• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Keep Training When Life Is Busy (Athlete Journal 57)

Every second of every day has been occupied by something I had to do for school or the gym this week, but I'm ready to take on the challenges.

Jess Papi

Written by Jess Papi Last updated on November 1, 2014

I had a lot on my plate this week, but I’m feeling much better and I’m ready to take on the challenges.

Once in a while, I have one of those weeks when it seems like I never have a moment to sit down and just relax. This was definitely one of those weeks. Every second of every day has been occupied by something I had to do for school or the gym. During my normal hours of free time, I’ve been studying, doing homework, or planning the Scranton MMA kids’ Halloween party.

Being busy isn’t necessarily a bad thing, though. I need these stressful weeks once in a while to keep me on my toes. I wouldn’t mind if they were fewer and further between, but that’s life, right? There isn’t much I can do about it besides work through it and patiently wait for Friday.

RELATED: How to Turn Stress Into a Strength

This Week’s Classes

Last week in classes we were working on bottom half guard sweeps and techniques, so this week we worked on the top side of half guard. Frank showed us a couple of passes I want to start using more often. One of them is the cut pass. I like using the cut pass when my opponent has their full guard, but I don’t use it a lot to pass the half guard. I mostly use the one where you switch your hips and scoot out. I’ll still use that one when it presents itself, but I want to stay conscious while I’m rolling and make a solid pass I can use from the half guard.

We also went over passes from the lockdown position and the knee shield. These positions go hand-in-hand with the half guard, yet different techniques are required to pass them. I was especially interested in going over knee shield passes because I’ve been having trouble with that lately. Drilling passes during class definitely helped me. I think passing the knee shield will be one of the things I’m going to add to my daily drilling list.

“It’s always tough getting started because I know it’s going to be difficult, but I love the feeling of sweaty accomplishment after I’ve finished drilling.”

Speaking of drilling, I have to admit I’ve been slacking on it this week. But like I said before, I’m super busy with school stuff and party planning. I’ll definitely be back at it next week. I miss having that fixed time when I can just go nuts and drill like a maniac. It’s always tough getting started because I know it’s going to be difficult, but I love the feeling of sweaty accomplishment after I’ve finished drilling. I can’t wait to drill every day next week.

Since my disappointing performance at the No-Gi Pan Ams, I’ve been chomping at the bit to compete again. I had been thinking about competing in the Goodfight on November 8th, but I didn’t see any other purple belt women signed up. To my surprise though, I saw one signed up this week. As of right now, I’m going to compete. I don’t want to jump to conclusions because I haven’t been getting ready for it, but I’m so eager to compete that I’m most likely going to do it. I don’t care if I lose. I just want to get back out there and fight someone.

That’s all, folks! See you next week.

Jess Papi is a blue belt at Scranton MMA and also pursuing her degree in exercise science. Read her entries every week for insights on competing, training, and juggling BJJ and life.

Jess Papi

About Jess Papi

Jess Papi got her start in the martial arts world by joining a women’s only muay Thai class when she was fifteen years old. After about a year of striking classes, she started taking sporadic jiu jitsu classes, but mostly focused on her muay Thai training. A handsome young man by the name of Frank always attended the classes even though he did not like striking very much. They ended up training together a lot and he suggested to her that she train jiu jitsu more often. Jess took his advice and started going to three jiu jitsu classes per week. Jess Papi officially started her jiu jitsu career in 2011. Not long after, she started her relationship with Frank Alogna, one of the jiu jitsu instructors at Scranton MMA.

Jess is a blue belt from Scranton MMA, a Royce Gracie affiliate in Pennsylvania. As a white belt she competed in a few tournaments, but her real love for competing did not come about until a year after getting her blue belt. She has earned medals at small scale local tournaments and international IBJJF competitions. She is proudly sponsored by Girl-Jitsu.

Jess is currently enrolled at the University of Scranton and is studying exercise science. She aspires to become a physical therapist and use her skills to help understand and treat injuries that occur frequently on the grappling mats.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

screenshot2014-12-30at113049am
Varying Squat Stance for Quad Development (Athlete Journal 121)
On the Other Side of a Belt Promotion (Athlete Journal 64)
screenshot2014-12-23at22546pm
Extreme Effort Is Only Temporary (Athlete Journal 120)
jess papi
Building Confidence as a BJJ Practitioner (Athlete Journal 63)

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Phillip Herndon Squats 412.7 Kilograms (910 Pounds) For New Massive Personal Record

Justin Medeiros Walks Through a Full Tour of His Home Gym Before CrossFit Season

Powerlifter Jimmy Kolb Logs 612.5-Kilogram (1,350.3-Pound) Equipped Bench Press World Record

The Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Every Lifter From Beginner to Advanced

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About