Post-Tournament Recovery (Athlete Journal 30)

After I competed last week, I took some time off for recovery and self-evaluation. It felt good to get some time off and eat a little looser than I have been the last few weeks. I normally eat clean, but the four weeks prior to competing I really dialed it in. I still have to make sure I keep my weight under control since I will be competing in the Boston Summer Open in four weeks.

Even though I trained less than usual this week, I found myself thinking about training more than ever. I had a lot of work on the mat and in the weight room that I had to plan out for the next few months. I’ve been going back and forth about Masters Worlds in November, but am fairly certain I will compete there. Some of my teammates already started to get travel arrangements ready, so I’ve been dealing with that all week, too.

Last week was possibly my best performance in Brazilian jiu jitsu when I consider the competition and the skill of my opponents, but there are still many things that I have to work on. For the past year my takedowns have been on fire, but I have to improve on my guard passing and transitions once I pass. These will all be discussed with my coaches, drilled, and worked into my game.

If I plan on going to Masters Worlds and at least placing, then I have to continue to advance and improve my overall game. I will have a few opportunities to iron some things out this summer. Next week I will be competing in the Keystone State BJJ Championships, then three weeks after that is Boston. In October there is a US Grappling in Delaware that I may also do.

I also had to plan out another strength and conditioning program. I made a fourteen-week program that will take me up to Worlds. I had to evaluate my last thirteen-week program I had for New York and see what I liked and didn’t like. I also thought about what weaknesses need to be improved.

I decided some things I want to add in this program are heavy farmer’s walks in the strength and power phase and barbell complexes in the conditioning phase. I did my first day of the program on Saturday. The session consisted of farmer’s walks and it went well. This is a training technique that I’ve wanted to add for a while, and I’m glad I finally did.