I had a similar experience, but on the opposite end of the age/size scale. I was visiting a different school's belt ceremony and one of the newly promoted blue belts asks me to roll after class. He had just turned 16, was a brand new blue, and really light weight.

What I thought would be an easy roll turned out rough. The kid had been training/competing for 8 years at that school already so his blue belt at 16 felt far more like a brown belt while rolling.

This was a few years ago....if I went back to that school today, that kid would smoke me now.

First time posting on this forum, but have been following along the past year or so. Love the discussions on here!
I have been training BJJ coming up on 3 years in March (mostly no-gi) at BVMMA here in BCS with Bubba Bush. I normally train 3x/ week and lift 2x/week, but it has been tough to find the right balance of training intensity so that I still can push myself in the weight room and vice versa. Are y'all following specific lifting programs for BJJ and/or what kind of splits?

Thanks for any advice!

kfry20 said:

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First time posting on this forum, but have been following along the past year or so. Love the discussions on here!
I have been training BJJ coming up on 3 years in March (mostly no-gi) at BVMMA here in BCS with Bubba Bush. I normally train 3x/ week and lift 2x/week, but it has been tough to find the right balance of training intensity so that I still can push myself in the weight room and vice versa. Are y'all following specific lifting programs for BJJ and/or what kind of splits?

Thanks for any advice!

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I was on that schedule too, 3xBJJ Sessions and 2xLifting. I think it was too much for my 36yo body, and when my son was born I stopped the lifting and only did the BJJ.

I am back on the 3xBJJ Sessions and 2xLifting, but I am only doing lightweight on all lifts. Too many times I have pushed too hard and paid for it.

I've taken a 2-month break and looking to start at a new gym. Anyone here familiar with Dream Art bjj in Conroe?

kfry20 said:

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First time posting on this forum, but have been following along the past year or so. Love the discussions on here!
I have been training BJJ coming up on 3 years in March (mostly no-gi) at BVMMA here in BCS with Bubba Bush. I normally train 3x/ week and lift 2x/week, but it has been tough to find the right balance of training intensity so that I still can push myself in the weight room and vice versa. Are y'all following specific lifting programs for BJJ and/or what kind of splits?

Thanks for any advice!

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So here's what I've been doing for most weeks, sometimes variables throw things off:
Monday: class at night
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: class at night
Thursday: rest
Friday: lift in the morning
Saturday: class at noon
Sunday: lift in the morning

I'm 43, almost 44, I'd love to add another class during the week because I enjoy learning and I can use all the help I can get as a white belt but my body doesn't respond well to 2 days of BJJ in a row. I'm jealous of the young guys that can go almost every day, but I just can't do it. I thought I could just get by on class but I could tell I lost some strength when I wasn't lifting. I don't lift heavy, I really can't since I've got something going on in my left shoulder/arm. One of my lifting days is back and biceps, the other is chest, shoulders, and triceps. My knees are bad so I really can't do legs anymore, it puts me in too much pain. I don't know if there's an injury or if I just have arthritis, but I don't have any interest in knee surgery if there is anything going on in there so I just make due.

I have a power rack and other equipment in my basement. I've been using the FitBod app for years, it builds workouts for me since you tell it exactly what equipment you have and what your goals are. I've tried other workout apps and it's the best one IMO. I mainly stick with compound lifts, bench press, incline, overhead press, pullups with different grip variations, different kinds of rows as well. Lower weight with higher volume with my physical limitations.

I've considered BJJ a violent fountain of youth. I hurt pretty good most mornings after I roll, but the positive benefits have been worth every bit of the pain. You just need to find a balance and what works for you.

You're at my age...look into testosterone support? Helps with the lifting and high volume rolls!

I have a friend (long time brown belt) who is taking his daughter (teen competitor) there after years at a different school. I'll ask him about it and see what he says, but given the distance he's driving to/from it must be good.

The owner's bio is seriously impressive. Strong lineage and a competition record with wins against some of the best black belts in the game now (and ever). Competition record doesn't always mean good instruction.....but he's done a lot competition-wise that most folks never have.

…and that gym looks very nice! Big clean & neon signs no less!

BJJ-3 times a week

Lift-2-3 times a week, nothing super heavy. I want flexibility, not bulk.

Run 2-3 times a week.

My favorite thing to lift these days is a sandbag. You can get them from Brute Force or 5.11. I have the 50lb
version. Lost so squats, rows, cleans and curls with it. Because its not "stable" it makes it harder and I think better.

I have a dumb question. I'm interested in trying jiu-jitsu. I've never trained in any kind of martial arts and I'm now 44 years old. I'm in great shape and workout a lot, but at my age I've had to become way more aware of trying to avoid injury. I just hate being sidelined with my training.

How do you avoid shredding a shoulder in bjj? I am sure you can expect to be dinged up a lot and I'm concerned about that, but is it possible to train and spar without risking a major injury?

bam02 said:

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I have a dumb question. I'm interested in trying jiu-jitsu. I've never trained in any kind of martial arts and I'm now 44 years old. I'm in great shape and workout a lot, but at my age I've had to become way more aware of trying to avoid injury. I just hate being sidelined with my training.

How do you avoid shredding a shoulder in bjj? I am sure you can expect to be dinged up a lot and I'm concerned about that, but is it possible to train and spar without risking a major injury?

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White belts will often get injured right away because they go nuts on their first rolls, let their ego get in the way of losing position and not knowing when to tap.

Learn the basics right away, chill while first rolling, listen to the experienced guys and be ok with losing position and tapping when something becomes uncomfortable.

Learn to flow roll: slow easy exchange of moves and positions with a partner. Slow pickup of pace as more knowledge is developed.

