Martial arts are incredibly demanding, both physically and mentally. Often more than a mere hobby, practitioners possess commitment, diligence, and discipline before they find succeed. Brazilian jiu-jitsu, or BJJ, is definitely no exception.
With a stringent focus on leverage techniques and submission holds, BJJ is renown for being particularly intense, and so equally intense training is often necessary for those eager to learn the art.
Many enthusiastic practitioners are more than happy to put in the hours, but that begs the question: is it all right to do BJJ everyday? We'll be discussing that and more here.
Is BJJ Everyday Too Much?
We get it, we get it! BJJ is a lot of fun, probably more than we'd care to admit. But what risks are involved when we do it all the time? Is it even okay to train everyday?
Fortunately, the answer is a resounding yes! You absolutely can train everyday, and you can do so with reassurance that it won't bring any lasting consequences.
It'll even be good for you. Constant repetition is a surefire way to master techniques, and spending more time on the mats will provide you with the experience you need to improve.
However, there are a few caveats you'll need to consider before you do this.
What You Need to Know Before Training Everyday
Maintain Work-Life Balance
First, make sure to establish a balance between BJJ practice, weight training sessions, and your other commitments, like work obligations or time with family and friends.
Many enthusiasts often get carried away by the thrill that BJJ provides--it is addictive, you have to admit--but they shouldn't let that get in the way of their lives. If your training sessions are starting to make you shirk on your responsibilities, then you should probably take things down a notch.
Vary Your Exercises
Another key thing to remember is to vary the types of exercises that you do in your daily workouts. A session should involve different activities than the ones from the day before.
For instance, on Mondays, you can go as hard as you'd like on drills, positional sparring, and some moderate to hard rolls. Tuesdays can then feature an easier session consisting of lighter drills, cardio, and some technique work.
This is a common thing to keep in mind when it comes to crafting your workout routines. Exercise variation is crucial for preventing burnout, ensuring you don't overtrain any one muscle group and cause injury.
Give Your Body Time to Rest
On that note, you should also always allow your body time to heal. You can train everyday, absolutely, but don't shirk out on what your body needs, and definitely don't ignore it when it's asking you to stop and rest.
This is another general principle to be followed in exercise. Muscles, and your body in general, can only grow and improve if they're given sufficient time (and nutrients) to adapt and recover from broken muscle fibers caused by exercise.
This explains the infamous delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, that athletes are undoubtedly aware of. Rest and exercise variation will keep your muscles on edge, creating new myofibrils to keep up with the strain you're putting on them, thereby causing the creation of stronger muscles.
What to Do Before Training Everyday
Anyone who's serious about jiu-jitsu should do their best to be knowledgeable about the techniques and movements taught in their classes.
If you're already committed to training everyday, then you should know that training isn't everything. This is especially true for BJJ.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a very technical martial art. While practice and training are still king, I can't stress enough how important knowledge accumulation also is.
Performing to the best of your abilities in a sport like this often means knowing the right moves, applying the right principles, and properly doing the right techniques.
Many don't see this as a problem, as learning about jiu-jitsu can be an interesting and enlightening experience. They provide you with ways to more deeply appreciate the nuances of the sport and find value in the moves that you're spending so much time practicing.
As much as possible, you should strive to be one of those people. Trust me, it's just a good idea in general! Reading up on BJJ every now and then won't take up that much time, and it'll improve your skills in lots of noticeable ways, all without breaking a sweat--literally!
How to Get the Most Out of Training Everyday
Training everyday doesn't mean just blindly choking your partner for an hour straight then hoping you get better. You'll still need proper structure to get the most out of every session.
One easy way you can maximize your progress like this is by focusing on one or two specific techniques each week. Instead of looking into several at a time, prioritize these until you're certain you've got them done and dusted.
This will allow you to become truly proficient at that one technique instead of using a mishmash that you won't be able to properly execute. It's like what Bruce Lee himself said: "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
With this in mind, you'll be able to keep a steady pace and be able to adequately cover all the material you need to. Once you've got your form in the bag and are confident with how you perform a specific technique, then you can move on and learn a new one.
Apart from that, be warned: the basics aren't a one-and-done deal. Be sure to drill on the fundamentals regularly. You'll need to do this to make sure you don't end up sloppy, and it's just good to make sure no detail goes unnoticed.
It might be boring or tedious at times, but it'll greatly benefit your skills and help keep you in tip-top shape, especially once you start transitioning into live sparring sessions with a partner.
How Much Is Too Much?
When it comes to grappling--and Brazilian jiu-jitsu in general--it's easy to overcommit and end up hurting yourself somehow. The focal point to keep track of here is to push yourself hard enough that you get better results, but not so far that your body can't handle it.
If it sounds like a balancing act, that's because it is! You need to learn how much is too much for you individually.
Everyone is different, and people have different individual needs and limitations. You should always try to challenge yourself, but at the end of the day, you know your own limits and how to set them.
However, one thing that can guide you when deciding how far you should go with training is understanding what kind of goals you want to achieve.
Are they short-term or long-term? Your ideal intensity level will depend on whether or not these goals are achievable in the immediate future or if they require more time than usual.
But regardless of the goals you've set up for yourself, make sure that your recovery rate matches the increasing intensity levels.
If you don't allow enough time for rest between training sessions, then your body won't be able to keep up with all the physical demands being placed on it. This could result in fatigue, or worse, injury.
So if you're wondering just how far you should go with your BJJ training, just remember to get adequate rest between each session, as well as to maintain a realistic timeline that you can use to track your progress, evaluate your skills, and feel good about all the hard work you're putting in!
The Wrap-Up
If you're curious about training everyday, then you've probably wondered at one point what the odds of you getting injured are. A perfectly reasonable things to worry about, and fortunately, we've got you covered.
Or maybe you're just worried about the toll constant training would take on your body? Don't worry, we've got you covered there too.
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