Araj's Training Log: Starting Strength and Jiu Jitsu

[Araj]

Well, I have mixed feelings about today's lifting session. Some things went very well, others not so well.

Thursday November 7th, 2013
Texas Method: Intensity Day

Squats
45x2x5
110x1x5
165x1x3
225x1x2 [Belted]
275x5 (PR) [Belted]

These felt EASY! Felt like I could have gone significantly heavier. It actually felt like I didn't do enough work today... I am sure that will change in future weeks and I will fondly remember these days.

I had to do power cleans next because there were like 4 four-man teams benching nonstop.

Power Cleans
Some warmups with the bar and like 95lbs
115x5x3

Form felt pretty good. On one or two reps I noticed the bar coming away from my chest but I fixed it. Still lots of room for improvement.
Also, the aforementioned teams of 4-man bench pressers seemed to be doing everything they could to stand in my bar path. It felt like I was playing a game of reverse Frogger or something, I don't know.

Bench
This is the shitty part...
45x2x5
95x1x5
135x1x3
175x1x2
185x4
185x1

So everything moved slow and felt a bit uneven, even on my warmup sets. I tried to power through it and I was slowly grinding through my reps at 185. After my fourth rep I took a second underneath the bar, and some overzealous good samaritan dashed in and racked it before I could say anything. That kind of pisses me off, but hey, what are you gonna do?
Anyway it felt like shit, and according to my spreadsheet I should have been able to get 195 for 5. I dunno, I guess I'll have to attack it with more assistance.

I felt like I hadn't done enough today, so I did some pull ups and hanging leg raises.

Pull Ups (Neutral Grip)
10, 7

Hanging Leg Raises
10, 7

 

[Araj]

Double training session at Renzo's today. (Total 3.5 hours: 1.5 nogi, 2 gi)
First up was the morning nogi class, usually taught by Danaher, today taught by one of my instructors, Jason Yang, because Danaher is in Montreal training GSP.

I got there early and rolled for a long time with an older guy who was some sort of higher belt, either brown or black belt. We rolled light and he was super helpful, showing me some heel hook setups and defenses since he was catching me in them left right and center. I had some success with deep half and x guard, as well as closed guard.

Then class started.
First technique was a sweep from butterfly. The guy puts his leg between yours to get to a passing position. You MUST get your shin in. Push on the far leg with your leg to get his base back, hook under the near knee with your outside arm. Inside leg shoots through to trap his foot, lifts it in a kind of single leg. Arms switch, outside arm goes to waist, pass.

Second technique was from the same position. You push his far leg to get him to base back, outside arm hooks leg, use shin/hook to elevate leg, spin under to deep half on the near leg. From there, sweep to either direction.

Third technique was also from the same position. When you push the knee he stands. You spin under into x guard and sweep.

It was like Jason read my mind and went over exactly what I wanted to work on today! Amazing class!

Then we did four six-minute rounds. I went with at least two black belts, possibly three. Got my ass kicked but learned a lot. Had some success from x guard and deep half. These guys are tough and technical. I'm going to keep coming back here and hopefully I will learn to be like them.


Came back for Danaher's afternoon gi class, today taught by a really good brown belt. First takedown was a ko uchi off of a weird sleeve grip/drag. Then we did a Tai Otoshi when they resist the sleeve drag.
Then we did a half guard pass where you sit through and walk your knee up to their butt, then drive your knee to the floor, crossface, and pass directly to mount. Repped that a bunch.
Then we did a bow and arrow choke from technical mount.

First round I went with this big strong spazzy white belt with a decent amount of experience. I pulled guard (was not gonna fuck around with takedowns on him, I was more worried about getting injured than getting taken down) swept him and passed his guard a bunch of times and mounted him, but we kept resetting because we were too close to other pairs (black belts all around us!). Finally I was in his guard and he set up a triangle. I started to posture out of it but his legs were strong as shit. He wasn't going to finish me but I had to defend for the rest of the round.
Then I rolled with a purple belt who rolled really smooth and technical. He triangled me once and I passed his guard once but had trouble securing submissions. He did not pass my guard.
Then I rolled with a black belt (!) who kicked my ass without seeming to try, haha. I escaped his mount twice and blocked a few guard passes, but couldn't get anything else going.
Then I rolled with a seasoned blue belt who was trying to kill me. I swept him but he didn't let me come up, and in the ensuing scramble he got mount. I was defending for a while and trying not to get hit in the face and he finally armbarred me from the back. Then I immediately swept him, passed guard, and mounted him. I held him there and crushed him with pressure, and was setting up an armbar from s mount as the round ended.

