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training to support bjj

Back still unhappy. Feels like a muscle issue more than anything structural. Barbell presses are definitely irritating it, either the bridge floor press or the flat floor press.

Current plan is to take a maintenance day or so, and then spending a little time ramping my S&S lifts back to where they were (24kg). At that point hoping the back is 100% and I can get back to the PTTP progression.
 
Good news was that doing light S&S sessions presented no issues for the back.

After a week away from the barbell, got a couple sessions in. Now thinking it was the bridge press that was irritating my back. Realized I wasn't bracing my abs / glutes as much as I could, so focusing on that, and it seems to be helping.
 
Looking like I was correct, and my problem was not bracing my midsection enough. Presses feeling good now, up to 130# working sets.

Yesterday I realized that my grip on the sumo DL was a little too narrow, so working on finding the right leg placement to allow a correct grip. So far so good, up to 200# working.
 
Made it up to 140# on the presses, and felt like the 5th rep of the first set was slowing down, so called that a cycle. Still find it hard to know the difference between "It's getting heavy" and "that rep was actually slower".

Feeling pretty well adjusted to the wider grip on the DLs. 215# felt heavy yesterday, but I think I was just tired, we'll see how today goes at 220#.
 
had a couple rough days last week, and both lifts got to the point that I decided to cycle back. Going smoothly this week.

22 sessions in, and I think I'm seeing some hypertrophy. At first I was surprised because previous PTTP never did much mass-wise, but then I started thinking about the differences of this version:
  • two sets of 5 are recommended for ramp-up, and those have all been over 50% my 1TRM
  • the working sets are both at the same load, vs. the second set being 90% of the first
 
Both lifts got to the point where reps in the second working set were slowing down, so I switched to the ladders. Have done 4 sessions of each. The 4th bridge press session felt solid at 140#. The 2nd set of 3 reps in the sumo DL felt noticeably slower, so I guess that's the weight I'll stay at as long as the bridge presses keep progressing (230#).

Lower than I would have thought, but I guess it's not that surprising that my sumo is lagging my conventional DL -- have spent years on conventional, and about 6 weeks on sumo. Planning to take the online course's advice & sticking with sumo for at least 3 months, then time to reassess.
 
The last month has been an exercise in "oh, is that what they mean by stop as soon as your reps slow down?" Either I'm getting weaker, which I suppose is possible, or I'm paying more attention to the speed & quality of each rep... which has led to lifting lighter weights. Have been on this kick long enough to see what seem to be improvements in the press cycle, and by Friday I should see if those are continuing, as well as whether the DL is coming along as well.
 
Just saw my indian clubs sitting dusty in the corner, and realized that since I switched my training to this bridge press + sumo DL routine, the shoulder that used to regularly bug me has been totally fine.

Continuing to refine my sense of when a rep is slowing down. I think I was being a wee bit conservative for a few weeks there. I think I'm at a happy medium now, and seem to be making some progress lifting heavier weights with proper form.
 
Flipping back to ladders, and not seeing much progress on the Sumo DL. It's now been over 4 months of sumo-only, so I'm going to swap to conventional for later on in cycles & see how that goes.
 
Another month down. I did try a session of conventional DLs, and found to my surprise that I'm currently happier lifting sumo.

After a few more weeks of bridge press & sumo, I decided to switch to squat / press as my primary lifts, keeping a day to do bridge presses & DLs at 3x3. Slowly getting re-acquainted with the lifts.
 
had some travel where I could only get to the gym once or twice a week, so switching things up to 5x5. Back squats, MP, sumo DL, and bridge press once a week each. Also doing repeat sprints a little more than weekly.

Last squats were a few days ago, and my quads are still sore. It is a much different experience than 2 sets of 5 four times a week!
 
finally did it: had my first BJJ class the other day. Really thankful I've spent time doing weight training, especially TGUs, before diving in. Even so, tweaked one shoulder a bit, and have the sorest abs I've ever experienced.
 
The forum software ate my last update. Anyhow, wrapping up 6 weeks of the Tactical Barbell Mass Protocol's "Base Building" routine, and beginners' BJJ class 2x a week.
 
Just found the training logs again after the forum redesign!

So, last 8 months:
  • training BJJ 2 or 3 times a week. Various joint issues probably related to arm bars, kimuras, grabbing on for dear life in bad positions. L elbow has been pretty dodgy for a few months now.
  • injured knee while messing around on ice skates. Saw a doc and he didn't think there was bone damage, but he did talk me out of barbell squatting until it recovered. I can just barely get into position for a TGU again now. My other knee has started hurting when fully bent, and I suspect not regularly squatting is to blame
  • last few months, to work around the injuries, I've been doing Q&D style 2 hand swings, and pushups.
Over the weekend I've decided that I need to rethink my training. I was considering finding a trainer to recommend something that would complement my BJJ training better, when I remembered the BJJFanatics SF program, so picked that up on the memorial day sale, and have been going through it. The exercise selection make a lot of sense, considering what I've experienced in my BJJ training, so I'm hopeful this will help be get on a better path.

Would love to be doing some hypertrophy work, as I've lost a bit of weight, but seems like that is going to have to wait until my joints are in better shape. Getting stronger won't hurt, of course.
 
I've taken the last week off BJJ class, which sucks, but I needed it. My dodgy joints are improving, R shoulder hurting when overhead in a TGU seems to be the last lingering issue.

Today I did some goblet squats, and then 70 16kg 1 arm swings in sets of 5. Joints mostly OK with that. Shoulder didn't like my trial TGU so called it a day.
 
Making gradual progress.

On the training front, I've started the BJJFanatics SF program in earnest. Still just 16 kg for the swings, and 20# / 16kg / 20kg for TGUs. Being able to actually do the movements without joint issues is great. Sets of 5 in the swing are an interesting experience.

On the BJJ front, I'm testing the theory that part of my issue has been relying too much on hanging on for dear life with my grips, which has been cooking my forearms. So I'm mostly training no gi now, which is a fun new experience. Still tired and sore after training, but my joints seem to be handling it better so far.
 
Huh, no real progress with regards to lifting in the last 6 months. Keep managing to injure myself one way or another on the mats. Nothing huge, but a month out for the ribs, and a few weeks for the neck, have made it hard to build up much momentum.

Now that I have my first competition behind me, dialing the bjj back to 2 or 3 times a week, and aiming to gradually progress the kb program until I'm using the 32kg. Hoping that approach will lend itself to more longevity.
 
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