Some great info here, appreciate it thanks!
My initial question was more related to when grappling > I know I’m expending too much energy early, I’m tight, rigid and holding onto my training partner tight, rather than ‘relaxing’ a bit - noting I’m often in precarious situations early on given the size and experience difference I’m bringing - i.e. often in guard.
Those other notes are great too though. So much is ‘lost’ in the heat of battle and once fatigue hits…!
To this point, I’d consider more aerobic conditioning/LISS. BJJ training itself will take care of much of the more short-term, intense stuff. Aerobic capacity work will give you a bigger “budget” to spend from, IMO.
THURSDAY
BW: 153.4 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Wednesday steps: 9.3k+
RPM Full Body 2.0 | Wave 3, Day 7
Warmup - Incline treadmill
10 minutes / 0.55 miles / 67 calories
Deadlift (H) as Rack pull
95 lbs x 10 / 135 lbs x 8 / 185 lbs x 5
10 minutes EMOM 230 lbs x 2
Tried straps for the first two or three sets but couldn’t get my right side tight enough for some reason. Instead I alternated mixed grip with both sides as well as a regular pronated conventional grip. I’ve got a banged up finger that’s making gripping a little tricky.
Vertical pull (L) as Weighted NG chin ups
10 minutes EMOM +10 lbs x 4
These felt good and strong, nice slow eccentrics.
Vertical push (M) as Seated Smith Machine high incline press
bar x 10 / +30 lbs x 10 / +50 lbs x 8
10 minutes EMOM +70 lbs x 3
A John Meadows Classic! These felt surprisingly good. Credit to the shoulder rehab work. I’m thinking about chasing some pressing strength goals in 2025 (1 plate OHP, 2 plate bench). I got pretty close back in 2018.
FRIDAY
BW: 152.6 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Thursday steps: 14.5k+
Conditioning (L)
Weighted incline treadmill walk
3.3 miles / 356 calories / 60 minutes
SATURDAY
BW: 152.6
waist : 34"
BP Orange
Friday steps: 14.6k+
RPM Full Body 2.0 | Wave 3, Day 8
Warmup - Incline treadmill
10 minutes / 0.55 miles / 67 calories
Squat (L) as Zercher squat
bar x 10 / 95 lbs x 8 / 115 lbs x 6
10 minutes EMOM 135 lbs x 4
Horizontal pull (M) as CS Upper grip pronated row
85 lbs x 10 / 105 lbs x 8 / 125 lbs x 6
10 minutes EMOM 145 lbs x 3
Horizontal push (H) as Seated machine bench press
75 lbs x 10 / 105 lbs x 8 / 120 lbs x 6
10 minutes EMOM 135 lbs x 2
SUNDAY
BW: 153.2 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Red
Saturday steps: 11.2k+
Conditioning (H)
Stairmaster
10 minutes / 600 steps / 100 cal
Incline treadmill
10 minutes / 0.58 miles / 72 cal
Farmer’s walk (52.9 lb KBs)
10 rounds / 30 sec on + 30 sec off
A smidge heavier than what I was doing before. Liked using KBs instead of DBs, that’s for sure.
Incline treadmill
10 minutes / 0.58 miles / 72 cal
Row sprints
2:06 minutes / 478m / 28 cal
2:07 minutes / 473m / 28 cal
2:06 minutes / 473m / 28 cal
(two minute rest between sprints)
Haven’t done these in awhile and felt like I was at max capacity. It will be good for me to get these back in the weekly rotation.
Incline treadmill
10 minutes / 0.58 miles / 72 cal
MONDAY
BW: 152.2 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Sunday steps: 15.9k+
Dealing with repairmen and roofers all day. Did manage to get in my 30-minute neighborhood walk.
()()()
TUESDAY
BW: 152.4 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Monday steps: 10.9k+
RPM Full Body 2.0 | Wave 3, Day 9
Warmup - Incline treadmill
10 minutes / 0.55 miles / 67 calories
Deadlift (M) as Snatch-grip conventional
95 lbs x 5 / 135 lbs x 4 / 175 lbs x 3
10 minutes EMOM 200 lbs x 3
Vertical pull (H) as Weighted pull-up
10 minutes EMOM BW +20 lbs x 2
Slow steady pulls with a pause at the top and an even slower eccentric.
Vertical push (L) as Seated DB Arnold press
20 lbs x 10 / 25 lbs x 8
10 minutes EMOM 30 lbs x 4
Shoulder feels better with every pressing set.