 

[Araj]

Gotten a bit behind on logging.

3.5 hours nogi jiujitsu on Saturday.
Technique was Osoto Otoshi. Need to offbalance opponent before throwing.
Then we did the Leg Drag pass, and two variations when the person turns into you. First variation, you back out and re-drag. Second variation, you dive your head under and circle around.

Lifting on Sunday.
5x5 squats at 255
OHP: 5,5,5,3 at 105 (felt like, shit, was sore from all the throwing on Friday and Saturday)

1x5 DL at 305


Nogi Jiujitsu on Monday
Halfguard to closed guard, then halfguard to a simple sweep when they free their knee to try to pass.
Then top halfguard to a toehold. Then top halfguard to a toehold when they have the underhook.

 

[Araj]

Tuesday, November 12th, 2013
Texas Method: Light Day

Squats
45x2x5
80x1x5
120x1x3
160x1x2
200x2x5

Bench
45x2x5
70x1x5
100x1x3
135x1x2
150x3x5

Pull Ups (Neutral Grip)
10, 7, 5

Hanging Leg Raises
10, 10, 5

 

[Araj]

Wednesday
2.5 hours gi jiujitsu

Technique was a bunch of stuff from butterfly guard
Basic butterfly sweep, loop choke, sumi-gaeshi style sweep

Some rounds from standing. I hit a couple Tai Otoshis (getting better) and some ko uchi's. Did not get taken down.

Hurt my shoulder on a kouchi on a white belt who fell in a weird way as I was completing the takedown. I landed hard on my shoulder and heard a bit of a crunch. I have pain, swelling, and reduced range of motion. I should probably get it checked out.
Also somewhere along the way yesterday (before jiujitsu) I managed to hurt my back, which sucks.


Thursday, November 14th, 2013
Texas Method: Intensity Day

In light of the above injuries, I wasn't even going to lift today.
But, stubborn bastard that I am, I did anyway.

Squats
Blah usual warmups leading up to final warmup set of 225x2 (with belt)
Then work set of 280x5 (with belt). New PR!

OHP
Fucked up shoulder meant I didn't want to even try this lift at first.
I ended up doing 5x5 at 45lbs.

Power Cleans
Started doing these then cut them off early due to shoulder pain.
3x3 at 115lbs

I'm happy about the squats. Not so happy about everything else. Hopefully I heal up quickly. I want to compete in December.

 

[Araj]

Saturday

3 hours of jiujitsu.
Osoto Otoshi and Tai Otoshi (i had a nice breakthrough moment where I realized that I need to do everything at once instead of breaking it into steps, which was causing me to work against myself. Offbalancing the upperbody is key for these throws.)

"GSP Passing Sequence"
Smash the butterfly guard, knee through at 45degree angle, isolate one shin, walk it flat with your hip, walk around, crossface.

When they keep a "sticky" butterfly hook, push it down and step over, then do the same for the other hook.

5 5-minute rounds.

My instructor showed me some leglocks and escapes after class. Mostly focusing on, when the guy goes for a kneebar, pull his thigh up to free your leg.


Sunday, Nov 17th

Texas Method: Volume Day

Squats
45x2x5
100x1x5
150x1x3
200x1x2
255x5x5

Bench (Hurt Shoulder, went light but still probably too heavy)
45x2x5
85x1x5
115x1x3
155x5x5

DL
310x5

 

[Araj]

Monday
Nogi Jiujitsu, 2.5 hours

Single leg defense-sumi gaeshi

Side control escapes-
underhook, go to knees, limp arm to back
knee in, push on achilles with other foot, resquare to triangle
Back take from bottom of reverse scarf

Sparring from standing- worked on my upright clinch fighting and hit a couple tai otoshi's.

