Ego, recovery, and scheduling struggles

I'm not sure exactly what I'm asking in this post except for maybe some reassurance or some kind of direction from more experienced members, but here it goes. I train BJJ about 9-10 sessions a week most weeks, and do GST 4 days a week on top of that, plus Handstand 1 day a week. I'm really feeling like I need to drop my GST volume down, even though I'm making pretty good progress in most areas. At this point I can't sacrifice any BJJ sessions.

Generally the first two days of the training week I'll complete all my GST as prescribed and feel great about it, but then around Wednesday my body starts to get really exhausted and though I can train BJJ (session intensity can vary depending on who I'm training with) it's often difficult for me to complete my GST workouts Thursday and Friday. My body feels like it's just too exhausted and then sometimes it becomes a motivation issue as well. I always feel like I have to "catch up" on GST and a lot of times I end up doing F7 on Saturday or doing a Saturday and Sunday split, which pushes back the next Monday's workout and on it goes. I'm always catching up. But despite all this I have made decent progress in the 8 months I've been doing this. The only elements I have struggled to progress with are HBP/PE2, if I miss a single workout I feel like I regress by a month's worth of progress, though I have made slow yet steady progress towards 5x15, and SL/PE1, this one I just never know how I'm gonna perform, it's ridiculous. Everything else has progressed well. I am hesitant to drop my frequency down because of this, but I know I have to because it's clear schedule-wise and because my body is telling me pretty clearly throughout the week that it doesn't want to do anything else.

So, to keep a long story long, what do you think I should do? Drop down to 3 days a week? 2 days a week? The 3-day seems appealing but I'm concerned about the uneven volume. Two days a week?? Is that enough to make good progress? Can I hear from some of you who dropped your volume down and saw great results? I guess it's just my ego that's afraid of doing less, though I know that less is generally more. I think it would also be a big relief to have less training to complete throughout the week. Should I just suck it up and keep the same schedule because I've been making progress? Any input or help would be greatly appreciated, thanks for reading!

Oz

On 4 sessions x week are you doing all the F exercises twice a week?

How many rest days a week do you get? (How many days a week is 9-10 BJJ sessions?)

How are you sleeping? Hours? Difficulty sleeping etc?

 

My 1st recommendation is eat more. You'll be surprised what a little extra fuel can do. Put some more carbs post workout.

 

You could try a 3 day split with the GST and see if it helps. If the training is still too much on a 3 day, maybe try a 2 day or a 4 day hybrid.

Mon  4xGST   

Tue 3xGST (half volume)   

Thus  4XGST (half volume) 

Fri  3xGST. 

 

Don't be afraid to try new stuff. You'll never know what might stick.  And it you need a month of two to figure out a nice schedule, it will pay itself back in returns in the future

ditto jules. Also -

 

Do you deload? 

 

For SL PE1 try holding a dowel with wide outstretched hands, do a partial dislocate, and try to pull it apart at the top position of the arch - it will help you break into a higher ROM (if tight chest/ poor thoracic extension are the culprits).

In your position I'd personally drop strength training down and trial the 3-day split. Hit it hard when you do it, and save the rest of your energy for practice and recovery.

Just echo'ing the above comments here. I too train a high volume each week between multiple modalities (GST, weightlifting, BJJ, sprinting, etc.), and recovery is key. Do you...

• ... sleep 7-9 hours each night in a cool, dark room?
• ... eat enough protein, carbs, and fat depending on your body type?
• ... possibly look into basic supplementation to help speed recovery (fish oil, vitamin D, magnesium, whey, etc.)?

In terms of the GST scheduling, I would also recommend trying the 2- or 3-day split. Think quality over quantity here, especially if your BJJ is the main priority. Think of GST as your accessory or auxiliary work.

 

For SL/PE1, I know some other forum members have posted about the following progressions:

• SL/PE 0.25: Arch Body Hold with arms down by the side and knees bent up to 90 degrees
• SL/PE 0.50: Arch Body Hold with arms overhead and knees bent up to 90 degrees
• SL/PE 0.75: Arch Body Hold with arms down by the side and legs straight

(You could also try these progressions with the Arch Body Rocks, but the rhythm of the rocking movement is sometimes difficult.) Best of luck in your training!

 

Cheers,

Chris

Don't be afraid to drop down to the 3-day split. Many members reported faster progress with it and the 'uneven' volume is actually no problem at all within a minicycle. Of course, technically, it's still not completely even, but it's insignificant. Plus, it means every other week, you only have to do SL/PE1 once. 