Always stretch before and after and participate in warmups. This is probably the most important deal in my experience.

Good luck.

Thanks. Sounds like good advice.

Any recommendations in the north San Antonio area?

Pull up a few places near me.

Carlson Gracie

Rodrigo Pinheiro

King Jung Mu Sul

Marra Senki

bam02 said:

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Thanks. Sounds like good advice.

Any recommendations in the north San Antonio area?

Pull up a few places near me.

Carlson Gracie

Rodrigo Pinheiro

King Jung Mu Sul

Marra Senki

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What side of SA are you on? How far from San Marcos are you?

I live near Huebner and 1604.

San Marcos would be too far.

bam02 said:

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I live near Huebner and 1604.

San Marcos would be too far.

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Ah, ok. Sorry. I know Diaz Martial Arts there, but thats about it.

Try several gyms before you sign on the dotted line. You just have to find the one that "Fits" you.

The main reason I stick with the Gracie schools is because I at least know that the owner will have had some level of accreitation and not be a McDojo. There are other families/franchises as well though.

Independent/unafilliated gyms are cool too, I've been a member of 2 of them, but keep your BS meter turned on.

bam02 said:

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I have a dumb question. I'm interested in trying jiu-jitsu. I've never trained in any kind of martial arts and I'm now 44 years old. I'm in great shape and workout a lot, but at my age I've had to become way more aware of trying to avoid injury. I just hate being sidelined with my training.

How do you avoid shredding a shoulder in bjj? I am sure you can expect to be dinged up a lot and I'm concerned about that, but is it possible to train and spar without risking a major injury?

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fwiw, I have been training for about 4 years and haven't had any real injuries. Banged up yes, but nothing that needed a doctor. Injuries are a part of it, but tapping early prevents most.

That's good to know. For some reason I have this image of my shoulder being twisted off.

bam02 said:

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That's good to know. For some reason I have this image of my shoulder being twisted off.

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Shoulders can be an issue just tap early and tap often. I do a lot of dead hangs/pull ups for that.

I do a lot of that, too. Always had shoulder problems, even as a kid.

I'll be a tapping SOB!

bam02 said:

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That's good to know. For some reason I have this image of my shoulder being twisted off.

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IMO, avoiding white belts who look like they have something to prove is half the battle. Higher belts won't(shouldn't) rip your arm because we don't need to. We can win just about any time we want, and we wouldn't even consider it a win if we submitted without full control of you.

You will get a feel for this after spending time in the gym with the upper belts.

I would go with the Carlson Gracie gym, but I am biased because the owner of my gym was an instructor under Carlson Gracie Jr. in Brazil & trained with de la Riva who is also in your instructors lineage.

Tap early & often

Wear a cup!

Concentrate on your breathing & staying calm initially.

Worry less about submitting people & concentrate on escapes & surviving.

Don't go down the rabbit hole of trying to learn 1000 techniques. Repeat a few until you get them down & then add new ones.

Good luck!

Just curious, what are your goals/interest in BJJ? Different schools focus on different things (fitness, self defense, competition, cross training, etc.) so depending upon your interests, one school may be a better fit than another.

Only school I've rolled at in San Antonio is Gracie Barra San Antonio and it was great when I rolled there, but I'm not sure if Fabiana Borges is still running the school or if she's moved to a different school.

also Bam, listen to this John guy:

I guess mostly I'm just wanting to try a new hobby that involves fitness and discipline.

Is that something I can look up? The video says not available when I click it.

bam02 said:

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Is that something I can look up? The video says not available when I click it.

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Title of the youtube video:

"Advice for Beginners in Jiu Jitsu | John Danaher and Lex Fridman"

Just do a search for that and it will come up.

Awesome. I'll check it out.

You'll definitely find that in BJJ. And it's also really fun (IMO).

Let us know how it goes and if ya' have any questions.

Thanks. I've never talked to anyone who tried it who didn't love it. Even people I would have never guessed would like soy like that.

Moral High Horse said:

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also Bam, listen to this John guy:

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Thanks again! I was able to find it.

Aside from the sport itself, one thing I really enjoy about BJJ is the huge diversity of people that train. Lots of cool people from all walks of life that I probably never would have met if not for the shared love of choking people, twisting arms, attacking knees, etc....haha.

In addition to the obvious reasons for rolling, great exercise, learning something new, and it being fun there's another benefit to BJJ. I've been pretty open here that it's been largely beneficial to my mental health. Even with medication I still find myself struggling from time to time. I have yet to attend a class that hasn't helped me reset when I've had a bad day, be it from work or something else. I haven't been able to attend much over the last month due to the holidays, gym closure, weather, and family issues and it's definitely impacted my spirits. I should be able to get back tonight and I'm looking forward to it, I definitely need it.

There's no better therapy than getting your ass kicked, getting a good work out and realizing you're going to be ok afterward.

Went ahead and got the family plan at one of the local gyms since it was the same price for 2 adults to train unlimited as it was for an entire family (they do focus on making it as cost effective as possible for kids to train, even provide fee gis for them).

I don't have a set schedule so figured I would start going 2-3 days a week and work up to more based on what I am doing that week. They are only open Monday through Thursday but have classes several times a day.

I do like that they cater each class to who is there, if they have someone that will be competing they demonstrate how a technique can be used to get points. If it is all non-competing people they focus more on the self defense aspect. They will be doing more self defense focus a few days a week so I will try to make it to those. This body is getting too broken to compete

That's cool. Have fun and enjoy it!

2-3 days a week is plenty. More training will always mean more learning.....but it's also likely to be accompanied by more injury (and burnout).

I'd encourage you to write down a list of what they teach in class each night. Not a diary/journal....more just a list of what you're learning so you can keep track of things.