As I get older, I find that my mind still wants to do the things that my body can no longer do. I watched Bill Cosby on Jay Leno last night and during his standup set he said, "As you get older, thing that are supposed to be soft get hard and thing that should get hard, just stay soft." The crowd erupted in laughter and quite frankly I thought it was funny too.
But the reality of it was disheatening. It's true, as you get older, thing get a little bit stiffer, tighter and flexibility decreases. As a grappler, one that participates in BJJ, Judo, wrestling, or MMA, you need to know how to stay fit and keep yourself feeling "young" so that you can train with the youngsters.
Here's 5 tips to help you do just that.
Tip #1
More Driling. Less Rolling
"More Drilling and Less Rolling" is BJJ talk for more drilling and less going "live". So often we want to go hard and just drill a little bit and start training.
Well, progress is gained through repetition and repetition is the currency that one must pay to become a champion. As you get older, you have to increase the amount of practices where you just drill for 30 minutes to 60 minutes and get a quality sweat and a good practice in so that you can be sharper when its time for you to go "live".
Tip #2
More Off The Mat Workouts
That's right. Increase your Off The Mat Workouts. Drill more, and then get off the mat and in the gym or the pool or a spinning class or a yoga class or a combination of those and/or something else active. This will increase your fitness level and strength levels while creating a larger base for you to drill more and even harder and you will be able to improve without increasing the propensity for injury by increasing your amount of "live" sessions.
Tip #3
Treat Yourself Like A Car
In The Winter And...Warmup
If you live in a place where it gets cold, you understand the importance of going out and warming up the car before driving it. Well, don't treat a machine better than you treat your own body. Allow yourself the opportunity to warm up as well. Before engaging in any activities, make sure you get a good lather of sweat built up and also make sure the body's core temperature is warm. This will allow your ligaments and tendons to gain some much needed pliability as you begin your dynamic flexibility protocol. (uh-oh.... you don't have one? Well that leads us into Tip #4)
Tip #4
Make Sure You Have A Solid
Warmup Protocol (one that
has dynamic flexibility movements
There's nothing like have a set warmup protocol that you can go to. It puts your mind at ease and let you know that when you are done warming up - YOU WILL be warm. Also it is important to make sure that you incorporate some dynamic flexibility. Static stretching most certainly has its place in the spectrum of readiness, preparedness and cooling down, but there is nothing as beneficial as dynamic stretching before working out or competing.
Tip #5
Compete
That's right.
Keep your competitive juices flowing by doing things like 5Ks, 10Ks, Masters grappling competitions, swimming meets, indoor rowing competitions. Do it all. Don't worry about being first. Be concerned with competing well, controlling your emotions and exploring new crosstraining opportunities.
Closing
So let's review.
1. More Drilling,
2. Get off the mat and workout,
3. Warmup,
4. Know HOW to Warmup Effectively,
5. Compete in different disciplines and explore more crosstraining opportunities.
That's it. Take care and Happy Training
Becoming great often has nothing to do with your sport and more to do with you. If you are interested in taking your level of good and moving it to great, check out BeyondTheRings.tv BeyondTheRings.tv to get more information on how you can become better without even breaking a sweat.
Dr. Rhadi Ferguson, PhD, is affectionately known as the Grappling Doctor for his ability to break down combat sports like a science. He is an Olympian in the sport of judo and a BJJ black belt. He is a world-renowned strength coach and has coached many elite and Olympic athletes. For more information, go to AskRhadi.com AskRhadi.com
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