Jiu Jitsu is bad for your body.

[sherdogwantedtonamemekiki]

Physically, it's all downhill from 29. I was invincible until then too and I thought all the middle-aged guys were whiners.

Give it 10 years then you'll know exactly what we're talking about.

Fucking lammmeee!!!

 

[Cash Bill 52]

We are coming up on the 1st anniversary of this thread. I've reread this thread many times since then, yet the questions and concerns from this thread are still as relevant as ever (at least for me).

I'm curious how the people who originally posted are doing - what changes they made, either mentally or physically, to mitigate the destructive effects of bjj on the body. Perhaps your opinion on the matter has changed altogether. I would like to know.

I’m feeling pretty good! I’ve cut down my training to 2-3x per week. I do some walking, stretching, shadow boxing, and dancing as supplements. I am getting ready for a world tour. I have my gi. I hope to be able to train with so many new people!

I don't have the years or experience in any martial art compared to you, but don't forget about the good things it brings to you. It may cause your body to tear down to a degree, but it is also probably keeping your overall health much better than if you hadn't started.

Oh, yeah! I feel good when I don’t train so much. Pumping the breaks in my training over the years has been very helpful.
Red belt at 92 for me. That’s my goal.

 

[SAMURAI SPIRIT]

43 year old blue belt. Broke my ankle yesterday. I llke to believe that I am the same man I was in my mid 20s. I lift more than I did back then and cardio wise I am not too far behind but I am 35 lbs heavier. It makes me wonder if I had been injured the same way if I was younger? Is age all in the mind if you are able to maintain more or less the same strength and endurance levels? Thoughts?

 

[EGDM]

Is age all in the mind if you are able to maintain more or less the same strength and endurance levels?

Nope. From sad personal experience I know that your ligaments and cartilage degrade and break more easily once you get much past 30. (Maintaining strength and fitness is a big deal for sure, though.)

 

[Thrawn33]

Laughs in 38 year old Judoka with plate in ankle....

 

[ChickenBrother]

43 year old blue belt. Broke my ankle yesterday. I llke to believe that I am the same man I was in my mid 20s. I lift more than I did back then and cardio wise I am not too far behind but I am 35 lbs heavier. It makes me wonder if I had been injured the same way if I was younger? Is age all in the mind if you are able to maintain more or less the same strength and endurance levels? Thoughts?

Age does get used as an excuse a lot, but joint injuries and time to heal (the main grievances itt) are the 2 things you can't fake your way out of.

At 45 I have (much) longer recovery times and less explosion. My lifts are about the same as 20 years ago and my cardio is worse but not massively so. I've always been disciplined on conditioning so have stayed the same weight for 25 years. But I've learned to train smarter - I rarely lift to failure anymore and it's been 10+ years since I injured myself lifting vs. going to failure every set and 1 rep maxes with poor form and all the stupid shit I did in my 20's.

I did wrestling/Judo 5-6 days/week from 15 to 24 and definitely did some damage to my lower back, knees, ankle, shoulder but I think I extended my grappling life by grappling very infrequently for the next 15 years allowing some of my injuries to heal.

Came back to grappling regularly 2 years ago and now do BJJ 3x + lifting 2x/week and that seems to be a healthy balance. But I still have to force myself to keep an easier pace and not redline my body every class like I used to. If a bigger guy puts me in a bad position I try to just tap rather than risk injury but my ego still gets in the way sometimes.

 

[Normot]

I'm 31 and and a black belt and the number one thing I've learned is that too much of anything is bad for you, especially when it comes to grappling, which has wrecked my body more than anything else I've done. I'm relatively young but I've already had 3 hernia surgeries, a scope for a fully torn meniscus, dealt with bursitis in my hip for years plus a bunch of other shit along the way.

These days, I try to incorporate as much variety as possible. On a weekly basis, I like doing Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, Muay Thai, interval training, longer runs, surfing and lifting. I've realized that most of my past injuries came from overtraining in one area and then developing imbalances as a result. I take lots of breaks from grappling too, because I really think that's what has messed up my joints the most. I'm by far healthier and happier than I've ever been in my life, so I'd say it's working. My skills haven't fallen off either. At any moment, I'm only a solid month or so of training away from being right back on top of my game. I'll take that over being constantly injured but slightly sharper on the mat on a day to day basis.

Of course, that's only what I think makes sense for me now. When I was younger and had no injuries, I had to grind daily to build my skillset. Once you're passed the point of diminishing returns though, you need to start picking and choosing more. I only train with a specific purpose in mind now and I pick my battles. I have zero shame in asking a lower belt for a lighter roll when I'm trying to be more careful. I wish I'd done more of that in the past.

Are you literally me?

 

[method115]

This is pretty much my conclusion as well. When older 40ish year olds ask me for BJJ advice or wisdom that is what i usually tell them. Who you roll with is more important than how you roll in terms of injuries.

I would also add if you are 170< rolling with guys 200+ regularly is a bad idea even if they are skilled. The bigger the disparity the less it takes. Ive gotten hurt doing the lightest specific drill with a 240 pound friend. He didnt do anything crazy he just put weight on my lasso and it tweaked my lower back, bam out for 3 weeks. Not worth it and way less likely to happen with somebody 180ish.

Didn't some famous BJJ guy say one of his biggest regrets was rolling with people that were much bigger than he was?

