Hello!
I’ve been focusing on strength training for the past year or so, and I’ve been seeing some good results using your templates. Now, I’ve decided to hop onto the Jiu Jitsu train, and it’s likely that I’ll have to push strength training to the side for some time. However, I can train once a week at a local gym for free.
My question is, what would an ideal weekly session look like in order to minimize strength loss while training for other sports? I will probably return to strength training at some point. Also, I bet the extra training won’t hurt.
Thank you in advance
I don’t think 1x/wk resistance training is a great idea from a health or martial arts development standpoint. Additionally, doing a ton of jits right off the bat without adequate training background is a recipe for overuse injury, burnout, etc.
To answer your question, which I assume is more about maintaining training adaptations like strength, hypertrophy, power, etc. during periods of time where the majority of training resources are allocated towards a non-barbell sport, the following guide may be useful: 1. Train the squat, deadlift, press, bench press, row, and pull-up patterns using exercises you prefer and have access to
2. Each session could include some form of a squat, press, deadlift, and row or pull-up
3. Total volume will depend on training history, sport training/competition load, and the individual, but 1-5 sets using a variety of rep ranges (e.g. 4-6, 8-10, and 12+) at an intensity that leaves 2-4 reps in reserve would be reasonable for most.
4. Conditioning should reflect the sports demands and individual’s needs
5. Use some form of auto-regulation for all -Jordan
Thanks Jordan, I’ll keep those guidelines in mind.
Would you mind to elaborate on the “doing a ton of jits right off the bat without adequate training background is a recipe for overuse injury, burnout, etc” part? How would you go about starting to train Jiu Jitsu to avoid those outcomes?
Thank you
If someone has no background in jits or martial arts then their preparedness for said activity is rather low. Most people seem to want to jump in with 3-4x/wk training with zero autoregulation or actual planning of their development. Some of this is on the instructors who are not actively managing all of their member’s training load, but some of it is on the individual themselves.
I would train jits or similar 1x/wk for 3-4 weeks before including a 2nd session, capping the sRPE at 7-8 for each session. I’d spend my gym time continuing to get stronger and improve conditioning. After ~2 months of intro to jits, I’d consider adding a 3rd session, likely at an even lower RPE (skills and drills?) and see how I’m managing that before increasing volume and/or intensity.
Sapo,
I’m going to assume you’re going to ignore Jordan’s advice because 1) BJJ is fun and you want to dive in and 2) You don’t have much control over session intensity, and even if you did, just about everything is going to feel like an RPE 10 to a beginner.
That being said, the BBM premise on injury is more or less: Injury is more likely when doing a novel activity, at higher intensities than you’re accustomed to, for more volume, and with higher frequency. Think and act accordingly
So. Don’t jump into daily classes. Get people to explain moves to you so you can learn and rest more. Rest when you’re able (open mats are great for this, but not as good for learning). Keep lifting, but at a lower volume/intensity. But please keep it up, it will suck to try and regain that skill and its super useful to be strong in BJJ. I just got back into BJJ after an extremely extended hiatus, and two days a week is plenty for now (coming off PL2), though I have extensive experience. Going to run an abomination of a four day General S&C with PBI overtones, we’ll see how training goes.