WEDNESDAY
BW: 152.4 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Tuesday steps: 14.4k+
Conditioning (M)
Zone 2 cardio
Incline treadmill w/16lb vest
3.4 miles / 448 calories / 60 minutes
THURSDAY
BW: 153.2 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Wednesday steps: 16.8k+
RPM Full Body 2.0 | Wave 3, Day 10
Warmup - Incline treadmill
Going to transition to the stairmaster for warmups with RPM FB 3.0 starting in March. Will also add broad jumps as part of the warmup on days starting with deadlifts and box jumps as part of the warmup on days starting with squats. Did this as part of Beyond 5/3/1 awhile back and always thought they were valuable. To the extent that RPM Full Body has become my new 5/3/1 in some ways, I’m happy to cross-pollinate!
Squat (H) as BB back squat
bar x 10 / 95 lbs x 8 / 135 lbs x 5
10 minutes EMOM 185 lbs x 2
Horizontal pull (L) as Seated 4-count CT cable row
35 lbs x 10 / 45 lbs x 8
10 minutes EMOM 55 lbs x 4
Horizontal push (M) as One-plate incline bench
bar x 10 x 2 / 85 lbs x 8 x 2 / 105 lbx x 6 x 2
10 minutes EMOM 125 lbs x 3
Working on slow eccentrics and better technique (i.e. straight wrists) on the pressing while the weights are relatively low. Also doubled the warmup sets to really grease that shoulder groove …
FRIDAY
BW: 153.2 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Thursday steps: 5.6k+
Jiu-jitsu
30 minutes instruction/practice
30 minutes Live Training/sparring (5 x 5 min rolls)
Good to get back on the mat. Learned a new technique for crossing the arm from closed guard to set up armbars, omoplatas, sweeps, and back takes. Was very fatigued going into my final rolls (some big boys at Mako BJJ!) but was glad to have powered through it.
SATURDAY
BW: 152.8 lbs
waist: 34 1/2"
BP: Orange
Friday steps: 7.6k+
RPM Full Body 2.0 | Wave 3, Day 11
Warmup - Incline treadmill
Deadlift (L) as BB SLDL
bar x 10 / 95 lbs x 8 / 135 lbs x 6
10 minutes EMOM 165 lbs x 4
Vertical pull (M) as Weighted chins
10 minutes EMOM BW +20 lbs x 3
Vertical push (H) as Standing OHP
bar x 10 / 65 lbs x 8 / 85 lbs x 4
10 minutes EMOM 95 lbs x 2
One more session of RPM Full Body Wave 3 to go. Scheduled for Tuesday, but tempted to knock it out tomorrow.
Either way, after Wave 3 and the end of RPM Full Body 2.0, I’ll do a two-week interim program to accommodate some business travel, then start with RPM Full Body 3.0 in March.
SUNDAY
BW: 154.8 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Saturday steps: 3.6k+
RPM Full Body 2.0 | Wave 3, Day 12
Warmup - Incline treadmill
Squat (M) as BB paused squat
bar x 10 / 95 lbs x 8 / 135 lbs x 6
10 minutes EMOM 150 lbs x 3
Three seconds in the hole on each rep.
Horizontal pull (H) as CS seated neutral grip row
180 lbs x 10 / 200 lbs x 8 / 220 lbs x 4
10 minutes EMOM 240 lbs x 2
Three-second hold and squeeze at the top on each rep.
Horizontal push (L) as Incline DB bench press
25s x 10 x 2 / 35s x 8 x 2
10 minutes EMOM 45s x 4
That’s a wrap for Full Body 2.0.
Going to focus on conditioning for the next 10-14 days ahead of and during some business travel. Looking to start Full Body 3.0 on or about March 3.
The next version will add carries to deadlift days and row sprints to squat days. I’ll also turn up the dial on the warmups a bit.
MONDAY
BW: 156.0 lbs (heaviest BW all year)
waist: 34 1/4"
BP: Orange
Sunday steps: 13.0k+
OFF
(+)
TUESDAY
BW: 155.0 lbs
waist: 34 1/4"
BP: Blood Red (worst to date)
Monday steps: 17.1k+
Conditioning (L) as Weighted incline treadmill walk
3.3 miles / 430 calories / 60 minutes
Got in my morning walk, thankfully. Stress and overeating to accommodate stress are doing what they tend to do.
Update: Mostly walking over the past few days. 10k+ steps on Wednesday and Thursday. Not much on activity on Friday (in airports and on airplanes all day). Did see my BW drop dramatically to 151.8 lbs Friday morning, which was a pleasant surprise. BP has been not great. Hopefully it will chill out as some of the stress at home subsides and this conference ends. I actually think I might have been fighting off a cold or something over the last few days.
SATURDAY
BW: ?
waist: 34 1/4"
BP: ?
