My main problem now is lack of sleep/rest time. If I woke up at 5 am, I can't imagine being able to stay awake for my Jiu Jitsu class. How do you do it?
Btw, what treatments are available to treat your condition? Will it get worse with time?
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My main problem now is lack of sleep/rest time. If I woke up at 5 am, I can't imagine being able to stay awake for my Jiu Jitsu class. How do you do it?
Btw, what treatments are available to treat your condition? Will it get worse with time?
Louis - I get in bed around midnight or 1. Its rough getting through class sometimes (but when I get home Im so wired I have trouble sleeping). Getting up early is hard, but my old military days seem to help out. Recently Ive been trying to cut my caffine intake down (and out) so its been a bit more difficult. But like everything, if you stick to it long enough you get used to it.
Im not there yet either, Im 37 but its gaining on me fast...Ive been training in Jiujitsu for 32 years now, and My joints hurt and pop all the time. I went Pro in MMA in 1998, and have had ACL, Ankle and MM surgs. Face looks like a train track, and My ears are scared from haveing Colly removed...This is not a Art for babies, whimps, or the soft. But man is it beautiful! Its all about the evol! I RICE, and Chiro, Yoga is my second best friend, and I have stock in Excedrin Migraine....My wife will not wash my gi's, shorts, ankle gear... and she gets crazy when I start talking about competeing...but Jiujitsu, is my first love. Without it, I would be not be the same man.
Coringao
HA! Too true Corinago, too true! Kevin-I'm with ya on the military thing. Although not the same, my Dad was WW II vet and woke me at 5 or 6 every morning as a kid. I also am SO wired after training, I can't get to sleep before midnight. Louis-you can train your body and mind to get by with 5-6 hours sleep. I try to make it up by sleeping in an hour or two on Saturdays and Sundays and making sure I don't drink a lot of coffee or have a lot of caffein or sugar in my system so I can get restful sleep. Unfortunately, with Rheumatoid Arthritis, it will worsen over time. All I can do is take pain killers, stretch and keep as active as possible. The same would apply similarly I would surmise, for any number of conditions or joint injuries. Hydration, flexibility exercises, strength exercises and the like are essential. The sooner you start taking care of yourself well and learning how to mitigate issues the better. However, it doesn't do any good if it's genetic or an auto-immune disease. Then, you just have to bear with it. Let's put it this way: ALL my guys know not to grab my fingers. That winds up being VERY bad for them ;)
Caffein, lack of sleep, pain killers. Hummm I have to add in on this section.
I have or had the same issues... Sleep time 12:30 or 1 at the earliest. Im up at 7am and to the gym by 8:30. Yoga, cardio, break then back at 3:30. My evenings end at 8:3pm. Most of you know but some may not, since opening 10TH Planet Lynchburg I am a full time coach now. Caffein is a requirement for my system in the am... The evening wind down consists of Sleepy Time tea and herbals. I know that we all are not in position to do what I do but I can also recommend valerian root and melatonin... They are but very mild but can produce a routine and or habitual "wind-down" pattern. I feel this is important. I have also heard that yoga is good for sleep and I do have a secret weapon. If you own an iPhone download the app Ambience. It is a sound generator on steroids! You can download wavys, whale songs, babbling brooks, wind chimes or even industrial or machine sounds. The key is it has a built in timer and alarm. I highly recommend it for sleep. One of the more interesting sound sets are the Binural beats. These require headphone but they enhance or activate brain wave activities that thru sound waves that have been proven to to create out of body experiences in some users. Not sure about that but they do seem to calm me.
The problem with the caffine is I end up getting really bad heart burn from it....but Im with Coringao. As much as it hurts sometimes...its part of you, and without - you are a different person. I take my kids away for two weeks in the summer and 10 days in the spring every year...and dont get me wrong, I love it. My body needs it, but I do have that itch to get on the mat after about the third day. Ive had surgeries out the ass....but the injury that scared me the most was the nerve damage in my neck. For like a month and a half my pec and tricep didnt work at all. The nerves were so damaged they stopped firing. Doc said they heal like a cm a month. It was brutal and of course, if I dont keep my neck strong and stretch it every day - itll happen again. So that part of my motivation for the 5am wake up :) That and I wanna live forever!!
There is a big difference between aging and getting old...Exercise just does not make muscles stronger...it makes them younger...
