How to roll with a schedule that forces you off the mats
Whether we like it or not sometimes life forces us to take a break from Jiu-Jitsu. Whether you’re taking a well-earned vacation, having a baby, or picking up double shifts to get out of dept, sometimes you are going to have to take time off the mats. It can be a hard transition especially if you are someone who trains consistently. Like Newton’s first law “a body in motion stays in motion”, and it can be incredibly difficult to stop without losing your skills, conditioning or your sanity. Here are some tips to help you minimize the damage.
Come to a Gradual Stop
BJJ is a lifestyle and if you cut all training immediately, you are changing up more than just your work outs. Whether professor likes it or not your time on the mats is more than just a training session, it’s your time to de-stress, relax and forget the worries of your life. Moreover, your teammates can be some of your most trusted friends. How many times have you spent talking after practice for hours? This physical and social outlet will be coming to an end, and you need to find alternative means to satisfy these needs. Rather than changing everything at once gradually reducing your training schedule will help you find other things in your life to keep your sane.
Stay Active
While there is no way you can match, your usual training schedule do what you can to remain active. Beyond the physical benefits, keeping active will keep your head in the game and will help you get that physical release you need. Even just lifting weights a couple of times a week for half an hour will keep your body in check and will preserve the vast majority of your muscle. Combine this with some weekend jogs and you may be surprised at how little conditioning you actually loose. Keep in mind the longer you are out the more difficult it will be to maintain your gains. If you are gone for a few months, you should be ok on this kind of schedule. It may actually be a great break you didn’t know your body needed to heal injuries you have just gotten used to dealing with. But if you are taking off a large fraction of a year or even whole years off you are going to have to pick a much more aggressive workout routine to more closely match your original schedule. In either case be sure to incorporate full body exercise which will ensure you get a good workout in minimal time. Here are some ideas below:
- Olympic lifts: Deadlifts, front squats, clean and jerks and Zercher squats.
- Core Exercise: Single arm kettlebell lunges, one arm farmer carries, shoulder over hand pushups, legs forward pull-ups, burpees, mountain climbers, and jump squats.
- Cardio: Battle ropes, lap pool, runs, interval sprints and timed burpees.
Along with the above its important to remember that your time to work out does not end when you leave the gym doors. There is nothing stopping you from going for a run before breakfast or busting out a set of pushups before bed. If you feel your regular daily activities aren’t enough sprinkle in some sets at home. There is a lot of great at home workout equipment these days but if you don’t want to spend any money you can’t go wrong with bodyweight calisthenics. Pushups, burpees, wall handstands, jump squats, and single leg squats are all excellent exercises that can be done at home with no equipment.
Stay Connected with your BJJ Community
BJJ isn’t just about individual training; it’s also deeply rooted in community. When you’re forced to take a break, stay connected with your training partners, and instructors. Call text and drop by the gym to check in on them even if you can’t stay long. They will appreciate seeing you and it will keep you feeling like part of the team.
Mental Maintenance is Key
It may seem impossible to maintain skill when not on the mat, but the truth is that you can maintain a tremendous amount of skill just by working some mental reps. Your muscle memory may be a little off but in many ways working your mental game can allow you to come back better than before. Here are some things to work on.
- Watch Film: Time away is a perfect opportunity to learn all the secrets of your rivals. Try watching your own matches as well as your rivals. Think about the good things they are doing and how you can counter them. Look for their mistakes and repeat the same process for yourself. Look at a professional that has a similar style to yourself and try to learn from their game.
- Game Plan: Take a wider view and look at the moves and strategies that have and haven’t been working for you across a large number of matches. Consider what your real goals are in a match and whether you should modify them or not. Build a game plan for how you will approach different types of opponents in the future.
- Visualization: Whenever you are not actively thinking about something else you can be visualizing yourself on the mat. Think about every step of a move and this will keep your moves sharp when you come back. Remember olds rolls you had and think about what you should have done when things went badly.
Don’t Regret Your Time Away
Life does not always give you time off and therefore the worst thing you can do with a break is to waste it.
“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.”
-Alan Cohan
What I take from the above quote is that before all else you should enjoy your break. Enjoy the aspects of being off the mats that you cannot when you return to your normal schedule. It can be hard to be away but try to relax and know that there will be a time again for you to smash on the mats. Life has different stages and whatever the reason you are off the mats try and enjoy the circumstance that you are in. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the things you cannot control. Forget it and make the most of the situation you are in. Do what you can to maintain your skills and conditioning but don’t feel bad for enjoying your time off. Eat heathy food but don’t be afraid to enjoy the occasional treat that you would not normally have during training. I say occasional so don’t take this as a free pass to eat whatever you want. In general however this is your time to live a little.
The reason you want to allow yourself a little freedom in your break is because it will allow you to return mentally a physically healed. No one can maintain a rigorous schedule forever. Unless you are a professional or a gym owner most of us work 8 hours and spend 2-3 hours on the mat each. That kind of schedule can wear on you. This is your chance to recover so you can come back better than before.
Conclusion
Taking time off from BJJ doesn’t have to mean losing your edge. By staying mentally sharp, physically active, connected with the community, and by allowing yourself to recover during your break, you can keep your skills sharp – and even come back better than when you left.