Wednesday steps: 10.1k+
Thursday steps: 11.0k+
Friday steps: 6.9k+
Conditioning (L) as Incline treadmill walk
3.3 miles / 360 calories / 60 minutes
(+)
SUNDAY
BW: ?
waist: 34 1/4"
BP: Red
Saturday steps: 16.4k+
Rehab - Shoulder emphasis
Three sets of 10 - circuit style
Band OHP
Band side laterals
Band external rotations
Band upright rows
Windmills
Band shoulder dislocates
Hypertrophy - Arms
Tricep pressdowns
10kg x 8
20kg x 8
30kg x 8
35kg x 9 (!), 7 (!)
25kg x 17 (!)
Triceps overhead extensions
15kg x 10
20kg x 8
25kg x 9, 9 (!)
12.5kg x 20 (!)
Cable bicep curl
10kg x 10
15kg x 8
20kg x 6
25kg x 9, 9 (!)
15kg x 15 (!)
NG chins
BW x 10, 10 (!)
Training in a London hotel gym, I’m assuming these numbers represent kilos and not just some random scoring. Started light just in case I was wrong, but managed to end up about where I was last September when I transitioned from hypertrophy/PPL to work capacity/RPM Full Body. Nice to see.
SATURDAY
BW: 151.2 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Monday steps: 12.8k+
Tuesday steps: 10.4k+
Wednesday steps: 16.7k+
Thursday steps: 7k+
Friday steps: 6.2k+
Back from abroad and back in the neighborhood gym.
Conditioning
Weighted stairmaster
8:01 minutes / 30 floors= 480 steps / 80 calories
Rower
6:07 min / 1248m / 69 cal
Weighted stairmaster
4:03 minutes / 15 floors=240 steps / 40 calories
Rower
2:06 minutes / 454m / 26 calories
Weighted incline treadmill walk
3.48 miles / 498 calories / 60 minutes
Total calories 713 (goal is 750, then 1000).
SUNDAY
BW: 153.0 lbs
waist: 34 1/2"
BP: Yellow
Saturday steps: 20.1k+
Conditioning
Weighted incline treadmill
30:13 minutes / 1.75 miles / 235 calories
Weighted stairmaster
8:00 minutes / 30 floors = 480 steps / 80 calories
Weighted assault bike
6:31 minutes / 1.7 miles / 37 calories
Weighted stairmaster
4:03 minutes / 15 floors = 240 steps / 40 calories
Weighted assault bike
2:00 minutes / 0.85 miles / 18 calories
Weighted incline treadmill
30:13 minutes / 1.75 miles / 235 calories
Total calories 645. Just getting to know the assault bike, as well as this new Polar HR monitor w/chest strap.
Had meant to start RPM Full Body today, but tweaked my upper back this morning moving furniture and decided to hold off until Tuesday. Hoping it feels good enough for jiu-jitsu tomorrow.
Starting to think that a 2x2x2 split of two conditioning sessions, two jiu-jitsu, and two strength-training sessions a week might be ideal for the next 2-3 months. I’d modify RPM Full Body to only do two variations of each movement instead of three.
MONDAY
BW: 153.2 lbs
waist: 34 1/2"
BP: Yellow
Sunday steps: 14.5k+
Conditioning
Weighted incline treadmill
10 minutes / 0.58 miles / 78 calories
Weighted stairmaster
5:00 minutes / 300 steps / 50 calories
Weighted assault bike
2:00 minutes / ??? / 15 calories
Weighted stairmaster
5:00 minutes / 300 steps / 50 calories
Weighted incline treadmill
10 minutes / 0.58 miles / 78 calories
Upper back still on the mend. No weights for now. Focusing on being able to train BJJ on Friday. #Priorities
Sick all week with something I probably caught on the way home from London. I always wear a mask en route to conferences, so I don’t get sick at the shows when I’ve got a ton of work to do. But I’m pretty lax on the way home, and am paying for it this week.
On the positive side, my back seems to be fine.
get well soon
SUNDAY
BW: 151.0 lbs
waist: 34"
BP: Orange
Monday steps: 13.1k+
Tuesday steps: 5.8k+
Wednesday steps: 5.9k+
Thursday steps: 6.3k+
Friday steps: 7.7k+
Saturday steps: 16.0k+
Conditioning
Weighted Stairmaster
5 minutes / 300 steps / 51 calories
Weighted incline treadmill
2 miles / 271 calories / 34:30 minutes
March - May split: 2x2x2 (two conditioning - Sun/Sat, two strength - Tue/Thu, two jiu-jitsu - Mon/Fri). Conditioning will be one light/moderate and one heavy. Strength will be Beyond 5/3/1 modified for 2x/week instead of 3x.