Sparring from ground- worked a bunch of guard stuff. I can pass most people's (at Columbia BJJ Club) guard within two seconds, so I'm working on guard stuff instead, playing with different sweeps.
Rolled with this 240lb Marcelo purple belt and got completely smashed. He gave me some good details about handfighting while trying to pass butterfly guard.

I saw a cool Roli Delgado video about 1LX to ankle lock, where he says you should pinch with the elbow instead of overhooking the leg. So I played around with that a little.

After class drilled Tai Otoshi and Saturday's GSP pass sequence.



Tuesday, November 19th, 2013

Texas Method: Light Day

Squats
45x2x5
90x1x5
160x1x3
205x2x5

OHP
50x2x5
95x1x3
105x3x5

Chin Ups
10, 7, 5

 

[Araj]

Wednesday
Gi Jiujitsu- 2.5 hours

First technique was kouchi gari, first a standard setup and then a setup from an over-the-shoulder grip.
Then we did some standup grappling sparring. I went with a white belt and double legged him like four times. A couple times he tried to set up a Tai Otoshi but he didn't get enough upper body control so I just backed out and double legged or reverse double legged him.

Then we did a series of attacks from a lapel wrap from sidemount. First a choke where you walk to N/S to isolate the neck (a weird choke from the lapel wrap).
Then a step-over triangle.
Then a near-side armlock.
Then a cross choke when they turn in.

Then some rounds.

 

[Araj]

Thursday, Nov 21
TM: Intensity Day

Squats
45x2x5
95x1x5
170x1x3
225x1x2
285x5
Went pretty well. Last 2 reps went excruciatingly slowly, and the last rep was a partially GMed, but I got all the reps.
I think my problem was that I allowed myself to lose tightness under the bar after like the first rep, so when I tried to fill my lungs/the belt with air I couldn't get proper tension because the weight was preventing me from fully expanding my chest. So I am sure this would have been far easier if I had been less stubborn, re-racked it, and tried again. Ah well.

Bench
45x2x5
95x1x5
135x1x3
155x1x2
175- 2, 4

Weird. My shoulder was feeling a bit off and my bench felt very asymmetrical, so I re-racked it and tried again. Wasn't sure how many reps to do- should have done five but I got about four before getting the same feeling again. Will try again next time.

Power Cleans
115x5x3
Felt good. I think I'm finally getting the hang of these, and not overthinking and pausing so much during my sets.

 

[Araj]

Nogi jiujitsu today

First we did osoto otoshi, tai otoshi, and ko uchi gari when they keep their hips back.

Then a detailed workshop on the RNC. Switching sides repeatedly, armbar from the back, "leopard paw" to counter them tucking their chin, and a cool trick where you trap their arm behind their back.

Then some positional sparring from the back. I didn't get choked once and choked/armbarred everyone every time except once when a guy escaped my armbar from the back.

Rolling was mostly uneventful. Lots of backtakes.
Rolled with one heavy bluebelt, had him in a triangle but he stacked and I had to bail. Swept him a few times, came up on top, passed his guard, and he got a kimura from bottom sidemount and swept me. I turtled and tried to recover but he caught a nice arm-in guillotine and I fought it for a bit but it was tight and I had to tap.
Then we kept going and I swept him a bunch more times, got a couple of near passes, had him in a nice omoplata but got carried away trying to go for a Clark Gracie-style choke (damn hard to hit in nogi) and he slipped out. I swept him again and he got closed guard. I broke his guard and fell back for the ankle lock and got it. Then the round ended.

 

[Araj]

Sunday, Nov 24th, 2013
Texas Method: Volume Day

Squats
45x2x5
100x1x5
165x1x3
205x1x2
260x5x5
Increased the 5x5 weight- I think Justin Lascek in his ebook on TM recommends doing it every 3 weeks, so that's what I did. Felt ok, not terribly exhausting or anything.

Bench
45x2x5
85x1x5
115x1x3
145x1x2
165x5x5
Pretty easy

Deadlift
165x3
225x1
310x5
Easy. I'm going to start pushing this more.

 

[Araj]

Nogi jiujitsu, 2.5 hours

Started off with a couple of cool single leg defenses
First one, basic, the guy is in on your leg, push his head down and use your other arm to block his waist, sprawl hard, shoelaces down, walk back to break his grip. Hand goes to his ankle, circle around to his back.
Second one, he is in deep on your leg and starts to cut an angle, you turn so you're facing the same way as him, grip his elbow, and roll for the omoplata.

