BJJ Recovery

TL;DR: what a deload week in BJJ looks like A deload week is planned, not reactive: you cut volume and intensity on purpose every 4 to 8 weeks, before your body forces the issue. Keep the mat time habit, but drop live rolling to light flow or skip it, cut drilling reps by roughly half,

Short answer Most BJJ ankle pain comes from three places: a rolled ankle in a scramble or takedown, a straight ankle lock you held on to too long, and slow overload from sitting on your heels and pushing off in guard. Some ankle pain is not a mat problem. If you cannot put weight on

TL;DR: overtraining symptoms in BJJ after 40 True overtraining is rare in people training two or three times a week. What most of us call overtraining is under-recovery: short sleep, not enough food, and class stacked on top of a full working day. The signs worth watching are trends over two weeks or more: performance

Short version A BJJ rib injury is usually one of three things a clinician has to tell apart: a bruised or cracked rib, a strained intercostal muscle between the ribs, or a costochondral separation where the rib meets the cartilage at the front. Grapplers call that last one “BJJ rib.” Some symptoms mean you stop

Short answer, if you only read this far: Most BJJ elbow pain is an irritation complaint from repeated end-range loading rather than a torn ligament, but you cannot tell the difference from the inside and a clinician can. The elbow is the most-injured joint in the best competition injury study I have read, and the

The short version Neither one is a recovery system. Sleep, food and sane training volume do the heavy lifting. Heat and cold are adjustments at the margin, and small ones. Cold is for feeling better tomorrow — competition morning, two sessions back to back, a week you clearly overreached. Don’t ice within a few hours

Disclosure: Jiuoss is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend gear I would train with myself. Short answer Creatine wins on evidence and on price. It is one of

Disclosure: Jiuoss is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend gear I would train with myself. TL;DR Caffeine has a half-life of roughly five to six hours in most

Disclosure: Jiuoss is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend gear I would train with myself. The short version Get roughly 30 to 40 grams of protein and a

Short answer Timing beats content. A normal mixed meal wants roughly three hours. A small carb-led snack wants sixty to ninety minutes. Inside an hour, keep it small, mostly carbohydrate, low fat and low fibre — a banana, half a bagel, a rice cake with honey. The 7pm class after work is the hard case.

The short version Most of us turn up to class already down on fluid and then try to fix it in the ten minutes before warm-up. That timing is the whole problem. Drink across the day, not at the door. Roughly 500ml about two hours before class, small sips between rounds, then replace what you

Short answer Whether you train at all is a question for the doctor treating you, not for a blog. This page assumes you have already had that conversation. What changes is not one position. It is grip exposure, warm-up length, class timing, and how you handle a week when several joints are loud at once.

My wrists were the last thing I expected to slow me down. Everyone warns you about the knees and the lower back. Nobody sits you down at white belt and explains that the joint you use to post, frame, base and hand fight is going to file a complaint somewhere around your fifth year. The

Short answer: Most BJJ shoulder pain is irritation from posting on a straight arm, defending shoulder locks a beat too long, and getting stacked — not a tear. Modify before you rest. Post on your forearm, tap early on kimuras, and give up the underhook war for a few weeks. Rebuild with boring scapular work:

Short answer: Most BJJ hip pain after 40 is a load problem, not a damage problem: eight hours in a chair, then a guard game that lives at the end of your range. Cut the positions that park the hip at its limit under someone else’s weight before you cut training days. Strength through the

Short answer: Fingers, knees and shoulders account for most of it. Fingers are the most frequent, knees the most disruptive, shoulders the most likely to put you in front of a doctor. Per hour of training the risk is low, around 5.5 injuries per 1,000 training hours in one survey. Competition is roughly ten times

Disclosure: Jiuoss is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend gear I would train with myself. Short version Buy the foam roller first. It covers the big surfaces grappling

Disclosure: Jiuoss is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend gear I’d train with myself. TL;DR — BJJ for stress relief, short version BJJ relieves stress mainly by hijacking your attention. You can’t ruminate about work while someone

Disclosure: Jiuoss is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend gear I’d train with myself. TL;DR — does magnesium help with BJJ cramps? Usually yes, but only if you’re actually deficient — and a lot of grapplers over