Your Prescription For Success
With the overwhelming success of both Capital Jiu-Jitsu staff and students in competitive events, more and more members are approaching me with their own desire to fight. If you are considering competing in the cage, ring or on the mat, then the following article is for you.
A Fighter’s Words To Live By:
-Conditioning is Confidence
-Eat Clean - You Are What You Eat
-Train For The Worst… Hope for the Best
-Fights Are Won During Preparation… Fights Are Lost On Event Day
-If You Can’t Pull It Off In Training, You Won’t Under Pressure
-Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse!
-The Mind Breaks First In A Fight… Learn To Take Away Your Opponent’s Will To Fight
-Attack Your Weaknesses!
A Fighter Spends Time Developing:
-Strategy
-Tactics
-Conditioning
-The Will To Win
-Support Group (Coaches, Training Partners, Family & Friends)
A Fighter Knows The Science Of:
-Performance Dieting
-Cutting Weight While Maintaining Performance
-Performance Conditioning
-Training Cycles
-Proper Training vs Over Training
-Visualization
-Rest
The Questions of Diet & Supplements:
-Protein should be lean and varied and account for about 30% of your total caloric load. Carbohydrates should be predominantly low-glycemic and account for about 40% of your total caloric load. Fat should be predominantly monounsaturated and account for about 30% of your total caloric load. Calories intake should be set to optimum levels based on weight and training volume.
-Your foods should primarily come from vegetables, fruit, lean meats, nuts and seeds. Processed foods, starches, sugars and fatty meats should be avoided.
-Supplements are NOT the answer. Some supplements might provide a small benefit for recovery, sleep, immune system response and digestion, but these benefits are very small compared to Performance Dieting, Performance Conditioning (with Training Cycles), Visualization and Rest.
Develop Your Training Cycle
The most common training cycle for CJJ competitors is the following:
-Break a sweat 2X, 5 days a week using a 3 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off weekly cycle.
-Use one off day for active recovery training (light yoga, walking, etc….)
-Use one off day for complete physical and emotional rest.
-A full Micro-cycle should last between 4 and 6 weeks. The cycle should include a ramp up phase of a week or two, develop into full blown training, and end with a reduction in intensity.
-A fighter should peak on the day of their fight.
-Avoid the common pitfalls of overtraining, cutting weight in a way that equals a loss of performance, flatlining by over-recovering the week before the event, and resting too much or too little before beginning a new training cycle.
-(a Macro-cycle is a string of Micro-cycles, and for fighters at the professional level, Macro-cycles are an important consideration for career performance.)
A Fighter Knows Their Sport
Will you be on the mat in a no-gi match? Are leg locks allowed? Will it be full rules Muay Thai? Is headgear required? Is your fight MMA? What are the time limits? If you have ANY questions then research, research and research! You have no chance of winning a game you don’t fully understand.
All the above information requires prior knowledge. If you don’t understand what is a high glycemic food, what is a training cycle, what are tactics and strategy, what are signs and symptoms of over-training, then you have a LOT of work and research to do before you decide to step into the cage, ring or any other high level competition. Also, everything you do MUST EQUAL PERFORMANCE. If you are still stuck on doing bicep curls to get ready for beach week, then you have no business planning for a fight. Know your priorities, do your homework, do your legwork and then begin putting together a long-term plan for winning your chosen competitive event.
By Jeremy Lafreniere & John James
By Jeremy