Then we did some sparring from standing (no-gi). I went with a much heavier blue belt (180lbs, stocky and tons of upperbody strength) and got tossed all over the place. I defended about half of his takedowns but he has a really good tai otoshi that he hit me with twice, and he also caught me with a double leg. My mistake was trying to clinch with him when I know that his upperbody strength is WAY more than mine (my core, legs, and hips are stronger than his, I think). But I was stubborn because I wanted to work my tai otoshi, and I got tossed a few times like I said. I almost caught him with my ko uchi gake but he sprawled out of it and I stood back up. Not great, but now I know where I need to improve. I should note also that my legs and back and core felt like jelly from Volume Day yesterday.


The ground portion of class focused on nogi specific butterfly attacks, where good grips are transient and hard to get and it is more important to create scrambles and opportunities.
First one was a butterfly sweep off of a double tricep grip.
Second was a push-pull sweep off of an armdrag grip where you push the knee and elevate with the other hook.
Then was a collar tie snap-down plus knee-push to get them to post, so you can attack a triangle, omoplata, or reverse armlock.

Then we did some guard passing sparring. I went with the same blue belt from the takedown sparring. I got a couple near passes but he was fighting like hell and I couldn't quite hold him down. He almost had me in an armbar from guard but I got out.
He almost passed my guard once but I was able to fight to keep my back off the mat and reverse him right into side control. Cool. Then he passed my guard once- I was able to invert but my lower back muscles were crying out in agony, I probably could have fought through and reguarded but I conceded the pass. Meh.

Then we did some regular sparring. Man, was this intense. Long rounds too, 6's or 7's I think.
First I went with another big strong blue belt. He couldn't pass my guard and after inverting and recovering I armdragged to his back and armbarred him. It felt good. He started to go apeshit after this (nice guy, but competitive) and I passed his guard once more, then he reguarded and went for a toehold but I kicked free and came up on top, then the round ended.
Then I went with a decent whitebelt who is nearing blue. I don't remember what happened exactly but I subbed him a few times and he couldn't pass my guard, and I passed his guard a bunch. I think there was a RNC and an armbar and maybe a triangle.
Then I went with a tall lanky wrestler blue belt. Uneventful. He couldn't pass, I swept him but was having trouble passing. Mostly gripfighting, not much action in this round.

Then I did some more positional (guard passing) sparring with the guy from takedown sparring, and passed his guard a few times and ankle locked him hard. He didn't want to tap so I went belly down and cranked it a bit and, well, he tapped. 1LX is working well for me.

Anyway that's all for now. This is the first good workout I've gotten from jiujitsu sparring at the Columbia club in quite some time.

 

[Araj]

Morning polisci class was canceled so I went to go lift. I got kicked out after a while because there was a PE class, but I got some stuff done before being thrown out so that a bunch of people could stare at themselves in the mirror while doing curls for a PE credit.

Tuesday, Nov 26, 2013
TM: Light Day

Squats
45x2x5
95x1x5
135x1x3
165x1x2
205x2x5

Bench
45x2x5
95x1x5
135x1x3
155x1x2
155x3x5

Then I got kicked out.
I'll do chin ups/leg raises this evening if I have time.

 

[Araj]

Back home for break
2 hours of nogi today.

Technique was back escapes, first the basic head-to-floor, peel-off escape, then a variation when they get their hips back under you so you go to the other side, pull up on the elbow, get the underhook, and go to top half guard.

Then rounds. 5 minutes each.
First I went with a really good purple belt, the guy who introduced me to jiujitsu. He kicked my ass but he said I was making him work harder than he ever had to before, and that I was making a ton of progress.

Then I went with a really big purple belt (220lbs) and passed his guard twice. The second time he got the underhook and came up and put me on my back in half guard. He went for an arm triangle, used it to pass, and subbed me with a straight armlock from sidemount. Then I was mostly stuck in bottom half guard for the rest of the round.

Then another purple belt (140lbs) really athletic, ex-wrestler. He didn't pass my guard, I swept him a few times and went for some ankle locks but couldn't finish him. With like 5 seconds left in the round he hit this crazy armbar in transition.

