehab/rehab, rest, program and work like a high level athlete, so they will never come close to meeting their supposed genetic ceiling.
 
FlexLuthor said:
Don't play dumb. You understand full well that hard sparring is not sustainable in striking, unlike grappling. You either don't know shit about s&c or your trolling. Ill assume you are actually confused.

When talking about endurance, sport specificity is 100% the way to go unless repetitive stress (or acute) injuries from the training wont let you get in the volume you need, such as with striking sparring... do you think that runners use a different training method other than running for their primary endurance training? The answer is no.

There is pretty much no logical reason to use a different conditioning medium other than grappling unless you are:

1. An extremely high level athlete that needs new stimulus
2. Have an injury preventing you from rolling hard
3. Don't have partners

Otherwise, cross training your conditioning should be thought of as "assistance conditioning", not your primary endurance building protocol.

TLDR: Why the fuck would you do burpees over roll hard for time?
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When people act tough over the internet they are hiding flaws in their logic. Raise your arguments instead of your aggression and this conversation can progress somewhere meaningful.

Firstly, no one here is disputing that for BJJ purposes your primary mode of training should be BJJ. There is no disagreement between you and me on that point. We are on totally one page!

When it comes to "supplemental training" (your term), can your game benefit more from running, weight training and cardio etc? Or you should all your supplemental training be "MORE BJJ?"

If you are gassing out, trust me it is because of your heart not being able to pump blood fast enough. You heart does not know and does not give a damn whether you are running or doing BJJ. Any exercise that will force your heart to pump faster will enable it to do that under all circumstances whether BJJ or running or swimming.

Now if your lack of endurance is not caused by cardio but by muscular endurance then yes, rolling may be better than cardio. Rolling more will give you exact muscles movements that are really hard to replicate in a gym using weights and machines. This is where the philosophy of "Just roll more" comes from.

All training slogans must be understood in the context in which they were born.
 
There are diminishing returns on everything.

Training only BJJ works wonders on newbies, but when you stall, sometimes its important to add other things to improve.
 
Another thing I have found in my own personal experience, is that when I do a cleanse, (which is two days on a nutrient dense liquid diet) I roll better than ever. Everytime.

I will also say that my BJJ game has improved since I started lifting for strength purposes, although I will admit that I have a tendancy to "muscle" more than "flow" with technique, but that will come with time as I am still pretty noobish.
 
An amazing amount of weird theories in the this thread. It seems pretty simple to me: if you want to be a champion, train like the champions train. That means 10+ sessions of BJJ a week plus cardio and strength training. If you want to be a normal person and have fun with BJJ, train as much as you feel like and if you're dead tired then skip a day. Listen to your body. But the more you want to approach champion caliber, the more you'll have to train like they train which means more sessions and more supplemental work.

And for the record, with the possible exception of Holt given that he's actually trained at Olympic intensity, none of us have pushed ourselves hard enough to know what our true genetic potential is. That's the lamest excuse for not improving and/or not working hard that I've ever heard. You train 3-4x a week with lifting and maybe a few runs, you're not scratching the surface of what you can achieve just from training more, much less butting up against your natural physical limitations.
 
Uchi Mata said:
An amazing amount of weird theories in the this thread. It seems pretty simple to me: if you want to be a champion, train like the champions train. That means 10+ sessions of BJJ a week plus cardio and strength training. If you want to be a normal person and have fun with BJJ, train as much as you feel like and if you're dead tired then skip a day. Listen to your body. But the more you want to approach champion caliber, the more you'll have to train like they train which means more sessions and more supplemental work.

And for the record, with the possible exception of Holt given that he's actually trained at Olympic intensity, none of us have pushed ourselves hard enough to know what our true genetic potential is. That's the lamest excuse for not improving and/or not working hard that I've ever heard. You train 3-4x a week with lifting and maybe a few runs, you're not scratching the surface of what you can achieve just from training more, much less butting up against your natural physical limitations.
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Quality post.
 
Uchi Mata said:
An amazing amount of weird theories in the this thread. It seems pretty simple to me: if you want to be a champion, train like the champions train. That means 10+ sessions of BJJ a week plus cardio and strength training. If you want to be a normal person and have fun with BJJ, train as much as you feel like and if you're dead tired then skip a day. Listen to your body. But the more you want to approach champion caliber, the more you'll have to train like they train which means more sessions and more supplemental work.

And for the record, with the possible exception of Holt given that he's actually trained at Olympic intensity, none of us have pushed ourselves hard enough to know what our true genetic potential is. That's the lamest excuse for not improving and/or not working hard that I've ever heard. You train 3-4x a week with lifting and maybe a few runs, you're not scratching the surface of what you can achieve just from training more, much less butting up against your natural physical limitations.
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Couldn't agree more.
 
Uchi Mata said:
And for the record, with the possible exception of Holt given that he's actually trained at Olympic intensity, none of us have pushed ourselves hard enough to know what our true genetic potential is. That's the lamest excuse for not improving and/or not working hard that I've ever heard. You train 3-4x a week with lifting and maybe a few runs, you're not scratching the surface of what you can achieve just from training more, much less butting up against your natural physical limitations.
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there are definitely other people on this forum that have trained at the top level :p I qualified for olympic trials in 100m butterfly, and competed at the national level for many years.

but I agree 100% with everything else you said.
 
If you're not training thrice a week, minimum, don't even bother.
 
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