Jiu Jitsu cardio & Competition prep, what do you do personally?

[Tori Applegate]

Scary shit. Makes me question my usual "reps-to-failure" approach....

We were watching the UFC prime time thing last night and JDS got it before his last fight with Cain Velasquez. How crazy is that??

[Amber Kamischke]

Yea, it was weird at first bc I'm the instructors wife. But now it's different. We all call each other out, I don't let the guys boot me out. I'm an equal, I'm just the smallest. I used to deal with that sort of thing too. Sometimes the bigger Mma fighters will still get a wrist, but they can have it lol. It's a distraction for them.

Yea, my upper body isn't too great..not terrible though, but I really need to develop my legs and core too. I'm working on building a work out for my game..arm bars. I'll have to start doing that on top of cardio and jitz class/rolling. I'm so excited though. :-) Starting back on a cleaner diet as well!

Let me know what kind of workout you end up doing for the armbars. That's my game too...all of my subs in competition have been by armbar. I'm trying to mix it up but they're always available!

[Tori Applegate]

Lol, if it's always there..take it, develop it, master it, and execute. :-) I used to try to play a diff game. I recently started incorporating the triangle/ finishing the arm by using the triangle as a distraction. Frikkin gold!! And I will. I was thinking about making a video blog..vlog..when I get it all strung together. :-D

[Mario Lopez Alvarez]

Strength and cardio

Ahh thanks! lol

[V for Val]

Well for me, it's about being a little under my competition weight all year round. Since reaching it, I don't ever wanna have to worry about it or cut ever again - and it feels awesome (I compete -141.5 lbs and I walk around 137-139lbs... I was 160 back in January).

Here's what I try to get in every week, competition or not :
- 2 x weight lifting sessions (full body, either heavy 3x6 or 3x20 at a faster pace)
- 2 x HIIT sessions (around 30 minutes)
- 4 x BJJ + rolling

Plus, I bike everyday, walk a lot and stay active. I eat a ton of food and I don't deprive myself at all - I think this is one of the best mental aspect.

The best cardio I find is : every week, focus on what you wanna work when you are rolling. It's okay to tell your training partner "let's go at 30% and not hold anything, but let's not stop for 20 minutes straight". It sucks. It's hard at first, but you get used to it, you develop other aspects of your games and it forces you to stay active and agile. This will test your reflexes and your ability to improve.

You can also have really tough days where you start from the bottom and you choose a partner who's really good with cross-face/pressure-passing/grinding his way to improve his position. This will test your mental toughness and your "dig deep strength".

And the last one is... Train even if you are injured. I'm not saying go batshit crazy, but still. For example, I injured my hands pretty bad this summer, so I worked and worked and worked on my butterflies, transitions, etc. You just need to explain to your training partners what is going on and what you wanna work on. You are still learning, just at a different pace. Plus, it keeps you mentally sharp.

That's all I can think of ! Good luck and train hard !

[V for Val]

Oh ! I forgot to add... Do your conditioning BEFORE some of your BJJ classes. It will force you to push even harder !

[Tori Applegate]

Powerful advice Val. That's funny you say that about the weight. I've decided to compete at 125..naturally I don't think I'm meant to be bigger than that, but I walk at 199-122ish. I eat what I want in moderation mostly. I always train with injuries, just put bright tape on it so everyone knows. And I've just started doing cardio last week and I'm doing it 30 mins to an hour before JJ class and then rolling for an hour after class. Cardio 3x a week, JJ class and rolling 4-5x a week. And I'm also stacking on a body weight/resistance band workout complimentary to my game. And mentally, I hear ya with the grinding type. We have some huge guys in the gym and it can really test me some days. The mind is your sharpest tool and must be the strongest.

[Kurzy]

We were watching the UFC prime time thing last night and JDS got it before his last fight with Cain Velasquez. How crazy is that??

Super crazy.
I just read this blog entry. It's freaky.

http://fitfeat.com/blog/2011/06/03/r...ise-read-this/

[Kurzy]

Ever thought of making a video of this? If you do send me the link. I'm not sure what some of hese are. I'll have to look them up, but it sounds really good!

I finally got around to recording this. I wanted to do it at our club, but I just didn't know when I would have the time to have the place to myself so I did it in my basement.
But because the camera is so close it cuts my head off but whatever. You can see the exercises, and that is the purpose.

[JHouse]

GSP said if he were to do it all over again, he would do gymnastics for his S&C, not weights. I can see that, 'cause when I lift, it totally slows down my movement, even if I stretch those muscles between sets. Squats would totally slow me down...days later. I took a couple Poppin' and Lockin' classes in LA this year, and in just those two classes my leg muscles felt stronger, yet I still had mad agility. It was definitely a different strength than what I've achieved in the gym; I felt more solid and fluid. Loved it. Big muscles are cumbersome.