Went with a couple whitebelts, nothing major apart from the above rolls.

Then I worked on takedowns with the purple belt wrestler. He showed me some double leg setups and finishes. BIggest things were, tuck your shoulder on a head-outside double leg to avoid the guillotine, if they sprawl and you are fighting them, lock your hands around their butt and suck them in and drive to finish.
He also showed me a cool knee tap where you put the blade of your forearm in their neck and tap their knee.

TM Intensity Day tomorrow. Also turkey day.

 

[Araj]

November 28 2013
Texas method intensity day

Happy turkey day everyone

Squats
45x2x5
110x5
170x3
225x2
285x5

Bench
45x2x5
95x5
135x3
155x2
180x5

Power clean
120x5x3 (PR)

Bodyweight 158lbs

 

[JauntyAngle]

You already started, but I will throw in my 2 cents on TM. It seems a great way to do squat and bench, because it gives you good overall volume, the 5x5 is a great strength builder, amd intensity day means you get regular practice going really heavy. It basically has what you need to get strong. I think it's a little difficult to fit in OHP and deadlift nicely, I think Madcow fits them in nicer. But of course it's not all about nice templates. As long as you give it your all, you'll get stronger, you'll learn something.

 

[Araj]

You already started, but I will throw in my 2 cents on TM. It seems a great way to do squat and bench, because it gives you good overall volume, the 5x5 is a great strength builder, amd intensity day means you get regular practice going really heavy. It basically has what you need to get strong. I think it's a little difficult to fit in OHP and deadlift nicely, I think Madcow fits them in nicer. But of course it's not all about nice templates. As long as you give it your all, you'll get stronger, you'll learn something.

Good point- I've definitely noticed that my squat strength is skyrocketing, my bench is doing ok, and my DL is doing ok but could probably be better if I trained it on a day where I hadn't just squatted 5x5 (it's kind of depressing to be doing 310x5 for DL when I'm sure I could be doing much more). My OHP has actually gone *down*, which is strange, but that may be because I hurt my shoulder recently.

Overall I am very happy with the program, and I think it's building my mental strength as well- it is grueling to get through the 5x5 sets every volume day.



I'm a bit worried about the trend of weight gain (it's only 3lbs so far, but I'm worried I won't be able to make featherweight anymore at this rate). I'm going to have to start watching what I eat- my days of hamburgers, pizza, ice cream, and milk may be over. However, my bodyfat has gone *down*, if anything, and I'm in much better shape and with better cardio than I was previously. However I think the extra weight may come from the fact that my legs have almost doubled in size since a year ago.

 

[Araj]

Saturday
1 hr gi jiujitsu class (fundamentals/basics) then 2 hours open mat at home academy

First technique was some basic self defense stuff, entries into a clinch then a body fold takedown then mount to armbar/punches from the top position.
Then we did a back escape and a halfguard pass.

Then open mat.
First I rolled with a visiting brown belt from Alliance San Francisco. It was an awesome roll, and I learned quite a lot. I didn't let him pass my guard (I'm pretty sure he wasn't going 100% though, but neither was I; it was a medium-intensity roll) and I hook swept him a couple times and also caught him with a 1LX sweep and with Danaher's short ashi garami sweep when he blocked the 1LX the next time. He had a really slick backtake from x guard that I asked him to show me afterwards. Basically from X guard you go 2 on 1 on the near leg and lift it to the other side of your head. Then one hand goes to the belt, the other stays on the leg, and you kick him into your lap and secure back control. The belt grip is crucial to keep him from running away. Anyway after some of the sweep attempts he let me work my passing; I had some success with the knee slice and over-under/smash passes, but he was very technical and explosive with his escapes. I appreciate that he let me work my game. That was one of the best/most enjoyable rolls I've had in a long time.