Otherwise, knowing when exactly your BJJ sessions are could help.

 

But really, drop down to the 3-day split. Your reluctance only stems from the fear of doing less. You'd still be doing plenty with 9-10 sessions of BJJ and you might progress faster. Pretty much anyone who dropped to the 3-day split reported faster progress (it's too soon for myself to judge). I think it's the right thing to do. It's definitely the right thing to at least try.

Agree with others that dropping frequency and/or making sure you are eating and sleeping enough to facilitate recovery is a good place to start.

Another option you could try (other than the traditional 3 day split) would be to do F7 two days a week and H1 once a week. This would essentially work out to the same amount of total volume that you are currently doing, but you would have more days of the week where you were not doing any GST training and thus could recover.

Not saying this is necessarily better than the 3 day split or the "right" way to go, but if you are concerned about lowering the volume affecting your progress this might be a viable option.

Thank you all so much for your replies!

Jules - yes I'm doing a 4-day split, doing each exercise twice a week. I get 1 rest day a week, on Sundays. I sleep about 9 hours a night, but it's usually from about 130-1030, do you think that the timing of my sleep might be affecting my recovery? Generally I don't have trouble sleeping, if I feel like I slept poorly or my heart rate is unusually high upon waking, I usually take an impromptu day off.

I can definitely try to eat more, though I already do my best to stuff as much as I can (of healthy food) down my gullet as often as I can. I also do workout shakes a la the nutrition thread during and after my workouts. I use dextrose, whey protein, BCAA's, creatine, Himalayan salt, and collagen hydrolysate. Thank you for the advice!

Latestarter - I do deload, but I keep a regular BJJ schedule on my deload weeks. Thanks for the ABH tips, thoracic extension is definitely part of the problem!

Jon Douglas - If I try the 3-day split, should I alternate week to week which day I do once vs twice? I.e. ABA, BAB, ABA, BAB

Chris Garay - I don't calculate my macros, but I try to eat as much as I can as often as I can of veggies, pastured meats, plenty of carbs in different forms, and plenty of good fats (animal fat, butter, coconut oil). I also do post-workout shakes with plenty of protein and carbs.

Do you think I should start calculating macros? I agree I should think of GST as auxiliary but I'm growing to love it as much as I love BJJ and I want to progress so badly! And thanks for the ABH tips, if I don't make some good progress soon, I'm going to probably try those pre-PEs! Thanks for the input!

Bro' - thank you for the input! I agree it is time to drop down. I'm confused though I thought I read somewhere that the 3-day split is always the same pattern, every week, without alternating back and forth. Am I wrong there?

Keegan - thanks for the advice Keegan! I think F7 is too much for me to do twice a week at the moment, I have tried and it's quite tough on top of other training. It's amazing how tough and taxing an F7 workout can be! Thanks for the suggestion though.

https://courses1.gymnasticbodies.com/f-cycles-examples/

In the 3-day split, you alternate, in the 5-day split, you don't. Can't tell you why though.

Calculating macronutrient ratios might be an educational experience every once in a while. It is, in my opinion, both time-consuming and possibly inaccurate. Thus, only weigh and measure every so often, and take the numbers "with a grain of salt."

I found it great to count calories and macros (knowing its not a science), but making it as easy as possible. 

I count just about everything in 'Cups'. And most of the time I eat the same stuff anyway.

(Like today was  1x Sausage, 1xcup tomatoes, 1xcup mushrooms, tsp butter. )

I like good old fashioned paper and pen, but i heard there are some great apps out there that would help.

So the general consensus it seems, and what I'll be trying, is the 3-day split. I'm looking forward to seeing how this affects my training, thanks again everyone for the advice

Just though I would throw my 2 cents in here since I'm in a similar situation. BJJ, karate, and a 45-50 hour per week manual labor job.

 

I aim for 4 days per week and HS. Monday and Tuesday go well (both F1), Wednesday is now HS because that worked better for my timing. On Thursday I do ABH and SLS unless I'm really beat down (heavy day at work maybe). I do these because if I do MN my abs are to sore to do well on FL on Friday. On Friday I aim to do FL,sPL, HBP and RC, if I'm fairly beat down I might only do two (often HBP and RC because I really want to get better at those). If I'm really far gone, I take Friday off. You could rotate these, do your favorite, or work on the ones that are lagging.

 

Sure it seems like my training is all over the place but I have to earn a living so I have to work around that. So I get solid training early in the week, and if my 'volume' at work isn't too high I can get away with a 4 day a week program, if the 'volume' at work is really high, I drop down to two day a week.