Getting Old

Nelson, my friend, you are FAR from old. LOL. BUT, here's what I try to look out for:

Enough sleep (at least 7-8 hours a night)
Cut down on caffeine
Appropriate supplementation (for me - multivitamins, fish oil, phytosterols, baby aspirin)
Cycling training (in other words, I don't do two BJJ classes in a row, I alternate with conditioning or other activities)
Focusing on overall strength & conditioning instead of "weight training" (i.e. circuit/metabolic training)
Flexibility
Cleaning up the diet (e.g. more fruits and vegetables, more water, etc.)
Letting go of the ego, thinking more about the process & overall improvement than tapping people
Celebrating the little victories when training or rolling

IMO from what I've seen you're in pretty good shape. The main thing to look out for is that as you get older, you actually have to work to maintain or advance what used to come naturally when you were younger. Some great advice being offered here, I esp. love Tony's advice "good food, good friends, good jits"!

Nelson, I'm in the same boat man. I'm 32 and I'm pretty much the oldest student in my class. The only people older than me are the coaches. We're not going to win on strength, power. The best thing to do is keep our cardio up consistently, and be climbing the functional strength ladder consistently. Leaps and bounds are not necessary, just consistent improvement in small manageable increments. Don't let fatigue, stress, you kid, wife, job, adversity, anything take your constant improvement away from you. It's what will keep you young and "in the moment" till the day you die. Sure training takes up a % of your free time. But think of it this way, if you have 3 hours of free time a day, and you spend 1.5 training, the 1.5 hours you have left to spend with your family is MUCH HIGHER quality free time since you'll feel great from being fit. You'll have more energy, more of a positive attitude since training is an amazing stress reliever. You're not just training for you, because you being fit will help you live longer and be more productive which is awesome for everyone in your circle, especially your family. Good luck Nelson!

Wow!!! A bunch of early 30 year olds saying age has caught up with them! I'll be turning 42 soon. I should stop thinking about doing jitz. I must be way to old for it! Yes, sleep, vitamin's, proper exercise (taking care of those old joints), eating healthy and getting your testosterone levels checked and being overall smarter about your complete training! Now the #1 advice...leaving your EGO out of it. Yes you can't move like you could when you were 20. Ask yourself why do you do Bjj/10thjj. Is it to be a World Champion or is out of love of the sport. I've always heard technique wins over strength. As far as competing enter director / masters division's. People look at the destination (black belt) and its not about that, its about the journey...keep moving forward!

Yea it very hard to except the age thing bc i have been training for 1 year and 2 months and i will be in august. Guys are like do the adult divison at a tourny and i am thinikng easy for you to say bc your something just wit till ur over 30..lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jack LaBarge

Wow!!! A bunch of early 30 year olds saying age has caught up with them! I'll be turning 42 soon. I should stop thinking about doing jitz. I must be way to old for it! Yes, sleep, vitamin's, proper exercise (taking care of those old joints), eating healthy and getting your testosterone levels checked and being overall smarter about your complete training! Now the #1 advice...leaving your EGO out of it. Yes you can't move like you could when you were 20. Ask yourself why do you do Bjj/10thjj. Is it to be a World Champion or is out of love of the sport. I've always heard technique wins over strength. As far as competing enter director / masters division's. People look at the destination (black belt) and its not about that, its about the journey...keep moving forward!

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LOL, Jacks laying down the beatin on you youngins who think they are old.

I'll be 44 in August so I agree with Jack

48 this year and I'm just getting warmed up.

LOL thanks guys. Clint, I just picked up the Dolce diet FINALLY, so I'll prob start there. Rick, thanks. You're in pretty good shape as well. Coach, I know what you mean. I'm only in my 30's but for those who don't know... I played football, basketball, hockey, and boxed amateur and martial arts... then got into a really bad car accident where i broke my neck, back, ribs, leg, skull. After a long rehab I had to give up sports until 6-7 years ago, when I got back into martial arts. So age aside, my body feels old.

PROTEIN
WATER
LIQUEUR

and I guess you can throw WEED onto that list as well

I won't repeat a lot that has already been said - all good stuff. I stress the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and keep or increase your flexibility. The flexibility I have gained over the past 18 months really makes me feel spry and strong. I will be 40 next month, and I have never been more flexible.

I have also started participating in, recently, a tumbling class. This is great for core strength, and uses muscles that JJ does not.