Then I rolled with the same 180lb Russian blue belt I always roll with, the guy with insane grip strength and strength in general. I immediately got to x guard and swept him, came up and he put me in knee shield half guard, which is his best position. I worked to pass for a while but he was basically stalling in that position, so I fell back for the straight ankle lock and tapped him. I passed his guard several times with the knee slice and some other passes that I don't remember, and did not let him recover guard. I went for a couple kimuras/armbars from the top but couldn't finish them, but I did tap him several more times with ankle locks.
However, something that I'm noticing is that against guys who are stronger or more experienced than me, I can pass their guard and stay passed, but unless I am able to take mount or the back I have trouble securing submissions. I am going to ask my coach in NY about this the next time I train, as he is pretty analytical and has a similar build to me and can probably help me figure this out.

Then I rolled with a really good blue belt/wrestler who used to kick my ass but is now coming from a 3-month break while I've been improving every day. I pretty much dominated him, but couldn't finish. I passed his guard repeatedly with the knee slice (I am loving this pass in the gi- I hadn't used it much before today, but I think it may become my primary pass. I'm going to have to figure out if I can make it work with no-gi; the way I currently do it really relies on grips). Attacked the far-side arm from sidemount but he defended pretty well. Went for a N/S choke but couldn't sink it properly so I abandoned it because I didn't want to just squeeze his neck. I tried to mount but he recovered knee shield half guard and I dropped for the ankle lock. It was close and he rolled so I went belly-down but he slipped out. He has really flexible feet and I wasn't able to get quite the grip I wanted, so I wasn't able to finish him here. I swept him from Danaher's short ashi garami and came up, and he put me in DLR. He has a really good berimbolo game but I was able to avoid it and put him in 50/50, then I bailed on it and went to 1LX for the ankle lock again but he escaped the ankle lock. Anyway the rest of the roll was pretty much like that. It was nice to see that I've progressed past him a bit- I"m sure he'll be back to his old self soon with a bit more time on the mats.

Rolled with a 185lb blue belt. I think I swept him from X or 1LX, passed with the knee slice, attacked his neck for a bit then mounted, then rolled to my guard and shot a triangle. He escaped but I shot another triangle and finished him quick with the triangle/armlock combo. By this point I was pretty gassed because I had just finished an intense 20+ minute roll with the previous guy and this guy had just been sitting on the wall. I swept him a few more times but he fought hard for the top position and I couldn't come up on top. Then he really started working pressure passing, and my hips, legs and back were burning out as I scrambled to retain my guard. Eventually I gave up and conceded the pass. I reguarded once but he passed again the exact same way, and I was finding that every little exertion was a huge struggle at this point. Even my arms were burning out from making frames, which NEVER happens to me because I barely use my arms at all from the bottom. Anyway he took mount and I started to escape to deep half but before I could secure it he had me in a triangle and finished me with... a triangle/armlock combo, haha.

Anyway, it was a good series of rolls today. I learned a lot and it's nice to see my progress relative to guys who were already blue belts when I started.

 

[JauntyAngle]

Good point- I've definitely noticed that my squat strength is skyrocketing, my bench is doing ok, and my DL is doing ok but could probably be better if I trained it on a day where I hadn't just squatted 5x5 (it's kind of depressing to be doing 310x5 for DL when I'm sure I could be doing much more). My OHP has actually gone *down*, which is strange, but that may be because I hurt my shoulder recently.

Overall I am very happy with the program, and I think it's building my mental strength as well- it is grueling to get through the 5x5 sets every volume day.



I'm a bit worried about the trend of weight gain (it's only 3lbs so far, but I'm worried I won't be able to make featherweight anymore at this rate). I'm going to have to start watching what I eat- my days of hamburgers, pizza, ice cream, and milk may be over. However, my bodyfat has gone *down*, if anything, and I'm in much better shape and with better cardio than I was previously. However I think the extra weight may come from the fact that my legs have almost doubled in size since a year ago.

I think I read somewhere about some people putting on weight when they first start lifting as a result of water retention. At any rate, it's entirely possible to lift and get stronger, and not gain weight. It might just require ironing out the details of nutrition.

 

[Araj]

That's probably it- I hope so anyway, since that means I can cut the weight before a competition when I need to. You're definitely right about the nutrition though, I have to start being more disciplined. It's hard because my body doesn't really give me any negative feedback, but I'm sure I would perform at a much higher level if I were disciplined about my nutrition.


Sunday, December 1st
TM Volume Day

Squats
5x5 at 260

OHP
5x5 at 105

DL
1x5 at 315