 

[EGDM]

Didn't some famous BJJ guy say one of his biggest regrets was rolling with people that were much bigger than he was?

I'm pretty sure that's everybody's biggest BJJ regret.

 

[Forceof1]

I usually play guard. But I've been dealing with a pulled groin for the last couple of weeks- so when I go against bigger guys, I'm making them play guard. If they don't like it, I just roll with someone else.

Would have never done that 5 years ago- but gotta prioritize my health at this stage of the game (hitting 40).

 

[Paolo Delutis]

Do any of you train outside of jiujitsu or just go to class..

I think people under estimate the advantages of living a health and active lifestyle and its benefits to Jiujitsu or Judo or whatever martial art your doing..

Its all relevant..if your soul physical activity is coming from jiujitsu and jiujitsu only then getting injuries and having them pile up over the years isnt surprising to me..

You need to tune up your car and keep it running well if you want to perform at its best, this goes beyond changing the oil every once in a while ( taking breaks from rolling/training)...the human bodies no different its a machine, you have nuture it while building it into something stronger .. You need to reach and maintain a level of fitness for you to remain effective and decrease the chances of injury, this changes over the years ..your body requires less fitness when your young as everything is still young anf strong and more fitness as you age and weaken naturally ( talking ligaments and things) ..

Its all connected martial arts is physicall activity meaning you must be physically active to participate..otherwise match your martial art training to match your current physical fitness level..theres nothing wrong with slowing down with age..it happens to us all..that doesnt mean it has to end just a new path and pace to discover

Im 28,but i have had 2 semi serious jiujitsu related injuries , right shoulder is damaged (tendonitis for sure,got caught in a deep kimura) and popped my ankle before..but i listen to my body always and rest and recoup (when hurt, no showing up next class to roll with guys ) and physically train outside of jiujitsu so i may contuine training in the future at a steady pace..

Good luck friends

 

[DatCutman]

I'm pretty sure that's everybody's biggest BJJ regret.

Well, mine is years of not tapping to "crank-y" arm triangles (my neck is a mess now), but otherwise yes.

 

[JinKazama]

yea im a 38 year old purple whos been doing this for 4 years, I goto class 3-4X a week and lift ~2X, but my biggest problem is sleep

sometimes if im lucky I can get to bed by midnight but often its 1-2 am when I finally sleep, I was a daily melatonin taker for years but haven't had any in about 2 weeks, trying to keep it natural at this point but still im having trouble with sleep mainly

 

[tweedie]

Lots of flow rolling, drilling, and train in the gi more rather than no gi

No gi is worse for your body and strains more ligaments

 

[yetanother]

I'm pretty sure that's everybody's biggest BJJ regret.

I don't roll with a lot bigger people much because I'm middle heavy (when skinny)/heavyweight and there aren't a lot of fat people training outside of murica.

 

[JinKazama]

sometimes I feel like if I dial back the bjj classes down from like 4X a week to even 3X I might lose out on the potential for improved mat cardio, is this a valid concern?

I work 24 hour shifts 2-3X per week so realistically I can on train 4-5X week tops

I mean I think it would help in my recovery, and I would probably spend that day doing cardio with kettlebells or rowing or whatever, but do u guys think I should just suck it up and goto more classes and roll more if cardio is my primary concern?

38 y/o, 4 year total training, purple 1 stripe, no major surgeries but tons of aches and just feeling worn out all the time, definitely do not sleep as well as I should

 

[OverCoronavirus Pressure]

I always felt like it's really effective but also very bad for your joints.
Your knees and shoulders take a lot of strain.

 

[Big Tuppy Hole]

After a 7 year hiatus from Bjj and turning 36 I have to say Ive pulled up great after 3 training sessions, I just hope it continues.

 

[ChickenBrother]

sometimes I feel like if I dial back the bjj classes down from like 4X a week to even 3X I might lose out on the potential for improved mat cardio, is this a valid concern?

I work 24 hour shifts 2-3X per week so realistically I can on train 4-5X week tops

I mean I think it would help in my recovery, and I would probably spend that day doing cardio with kettlebells or rowing or whatever, but do u guys think I should just suck it up and goto more classes and roll more if cardio is my primary concern?

38 y/o, 4 year total training, purple 1 stripe, no major surgeries but tons of aches and just feeling worn out all the time, definitely do not sleep as well as I should

Take it from a 45 yo exercise fanatic who overtrained for 25 years: reduce the frequency and intensity of your training, and your body will thank you for it.

If you're feeling worn out and achy, that means you're overtrained/under-recovered. 9 times out of 10 when I've gotten injured it was when I felt like that. You're not moving correctly, dragging ass and your body is fatigued so you're just inviting injury. It's tempting to think more training is the answer but that just makes it worse. When I've taken a week or even two off from training to let my body recover, I've always come back stronger and rolled better than I did before the break.

As I'm sure you know, sleep is critical. I usually do 3 classes + 2 days lifting/week and I need 8 hours solid sleep, sometimes 9 if I go really hard. If I didn't sleep well and I'm feeling tired, I try to go to class but avoid pushing myself too hard, and then take the next day off from training to recover.

Firas Zahabi said in one of his videos that an effective training session should take your energy level from a 6 to like an 8 afterwards, so you feel more energized. Fatigue is cumulative if you don't let your body recover.

 

[5thDimensionMMA]

It depends on how you train and your genetics .