I have training partners I will have to get onto this thread. One is 40 and about to get a new hip, he is a PT and looking to get into MMA. The other is my Muay Thai/MMA trainer and gym partner. He doesnt have an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) . It broke for the second time and then just wasted away. The doc said he can live without it!
Im only 28 but two years ago at work (Im a geologist) a ton of granite fell on my right leg crushing my foot and snapping my tibia. All this stuff is valuable to me! Had my last surgery a week ago and when the stitches are out Im free to get amongst it!
I hope the young guys read it to. Iv got a mate who I work with who is 49 and when he was my age doing what I do his nickname was "indestructible". Now "destructed" would be more fitting. Iv just taken to doing all the preventative stuff he does in the hope I will avoid looking like him. Cartilage supplements etc. Watching what you guys suggest closely.
On the subject of sleep and caffein, I get up at 5:30 to train and my Girlfriend sleeps till 10:00 and goes to bed at 2:00am. So so do I. This must be stupidly bad for me, and drives me nuts. I can last for two weeks like a normal person, then I go mental till I can get a couple of nights full sleep, then Im good for another couple of weeks.
For coffee I only drink espresso or plunger from fresh ground beans, preferably organic (up to nine shots before lunch!). Now Im used to it, I get no side effects as long as I stick to that and avoid nasty instant.
I love coffee....and when I was your age I could drink that shit all day, now the heart burn gets solo bad I'm trying to figure out how to mainline it. ;) ps: getting up early to train is good - staying up late for no reason is not good. Staying up late to be w a woman is is all good :)
Sound like you guys are the back pain experts. What do you guys think helps more for lower back pain, Chiro or PT? I'm only 20 but I have chronic pain in my lower back and I want to get on it now before it gets any worse.
Probably both. Also in my 20s with lower back pain, mines the result of an injury. For me an extensive swiss ball core routine keeps me right (made by a PT). Core is everything!
In my opinion, training; specifically, core training is the best. I've been to several chiropractors, and what they do to benefit me vs the BS of the stuff they try to push on me isn't worth it.
Kettlebell training, stretching/yoga, calisthenics, and carido are essential. I guess it's obvious, but being in the best physical condition you can be in, and eating properly are essential. If you don't take care of yourself while you're in your 20's, it will be difficult (but not impossible) to alter that later on.
If I didn't take care of myself when I was in my 20s-eat right, focus on fitness as much as I did, I'd be a wreck now. I know it. My Primary Care physician even says as much.
I've given it a bit of thought. I still think that the extra sleep I get (allowing by body to recover) is more beneficial than depriving my body of sleep and getting more exercise. Thoughts?
Ultimately, one has to do what FEELS right for themselves. What works for others doesn't necessarily translate to yourself. If that's what you feel works best, do it. It isn't worth the mental anguish and concern. You don't want to take away thought or energy better left to your game worrying about your sleeping habits.
It's said that Einstein had 7 sets of the same set of clothes so he didn't need to waste unnecessary energy thinking about what to wear. Edison often napped during the day. Bruce Lee never seemed to sleep. It's all in what works for you.
This is a thread I can get down on! I'll be 46 in a couple months and I have a lower back injury I nurse a good deal. My injury is the disk between L4 and L5 is bulging so its lots of ranger candy [ibuprofen], but I hit up the chiropractor for the deep tissue message and electro therapy, but yoga, stretching and core are all key. I also take a supplement called Cissus and it has really helped more than any other supplement. I've tried glucosamine and condroitin but with the cissus I can truly tell a marked difference. I work as a paramedic and I'm on the Spec Ops rescue team so my back gets pretty jacked up at work. But, its just working the core alot and just being cognizant of it. Like everyone else is saying start taking care of yourself now. I find as I get older I have to work harder than ever to maintain where I'm at.
Absolutely! It's like a classic car-take care of it when it's new, and it'll be around a long time :)
Whats your dosage for Cissus? How has it helped you?
Louis, I believe the recommended is 2 caps twice daily [500mg] half hour before food intake. I've found the optimum dose for me is 3 caps twice a day. I was intially using the Prima force but Its a bit steep. I found another supp dealer called TF supplememts which is much more reasonable. also when you first start the Cissus it works a little like fiber so you drop a few pounds secondary to a few more bathroom visits, but nothing too bad! But man I tell you, everyone I've turned on to it really can tell a difference! Research it a little and see what you think. It's one of the few supplements I can truly tell a difference when I'm off it. My recovery time is also a lot better as far soreness the next day after hard training aswell. it works primarily as a natural anti inflammatory and helps to regrow tendon tissue, well faciltates it more actually. a lot of folks with arthritis have used it to for the non nsaid anti inflammatory aspect since older folks have a few more issues with heavy nsaid use and stomach issues aswell as kidneys and liver. But man like i said research it and see what you think, I know I love it! W
BACK PAIN: At an early age (Like 20) could be due to weak abdominal muscles. You know the big muscle head guys who walk around and wear their weight lifting belts everywhere...those belts are designed to support your back using "Intra Abdominal Pressure" ie.. it holds your stomach in which supports your lower back. Long story short, stretch and strengthen your abs...see if that helps. If not, hit the doc you may have a bigger issue...
What Kevin said-abdominal/core strength should NOT be under-estimated. It's essential for good health and martial arts. If you don't consistently work the core, everything will suffer. It also lends itself to more practical strength. One thing you won't lose appreciably if you keep working it consistently is strength and core strength, but it does take perseverance
Stretch, Stretch and Stretch, I do yoga at home and show up at least 30 min. before class and strecth specifics for the rubber guard like the lotus and the others in the mastering the rubber guard book. The two times I have got hurt in the past few years I got to class late and rolled with out my warm up and paid for it both times. I wont make that mistake again. I just turned 43
yeah, training without warming up over 30 is just not good. You reading this Neale and Kevin!! :) LOL!!! You guys will never laugh at me again before we roll. Mandatory 20 minute warm up if you're over 35!!! :)
for my caffeinated friends...I hear ya on how tough it is to give uphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isEYI-4cdZo
Hello
yeah I am 42..but its not the odd injuries inflicted by over eager 18 year olds but Time..time to train,,time it takes to heal..
time to train is the biggest challenge..two kids take alot of time..thank god for the dvds and the books.and forgiving neighbors who have to put up with me rolling around at midnight
.I train at a Judo club because of convienence of time and location near my work,,,hopefully 10th planet van will get the morning classes going
i need to stretch more myself
I roll with a lot of younger guys,but since I warm up before the class warm ups,I can usually avoid injury. I like to roll as chill as possible,way too many younger guys act like it's their 1st UFC fight or something! After they settle down and get tired the we can start learning. That's why I'm here...
^^^^^^ 1++++++++++++ on that statement
Awesome thread! In my mid-forties myself. I've been a fan of MMA from the start, but aside from a couple of Judo belts earned at a shopping mall dojo when I was 8, I have zero experience. I'm looking to learn more about the sport (and if I can get in shape at the same time all the better). Bring on the knowledge.
D-Stach-I call those the "Abu Dhabi" kids. They treat every roll and every class like it's ADCC and you're Marcelo in the finals! :). You just have to put them down quick and hard, and then explain to them that they're not learning if they treat it like a fight. It's a difficult thing to explain, especially to younger kids, but even so, I roll with them for 15 or 20 minutes and then they start getting a bit tired and methodical and "getting it".
I try to warm up for quite a while before class again. It's the only way. That and the new pain-killers my doc gave me! Man, what a wonder! I was almost pain free last night, and certainly felt better than I have in a year!
SPEAKIN OF WHICH... Has anyone come up with an effective method/description of how to explain what Tempo Rolling is to these cats? I try and try, but they just cant seem to get the idea. The most progress I have made is to call it Zero Ego Rolling... Meaning its OK to tap, in fact your supposed to and then keep rolling like it didnt happen. Tap and Release is another way I have attempted to explain it. All I know is that if I try to dial back or tell people to roll at 50% or 60% it's a joke. Like John says, if they cant go 60% I go 110% a smash them quick. You lose alot of prospective students this way though... The Ego is a killer.
IDEAS???
Man Neale, there is NO easy answer to that. It just takes time. The serious students will stick it out and get it eventually. The older the student, the easier it is to understand. I look at it this way: the young (and older) professionals that train with me-mid to late 20's, with "careers", houses, wives, kids, know that they can't get fucked up and go to work tomorrow all beat up or with broken limbs. So they're more likely to roll with care, and understand, and ask questions while rolling, etc. The younger kids, maybe in college, or just out of high school, or who think they're the next UFC "champion" are often the difficult ones. Especially if they are victims of ego, or wrestled in high school. They take some time, or dwindle, and honestly-they're not the students or clients you want. The ones that stick it out get it eventually.
Indeed, you MUST break a few eggs when making an omlet